There's a war going on (as you may have noticed) in both political parties. The Democratic's war is the "establishment" against the openly socialist/communist Bernie Sanders. It's the Woodstock generation of Ho Chi Minh hardcore leftists against the merely fascist Progressives. It's a fun war to watch and I am enjoying it immensely! This is a war between those who may still want some modicum of a private sector as opposed to Marxists who, if given half an chance will start nationalizing everything they can get their hands on. But as Nietzsche said, if it happens it is necessary and this war has been brewing a long time. Leftists in general pride themselves on discipline in thought and message, so this is a rare opportunity to see them air some dirty laundry, and it's only going to get better...enjoy.
Which brings me to our war. CW would disagree I'm guessing but the Reagan wing of the party (for lack of a better term) has been pushed aside for far to long. We have been good team players. Since WWII, 70 long years we have had two, exactly two candidates that represented us; RR and Barry Goldwater (and Goldwater was a shit candidate). We've had Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford, Bush 1, Bob Dole, GWB, John McCain and Mitt Romney. Each and everyone an establishment kinda guy. Now I don't mean to imply these weren't good men (some of them) but not many were into doing away with the Department of Education...if you catch my drift. Which brings me to my point.
The establishment hates guys like me. They're embarrassed by us with our "economic freedom" talk and anti-big government rhetoric. They HATE our emphasis on social issues which they see as a BIG loser, even though the Democrats talk about nothing else and ride social issues to victory time and time again!
Within the GOP there are progressives just like in the Democrat Party, a bit different in their approach but still Progressive in their attitudes and beliefs. Here's one I saw today, a ex-GWB speechwriter who now writes for the Washington Compost, a Mr. Michael Gerson. This guy is using all the buzzwords of the left, "right-wing, xenophobic, beyond the bounds of civil discourse" etc. in an attempt to delegitimize our views and keep us marginalized. He wants to purge Trump from the party. I've never seen anything like it. The establishment is so threatened they want to publicly PURGE the front runner! Well I say I've never seen anything like it, but that's not true. They were making the same noises in the 70's when Ronald Reagan was a threat, just not as overt.
The question is have you establishment types lost it? Have you gone absolutely crazy? Would you actually commit suicide in a year when the Democrats are such a mess that a Republican can't help but win, just to maintain control of the Party?
I've told you what to do, take Trump's issue from him. Get your guy (or gal) to come out strongly on immigration. Make it the cornerstone of his/her campaign. If your candidate can't or won't do that then don't give them your support, that's what WE are doing. I'm not crazy about Trump but I might vote for him just to send a message to K Street. Don't make me do something I don't want to do! The longer this goes on the less credibility these people will have when they eventually DO come out for shutting down immigration, and believe me they will if they have any hope of winning. You guys need to get a grip and you can start by getting these Progressive idiots like Michael Gerson under control! Jesus you're starting to embarrass ME!
This is perhaps the most complete and utter misdiagnosis of the political landscape as I have read in a long time. First of all, you don't get to claim for yourself the title of "Reagan Wing". If anything, you and others like you (is there anyone like you) represent the "Buchanan Wing" of the Party, which as you know, had a spirited, but unsuccessful past.
ReplyDeleteThe most ridiculous part of this summary is the degree to which you seem to think you and I don't share views. We do. What we don't share are degrees of importance, or temperament. You're Mad As Hell and I'm just mad. The issues of importance to you are very important to me, but you place emphases that I simply can't agree to. This recent "there's only one issue and it is immigration" riff is sublimely wrongheaded, as is your continuous advocacy of a Democrat for the Republican nomination.
There are a ton of things wrong with this country. Entitlement spending is out of control. Our standing in the world is diminished. The regulatory state is running amok. The degree to which the government stands in the way of energy security is staggering. The coziness between government and the biggest of businesses is a serious threat. The tax code is a mess that doesn't reward thrift and investment. And our national security is threatened by our inability to control our own borders. I could go on, and on, and on.
So, if there is a "war" within the Republican Party, who am I fighting with? Do you disagree with the litany of issues I just cited? Most of the time, when you haven't skipped your meds, you see these issues as important. After you get a shot of Ann Coulter at night, everything turns into immigration.
The war here is in your mind. You want to remember what it was like to be the relatively clear thinking fellow who initially screwed with me mercilessly on this blog five years ago, but then you lapse into your Coulter-induced immigration Tourettes and claim the mantle of an injured and ignored part of the Republican Party.
Someday, you'll realize that as much as we'd like the system to work out so that all of our policy preferences were executed to the degree we would like, it just doesn't work that way. People who disagree with you get a say too, and you have to figure out how to get the MOST of what you want while relegating the other side to getting the LEAST of what they want. Shut outs don't happen in politics. Am I disappointed in Republican leadership? Damn straight. Am I prepared to throw them overboard in favor of others who see the world more like you do? Not even a little bit.
That's the point CW, apparently we don't (whoever WE is) get a say on immigration. The establishment has ignored us for 30 years, and my friend that is a fact.
ReplyDeleteAll those issues you cite, I agree they are important but when your house is on fire you had better be thinking how to put the fire out, not saving your granny's coffee table you inherited. THAT is immigration.
As I've told you repeatedly, get this fixed or you can forget about the other things because we'll be done as a party. I don't know why you can't see that.
By the way CW, what wing of the Republican Party was it that promised us they would defund Obama's executive amnesty and immediately funded it? What wing was it that told us their TOP PRIORITY was to repeal Obamacare, and then immediately locked it in for two years. What wing excluded Congress and their staffs from living under Obamacare? What wing had an opportunity to defund Planned Parenthood, pass a ban on abortions past 20 weeks and snatched defeat from the jaws of victory? And lastly what wing handed Obama an Iran deal that required REPUBLICANS to come up with a veto proof majority instead of the other way around? http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/04/16/republicans-cave-to-obama-on-iran-deal/
ReplyDeleteI sure as hell hope it wasn't the "Reagan" wing!
The GOP elites fear the base more than they fear Democrats. That's a fact. Trump is a lunatic. I doubt very seriously that he'll stay at the level of popularity that he is now. That being said, the people who are currently supporting him, are those who are most hurt by the way things are...blue collar types who feel the most pressure from illegals.
ReplyDeleteIllegals have devastated the construction industry...go to ANY major construction site and you'll see illegals now working in all facets. Once upon a time, they only did dry wall & painting...now they are every where...
The allure of Trump is that he's NOT politically correct (an illness that is destroying our country) and actually says what he thinks...because he's NOT a politician. The only way I'd vote for this sorry anal orifice is if he actually managed to win the GOP nomination. Then I'd crawl across broken glass to vote against Hillary...
But seriously, the issue is that the GOP leadership refuses to actually vote by the principles that they were elected to present to Congress. They've "gone along to get along" for so long, they're now a huge part of the problem, and not part of the solution. John McCain is a symptom of this.
Prior to 2008, he was a GOP media darling because he dared to publicly criticize Republicans. The media at it up. He thought that their positive media converage would continue even as the campaign solidified. He was wrong. 90% of the media are not journalists, they are JounoLists...i.e. #DemocraticOperativesWithBylines & they hammered him in the MSM. He was shocked because he was both stupid and naive.
The media is even more in the tank than ever before. Can you imagine any JournoList ever allowing themsevles to be roped off from a GOP candidate walking along parade route? I mean really? How about their silence on Hillary's major breach of National Security. IT people I know tell me they believe that the Russians, Chinese (and others) were reading Hillary's private email server from nearly the beginning as the security was non-existent. Would they treat ANY Republican with kid gloves like this?
Trump is none of that. Furthermore, because he actually understands how media works, he has the ability to say outragious crap and suck the life out of the coverage of the rest of the GOP field...the media eats it up. I new he wasn't a serious candidate when he refused to attend any of the town halls that Tim Scott, GOP Sen from SC is holding in the next few weeks. G-d is the only thing more popular than Mr. Scott right now in SC, and ignoring him there will have fatal results for any candidate that does so. Mr. Trump is not a serious candidate, he wants the free publicity...and he's getting tonnes of it.
Well, I've babbled enough...
I really hate your blogger page. Every time I post something...it disappears. 3rd post I"ve lost because of that.
ReplyDelete