Published 15 June 2004

(word count: 750)

"Aha!" I squawked as I read the Washington Times headline:  "Bush to wage ideological campaign."  Now, once and for all, we'll find out exactly what's so different between these Republicans and Democrats.  I eagerly skimmed over the hors d'oeuvres, seeking the sirloin:

"… offer voters a stark choice between liberalism and conservatism."

"… a very clear choice on the issues …"

"This election will represent a clear choice, an ideological choice on the issues."

"The ideological differences between Mr. Bush and Democratic candidate Sen. John Kerry …"

"The Bush campaign's effort to play up the ideological differences between the president and the Massachusetts senator …"

And that was it.  All bun, no beef.  Not one example of ideological differences.  Not a single sampling of dissimilitude.  Nary a representative remark to distinguish the two.

Nothing.  Nada.  Nil.  Naught.  Nix.  Nuttin Honey.

Was there really an ideological difference, then, or did everyone just assume that there was?

How is it that elephant President Bush who lied us into a Persian Gulf war is more admirable than donkey President Johnson who lied us into a Tonkin Gulf war?

What good is a Republican Party that defeats Hillarycare in the 1990s only to support piecemeal Republican Hillarycare today in the form of taxpayer subsidized prescription drugs for seniors?

What is the difference between President Bush's conservative collectivist redistribution plan called "Faith-based Initiative" and the scores of liberal collectivist redistribution plans with similar high-minded names?

Somewhere, I reasoned, there had to be a simple us-and-them comparison, a "they believe that but we believe this" schematic.  It didn't take long to find one by Googling the Net.

The first two columns in the grid below are exactly as I found them on the New York Christian Coalition web site.  The "Liberalism" column appears to be accurate, although liberals of all species will trip over themselves to spin each item with PC euphemisms to cover their true intentions.  And the "Conservatism" column represents only the deep right field near the foul pole ultra-right Christian Coalition species of conservatism.

For educational purposes, the column on the far right is my own added dose of reality.

The verbiage on the web site that precedes this table is truly quixotic.  First it cries, "It does matter who you vote for this November.  I believe it matters more than any other time in the history of our nation."  Okay.  I've heard this every four years forever, from baby diapers to adult diapers.  Somehow, nothing ever seems to change.

This is followed by: "The choice will not be between two politicians with two sets of promises neither intends to keep."  If that's true, which of course it is, what exactly is the point of the table?

The hand basket in which the country is going to Hell is a bipartisan container.

Why conservatives of all breeds never seem to get this is way beyond me.  Or is it just that conservatives hanker after their own brand of socialism?

Vote Libertarian.  Or don't vote at all.