Posted on 02/26/2013 8:26:51 AM PST by DanMiller
Offer free reverse-lobotomies? Probably not. This is a rant. So sue me.
A Hell of a Lot!
The problems
An article at American Thinker is titled Three Reasons Conservatives are Losing the Battle for America. Although it struck me as excessively repetitive it's probably correct for the most part and well worth reading. The "legitimate media"(AKA Department of Information) are substantially dominated by libruls and present all of the news that fits their world view. Libruls want nothing to do with anything, or anybody, conservative and shut their ears, eyes and therefore minds accordingly. Political correctness is running amok, which limits not only modes but also topics of discussion.
The good news is that we still have what I suppose could be called the illegitimate media, mainly small but some large blogs. Power Line, one of the best of the biggies, does not often go off on tangents which, while appreciated by our choir, are considered both tone deaf and offensive by most not in the choir; they plug their ears in response. Why? The "legitimate media" and others have infected those not in the choir with political correctness and other stoppers of both debate and thought. More about that a bit later. Here, here, here and here are some other pretty good large conservative blogs. There are many more.
PJ Media was for a long time one of the best of the biggies and I enjoyed writing for it. It continues its descent into oblivion as a source of conservative news and views by, among other things, focusing on "lifestyle" topics much as one might find in a Sunday supplement published by the "legitimate media." Taking that tack appears to have resulted in diminishing the number and prominence of articles on conservative topics. Maybe the idea has been to provide lifestyle articles as bait for non-conservatives in the hope that some might stumble upon and even read more substantive offerings. I don't think it has been working. On February 19th, PJ Media drastically limited the ability of readers to comment on articles, producing much outrage to which there has been no response from the powers that be. If the comments (at least ninety-six percent) averse to the change are representative, PJ Media has already lost many viewers and will probably lose more.
Solutions?
Proposing viable solutions to problems is much more difficult than identifying the problems. We all know that cancer is bad and often fatal, but there are still not enough effective cures. Mine was properly diagnosed, staged as 4A and treated (five hours of surgery followed, after I had healed sufficiently from the surgery, by five weeks of radiation therapy) fifteen years ago. It has not recurred, so maybe I was and will continue to be lucky. Conservatives need more than dumb luck to get out of the cancerous morass in which we find ourselves. Surgery, if not something akin to radiation therapy, might help.
1. Conservative arguments have to be relevant to audiences.
Some good stuff remains at PJ Media. At PJTV's Next Generation, Allen West interviewed Tamon Pearson of HipHop Republicans on why conservative messages are not getting through to most Blacks. In summary, he said that messages have to be tailored to matters they find relevant and about which they want to hear. He is probably right. A wise old friend once reminded me that "you can't sell what they aren't buying." He was right; some things just don't sell well in some places: cigarettes in tuberculous wards, firearms at gun control rallies and sex toys at Jesuit meetings for example. In addition to having something to sell that is desired and can be acquired without incurring the wrath of one's associates, it should be recognized that some topics many conservatives deem very important and highly relevant are neither important nor relevant at all to many others. Indeed, they have become anathema and that has been easy to accomplish: identify unwanted thoughts, label them disparagingly and eliminate them.
Want to be disparaged as a "birther?" Just say anything suggesting that President Obama has never been vetted and that we don't know enough about his origins, education, associates and accomplices. That's bad enough, but say something like "I do not know where he was born" or "I do not believe that he was born in Hawaii" and one becomes a birther, one who by definition has gone 'round the bend and whose ideology has so twisted his few brain cells that there is no point in trying to discuss that, or anything else, with him.
I do not know where President Obama was born and I do not believe that he was born in Hawaii. Knowledge needs solid based. Belief can have fuzzy bases, but leaving aside the true believers something more than has been presented is needed. Authentication of an original birth certificate (not a copy) by highly qualified and reputable examiners of questioned documents not employed by the Government and without preconceived views, for example, might help. It's been a long time and we don't have that. School records, indicating whether he enrolled and/or received financial aid as a foreign student? Why are they still under seal? These sorts of things make belief, at least for me, impossible.
That said, it seems to be a dead issue. Impeachment is the only constitutional way to depose a sitting president. To vote a bill of impeachment on any of the possible causes for impeachment (Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors) the House requires a majority vote. Conviction by the Senate requires a two-thirds vote. Two sitting presidents (Andrew Johnson and William Clinton) have been impeached by the House. Neither was convicted by the Senate. Even if President Obama were to go on national television during prime time and confess that he had been born in Kenya and that he had arranged for the forgery of birth certificates indicating otherwise, I suspect that many would ask, "what difference does it make now?" It's a done deal and he is our President! We love him! That seems to have been sufficient for most libruls when Secretary Clinton said it in a different context.
How about another hot conservative topic, abortion? My own views are that abortion is bad, that the later it happens during a pregnancy the worse it is and that under Roe v. Wade and its progeny the States retain the authority to prohibit late term abortions in most cases. The extent of State authority, and also whether Federal funds should be used for or to encourage abortions, should be the conservative foci in presidential and congressional elections. Beyond that, it should be dealt with as a matter left for the States to decide. That's among the reasons for the Tenth Amendment. Undesirable though it is, the abortion situation is unlikely to change no matter how loudly we yell. We tried and got only the "Republican War on Women" in return: Ms. Fluke and her rights to free contraception and abortifacients along with this clever Democrat advertisement during the 2012 campaign.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6G3nwhPuR4?feature=player_detailpage]
That little spot has had more than two million views, with more "dislikes" than "likes." Here's a parody on it. My "first time" seeing the one above I thought it had to be satire. Oh well.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiV7NkJT1s0?feature=player_detailpage]
That has had about twenty thousand views, with more "likes" than "dislikes." So? The original seems to have worked. That's why President Obama is called "The Won."
The concept of moral responsibility? That's not "modern" and so is too often rejected.
Can we attract some libruls?
Should we give up on libruls as a lost cause, sunk too deeply in their own pits of ignorance to waste time on? I don't think so, at least not yet. I argued here that
Democrats realize that rational thought does not appeal to many voters and Republicans have yet to understand that emotional appeals beat rational appeals. Even when they try emotional appeals they rarely work because they don’t do a good job of it; their efforts are quickly and effectively shoved aside.
I have observed that librul opinions tend to be based principally on emotion. In the linked article, I suggested some types of emotional appeal that might, just might, work. I also suggested,
America as we know her now is broken,
but not beyond repair. Continuing to tilt at windmills won’t work but finding ways to harness the entertainment industry to our wagon may. Music, films and even video games can evoke emotional responses and there seems to be no compelling reason why they can’t evoke healthy rather than unhealthy emotions. Getting the money for such projects might be difficult, but the financial rewards for those who provide it might be greater than the large financial rewards anticipated from campaign contributions — and perhaps even more prestigious than otherwise meaningless ambassadorial appointments. (Emphasis added.)
How about some more Black conservatives?
Dr. Benjamin Carson articulated a much needed conservative message during a recent prayer breakfast with President Obama. Will he be shut up before he has had a chance to get the favorable attention of Blacks? He has already captivated many other conservatives. Will he make headway despite fierce opposition by the "legitimate media" and others?
What the liberal bullies did to Marco Rubio will be child’s play compared to the meat grinder Carson is about to face. Carson is a black conservative, and every ounce of hostility and ideological bigotry will be directed at this man until he is ground into dust. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and Governor Sarah Palin will just watch and shake their heads.Every conservative is either “stupid” or “evil.” For the stupid ones, liberals repeat the words “uninformed,” “misinformed” and “uneducated” into every other sentence. The evil ones are “meanspirited,” “extremist” and “draconian.” Those pointing out ideological bigotry are called “biased,” as if one should be neutral in the face of any bigotry. Another word is “hateful,” which means disagreeing with a liberal.
Dr. Carson will most likely be thrown into the stupid category because he comes across as a nice fellow. He speaks softly and calmly, so the evil narrative does not fit.
. . . .
The issue is not whether Dr. Carson will be attacked. What matters is if Republicans praising him now will stand up for him when the attacks come. Will they throw him under the bus like they did Palin and Michele Bachmann, or will they actually demand that the ideological bigotry stop?
Dr. Carson has to be destroyed by the left because he is everything Obama is not.
Dr. Carson is Black, so isn't it racist to attack him like that?
No it's not! He's fair game. He disagrees with our President.
That is a good synopsis of the problems that all conservatives face, not only Dr. Carson, although Black conservatives stand out for special scorn. Dr. Carson would be welcomed at just about any conservative gathering. But how about in the Black community, which we perhaps unwisely seem to view as monolithic?
Dr. Carson is not likely to be welcomed broadly as a conservative, per se. As an advocate for better health care in the Black community? Maybe he could do that while reminding them, gently, of the problems they face under ObamaCare. How about while addressing Black related infant mortality? The lack of family integrity? The surfeit of gang violence? Having their attention, perhaps he could segue into other areas consistent with his beliefs and qualities.
Dr. Carson is also religious. He directly credits turning to God with turning his own life around. The left will therefore look for any excuse to declare him a hypocrite, as they did with President George W. Bush.George W. Bush is an evangelical. Clarence Thomas is black. Benjamin Carson is both. He is the worst of all possible worlds for the liberal black leadership. At some point black communities will see they have been exploited by everybody from Jesse Jackson Sr. and Jr. to Al Sharpton and Barack Obama. Barack Obama chanted “Yes, we can.” People look at Benjamin Carson and see a man who actually “did” and still does. In his world “can” actually means more than mere “being.” It means “can do.” For preaching doing over dependence and God over government, Dr. Carson will be attacked. (Emphasis added.)
Dr. Carson is a genius with a knife, but he has never experienced the receiving end of knives wielded by liberal Obama defenders. He had better be prepared. Conservatives everywhere must be.
We should be prepared and willing to defend him, not by emphasizing the harmful idiocy of the "legitimate media," of the Sharptons, Jacksons et al, at least initially. Instead, we should focus on the merits of Dr. Carson and others like him -- Black, Brown, White, Red and Yellow. When I was in the Army back in the late 1960s, there was a saying: "We don't have any Black, Brown, White, Red or Yellow soldiers. We are all green." Green then had a different meaning then than now; the reference was to the color of our uniforms. But the thought was that we are all in it together.
Hispanics and immigration
With the loss of the 2012 presidential election the Republican Party, with the aid of Hispanic Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, has been trying to attract more Hispanics, most of them immigrants from the lawless society of Mexico. In April of 2011, while still writing at PJ Media, I wrote Governments Rot when their Citizens let them and opined,
Britain’s culture has become no less multiculturally devalued than that of the United States. Venezuela, Cuba, and many others never, at least in recent memory, enjoyed cultures conducive to freedom and democracy. Ditto many countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, plus some of the countries they colonized. Mexico? Hardly a role model for the United States; I didn’t learn much about Mexican history or culture half a century ago in school, and I doubt that many young people in Mexico learn much today about the history or culture of the United States. Few are likely to develop cultural attitudes in contemporary Mexico compatible with life in the United States.
Citing that article, I wrote here,
There are several failed states whose discouraged citizens are coming to the United States — some for freedom, some for jobs, some to mooch and some to make the United States increasingly resemble their countries of origin. However, due to proximity we seem to receive more from Mexico than elsewhere and I very much doubt that the majority of them, generally uneducated, with no skills to sell beyond stoop labor and unable to speak or even to understand English, have significant knowledge of our history or even what the phrases “Constitutional Government” and “Rule of Law, not Rule of Men” mean. Never having lived where such notions are respected and understood, it’s difficult to appreciate them until a long time after transplantation. It’s good that some of them are socially conservative, but more than that is needed: respect for the supremacy of our Constitution and our laws. That seems quite uncommon, particularly among “differently documented” aliens of all stripes. It takes more than a brief and unlawful stay for it to develop. Even a few years of lawful stay under properly enacted amnesty is probably inadequate. While an Hispanic outreach might enlarge Republican rolls, I fear that attracting them would require giving up on much that conservatives hold dear.
I've now reflected on that a bit. Since our very articulate White natural born American Vice President Biden says "No ordinary American cares about their constitutional rights," the question is probably "what difference does it make, now?" I think it still makes a big difference.
Conclusions
Is this the answer? Is it even an answer?
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQ5ob9B9yD4?feature=player_detailpage]
Might something like this stimulate enough of us sufficiently to find at least some of the answers? Or should we become resigned to what will otherwise become our fate?
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GowMI4wvmU4?feature=player_detailpage]
"Land of the brave and proud, land of the free!" We had that but it's been trampled upon by those who, preferring free stuff, disparage freedom. Can't we have freedom again instead? Will we ever? Will our children and theirs? Will Proud Edward Obama and his minions prevail?
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0MklIdTiaU?feature=player_detailpage]
Remember when Britannia ruled the waves?
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XPHL4Q86t4?feature=player_detailpage]
No more. It can't even govern in Londonistan, England's largest city. Will the United States suffer a similar fate? It's up to us.
A fellow blogger, the The Mad Jewess posted this video shortly after the recent election debacle:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB64vAgIvig?feature=player_detailpage]
Will all remain just a beautiful dream from the past, or can it once again become our present and future? The spirit of American can reign again, fearless and free. But only if we want it and can convince enough others that they do too. Then, just maybe, some fine day we can do this. Otherwise, it along with the rest will remain just a forlorn hope and a fading memory.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vu8hwvvmEhc?feature=player_detailpage]
I responded to this subject a day or two ago as follows.
We’ve passed the Mendoza line. This situation cannot be rectified until it first fails utterly and the pieces need to be picked up and reworked. The matter will continue to worsen until the money’s no good, the freight doesn’t move and hungry people are rioting. America is over and don’t give me that sunny day crap about winning over people to our position; you’re trying to talk Girl Scout values to crack whores. The American electorate is addicted to government cheese and won’t be talked out if it. Any electorate that thinks it’s axiomatic that health care is a right will never vote for someone who disagrees with them. When Rome fell the Romans had to read about it later. The US has already fallen and they’ll date the fall to 2008 or thereabouts, IMHO.
The left knows the rioting is coming; that’s why they want your guns. A group that murders hundreds of thousands of unborn every year doesn’t give a rats ass about 20 kids in Connecticut.
Answer: We can't as the cure is worse than the disease; i.e. shooting people and breaking things. In short, Social War and we are not ready, willing and able.
yes, because they know that as long as libtardism remains, they will be able to get the unearned, the undeserved, and something for nothing.
OK, let’s take a look at why Americans who are black tend to vote Democrat. Is it because the Democrats have adapted the black culture? You can’t get any more white bread than the Clinton’s, and yet, they appear to be very popular with Americans who are black. How about Americans of Latin descent? John Kerry is probably waiting to go to “Mexizuela”, yet, he was the Democrat candidate for President. Nope. You can rule out the notion that these constituencies vote solid for Democrats because they see the Democrat party really adopting their culture.
Libs have a lot of plates in the air. It’s only a matter of time before they come crashing down. The media can try and paint over reality but it will be to big to disguise.
“Understand yourself and understand your opponents, and in one hundred battles, you will never be defeated.”
We still don’t understand the Democrat voters. The reason we don’t understand them is that we discount their humanity. They are “stupid” and “greedy”. Some are. Many aren’t. We have to get to the very basics of what makes people behave the way they do. Look at the Milgram experiments. Look at the Asch Conformity experiments. The Democrats have. They understand how to manipulate people. They manipulate people to put money in Democrat Leader’s pockets. Why shouldn’t we manipulate people for the good of the country?
Forgive me for posting this for the 100th time.....
There is no way we can “win” without a realistic plan to take back the educational system that is brainwashing our kids from 7 to 22+ with Marxist thinking so an ever-increasing majority of the population think like Marxists and are dumbed down with any practical knowledge of economics, math, our Constitution and its merits, the consequences of immorality, etc.
That’s why what Rush said is true: “We are outnumbered and losing ground.”
We are total fools to think there is any solution without addressing the origin and source of the disease.
We are like a quack doctor thinking a cream will work to remove the spots of measles.
I cannot shout this loud enough because NO ONE IS ADDRESSING THIS!!!!! Not one conservative leader is!
And it was all part of the original communist plan for the gradual “frog in the heated pot” destruction of our nation - from the inside.......
Any plans that don’t first address the source are both futile and foolish.
I am a bit more optimistic than that, but let's suppose you are right. What do we do while waiting, besides prepare for lengthy and widespread disaster of "historic" proportions befitting the Obama Presidency?
I believe that the end has also happened for the united States, but disagree on the date. I would have to say that George W. Bush had just as much to do with the downfall, good lord, this guy spent our money like a drunken sailor. I know it’s not politically correct to cite a Republican as one of the causes of our down fall, but both W and Obama have had no problem putting our debt over he top.
Amen my friend.
After all these decades I have reached the conclusion that America is over and the battle is lost. Republicans are evening signing off on Amicus Briefs supporting gay marriage before SCOTUS.
Will I keep fighting? For the few years I have remaining I will. But I fear I am just going down swinging. Conservatism is dying in America. Demographics and values are stacked heavily against us. Even the GOP is against us. And those that are in the media supposedly espousing conservative values are, for the most part, just flat stupid.
I quite enjoyed the main post here and agree with your comment ... nothing will change until it all falls apart, if then.
Need to get control of significant portions of the MSM.
We need to get more conservatives into the local and State entities that are supposed to deal with education. Until we do that, on a large scale, schools will continue to turn out illiterates with only such knowledge distorted information on our history that they will continue to swallow every librul fantasy placed before them.
In the end, all large institutions are run for the benefit of those in charge. That’s why the U.S. government wasn’t supposed to be a large institution.
Support glen beck financially in his internet based news .... Even if u don’t agree with him his success will usher in diversity of news options, give persons another venue and open up the doors to get away from MSM. Direct TV has already given him a stations that customers can add to their packages “ ala carte” which is huge. If he is successful the move away from the MSM will hopefully happen quicker and permanently!
I agree. Thank you for having the courage to speak the truth about it no matter how dire or unpopular or “negative”. It’s the sad reality.
“You can rule out the notion that these constituencies vote solid for Democrats because they see the Democrat party really adopting their culture.”
Some cultures do not represent the values this country was founded upon.
Demoncraps may not represent those cultures, but they nourish them with their policies.
Three Reasons Conservatives are Losing the Battle for America
1) Education (as many have observed, it is so infested with Liberals and Liberal dogma at so many levels it will take decades to fix, if that can even be done)
2) Breakdown of the family. Single moms with poor educations invariably end up working minimum-wage jobs (if they work at all) and become increasingly dependent upon Government handouts. And their children grow up expecting the same.
3) Cumulative sum-total of American banks and businesses making short-term decisions driven by the bottom line. The net effect of all those years of outsourcing, offshoring, too-clever banking and credit gotchas, mass layoffs while the CEO takes a golden parachute, trading scandals and the like is that most of the population is in the process of deciding that Capitalism has failed and/or Capitalists are nothing but crooks. Sending a few who have crossed the line to jail from time to time is crucial in maintaining public faith. But this has not happened, and increasing class warfare is setting in as a result.
Tough to win against a party that recognizes the fact that a majority of Americans have formed a nation of non-producing weasels with their hands out - and fills those hands with money stolen from the producing class.
What was it deTocqueville said?
“You can’t have a democracy populated with those who have discovered they can bilk the populace by electing those who know they can simply vote their constituents money from the public purse.”
Something like that.
And that’s game, set, and match once a majority of the population becomes thus corrupted, as they are now.
There is only one way to beat liberalism. Take down the MSM. “Don’t shoot the messenger” enables the messenger to control the message. Take away the message, you take away the liberals biggest tool.
“Control the message and you control the people.”
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