The Lemmings

More often than not, Democrats are a lot like lemmings; those furry little creatures that will pick their leader; follow him off a cliff; and, then, die drowning in the waters below. Silly isn't it?

Usually, this happens when the Democrats get all balled up in a "concept" and totally ignore any real "substance." A glimmer of this was shown in the last Presidential election when they started "lemming-ing" behind Howard Dean, the "anti-war" candidate. Dean was seen, early on, as the presumptive winner until he completely lost his wheels in that "Yawheeee!" (Dean Scream) moment; just before the Iowa Caucuses. All indications were, prior to that mental derailment, that Howard was going to be their man. It was all "anti-war" and no substance. The money had been pouring in from the Internet to fund his campaign. He was bringing plenty of "new" and "young" people into the Democratic nomination process. There was total enthusiasm. (Money? Youth? Enthusiasm? Sound familiar?) Luckily, for the Democrats, Howard's melt down came long before any formal nomination.

Another lemming-moment was when the Democrats got behind George McGovern. Again, the concept was "anti-war". This time they gave him the nomination and suffered a "landslide" defeat against Richard Nixon; another man that should never have been President. But, the outcome of that election wasn't so much that Nixon won; instead, it was that George McGovern lost it. He lost it because he lacked "substance". The majority of the electorate, at that time, was less interested in "anti-war" than in "winning" with some dignity. They also wanted a President who was "more" reasonable and less "liberal" on domestic and international issues.

So, here we go again. It's 2008 and the Democrats appear to have themselves another "anti-war" candidate in Barack Obama. Like before, it appears that "concept" is taking precedence over "substance". This time the "concept" is that Obama would be, primarily, the first Black President. Second to that, they are buying into the "concept" (really just a slogan) of "change". Substance? Who needs its! Here is a candidate who hasn't "even" finished his Freshman year in Washington. A little over two years ago he was still trying to locate the bathrooms in the Senate Office building. He talks of being a "uniter" but has never demonstrated that fact. All of his voting patterns have followed the far left. Some of the people that he has as his advisers are a "little" out there. As far as character is concerned, the Wright, Ayers, and Rezko connections give some insight into that. Finally, most of his supporters in Congress, like Ted Kennedy and Patrick Leahy, are the "most liberal" within the Democratic Party; further showing that he is out of step with the general populous of this country.

It appears that no amount of bad news that comes out about this guy is going to stop the Democrats from "lining up" behind him. He truly seems to gain strength in the polls with every misstep. Everyday, despite all the questionable character issues, like his long-time association with people like Reverend Wright, he gains more and more Super Delegates; those "senior" people within the Democratic Party. By all indications, he "will" get the Democratic nomination. This is truly lemming-like behavior. There is no logic in this, at all! But, who ever said lemmings were logical?

Image by Cranky George