Although I still haven't seen "Attack of the Sith", I have read numerous pieces on various blog sites comparing the Sith to the Republican party. The argument goes, "The Sith think in terms of absolutes, and so do Republicans".

Throwing away the fact that this is overanalyzing pop culture to the max, I will address the issue of Republicans thinking in terms of absolutes. While not entirely untrue, it's ignorant of the fact that Democrats ALSO think in terms of absolutes.

Don't believe me? Well, let's take a look here. The concept of national health care was shot down because we don't want a system like Canada's. Because, to the Democrats, a totally government run system was the only option, the idea died. Never mind that a system relying on private health insurance with basic care for the poor and needy would be MORE efficient than our current system, where health care providers routinely "double bill" by deducting the "bad debt" of deadbeat customers while increasing their costs to reflect those of the "deadbeat" customers, and where administrative costs related to those same deadbeat customers detract from time that could be better spent. There is a compromise system here; the Democrats refuse to see it.

Still not convinced? Let's hit Social Security reform. Every proposal put forth by President Bush has been nixed by the Dems, including one that was almost party line Democrat in proposing more benefits for workers who were lower income during their working years. A system of partial privatization is a potential compromise that could be achieved, and one that would allow us to return to our current system if we later found it to be more efficient (unlikely). Again, the Democrat insistence on absolutes blinds them to the possibilities of compromise.

I could detail virtually every segment of the Democratic platform and find the same tendency for dogmatic insistence on party doctrine to override conciliatory attempts to work together for a common solution, but what would be the point? The Democrats, it seems, believe themselves to be above reproach, even when such reproach has its genesis in the party faithful. They are, they believe, so right that the only way the Republicans win is by stolen elections. The majority of Americans, they argue, couldn't possibly WANT such leadership.

Now, who's thinking in absolutes?