It's the 1970s All Over Again

[The Rabbi]

Summary: We are re-living the 1970s. Obama will get elected and the GOP will be crushed at the polls. And that isn't a bad thing.

They say history repeats itself first as tragedy, then as farce. I think we have skipped the first phase and gone straight to the second. Everything I remember as a child in the 1970s is coming back, but diminished. So we had enormous inflation that brought a big social cost. We have inflation again,albeit not as much. We had an unpopular war that seemed intractable then. We have an unpopular war now, but not nearly as costly. There was a nostalgia for the 1950s then (remember American Graffitti?) and there seems to be a nostalgia for the 1970s now. With oil companies making money there are calls for a "windfall profits tax" like in the 1970s. That was a bad idea then and it hasnt aged well. There was an idea that government regulation would solve problems. That was a bad idea then and it hasnt aged well. Sarbanes-Oxley, USAPATRIOT, and the mortgage bail-out are all examples of gov't being "proactive". All of them bad ideas. Anyone remember streaking? An article in this AM's Wall St Journal was all about public nudity in Vermont, where there are no statutes against it. Make no mistake, it's the 1970s all over again.

And the worst feature was the politics. The GOP was reeling from Watergate and the Dems were eating their lunch in every election. The party of Richard Nixon and Nelson Rockefeller died in the 1976 election.

I see the same thing today. The GOP is going to get killed at the polls this year. And it's their own darn fault. The Reagan Revolution and the Contract With America are gone, totally forgotten amidst earmarks and bridges to nowhere. The GOP has fallen over itself to dole out largesse in an attempt to bribe people with their own money. For this they will be sent to electoral ignominy. Justly so.

This means it is virtually certain that Obama will be the next president. Get over it. He's the Black Jimmy Carter, never meeting an authoritarian thug he couldn't sit down with. Get ready for four years of having our backsides kicked by the likes of France and Syria. Bush already set the tone by going to Saudi Arabia and asking, yes asking, them to increase oil output. And being told no. Expect lots more of that in an Obama Administration.

As the guy in Animal House says "what are we supposed to do, you moron?" We need to work on local elections. We need to find candidates who represent freedom and push them. The TNGOP is a mess, a bunch of rich frat boys partying on daddy's money. I can name two politicians who are worthwhile: Marsha Blackburn and Mae Beavers. That's it. If we get our own house in order we can withstand the coming stupidity of Pres Obama.

[Smith]

+1 . Thank you for that!

[Guest Angel 24/7]

Rabbi, I wasn't born until 1976 so i knew none of that .

Thanks

[TGO David]

Well... I have nothing to add to this. Well put. Sad, but well put.

[Guest Centennial]

I do remember those times and your logic does seem sound. I still hope it doesn't turn out that way!

[Guest tokarev]

Philosopher George Santayana: "Those

who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

I get so tired of reruns :-p

[-boatman-]

Rabbi, I remember those days well and what you are saying makes a lot of sense BUT I hope you're wrong.

[BrasilNuts]

Hey! Where are you taking me????? And why am I in this handbasket???

[musicman]

I was born in 1982 and (obviously) missed all that fun stuff. However, I still really appreciate your post, Rabbi.

So are you saying we're going to be in deep poop for a decade or two then? Do you think we will again see a pretty good bounce back and good growth, etc, like in the late nineties and the turn of this last century? I really find all this stuff fascinating, but I am just so young and have lived through so little that I honestly have no clue what's actually going on.

[Smith]

I was born in '78 and while I don't remember the events first hand my history is pretty good. At least I hope, It was my major. Politics has a history of these dynamic swings. When sides are too similar for too long you tend to get a polarizing event. I think eventually, if not this election cycle, that an Obama/Carter figure will emerge. For some reason human nature has to sample the depths of stupidity to be reminded why we do the sensible thing.

[The Rabbi]

Not a decade or two.

I remember a NY Times article about 1977 that basically said the GOP was finished. Their membership was at record lows and they were getting beaten all over. By 1980 it was a different story.

Four years of Pres Obama and maybe the GOP will have a clue and run Bobby Jindal of LA and Jeff Flake of AZ.

What scares me about a Pres Obama is that he will be largely immune, in the early days, to criticism because no one wants to be seen as a racist.

[Guest atomemphis]

I don't think its that likely he'll be elected. All the closet racists will come out in droves to the polling stations.

[Guest darkstar]

Nice post Bill.......

Just like the 70's....Jeeeeez so does that mean Polyester leisure suits are coming back?

[molonlabetn]

I don't think its that likely he'll be elected. All the closet racists will come out in droves to the polling stations.

I just hope this doesn't turn into an "If you didn't vote for him you're a racist" thing...

[Guest atomemphis]

I don't think it would. I'm talking about closet racists... They'll vote for anybody but him, and then act like they couldn't figure out how he didn't get elected.

The guilt thing the media is likely to try will do nothing more than make those voters angrier.

[molonlabetn]

I bet it'll be pretty even on both sides, honestly... there will be some closet racists who will vote for him because he is black.

I'd say it'll be a wash.

[The Rabbi]

Nice post Bill.......

Just like the 70's....Jeeeeez so does that mean Polyester leisure suits are coming back?

You mean you would NOT want to look like this guy???

[molonlabetn]

Must be a fake picture... I've never seen anybody smile while leaning over the fender of a Vega.

[musicman]

Wow... talk about thread drift.... and I don't mean the topic, I'm talking about those collars!!!

[Guest darkstar]

You mean you would NOT want to look like this guy???

Thats classic.

[The Rabbi]

Must be a fake picture... I've never seen anybody smile while leaning over the fender of a Vega.

Might be someone else's. Maybe he just sold it for full price as a "classic" to some rube....

If I could get my hands on a Cosworth Vega I'd be happy...

[Guest Revelator]

I thought it was a Pinto. Hmm. I don't really give a damn who's in office. Left, right, black, white, red, blue, whatever. Things tilt one way, then back the other. The rich get richer. But for the most part, I think no matter who the President is, the government is going to leave you alone, and you can pretty much make as much money and own as many guns as you want, and I'm ok with that.

[musicman]

But for the most part, I think no matter who the President is, the government is going to leave you alone, and you can pretty much make as much money and own as many guns as you want, and I'm ok with that.

Gee... I hope you're right, but sometimes it doesn't seem like that's true. As for the money part, when I was younger there were years where my Dad paid nearly half his income directly to some brother of his I never met named "Sam." As for the guns, maybe I can own as many as I want, but a lot of people in some states can't own what they want.

Am I missing the point?

[Guest Revelator]

With guns, it definitely depends on where you live. And I like that, too, that the states can decide it, not the federal government. So you just have to pick the place that's right for you. It's funny. A year ago I owned no guns. Had never fired one. Now I own three. I wouldn't want to live in a state that limits the type or number of guns I can own. That eliminates a lot of places, but that's fine by me.

As for taxes, they can take a big bite. But you get a benefit in the form of libraries and paved roads and such. And you get a lot of waste, too. But you can still have the American dream, which is going to be as different as every person who believes in it.

My wife is from Colombia. She came here several years ago on a visa. Didn't know a soul. Got a couple entry-level jobs, improved her English, now she's married to a citizen. She's doing well. We're doing well. She tells me the economy in her home country is awful. Kids get out of school, and nobody can get a job. Jobs are scarce, she says. That's why she came here. So I think this country will continue to be the land of opportunity, no matter who's in office.

But...is there even a chance Pauly can get on the ballot?

[Guest Boomhower]

I just hope this doesn't turn into an "If you didn't vote for him you're a racist" thing...

Wait and see . It's already starting that way with all the media. Anybody that is against him now is OBVIOUSLY racist ........I'm already thinking of bumper sticker designs/slogans . I figure, if you can't prevent it, might as well make some money off of it. Rabbi, I'll be up later and so we can hammer out the details!