Posted on 01/22/2010 4:38:18 AM PST by decimon
The lesson of Massachusetts: all politics is local only during times of domestic tranquility, but at truly defining moments, all politics is ideological. Tuesday night, finally, in Massachusetts the battle turned from politics to ideology, a confrontation we had successfully avoided since the Civil War. While politicians dithered over details such as who would or would not pay taxes on Cadillac health plans (have you driven a Cadillac lately?), the people grasped the deeper issue.
The Enlightenment and religious reformations that swept Europe following the Renaissance threw out the old existing orders, and the great debate began between two acutely different variants of what constituted their proper replacement. The Anglo-Saxons concerned themselves with “the rights of men,” and the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and our own magnificent uprising of 1776 affirmed the notion of individual rights derived from a higher power than man. The logical consequence of this was the notion of equity: that the public official might do only that which was explicitly permitted by law while the private citizen was empowered to act in any way that was not explicitly forbidden.
(Excerpt) Read more at pajamasmedia.com ...
If by ideology you mean a theoretical set of political ideas, then Conservatism is the antithesis of ideology because there are no perfect ideas, there are no perfect governments, and there are no perfect men. (That’s a Russell Kirk paraphrase.)
I think the lesson is a surprising one:
Voters are starting to wake up to eccentric liberal idiotic women.
Think of Coakley and NY-23.
I have been reading some of the most exposed politicians in next election are the Patty Murray’s, Blanche Lincoln and Barbara Boxer. Landrieu is not up for relection but it would be a landslide against her if she were.
Even here in Texas, the once popular Kay Bailey Hutchison is running well behind Rick Perry for Governor. Kay is not very conservative at all. Although she is the most conservative woman in the Senate, that’s not saying much as she would not make the top 1/3 of the conservative group thee.
Some of the best ammo these GOP candidates can use against the demoRATS.
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