That about sums it up.
Maybe if some come here they can relate to this:
Posted on 05/07/2008 6:08:41 PM PDT by Sub-Driver
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
What's Wrong with Republicans? [Victor Davis Hanson]
On this great debate, I tend to agree with Mark Levin and others that conservatives should reach out with conservative principles better framed and presented, rather than change the message for the perceived advantage of the hour.
What the Republicans need is not an abandonment of conservative principles, but a smarter, more articulate defense of even more conservativism, not less.
E.g., Gas Prices? More nuclear power, hydro-, refineries, clean coal, drilling off coasts and in ANWR. And why? As a necessary bridge to next-generation cleaner and non-petroleum energy so that in the time lag, we don't empower our enemies, demand that others abroad who are less environmentally sound produce the oil we consume, and watch our hard-won way of life decline.
Taxes? Not hikes, since revenues went up, not down with past cuts, but more fiscal discipline to end the deficits. The problem was not tax-cutting, but wild-eyed spending that ran up debt and discredited tax cuts.
The border? Close it, not out nativism or racism, but out of respect for the rule of law, the tradition of national sovereignty, the need to promote integration and assimilation, the need to be more concerned with American entry-level low-paid workers, and a desire to help Mexico wean itself off remittances and make the tough-love decisions to modernize its archaic government and economy.
Judges? We need constitutionalists, because they alone follow the rules of the legislative branch and what is written in the Constitution, do not turn rarified, laboratory theory into the law that millions must suffer under, and bring respect to the judiciary sorely damaged by aristocratic elitists on the bench.
(Excerpt) Read more at corner.nationalreview.com ...
BTTT
and convert it into wealth before it joins whale oil as a obsolete curiosity.
It's baffling. I very rarely see a Republican do this, but if he did, he would seize the day.
How's this for starters? The flatulent RINO they nominated for the Presidency this year.
Aside from being stupid, cowardly, unprincipled and acting only in their own interests?
bttt
LOL!
Get off my lawn, you damned dirty kids!
"Objection, Your Honor! Opposing counsel is reading from Mr. McCain's resume!" ;)
I think this is right on.
I’m your top prime cut of meat, I’m your choice,
I wanna be elected,
I’m your yankee doodle dandy in a gold Rolls Royce,
I wanna be elected,
Kids want a savior, don’t need a fake,
I wanna be elected,
We’re all gonna rock to the rules that I make,
I wanna be elected, elected, elected.
I never lied to you, I’ve always been cool,
I wanna be elected,
I gotta get the vote, and I told you ‘bout school,
I wanna be elected, elected, elected,
Hallelujah, I wanna be selected,
Everyone in the United States of America.
We’re gonna win this one, take the country by storm,
We’re gonna be elected,
You and me together, young and strong,
We’re gonna be elected, elected, elected,
Respected, selected, call collected,
I wanna be elected, elected.
“And if I am elected
I promise the formation of a new party
A third party, the Wild Party!
I know we have problems,
We got problems right here in Central City,
We have problems on the North, South, East and West,
New York City, Saint Louis, Philadelphia, Los Angeles,
Detroit, Chicago,
Everybody has problems,
And personally, I don’t care.”
Still trying to sneak that one in.
Amnesty NO!
Deportation YES!
mcccain’s not going to close the border, period.
See, this article is plain common sense, something liberal lack. Conservative policies bring greater liberty and economic success to greater numbers of people. Unfortunately, gut level emotional appeals on the left often have greater appeal. It takes time to explain why conservatism is best.
Examples:
Drilling oil might kill caribou. Don’t drill.
Chuck is out of work. Give him money.
Sue is pregnant. Get that tissue mass removed ASAP.
Juan is here illegal. He needs help. Make him a citizen.
War in Iraq kills people. Pull troops out ASAP.
A typical conservative response to just one of the above examples (drilling for oil) would be:
Unfortunately, no other energy source is currently economically viable compared to oil, and our economy is dependent on it. Although future technologies might help provide a different answer, our immediate need for oil must be filled. Granted, drilling for oil changes the environment, and it’s certainly possible a few caribou may be killed in the process (out of populations of hundreds of thousands). However, drilling is essentially an engineering challenge where reasonable concerns for the environment can be addressed in addition to getting the oil we need.
A liberal’s head would likely explode long before the conservative explanation was finished.
For your “nailed it” consideration. I heard Mark Levin read this out loud while listening to the car radio and wanted to stand at attention and salute. Too much traffic to do that, though.
Who is left to listen? Third-world style corruption is ascendent in America, and our fracturing tribes are loyal only to those chiefs who promise to give them more free stuff. The conservative message of self-reliance won't ever come back into favor absent a WWII-level crisis that shocks the public out of its apathy. If 9/11 couldn't do it, it's going to take nuclear bombs in American cities and a subsequent Greater Depression to do the job.
That about sums it up.
Maybe if some come here they can relate to this:
btt
It's not baffling at all ... when was the last time you saw a Conservative Republican elected official? Do the words "rare" and "hen's teeth" come to mind? Your not going to see Republicans express conservative ideals because there basically are no more conservative Republicans left!
Excellent post ... thank you. It is refreshing to be reminded that there are still conservatives out there — real conservatives that believe in conservative principles and know that they work every time they are applied.
It's baffling. I very rarely see a Republican do this, but if he did, he would seize the day.
I have to disagree. I'm reminded of Merlin's statement to Uther in Excalibur:
You betrayed the Duke, you stole his wife, you took his castle, now no-one trusts you.
The Republicans ran on conservative principles in 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2004. We elected them to majorities in both houses and gave them the Presidency. What we received was pork, pork, pork, special interests, and neglect of our borders.
We got the "Bridge to Nowhere." Here's what the Republicans sounded like when they had all three branches of government. This is Senator Stevens, when informed that a bill had been proposed to cancel the $250 million dollar bridge that would connect to an island of around 50 people:
Sen. Ted Stevens, the veteran Alaska Republican, was dramatic in his response. "I don't kid people," Stevens roared. "If the Senate decides to discriminate against our state . . . I will resign from this body."Here's his Buddy, on the proposed canceling of another $250 million bridge in Alaska:
One of the Alaska bridges, dubbed the "Bridge to Nowhere" by its critics, would connect one small town to a tiny island. It received $223 million in the highway bill that Congress passed this summer. The second bridge, named "Don Young's Way" in honor of its patron, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Don Young (R-Alaska), received about $230 million -- but that is just a down payment on a cost that could hit $1.5 billion....The Republicans took their advantage and played political patronage. Now, nobody trusts them. I trust the Democrats less, of course, but the Democrats never pretended to be fiscally responsible.
Young, who made sure his state was one of the top recipients in the highway bill, was asked by an Alaska reporter what he made of the public support for redirecting the bridge money. "They can kiss my ear! That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard," he replied.
“What the Republicans need is”
LEADERSHIP THAT CAN GET THE JOBS DONE!
They couldn’t get their act together when they had a majority in congress. Why should we think they can accomplish anything when they are a pathetic minority in congress?
LOL!
No one can out-Obama Obama.
It's not about articulation. Mere rhetoric in the midst of an election year doesn't cut it. It's about action and it's way too late for McCain to reverse 25 years of liberal maverickism as a legislator. He's toast and flat out of time to turn his image around via action with conservative voters. But he makes a fantastic stalking horse for the dems and Obambi is gonna beat him like a rented mule.
Exactly! He is going to be speaking at the La Raza "Open Borders Conference".
Yeah, he got the message all right -- secure the borders first. Who did he think he was kidding?
Conservatives agree on all of these items.
Who can we vote for that will do this, not the Republicans or Democrats, so where do we go?
What's wrong with Republicans is what's wrong with the majority of middle-class conservatives.
They just want to be comfortable.
They don't want controversy, so they keep their mouths shut and smile and nod. They don't want to risk failure, so they don't try to win converts and refute leftist arguments.
It's a lonely place, people, and it's awkward and uncomfortable. But it's nothing compared to the trenches our ancestors fought and died in to give us freedom.
Why the hell is it so hard for us to get up off our sofas and confront the enemy?
The Republicans need Clint Eastwood to say as he did in High Plains Drifter: the “only problem you’ve got is a short supply of guts.”
The Republicans need a backbone.
They got no 'nads.
We need a fresh young face with a brilliant mind, articulate speech who speaks the conservative principles in an inspiring confident manner.
Or we could look at the cabinet. A treasury secretary who is so busy bailing out wall street that he doesn't understand that the resulting inflation from creating lots of extra money is killing both the dollar and hurting a lot of people through massive inflation. The Bush $1200 per family stimulus is the biggest self-defeating joke on the face of the planet.
Chertoff - the guy who - with a panache worthy of The Great Egotistical BJ hisself - closed down a California highway so he could travel unhindered, the guy who thinks that ever more idiots on payrolls looking for bombs on 6year old blond girls is helping the US economy.
I forgot, who is Transportation? Education? Commerce? Energy? Do those guys exist? Do they have pictures. Do we even give a rat's?
We have what everyone who lives off of a paycheck knows as a crisis in the cost of imported oil, a quintuppling of the amount of moolah going into the pockets of sheikhs who party on the Riviera and then in fits of conscince spread some around to charitable organizations not definitely proven to have connections to islamic terrorism. Do these guys care? NOOOOOOO!
"It's a lonely place, people, and it's awkward and uncomfortable." AND.. But it's harder than nothing compared to the trenches our ancestors fought and died in to give us freedom.....at least to many idiots today.
Senator Tom Coburn.
WE DONT CELEBRATE THE GOOD GUYS, WE JUST WHINE ABOUT THE BAD ONES.
WE NEED “POSITIVE DISCIPLINE” IN THE PARTY.
PING -
What is the solution?
How can we make conservative values win again?
“We need a fresh young face with a brilliant mind, articulate speech who speaks the conservative principles in an inspiring confident manner.”
If a conservative leader came forward would people follow?
E.g., Gas Prices? More nuclear power, hydro-, refineries, clean coal, drilling off coasts and in ANWR. And why? As a necessary bridge to next-generation cleaner and non-petroleum energy so that in the time lag, we don’t empower our enemies, demand that others abroad who are less environmentally sound produce the oil we consume, and watch our hard-won way of life decline.
” What’s wrong with Republicans is what’s wrong with the majority of middle-class conservatives.
They just want to be comfortable.
They don’t want controversy, so they keep their mouths shut and smile and nod. They don’t want to risk failure, so they don’t try to win converts and refute leftist arguments.”
GOOD QUESTION AND GOOD POINT!
Conservative activism is an oxymoron these days.
Look at this pathetic board. Instead of trying to get smart and articulate, I hear/see more backbiting ankle-biting complaining.
What do you want to see happen in the Govt?
Top 5 ideas/items/issue?
What should we preserve and what should we change?
What do you care about?
We need to get back to basics in our beliefs and get the campaigns straightened out to speak to the people.
Would they know? The only time a conservative gets airtime from the MSM is when they are being flogged in the media for something.
Most people have never heard of one, and that is how the likes of McCain get to call themselves "conservative". Between the MSM and the schools it is a small wonder so many people are ignorant of conservative principles.
This reminds me of a joke. God announces to the world that it is going to be flooded with 1000 feet of water. The Christian, the Moslem, the Hindu, etc. ( to shorten the thing ) all commence lamentations at the end of the world. The Jew sits down on a bench and says, "Oy Vez! How difficult life is going to be under 1000 feet of water!"
Sorry if that doesn't make any sense.
We never suspected that Alice Cooper' act would one day look tame.
'nads offend people.
I couldn’t agree more.
LMAO!
Agree. Thanks for the heads up! Incoming...
... In short, low taxes, secure borders, moral governance, sober government spending, ethical leadership, exploration and conservation of petroleum, and strong defense is what the American public wants — but those core principles have to be articulated hourly and can't be compromised. In an honest debate, Obama's alternatives to the above would be to turn toward more government, higher taxes, more bureaucracies, more dependence of the individual upon the state, etc. And I can't believe the public wants a prescription that historically simply doesn't work.I think in their depression, the Republicans fail to see that their problems were not in their principles, but rather in the sometimes sleazy and sloppy way they advanced them — and even more often in the manner that they abandoned them — and as a result, they are apparently eager to compromise on them.
To the degree McCain can articulate the above, he will win; to the degree that he either cannot or believes the latest gurus that he must abandon them, he will lose. Moving toward a lite version of the Obamian/European "bipartisan" and socialist view of government and calling it a new conservatism is a prescription for utter disaster.
No one can out-Obama Obama.
Hanson absolutely nails it here.
Combined ping to 2 ping lists
 Nailed It! This ping list is not author-specific for articles I'd like to share. Some for the perfect moral clarity, some for provocative thoughts; or simply interesting articles I'd hate to miss myself. (I don't have to agree with the author all 100% to feel the need to share an article.) I will try not to abuse the ping list and not to annoy you too much, but on some days there is more of the good stuff that is worthy of attention. You can see the list of articles I pinged to lately on my page. You are welcome in or out, just freepmail me (and note which PING list you are talking about). Besides this one, I keep 2 separate PING lists for my favorite authors Victor Davis Hanson and Orson Scott Card. |
 Victor Davis Hanson Ping ! Let me know if you want in or out. Links: FR Index of his articles: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=victordavishansonHis website: http://victorhanson.com/ NRO archive: http://www.nationalreview.com/hanson/hanson-archive.asp Pajamasmedia: http://victordavishanson.pajamasmedia.com/ |
Their districts are gerrymandered, their party is hopelessly out of power, and they get $2mil in earmarks apiece to shut up and stay fat, dumb and happy. Tranquilo, Baby!
Boy, isn't that the truth. The current GOP leadership is about as inspiring as seeing sick dog at an animal shelter. You feel sorry for it, but you know it needs to be put out of it's misery.
Whenever I see Bonior, Blunt, etc come out on TV, their is not enough coffee in Seattle that could keep me awake.
Dependence on mideast oil kills Americans. Drill.
"Chuck is out of work."
Get a job.
"Sue is pregnant."
Marry the dad.
"Juan is here illegal."
Go home.
"War in Iraq kills people."
Some people need killing.
It isn't hard at all...
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