Sanity102

The biggest threat to Republicans are not Democrats trying to degenerate the large groups they’ve labled “tea party”; it’s the Libertarina/pretending to be conservative that are trying to claim the tea party as their own.

Blog after blog and talk show hosts after entertainment radio gurus have gone back to their 2006 demand for conservative purity.  One writer states that the Independents have “learned” their lesson and have come running back to the conservative side.  Most state with as much conviction as the Dems who believed Scott Brown had won because the Dems weren’t libereal enough, that the way to KEEP the tea party people is to be MORE conservative!

This makes zero sense.  If the great numbers gathering in townhalls, parks, and most importantly, VOTING booths were conservative, we wouldn’t have a Dem congress and the biggest Liberal in the White House in living memory.  No, you cannot blame the large majority on Blue dog Democrats and Obama pretending to be a centalist and at the same time argue that being centalist is what caused the GOP to lose.

The fact is that the tea party was formed to counter two issues…Obamacare and jobs.  That’s it.  Sorry, while many care about gay marriage, abortion, gun rights, illegals, unions vs. capitalism, taxes, social programs, these issues rarely get the kind of numbers that Obamacare and the economy garners.

In 2006, Libertarins calling themselves the base of a party they had no loyalty to, told this majority that the GOP wasn’t fit to govern.  They called for a complete kick out of those running under the “R” banner. 

And because most Independents have neither the time nor the interest in politics, they gave the only other viable party their vote.

In 2010, this same group will give Republicans back the power.

IF, Republicans and those who wish to see sanity back in the WH and Congress do the following:

ADHERE to the Reagan 11th ammendment.  It is NEVER a good idea to tell the voters the negatives about your party.  Believe me, your enemies are only too happy to oblige in that area.  And no “honesty” doesn’t mean one has to act stupidly.

NEVER apply a conservative purity test to the majority that may not be conservative at all.  Remember that whoever wins need to represent ALL people in his area…the Dems and the Independents, not just those who agree with them.  Those who run under the Republican banner needs to understand that and express that to the would be voters…he/she will represent ALL Americans. Period.

GROW UP, in our form of government, a candidate that cannot work across the aisle, make deals, keep a secret, take from peter to pay paul, will NEVER succeed.  And as long as there are no term limits, no line veto, and complicated tax forms, a Mr. Smith goes to Washington will be eaten alive.

Lastly, shut down the extremes.  They not only turn off those who would be on your side and give you victory, but they scare those who are sitting on the fence.

You will know them when they claim to be the base of a party they have no loyalty to and when they demand zero spending.

Republicans have always understood that sometimes as in the case of outspending Russia that using tax dollars is necessary.  And that loyalty is sometimes the only thing left standing among a person’s principles.

I suspect that the Talk Show Mafia and pundits are correct…Brown isn’t a conservative.  Not in the “can’t win” way they insist in Tancredo, Santorium, Hayworth and others that couldn’t keep or gain their seats.

See, none of these understood one fundamental fact:  when you become the senator, congressman, governor, president, you represent ALL the people, not just your base.  If a candidate tells Independents and Democrats that they will push for an agenda and principles that these groups do NOT share or agree with, why on earth should they vote for the candidate?

Brown made his positions on key issues well known, issues SHARED by most.  They weren’t Liberal issues, they were issues that affected most of the people in MA and issues MOST cared about.  And to show just how past stupid this man is, he deliberately gave all sides the impression that he was willing to listen and learn for the good of MA and America by giving due to BOTH parties leaders.  His 200k miles truck told the voter that he KNEW how to stretch a dollar.  His kidding with his daughters endeared him to fathers (and grown kids) around the nation; he was just like them. 

And when he stared right at the camera and said that there are some things that there is no negotiating…like the economy and the war on terror…millions of MA voters felt justified in crossing party lines.

More importantly, millions in other states, all across the nation forgot about how the party of Republicans had so disappointed their “base. ”  This was like seeing a new smart phone…and thinking of changing back to an old carrier that really wasn’t that bad.

The only thing the party of Republicans–and those who support them–has to do is be there when the Malkins, Becks, Ingrahams, and their minions are trying to close the door and give all those Independents and cross over Democrats a conservative litmus test.  Tell them to step aside, the ONLY viable party that can stop the Dems as Brown stopped Obamacare wants to get off stupid, thank you.

There’s a really good reason that the “tea party” people make most pundits nervous.  They aren’t “conservatives”, although they most certainly lean right on the issue of health care.  They aren’t really “liberal” either, but most I gather wanted a “Black man” to occupy the top seat.

Glenn Beck, Dennis Miller, and president wannabes pretend to be one of them and all would love to think that the group is big enough to form a third party that can take on both the Dems and the GOP.

Hate to break it to ya all but the tea party that so scares and excites both the Left and the Right are Independents…the REAL majority that cannot get together long enough to form a party or be controlled.

Right now, this group is angry as all get out at the Left.  They have good, solid reasons for their anger.  The Left has had one year to take care of the things they care about…the economy, the courts, and terror.  Three things GWB and company EXCELLED in.

The only other VIABLE party, the party of REPUBLICANS are looking mighty good right now.

And what do the so called base do?  REMIND these voters what a terrible job Bush and the GOP did when they were in power!

Is this stupid or what?

I mean really, has NONE of them ever sold anything?  You don’t push YOUR product by constantly reminding the customer of how unhappy you are with the company (party) you belong to.  It says more about YOUR integrity and YOUR intelligence in remaining than it ever says about the party you are supposed to represent.

If you really want to show that you stand for principles…make sure that principles include loyalty…and if you can’t give that to a party, then PLEASE go create/join one that you can.

Leave the party of Republicans to Republicans, so that in 2010, those tea party and other Independents can freely join them when they put America first.

Political pundits from both sides of the aisle have been telling their choir that the country is either “conservative” or “liberal”.  When the GOP held Congress and the White House, the “base” demanded that these two branches of power ignore the population that was NOT conservative and bring about the kind of utopia only a libertarian would love.  In 2008, when the Dems did likewise, move on dot org is making similiar demands.  And like the GOP, the Dems will learn who Joe/Jane voter really is.

The truth can be found in an off remark made by a guest on a radio talk show regarding the sweep of GOP victories a few weeks ago…”Actually, the GOP is equally disturbed about the results because we don’t know how to control the tea party, townhall people that gave the GOP their victories.”

They can’t simply because these people are neither conservative or liberal…they are, as I have been saying for years: Independents.  Some lean left and some, as I do, lean right on issues. 

They are neither stupid or unprincipled; just extremely busy. 

They may not have taken the abortion issue seriously when it was being run thru the courts 35 years ago, but they come out EVERY time there is a vote to make sure that marriage remains between a man and a woman. 

They may shrug when they are nickled and dimed with user fees, but will throw out a governor who tries to hike their car registration fees by the hundreds.

They may not know who is their Vice President, Senator or Speaker of the House, but they understand that under Bush, life was easier and safer.  And if Obama doesn’t start bringing back the time when jobs are plentiful and huge 401k profits of the Bush era or a bomb goes off in a major city during Obama’s watch and he does nothing…they won’t care what color Obama’s skin is or how charming he is, they WILL roast him and toss him out on his butt.

Independents are typically busy with work, family, social obligations (Church, sports).  They vary on their ideals, their beliefs, their dreams.  They do not, please listen, do NOT care about equality or distribution of wealth, nor do they care about illegals or not being conservative (aka libertarian) enough. 

They DO care about 3 things, each DIRECTLY affecting THEIR lives:

1- the war on terror

2- the economy

3- the courts

In all three the GOP had a definite advantage. 

Unfortunately, Libertarians pretending to be the base, had GWB and Congress addressing THEIR issues, issues that a MINORITY of voters cared about.

The Dems are making the same mistake.

And round it goes. 

Also as predicted, the GOP WILL get their shot at total power again.  The only hope I have is that when the party of Republicans get there, they will remember who REALLY put them there and act accordingly

Dennis Prager claims to be a Liberal, the JFK type and contends that “the Left” took over the Democrats.

Now I get why he insists on remaining a Liberal…it’s a shuffle game: he has mentioned on more than one occasion how Jewish families are tolerant of almost everything…abortion, gay marriages…but a family member that becomes a Conservative is shunned and ostracized.  Thus he can champion the Republican cause, even openly support Republicans, as long as he remains a “liberal”.

And I can even comprehend the idea of a party being taken over by the extremes.  In fact I am witnessing such a move by Libertarians calling themselves “conservatives.”

Libertarians believe in very little government…thus they hate programs that allow the elderly the ability to afford the miracle drugs that prolong their lives….they see no value in a program that make teachers accountable for actually educating our children. Twenty five years ago, if the same people who judged GWB as “not conservative enough” had talk shows and blogs, the paragon of conservatism himself Ronald Reagan would have been vilified for all the money he spent on international affairs and let us not forget real amnesty.

For nearly 6 years, the Libertarians aka conservatives have taken over the GOP, pushing many Independents and cross over Democrats out of the Republican tent.  They have demanded strict adherence to their “principles”, ideology NOT shared by the majority of American voters (see 2006 and 2008 election results as the Libertarian champions didn’t even win the primaries). 

But I learned something very interesting…America is a strange and fairly cool experiment in human self-rule. 

6 years ago, conservatives JOINED their liberal counterparts in “reading” the mind of Trent Lott whose great “crime” was that he had made a toast at a birthday party.  It wasn’t WHAT Lott said or DID; it was what he MEANT when he made the toast to a 100 year old born during a period of deep southern racial hatred.  The crucifixion of this man, driving him out of his Senate Majority leadership, gave notice to all politicians thinking of running under the GOP banner that less than perfection would not be tolerated. 

Recently, the sanctimonious talk show mafia and their pundits tried to do it again with Joe Wilson.  Only the American people weren’t having it.  Joe Wilson said what many listening to Obama’s lies wanted to say.

He spoke for every one of those who had raised their voices at townhall meetings, wrote scathing blogs, and marched on Washington and at tea parties.

All of a sudden, the holier than thou preaching of being “above it all” got angry retorts…Prager, Medved, Hewitt found themselves having to explain their lack of support.  They were noticeably happy when the race card got played because all of a sudden they could add a “but” to the Wilson issue.  “Yes, I believe he was being inappropriate for the venue in which he uttered the words…BUT to be fair, the president had called the American people liars first…and to claim that he was really uttering a racial epithet, now THAT is going too far!”

Dems may have been happy with Joe Wilson’s outburst…not because he showed how uncontrolled Republicans were, but because it reminded Independents of the racial rhetoric conservatives hurled at MEXICANS, legal or not.  It was only logical, that the next card to be played would be their racist card.

But as Blacks needed Whites to finally give them civil rights, Liberals needed Conservatives to win the Joe Wilson hand.   And while that was the initial reaction of most talk show hosts and conservative pundits, the latter learned real quick that the real power lays within those who can turn the dial or click on their web site.

For decades, conservatives practically salivated at the power wielded by the mainstream media to influence America.  For a short period, conservatives via the talk show mafia believed that power was being transferred to them. 

The Joe Wilson hand may be the signal that there’s a new game in town.

Medved had a debate with a Liberal who reminded him that the military is a government run agency and it proves that not all government agency is wasteful or unsuccessful.

Here’s the BIG difference…the military is NOT a democracy.  Now, unless, we as a society want to give up our civilian lifestyle, the success of our military cannot be used to measure the probability of creating another effective public department.

He also spoke of the fire and police department being “successful” government programs funded by the tax payer; again both agencies have a military type rank and file system where the heads of both agencies are subject to public hearings and removal that doesn’t require acts of congress and long and expensive hearings.

Like it or not, the profit factor is directly responsible for cures to many of the diseases that mere decades ago were considered to be in the realm of the almighty.

Take away the money factor and you are left with professionals that have the financial ability and the desire to heal with little compensation…backed by drug companies that also has the financial ability to promote new discoveries and miracles.

We already have a shortage of medical professionals and each day, drug companies are finding their cures cost more in litigation than they could ever offer in profits to their stock holders.

I’m not sure if Liberals live in a world that is so far above reality or if they truly do not comprehend how business works.  They are like kids that keep taking support from their parents, way after they have gone to college and insist that their level of education makes them smarter than their parents.

In any event, until these “kids” grow up, we really shouldn’t have them running this nation.

I agree with Michael Medved on most things.  I find him to be the most practical of all the talk show hosts but he’s way off on the reaction of Independents on Joe Wilson’s outburst during Obama’s lecture to Congress.

Medved believes that Independents, by his definition pays little or no attention to politics, will be put off by the “uncivilized” accusation of Rep. Wilson that Obama was a “liar”.

First off, it there was a price to pay for disrespecting the office of the presidency, the Democrats would have never have gained Congress in 2006 and lost it in 2008 after nearly 8 years of bashing Bush.  In fact, Wilson’s outburst was mild compared to the accusations hurled at the previous president.

Secondly, isn’t Medved paying attention to the heated townhall meetings?  People were alot angrier than Wilson–and any denounciation of Wilson’s control is a knock on all those people who said and felt alot worst at our leaders.

Medved is fond of saying that the GOP has to learn from their mistakes.

Here’s one really good one he and his cronies should learn:

Trent Lott was crucified not for what he said but what the sanctimonous people on the Right thought he meant.  They insisted on Lott living up to a standard that wasn’t just too high for any politician…it was ridiculous for most mere mortals.

You know…the 20% Independents that DECIDE elections.  They say stupid things…and get real emotional…and they make some truly dumb mistakes.  And whenever they hear people that is supposed to speak for the Republican party tell their politicians that there is no room for being less than perfect…they run…to the party that claims to be tolerant of sinners.

Medved wants Wilson to apologize to Congress…and go on apologizing.

Then when no Republican will take on Obama and the Dems, he will lament the lack of courage…of men and woman that got tired of having to watch their own backs.

Tomorrow is the 8th anniversity of the day that I learned with gut wrenching surprise, that I really loved this nation.  It was the day of my political awakening and the dawning of the uncomfortable knowledge that people I didn’t know nor cared to meet, could change my world forever. 

The following post was written a couple of years ago and reprinted a few times.  It is the story of how I felt on that fateful day when for one moment in time, this nation came together.

In 2001, I was a part of a group that hailed from 4 foreign countries: Canada, UK, Germany, and Australia. During our down time, most of these people would join the Americans in our group in a wonderful pastime of knocking our prospective governments, particularly the U.S.A. because she was the big guy (translation: bully) on the world stage. I paid little heed to this hobby for no other reason than it simply failed to interest me. I didn’t care what some politician did or didn’t do nor did I care with whom he/she did it. A female Secretary of State didn’t impress me one iota. And other than the cases that involved my pet issue, I really found it hard to get all worked up about anything the Supreme Court decided.

On that September morning, I was awaken by a colleague from the U.K. He advised me to turn on my t.v. His voice was solemn and almost expectant; the kind of tone people used when they expect to deal with something they really rather not.

“Is this for real?” I asked when they replayed the two towers crumbling to the ground…it looked like some kind of movie stunt.

“Yes.” he replied, again that pause, that expectant tone that said, please don’t get too emotional.

I watched for a bit, listening to the reporter. Finally, I said, “I’ve got to get dress; I’ve got a client that is intent on making my life miserable.”

“You’re going to work?” he asked incredulously, the first crack in an otherwise deliberately controlled voice.

I frowned, “Why not?”

“Well, there might be…50 thousands deaths, maybe more. YOUR people.”

“Look,” I said, getting pretty angry. I disliked it when things begin to unravel. I like knowing what’s happening and why. And failing that, the probability and the possibility of avoiding negative consequences. “Every year thousands of people die…in hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes. That’s life.”

Silence. I didn’t care. So, I can be pretty cold sometimes. Well, I wasn’t in some popularity contest. If you like what I do, you buy. If you don’t, you go elsewhere. Simple.

I live in the country and the drive to town is long and pretty hectic. Only that day, the freeway is rather empty; except at the openings to the various bases. There, long lines of cars waited to get through what was now heavily secured gates.

By the time I parked my car in the multi garage complex, I was shaking and I didn’t know why. I made my way to the front and climbed the stairs to the building where I worked. Waikiki is one of the hottest tourist attractions in the world, yet on this day, all I saw were two soldiers, perhaps National guardsmen, walking down the street carrying rifles.

I was all alone in the elevator and the ride up seemed to take forever.

My phone was ringing by the time I let myself in. I’m not sure why but I was really surprised when it turned out to be my Canadian client from h*ll. “Did you hear?” I began, then stopped. I could hear the panic in my voice. I swallowed hard and tried again. “My country was attacked.”

And just like that, with zero warning, I realized that I actually loved America. I mean sappy, this is the greatest country in the world kind of loved America. Tears were falling down my cheeks and real grief for those who had been killed began to churn in the pit of my stomach.

I remember thinking of the war stories of my elderly relatives and wondering if we too would have to blacken our windows and ration our food.

In the days that followed, strange things happened. People went to church, children prayed in school, Congress stood on the steps of the Capital and sang God Bless America.

And the courts said “so what” and “too bad” to the ACLU and all those anti-Christian groups.

Cops, Firemen, and soldiers were heroes again.

And for one shiny moment, this nation came together.

For some of us, 9/11 changed everything.

For others, 9/11 only changed … one moment.

 The following is in answer to an email I received from a relative about a Hawaiian activist, This professor at a State run University, educated and PHD in political science by an American system believes that the kingdom of Hawaii was “illegally” overthrown and wants the kingdom returned to the people of Hawaiian blood.

There is NO SUCH thing as an “illegal” overthrow.  Think about it. Is it even possible to have a LEGAL overthrow of a government? Legality is whoever wins…which is why the warrior tribal Indians took over America from whoever was there before them…and Hawaiians took over the islands from the islanders that was there when they arrived from Tahiti and so forth. The more powerful “wins” the land and takes it over.  That’s the way it has been for centuries.  In fact the idea of “legality” regarding the weaker having the right to hold on to land because he “bought” it, is a western idea. 

That’s right, it is only by the fact that Americans “stole” Hawaii and gave Hawaiians AMERICAN rights, that the idea that a non-alii or a weaker person can be “stolen” from, is even a possible concept.  Since none of my ancestors can lay claim to being an alii nui, I LIKE the idea that I am an American and am awfully glad that the land of my ancestors were taken over by those who gave me the right to tell anyone including the president of the USA to go to you know where.  I would HATE to belong to a society where there were a class of people so “sacred” that to look upon them meant death.

Hawaiians can be like Blacks…they dwell on what they THINK was taken and forget what they’ve been given…and it is in the latter that they somehow believe that something is owed to them. (And do we notice that Activists Blacks, Indians, Eskimos, Hawaiians believe that IF their lands had not been taken over by Americans, that they’d all be royals living the good life?  History tells us that for most, they’d have worked hard, died young, and been hungry period.)

And I may not care about who got reparations, except, they aren’t looking for “payback” from the tax payers from some other country…they want MY tax dollars and YOURS.

I listened to this guy’s credentials…most received from THIS nation and I thought of other third world nations, of which Hawaii, if she had been left alone, would certainly have become…and I shake my head at the lack of gratitude.

I find the entire idea of reparations in any form offensive.  Slavery, oppression, empire building…these are “sins” of humanity, not just America.  We didn’t start any of it, but we sure had a grand hand in ending it.

A black man, without any experience or any accomplishment is sitting in the highest office…women make million dollar salaries…children get to enjoy their childhood, something the average 19th century and earlier child who was expected to work in the fields or in the factories never dreamed of.

America has nothing to apologize for…and everything to be proud of.

The consequences of Hispanic bashing aka the “illegal immigrant issue” was that many Republicans felt unable to vote against Sotomayor.

The Dems literally put the GOP in a box.  No matter what was said, Republicans APPEARED racist with a no vote.

But what about Miguel Estrada? Surely HIS nomination shows Republicans have no problem with Hispanics right?  Unfortunately the American public has a notoriously short memory AND the Dems played his nomination right.

To be fair, the Republicans ALSO tried to dismiss the racial background and gender of the Sotomayor, but they were up against a long history of “progressive” vs. conservative…and the last 3 years of vitriolic ranting against the illegals to the South, not anywhere else (and sometimes not necessarily illegal, just Mexicans period.) put any opposition in the no win catagory.

Saying all of that, let me say that I am actually proud of those Republicans who DID vote “no” against Sotomayor.  Yes, I know that a good many of them voted that way to keep their conservative base happy.  Still, it takes some courage to face a battle you cannot win and take a hit for those who stupidly helped the Dems form and use the race card to include Hispanics.

If I was one of those minority senators, I would have made this little speech:

I refuse to vote for Judge Sotomayor because she is a Hispanic or because she is a woman because I am neither a racist or a sexist.  I am charged with confirming a nominee to the highest judiciary court in the nation, one whose opinions will touch the rights and lives of every American.  I vote “no” because the evidence presented to me has shown Judge Sotomayor to be a judiciary activist and I believe that confirming her would harm the constitution we have all promised to uphold.

Then I would have gone home, had a couple of drinks, and then prayed to God that the next time the Dems play the race card, it is negated by a Black president who’s ratings are in the tank.