2008
Taking Our Lumps Now or Later?
As John McCain proves that he did not, in fact, learn the lesson we tried to teach him about amnesty, Right Wing News has a very interesting chart with data on that loss in Mississippi.
Conservatives. Stayed. Home.
The Loss In The Mississippi Special Election Was Because Conservatives Didn’t Show Up
What you’ll note [on the chart] is that there was no surge in the number of Democratic voters. To the contrary, the GOP lost that election because the bottom fell out on the Republican side. The voters are still there; they’re just so dispirited by the lousy performance of the GOP that they couldn’t rouse themselves to go to the polls.
And it’s not just the amnesty McCain is stubbornly sticking to - it’s the global warming fiscal nightmare he’s going to foist on us, it’s the backdoor to socialized health care by allowing foreign countries to place price controls on our pharmaceutical industry via “drug reimportation;” it’s his support of a special right for journalists to be shielded from consequences for breaking the law; it’s his willingness to attack Republicans without even looking at the evidence; it’s the Gang of 14 deal that allowed the Senate to evade accountability; it’s his stubborn naivete that restricting our right to free speech will somehow result in cleaner government; it’s his willingness to call people like me racist while he associates with “La Raza” - and gives them millions of our tax dollars; and the long, long list of things he’s thumbed his nose at us over for many years.
And it’s not just John McCain. Too much of the GOP Congressional representation is just like him. I won’t give another nickel to any Republican organization, and I changed my registration to Independent. Why should I work and pay and fight to get them in office when once they get there, they turn their backs on the voters? They’ve larded up the budget more than Democrats ever did. With Bush in office and a Republican majority, we’ve had the biggest expansions to entitlements in history - the ultimate bridge to nowhere.
Just threatening us with, “But… but… the other guy is waaay worse!” isn’t going to get the job done. The 11th commandment in my household is Thou Shalt Vote. It’s our civic duty. It’s part of what Jesus commanded us to give to Caesar. Just as the Republic will collapse without our tax dollars, so it will collapse without our votes. I’ve been trying to overcome my serious dislike of McCain’s policies and plans in order to vote for him for some time, because the other guy really is worse. But since we’re heading toward socialism anyway, I can’t help but wonder if the fast road via Obama wouldn’t be better.
Government is massive and growing more every year. People are relying on government more than ever. Society’s expectations have changed and the prevailing attitude is that of entitlement. And I’m not the only conservative who’s contemplating the lessons of Atlas Shrugged and thinking maybe it’s time to stop fighting and let them have what they want until the wheels come off. I’d rather take my lumps now than leave them for my grandchildren to deal with; if we’re finally going to have Carter’s second term, I’d prefer that it be now rather than later. We’ve been sitting in this pan of boiling water for some time, and since we’re evidently not going to jump out, maybe it’s time to turn up the heat.
Whenever it happens, it’s going to be painful, but it’s not going to be the end of America so scare tactics by the RNC really aren’t going to work. The people they should be trying to scare are in Congress, failing to do their jobs. I don’t know how I’m going to vote. But I don’t feel any urgency to vote Republican. They’ve made sure the choice isn’t whether to take our lumps, it’s whether to take them now, or take them later.
May 15th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
As I was listening to McCain’s hallucinations of the future today I was thinking that the Republican party really was begging me to not vote for him. Seriously, from the new “League of Democracies” (do we really need a second UN? Let’s abolish the first one!) to illegal immigration being addressed “humanely” I was having a hard time stomaching his vision. In his vision the US is the great caretaker of the world, the solver of all the problems, the one to fix everything. And does he really think that “young Americans, no less than earlier generations, understand that true happiness is much greater than the pursuit of pleasure, and can only be found by serving causes greater than self-interest.”
when they have a society telling them they deserve it all now and they don’t have to work for it because their big Uncle in Washington is going to give it to them because after all… they are Americans…… AUGH!
I did agree with one of his points. This one:
For too long, now, Washington has been consumed by a hyper-partisanship that treats every serious challenge facing us as an opportunity to trade insults; disparage each other’s motives; and fight about the next election. For all the problems we face, if you ask Americans what
frustrates them most about Washington, they will tell you they don’t think we’re capable of serving the public interest before our personal and partisan ambitions; that we fight for ourselves and not for them. Americans are sick of it, and they have every right to be. They are sick of the politics of selfishness, stalemate and delay. They despair when every election — no matter who wins —
always seems to produce four more years of unkept promises and a government that is just a battleground for the next election. Their patience is at an end for politicians who value ambition over principle, and for partisanship that is less a contest of ide as than an uncivil brawl over the spoils of power. They want to change not only the policies and institutions that have failed the
American people, but the political culture that produced them. They want to move this country forward and stake our claim on this century as we did in the last. And they want their government to care more about them than preserving the privileges of the powerful.
Now if only the Republican party would wake up and believe those words. People are fed up. We are fed up with being lied to, used, abused and ignored.
Look at it this way. If the Republicans keep going the way they are we will have Obama in office then a Democratic congress and we will have a remake of the Carter years amplified. Maybe we will get what we deserve because we elected idiots who forgot who they were once they got to Washington. At least it would be easy to blame the president if it were Obama.
May 15th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Actually, a league of democracies would be a good plan. It would supplant the UN and gradually replace it, and we wouldn’t even have to formally disband the UN. The UN would simply become obsolete. Charles Krauthammer has suggested this plan.
But yeah, most of what McCain says not only sucks as an idea but also tends to irk me personally. I’m still holding out hope that he’ll choose someone like Fred Thompson to be the running mate, though.
May 15th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
I’m not sold on the idea that another international “league” would be any better than the one in place. I would have to see the structure and intent before signing on, and even then it would only be as good as it’s participants and leaders.
Enjoyed a few tidbits from this article. I rather liked the following point.
“Now isn’t the time for conservatives to be looking for a tailored message or a politically expedient route to victory if the end result is going to be the inevitable slide toward the liberalization and secularization of America, and the growth of government and loss of freedom that inevitably ensues. For us conservatives it must be about principles and policies that are grounded in freedom, free markets and the rule of law.”
May 15th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
I consider you an “honorable non-Republican” conservative because you have the intellectual honesty to state up front you are conservative but are not Republican. By now everyone knows how I rant and rail about conservatives who are not Republican but are afraid to state they are something else.
I also respect your 11th Commandment - Thou Shalt Vote. Our family considers it the 14th Commandment - right after Thou Shalt Not Double-Dip Thy Chip; Thou shalt wear white shoes between Memorial Day and Labor Day only; Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican - then the vote thing.
I am furious with conservatives who now say they are going to sit out this election. I don’t give a rip who you vote for - as long as you vote. I also believe very strongly (pounded into my head by my mother) if you don’t vote you have no right to complain about anything political.
I like John McCain. I am very comfortable with 80% of his policies - which fits the Ronald Reagan definition of supporting someone. Conservatives who denigrate him and have no other ideas truly annoy me. You have the courage to stand up for what you believe and support a new political party. I truly hope you can find someone to vote for who reflects your values. But - I respect the fact that you have the courage to stand up for what you believe.
SJR
The Pink Flamingo
May 15th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
SJR — global warming alone is just about enough to keep me from voting for him. But I haven’t fully decided yet.
May 16th, 2008 at 9:28 am
We must vote, sitting out proves we are defeated. What you do is vote, but write in your vote, write in who you would have picked if mccain hadn’t been chosen. Make it clear that mccain does not DESERVE our consideration. I don’t know how that will be reported by the mainstream media, but as far as I’m concerned, I’ll know I made my opinion known.
TEEEEEEEJ