Sour Grapes and Checks and Balances

As conservative bloggers and pundits continue to wring their hands over the election, they're really starting to grasp at straws. Part of this last-ditch strategy is the use of their Dystopian "What-If" machines showing us just how terrible (or far-fetched) Obama's America will be. Some of the wackier ones include:

- Throwing the Constitution out the window (no suggestion of what we're supposedly replacing it with)

- Reparations for slavery and discrimination against gays (have they even asked for that?)

- Legalizing all forms of abortion and having them be available on demand ("I'd like to abort this one at two years, please. It's just not working out.")

- Shutting down Christian adoption agencies for not letting gay couples adopt; banning Christian radio for promoting "hate speech"; and stripping churches of their tax-exempt status for not performing gay weddings. (Show me where Obama has advocated any of this, please.)

- Firing all US attorneys and replacing them with right-thinking liberal activist lawyers. (See above. Also, didn't something like this, um, actually happen under Bush?)

- Christian publishers go out of business after large "liberal" bookstores refuse to sell their books (What happened to deferring to the free hand of the market? Why don't they just start a Jesus-zon.com and sell their books there?)

- Removing any restrictions on showing pornography on TV or the Internet (yeah, that's us, the party of the Donkey screwing anything he can get close to).

- Letting gays serve openly in the military (Heaven forbid!) and firing chaplains or soldiers who protest (huh?)

- By appearing weak, Obama encourages Russia to occupy the entire former Soviet bloc; the Taliban invades Iraq; and suicide bombs go off in American cities. Iran nukes Tel Aviv.

- Fairness Doctrine is enstated; conservative talk radio is destroyed (shrug)

Now the really funny thing we're starting to hear is about how awful a Democratic "super-majority" would be. Not that I disagree in principle; the checks-and-balances thing is indeed a very important element of our government. On the other hand, the whole reason the Republicans are about to become a super-minority is through their own misuse and mis-management of power for the eight-plus years that THEY were in power. Sorry guys, it's your own damn fault. Will the Democrats necessarily be a whole lot better? My gut, and the sad facts since the Dems have taken back Congress, tells me probably not. On the other hand, there might at least be some good legislation passed through there in the first few years of the next term.

Let's also not forget that we weren't hearing any moaning about "Checks and Balances" from the right when they were the party in charge. They saw their opportunity to push their agenda and weren't afraid to take it and run with it (ironically, this took them in some fairly unconservative directions). Forgive me if I'm not super sympathetic.

Lastly, before anyone starts whining about an activist Executive branch, don't forget that under the Bush administration the powers of the Executive were dramatically expanded more than under any previous administration. If Obama does wind up aggressively using his Executive powers, his opponents will only have Bush to blame for creating the precedent.