Bush Hatred and the Pitfalls of Political Relativism

There is a new ideology, if not a full-fledged personality trait, taking this country by storm, Bush Hatred. A single-issue third party is carrying its dire message from besieged town to besieged town, "the idiot must go!" There is no greater cause du people, or any ideological stance more well earned. Those who occupy the margins of the political spectrum are always loathed by their counterparts, so its no great revelation that we zany liberals despise such a right-wing zealot, but Bush has gone much further, he has found a way to unite millions of Americans against him; liberals, centrists and misguided conservatives alike. While Bush Hatred is a completely appropriate response to what is likely the worst presidency in the last 100 years, it is not without its failings.

John Kerry, our recently anointed democratic contender, is easily the greatest beneficiary of Bush Hatred. Our disgust with Bush has severely clouded our judgment of Kerry. He certainly does not reflect the values of most of the "real" progressives in this country, but when juxtaposed with Bush, he comes across as Eugene V. Debs. Bush has that effect on moderates. But, as a wise me is just now saying, "A people so desperate for water, will drink it from the gutter." We must remember that Kerry voted for No Child Left Behind, the inexcusable Patriot Act and, most importantly, the Iraq war resolution. Not exactly pushing the liberal envelope. And yet, this is the same record that has earned Kerry the label of one of the Senate's most liberal members and assault from the Bush campaign. Only in a polity this irrevocably fucked up, could a man like Kerry be awarded that dubious distinction - one he is now running from like a republican politician from a draft. The real assault should come from those of us who are actually looking for some positive change in this country, not the right-wingers. How does a guy who cannot even disagree with Bush on these fundamental issues be our answer to him? The response that is invariably given: Electability.

That's the power of Bush Hatred, and the danger of political relativism. Electability becomes the most overused catchword of the electoral season. And so it is once again confirmed that American-style free-market capitalism has completely subsumed our political scene and commoditized our politicians. In this sense, politics is as irrational as the stock market (and Kerry our tulip craze?), it's not whether we think a candidate is any good, it's whether we think vast throngs of other rabble will. So we tell ourselves we must elect the most electable guy and chase our collective tail until November. With this ingenious strategy, the best, and worst, we can end up with in 2005 is an elitist, skull and bones frat boy, beholden to corporate backers, whose against gay marriage and will help push "free trade" to the brink of the world's geopolitical and environmental tolerance.