Neocons.

I'm often asked about my pure, unadulterated hatred for the Republican Party, do I really paint all Republican politicians with the same brush? Not exactly, there are two types of Republicans in the party right now - those who were complacent in the hijacking of their party and the ones who orchestrated it, the Neoconservatives... Neocons. About two years ago, many Republicans started crying that they wanted their party back after the Neocons destroyed it, but I say too bad. Republicans sold out to the religious right and corporate interests, in order to get votes and when you make your bed, you have to lie in it.

But much like the Taliban in Afghanistan, there's been a Neocon resurgence in the 2008 presidential election. It looked like we may have begun to close the book on this sad era of American government, but then John McCain just had to go to the frozen tundra of Alaska and uncover the archetypal Neocon - The Abominable Sarah Palin. Yes, the governor is everything the Neocons look for in a candidate - Bible-thumping, attractive, folksy (talks in a cute accent of some kind... nothing foreign though), and incredibly stupid but proud of it.

The Neocons had to have been so proud of their young apprentice over this past weekend as they watched her perform that amazing sleight of hand that they're all so good at. A bi-partisan committee made up of eight Republicans and four Democrats finished their investigation into the so-called "Troopergate" scandal and found that Governor Palin unlawfully abused her power and violated the state's ethics bill. Gov. Palin's response?

"Well, I’m very very pleased to be cleared of any legal wrongdoing... any hint of any kind of unethical activity there. Very pleased to be cleared of any of that."

This is how ballsy the Neocons have become. They can be standing over a dead body with a knife in their hand and say "see? I had nothing to do with it." It's pretty damn funny, but it would be a lot more humorous if these people weren't running the country. These clowns have become so accustomed to no one calling them out on their bullshit, that they don't even try anymore.

"Hey governor, this investigation says you your office to settle personal vendettas."

"Nuh-uh!"

"Oh, okay."

Remember, this is the campaign that has been making such an issue about Barack Obama's character and judgment, meanwhile the Republicans have a candidate who selected an incredibly corrupt, embarassingly unqualified and incredibly ignorant governor of the third smallest state (population-wise) in the nation. What does that say about character and judgment?

When Barack Obama made the claim about people being "bitter" and "clinging to guns and religion," he was talking about the kind of people that have voted in the Neocons. These people are generally decent human beings, they've just been screwed over by the government so much, that they no longer trust them to help economically. However, the Neocons know how to appeal to these people without actually having to help them, they pander to them with God and Guns. Neocons run on a platform of government being ineffecient (which it is when they're in charge of it), so they tell "small-town" folk, to not vote for those silly Democrats because they'll take your guns away and get rid of God. These people then pull the lever for the W's of the world and then the Neocons take power and do nothing to help those who voted for them, that's what Obama was talking about.

But after eight years of the country going to absolute shit, people have smartened up and the Neocons have to up their tactics. Simple, small-town people aren't enough anymore, they have to engage in full-on culture war and energize the lunatic fringe of America. So while the Neocons run a campaign based on fear, distortion and flat-out lies, they start to energize a certain portion of America that is unlike anything we've seen in decades. Blatant racism, bigotry, homophobia, xenophobia, it's all out there and the Republican Party is playing with fire. John McCain used to be above all this but he sold his soul to the Neocons and now the genie can't go back in the bottle - he will regret his entire campaign from the moment he picked Sarah Palin until these final three weeks that have highlighted the ugliest portions of America. And just like those Republicans that wanted their party back a couple years ago, sorry John, you made your bed.

The country is going to go in one of two directions in the event of an Obama victory. If it's a landslide, the Neocon Republicans will likely take a critical blow; I'm hopeful that the party will die an embarrassing death and all of these criminals that hijacked America will be run out of office permanently to make way for a new, better political party to be the yin to the Democrats' yang, but I don't think the country will be that lucky. But in the event of an extremely close race, it's just going to get uglier. The Neocons will fight Obama tooth and nail and do whatever they can to sabotage his presidency. If they succeed, I fully expect them to run Sarah Palin in 2012, which should be a scary enough thought to get you in the voting booth on November 4.

Barack Obama needs a clear, decisive victory to put an end to Neocon rule once and for all and Sarah Palin needs to be forever-regarded as the biggest embarassment this country has ever seen on a political stage. Obama's not perfect, but Palin isn't even below average and if she's the direction the Neocons want to take this great nation, then it needs to be stopped now. Palin can never be allowed in a position of federal power because I fully believe she'll get in her helicopter and shoot America in the back of the head.