Feeling optimistic

I don't have any really deep thoughts today, but I was struck by how lucky we are.

No not to be alive in the wealthiest, most powerful country the world has ever known during a time of unheard of technological advancement, obviously not that.

Lucky to be the first people in the countries history to be able to watch the meltdown of a major political party in real time.

I'm only half joking here, the GOP has been such an integral part of our political process, such a monolithic entity, that the idea of it collapsing has been sort of inconceivable, and that has been really depressing, as the Republican party in the form it has taken during the last forty odd years is probably the single greatest obstacle to equality while at the same time being the biggest champion of unprovoked aggression that the country has ever known.

And today, today we can watch an orange businessman make a complete mockery of their policies and run away with their constituency while his closest competitor the hard core evangelical theocrat becomes mired in a sex scandal involving up to five women.

And no matter how the scandal resolves, who gets the nomination, they have irrevocably lost the trust of their base, depending on how this election season falls out it may take a few years for that base to find something else to get behind, but I think it is all but inevitable that they will, perhaps a truly independent Tea Party forms leaving the neocons behind to mold the party in their own image while a new party composed of the few remaining old school conservatives comes on the scene.

Or perhaps I am talking out of my ass, who knows! It's exciting to watch and by this point I have stopped being terrified that these people will manage to secure power, I just don't see how they make themselves palatable to anyone other than perhaps fifty percent of their own parties voters, let alone the semi-mythical undecideds out there.

It's not over, and those opposed to them can't rest, we still have to show up at the polls in November and during our own primaries, but it is the good guys fight to lose at this point and I feel a level of optimism is well warranted.