Division within the ranks

The Daily Texan - Opinion
Issue: 7/8/05

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Division within the ranks
By Joshua Huck

Whether one chooses to be horrified or hopeful, these are especially interesting times to be paying attention to politics. Soon after last year's election, we realized President Bush's "mandate" was an ephemeral delusion, a sound bite to convince America of a philosophical unity that does not exist. His optimism for the Republican agenda hasn't quite rubbed off on the rest of the country. We remain a nation divided.

Helplessly, we receive images every day from places whose cultures we can't understand, and we wonder how many more must die to achieve these changing goals. Even the staunchest hawks can't help but speculate as to what will become of our many interventions or lack thereof.

Between our borders, lobbyists have doubled since our president took office. Corruption on Capitol Hill is being brought into the limelight with investigations into the activities of Jack Abramoff and Tom Delay. Issues of grave importance to our physical, social and economic well-being are being molded around the interests of powerful corporations, not citizens. Americans wonder if there is any ease in sight. Are we embroiled in perpetual war, both at home and abroad? Don't look to the politicians for any solace.

Even though the balance of power has shifted significantly in the past decade, both of our country's main political parties are facing divisive issues within their ranks. Outside their infighting, the country is becoming restless because of issues like the ongoing war in Iraq and the possibility of an ultra-conservative Supreme Court nominee.

Faced with the conundrum of nominating someone too far to the right and scaring off the portion of the Republican base that is pro-choice, Bush seems to be leaning to the middle. So far, all signs point to the possible nomination of moderate conservative Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. A few others on the Bush short-list have similarly moderate views on abortion and various restrictions regarding its legality. Bush understands that the judicial criminalization of abortion would almost surely cripple the Republican Party. A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll last week found that 65 percent of Americans favor a justice who will uphold Roe v. Wade, the decision that legalized abortion. There is a statistic that crosses party lines.

Democrats are gearing up for Armageddon, threatening to use the filibuster in this "extraordinary circumstance." Once again, Republicans roll out the old rhetoric about obstructionist tactics (the same ones they used during the Clinton administration). They continue to criticize the minority party for exercising the mechanisms at its disposal to prevent a conservative bulldozer from carving huge swaths out of our amber waves.

Since Justice Sandra Day O'Connor rocked the country with her resignation last week, it is becoming more obvious how tenuous American allegiances really are.

In the middle of a new election cycle, there is the possibility that the Republicans could unravel themselves by over-appealing to the radical fringe of their base. If the Christian right gets its way, and Roe v. Wade is endangered, a political crisis unlike any this country has seen will emerge. What will remain after the dust clears is anybody's guess.

So don't be surprised if this seemingly unashamed conservative president chooses a moderate in order to avoid that chaos. In the current climate of fear and skepticism, he needs all the support he can get.

Huck is an anthropology junior.