Posted on 04/13/2009 6:56:55 AM PDT by PlainOleAmerican
From the document, - What is Democratic Socialism? – “We are not a separate party. Like our friends and allies in the feminist, labor, civil rights, religious, and community organizing movements, many of us have been active in the Democratic Party. We work with those movements to strengthen the party’s left wing, represented by the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
The process and structure of American elections seriously hurts third party efforts. Winner-take-all elections instead of proportional representation, rigorous party qualification requirements that vary from state to state, a presidential instead of a parliamentary system, and the two-party monopoly on political power have doomed third party efforts. Maybe sometime in the future, in coalition with our allies, an alternative national party will be viable. - For now, we will continue to support progressives who have a real chance at winning elections, which usually means left-wing Democrats.”
(Excerpt) Read more at canadafreepress.com ...
Please share this one!
We have to stop waiting for the Republican party.
it really is time for a conservative party.
Amen!
Patriot Ping...
Have you seen this: ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC SPEECH - ONE OF THE BEST I'VE EVER HEARD!
Meanwhile the liberal media is busily making Meghan McCain the new face of the GOP.
We need a new party.
Great article!
You had better read the entire column. The writer is EXACTLY right on this subject! Even communists were wise enough to stop working outside the system power structure. God help us if conservatives don’t quickly learn from their mistakes of the past!
You too, should read the entire column before commenting...
People who lack the power to control their own party, also lack the power to defeat that party. How long are “conservatives” going to kid themselves about this?
Thanks!
Although JB makes great points on what would be required to reclaim the GOP, it may be best to let the GOP go the way of the Whigs and build a real Conservative Party. The GOP has become so tainted, I'm not sure they can ever recover. What the elitists pulled off in the '08 primary and forced in the state of VA the past couple of weeks is indicative of what they have become.
Even communists were wise enough to stop working outside the system power structure.
You are of course correct. The problem is, they are not only working within the DemonRat party. They captured them some time ago and have been diligently working to do the same within the GOP fulfilling another of their goals.
15) Capture one or both of the political parties in the US.
Second your AMEN. America needs a party that does not need a hearing aid to hear the job sucking sound.
I read the article. My comment was in support of Vaquero. The GOP has lost its focus yet is unwilling to reclaim its prior crown of conservatism. Much like the Big 3 automakers, bankruptcy may be the only answer.
The author (ironically enough from Canada) is quite correct, yet is naive enough to believe that the GOP will rise again. Only if true conservatives regain the seat of power within the GOP would this ever happen. This last election showed just how engrained liberal Republicans are within the party. McCain was NEVER the conservative's choice and we accepted his nomination because of how the system is set up. To change the beast now requires so much of an herculean effort, that it may never be accomplished.
Best to start anew.
“What the elitists pulled off in the ‘08 primary and forced in the state of VA the past couple of weeks is indicative of what they have become.”
The elitists get away with what we let them get away with. The name on the banner of the party makes no difference at all. We can take control of the GOP, where the power is, or continue to kid ourselves about third party fantasies that have never worked in 232 years.
I agree with this column. We are out of time to come up with a better party than the GOP to work within. Do you know how many third parties already exist? About 50... not one of which is viable in national elections...
Divided across numerous “ideal” third party options, we remain POWERLESS! United and in control of the GOP, just as the Socialists took full control of the DNC, we have power...
I am amazed how many “conservatives” think they can compete with a party that they couldn’t even maintain... This insanity MUST stop!
I’m starting to believe that people promoting such nonsense in the conservative movement, are plants from across the political aisle???
We either unite NOW, or we fall...
Conservatives are nothing if not independent and hard headed...
Divided, we are getting our ass handed to us by a weaker minority. If it isn’t the left who decided to promote dumping the GOP for third party fantasies, it should have been. It has been the KEY to their success!
> some time ago the same polling company substituted the words Free Enterprise for Capitalism and got a much better response. Some times it is just the way you word things.
Capitalism is a word made up by Karl Marx to demonize Free Enterprise.
Hope we are not too late....
Oh, and BTW... Copied, Pasted and Circulated...
The republican party left me years ago, I now take care of friends and family......I trust the gov’t for nothing.
Oh, goodie. It’s up to us voters (once again) to wake up the Stupid Party and get them on track once again... despite giving them 6 years of all 3 Houses in the past decade. What indications, if any, are there that say it won’t happen again? Why not put another party in its place? The GOP clearly has to keep re-learning the same lessons. Employees like that need to be replaced, not re-educated a fifth time.
You are not very good at important research... The author is American, published in Canada.
You also lack strategic skills... In case you haven’t noticed, dividing the GOP left the door wide open for the DNC, now completely controlled by DSAUSA, just like our country.
Maybe the funky water has reached your area? You lack the power to take control of YOUR party, but have the power to build and control a new one from the ground up in time to stop the daily assault on all things American?
50-some third parties already exist in America and not one of them has ever been successful on the national stage...
If conservatives don’t get smarter than this soon, I will need some of whatever you are smoking...
THANK YOU!
50-some third parties already exist in America and not one of them has ever been successful on the national stage...
If conservatives don’t get smarter than this soon, I will need some of whatever you are smoking...
What makes people think "Proportional representation" is good? Do we want to see a totaly chaotic situation that we see in Israel, and many European countries?
It SHOULD be "winner take all", A government has to have the power to lead, not constantly be defeated in non- confidence motions and calling elections.
The problem we have is the Republican party is full of Rino's, similar to what happened to the progressive conservative party in Canada years back.
The reform party was born, which was later renamed "The Conservative Party of Canada". To rid the country of remnants of the old progressive conservative party and the "blue liberals" in it, True conservatives in the old party voted to Join with the reform party and dissolve the progressive conservative party, leaving the Blue liberals in the cold without a party.
Steven Harper then won a minority government, ending 12 years of Liberal rule in Canada, and is now on a second minority term.
**********************
No thanks. I do not want a parliamentary system in the USA.
True, the author is American, my comment regarding the origin was intended for the publisher. Mea culpa.
My strategic skills are quite intact. I have watched the GOP decline over the decades I have been of voting age. Ross Perot did the GOP a great disservice but was clearly an indicator that something was amiss with the party. The recent elevation of Michael Steele to the post of Chairman was a ray of sunshine that faded all too quickly.
As a Marine Corps officer, I have learned that one of the best offensive tactics is diversion. Give the enemy something else to focus on instead of the primary assault. The GOP is squarely in the sights of the DNC. Let them have it. While they are busy with the feint, press the main assault.
Further, keep your wise-ass comments in your inner dialogue.
Here, we just have to boot out the rhino's and take back the party. If we can't do that, there is no way we can build another party from the ground up in 2 years. Even Harpers reformers took 10 years, and it wasn't easy.
it really is time for a conservative party.
Amen!
Second that.
This is exactly what makes me think it is our enemy who is promoting third party fantasies among well intended conservatives.
The idea makes NO sense whatsoever, still, many conservatives here and on other sites, cling to the notion as if it is a stroke of genius...
1) 50 or so third parties already exist and not ONE of them can win a national election... If we take a poll on FR of which 3rd party we should all get behind, "conservatives" will be divided across at least five.
2) Even if they could win a national election, we would have opened Pandora’s box to a fractured Parliament type of government, which EVERY Founding Father opposed...for what should be obvious reasons to any true conservative, MINORITY RULE!
On this basis, some believe the third party strategy is a good idea????
Even the Communists were smarter than that, eventually.
If it isn't leftists behind the effort to divide conservatives via 3rd party fantasies, it should be.
VERY true!
The key word in your comment is “watched.” You “watched” as YOUR party was hijacked. Many did...
Thanks for your service... But I must say, your skin is a bit thin for a Marine???
“We just have to boot out the rhino’s and take back the party. If we can’t do that, there is no way we can build another party from the ground up in 2 years.”
A REALITY some on FR are not able to face...
Well worth repeating. You could throw in the Supreme Court also. Neo-conservatism prevailed. All that did was to ruin the Republican brand name. Voters didn't buy tax cuts for the rich, abusive free-trade deals, and nation building interventionism. Conservatives should prepare for GOP bankruptcy.
Divide conservatives across a half-dozen 3rd parties, then paint signs and march in circles like liberals, in protest to the taxes you will pay anyway? This is your strategy for defeating a united left?
No wonder the left is winning!
You really can’t answer these questions?
Time for a NEW party.. or better even a CAUCUS...
The TEA PARTY Caucus.. to pressure BOTH PARTIES..
Ping
It's TEA TIME!!
We should form a new party and call it the Tea Party.
FTC...
First Things First
I will never understand why conservatives conceded control of their party to faux conservatives, but they did.
I will also never understand how conservatives lacked the will and power to take control of their own party, but think they have the will and power to build a new competitive party from the ground up, and control that party when they so clearly failed to control the GOP…
However, this is a moot point now. If they want any hope at all of stopping the current assault on their country, they will have to regroup and regain control of their party first. Time is of the essence. Every day that passes without taking this first step is another day that the left is able to advance, unchallenged.
The Patriots Top Priorities
As I see it, these should be the top priorities for patriots, once they regain control of their party.
Stop redefining “conservative.” Our nation’s Founders knew it only as, “Preservative; having power to preserve in a safe or entire state, or from loss, waste or injury.” This is the ONLY definition that matters.
So you are taking umbrage with my choice of words? I am as involved as a member of the commissioned service can be. I am forbidden from certain levels of service within a political party, but campaign for Republicans and am involved in letter writing to my elected officials as well as letters to newspapers. I cannot run for office while I hold a commission. My wife wishes me to run for office after retirement, but I am uncertain as to my chances in Virginia since I am an Arizona boy.
Thanks for your service... But I must say, your skin is a bit thin for a Marine???
I appreciate your thanks, though I truly do not deserve it. My Marines, on the other hand, do.
Oh, my skin is thick enough, but I have seen far too many postings that launch a broadside at the drop of a hat. My apologies if that is not your style, but you started off on a bad foot.
Back to the salient point, the GOP is sick. Whether it is terminal or not is yet to be determined. I have not given up on her yet, but the only way to get a viable party is to start at some time. Whether that is to reconstruct the existing party or to build a new one, will take time.
The only reason the 3rd parties that you allude to are unsuccessful is due in large part to the sad mentality of "I have always voted Republican".
Ping
For purpose of mailing tea bags to congress? Ha!
You’ve got a lot of nerve.
You touch on a point that I had heard years ago. That being Democrats do well with sound bites. Republicans are, in general, much more intellectual and require a thorough understanding of an issue.
Our party rarely does well in the media simply because we prefer to think thorough an issue as opposed to allowing our emotions to rule.
The answer to this is a tough nut to crack.
???? If the questions you mean refer to what ruined the GOP brand name, then it was when the neoconservatives took over Bush. I doubt that the GOP will write off it's obligations to them unless the GOP goes into bankruptcy and emerges as a third party without those obligations.
“some time ago the same polling company substituted the words Free Enterprise for Capitalism and got a much better response. Some times it is just the way you word things.” ~ bilhosty
Exactly. The word “capitalism” is actually a Marxist term. Read on:
January 21, 2009
The End of Capitalism?
Michael Miller
http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles-2009/Miller-The-End-Of-Capitalism.php
Who would have imagined 20 years ago when the Berlin Wall fell and we celebrated the death of socialism that capitalism would begin 2009 under heavy fire. The Cardinal of Westminster, Cormack Murphy O’Connor, reportedly went so far as to say that, as 1989 marked the end communism, 2008 was the year when “capitalism had died.”
What are we to make of capitalism in light of all the crises, fraud, and government intervention, when even some traditional supporters of markets are supporting bailouts and seem to have lost faith in the market order? Is capitalism no longer credible? Is capitalism really to blame for the financial woes we now face?
Before we try to answer this question, it is important to point out that the word “capitalism” is actually a Marxist term, and while we use it interchangeably with “market economy,” the Marxist view of capitalism surprisingly still shapes the way we tend to understand economics. The term capitalism gives the impression that the market is something out there: a nebulous force which can create great wealth but can also turn and harm us. This impersonal understanding can lead us to blame markets when things go wrong instead of looking for reasons that are harder to diagnose and often reveal deeper cultural and spiritual issues.
Pope John Paul II specifically rejected the term capitalism and its mechanistic, amoral, and impersonal image, preferring instead “market economy,” “business economy,” or “free economy.” He did so not to be pedantic, but to illustrate the important truth that markets are fundamentally networks of human relationships. Understanding markets this way sheds light not only on many economic problems, but also on the underlying moral nature of markets. If markets are intrinsically connected to human action then they necessarily have a moral dimension. Capitalism as seen by Marxists, or even within neo-classical mathematical models, separates markets from moralityand thus from reality. This, as we have seen, can have disastrous consequences.
Markets are the combined activities of millions of individuals and families. They are not composed merely of some guys on Wall Street; they are made up by us. Like anything else run by humans, markets are not perfect and can fail. If we become overly speculative and convinced that prices can go nowhere but up so that we violate all norms of prudence and keep buying at outlandish pricesas happened in the Tulip Bubble in 1637 the dot.com bubble in 2000 and the housing bubble last yearsooner or later reality will set in.
Despite their failures however, free markets have lifted more people out of poverty and helped create prosperity and peace better than any system ever devised. So much so that even in today’s financial downturn, as hard as it may be, very few people who live in mature market economies are completely without resources or on the brink of starvation. Notice that markets are often blamed for the downturns, yet we tend to forget the cause of the upturn.
In these days of financial turmoil, we often hear critics speaking about de-regulation or “unbridled capitalism.” Both of these are straw men. Unbridled capitalism is a myth. Try to think of one country where there are no regulations on the economy or business. For free markets to succeed and be sustainable, they require a framework built of rule of law, contracts, and secure property rights.
The real question is what kind of regulation and what level of intervention we should choose. It is important to remember that many of the contributing causes of this crisis were precisely an overly invasive government. Federal regulators required banks to provide mortgages to customers who could not pay back the loans; the Federal Reserve manipulated the money supply, exacerbating the housing boom; and politicians of all stripes promised bailouts that incentivized irresponsible behavior. These are prime examples of what Friedrich Hayek labeled “the fatal conceit”: the notion that bureaucrats and politicians have enough knowledge to plan an economy better than individuals and businesses.
At least on equal par with a juridical framework as a factor in sustaining market systems is a specific moral culture. This includes trust, diligence, collaboration, honesty, perseverance, and prudence. If this crisis has taught us anything, it is the importance of morality for a market economy. The list of the seven deadly sins comprises an outline of the crisis’s causes. How many of us out of greed, gluttony, or pride used credit cards to buy things we did not need or could not afford, just so we could have the latest gadget or keep up with the Joneses? What about Wall Street bankers who couldn’t resist the chance to make ever more and took imprudent risks with clients’ money, or out of pride bought financial instruments they hardly understood. Markets cannot succeed without a strong moral fabric among the citizenry.
Yet instead of learning the lessons of the past, we again hear calls for increased regulation and government involvement. Some regulation is necessary, but we must not look to regulation to solve our moral problems. Here is where the realization that markets are networks of human relationships is important.
If we regulate too much, we concentrate the power of markets in fewer and fewer hands. This has led to all sorts of evil and corruption. Socialist economies, cartels, oligarchies, and union-controlled industries where the price mechanism cannot function produce stagnation and create incentives for corruption. It is a false hope to believe that regulation will make everything right. This is a utopian dream that ignores human failing and is the same promise that has been peddled by the socialists.
It is likewise delusional to believe that markets alone are enough. Markets require more than just efficiency; they require virtue. Our Founders taught us that without virtue political liberty could not long be sustained. The same holds true for economic liberty. And yet without economic liberty there can be no political liberty. Like liberty, the market must be moral, or it cannot exist at all.
Read the entire article on the Acton Institute website (new window will open). Reprinted with permission.
http://www.acton.org/commentary/499_end_of_capitalism.php
Recent articles by this author:
“The End of Capitalism?” http://www.acton.org/commentary/499_end_of_capitalism.php
January 21, 2009
“Hearts and Minds for the Poor” http://www.acton.org/commentary/436_hearts_minds_for_the_poor.php
March 5, 2008
“The Big Picture on Microfinance” http://www.acton.org/commentary/commentary416.php
November 28, 2007
“Does Fair Trade Help the Poor?” http://www.acton.org/commentary/commentary411.php
October 31, 2007
“Who’s Afraid of Free Trade?” http://www.acton.org/commentary/commentary408.php
October 17, 2007
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