California Needs Conservatism (by Rush Limbaugh)

The Wall Street Journal ^ | August 20, 2003 | Rush Limbaugh

[Timesink]

Listening to some Republicans and conservatives on the possibility of winning the California governorship lately has been dismaying. "We don't really want to win this race. California is in such a mess it can't be fixed and we will be tagged as failures if we try. Let the Democrats continue to stew in their mess." Or a variation on this theme: "Whoever wins will not have a mandate so he/she will not be able to govern, especially with the huge Democrat majorities in the California legislature."

[Timesink]

You may now commence the flamewar.

[Reagan Man]

This is Rush at his best. Couldn't have said it any better myself.

"Conservatives need to learn from Ronald Reagan."

That's the truth. Too many conservatives have forgotten the basic tenets of conservatism and what Reagan taught us about politics.

[Ann Archy]

Sadly, I think it's a different time...wth a different citizenry....largely illegals voting...and anti-Americanism in AMERICA! I think Calif. is almost unsavable.

I actually thought Ah-nold could be good....but I was wrong....Maria has him by the "package"...don't think he has it....his first concern is "the children". It's the PARENT who takes care of the child who should be concerned.

well, California....Hasta le Vista, baby.

[Timesink]

ping

[Fred Mertz]

There's no better time to advance conservative principles than when they're most needed. And California needs a large dose of conservatism.

Californians are generally conservative and they should endeavor to elect a conservative governor and get back on the right track.

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

The conservatives are mounting a very sophisticated all out subterfuge against our party. Starting Clinton and moving through election 2000, the Torch, the Dead, the TX Senate, and now poor Grayout - it's been hardball representative government all the way. In other words they're trying to undo our connections, those that we've spent much time and effort to create! What's wrong with higher taxes, higher government employment, and restricting our beautiful lands from drilling? They are promising to kill every bill proposed. Certainly you can understand our situation - one which the conservatives seek to conquer. Assist us in any way possible to keep our state strong.

Thank you for your help.

Rat government.

[FreeReign]

Listening to some Republicans and conservatives on the possibility of winning the California governorship lately has been dismaying. "We don't really want to win this race. California is in such a mess it can't be fixed and we will be tagged as failures if we try. Let the Democrats continue to stew in their mess." Or a variation on this theme: "Whoever wins will not have a mandate so he/she will not be able to govern, especially with the huge Democrat majorities in the California legislature."

I haven't heard any conservatives say any of the above defeatist comments. Does anybody know who Rush is talking about?

[Pukin Dog]

No flames from me. Rush has completely changed my mind. Screw Arnold, I am a voting for McClintock with a salute to the Gipper.

[Captainpaintball]

There's no better time to advance conservative principles than when they're most needed.

Amen. This applies in EVERY race, nationwide. ENOUGH of the republicrats, NO MORE RINOs, VOTE OUT the socialist moles sent to destroy the Republican party from within!!! Conservative principles, beliefs and policy presented by a passionate, genuine LEADER can not, and will not, lose!!!

HUBBA HUBBA HUBBA!!! DOOBA DOOBA DOOBA!!!

[Cosmo]

Ain't it amazing that such a great piece could start a flame war ?

Rush continues to earn his eternal seat between Burke and Buckley

Feel the gin

[Reagan Man]

Now that's a quick change from earlier today when you said ....

You dopes are going to cause the Republicans to lose another winnable election through this kind of crap. The only Republican who is going to win California is Arnold. If you dont get behind him, you are only helping Grey Davis again.
7 posted on 08/19/2003 10:18 AM MDT by Pukin Dog

If you think you can accomplish anything by LOSING, then keep it up. You will lose, but like other losers, you will fool yourself into thinking you did something noble.
56 posted on 08/19/2003 11:08 AM MDT by Pukin Dog

Are you sure you've got it right, this time?

[Jim Robinson]

"He was confident that strong leadership, free enterprise, limited government, tax cuts and a strong defense were the solutions."

And these principles are still the solution. In California, it means CUT the spending, cut the government and cut the taxes. This is not rocket science.

Bustamante wants to fix government's mistakes by raising our taxes. He also wants to sock it to the "wealthy" to force them to pay their "fair" share. And he wants to force the corporations to pay more. Sheesh, this is simply the formula to drive even more business out of the state and to further increase the misery factor. Tough love he calls it. Tough love? Gray Davis and the liberal Democrats bankrupt the state and then they want to force the people to suffer even more for their mistakes? Sounds more like tough sh.... well, nevermind.

[gaijin]

MANY people have called in saying this. Purportedly, many "Countryclub Conservatives" that Rush bumps into in his private life also say these kind of things...

[holdonnow]

David Horowitz, Hugh Hewitt, David Drier, to name 3.

[Rabid Dog]

I have heard an undercurrent of let Bustamante have it and I have to admit I agree if it means that in order to win we have to sell out on our primary principles of conservatism.

[Timesink]

Before anyone else tries to bring it up: No, the word "malaise" did not actually appear in Carter's infamous Malaise Speech. It originated in a memo written by White House pollster Pat Caddell that eventually led to the speech:

Was America in a Crisis of Confidence?

At the heart of the internal debate over the administration's future was a memo by Caddell, Carter's pollster and resident "deep thinker." "What was really disturbing to me," he remembered, "was for the first time, we actually got numbers where people no longer believed that the future of America was going to be as good as it was now. And that really shook me, because it was so at odds with the American character." Caddell argued that after fifteen years filled with assassinations, Vietnam , Watergate, and a declining economy, Americans were suffering from a general "crisis of confidence." Address this fundamental problem, he told the president, inspire the country to overcome it, and you will turn your presidency around.

Others in the administration, led by Vice President Walter Mondale , strongly disagreed. "I argued that there were real problems in America that were not mysterious, that were not rooted in some kind of national psychosis or breakdown, that there were real gas lines, there was real inflation, that people were worried in their real lives about keeping their jobs," Mondale said. "We could engage the nation by addressing those problems and asking for a new level of public support... I also argued that if, having gotten elected on the grounds that we needed a government as good as the people, we now were heard to argue that we needed a people as good as the government, that we would be destroyed."

"[We] had this real division," Caddell recalls. "And then Jimmy Carter ended it by saying... 'I've decided. I'm going to do everything that Pat said in his memo.' I thought the vice president was going to have a heart attack."

The Speech

On the evening of July 15, 1979, millions of Americans tuned in to hear Jimmy Carter give the most important speech of his presidency. After sharing some of the criticism he had heard at Camp David -- including an unattributed quote from the young governor of Arkansas, Bill Clinton -- Carter put his own spin on Caddell's argument. "The solution of our energy crisis can also help us to conquer the crisis of the spirit in our country," the president said, asking Americans to join him in adapting to a new age of limits.

But he also admonished them, "In a nation that was proud of hard work, strong families, close-knit communities and our faith in God, too many of us now tend to worship self-indulgence and consumption. Human identity is no longer defined by what one does but by what one owns." Hendrik Hertzberg, who worked on the speech, admits that it "was more like a sermon than a political speech. It had the themes of confession, redemption, and sacrifice. He was bringing the American people into this spiritual process that he had been through, and presenting them with an opportunity for redemption as well as redeeming himself." Though he never used the word -- Caddell had in his memo -- it became known as Carter's "malaise" speech.

Boomerang Reaction

Perhaps appreciating the president's astonishing frankness, the public rewarded him with higher approval ratings in the days that followed. But then, as historian Douglas Brinkley notes, "it boomeranged on him. The op-ed pieces started spinning out, 'Why don't you fix something? There's nothing wrong with the American people. We're a great people. Maybe the problem's in the White House, maybe we need new leadership to guide us.'" Historian Roger Wilkins concurs: "When your leadership is demonstrably weaker than it should be, you don't then point at the people and say, 'It's your problem.' If you want the people to move, you move them the way Roosevelt moved them, or you exhort them the way Kennedy or Johnson exhorted them. You don't say, 'It's your fault.'"

(What is it with Democratic presidents being mesmerized by their pollsters?)

Anyway, Carter himself helped give the speech its name, by giving statements like this one not long afterwards:

I thought a lot about our nation and what I should do as president. And Sunday night before last, I made a speech about two problems of our country—energy and malaise. -- Jimmy Carter, Bardstown, Ky., town meeting, July 21, 1979.

[Reagan Man]

>>>And these principles are still the solution. In California, it means CUT the spending, cut the government and cut the taxes. This is not rocket science.

The twin pillars of fiscal conservatism, are tax cuts and reductions in government expenditures. Arnold has yet to prove he is even fiscally responsible. let alone a fiscal conservative.

Arnold has said, he favors getting California out of the red, so its social welfare programs will run more effectively and efficiently. That's highminded liberalism.

Arnold has also said, he wants to bring businesses back to California, so tax revenues will increase and the states social welfare programs will have the proper level of funding to operate. More highminded liberalism.

So far, Arnold has shown he is a liberal RINO and has nothing in common with Reagan, on economic or social issues..

[Saundra Duffy]

I miss Ronald Reagan.

[Howie]

What Rush left out was the HOW Reagan succeded getting his way when Democrats drug their feet.

Remember those fiery fireside chats?: He would say "Call your representatives in Washington, lets stop procrastinating and get these things done now. We can do it!"

He went straight to the public, over the heads of media and congress many times.

[Jim Robinson]

Arnold is another Ross Perot. Gonna get under the hood and study the problem.

[holdonnow]

Laura Ingraham

[quidnunc]

Simon and McClintock are unelectabvle in California, the only role they can play si that of spoilers.

Rush knows this but for some reason he's leading the GOP down the primrose path.

[holdonnow]

And Reagan couldn't win in 1968 and 1976, but he won in 1980. You have to start somewhere, and by embracing a liberal Republican, or a whatever Republican, is counter-productive. You don't build support and a movement with your attitude, which is precisely what Rush is condemning.

[Reagan Man]

>>>Arnold is another Ross Perot. Gonna get under the hood and study the problem.

Like you said, this ain't rocket science.

Tom McClintok has the conservative credentials to get the job done.

[B Knotts]

Agreed.

And, there's a simple way for Schwarzenegger to begin to prove he's actually a conservative: say so.

I don't think that's in the cards, though. His handlers oppose conservatism.

As is often the case, Rush is right.

Conservatism need not be the strident bogeyman of the left; it can be enthusiastic, inspiring, hopeful and optimistic, while remaining true to itself. That was what Reagan did so well. Perhaps Tom McClintock can capture just a little bit of that Reagan magic.

[holdonnow]

Ditto.

[B Knotts]

Arnold is another Ross Perot.

Very well said.

Very well said.

I hadn't thought of it that way, but you're exactly right.

[fatima]

Bump.

[holdonnow]

Ditto.

[quidnunc]

Pfui!

Rush has turned his back on the GOP and furthermore I'm pretty sure doing it because of business reasons and not out of principle.

When he got his implant and could hear again one of his first ordersof business was to repudiate Dubya and the GOP.

It was during a sweeps period and you can't tell me that he didn't do it ot start a buzz and boost his listenership.

As Haley Barbour said, I was born at night, but not last night.

[B Knotts]

I just posted this on another thread. Reagan fans should take a look at this set:

Something I plan to order soon:

Reagan In His Own Voice (5 CD set)

This is a collection of Ronald Reagan's radio commentaries in the mid-late 70s. I heard some of them recently when they were played on a local radio station. They are excellent!

[CyberAnt]

"Now, if one man with a vision completely changed the course of a nation, why can't it happen in a single state?"

If "one man with a vision" - that could be none other than Tom McClintock. I say that because that is basically what Rush said about him today. Rush was very complimentary about Tom's 3 things he planned to do on his first day of office. "Now, there's a man with a vision."

[Jim Robinson]

Well, the longer Arnold stays quiet, the more support he's gonna lose. And, unfortunately for him, the only way he'll lose even more support is when he starts talking. I'd say if we don't want Bustamante's tough love programs shoved down our throats, then we'd all better rally behind a tax cutter. McClintock sounds like he's the man who can get the job done.

[CyberAnt]

I think if you check - you will find some of those state house RAT's are up for re-election in November. I wonder how many of them are in safe districts?

[holdonnow]

Yes, and Reagan criticized Ford, even ran against him. I suppose you would have accused Reagan of ruining the GOP too. Rush is intellectually honest, as was Reagan. These are good qualities my friend, unworthy of your assault.

[quidnunc]

The problem with ideologues is that they usually allow perfect to be the enemy of good enough.

A conservative is not going to prevail in this election so it's better to make do with the next best thing, which is any Republican.

Having a moderate or even liberal Republican governor of California during the 2004 election is exponentially preferable to going down to defeat with conservative colors nailed to the mast just for the sale of principle.

[CyberAnt]

"Sounds more like tough sh...."

Exactly!!

[GodGunsandGuts]

Allia yachta est bro. Conservatives stick to ideals, morals, ethics and a clear definition or right and wrong. When you have these things, there is no primrose path only a choice of right and wrong.

[Kevin Curry]

The problem with ideologues is that they usually allow perfect to be the enemy of good enough.

As a Republican, Schwarzenegger fails to meet even that most modest standard of "good enough."

McClintock is not perfect--but he is good enough.

[Fred Mertz]

A conservative is not going to prevail in this election so it's better to make do with the next best thing, which is any Republican.

I'm sorry, but I can't resist pinging babylonian to your lame and futile comment.

[tkathy]

This is the 21st Century, not the Reagan 70's. Rush doesn't get it.

[teldon30]

wow...go easy big guy....hehehe ;)

[holdonnow]

You're creating a strawman. No one's asking for perfection, whatever that means.

[CyberAnt]

These people have been all over the internet for the last week - even since Arnold signed his papers. I believe it's the CLINTON machine that is working this site and trying to FORCE US TO VOTE FOR ARNOLD.

Remember, Art Torres admitted on Hannity that Tom McClintock was the person they were most concerned about - NOT ARNOLD!!!

[quidnunc]

Holdonnow wrote: Yes, and Reagan criticized Ford, even ran against him. I suppose you would have accused Reagan of ruining the GOP too. Rush is intellectually honest, as was Reagan. These are good qualities my friend, unworthy of your assault.

If I'm assaulting anything it's Rush's judgement and his intellectual honesty.

He used to understand that you don't get anything for coming in second in an election.

He used to understand that all things being equal any Republican office-holder was better than having a Democrat.

Well he's either forgotten or he's trying to be Michael Savage lite.

I'm betting on the latter.

[quidnunc]

Babylonian has been MIA for a couple of months.

I hope he's OK.

[CyberAnt]

You are so right - and the other thing which has to be CUT - IS REGULATIONS - SO BUSINESSES CAN PROSPER AND HIRE PEOPLE!!

[Timesink]

What do you think of the quote pulled by FreeReign in post #7? Can a conservative governor turn things around despite the ultrasocialist RAT Legislature that will stand in his way? Or would American conservatism overall be better off if we let the RATS completely destroy California's state government in a way where they're left with 100% of the blame?

[quidnunc]

Holdonnow wrote: You're creating a strawman. No one's asking for perfection, whatever that means.

You know perfectly well what I mean.

[holdonnow]

Knock-knock ... Reagan was president in the 1980s. And I suppose what you mean by this not being the 1970s is that conservatism is dead? You mean individual liberty, capitalism, opportunity, God-given natural rights, and the rule of law are dead? No, disco is dead. Conservatism is alive and well, and some of us are hoping it will become stronger and help rescue those who are suffering under the iron-fist of liberal Stalinism.