OPINION:
When Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama branded the name “Obamacans” during a speech earlier in his campaign, many in the media and others were confused or amused. “Who are these ’Obamacans’ and what do they want?” exclaimed one pundit. The lexicon of punditry was blindsided again by the new political paradigm. The answer was in plain sight for more than three years.
Obamacans are simply disaffected and disillusioned Republicans who feel embarrassed and bamboozled by the political parasites that have infested the Grand Old Party for more than 20 years. These true GOP believers are more progressive and pragmatic, rather than conservative and ideological. They generally believe in governance and fiscal policies that emanate from the center, not the right or left. Their demographic crosses ethnic groups, genders, socioeconomic levels, religious beliefs, and core ages from 30 to 60-plus. Moreover, they’re tired of being called Republicans as if it were a curse word.
Many have become so estranged from current-day Republican politics and politricks, rather than convert to the Democratic Party, many have joined the ever-expanding Independent movement. As such, they have created a de facto political alliance composed of equally angry Democrats and dyed-in-the-wool believers who prefer being independent from the two major parties, or any political party. They have congealed a belief that the current two-party machine is generally dysfunctional, corrupt, procrastinating and outmoded for today’s socioeconomic and global challenges.
Basically, they are part of a multigenerational group of voters and taxpayers who want things done now and done right. It’s also their belief that doing the right thing should not be inspired by political benefit. The most interesting part about Obamacans is that they are insulted by the moronic logic and schoolyard rhetoric of the Republican elites, spokespersons, pundits, operatives and cheerleaders. The insult is emphasized when the sound-bite bunnies of TV news rarely ask incisive questions beyond the current Republican Party’s self-serving talking points.
Their eyes can’t roll far enough back anymore upon hearing another load of convoluted rationales from “tongue-wagging twits” about the state of America, the status of the Iraq war and our ballooning global debt. In various ways, their basic lives have been negatively affected by their party’s tax and splurge policies. They are effectively past the tipping point, and have experienced the exponential crippling of the American way of life for nearly a decade.
Like many other Americans, Obamacans are also tired of being scared as a motivational tool with lapel pin loyalty, faith, and pretentious patriotism as passports. Unfortunately, for them and many more, this has become the deceit decade. They, too, want change and a president to believe in.
Dennis Moore is chariman of the D.C. Independents for Citizen Control Party.
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