The rEpublican Circus Continues...
by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny
Perhaps it is just me. I think not.
Some might say I've lost my mind. I really don't concern myself with others view of my politics.
Personally I have little use for the mystics of religion or the mystics of muscle (read state in regards to the latter). Any questions bring em on, I;m ready.
I have for the lions share of my adult life (40 years or so) been a fiscal conservative and social moderate. For many years I sincerely believed the Republican party represented the principles of liberty, freedom of speech, the right to dissent against public policy and politicians based on factual evidence of errors in judgement, the right to believe and act in accordance with civil law and the Constitution, that if you worked hard and kept your nose to the grindstone you would succeed and prosper, that reason rather than emotion is what should guide ones life and decisions. The list goes on.
Today it has become quite clear the rEpublican party is no longer the party of liberty, reason, or what (ideals) this nation was founded on. It has come time for this fiscal conservative and social moderate/libertarian to acknowledge the rEpublican party is too far gone to think it will ever change.
Now, having said this I will also acknowledge (for the hopeful conservative rEpublicans) the dEmocratic party is certainly not much better. But when a party is as stupid as the following not much else can be said...
No proof, but for the rEpublican party proof is not a prerequisite apparently.
Via: Memeorandum
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny
Perhaps it is just me. I think not.
Some might say I've lost my mind. I really don't concern myself with others view of my politics.
Personally I have little use for the mystics of religion or the mystics of muscle (read state in regards to the latter). Any questions bring em on, I;m ready.
I have for the lions share of my adult life (40 years or so) been a fiscal conservative and social moderate. For many years I sincerely believed the Republican party represented the principles of liberty, freedom of speech, the right to dissent against public policy and politicians based on factual evidence of errors in judgement, the right to believe and act in accordance with civil law and the Constitution, that if you worked hard and kept your nose to the grindstone you would succeed and prosper, that reason rather than emotion is what should guide ones life and decisions. The list goes on.
Today it has become quite clear the rEpublican party is no longer the party of liberty, reason, or what (ideals) this nation was founded on. It has come time for this fiscal conservative and social moderate/libertarian to acknowledge the rEpublican party is too far gone to think it will ever change.
Now, having said this I will also acknowledge (for the hopeful conservative rEpublicans) the dEmocratic party is certainly not much better. But when a party is as stupid as the following not much else can be said...
BuzzFeed - Obama clearly has Muslim sensibilities. He sees the world and Israel from a Muslim perspective. His construct of “The Muslim World” is unique in modern diplomacy. It is said that only The Muslim Brotherhood and other radical elements of the religion use that concept. It is a call to unify Muslims around the world. It is rather odd to hear an American President use it. In doing so he reveals more about his thinking than he intends. The dramatic policy reversal of joining the unrelentingly ant-Semitic, anti-Israel and pro-Islamic UN Human Rights Council is in keeping with the President’s truest – albeit undeclared – sensibilities
Those who are paying attention and thinking about these issues do not find it unreasonable to consider that President Obama is influenced by a strain of anti-Semitism picked up from the black community, his leftist friends and colleagues, his Muslim associations and his long period of mentorship under Jeremiah Wright. If this conclusion is accurate, Israel has some dark days ahead. For the first time in her history, she may find the President of the United States siding with her enemies. Those who believe as I do that Israel must be protected had better be ready for the fight. We are. NEVER AGAIN!
No proof, but for the rEpublican party proof is not a prerequisite apparently.
Via: Memeorandum
The fact that sane and sensible candidates like Johnson and Huntsman (and Fred Karger as well) couldn't get an iota of traction last year underscores even more your point, I think.
ReplyDeleteAin't it the truth Will...
DeleteLes, there are already numerous liberal outlets dedicated to finding an insignificant GOP kook and making him the face of the Republican Party, so you've got a lot of competition.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised Shaw hasn't beat you to this one.
And unfortunately, neither of the two major parties stands for this anymore...
the principles of liberty, freedom of speech, the right to dissent against public policy and politicians based on factual evidence of errors in judgement, the right to believe and act in accordance with civil law and the Constitution, that if you worked hard and kept your nose to the grindstone you would succeed and prosper, that reason rather than emotion is what should guide ones life and decisions.
Silver, KNEW I could count on you to get it.
DeleteWelcome back.
... But I do congratulate you on being in with the hipsters at Buzzfeed. They gave him a big FAIL! LOL! Text all your BFFs!
ReplyDeleteSo you're right in there.
Speaking of Buzzfeed, this one about people falling down is more useful and more representative of Buzzfeed's usefulness in bloggiland. Castro head diving into the folding chairs is my personal favorite.
I'm not putting you down, Les. We've known each other for years. I'm just saying that in the District of Criminals and the 50 branch offices, you could report on stuff like this all day and all night and never get it all covered.
And no matter how even-handed you try to be (and I greatly admire your even-handedness) you can never satisfy a progressive unless you go for the full lobotomy and repent of every conservative sin.
I like your posts on libertarianism much better. If you really want to confound both sides, talk about that more often.
Know what you mean about those posts on libertarianism, I kinda liked em myself. The thing is it seems nobody was listening. So, what to do?
DeleteAmerica it seems has a short attention span. Certainly when it comes to politics and the messy business of self governance.
Go figure... But some get it. Welcome aboard.
Count me in too. While there is still a lot of "...freedom of speech, the right to dissent against public policy.. in the Republicans and little in the Democrats (proven by their stands on Citizens United and the idea of the "Fairness Doctrine"), there is way way too much of what you identify in the Republicans. I see so many conservatives who demand that we deport all Muslims or (in the wake of the ground-zero mosque issue) ban and/or destroy American mosques. That is a wing of conservatism I abhor.
ReplyDelete"...President’s truest – albeit undeclared – sensibilities..."
And yes, I've seen way too much accusation of the President's "Secret agenda", that he is a Muslim (something many Dems also believe) and that he is a sort of Manchurian Candidate. Well stated, RN.
Well, it should come as some solace to you fellas, when it comes to this sort of political demagoguery, it usually ends badly for the demagogues, and a better GOP should emerge. This isn't the first time we've seen this sort of nonsense.
ReplyDeleteFor now, though, the media has scandal fever, raising the hyperbole bar higher and higher for the demagogues to keep feeding the fever. And for now, even among the very top ranks of Republicans, in most every sector, their are prominent demagogues.
In the end, they look bad, and petty, and nothing gets done, and the American people get disgusted with them. The demagogues are building a glass palace conservatives, libertarians, and Republicans should avoid, and for nothing whatsoever but power. If conservatives want to increase their influence in this country, they have to accept American as it really is and then offer how they'll make it better. Right now, many of the most influential conservatives in America are making fools of themselves for all to see, and offering nothing whatsoever that seems the least bit realistic, sane, or decent.
Meanwhile, the deficit is dramatically down, Wall Street is in the money, and the rest of us are all waiting for the boomers to retire. It's all part of Obama's secret jihad.
JMJ
Its always been illogical to me how somebody who claims to be a libertarian, a fiscal conservative, a social moderate can vote Republican. Since 1980 the Christian Coalition and the Cold War Warriors have for all practical purposes run the Republican Party.
ReplyDeleteThe concept of "Big Government" comes in many forms; social conservatives want big government to dictate individual morality, neo conservatives want big government to ensure our military superiority, and a relatively small minority of Republicans cling to the misquided belief that somehow Republicans are closer to their own beliefs of fiscal conservatism, libertarianism, and or smaller government.
The argument of "The lessor of two evils" doesn't fly either because the reality is both parties want big government and neither party is fiscally conservative; they just want government to do different things.
I personally gave up on the Republicans when they destroyed capitalism with the insane idea of replacing the basic capitalistic concept of supply and demand with supply side economics and I just quit voting for Republicans.
In 2004 I started voting AGAINST Republicans when it dawned on me that George Bush was bankrupting this country.
But on this blog, being against Republicans or questioning what "Conservative" means makes you a liberal, a progressive, a democrat, a Leninist, a Marxist, and I can't remember all the other choice labels I have been called.....
Individuals often arrive at a conclusion at different points in time and often for different reasons. Congratulation on your arrival whenever it occurred and for whatever reason.
DeleteMy hats off to you.
Tao: Where do you go now that Obama is bankrupting the country at a rate that is twice as bad as what George W. Bush did?
DeleteOr has the "bankrupting the country " situation which was important to you in 2004 no longer near as important? I can't imagine it would have been if you voted for Obam last year.
You are right Jersey. The deficit is going down. Maybe Obama can get down as low as the average Bush deficit by the end of his second term. A noble goal.
ReplyDeleteBush's deficit was 1.3 trillion, so Obama has cut that in half. With a little help from the Republican majority, he could have cut it more, but the Republican obstructionists don't mind hurting AMERICA TO GET WHAT THEY WANT.
DeleteIs this the same Anon who lies about everything? Probably...
DeleteTime for a fact check:
B"ush's deficit was 1.3 trillion"
For only one year! The rest of the Bush years were much much lower, less than half this. Obama had a deficit close to Bush's one-time maximum for 3 years in a row.
"Obama has cut that in half"
Bush had it "cut in half" for several years
"With a little help from the Republican majority, he could have cut it more"
Well, this is true. If he had given in to the Republican majority and their deficit-hawk policies, it would be much much lower.
"but the Republican obstructionists don't mind hurting AMERICA TO GET WHAT THEY WANT."
Now, you are being a crazy liar again. All they "obstructed" were Obama's attempts to make the debt problem much much worse.
Call me a liar, then confirm that Bush's deficit was 1.3 trillion as I stated.
DeleteYou are frothing at the mouth with your lies, give it up before you look dumber than you already do.
You are a liar. Bush had a deficit over 1 trillion ONCE. It was much lower all the other years. Obama has had the deficit over 1 trillion for 3 years. Maybe more soon. It is deceptive to the point of lying to claim that Obama has lowered the deficit compared to Bush. When the deficit for this year, and average deficit under Obama is much much higher than the average deficit under Bush.
DeleteFor you to say "Bush's deficit was 1.3 trillion, so Obama has cut that in half" is proven to be rather dishonest. It covers up the fact that Obama's debt problem has been twice as bad as Bush's. The only way you can win arguments is to cook numbers, alter history, and deceive.
He will get it down unless republicans can find another country they can convince political cowards to vote to invade among other things Dmarks.
ReplyDeleteBut you so conveniently forget the mess Bush left us and the costs of repairing it.
"He will get it down unless republicans can find another country they can convince political cowards to vote to invade among other things"
DeleteThis didn't happen, sorry.
So you were wrong and Republican policies have bankrupted America.
ReplyDelete"you worked hard and kept your nose to the grindstone you would succeed and prosper"
Between discrimination and corporate America's illegal behavior against workers, this has never been true. Guess you are wrong on that also.
I agree with TAO, except the only Republican I voted for as president was Jerry Ford. Guess I caught on quicker than both of you. Not to be insulting, but I cannot believe it took you, TAO, or millions of American people to be so slow.
So, now that you have successfully patted yourself on the back have you figured out yet who will have the last laugh?
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
Delete???? What the hell are you talking about? I mentioned nothing about fair wage.
Delete"But you so conveniently forget the mess Bush left us and the costs of repairing it."
ReplyDeleteBush left Obama a MUCH lower national debt, and 20% lower unemployment. True, there are high costs of things to fix, such as the problem caused when the Democrats tipped the economy off the cliff with the insane policies of Fannie and Freddie and others forcing banks to make loans to undeserving people.
There is nothing to laugh at; please explain what you find so funny, especially since the party you supported has waged useless war, ruined our economy, lessened our freedoms, destroyed the middle class, left 15 million unemployed, and their answer to all that is to destroy the government further. Instead of being snarky why don't you get serious and educate yourself on the reality of the consequences of failed conservative policies?
ReplyDelete1) I did not say I was laughing. I asked if you have figured out WHO will have the last laugh. I have. Hint, think O
Delete2) Educate myself, your smug superiority is showing.
3) When you figure it out get back to me...
Yes, Sammy really needs to get out more and get educated. Most of the problems he name apply more to Democrats than Republicans.
DeleteOf course, conservatism hasn't failed. What we have seen here is a failure of liberalism (the economic collapse in 2008 which started with the left's racist CRA policies), corrupt crony capitalism, unions forcing jobs overseas, and the like. Hell, Obama and the Democrats have to be dragged kicking and screaming to support middle-class tax cuts. and Obamacare is one of the largest middle-class tax hikes in history. The Dems certainly are no friend of the middle class.
None of this detracts from Les's point about the nuttery of many Republicans on Obama being a Muslim waging Jihad against us.
But when you lob us tired old whoppers trying to shift blame away from the destructive and corrupt leftist policies which have made such a huge mess, some fact-checking is demanded.
On one of the specifics, 15 million unemployed, the vast majority of these have been forced out of the economy under Obama's leadership.
RN's quite educated. He knows that the failure has been because the Republicans didn't stick to conservative principles, and gave in to left-wing destructive policies and corrupt "crony capitalism" (i.e. Obama's hundreds of billions of handouts to huge corporations).
What is unfortunate is this, neither conservatives or progressives hold with the principals of Classical Liberalism. Both are big time Keynesian advocates in practice, neither gives a rats arse about fiscal instability, the difference between the statist cousins ly only on how and where they spend our money, and the BS about caring about people is just that BS.
DeleteThe Oligarch are smiling dmarks and Sammy..
Democrats will have the last laugh, because facts show who is responsible for the mess. Yes, educate yourself, you still seem confused on how we got to this mess. When you figure it out, get back to me with fact based points, not ideology that has been a proven failure.
ReplyDeletePisa up a rope Sammy...
DeleteSammy has no idea what he is talking about.
DeleteHere is a good article about how the roots of the crisis were created by Andrew Cuomo:
http://www.villagevoice.com/content/printVersion/541234/
And an article about how Barney Frank helped make sure it happened:
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/09/28/franks_fingerprints_are_all_over_the_financial_fiasco/
In fact, George W. Bush tried (though weakly) to stop this mess, while Obama urged even more unsound banking/loaning policies to push the country off the cliff faster:
http://freedomoutpost.com/2012/09/so-it-was-bushs-fault-eh-obama-pushed-banks-for-subprime-loans/
In 1994 Barack Obama was a plaintiff in a racist class action lawsuit that forced Citibank to make risky loans to undeserving/unqualified individuals just because the individuals were black.
Left to the free market, Sammy, the crisis would not have happened. Without bad government regulations/interference, banks would not have made bad loans, as it would not have made any sense to.
RN: The Republicans main role in causing the mess is that too many of them did indeed side with Barney Frank. And they did not work to shut down the rogue government agencies Frannie Mae and Freddie Mac before the destroyed the economy. They had the power to, but did not. And yes, keysnianism and crony capitalism has corrupted the Republicans too, even if on a lesser degree than with Democrats.
Sammy is lying at every turn. You make good points, RN, to bring us back to reality that the Republicans are tainted with these terrible left-wing policies (Keynesian corruption, economic meddling).
This is rich – Senator Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) saying: “Oklahoma Tornado Aid Will Be Totally Different From Sandy Aid.”
ReplyDeleteYup, Hurricane Sandy relief – affecting 14 states, the second costliest storm in history, and the one Senator Ingrate considered “a slush fund.”
Read between the lines: “Relief for me but not for Thee.”
Thus said, I am not inclined to punish the hapless citizens of Oklahoma for the smug pettiness of their leaders. Rather, I would prefer to err on the side of doing the right thing and help all storm victims - then subject Senators Ingrate and Co-Burn-in-Hell to public ridicule for their pettiness and hyper-hypocrisy.
Relief for the areas and families affected by these natural disasters ABSOLUTELY!
DeleteWindfall for the Virgin Islands and DC is absolutely ludicrous if true.
So, fix the problem by writing appropriatoon bills, disaster relief, etc. so only the single item is funded.
But voting against aid for Sandy relief was, well, you said it best (O)CT(O)PUS..
Fix the lunacy but Don't vote in a fashion to punish the innocent victims.