Redstate

and where they are taking us

By haystack Posted in Congress — Comments (5) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

It's become fanciful of late, in the heat of battle between the parties, for those in the loss column to wring their hands about getting along with each other. It's been quite touching to see stories emerge that suggest we all gather 'round for a group hug, sing some songs, find our happy places, and support each other - even those among us who cause our defeat(s).

Some of us prefer to keep fighting, ESPECIALLY against those within our ranks who engage in personal profiteering at the expense of the team they are supposed to be fighting for. For many, and most assuredly for our Political heroes, there is a mutated notion of teamwork; the idea that if the individual player succeeds, the team MUST somehow (by osmosis presumably) also succeed.

It's nonsense of course, but of all the things that can and have been said about the Democrats by those of us who resist their ideology and their electoral and legislative pursuits, there is one in particular that needs saying now.

The Democrats are spanking the Republicans, and they're going to keep on spanking the Republicans because THEY fight to win, and WIN is what they will continue to do.

More below the fold...

As an Independent Conservative, you could say I have no dog in this fight for wins and losses in those battles on the hill; living in rural Texas makes their shenanigans ordinarily quite far removed from my daily realities. Where I DO concern myself is with the net effects of their actions on the "whole" of us, and I suspect the same is true for most folks - we all have to live with whatever it is they come up with.

I am personally exhausted. The fight is getting uglier by the day, and being angry all the time is gaining nothing. Neither is it wise to push back from the bar, and call it a night. Again, we all have to live with the results of their toils in spite of whether any legislation they come up with will EVER effect them personally, it effects the rest of us just the same.

What the Democrats won in November 2006 was the argument itself. Whether they are right or whether they played with the collective minds of "we the People" aside, they won in the arena of ideas. And that, in and of itself, is perhaps the most ironic of today's realities because they actually offered no new ideas, simply satisfied with convincing a sufficient majority number of willing accomplices that they HAD to be better than what we had BEFORE.

A big tip of the ole Stetson to 'em - they done good.

What else the Democrats won was the beginnings of an opportunity to breed a whole new generation. Thus far it looks much like the one from the '60s, complete with marches, protests, and adoring fans wallowing in the idea that anarchy is good and railing against your government for the sake of it makes you patriotic; a good American.

They are also beginning to breed a whole new generation of Veterans all at once disgusted, depressed, and disillusioned by having given so much of themselves to only be looked down on, and considered the biggest part of the problem America has in getting along with the rest of the world.

We've been here before. Today's elected officials WERE the marching, protesting, anarchy-loving Patriots of the '60s. With the weed, the speed, and the LSD flushed from their systems, they now OWN the house they SO despised, resisted, and rebelled against...literally and figuratively.

Make love not war. It was catchy then, maybe it will make a comeback. So too might all the other social advances that came with it.

I am old enough to remember where I was when I heard that JFK was killed. Robert, and Martin Luther as well. I remember LBJ, his sadness and his self-deprecation. And I remember the joy and self-satisfaction for so many in tearing down a President who, for all his bad, loved his country. His love of power and love of winning took him down and no one but President Nixon himself is ultimately responsible for his undoing and fall into shame. That said, there were far more willing accomplices and the squeals of glee from them, for my money, are echoing in my head today as we watch much the same stacking up against the current resident of the White House.

As angry as I get, I find myself sad at the same time. Sad that my ideas of culture, national pride, and personal freedoms apparently don't fit in with the supposed majority of my fellow countrymen. I'm sad that respect for authority and standing behind a warfighting President are out of vogue. I'm sad that those most willing to be actively engaged in Politics are more concerned with power than National "good"; that somehow humility breeds losers, and we have given the keys to the Nation's Capitol to the aging "it's all about me" crowd that was part and parcel to tearing us apart as a Nation for a generation in the first place.

And, perhaps sad isn't the right word. Perhaps, like our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines disgusted, depressed, and disillusioned are better fits. Whatever words I come up with, amused is not among them.

The world is, by no means, coming to an end. But it keeps getting a little darker each election cycle. This wilderness idea; that Republicans are in the wilderness as punishment for failing to hold to Reagan Conservatism, while plausible, doesn't quite cover it. Our wilderness is, like Nixon, of our own making. We elected these people; either by pulling the lever or staying home, we elected them. IF we have reason to think some need to be replaced, we're going to have to be a bit more serious about making sure they are.

The wilderness is a half-decent place to be when you want to get away from it all; to listen to the birds, eat some nuts and berries, and commune with your God.

It's a lousy place to be if you care about your livelihood, your well-being, your children and their futures. It's a lousy place to put your country in the eyes of a world that wants to see it destroyed and you dead.

It's an especially lousy place to be when no matter how loud you scream, or how many forest fires you set trying to cry out for help and rescue, nobody freakin' HEARS you.

While many suggest that now is the time to look for the good in ourselves instead of highlighting the bad, and while I find places of agreement in that premise, the key to healing one's self begins with understanding that which caused the affliction in the first place. THEN, the boil can be lanced, the salve applied, and the formation of the scar begun.

Conservatism is going to stay in the wilderness for a sadly long, long time. A generation of Liberal "me" kids is already on the streets, and in our Statehouses.

While we're out here, the least we can do is understand that our afflictions are not only Democrats, but SOME Republicans, and that these "boils" must be lanced. It may matter in the short term MORE that we find the candidates most able to win, but over the longer term this idea might come back to haunt us as it has with the field of dreams we're forced to work with now.

Sooner or later we will abandon Conservatism in the name of winning, or hold true to it in spite of losing. Until then, the spanking and the bleeding are going to continue, and unless something changes soon, it's going to last a lot longer than 2 years.

And that is where the Democrats find their ultimate victory; we can't seem to make up our minds...they already have...and they're in charge.