Or, in our case, morning glories. Shit, they tried to choke out everything we were growing, and we had to keep them conscientiously pulled back. So I know what you mean.
Of course, you have to wonder where these morning glories (or kudzu) came from. It's hard to trace the roots because they plant roots as they spread. These political posts — where did they all come from, and why now? Why so suddenly and prolifically?
I think the answer might lie with the current state of American politics. I can sympathise with people like Martini, who have no interest in it. And in your case, Fen, I don't think it's so much a lack of interest as it is the sheer overwhelming numbers of them. And it is a legitimate question: why so many?
Part of the answer, I think, is that we have the most activist administration since Roosevelt. So much is happening so fast. There isn't a day that has gone by since Obama took office that he hasn't either held a press conference or a town hall meeting or photo op, or announced an appointment or a new program, not just about piddly shit, but about very important things like the economy, the war, and health care. Just to name a couple.
Of course, I think it's compounded by the fact that Republican opposition to him is so unbelievably strong. And much of it is based on nothing more than political expediency. They want him to fail so they can take back the offices they once held. In the process, they are misleading the people by lying or misrepresenting either what the president has proposed, or else how Congress is working with him.
The reason this angers people so much is because, for once, these really are issues that affect them personally. I've even pitted the flaw in the Obama middle-class tax-cut plan that might cause people to owe hundreds of dollars of taxes that they weren't aware they owe come next year when they fill out their tax forms. This had such an effect on my wife and me, that we had to consult with our accountant, change our W4 forms at work, and put away enough money to cover the penalty just in case. Why isn't that worth pitting?
Now, granted, not every pitting is quite so personal. "Alaska hates Sarah Palin" affects few of us in and of itself, but as that discussion developed, people turned it into personal matters. Her meddling and idiocy, combined with the outside chance that she actually could take the presidency away from Obama in 2012, is so utterly frightening that it is understandable why people would react to her on a visceral and personal level.
But even setting all that aside, it is obvious that there is a lot of interest on the board, from both the post counts and the views. In the meantime, there is nothing to stop people from opening a thread about anything they want. (And I've already pointed out some very successful non-political threads.) So, your point kind of gets lost in this fact: if Martini couldn't give a damn about American politics (even though it affects him, just as it affects everyone in the world), what's stopping him from opening a pit thread of his own? He says no one will be interested (and by the way, the thread he's thinking about is political in nature), but if it's a good rant, people will pop in to read and post pretty much no matter what it's about.
And the same goes for you, frankly. Nothing is stopping you from opening a thread about telemarketers or any other topic of interest to you. It's not that I think you are disingenuous, but if you're not willing to put your posting where your mouth is, so to speak, then why should anyone take you seriously? In other words, it's as though you and Martini want other people to do your work for you. And yet, nobody is there. If they were, they'd be opening threads. Do you see how there's a bit of a disconnect there?
