Posted on 08/14/2012 2:34:39 PM PDT by morethanright
By Mr. Curmudgeon:
Not all Republicans are happy with Mitt Romney's choice to make Rep. Paul Ryan his running mate. David Frum, former speech writer for President George W. Bush, is beside himself.
"At every turn, the party has demanded, 'More ideology! I gotta have more ideology!'" laments Frum in a column appearing on CNN.com. "With the selection of Paul Ryan as his running mate, Romney has now acceded to that wish. The least ideological Republican candidate since 1968 has committed himself to the most ideological Republican program since 1964."
Actually, it was the least ideological Republican candidate since 1968 - Sen. John McCain - that was trounced by a featherweight Chicago politician who presented the country with nothing more than a silly balloon-animal distraction called hope and change ... and won.
Candidates with ideas, even bad ones, trump those without a clue every day of the week.
Frum hates ideology because of the ideas that underlie it, especially if the ideas in question happen to be small-government and conservative in nature. Establishment Republicans, of which Frum is a card-carrying member, made peace with FDR's New Deal back in the 1950s. The theory goes that voters will never let Republicans opposed to the Progressive status quo drive Daddy New Deal's classic car; and establishment Republicans like nothing more than getting under the hood to tinker with the engine - hoping to fine tune the beast.
That 80-year-old jalopy has sputtered to a stop and is up on blocks. There's no fixing the ancient relic. It's time to shop for a new car.
Even Obama has abandoned the nebulous hope-and-change dogmas of the past for something a little more substantial: forced income equality, a government-directed economy that produces an endless stream of failed Solyndras, and controlling every American's body through government-run health care. You can be forgiven for viewing the totality of Obama's 2012 ideology as, well, totalitarian.
Needless to say, Frum is blind to Obama's totality.
Last June, Frum attacked Republicans for opposing dictatorial ObamaCare with calls for its repeal. "The reform, for all its many, many faults, did one important thing: extend health insurance coverage to almost all Americans. A Republican alternative should aspire to do the same. That statement is controversial in today's GOP. It should not be. Universal coverage need not mean higher costs, nor more statism," said Frum.
Really?
If John McCain is to be praised for anything, it's for not attempting to express that blank slate he calls a mind with words. Frum, on the other hand, loudly proclaims that big-government's totalitarian programs can be made cost-effective and lead to greater individual freedom once sprinkled with establishment GOP pixy dust.
"He [Romney] has chosen as his running mate Paul Ryan, the House Republican leader - not their formal leader, but their intellectual leader, the person who set their agenda," said Frum, "He has effectively adopted Paul Ryan's agenda as his own: big immediate cuts in spending, a dramatic cut in the top rate of income tax to 28% and a bold reform of Medicare for those 55 and under."
Paul Ryan said that America is "the only country founded on an idea. Our rights come from nature and God, not government. We promise equal opportunity, not equal outcomes."
Obama and establishment Republicans disagree with that fundamental and foundational idea.
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Mr Curmudgeon is a freelance writer living in South Florida.
Article shared using the Free Republish tool on Tea Party Tribune.
The Bush faction is really beginning to annoy me.
A giant FU to David Frum. I am one senior life-long Republican who no longer has any respect for the leaders of my party, including such incompetents as John Boehner, a House Speaker who has accomplished squat since the Republicans gained control of the House two years ago.
The Democrat Party has turned into a cabal of corrupt out and out socialists. The Republican Party is not much better. As for me, my money goes to conservative causes. It will be a cold day in Hell before I give the Republican Party one cent.
The Bush faction annoys you? W likes the VP pick.
http://www.businessinsider.com/george-w-bush-paul-ryan-mitt-romney-vp-vice-president-strong-pick-2012-8
Well, I’m pretty much of the same mind. I’m sick and tired of the McCains and Romneys of our party.
Glad to hear W thinks Ryan is a 'strong' pick. I wish he was listening to a deficit hawk like him when he was at the helm.
We agree.
What a Cinderella that Frum turned out to be.
He's the only one quoted to bolster the title line. Sorry, this is a piece of crap article, beginning to end.
;^)
I disagree with the headline. John Boehner was on Greta’s show last night talking about Ryan. Greta asked him about Ryan’s conservatism in view of Ryan’s support for TARP. Boehner’s answer: “He’s a practical conservative, not a knuckle dragger.”
No one’s more establishment GOP than Boehner and he was quite pleased that Ryan isn’t a “knuckle dragger.” Oh, sidenote, when Greta asked Boehner to comment on Harry Reid’s attacks on Romney, Boehner said: “I like Harry. I’ve worked with Harry. You’ll have to ask him about his comments.”
My opinion, Paul Ryan is moderately conservative. He’s like a bridge between the conservatives and the GOP Establishment. But, hey, at least he’s not a “knuckle dragger.” My contempt for Boehner (the embodiment of GOP-E) exceeds his contempt for me.
That's great! Most bulletproof positive endorsement I could imagine.
I am a lifelong registered democrat, independent thinker, and Republican voter. I always enjoy the primaries.
I also enbrace totally, the Tea Party philosophy. What's not to celebrate?
I believe Paul Ryan was a genius pick, especially with his Catholic ties - think "Hispanic vote".
My expectations are high, specifically for a R&R landslide on Election Day!
ABO '12!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Works for me!
Wow...was their a space bar consideration in this...or a definitive vote or no vote???
Wow...was their a space bar consideration in this...or a definitive vote or no vote???
Let’s get this straight - David Frum is NOT a conservative. He is NOT a republican. He IS a paid shill of the leftist media who poses as the “voice of the right”. He represents a TINY portion of confused people who align with the GOP but are not ideologically at home in the GOP.
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