Pssst! Hey, Fredheads - over here for a confab
By E Pluribus Unum Posted in 2008 | conservatism | Fredheads — Comments (205) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
IT'S TIME TO TAKE A HARD LOOK AT BOTH THE LONG WAR AND THE SHORT WAR, THEN DO THE RIGHT THING
File under: Fredheads | powwow in the rebel camp | don't hate us because Fred is beautiful
Note to all: This diary is not technically a closed meeting. But if you're not one of the Fredheads or our adjuncts -- in short, people with strong conservative principles who have on that basis had a good bit of difficulty warming up to McCain -- this ain’t for you, and I would GREATLY appreciate it if you just move along, or read it and save your ammo for another day.
This discussion has to happen inside the rebel camp, rebel to rebel. We've heard what you have to say, now let us talk amongst ourselves. I asked nicely, but this ain't another Olive Branch. Don't mistake this for a dialog between Fredheads and anybody else. Savvy?
So, my fellow Fredheads, let's have that heart-to-heart, shall we?
Why Listen To EPU Anyway?
(1) I certainly AM one of you – some flatter me with the honorific Ringleader of the Fredheads. As we say, aw go on…..
(2) I state it here and now: Fred Thompson would have been the best nominee, he would have beaten Obama, and he would have absolutely been the best 44th President out of this field of 20-ish candidates. He would have unified the party around conservative themes and brought in plenty of the political center due to a clear, winning message that all Republicans would have heartily rallied around. And coattails galore.
(3) I have demonstrated my conservative chops – the Russell Kirk diaries, et al.
(4) Like you, I have major difficulties with McCain as the Republican nominee, and with McCain as the 44th President.
And for reasons I'll explain at length, I am here to say to my compatriots....
It's time for the Fredheads to set aside our differences with McCain and get busy getting him elected, for the long-term good of the conservative cause.
Many of you are with me already, some tenuously. I am here to say it's not ideal, but it is a slam-dunk argument. And we need to do it.
[note: for the lurkers, the 2 sections following I have put into a separate diary, as I think it is discussion material for all conservatives, not just disaffected Fredheads.]
The Long War
What is it that conservatives want in the long haul, and by that I mean 15-30 years? We could go into details of all sorts, but let's stick to the most basic:
(1) American freedoms secured much like the Founding Fathers envisioned.
(2) The entire judiciary, from top to bottom -- out of the activism business.
(3) A moral compass in place in American life.
(4) Our national interests and borders secure and respected world-wide.
(5) Small government RADICALLY smaller (say 1/4 current size), most cabinet positions and bureaucracies - GONE. The entire onerous regulatory system – GONE, with only such exceptions as are prudent and constitutionally sound.
(6) Energy independence without surrendering to AGW fantasies, and whatever other alarmist nonsense the stupid commies think up next.
I've probably left out a couple of the basics, but you can easily see how these lead to things like Roe v Wade gone, SS privatized then phased out, other entitlements gone, fences up, military without peer, more drilling, taxes way down, and etc and etc. Let's not get bogged down in details.
So THOSE are what we want. The obvious way to get there is through this:
(1) The Republican Party is the vehicle. Period.
(2) That being the case, conservatives must take over the party, to be direct. There are two methods for that, and I recommend using them both.
(a) Purge the GOP elected ranks of RINOs and trough-sucking pigs. Purge it hard, bitter, and thorough. Primary them with conservatives, and don't think twice about nice manners, the buddy system, or seniority. And for Pete’s sake, quit choosing presumed electability over principles. Look where THAT has gotten us.
(b) Engage in an aggressive, long-term campaign of education and advocacy to sell conservative principles, Reagan- style, to the party faithful, and to the American people.
(3) Having taken over the party, and established that the Republican brand means core conservatism, now take our message -- the REAL message of hope and change-- to the American public and start winning elections. Build it from the grassroots up. Do it in city councils and school boards. (if we get our way, 30 years from now there will be no public school system, no school boards, but for now we gotta deal with ‘em).
Make no mistake, the long war is definitely war. The party of squishes (yes, that's us) will not easily give up it's spot at the trough. There will be blood spilt. Entrenched squishes must be primaried. Up-and-coming squishes must be stepped on. An impolite, bloody business, yes. So be it. My knives are already sharpened.
Not all of the benefits of conservative governance are immediately recognizable (kicking people off of welfare, deporting the crap out of illegal aliens, investing heavily in Iraq's liberation, e.g.), and so stupid people will frankly never get it. But because it's a slightly harder sale does NOT mean that most Americans can't get it. They WILL GET IT if we sell the vision with aplomb and verve, baby! The stupid people? Well, they've always got ACORN, ELF, Code Pink, ACLU, and the New York Times.
The Short War
The short war is NOT the time from now to Nov 5. It is the time from now until Jan 2013. We have minorities in both Houses that figure to get worse in January. We have both GOP and Democrat candidates in place, and largely they are known quantities. Their names are BAD and MUCH, MUCH WORSE. . I choose BAD, and so should you.
Now here is the crux of the short war. At this point read the section below entitled Why We'll Support McCain if you need to, I'm not going to restate it all here. The Short War for conservative Americans is this:
(1) Get McCain elected.
(2) Ensure that conservatives can go on record as saying we helped McCain get elected.
(3) Get as many Republican Senators and Congressmen elected as we can.
(4) Keep McCain from promising away the store before he gets elected.
(5) Once he gets elected, get conservatives a seat at the table, and get enough conservative muscle in Congress to keep his leftisms in check.
I know, I know, these 5 things are HIGHLY contradictory. Oh MERCY, do I know. McCain has no coattails This is what a career of mavericking and media-whoring get you. Republican candidates cannot say "vote for me so I can help enact the McCain agenda". So #3 has to be accomplished by sheer muscular effort. So that means you and me, the Fredheads, working not only on our local and state levels, but also on very-tight races in other states. We have to help.
#4 is particularly dicey. McCain goes on his AGW jags, and pulls stupid stunts like the NCGOP thing. He does these things, and when he does, we can and should castigate him with a modest amount of enthusiasm. He has to learn to respect conservative muscle, and the GOP ain't gonna teach him, nor will the Treason Media. It's Fredheads and talk radio (Rush) that are going to do it.
The other side of the coin, though, is #1. Discipline McCain, but do NOT pull support. Do not, in public, even threaten to pull support - and in public includes 'on RedState'. We need a seat at the McCain table - which means, balancing our need to punish his mavericking with our need to be able to say that we did not undercut his campaign with excessive criticism.
So to coin a phrase, sometimes take the opportunity to just stuff a sock in it.
The Problems With McCain
I could spend a week here. We all know the deal, and that’s why the Fredheads are holding out. But I’ll just hit the highlights, so that there’s no misunderstanding about why we are so……..lacking in Johnny Mac love. Uh, the lowlights. Whatever.
(1) Notwithstanding his 82% ACU rating, he has no true respect for core conservative principles, nor does he pass up many opportunities to aim his guns at conservatives.
(2) His frequent and notable mavericking are always leftward.
(3) He’s on disconcertingly good terms with Democrats. For all his enthusiasm at shooting live rounds at Republicans, he insists on playing the Comity Card when it comes to the Democrats. And he insists that YOU play the same card too.
(4) He’s a stubborn, pig-headed crusader, which would be nice if he were a *conservative* pig-headed crusader. But he got it in his head that the solution to campaign finance corruption required a massively stupid plan which solved nothing, gave Soros great purchasing power, and oh, that little First Amendment right to free political speech now belongs only to lefty unions and the Treason Media. He’s the self-appointed expert on AGW so now we need more obscenely burdensome government regulation. And so on.
(5) His loyalty even to the Party (not just conservatives) is, to be generous, iffy.
(6) He appears to believe the winning strategy for this election is bolting leftward and giving the bird to conservatives.
I think that’s enough to work with.
Why We'll Support McCain
Alright, this is really complicated so pay attention.
THE ALTERNATIVE IS INFINITELY WORSE.
That’s not debatable. Don’t try. If Macho Bambi™ gets to park his lying, inexperienced, Marxist butt in the Oval office, then:
(1) The war against global Islamist terrorism will face 4 years of full-scale retreat, Iraq will have been betrayed in the worst possible way, and the terrorists will be able and willing to bring it to our shores. It won’t be lost, because in 2013 we will have a Republican president named Bobby Jindal. But we’ll be in desperate straits.
(2) If you enjoyed Bill Clinton stripping the military down to nothing while the storms gathered, then you will REALLY dig what Bambi does.
(3) 3 lefty Supreme Court Justices will immediately retire and be replaced by clones 30 years younger. Roe v Wade will be out of reach until 2035.
(4) Fairness Doctrine, which will hamper future conservative electoral chances even more than McCain-Feingold did. We may not get Congress back for 30 years.
(5) Tax. Spend. Entitlement. Socialized health care.
(6) Economy in a death spiral.
(7) You name it. If you fear it, Bambi and his 60% majorities will perpetrate it.
If you are tempted to fall back on the argument “hey, 4 years in the wilderness will REALLY teach Republicans a lesson”, or the other one, “at least this way the Democrats will get blamed for all the bad things that happen”, I respond with (in order) “when did the Republicans ever learn that lesson?”, and “When did the Dems ever get blamed for anything?”.
No debate. If Obama becomes president (and this would have been true for almost any Democrat candidate, Macho Bambi™ ain’t special) we lose the Long War. McCain is a setback for conservatism, but he won’t cost us the Long War. Let's not let pride get in the way and cost us more than we could ever imagine by having 4 years of Communist-Marxist rule that our nation, our United States, might never recover from.
To Sum Up
Fredheads, you know I love you. You know I’m yours. But you got to swallow the bitter pill for now, for the sake of winning the Long War. Bobby Jindal is coming, the conservative farm club is looking magnificent at several levels. Conservatism at the grassroots level is making a comeback, and thanks in part to right-bloggery, it’s easier now than ever before to teach people, gather forces, raise money,
But meanwhile we can’t give away the country before Jindal gets here. So…..here’s what we do.
Cowboy up. Anybody can whine.
Support McCain in 08.
Don’t feed the Democrats.
During the campaign season when Johnny does his crazy things, do a proper amount of chastising, then zip it. And no need to recite the whole list of things he’s ever done. We all know. Let it rest.
Work for your local and state campaigns.
If you’re in a swing state, double your efforts.
When you feel the urge to gratuitously bash McCain….
Don’t.
Long War. Hold the fort. Jindal is coming.
Parting shot
If we get any uninvited jerks who insist on crashing our party, do not engage. Just ignore them, or just reply with subject line only: 'POU' (pox on u). Let our discussion be our discussion, and all these people do is lead to sidetracks and yelling. I’ll deal with them, and you better know I'll remember who is who.
So……what say you guys? It's a confab, which means you tell the rest of us what you think too.
[Holy Cow, Lisa - is this a feature-length novel or what?]
disappointed that the McCain camp is not making these arguments themselves. (Then again, E Pluribus does a better job of it anyway.)
Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer columns
http://thehinzsightreport.com
www.theminorityreportblog.com
www.race42008.com
"One man with courage makes a majority." - Andrew Jackson
Reminds me of the SNL skit with the real losers looking for a date.
The skits were called "Lowered Expectations"
Not sure how applicable it is, but at what point does one justify stopping the lowering of their expectations?
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Dependence is Slavery.
That was kind of my point.
For some of us, we have already reached that point. Yet we catch flak and are told to continue to lower or expectations.
At what point does one draw a line and say "Here, no further." ?
And, if such a line exists, how is it defended?
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Dependence is Slavery.
Unfair. Unbalanced. Unmedicated. -- IMAO
I do like your post, and agree that it is a good and logical argument for voting for and supporting McCain as a conservative voter.
I just fear that each time we compromise, we have to further compromise next time.
Cynical, I know (especially for my age), but that is what I see.
Reagan was a good guy and a good president. He did some things I, now, am not fond of (but hey, at the time I was, like, 4 years old), such as amnesty and pulling out of beruit. However, overall, I believe he was a good President.
Then came President Bush Sr. A bit more to the left than Reagan, but not horridly so. Went into Iraq, but listened to the UN and didn't finish the job. Raised Taxes. Had some stances that I wasn't really comfortable wish, but not a horrible President.
ignore Clinton.
Then came President George W Bush. Much further to the left than his father or Reagan, MUCH further to the left than I'd like or want, but the alternative was Gore (and then Kerry), so it was a 'hold the nose and vote'. It worked in 2000, as I can't imagine the horror of 9/11 with a President Gore, and it was ok in 2004, as I'd have hated the WoT with President Kerry.
Now we have McCain.
Who will we have next time?
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Dependence is Slavery.
My guess is we will have Joe Lieberman running in 2012, and new republican Hillary Clinton in 2016 (It's a big tent, you know). We will be told we need to vote for them because the democrat candidate, Joe Stalin IV. will be even further to the left than our candidate. Some will agree, and some will disagree. And the debate on Red State will get more and more interesting. More and more interesting that is if Red State is still legal in 2016 and has not been eliminated by future campaign finance reform laws (No political commentary on the internet within 365 days of an election).
A little quibble about Beirut. It was a UN operation and as such we put our Marines in an untenable situation in guarding the airport there. The UN Rules wouldn't allow them to fire back and defend themselves when they were attacked and the UN wouldn't allow them to fortify and protect the building the UN gave them to use as a barracks. Reagan didn't just pull us out of Beirut, He removed us from UN peacekeeping missions period because he didn't want out troops put under the command of foreign officers and he didn't want our troops put in harm's way without being allowed to protect themselves.
I agree with you about Reagan and Amnesty...It was actually worse than anything that's being discussed now...but it was a different time under different circumstances...We have the benefit of hindsight which is why there is such a negative backlash to amnesty.
One other thing...Both Bush's were moderate on totally different ways. Whether one was worse than the other can be argued based on which issues mean more to you than others...I'm a three legged Conservative giving largely equal weight to each leg of the stool and I would say they were equally bad for Conservative es in their own way IMHO!
"A political party cannot be all things to all men."--Ronald Reagan
I mean, that opens you up to all sorts of male jokes about your third leg. I won't start with any here, though. :)
Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer columns
http://thehinzsightreport.com
www.theminorityreportblog.com
www.race42008.com
"One man with courage makes a majority." - Andrew Jackson
To aceintx and LanceKates:
Don't forget the important difference between amnesty in the 80's and proposed non-amnesty today--none.
What I really mean is that there is only a difference in how it was presented, not in the result. President Reagan actually used the word "amnesty" other than in sentences claiming that his proposal "wasn't amnesty." He admitted that it was amnesty, but the argument was made that amnesty would be good.
Now we know that amnesty is not a good idea, so the plan has been to say that it isn't amnesty, even though it doesn't take a rocket scientist to recognize that it is.
(Amnesty is when you get to keep what you broke the rules to get, even if you are punished before you get it.)
So forget about Reagan and amnesty--it's a red herring dragged out to distract us from recognizing the difference between arguing for amnesty on the merits (the 80's) and arguing that the current plans for amnesty (comprehensive immigration change) is actually a rigorous regimen of prevention, punishment and redemption--but not amnesty.
Pluto, the Ninth Planet - Forever!
Reagan never got a chance to enforce it.
Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer columns
http://thehinzsightreport.com
www.theminorityreportblog.com
www.race42008.com
"One man with courage makes a majority." - Andrew Jackson
Thanks for the quantifying numbers.
I doubt that whomever the new guy is will get to enforce anything, either. Another non-different difference.
Reagan was honest. These guys are either "disingenuous"--or stupid. (See Laugh-In, and Arte Johnson.)
Pluto, the Ninth Planet - Forever!
Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer columns
http://thehinzsightreport.com
www.theminorityreportblog.com
www.race42008.com
"One man with courage makes a majority." - Andrew Jackson
That doesn't happen when one talks about getting a politician elected that is for a smaller government, fiscial responsibility to the citizens and a push for personal responsibility.
If we want someone to exceed our expectations, it'd be more efficient to just have NO expectations, then we'd always be pleasantly suprised.
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Dependence is Slavery.
exceed expectations in 2009 on the issues of energy and illegal immigration due to how high gas and food prices are.
Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer columns
http://thehinzsightreport.com
www.theminorityreportblog.com
www.race42008.com
"One man with courage makes a majority." - Andrew Jackson
rodguy911
Hi Mark and greetings from FR.
"Maverick" McCain is a tough sell on FR.
We have documented every one of his misdeeds to the point that we have become almost Limbaughesque about his candidacy. Yet many of us know that we are hopelessly stuck with him at least for the next four years. That is is Barr does not syphon off more than a few points.
I have racked my brain to come up with another RR II.
The closest I can come up with is Fred or Gen. David Petraeus. I now wonder if either will even agree to run in 2012 which is what we are really talking about here except for the few House or Senate seats that may survive a DBM onslaught like we have never ever seen before.
Champion of the surge.
Champion of the surge.
Champion of the surge.
Until November.
Okay, now what am I supposed to do about my heavy spender GOP congressman who in a radio interview couldn't give the next line of the phase "We the people" and appeared unsure of its origin? (To be fair, his Democratic opponent failed this test too.)
As a TN Fredhead I agree we've got to get McCain elected and work our buttocks off getting conservatives into both Houses and I mean REAL conservatives. This starts at the state and local levels (spring board to Wash). We must start grassroots organizations to get the best qualified Congressional and Senate candidates elected to replace the "weasels" we have currently have and that includes my two TN Senators. Also, we need to realign our state GOP leaders with men and women who truly believe in conservatism. We need leaders that are willing to work to get the state parties back on the right path, so that they can recruit well qualified conservative candidates.
In TN we have that opporunity in the 4th Congressional District, where currently Lincoln Davis (D) has held that seat since 03. Kent Greenough is trying to get his conservative message out but having a hard time fighting the state GOP machine who's backing Monty Lankford. Candidates like Kent Greenough are our only hope.
My suggestion to all Fredheads is find your "Kent Greenough" and work 24x7 to get that person elected. This is the only way we're going to get things turned around. Donate time and money to that candidate and never give up...never. It will not be easy but it is a fight we must win.
Back to McCain - if he is elected our fight to hold his feet to the fire will be just as important as anything we've ever done. How McCain handles the illegal immgration issue will be our biggest challenge. How McCain handle a NEW energy plan will be another fight..so forth and so on. But, we can do this. I feel comfortable that McCain will do right on the war on terror and the selection of new Supreme Court Judges but I will not turn my back on him until he has done the right thing.
Keep the faith and roll your sleeves up because this is where we've really got to come together.
Very good advice. Not only to look for US congressional candidates, but also local state representative and state senate candidates. In TN we're not far from taking control of the state legislature completely. Successful movements are built from the base grassroots up, & that is how we must do this.
The long view is hard some times, since it doesn't get you immediate gratification, but it's the best we have.
I will remove my Fred 08 sticker today. Dangit.
"Government of the people, by the people, for the people."
A. Lincoln
I still wear my blue Fred Thompson 2008 shirt. I got it 3 days before SC primary, along with 25 bumper stickers and 5 yard signs. I still put out the signs during our Florida Primary outside the polling place. My first black I'm For Fred shirt has gotten a bit faded :^(
If anyone wants a Fred08 bumper sticker, please contact me privately.
I just got done sending an email to our GOP nominee running for our Congressman Weldon's seat (he' retiring) in November. I asked for his positions on various issues, expressing my dismay at the liberal leanings of our Sen. Martinez and Gov. Crist, not to mention McCain. I wrote that I was a Fred Head, so he knows where I stand on those issues.
-- A true evolutionist would let endangered species die off. Anyone care to change sides?
-- Rapture: real separation of church and state --
We've still got to work to do at the local and state levels to get REAL conservative to run for both Houses.
This is two front war.
1. McCain elected
2. Surround him with REAL conservatives in the House and Senate.
These RHINO's and Blue Dog's can be beat because they are supporting Harry and Nancy and they can be beaten. Find you a battle and join in with both feet. Doesn't have to be in your state. We're all in this together.
If you are weak and don't want to get involved then stand back out of the way. Failure or surrender is never an option.
Three things make me vote McCain-
1. National Security/Strong Defense
Don't want to even fathom the alternative.
2. Supreme Court
I am not willing to lose it for a generation and have my rights as a Christian stripped even further away.
3. The character of the man.
For all that ails me wrt Johnny Mac, I can not dispute this man's character. To be sure, he isn't perfect, but he is a man of moral character that is leaps and bounds above any of the other candidates and 90% of his collegues on the hill. The man was willing to die for my freedom and the freedom of others. That speaks volumes to me.
There are obviously many more, but since this isn't a bash Barack thread, I'll leave them alone.
I'm with you, EPU, and FRED!
As Todd says-LET'S ROLL!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just a typical, small town, British-American girl...
My thoughts precisely.
Barack Obama: The most inexperienced, far-left candidate the Democratic Party has ever dared to nominate to be our President.
Unfair. Unbalanced. Unmedicated. -- IMAO
is keeping our seat at the table. This means supporting JMac whole hog and, once he gets elected, never allowing him to forget that it was ultimately us, and not Reagan Democrats or Indies, who got him there and who will ultimately decide whether or not to keep him there.
More important to remember is that if Obama is elected, not only do Conservatives not have a seat at the table; moderates don't even get a seat at the table. Let's not forget the stakes. I disagree with EPU on this one point: Obama is worse than the Clintons ever were. His socialism will hold no quarter for conservative thought -- but he is just charimatic enough to make the gullible believe he's a uniter.
And speaking of unity, here's my final point. In the event Mac loses, we can not allow Conservatives to hold the blame. Unity between Conservatives and Moderates will be of utmost importance to whether the four-year storm of disastrous socialist policy -- and in rebuilding afterward.
Great post, EPU. Recommended.
.
You implied it above and I'm sure all Fredheads understand this but I think it ought to be explicit.
The time for purges and long knives is in the primary season. We should replace the squishes with conservatives on the R side of the ballot if we can. Once the primaries are over we back the Republican candidate no matter who won the primary (even if it's a Chaffee). We can't run this country unless we have a seat at the table. The only way we get a seat is with majority Republican caucuses.
And yes, voting for squishy R's in general elections is part of the long war. The lefties took over by allowing a few conservative D's to run in the south and supporting them. The blue dogs don't share the lefty views, but they give the lefties enough of a majority that they can run the country.
Socialism doesn't work. It looks nice on paper, but it's been tried and it's failed miserably every time (usually accompanied by widespread death and suffering).
Proud member of the V.R.W.C.
The economic woes (not true recession) we face have come after the democrats took over in 2006. Every candidate running against a "Blue Dog" should pound this home & put THEM on the "doggone" defensive!
If only every conservative was as smart and realistic as Brian. We would be in a LOT better shape. I am not sure how some can be so stupid as to believe that the reason:
Rick Santorum
JD Hayworth
George Allen
and 26 other Congressman lost was because they were too liberal!!
"Small town folks get bitter after which they cling to guns or religion, or antipathy to people who aren't like them, or anti-immigrant sentiment"- Barack Carter Obama
Any time a conservative politico gets weak, apologetic, starts appeasing everyone and fails to get tough and act on conservative values it's only a matter of time before he is Trent Lotted. Remember Dems/terrorists look for weakness before they strike.
I will support McCain. I will even (gulp) give money to McCain.
I will also hold fire (until he is elected) when he goes off the reservation. But I still think FDT could make another run in 2012 and do it right this time.
"I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm's way."
John Paul Jones (letter to M. Le Ray de Chaumont,16 Nov.1778)
You can either donate some money to McCain's campaign and help him win, or donate a helluva lot more in taxes if Obama wins. That's how I look at it. Kinda like the old Fram oil filter commercial.
-- A true evolutionist would let endangered species die off. Anyone care to change sides?
-- Rapture: real separation of church and state --
I even changed my tag line to something more relevant, as per last night. I will work in my new registered state of Michigan to get McCain elected, no matter how much it kills me, so we can hold down the fort for Bobby J. I'm just hoping JMac himself doesn't p*** it all away before we get there. I will withhold my gloves off speech until McCain gives his speech to the hate group The Race in July. I will not be holding back if he goes in there and tries to appease and pander to a hate group, but I shall cease fire for conservatism for a month and a half on McCain, which is about all I can do since I don't have nothing nice to say about him anymore.
And I will seriously try and hold my fire outside of EPU's Fredhead closed door threads until after McCain addresses his hate group in July. After that, I will probably have to come out swinging when McCain and his lap dogs call us all bigots again. But hey, Hockeytown's happy right now, so I'm willing to give the world some leeway.
Dont Watch McCain!!!..Dont listen to him either...It just makes things worse..
His last speech was atrocious...His next one will be like a kick to the nuggets...I still got Ice on Mine
"40 million American households not watching McCain are generally happier
than those people in households that do watch McCain."
great games and I was pulling for Mo-supremes, 4 tops, s wonder-town!
Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer columns
http://thehinzsightreport.com
www.theminorityreportblog.com
www.race42008.com
"One man with courage makes a majority." - Andrew Jackson
Can we count on you till Election day? Did your bride know of your mercurial nature before you surrendered your freedom? How many games will the White Sox last before the Braves clinch the WS? 5? 6? Are red wings safe to eat? (see salmonella)
Celtics in 7?
Can't help it. My heart demands I pull for Garnett, a fellow SC native.
Are the Bears moving to Morningside Heights? Wilmette?
Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer columns
http://thehinzsightreport.com
www.theminorityreportblog.com
www.race42008.com
"One man with courage makes a majority." - Andrew Jackson
Lakers in 6-I love Kobe and hate the city of Boston. You can count on me until McCain addresses hate group La Raza next month. I am in and out depending on that speech. Thanks for the hockeytown love, its still popping up here :-). Bears are moving to Ann Arbor, I've decided and they can play in the Big House. smile. Hey and Garnetts a Chicago boy, wen tto Faragutt HS before going pro-but I can't in my heart go for Boston.
more later after Kobe opens up for 40 points 12 rebounds and 7 assists-but the big stroy tonight is Lama Odom's 20-20 night.
Game on GC :-)
transferred to Faragutt in the 11th grade because he was a b-ball prodigy and kept getting blamed for throwing spitballs in class due to his heighth (I kid you not). He was astar at mauldin HS in Greenville County, which is adjacent to Spartanburg County, my hometown. My son actually got Garnett's autograpgh in a mall at the Hancock building in the Windy City while I was up there on a legal matter, and we all waxed nostalgic about SC.
Now, I must mix you up with another br that is in Boston sometime.
Yes,I have written that the La Raza speech is an abomination unless he has his sistah soulja-rita.
With Smoltz out, Braves in 7.
Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer columns
http://thehinzsightreport.com
www.theminorityreportblog.com
www.race42008.com
"One man with courage makes a majority." - Andrew Jackson
http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/04/07/garn...
Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer columns
http://thehinzsightreport.com
www.theminorityreportblog.com
www.race42008.com
"One man with courage makes a majority." - Andrew Jackson
At first I was only going to vote for McCain because of Hooah Mac. He posted waaaay back when about how his life was endangered by weak civilian control. So I had already made up my mind to vote right.
But as I explained to a friend of mine the other day: At first, I was excited about Fred. Then he left. Then I was impressed with Mitt. The he left. Then I was stuck with McCain. Then I saw Barak Obama. Now I'm excited about McCain.
But I guess I'll always yearn for what should have been.
I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful 100 percent.
the John Wayne Stud diary.
To this day I love that one. Fred was not a cult of personality, but for those who troubled themselves to pay attention, he sure HAD some personality, didn't he?
Unfair. Unbalanced. Unmedicated. -- IMAO
And people wonder why McCain's slatecard ad here on RedState has only received $245 in donations.
It's true, it's been a sad story. Two years ago I was still getting threatened with being kicked out of the house for saying John McCain would be our nominee. His Slatecard total on Redstate reflects just how badly that long-term Conservative angst has hurt him, I think. My Dad is still in denial.
Defend Liberty -- Join the NRA | Live in Massachusetts? Join GOAL.
The really interesting (or depressing, depending on how you look at it) thing is that John McCain is the best choice we have right now. I was a big Romney supporter but I was persuaded that he wasn't the best choice. I would have been a Fredhead except that he seemed so lacklustre when he actually spoke in front of people. Who else was left? Brownback jumped out of the race to save himself. In order to vote for Ron Paul you have to have a black helicopter hanging from your rearview mirror and an Anarchist's Cookbook hidden in your fallout shelter, and Huckabee was a nice guy but I still don't think he could make it nationwide -- not against Obama, and maybe not even against Hillary. So who's left standing? I mean seriously?
Then the Mortgage and Credit crisis all chimed in at exactly the right moment to demoralize the country. Then gas prices really started flying. Now the third or fourth or maybe fifth summer of our discontent is really arriving, and McCain is the last guy we have, in for the toughest battle of his life against a guy who is being deified without second thought by the media.
All we've got is McCain. That's a heck of a tough nut to swallow, but we're going to have to do it.
Defend Liberty -- Join the NRA | Live in Massachusetts? Join GOAL.
Given all these crises that have arisen, has anyone even considered that they are manufactured or at least worsened by those wanting to GOP to lose big in November? Even with a majority of Dems in Congress, the GOP still gets blamed, instead of the Dems who won't let us mine our own resources.
-- A true evolutionist would let endangered species die off. Anyone care to change sides?
-- Rapture: real separation of church and state --
Election DAY, that ONE Day, that We the People get to access blame.
Not on news programs.
Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer columns
http://thehinzsightreport.com
www.theminorityreportblog.com
www.race42008.com
"One man with courage makes a majority." - Andrew Jackson
What a coincidence. I was going through a pile of books at a yard sale today. College student moving to Florida. Among the counter-cultural gems was The Anarchist's Cookbook.
Pluto, the Ninth Planet - Forever!
Yesterday I received an email from Colorado's 5th Congressional district Rep. Doug Lamborn. He has been good from what I have known but I don't know much about the political scene because I am new to this. Anyhow back on point, yesterday I got this email in which Rep. Lamborn explains why his earmarks are ok by hem and that it's not pork he after. The email then links you to a full list for all his earmark requests for FY09. I do not believe in using a corruptible device even if it is for the good of the constituents. Earmarks are bad, not because of people like Rep. Lamborn necessarily, but because if our side does it it give the Dems more excuses and we lose the high ground on fiscal responsibility and transparency.
I know that Rep. Lamborn has at least one challenger for his seat. Jeff Crank. I don't know much about Crank and I am having a hard time finding reliable information on his campaign.
So to any of the Southern Colorado Fredheads are around I ask for your assistance to clear the mud and get to work for whichever one of these guys best represent conservatism. (HINT HINT NIGHT TWISTER)
Thanks EPU for getting this thing going...hopefully we can get more organized and get active on the streets.
"Land of the Free and Home of da Whopper" Peter Griffin...Family Guy
conform and celebrate diversity....or else!!!
That is a mantra I will need to repeat often for the next 4 1/2 years.
Another FredHead here with ya EPU.
There is a radical difference between McCain and Obama, and that should TERRIFY those who know how far left McCain can stretch when he's in the mood.
--------------------------------------
GOP McCain for President, 2008
Here's the slogan for our bumperstickers:
REMEMBER! Campaign Finance Reform, Harriet Miers & Immigration!
In other words, we let Bush enjoy his honeymoon and he gave us CFR (which he promised to veto) & NCLB minus vouchers. Slow learners we are, but we do learn. Harriet Miers and CIR ended up in the ashbin because we woke up and held GWB accountable.
McCain get not one hour of honeymoon.
____
CongressCritter™: Never have so few felt like they were owed so much by so many for so little.
I thought about including a section that said, in essence, that this deal, this detente, was good up to the second the polls close. But I figured I didn't really have the moral authority to say that as part of this diary.
But personally, I'm with you. No honeymoon.
Unfair. Unbalanced. Unmedicated. -- IMAO
I want a bumper sticker that says:
Vote McCain '08
because Obama's a communist
just so people know where I'm coming from...
EPU - outstanding diary as usual. You have a knack of summarizing my feelings very clearly. Keep it up!
and any money I get out of it is being sent to mccain
(Mods -- I think it's pertinent, with the money going to the candidate, but if this is considered unacceptable, please let me know)
.
I'm not as down on J-Mac as you are, but I absolutely agree on the need for an aggressive Conservative, not just GOP, but conservative primary movement.
I don't even think we always have to vanquish the RINOS. Just scare them enough to empty their bladders. I attribute Justices Alito and Roberts to the Toomey challange versus Specter. Pat Toomey made Arlen Specter put on his Conservative costume far more often than he otherwise would have since 2004.
At a rate of 6,000 earmarks per spending bill, Speaker Pelosi is selling America's future to the special intrest groups.
Very well written. Count me in!
"Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged."
-Ronald Reagan
I proudly carry 2 Fred 08 stickers on my truck and I am trying to get behind this McCain thing. I have even purchased a McCain 08 (at least he's not a socialist) bumper sticker. I have yet to place it on the truck, for part of me feels dirty whenever I think about it.
I have never voted against a candidate, but rather for something. The war is a huge issue with me but my problem is that does it out weigh my disgust for his global warming garbage or immigration? God I really want it to, but part of me fights with the idea of allowing the racist, socialist America hating Obama to take the reigns and screw up so freakin' bad that the rest of the Nation would learn to hate the far left as much as I do.
My only fear is that could even the return of conservatism pull it back from the brink of the disaster that would surely result from his 4 years.
I mean I am from good ol' Johnny's state here in AZ and I am afraid if he screws things up, we will never get the white house back.... The judges thing is a wash because the congress will be democrat controlled and will never vote in anyone we want.
I may need an intervention here... HELP!!!
Talk Radio Junkie and Friend of Fred
there is a HUGE difference between having McCain get us a Rehnquist clone for SCOTUS..
or Obama giving us a John Edwards or Hillary Clinton.
Think about it..
"Small town folks get bitter after which they cling to guns or religion, or antipathy to people who aren't like them, or anti-immigrant sentiment"- Barack Carter Obama
we won't let our fear of a democratic candidate who didn't even win the nomination, determine our nominee. Maybe next time, we won't let the media pick our nominee for us. Maybe next time we won't pick our nominee based on longevity. You would have thought we learned from our 1996 mistake. That being said, I have no choice but to vote for McCain.
Jindal in 2012!
Just guide me to the Ballot box...tell me where the slot is
I cannot watch him anymore...I losing weight because I'm not eating like I should...I must think about my health
"40 million American households not watching McCain are generally happier
than those people in households that do watch McCain."
It's the sound: that reedy, high-pitched, quavering, "get outta my yard, punks" voice of his. Cripes...Woody Allen could shout him down.
Sorry EPU I wont crash your blog anymore...we are with you
"40 million American households not watching McCain are generally happier
than those people in households that do watch McCain."
floating around out there on the ante net?
Besides, look what happened to Lincoln...no wonder Zombie Flanders is dodging Gamecock's assassination question:)
If you mean by getting him elected to vote for him, I can deal with that because the alternative is worse.
If you mean by supporting him to outright lie about how excited I am about his possibly presidency, can't do it. Ain't lying for nobody.
I have a lot of angst with a McCain presidency that Republicans would just as soon I forget, like the Democrats assume their supporters forget all their negatives at the right time.
It's not just his pandering AGW or his illegal immigration record or any number of other issues I could bring up. It's the fact that, above all else, from whence these other positions originate, is that he buys into every Democratic premise or accusation of conservatives and operates upon them without ever considering they might be false premises and accusations.
For example, we have heard, and heard, and heard about Bush's failures as if there are so many as to be unable to list them. What exactly are Bush's failures that we take for granted that the premise is correct?
Sticking just with Bush's failures let's list them:
He didn't secure the border. That's one failure.
He was wrong about WMDs. So was the rest of the planet including Hussein's own generals. Get over it.
Katrina? Is there a pretty way to clean up after Democrats who couldn't spend a few dollars to run buses to get people out of there or siphoned off money from levee funds to use on their pet projects(Mary Landrieu accidentally stated that during a Fox interview at the time of Katrina)? BTW, how come New Orleans is the only city being talked about? What about the rest of Louisiana that was hit and the whole shore inward of Mississippi? On top of that, how come New Orleans is still getting so many earmarks to rebuild? It's like a black hole for federal dollars.
And yes, I have some issues with some of Bush's actions, but not nearly to the extent that everybody else seems to have.
So, what else?
And McCain is running as far away from Bush as fast as he can. So, no, I can't actively support the man but I will vote for him as the only alternative to a complete Marxist takeover, not that McCain is much better given his penchant for embracing every idiotic premise the liberals come up with... except the war.
On top of that, he has continued to collect a salary as a Senator but hasn't done the work of a Senator, as have neither of the other two remaining candidates on the Democrat side, notwithstanding Clinton's imminent withdrawal. So, are we going to pay him a salary so he can "not do" the work of a president next? But then, you can make the same argument against Obama so that one is a tie.
EPU, you're right about needing to work to make a strong presence of conservatives in Congress, but that needs to be the focus regardless of McCain.
Still, I'm half a mind to let happen whatever happens because some people just never learn from others' mistakes. They have to learn from their own and it seems like there's an awful lot of people in this country who fit into the latter category.
A McCain presidency would effectively give the liberals a scapegoat for their failures. We've had almost two years of their failures while they do nothing but hold hearing after hearing after hearing finding other people to blame for them.
On the bright side, we're conservatives and we can survive anything. It's not just a political statement it's a way of life. Remember that when the times get tough as they're about to no matter which one of those yahoos gets elected. We can survive this and we all may be better for it. The government, however,has a "come to Jesus" meeting in store... perhaps several over the next 4 1/2 years.
I need someone who can help me form a PAC. A PAC for exactly this sort of thing that we can get off the ground soon because I'm sitting on a goldmine of political opportunities in central PA right now, especially with Senator Eichelberger screwing up the statewide good ol' boys system...
"Always be honest with yourself. Even if you are honest with no one else."
--me
I will probably vote for McCain, but only because - as bad as he is - the Republican leadership in congress is worse and - as bad as they are - Obama is the absolute worse person for the presidency in my lifetime. If I thought that congressional Republicans would unite to defend conservative principles or would have the spine to stand up against an Obama presidency, I might feel otherwise. The only thing that is motivating me is the mental picture of President Obama standing shoulder to shoulder with Speaker Polisi and Majority leader Reid. I am afraid that is the best you can get from me.
_____________________________
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
--Aristotle
I will not help my party destroy its self. sorry
but I do understand your POV.
Unfair. Unbalanced. Unmedicated. -- IMAO
we lose, no matter what happens. If Obama wins, the squishes/moderates will blame it on Socons/conservative base not being supportive enough or failing to turn out - and cite it as evidence that we must move left. If McCain wins, the squishes/moderates will say it was despite the Socon/conservative base, and cite it as evidence that the best move to make is to the left. Now understand, I will vote for McCain - but I am under no illusion that it will make a substantial difference in anything but the GWOT - and that could be undercut by immigration decisions. I just have a very bad feeling that we, as a country, are about to take a detour over a sharp cliff...
I intend to work to get conservatives elected locally - although in the People's Republic of Michigan that too is getting increasingly difficult...
There's a good chance that at least 2 judges on the Supremes will be replaced in the next 4 years. I'd much rather have Johnny Mac replacing them than Obama.
Socialism doesn't work. It looks nice on paper, but it's been tried and it's failed miserably every time (usually accompanied by widespread death and suffering).
Proud member of the V.R.W.C.
that is another good reason to vote for McCain. However, how much can I really expect him to fight for confirmation of his supposedly conservative nominees against a Democrat majority? Will this be one of those times for "bipartisan" negotiations? Of course, ANY fight he puts up will be more than what would result from an Obama administration - hence, my vote for McCain. At the end of the day, I just don't see McCain putting much effort into fighting Democrats on anything.
If ever there was a time to stand up and make the right decision, now is it. SCOTUS appointments over the next 4 years are a likely event and I for one, no matter my abject dislike of McCain would rather roll the dice that he will give us even another O'Connor as opposed to something further left then Ginsburg.
_____________________________
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
--Aristotle
so instead you want to let the libs destroy the COUNTRY and our party?!!
So all my fellow military members who died and those who sacrificed years of their lives get to find out it was all in vain because guys like YOU would rather lose a war than have a moderate Republican run the government?!!
In all honesty, I have more respect for outright Obama freaks than I do for any so called "conservative" choosing defeat for the country over compromise in our political party!
Shame on you- Reagan would be turning over in his grave..
"Small town folks get bitter after which they cling to guns or religion, or antipathy to people who aren't like them, or anti-immigrant sentiment"- Barack Carter Obama
He puts it in perspective here. Short version: how would a nuclear bomb in your backyard affect your decision?
--------------------
Small is beautiful.
But the sad truth is, neither Bush, nor McCain, nor Obama can prevent Iran going nuclear. The stage for this was set before Bush's administration if you think about it hard enough. A mere 8 months into his first administration we got 9/11 but it had been in the works for at least 5 years.
The only window of opportunity is if we have someone who is willing to declare war on Iran and follow it through if it should become clear there is no other way and we have no one who is strong enough to do that. "The big bad U.S. picking on that poor little country..."
That would be a hard stance to take because the moment something like that happens, we'd have Russia and China coming down on the side of Iran... so instead we back off and try to play nice. Just like Saddam Hussein and the Oil for Food program, do you really believe the U.N. sanctions against Iran are going to stop Ahmedinejad from doing what he wants?
I am waiting until McCain speaks to La Raz before I send money. If he does any pandering to that group, no money or time from me.
Otherwise, I will vote for McCain and work to pull the curtain back on Obama every chance presented.
However, I will also change my will -- and leave everything to conservative groups that will work to elect Jindal in 2012. Why change my will -- because I am not so sure I could survive a POTUS Obama. Obama policies will mean the death of this country - and given my smart mouth I expect someone to murder me. When I first moved to DC I was almost attacked one night for saying DC residents should be embarrassed for electing crackhead Marion Barry as mayor. Two of the sisters sitting at the end of the bar didn't like my remark and the bartender advised my date the safest thing was to remove me from the establishment before I was taken out feet first and bleeding.
M Penny
_____________________________
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
--Aristotle
I am sorry but all this talk about Jindal, sounds just like the libs with BHO in 2005. No slight to Jindal is intended. But the similarities of the excitement about someone who just came into national picture is interesting.
As for VP, GOP really has to pick either a conservative governor or a congressman who is leaving the office. We cannot afford to lose any GOP folks in DC. Well, okay, they can take Mel Martinez anytime... please!
-- A true evolutionist would let endangered species die off. Anyone care to change sides?
-- Rapture: real separation of church and state --
Get ahold of the text of some Jindal speeches. Look at the text of the bills he shoved thru the Louisiana legislature in his first few months as governor.
The surface comparisons to Obama will be blown away. The guy is a real core conservative, and a real power hitter. He's got a machine down there, and they are operating with devastating power in the most corrupt and nanny-ized state in America.
Unfair. Unbalanced. Unmedicated. -- IMAO
As it stands right now, either Barack Obama or John McCain will be the next president. Nothing is going to change that(with the minor exception of Hillary pulling a coup in Denver).
If Obama wins theh presidency, we will lose. Not just more of our freedoms and our property - we will lose it all. If we back down one inch in the GWOT, our enemies will be all over us. They intend to stop at nothing short of global dominance of radical Islam. Global dominance that leaves no room for any other faith or for any other system besides Sharia law in the global caliphate.
John McCain will NOT back down on the GWOT, so we need him to be the one sworn in next January. There are lots of other good reasons why McCain is superior to Obama, but none of the others will matter if we the radical Islamists are not stopped. Too many people no longer notce 911 in their rearview mirrors. Maybe it is easier for me to remember the horrors of 911 because I have seen a fresh set of horrors in the GWOT. I am particularly proud of that btw, because of the work of our military, and the death and destruction they have subjected themselves to, you and your families can sleep peacefully in a land that still stands opposed to terror. Because of 19 and 20 year old heroes getting little to no sleep tonight, kicking down a door to face someone who wants them dead, ducking under a concrete bunker to avoid shrapnel from yet another incoming mortar attack - because of what they do and what they stand for, America has not suffered a terror attack in nearly 7 years.
Barack Obama would throw that sacrifice away to please the worst of our society. John McCain would not. The choice ain't all that tough.
I would have thought that "conservatives" would naturally understand this rational logic which those in the military live every day.
Apparently a refresher course in freedom, liberty, and capitalism needs to be given to some in the conservative movement.
"Small town folks get bitter after which they cling to guns or religion, or antipathy to people who aren't like them, or anti-immigrant sentiment"- Barack Carter Obama
Some of us are hard at work preparing and giving that refresher course. EPU is perhaps the foremost among that group.
To all those worried that electing McCain moves the party to the left, and we'll be stuck even further left next time...you are the ones who can fix it.
Presidential candidates aren't sitting on a shelf of a supermarket, where every four years we wander in and pick the one we want and take it to the check out. Presidential candidates (and the movements that help them be successful) are born out of a process.
It is too late in this process to whine about the choices for this year. It is time to pick the best one and make dang sure he gets elected. At the same time it is necessary and right to do the work for the better choice next time.
I didn't make myself clear. I was giving you a big HOOAH for your original post :) I am in total agreement. I am conservative but I also live in a real world where not everyone in America is as conservative as I am. So I would rather be with the 80% of those who agree than making 20% my enemy when it comes to Republicans. Reagan himself created the "big tent" to bring in all kinds of folks who were not as conservative as he was. We need to get back to that if we wish to ever win an election again...
"Small town folks get bitter after which they cling to guns or religion, or antipathy to people who aren't like them, or anti-immigrant sentiment"- Barack Carter Obama
I just seqeued into a little more preaching. I acknowledged you, then tacked on a response to someone above. Poor form I know.
If McCain will keep GWOT going, then let him start now by getting the funding supplemental passed. Champion it now and show us he will fight the libs on this. And without compromises! Talk is cheap, action speaks millions. There are a lot of efforts to help the troops that are not getting funded right now, and need the money to continue. McCain can be a Senator for just a week or two and earn that paycheck, and my vote.
-- A true evolutionist would let endangered species die off. Anyone care to change sides?
-- Rapture: real separation of church and state --
http://colecurtis-colecurtis.blogspot.com
I would just like to say; that if the world had more people such as yourselves, the world would be a better place, and the rest of us better people for having practiced your examples.
It would just be nice if there was some nice flavoring that could be added to make this medicine go down easier.
Barack Obama: The most inexperienced, far-left candidate the Democratic Party has ever dared to nominate to be our President.
If McCain picks Sarah Palin I will vote for him.
I don't know about any others, perhaps Bobby Jindal, but he may not be ready.
I'm afraid if his pick is lukewarm I will vote libertarian.
The big problem is your idea to purge the party of RINOs.
What we need to do is as follows:
For safe states (Senate) or districts (house): Purge the moderates.
For moderate states (Senator) or districts (house): Take whoever we can get
Very good points, and agreed on all of them.
2A is going to be impossible right now in some states (like mine, WV), but with a serious education program, doable in the future.
out of many, One?
smile
great work
this is a keeper
Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer columns
http://thehinzsightreport.com
www.theminorityreportblog.com
www.race42008.com
"One man with courage makes a majority." - Andrew Jackson
It was like somebody had taken away a prized possession in some ways, but in another way it was like I woke from a dream.
I can only say to those of you who are coming over to support McCain willingly, semi-willingly or kicking and screaming.
I do not want there to be a street celebration anywhere in the terrorist world when the election results are announced.
I choose to pick up a musket and join the militia instead of standing on the corner with my sign.
Godspeed patriots.
have actual conservative republican voters nominate our candidate in 2012. Forget who the media wants and don't worry about who the dems nominate. That way we can avoid this happening again.
Jindal in 2012!
But when the best conservatives can come up with is the "campaign" of Fred Thompson, conservatives look like lazy fools and will be treated accordingly.
Barack Obama: The most inexperienced, far-left candidate the Democratic Party has ever dared to nominate to be our President.
OK seriously, in 08 we had no real old-school conservative ready to run. Fred was it. Guys like Jindal, Sanford, DeMint, were not ready. I don't know who we could have run. Fred, if he had listened to some much smarter people, was it.
The only bona fide conservative we had with a cool head, proven experience, national name recognition, and a nation-wide organization, also was cursed with an extremely toxic last name.
You know, the former gov of FL.
Unfair. Unbalanced. Unmedicated. -- IMAO
If the only conservative ready to run was one who ran that awfully bad, then that just proves my point that conservatives need less jaw jaw, and more war war. Conservatives have to stop acting like the party's helm is our birthright, and get up to earn it.
I still think FDT would have been a fine President on policy and leadership, but as a politician and manager of his campaign leadership he was just awful as seen by his crash and burn in the polls. If we couldn't run a *candidate* better than FDT, then *conservatives* are the ones who are sickly, not the Republican Party.
but I don't think that's the fault of the conservative footsoldiers of this generation. I think the way the GOP has been run for a generation [in Rovian Dem-lite style, let's take all the Dem issues by coopting them, ala Medicare prescription entitlement, NCLB, etc] bankrupted the conservative farm clubs. The guys coming up are our new blood.
The GOP is sickly, not conservatives (the 06 elections were not a repudiation of conservatives). Look, we have major league conservative heavyweights polishing their game in 2A and 3A. And again you hang Fred's bad campaign around the necks of all conservatives and use that to say we're sickly. I reject the sickly tag.
Unfair. Unbalanced. Unmedicated. -- IMAO
I liked Duncan Hunter, but no one knew he was running, it seems.
Even when he was at the questioning of General P, ASKING QUESTIONS, the msm ignored him.
This was while the msm was screaming about how great Rudy was. If they happened to mention anything that took place NEAR new york, they said his name...
but they'd ignore Duncan Hunter even when he was involved with things they were reporting on.
No amount of money can compete with the free press of the MSM.
Which is sad, I like Hunter.
----------------------
Dependence is Slavery.
I don't see how you can hang it around the necks of conservatives that all the early primaries are in squish territory, and the Treason Media has an obscenely disproportionate say in the national dialog about the candidates, thanks to an unconstitutional law championed and co-sponsored by a certain non-conservative senator, and signed into law by a non-conservative president who secretly hoped the Supreme Court would strike it down.
Not our fault.
Unfair. Unbalanced. Unmedicated. -- IMAO
and if it is, then every state is rendering the distinction meaningless.
SC really shocked me. Over 60% of the state voted for either McCain or Huckabee. Definitely made me realize that it was going to be a painful election year.
hard enough, plus a lot of dems voted in it, and it was a crowded field.
Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer columns
http://thehinzsightreport.com
www.theminorityreportblog.com
www.race42008.com
"One man with courage makes a majority." - Andrew Jackson
but McCain still got 30% of the vote in a crowded field. I couldn't believe it then, and have problems fully digesting it now. It is nonetheless what happened, perfect storm or not.
SC resulted in a heavy does of alcohol related self-medication for me.
with Bush 2004 percentages
IA (50%) - squish
WY (69%) - red but tiny
NH (49%) - squish
MI (48%) - squish
NV (50%) - squish
SC (58%) - red
LA (57%) - red
HI (45%) - blue
FL (52%) - squish
ME (45%) - blue-squish
So, I'd say my statement was on solid ground. Early primary season is dominated by squish states, and by then the media die is cast.
Unfair. Unbalanced. Unmedicated. -- IMAO
The fact that a state is red or blue does not mean that the primary or caucus is a squish primary/caucus. For example, Iowa caucus voters are far too socially conservative to be acuratedly characterized as squishes. The reason McCain avoided the caucus is precisely for that reason.
Of the first three big contests, only NH is a squish primary because (1) NH has squish Republicans (2) its a primary and (3) its an open primary. After these three big states, Fred was out and Romney was hobbling.
The fact that SC voted as it did cannot be fully dismissed on the basis of MSM momentum, although that obviously played a part.
I agree that any primary that is open and a blue state is a squish primary. But stand by the analysis that Iowa is not a squish primary, its just a caucus tailored made for people like Pat Robertson or Mike Huckabee.
And, I will probably give him some more.
I'm working, just not so much right now.
Come October, I'll phone bank from Germany.
Ha! Take that Barack and Palestinians.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just a typical, small town, British-American girl...
who can suspend your account, block your IP address and make sure that any trace of you disappears from RS forever.
Now also found at The Minority Report
I should have pointed that out. And by the way, Neil's not trolling, just pointing out a few things that are worth pointing out, in a non "shut up and get in line" way.
Unfair. Unbalanced. Unmedicated. -- IMAO
you didn't notice who was introducting John McCain on Tuesday night?!
If McCain is so awful and yet Jindal is the messiah-
why was Jindal enthusiastically promoting McCain at the rally on national tv?!!
"Small town folks get bitter after which they cling to guns or religion, or antipathy to people who aren't like them, or anti-immigrant sentiment"- Barack Carter Obama
Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer columns
http://thehinzsightreport.com
www.theminorityreportblog.com
www.race42008.com
"One man with courage makes a majority." - Andrew Jackson
Unfair. Unbalanced. Unmedicated. -- IMAO
Getting everyone on the bus could make the difference in November.
"Austere, intolerant, well-armed, and blood-thirsty, in their own regions the Wahhabis are a distinct factor which must be taken into account" - Winston Churchill, 1921
a true conservative candidate (and control of the Senate). That word was "MACHACA"!
Jindal in 2012!
but the loss in Nov 06 was deep and wide on all fronts. But we owe WaPo a "forever grudge" for that bit of back-stabbery.
Unfair. Unbalanced. Unmedicated. -- IMAO
You are 100% right. It is just so d@mn painful.
I have a lot more to say but Neil is just so ready with his annoying snark, I'm done. I'm just about done with RS, too.
You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you.
Neil's alright. He's not very sympathetic to the 'crying over split milk' theme, and I guess today is one of those days he's 'feeling it'. So don't go anywhere.
Unfair. Unbalanced. Unmedicated. -- IMAO
This is only one battle in an ongoing war. Keeping Republicans in play now for meaningful some meaningful conservatives down the line is crucial. Just like our country, conservatives have weathered the socialist storm before. The key is not giving up. Never, never, never give up.
"Even if you think our presidential choices this election year are between disgust and disaster, anyone who has ever been through a real disaster can tell you that this difference is not small. It is big enough to go vote on election day." - Thomas Sowell
Unfair. Unbalanced. Unmedicated. -- IMAO
of Johnny Cash. PBUH.
"Even if you think our presidential choices this election year are between disgust and disaster, anyone who has ever been through a real disaster can tell you that this difference is not small. It is big enough to go vote on election day." - Thomas Sowell
Johnny Cash is THE MAN!!!!!
"Land of the Free and Home of da Whopper" Peter Griffin...Family Guy
conform and celebrate diversity....or else!!!
I'd like to weigh in, but I refuse to here.
reminds me, I need to ask you something offline.
Unfair. Unbalanced. Unmedicated. -- IMAO
that's who i THOUGHT it was...
Unfair. Unbalanced. Unmedicated. -- IMAO
(And I don't mean The New Republic.) That seems to be where I've moved to, if that's what you're referring to...
You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you.
look in the right column here at RedState under 'Sitew We Like', and there's a link.
And yeah, somehow the New Republic didnt make the list...
Unfair. Unbalanced. Unmedicated. -- IMAO
We ARE at war even if the liberals believe all we have to do is have "negotiations" with Iran and everything will be just dandy- the rivers will flow with chocolate and all our houses will be made out of gingerbread.
We can NOT lose this war- and only McCain can ensure that won't happen. As well as the Supreme Court, socialized medicine, and a leftist economic structure we may never be able to destroy..
"Small town folks get bitter after which they cling to guns or religion, or antipathy to people who aren't like them, or anti-immigrant sentiment"- Barack Carter Obama
I promised not to say anything negative about McCain some time after he clinched the nomination. As a result, I have been reduced to lurking on many, many days.
EPU, you have made the most convincing argument that can be made for Sen. McCain. You have done a magnificent job.
I can say no more without being negative.
Palin/Jindal 2012 or Jindal/Palin 2012
Good political analysis is done with the head, not the heart.
This is a very good article. People say that Obama will be another Jimmy Carter, but I think he will be much worse. We live in a different and much more dangerous world than when Carter was President. Also, the liberals are far more liberal now than they were 30+ years ago. If Obama wins with a Democratic House and Senate, there's no telling what irreparable damage will be done to our country.
I am voting for john McCain in Nov., but I am just 1 vote. If enough people don't vote like me, the the country will really get screwed badly. If enough people do vote like me, then I worry that conservatives will really get screwed badly. I worry that McCain and his current crop of senior advisors will think they don't need conservatives. They appealed to enough disgruntled Ds and indies so what do they need conservatives for? In any event the short war you write about will need to look at 2010 and not 2012. We need another Class of '94 mobilization to occur in 2010.
I watch C-SPAN Washington Journal a lot, and today 1 of the callers tried to make a big deal out of the spending occurring more during the Presidencies of George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush than it did during the Presidency of Bill Clinton. The disconnect that this idiot had is that the President isn't in charge of the government spending. The Congress is in charge of the spending, and for 6 of 8 years of Bill Clinton a GOP Congress kept spending in check. This GOP Congress lost their way after Bill Clinton won the PR war over shutting down the government, and they coopted his politics to keep their seat in Congress in the early years of the George W. Bush Presidency.
Extreme taxation, excessive controls, oppressive government competition with business … frustrated minorities and forgotten Americans are not the products of free enterprise.Ronald Reagan
and then republican. But always an American. McCain's mom had it right "I believe they'll just have to hold their nose and take him"
Mike Pence is 100% conservative and could make a good president someday if we can stand to let him go. We need conservatives of his caliber in the House.
UH..UH.. Go McCain!
Just because McCain differs on many things with the base, doesn't mean he is not a conservative. He is actually MORE conservative than GW Bush on spending, earmarks, and growth of government!
He is just as conservative on guns, and is conservative on foreign policy second to none. If some in the GOP on the right would look at the BIGGER PICTURE and his lifetime since going to the Naval Academy in 1958- they would feel better about the situation..
"Small town folks get bitter after which they cling to guns or religion, or antipathy to people who aren't like them, or anti-immigrant sentiment"- Barack Carter Obama
Sen. McCain is not conservative on the liberty to free political speech 60 days before an election or the pursuit of happiness in drilling for oil on American soil. He is conservative on life issues.
Extreme taxation, excessive controls, oppressive government competition with business … frustrated minorities and forgotten Americans are not the products of free enterprise.Ronald Reagan
"Vote for McCain, because it is the best thing to do at this present time." will sell.
"McCain is great, you guys just don't appreciate his awesomeness" is going to fall flat with those who have legitimate difficulties with him.
Convincing conservatives that McCain is "one of us" is a losing proposition. It tends to get the hackles up. Convincing conservatives that McCain is the guy we need to support in this place and time, that is a conclusion most of us have already reached and the whole point of this thread.
McCain agrees with conservatives on a great many issues, but at no point does he show the slightest inkling of conservative political thought.
Conservatism is not a set of policy positions. Republicanism is, but conservatism is not. American political conservatism is a political philosophy. It's a way of looking at the world, and weighing the tradeoffs we face. It's not a checklist of votes.
I think he's the right choice for conservatives in November, but I'd never call him a conservative. There was only one of those in the race this year, despite the fact that Giuliani, Hunter, McCain, Brownback, Tancredo, Paul, Gilmore, and Romney may agree with conservatives on a great many issues. They just don't attack problems like a conservative, and so when new problems come, they won't necesarily be trusted to come up with the conservative's preferred outcome.
So I think you overstate the conservative's case for McCain, and that hurts because it just gives people more excuses to attack him.
You are clearly NOT a Fredhead or anything close. You are a McCain shill, and you were specifically asked NOT to comment on this diary. I've been watching your 6 or 7 comments drifting closer and closer to the line of unacceptability, now you are well beyond.
I asked nicely before. Now I'm asking NOT nicely. You do not know the first thing about conservatism, or you would know how utterly vapid it is to talk about somebody being 'more conservative than George W Bush'.
Be gone.
Unfair. Unbalanced. Unmedicated. -- IMAO
But IMO he's got SHILL stamped all over his behind.
I can appreciate McCain advocates, like absentee. But this person is coming where he was asked not to come, to argue that McCain is somehow a conservative, miraculously. All while leading off with...
Just because McCain differs on many things with the base, doesn't mean he is not a conservative.
I got $100 that says he can't generate anything remotely like a definition for conservative. I can think of many words for this sort of nonsense. Shill is one of the nicer ones.
Unfair. Unbalanced. Unmedicated. -- IMAO
Enthusiastic McCain supporters are welcome at Red State. If you can't handle that, I suggest you reconsider your view of the site.
I'm not trying to come down on you or anything, but I'm just hoping you'll ease up a bit.
The Merriam-Webster is sufficiently vague as to be meaningless here. I have taken 'shilling' to be mindless plugging for your guy or cause with no regard to reason, sense, or accuracy [like me and the Dallas Mavericks, for example]. It did not necessarily have a dishonest component to it for me.
So, who knows, but his behavior fit my own definition. Enthusiastic is fine. Willfully ignorant or perhaps innocently ignorant is a little less fine, when you go a-thread-jacking.
What P16 was doing I thought was well out of line, since it was against my specific wishes for the purview of this diary. I know RedState is an open site and all that. But it was thread-jacking, it was about his 5th go of it on the page, and I don't see how it was anything but deliberate.
To his credit, Pentagon16 has desisted -- or may be he just totally moved on and is blissfully unaware of this whole subthread.
But per your thought, I'm easing up.
Unfair. Unbalanced. Unmedicated. -- IMAO
I'm for X, just 'cause!
Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer columns
http://thehinzsightreport.com
www.theminorityreportblog.com
www.race42008.com
"One man with courage makes a majority." - Andrew Jackson
Always choose B. That's what I heard.
Unfair. Unbalanced. Unmedicated. -- IMAO
They tend to be the most realistic and pragmatic conservatives. McCain has not gone out of his way to make it easier, but as I've said before elsewhere, it is apparent that a centrist like McCain has a much better chance than any real conservative would have had. We need the cooler-headed Blue Dogs and Independents who understand what a disaster Obama would be for America, and for the world in general. McCain has irritated (and yes, angered) many of us conservatives by giving too many concessions to Dems to get things done, but it is for that very reason that Dems can trust him enough to give him their vote.
The country has shifted to the left. Whether it is the ongoing indoctrination from kindergarten to university, or BDS, which needs one day to be included in the DSM-IV, or just intellectual laziness, the shift has occurred. To create a shift to get us back to the right of center norm, we need someone liberal enough to appeal to the left.
With McCain, we will still have a voice. With Obama, half the country will be completely shut out. And we didn't fight a cold war in order to relinquish the Oval Office to a blatant Marxist.
I seem to be missing a bunch at fd org.
Unfair. Unbalanced. Unmedicated. -- IMAO
If it would be too embarrassing [not sure how I could be embarrassed] just hit me up on my contact form.
Now also found at The Minority Report
_________________
Thou art the Great Cat, the avenger of the Gods, and the judge of words...-Inscription on the Royal Tombs at Thebes
Even if it's only to prevent the second, possibly even more damaging, term of Jimmy Carter.
I am still researching Bob Barr's candidacy and the LP platform. Being a "pro-choice" party will definetly move me back to McCain's camp.
What happens when Barr draws 10% plus in national polls and he is invited to the presidential debates?
I always forget your view of the LP. I was under the impression you agreed with me that they're going about it all wrong though, with their focus on smoking dope, cutting and running, and opening the borders.
Still a registered Democrat (my grandfather is spinning in his grave quickly enough already).
I fully agree that the Libertarians are going about it all wrong.
It's just that they're going about it all wrong a couple of orders of magnitude lower than the two "real" parties.
Man is free at the moment he wishes to be. --Voltaire
d00d, are you for dismantling the Patriot Act? The paranoid Libertarian rantings about our civil liberties because of the NSA wiretapping terrorists? That's just the start of Bob Barr's problems.
Maybe you have a different opinion about the GWOT, but Bob Barr is about as bad as Barry O. on it. And then there's the borders--he makes McCain look like Tancredo.
And yes, the LP is absolutely a pro-choice party, although they do count a few pro-lifers in their ranks (the L's rarely agree on anything).
Just sayin'.
------------
~ Beth ~
vote for Johnny Mac, but if he stiffs the GOP on the VP selection [Lieberman, for example] or some thin-blooded type like Crist, fuhgeddibouddit!
and name Palin as your VP, Sen. McCain.
Jindal in 2012!
Right now, McCain owes us conservatives very, very little. The seat at the table argument is more important than many seem to realize!
(Yes, I'm fully supporting McCain, but I was a die-hard Fredhead from January 2007 until he quit.)
------------
~ Beth ~
that was a point I meant to put more emphasis on. He already doesnt seem to like us, and the incessant browbeating by our peeps, even though *deserved* as far as the merits go, help not one bit.
I personally think he *does* owe conservatives quite a bit, as milcon conservatives constitute a sizable par of his coalition. But yeah, I'm certain he does not view it that way.
Unfair. Unbalanced. Unmedicated. -- IMAO
Help me out here, bro'! I've bought the lesser of 2 evils since I was stupid enough to think that GB I had actually learned something in 8 years w/RR. I let my heart tell my head the GWB's 'compassionate conservatism' isn't what I knew it was.
I'm tryin' really hard man. Obama makes George McGovern look like a moderate Republican and I know that. But our country will not survive without a revival of the conservative movement. We're only talking about the speed at which the destruction happens.
Help a guy who used to put up yard signs for McCain in the 90s see how/why the man who has delighted in sticking his finger in my eye, who since securing the nomination has continued said behavior, who will be the titular head of the only party right now with a prayer of communicating conservative body and thus putting like-minded 'squishes' into party positions, who has a history of eviscerating those with the temerity to disagree with him, helps us win either the short or long war.
My gut tells me that the GOP will get obliberated this fall because the leadership has become the same media-hungry, meglomaniacal, greedy whores that the Libs have become (cf. AGW, ANWR, and immigration for starters). The only reason McCain has a prayer is that the Dems have nominated the most radical candidate in history.
If downticket gets slaughtered and McCain wins you know that he and the rest of the Dem-lite squishes in the GOP are going to use that as proof that conservatism must be abandoned further. Just look at the statements the head of the RNC and McCain are already making. Do you really in your heart believe that McCain will wake up the morning after the election and say "Wow, I won because the conservative base voted for me?" Because that's what would have to happen for us to have the 'seat at the table' that is always proffered as the reason we have to vote for him.
And, if he loses, do you think any of the current leadership is going to wake up, smack themselves on the forehead ala 'I could've had a V-8' and say, "Yup, that's what happens when you abandon the base." More likely it will be them blaming us for his loss, not themselves because they treated us in much the same manner that the Dem's treat African-Americans: vote for us, then sit down, shut up, and move to the back of the bus, please.
I will and am doing anything and everything I can for conservatives downticket-I got myself elected as a GOP county delegate at our caucuses; I've forwarded so many worthy conservative GOP candidates fundraising appeals to my like-minded frustrated fellow conservatives I'm thinking I'm probably on their blocked sender list by now, and if I contribute any more shekels to conservative challengers, Mrs. Burke will have me permanently ensconced on the couch (hope she doesn't see the Visa bill with Sean Parnell's name on it when it comes in next month :-)
So, poster for whom I have great and unyielding admiration and respect, in light of all of the above verbosity, help a brother who has felt sick to his stomach ever since this matchup appeared inevitable, understand how John McCain as the head of the GOP for at least the next 4 years helps rekindle conservatism in the GOP because without it, it's not a matter of 'if' for this most blessed of lands, just 'when.'
I await your pearls of wisdom.
"All that need be done for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
1) That doesn't address the questions and concerns posited; (which is why I addressed them to EPU)
and
2) although I believe that McCain will be steadfast on the GWOT in Iraq (which is by far the biggest reason I would ever pull the lever for him), the # of votes on which he and Obama were on different sides in the immigration debate were......?
"All that need be done for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
Read this for why I believe lives are at stake.
I mistook your reference to 'life' to refer to the GWOT, and since I believe border control is part of that.....
Having read your link, FWIW I share your passion for the pro-life cause. In fact, it sickens me that 7 of the 9 members of the SCOTUS were nominated by Republicans, and yet Roe remains. Ironically, it's one of the primary areas where 'holding my nose' has lost the ability to motivate me to do the 'lesser' thing anymore (can you say 'Stevens, Souter, O'Connor, et. al). I have 'voted the party line' more times than I can count for Republicans with whom I had many disagreements in the hope that someday we would have the ability to place judges on the bence who actually read the Constitution.
Unfortunately, the same leadership of the GOP with which I have such disgust in so many areas is the same leadership which lacks the testicular fortitude to do what needs to be done to overcome the disgusting, obstructionist tactics of the Democrats in the Senate.
John McCain's record of 'working across party lines' leaves me with little to no confidence that, faced with the kind of the brutal confrontation that will be needed to get constructionist judges confirmed, we will end up with the type of judges you and I are looking for.
While I applaud the words he spoke over the summer re: judges, his actions over the last few years -- his reference to SoCon leaders as 'agents of intolerance' (words of condemnation he never seems to find for his friends across the aisle), and his litany of cosponsored legislation with said 'friends', puts 'judges' near or at the top of the list of areas in which I fear conservatives will be left standing at the altar in a McCain administration.
Sorry to be such a cynic :-( I understand where you're coming from...I truly do.
Sigh!
"All that need be done for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
The thing is, this isn't about the next four or eight years. This is about the next thirty to forty years. We'll have a chance for other important conservative issues in a few years. Now's not the time to take our football and go home.
Too many lives depend on us staying in this game.
Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer columns
http://thehinzsightreport.com
www.theminorityreportblog.com
www.race42008.com
"One man with courage makes a majority." - Andrew Jackson
Liberty Doesn't Go Out of Style
June 5, 2008
BEGIN TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: I was perusing various websites, conservative websites. (I'm not going to mention the names; it doesn't matter; they're a dime a dozen now.) But I ran across some guy in a little post on his blog say, "You know, conservatives have got to change with the times. This is not Reagan anymore. They can't keep talking about Reagan. We've gotta modernize. We've gotta adapt." You know, the problem with this is... Let me make it as simple as possible. It has nothing to do with Reagan. It has nothing to do with cult-like devotion to Ronald Reagan. It has to do with the fact that personal freedom will never go out of style and personal freedom is at the root of conservatism; personal freedom and liberty and holding on to it and maintaining it. And that's what conservative is, and that's never going to go out of style, and I don't know that we have to adapt that to anything other than what needs to be adapted and changed and stopped is the ongoing movement found in way too many parts of this country that would infringe upon individual liberty and freedom and yet we're told, "Come on! You gotta adapt, you gotta modernize. You gotta understand where we're headed here. We got a new set of problems and so forth." That's just it. There isn't a problem in the world that doesn't have as its best start in solving it freedom, pure and simple.
Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer columns
http://thehinzsightreport.com
www.theminorityreportblog.com
www.race42008.com
"One man with courage makes a majority." - Andrew Jackson
Americans alive today.
Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer columns
http://thehinzsightreport.com
www.theminorityreportblog.com
www.race42008.com
"One man with courage makes a majority." - Andrew Jackson
I just visited the historic sites in Philly and just finished reading Bill Bennett's America, The Last Best Hope, and have come to realize that the Revolutionary War was not for the Independence from England, but for the independence from a big government that taxed the people heavily and got too involved into the people's lives. In that case, the King of England and its Parliament were the big government.
It may just be time for another war for independence if McCain does not win. And wars are costly for both sides. So yes, as a Fredhead (with the bumper stickers and yard signs to prove it), I will vote McCain. As I said elsewhere, you can donate to McCain now, or give 2-5 times that much in higher taxes if he loses.
-- A true evolutionist would let endangered species die off. Anyone care to change sides?
-- Pitchforks and torches to DC? Nah, none made in US and no carbon credits available --
have been in two revolutions. Smarting from the unpleasantries after Fort Sumter, but we're still game. But next time we kick the Tories out the country and make them sue to get back in by requiring they ratify certain state's rights amendments!
Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer columns
http://thehinzsightreport.com
www.theminorityreportblog.com
www.race42008.com
"One man with courage makes a majority." - Andrew Jackson
that subject line in RECENT COMMENTS I thought you were going to tell us you had gamecocks in your yard. The ones with a little house and a tether.
Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer columns
http://thehinzsightreport.com
www.theminorityreportblog.com
www.race42008.com
"One man with courage makes a majority." - Andrew Jackson
You made a brilliant post and said things that we all think on a daily basis. There are however different ways of approaching our huge Rino problem which is at best temporary in the long reach of time for the Conservative movement.
I get a lot of my endurance, perserverance and relelentless conservative attitude from two sousrces:
1. Talk radio,Rush/Levin in the main and
2. From observing the enemy--namely the dems who are so much like terrorists/lite it's not funny.
Rush is a conservative. Was one yesterday and will be on tomorrow he will work with the Republican Party if they act conservative. They follow him not the reverse. But, if they don't he has such a solid core that it's virtually unshakaeable.
If you don't believe it just try doing talk radio when you are deaf! It's tough enough when you can hear. Believe me I know after 30 years!
If things get tough on our side he never folds only gets tougher,that's has become my style as well.
As for knowing your enemy I have learned a lot about the dems and their apparent similarites with the terrorists are striking to say the least.
They strike when the enemy is weak. Whenever they see a weakness they rush right in. Look at the silly/stupid bills they put before Congress hoping in a weak moment they will slide right through. Most of the time we catch them but every once in a while they sneak something in. Never forget just who the dems truly are.
They are Socialist/Marxists wannabees and nothing else. They are just too stupid and too weak to get the job done thank God.
It's our job to be ever vigilant. I often say on FR that the greatest thing about Democrats is that if left alone they will sooner or later self-destruct.
We are the guardians of the
New Media
and as such we truly do rule the roost of what is right,just and good for the country.
We have a huge advantage over the left. We actually love the country more than pure power and will invariably sooner or later do what is right, true and just for our nation and sooner or later that attribute will be recognized by the mind numbed, glazed over eyes, that have been near hopelessly brainwashed by the DBM.
Remember that's why we are here. We counter the DBM, we are the keepers of truth.
I read you post - and you and I are in similar shoes.
I joined my county party years ago, work the polls continuously, go door to door, and support where ever I can.
But it came to pass that no GOP supporters wanted to run for a local position that came open. I tried everyone I knew to just fill the R slot - no takers. Sheeesh.
So what to do? I put my name in. A rookie I am, but run I will. And give hell to my well positioned/financed Dem opponent who feels it necessary to vote for Partial Birth Abortion and super higher taxes, and freedom for porn distribution and increases in living wages etc etc etc.
What you should do is Run!
I take it you were replying to eburke, but if you were speaking to EPU, I would still give you a 5.
P.S. Use that little button down there to reply to comments.
I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful 100 percent.
Sorry dude, I was completely unplugged for the weekend. Just now getting back online. OK, I know you understand when I say "I feel your pain", so let me skip all that and get right to the point. McCain as the head of the GOP the next 4 years will in fact not help rekindle conservatism.
That rekindling will in fact *happen*. It will be driven by two sources, IMO: (1) Rush Limbaugh, the New Media, and right-blogosphere will succeed in changing the terminology and battlegrounds of the war for our country. (2) grass-roots activism, in part spawned and coordinated by #1, and in part by just good, old-school Americans having been pushed beyond their limits and getting dad-gum tired of what is going on.
So McCain is superfluous to the rekindling of American conservatism. He will give away some of the store and be a profound irritant to conservatives, but he will not be *bad* enough to trigger a huge backlash, nor will he be *good* enough to hold the line, much less be a player in a conservative revolution.
The reason to get behind McCain, then, since he has no serious bearing on the revolution, is the coldly practical one: while we are kicking a revolution into gear, he will do the least damage.
It's not a comfort I suppose, e, but it is what it is.
Unfair. Unbalanced. Unmedicated. -- IMAO
Hey,
I am no fan of McCain - the campaign finance thing was just anti-Constitutional and the immigration thing was even more anti-Constitutional. But he is pro-life. He does cut spending on occassion. It is what it is. (And I am a freaking MI Delegate. ooooh this hurts.)
But we can not let Obama take the white house because the left may very well take the Senate and the House and then two Supremes will retire ASAP - giving osoma 2 lifetime appointments. Lord, could you imagine the trouble that will come from that. osama is not qualified to choose a supreme - no way. I am too young to deal with another Ginsberg - or God help me, 2 more Ginsbergs.
True Conservatives do not backdown because our principles are more powerful then any 'personalities' the left invests in - and personality is all they ever give America.
1) Conservatives must -UNDERSTAND- the principles of conservatism inside and out - not an easy task. I may know what I want in a Government, but that may not be a defendable position in a conservative/leftist debate. I want low taxes - but why? I want regulation and agencies cut - but why. (Where Government advances, liberty retreats.) To understand the Conservative position, please let's all dive in to some conservative books this summer for extra firepower in October.
2) Conservatives must connect these Basic principles to TODAY'S problems and allow the solution to speak to indies and mods. The far left is so full of hate for R's as to not even be in the firing line. (Really, do not bother with the far left - I live near Ann Arbor where it is freakishly LEFT, have never lost a debate with a lefty and yet they hate R's so much - I pity them)
Reagan made these connections for the 1980's - solving the cold war, high taxes, and some regulations. But China was not eating our lunch - gas was not ~20% of disposable income, and terrorists had not landed 767's in NY city, PA, and the Pentagon. Few homeowners were upsidedown on their mortgages. Our times have changed somewhat - but our principles are "changeless". The answers are there -
3. McCain has to pick a VP - I pray a conservative shows up. Fredheads should unite around that VP. McCain should by his nature, have the Mods and indies vote - he will never get the hillary leftists - so firing up the party with a conservative VP will only help the rightside grassroots - (note: mods and indies have weak grassroots.)
There is NO 'lose to win' stategy. NO true conservative would ever think in such terms. How did you feel when Clinton won? Do you remember? Think back to that. osama will be more of the same or worse.
Lastly, the MSM loves the left - they vote 80%+ for Dems, they donate 90%+ to Dem candidates. They will prop up the left. It is in their blood - I do not even ask them to change. Each election (even Dukakissmyass) the Dem has had a big lead pre-convention/early summer. Mainly due to the MSM. It will swing back - America is not leftist, even if the press is.
Fight on! Fight on! Fight on! Reagan could not surrender, nor will I.
Excellent, EPU.
For me, it seems the question can be reduced to "Is the damage that can be done by an Obama administration so much greater than what will be done by the McCainiacs that we can't afford to take a chance on Obama?"
My answer was already "Yes, we can't risk it," but your blog puts it in concrete terms.
Pluto, the Ninth Planet - Forever!
I have kept out of the discussion up to this point.
EPU, I have little to add to your analysis. Definitely a good framework to move forward with.
As I see the Congressional trends worsening and the more I read of Obama's platform (and inexperience), the more I become convinced of the necessity of a McCain victory to maintain some semblence of two-party rule, worm-eaten as it may be.
To carry hope of future victory for conservatism, we must remember first principles: survival. An Obama win could well set matters in motion that would so change the structure of U.S. governance that it could terminate conservative influence on the Federal government for at least thirty years, and perhaps forever (especially if the WOT returns to American soil).
In any case, conservatism is definitely going to be swimming against the tide for this season. But better to be the salmon swimming upstream to hatch the next generation than to be a floating corpse.
Freedom of Religion NOT Freedom from Religion