The Real Meaning of McCain-Palin Change
By: Macduff
Published On: 9/16/2008 4:52:52 PM
The real meaning of the McCain-Palin promise of "change" should be clear by now. The message to the Republican "base" is the central message: we'll pursue George Bush's policies and management practices, only we'll implement them more effectively. And, we won't blink.
Since the only "change" the "base" wants is more radical conservatism and efforts to bring religion into government, Republican "change" means more Bush, not less.
The McCain-Palin substantive positions on energy (drill-baby-drill), foreign affairs (more beligerance), Iraq (stick to the war without a timetable), taxes (lower for the wealthy), health care (phase out employer supported plans), etc. are all right out of Bush's playbook. (Remember he campaigned as an agent of "change", too.)
In terms of implementation, McCain and Palin even reflect Bush's style: shoot-from-the-hip, stick-to-talking-points, no-reflection, permanent- campaign policy implementation.
Palin's administration in Alaska is frighteningly similar to Bush's presidency: crony loyalists, greater government secrecy, attempts to manage the news, fast-and-loose with the laws, attacks on policy opponents as evil ("haters"), and old fashioned dishonesty.
As to the rest of the electorate, the message is a fuzzy version of "change" by a "maverick" and a spunky outsider. But, behind the campaign's vague imagery, the Republican base knows that the "maverick" image is just a means to an end: 4 more years of power pushing the kind of "change" they want--more Bush policies.
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