Gated Community

The metaphor is almost perfect. The Republicans are in the Tampa Convention Center, a kind of exclusive gated community accessible only to the wealthy, privileged, and powerful, while millions of ordinary people around the Gulf may soon be fighting to stay alive with Hurricane Isaac swirling around them. It's not a pretty picture, and Republican planners are well aware of how these scenes will look on a split-screen.

Republicans are only concerned about it now because the contrast in imagery will be so graphic. But in a very real sense, this is the picture of how a future America under right-wing Republicans will look all the time if they manage to take control of the Federal Government. The only thing that makes this worrisome to their leadership is that this picture will not require much imagination to envision, thanks to the weather.

The Republican Convention is truly like a heavily guarded, gated community, full of people not much involved with the problems of everyday folks. They will undoubtedly need to cut back on the lavish parties and festivities that would normally have taken place at the Convention. However, it's not much different, except more concentrated, compared to what goes on throughout the country all year.

I'm glad this dichotomy-- a 21st century tale of two cities-- will be on full view. If the message gets through, it may cement defeat for the Republicans in November. If disaster assistance is needed from Washington, as it likely will be, the competence of the Obama Administration could be showcased. Equally important, it would demonstrate that under the Democrats, ordinary people's needs are a top priority, and assistance is readily provided. Under Republican leadership, by comparison, this is the kind of problem that would be left to cash-strapped States and localities to handle by themselves--unless of course big business interests were involved.

Fend for yourselves, say these hard-hearted Republicans, professing over-riding concern about deficits. We've got ours and intend to keep it that way. In fact, we'll see if we can't increase our share of the pie even more if we succeed at the polls. Sorry about your problems; we'll have the clergymen doing the invocation and benediction at the Convention say a prayer for you. But don't try to get in here; it's invitation only. You won't see any of our delegates, privileged guests, or lobbyists struggling to stay alive in the face of a storm. That's the benefit of living in a gated community.