A little more foreign perspective on politics: we Americans don’t have a monopoly on stupidity in government…

Tomas Jogin, a Swedish blogger discusses a proposal in Swedish parliamentfor a new tax on men which he refers to as a Penis tax. The Left Party, formerly the Communist Party, has proposed a special tax just on men which seeks to distribute to all men the costs to society of wife abuse. Because some men abuse their wives, all men are guilty.

Stupid idea. Stupider still that it’s being debated and taken seriously at all. Even more incredible is that it is being put forth as a means to further gender equality. Almost seems Orwellian (Bush-ian) in it’s black-is-white refutation of logic. Almost makes the “Healthy Forests” initiative seem reasonable.

Now, I’m the furthest thing from an expert in Swedish politics — hell, I wouldn’t even call myself an expert in American politics. But in his outrage at the Left Party, I think Tomas goes a little overboard. Because the Left Party is in coalition with the Social Democrat party, Tomas says

[Emphasis in the original]

He may be signalling his hyperbole with his italicization of “some”, but I get the feeling he is serious in applying a collective guilt to the Social Democrats because one of their allies is insane. What are the alternatives? What erosion of the liberties and benefits of being in one of the most socially progressive countries will occur if people like him remove their support because of some nonsensical issue. It reminds me of the people I know who claimed in 2000 that there was no difference between the Democrats and the Republicans, so they voted for Ralph Nader. Turns out there was a difference and we’re all paying for it. Tomas, don’t make that mistake!