Mayor Gavin Newsom lost big in the election yesterday.
Newsom was criticized in many national circles for his grandstanding in January that made gay marriage an issue that clearly generated many pro-Bush voters and got them out to vote.
Newsom watched as his bond and tax increase measures on the local ballot were defeated by narrow margins along with one appointment to the school board who was beaten. Newsom was blamed for the losses because of his picket line grandstanding two weeks ago.
Some people learn from their defeats. We’ll see.
That brings up a related issue. Why are the Baptist Moralists in the same party as the pro-commerce people?
The answer is to ask the reverse question. Why are the anti-commerce people in the wimpy anything-goes-party?
I think the question answers itself. Commerce is not moral therefore it will be most appropriate and comfortable in a political movement that seeks to impose a non-commercially focused moral system. Put another way, commerce has no interest in whether people are married, have children or anything about their sexual activities. So people who have strong moral interests in these matters will feel comfortable around commercial interests and vice versa. The Republican Party is a suitable home for both.
Conversely, Lefties have strong moral reasons for their anti-commerce values. Lefties have moral notions of equality that attack and devalue people who earn a lot of money, abjure successful corporations and value workers far more than capital, investment, entrepreneurialism and managerial genius. A perfect home in the Democratic Party.