No political party of any stripe has been without its moments of hypocrisy or its share of embarassing party members. Proof of that, on the Democratic side, are the recent scandals involving William "The-Cash-Is-Stashed-In-The-Freezer" Jefferson, Rod "Going-Once-Going-Twice, This-Senate-Seat-Is-Going-To-The-Highest-Bidder" Blagovjavich, or John "Gee-I'm-Sorry-About-The-Affair-With-A-Floosy-While-You-Were-Valiantly-Fighting-Breast-Cancer,-Dear" Edwards have shown.
But to really find inconsistencies, corruption, double-speak and hypocrisy, nothing says it better than the single word: Republican.
If I hadn't been so busy this summer, I might have tried making a list of some prime examples but, as it happens, one stunning example from Alaska came this week from the head of the Alaska Republican Party, Randy Ruedrich.
Last week, conservatives -- with the backing of the Alaska Republican Party -- started an intiative intended to reverse some abortion rights decisions handed down by Alaska's courts the past several months. The group had hoped the legislature would pass laws tightening access to abortion, here, but the legislature had more pressing matters to attend to. Undaunted, they've decided to write their own. The initiatve would require that, prior to any move to end an unwanted pregnancy, a girl would first be required to seek approval from her parents. (Even if, by the way, one of those parental units happened to be the 'cause' of one of those unwanted pregnancies.)
Hot on the heels of announcing the initiative drive -- to great fanfare and publicity -- comes Randy Ruedrich and an email sent to party faithful ... all about a wholesale government takeover of healthcare.
Alaska Republicans have been active in efforts to stall any reform, particularly since Alaska's two U.S. Senators -- one each from the Democratic and Republican parties -- are both seen as moderates and, therefore, important potential swing votes.
What's particularly ironic about Republican opposition to "government meddling" in our private lives vis-a-vis healthcare insurance reform versus government meddling in our private lives vis-a-vis laws governing abortion rights is just a matter of just how government meddles, I guess.
If it's something I like, I want government meddling.
If it isn't, I don't.
There's nothing like the "I want it my way" mentality that governs conservative thinking to make me wonder if the phrase "conservative thinking" is actually an oxymoron.
Do they even realize how blatant their wildly-inconsistent and incessant whining is?
Apparently, rank-and-file Alaskan do.
People are talking and Republicans are once again the brunt of jokes and the shaking of heads across Alaska.
Hypocrisy will do that to ya.
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