As Maine Goes...

It is customary in some circles to think of Maine Republicans as a bastion of old-fashioned sanity in a world gone mad. But David invites us to consider the platform of the Maine Republican party:

The document calls for the elimination of the Department of Education and the Federal Reserve, demands an investigation of "collusion between government and industry in the global warming myth," suggests the adoption of "Austrian Economics," declares that "'Freedom of Religion' does not mean 'freedom from religion'" (which I guess makes atheism illegal), insists that "healthcare is not a right," calls for the abrogation of the "UN Treaty on Rights of the Child" and the "Law Of The Sea Treaty" and declares that we must resist "efforts to create a one world government."

It also contains favorable mentions of both the Tea Party and Ron Paul. You can read the whole thing here.

Link. Guess we haven't been paying attention. Apparently neither of Maine's two Republican senators--certainly "moderate" by the standards of our own time, if no other--is up for reelection this year.

Afterthought: I feel impelled to reiterate a point I've made before. That is: it is important not to dismiss these folks as a bunch of hate-filled, self-indulgent nutsos. Okay, they are a bunch of hate-filled, self-indulgent nutsos, but nutsos with a point and a world o' hurt. I'll grant that there is a quantum of old-fashioned racism here (can you say KEEN-yah? Yah?). But these are people whose lives are falling apart and who don't see them getting much better and who feel that the government doesn't give a rat's patootie about their plight--in a context like this, the presence of a guy who just doesn't look like home is one final insult.