I'm being a RepugliCon (until the primaries are over)

Well, I did it -- put the mark of Cain on my own forehead, as far as anyone who sees my voter's registration knows. From today until the primary election is over, I'm just another RepugliCon, easily mistaken for one of those new-style RepugliCons proudly known (by themselves, anyway) as "neo-cons."

I had to do it. In the People's Republic of California, parties may choose whether they'll allow "crossover" voting (by voters not registered in their party) in the primaries. The DemocRat party, and the Constitution party do. All other parties don't. Their actions and mine are understood this way: This is the only way I can vote for Dr. Ron Paul to be the Republican presidential candidate. It's also the only roadblock the neo-con fascists have to (legally) throw in my way, and they hesitate to draw Blackwater into the process so early (thrift -- no doubt.)

I know they hate being called fascists, since that's a tag which still retains much of its pejorative punch, like "communist" ought to, but never really did. But if the Dems can laugh off "commie," and play Sir Parse-a-lot word games about how they're not really socialists, just "progressives," the 'Pugs can't shake "fascist" so easily. They much prefer "corporatist," since they like turning most of the dirty work of government (what they consider "government" work) to big, well-heeled, insider corporations. "Corporatism," said Mussolini (who ought to know) is the proper way to think of fascism -- the marriage of the corporation and the state.

"But the private sector is so much more efficient than government -- they have to meet a payroll and show a profit." It's true. Ask those who worked so efficiently for so many of the favored German corporations, during WWII. Oh, that's right, you can't -- they were so efficient, they're dead. You can, however, bet your bottom Reichsmark, er, dollar, that those corporations got the tip-top efficient most out of those, uh, workers, before, well ... you know.

Private business is almost always more efficient at what it does. But there are jobs governments are notoriously good at, that they still should never undertake, except when attacked (like killing people and breaking things.) Moreover, those "jobs" should never be contracted out to the private sector, regardless of how efficiently and profitably it can do them, since humankind are generally better off when those jobs are not being done, and we don't want to fall in the trap of prolonging the "job" for the sake of (someone else's) profit. And it's not really cricket for the government to supply its own initial attack, either.

Of course, when you're the aforementioned "someone else," and you're collecting the profits, not paying them, the desirability of prolonging the killing and breaking looks somehow, ... different. And when you're a stockholder in a profitable corporation, and/or a doctrinaire corporatist being feted at corporate parties, living on corporate stipends, or kept in office by corporate campaign funds, killing and breaking for a nice hefty profit (even if not always fun) can be downright seductive. Just ask the families Rothschild, Rockefeller, Roosevelt, and Bush.

When you're more committed to the survival of "allied" nations than to that of your own, pouring the treasure of your nation, and the lives of its youth, down the funnel of war, into corporations whose stock your friends and family own, can probably seem almost holy, not to mention courageous. I wouldn't know, but seeing and hearing those who advocate for it, I suspect.

Dr. Paul is light years away from the new "mainstream" (downstream) of his nominal party. I hope and pray he survives this election.