Liberal arrogance

[Slowplay]

From most political wonks, I keep hearing that the election shows the country has really fundamentally shifted and the conservative cause is lost. They also keep saying the republicans must embrace amnesty & liberal social positions (become democrats) to have any chance of winning in the future. This is what these "experts" are saying, but they are also making huge assumptions that the votes cast were from a turnout of informed, rational, and capable (take that as you may) people.

The Obama and the other major dem wins (US senate) were made possible because of the voters they were able to turn out. That was their strategy all along - and it worked. Their campaign (and the complicit media) framed the issues in a way to work demographics for key voter turn out. In an area with many young and middle-aged, single women? You will hear radio ads of cut and spliced prior debate audio with Romney saying he'll sign a law to ban all abortions. In urban, section 8 or public housing concetrated areas, you'll see tv ads of how Romney would decimate "the benefits you need to live." For every demographic, these tactics were used.

Take Wisconsin - there was a recall election for the WI governor (Scott Walker, a republican) not many months ago where the public sector unions were spending millions to get him out. Walker won by a greater margin in this past summer's recall election than in the 2010 election. So, how could a republican governor in Wisconsin handily win not even six months ago, but yet Obama easily carries the state (a total flip of election results)? Turnout. The issue for the recall election was about unions (impacts people with jobs - the public sector union people or folks that pay their wages with/through taxes). Obama didn't try to help in that WI recall election, because he can't sway enough votes with just the "jobs" issue.

Obama's campaign was run by the Chicago machine. Romney brought a knife to a gun fight (not that he could have brought a gun, as the media would have vilified him even more).

Also, you can't fix stupid. I had a business trip that took me to Chicago this week and had a late evening flight that had me heading to the airport on a shuttle bus with just me and the driver. The driver was friendly and chatty, so we ended up talking about football and gas prices. He was saying how he doesn't like weeks when the bears have an early game, as he doesn't get out of church in time to see them - I told him he was in luck because they played Houston Sunday night. I then asked him if he was pleased to see gas prices coming back down and he started telling me how the oil companies were now going to be put out of business with Obama's re-election. When I asked how that was possible he said Obama can't be stopped or obstructed as he was in his first term. He claimed there are people that have new technologies that will make gasoline unnecessary and until now Obama wasn't able to help them get this technology out. This guy couldn't be reasoned with - it was like that one lady that proclaimed she didn't have to worry about putting gas in her car or paying the rent (after the 2008 election).

This driver knew I was heading back to Texas (how I knew the bears played the Texans), and started telling me Texas would be in trouble since "oil" would be out of business. I let him know that Texas would be fine and was about to tell him how I can't understand how someone who can't watch football because of church, could have such strong idolatry or worship for a man. We had just made it to my terminal and I thought better of it - I just wished him a pleasant night and left. This is an example of the voters they were able to turn out...

[emcee rib]

One of my first political acts post election is going to be to register as an Independent. For those who care by the way, the difference in Ohio between the Obama vote and the Romney vote was more than made up by the Ron Paul vote. If those voters had voted for Romney, Romney would have carried Ohio, and Ron Paul wasn't even running anymore:

Don't forget the Santorum vote. If those voters had voted for Romney, they would have made an even bigger difference than the Paul voters.

[77346]

Don't forget the Santorum vote. If those voters had voted for Romney, they would have made an even bigger difference than the Paul voters.

I find it quite silly and frustrating how us on the right are so hardheaded... the Santorum non-voters, the Ron Paul Libertarian voters, the Evangelicals, the Romney-is-not-conservative-enough non-voters... if all these folks would got out and vote, perhaps the story would be different.

Look, Obama isn't black enough, gay enough, Latino enough, etc., etc., however all those groups got out and voted...

[emcee rib]

2012 is the last time I vote for a Republican unless something big changes. Compromises are fine but at some point they have to honor their promises too or I have no reason to keep helping them.

[The Annoyed Man]

To the thread topic....

I saw this on FB and promptly stole with attribution—hat tip to Rino Watch:

• The Six Contradictions of Socialism in the USA
  
  1. America is Capitalist and Greedy
     yet half of the population is subsidized.
  2. Half of the Population is Subsidized
     yet they think they are victims.
  3. They Think They are Victims
     yet their representatives run the government.
  4. Their Representatives Run the Government
     yet the poor keep getting poorer.
  5. The Poor Keep Getting Poorer
     yet they have things that people in other countries only dream about.
  6. They Have Things that People in Other Countries Only Dream About
     yet they want America to be more like those other countries.

[77346]

2012 is the last time I vote for a Republican unless something big changes. Compromises are fine but at some point they have to honor their promises too or I have no reason to keep helping them.

and this is exactly why the Republicans will lose again in 2016, and in 2020, and beyond...

I don't see "us" getting back in the WH without having to compromise. What to do? Let Liberalism run rampant? I rather see someone who is workable getting elected, than someone who's 180 degrees at the other end of the spectrum, and won't compromise either...

[Ameer]

2012 is the last time I vote for a Republican unless something big changes. Compromises are fine but at some point they have to honor their promises too or I have no reason to keep helping them.

and this is exactly why the Republicans will lose again in 2016, and in 2020, and beyond...

If so, they deserve it. I vote for Republicans and they spit in my face by denying campus carry? No mas!

I agree with emcee rib's comment in the other discussion. I held my nose and voted for the Republicans this year but never again unless they do a few things for me. Enough is enough with the one way street and the empty promises. Republicans won't get another vote from me in state elections until they pass campus carry. Period. No more excuses. No more lies. Pass campus carry in Texas or. go. pound. sand.

If they want my vote in federal elections, they need to show some budgetary backbone. There's a lot of talk about the fiscal cliff. Running toward the cliff at half speed is still running toward the cliff. Spending bills must originate in the House of Representatives, which the Republicans control. Any increase in the federal debt must be approved by the Republicans, so they deserve as much blame as their fellow socialists if they don't cowboy up.

The ball is in their court.

[G27RR]

Quoted in its entirety, because I share your belief and this was so well done it bears repeating.

I was assured by another member IN THIS FORUM that because I am a "traditional values" guy, I'm an "extremist." I don't even know how to process that.

I say the following without apology. If it offends anyone, then they can go jump off a cliff:

I am an evangelical Christian. I recognize the right of others to believe differently than I do, but the 1st Amendment of the Constitution also defends my right to believe and practice my religion as I see fit, and to freely associate with other like-minded believers—just as it defends the right of others of different faiths, including the faith of atheism, to believe or not believe whatever their consciences dictate to them. It is true that Congress shall make no law establishing religion. It is equally true that Congress shall make no law preventing the free exercise thereof.......including MINE. If that doesn't sit well with anyone, then let them depart from here, because to deny that is to deny a founding principle which is enshrined in the Constitution. The person who disagrees with any of the above is an enemy of the Constitution, and therefore an enemy of the state.

Now, my faith is so tightly intertwined with who I am as a man and as a human being, that I am categorically unable to see the world any other way than through the lens and filter of my faith. To ask me to accept anything else is to ask me to deny my faith. I will not do that..........NOT because I am an extremist, but because I actually believe the things I believe, to the exclusion of those things which do not jibe with what I believe. IF I were any other way, I would be a hypocrite, and I despise a hypocrite as much as the next person does.

So when another person tells me that "times have changed," and I have to learn to be OK with abortion [for instance], I cannot do that. I am NOT OK with abortion, and I never will be. This is because my faith, which informs my view of the world, teaches me that abortion is murder of the unborn, and that therefore, there are only very limited circumstances under which it is morally permissible. I am not making this statement in the context of this thread to try and argue this point with anyone. I will NOT argue it. My belief is not up for negotiation. This is what I believe.

I mention this point because I want to illustrate the idea that we have moved past the point in many areas in which further compromise is acceptable. For the social conservative, compromise ALWAYS means a shift further to the left. Progressives NEVER are willing to occasionally drift back the other way so as to add actual MEANING to the word "Compromise." For people like me, we have arrived at a point where we are done giving in and caving in, and it is now time for the other side to give in and cave in their fair share, to borrow a phrase they love to use.

But, because progressives are possessed of a chronic character defect—that of being congenitally unable to either A) speak the truth; and B) stand by an agreement they've made—now social conservatives are being told.....AGAIN......that if we aren't willing to compromise (read that as: "shift a little more to the left of what we've already agreed to"), then WE are extremists, not the other illegitimate children who pushed the boundaries of what is decent and acceptable outward and who will NEVER be satisfied. I can NEVER compromise enough to satisfy a progressive. There is only ONE outcome that will satisfy—temporarily—a progressive, and that is the one in which I abdicate all responsibility, and all belief in something spiritually greater than progressivism, and finally submit totally to the progressive's complete dominion over my life, my actions, my thoughts, and my beliefs........because that is at the actual core of what defines a "progressive" society. A progressive society NEVER makes room for free thinking.

If refusing to be dragged any further up the dungheap of progressivism makes me an extremist, then I will wear that scarlet letter proudly. Beyond that, I am actually ashamed of anyone who would be so blind as to call themselves a conservative of any stripe and who would insist that I must not only be dragged and led up that dungheap of progressivism, but that I must willingly climb it to avoid the spurious label of "extremist." It's not just un-American, it is downright Evil with a capital "E."

longhorn_92, the next time a family member suggests that you need to be reeducated, ask him if he believes in the validity of Chinese style reeducation camps, and whether or not the government ought to invoice your family for the cost of the bullet used to execute you because you refused to submit to their reeducation—like the Chinese do.

[VoiceofReason]

For the record, I believe that John McCain was the last chance this country had to avoid a depression that will make the “great depression” of 1929 look like a picnic. This country is so polarized and there is so much blind hate that I am beginning to have my doubts that this country will survive. Both sides (liberal and conservative) label groups of people and hate and despise them as a group. “This group or that group are all alike”. “None of them are worthy of living”.

I was disappointed when Obama was elected but when he was, I sincerely hoped the man could walk on water, because that was the type of man needed at that time. Well, now it’s too late.

I spent four years in the U.S. Navy and put everything I had into it. I was honorably discharged, worked in a couple of low paying jobs and got on with Bell Telephone. I put everything I had into that job for fifteen years, hurt my back and they let me go. I was 41, having a hard time finding a job and we lost everything. Now cheezit, what would you have me do? Let my wife and daughter go hungry and live on the street? Out of the question. Steal or rob? I don’t have that in me.

I got some government help and went to the Texas Rehabilitation Commission (TRC). They sponsored me to go back to school. They paid tuition, books, and our rent. My wife worked to pay food and utilities. TRC gave me a “hand up” not a “hand out”. I found a good job and just retired after 20 years with them.

My point is that not everyone on public assistance is lazy and don’t want to work. I took nothing of yours, because I have probably paid at least 50 times what I received, in taxes. I worked with “Mexicans” that were hard working family people, one of which now owns 25 houses he rents out. I worked with some Blacks in a very demanding job that still work there making well over 100K. I have a cousin who is also a friend that is a professor at a college. He is also a Baptist minister, gun owner, republican, and defender of the 2nd Amendment. I don’t have to tell anyone on this board what liberals say about “Republicans”, “Christians”, and “Conservatives.

My point is that this country is made up of individuals, and until we can get past the hate, name calling, and labels, we can never hope to find a middle ground. It may not seem like it, but most people of this country, White, Black and Brown still have the values this country was founded on. Most are also Christian. Most still love this country and would not live any where else. The main problem is that the vocal people of both sides, screaming at each other, drown them out.

Unless we put aside the animosity, patch things up and work together, this country will fail, in which case, what other country would you like to live in?

Now-label me a “liberal” if you wish, but consider there may be just a little bit of truth somewhere in my post.

[Heartland Patriot]

For the record, I believe that John McCain was the last chance this country had to avoid a depression that will make the “great depression” of 1929 look like a picnic. This country is so polarized and there is so much blind hate that I am beginning to have my doubts that this country will survive. Both sides (liberal and conservative) label groups of people and hate and despise them as a group. “This group or that group are all alike”. “None of them are worthy of living”.

I was disappointed when Obama was elected but when he was, I sincerely hoped the man could walk on water, because that was the type of man needed at that time. Well, now it’s too late.

I spent four years in the U.S. Navy and put everything I had into it. I was honorably discharged, worked in a couple of low paying jobs and got on with Bell Telephone. I put everything I had into that job for fifteen years, hurt my back and they let me go. I was 41, having a hard time finding a job and we lost everything. Now cheezit, what would you have me do? Let my wife and daughter go hungry and live on the street? Out of the question. Steal or rob? I don’t have that in me.

I got some government help and went to the Texas Rehabilitation Commission (TRC). They sponsored me to go back to school. They paid tuition, books, and our rent. My wife worked to pay food and utilities. TRC gave me a “hand up” not a “hand out”. I found a good job and just retired after 20 years with them.

My point is that not everyone on public assistance is lazy and don’t want to work. I took nothing of yours, because I have probably paid at least 50 times what I received, in taxes. I worked with “Mexicans” that were hard working family people, one of which now owns 25 houses he rents out. I worked with some Blacks in a very demanding job that still work there making well over 100K. I have a cousin who is also a friend that is a professor at a college. He is also a Baptist minister, gun owner, republican, and defender of the 2nd Amendment. I don’t have to tell anyone on this board what liberals say about “Republicans”, “Christians”, and “Conservatives.

My point is that this country is made up of individuals, and until we can get past the hate, name calling, and labels, we can never hope to find a middle ground. It may not seem like it, but most people of this country, White, Black and Brown still have the values this country was founded on. Most are also Christian. Most still love this country and would not live any where else. The main problem is that the vocal people of both sides, screaming at each other, drown them out.

Unless we put aside the animosity, patch things up and work together, this country will fail, in which case, what other country would you like to live in?

Now-label me a “liberal” if you wish, but consider there may be just a little bit of truth somewhere in my post.

Most of us do not have a problem with a "hand up"...its the hand-OUTS that we have a problem with...and my poster child example is that "adult baby" guy in California who REFUSES to work and gets Social Security disability...so he can indulge in a lifestyle that MOST Americans would consider to be either deviant or at least weird. One of the Republican Senators tried to get him kicked off of disability and he threatened to commit suicide...so the Democrats running the SSA said they wouldn't cut him off. And he is just ONE EXAMPLE of this kind of thing...I don't want Social Security to be done away with, it is far too ingrained as a part of the fabric of our society. I just want it to be FIXED so that it won't collapse, which is going to happen sooner or later. And simply taxing folks at a higher rate won't do that...and that is simply ONE thing that I can't stand about the Democrat Party. Another example is that pesky "common sense gun control" trash that they pedal as well...I really ain't ready to die yet, and I have no desire to go to prison...but I'm telling you now, Dianne Feinstein and Chucky Schumer can't have my AR and AK, period. I can't stop two dudes from doing whatever with each other and I have no desire to try...but those kinds of issues that the Democrat Party throws in folks' faces to obfuscate the situation are the least of my worries about that party; there are many others, such as the others I mentioned above, that ensure my permanent opposition to them.

[VoiceofReason]

I believe all the pundits are missing the point. The news media editorials and liberals say this signals a change in the country, homosexuals are claiming victory, and conservatives are calling it the end of the U.S.A. When everyone calms down a little, they will begin to realize the country hasn’t changed. Nothing has really changed. The majority of the country are still Christian. The majority of the country still has good values and goals and homosexuals still make up only around 4% of the population.

In my opinion this election was nothing more than a spanking for both parties. It was a strong signal that the American people want the two parties to work together to fix the problems destroying this country. Neither party really gained or lost a whole lot. I believe the voters are a lot smarter than either side gives them credit for. They don’t want either party to have total control right now. They want both parties to meet somewhere in the middle to do what is best for business and working people.

I have heard it said that in bargaining, you can’t make both sides happy. You can only try to make both sides equally unhappy. If people stop screaming at each other and think, there is enough blame to go around. A lot of people are responsible for the mess we are in, not just one party. To get out of this mess, everyone is going to have to shoulder some responsibility for fixing it. I believe I read that the majority of Americans don’t think we need more gun control. There may be two or three whackos in the government that dream of taking all guns but it ain’t going to happen. Most people in the government are smart enough to know you can push only so far against public opinion without suffering political ramifications.

So, slow down, take a deep breath and start thinking “how can we fix the problems so everyone can enjoy the results of their work”.

I didn’t read about that guy in California but I don’t imagine he is a very popular person now.

[TexasCajun]

Perhaps the answer isn't altering the stance of the Republican party on certain issues at all. Maybe the answer is in looking at the different groups & demographies in terms of ideals that they have that are already a part of the Republican philosophy. As an off the top of my head example: the Pakistani guy that owns a couple of convenience stores probably has more in common with the guy who owns the local hardware store. Once you go beyond obvious cultural & religious differences, their common goals & interests are probably parallel. But the Pakistani votes Democrat because he doesn't feel welcome in the all-white, overwhelmingly Christian, conservative Republican party. So if the Republicans can stick to core values & make an effort to welcome these "others" based on those shared ideals, a shift to the right may be possible without a compromise in belief. Just a thought.

[VoiceofReason]

Perhaps the answer isn't altering the stance of the Republican party on certain issues at all. Maybe the answer is in looking at the different groups & demographies in terms of ideals that they have that are already a part of the Republican philosophy. As an off the top of my head example: the Pakistani guy that owns a couple of convenience stores probably has more in common with the guy who owns the local hardware store. Once you go beyond obvious cultural & religious differences, their common goals & interests are probably parallel. But the Pakistani votes Democrat because he doesn't feel welcome in the all-white, overwhelmingly Christian, conservative Republican party. So if the Republicans can stick to core values & make an effort to welcome these "others" based on those shared ideals, a shift to the right may be possible without a compromise in belief. Just a thought.

This type of thought is a start.

[anygunanywhere]

What frustrates me is that it seems like a huge portion of society seems to believe that the office of the Presidency is about social retooling. I have heard the liberals talk about the Republican party reinventing itself and trying to attract voters of one race or another, and being more accepting of one lifestyle or another. When in the world did government's primary job become about weaving the social and moral fabric of society? The job of the government needs to be focused on the business of running our country and right now, our country is going bankrupt. The media spent the entire election openly endorsing Obama and focusing on race, gender, and entitlements.

The government, voters and media better wrap their heads around the national debt, job loss, and boring stuff like the GDP. Instead of worrying about "empowerment" we need to get back to the nuts and bolts of running this nation. The mistakes the Republicans made is they thought that focusing on the economy during these very troubled times would be sufficient. Clearly, many voters are not tuned in.

I know a very nice young lady who told me she voted for Obama. I asked her why. Her answer was that she knew he did not do a very good job the first four years but that she trusted him. She said that she really likes Michelle Obama and knows that someone like Michelle would not marry a bad person, so she had voted Obama. No lie folks, that was her reasoning.

We have a bunch of clueless people who spend their days watching "the Real Housewives" and "Honey Boo Boo" and then go vote for president based on idiotic reasons. That is the only reason that the most failed President in my lifetime could cruise to a victory. We are in big trouble.

Thank you for your post.

Spot on.

Anygunanywhere

[hpcatx]

Just checked out the Patriot Post site. Looks good so I've just subscribed.

+1 Thanks for the excellent recommendation, TAM!