Tony Blankley has written a suitable corrective for those Republicans and conservatives inclined to sit this election out because they think the Republicans haven't adhered to the true religion; have spent money like drunken sailors; haven't tacked immigation; been nice enough to social conservatives; competent enough, or whatever.
This may all be true. . .but the point is ? Putting Teddy Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi and the beneficiaries of George Soros and Michael Moore's campaign contributions in power is better ? Personally, I'd rather hand the country over to Chirac.
No, I haven't been completely satisfied with Bush or the Republicans either, but complete satisfaction with the choices our system gives us, in such a large country, is impossible. Staying home this election day would be worse than a crime -- it'd be a mistake. Power, as Napoléon put it, is never ridiculous. So don't listen to all the Barbra Streisand in the papers and on television about how demoralized the Republican base is. That's what the talking heads want you to be. "Many conservatives," the gasbags tell us, "believe the Republicans have 'lost their way' and need a spell out of power." Don't you believe it ! That's the wolves telling the sheep to go to sleep and be pro-carnivore. Don't buy into that. As the Blogging Caesar (Scott Elliott) told us a few days back, it's all in our hands.
Smell the coffee. Vote Early, Vote Often, Vote Right; and, (here's a second link) go read Mr. Blankley's piece.
3 comments:
I couldn't agree more. Well said!
Sorry folks. What happened to the "Era of Responsibility"?
I'm staying home
I knew you were quoting, Anon., so I, like everybody else when he doesn't remember -- Googled “era of responsibility” -- and I came up with this phrase in then-Governor Bush’s acceptance speech to the 2000 Republican convention. I presume that's what you're meaning to refer to.
I tend not to pay much attention to such phrases, or most of the other non-specific bumpf that goes into political speechifying. It's carefully researched and weighed to make good sound bites and appeal to whatever group the political marketing crowd is chasing.
Phrases like "era of responsibility" are standard fluff that always goes into everybody's Speech # 33, along with promises to make the crops grow, the children geniuses, the flowers bloom (Mao liked that one) and generally usher in an era of happiness and prosperity. And it's meaningless. As old Joseph Vissarionovich said, just before he lowered the hammer: "life has become more joyous, comrades, life has become happier." Right.
Politicians do sometimes say things of importance, but their utterances are not reasons to support them, or not to.
Maybe you have specific gripes with Bush and the Republicans. I don't know. But I can't imagine there is any issue presently confronting our nation to which Democrats could supply better answers than the present lot.
Yes, of course, the Democrats have fluff sayings too. I bet "responsibility" is in a lot of their speeches too, along with all the neat buzzwords and phrases that the Donkey equivalents of Karl Rove can dream up.
But you don't have to listen to them. We KNOW what the Democrats are for; and we KNOW what they'll do. They'll try to armtwist Bush into cutting and running from Iraq as fast as they can...they're going to subpoena and sue everything that moves and spend the next two years gassing about impeachment or censure or whatever. The papers will be full of leaks because the bureaucrats will be trying to work their passage with a forthcoming Democratic administration.
The Demos will slash defence appropriations and claim they're making the military leaner, and run the money down the street to the Education Department to make the teachers unions happy (but school scores will still go down, down, down). They'll ban drilling for oil -- and complain about gas prices. The first Budget passed by a Democratic House of Representatives will make the Republicans look like positive misers by comparision. Both taxes and domestic spending will be higher if Speaker Nancy can work it.
And of course they'll pay attention to homeland security...but it won't be anything that the criminal defense bar could possibly ever object to.
Above all, they'll stall and screm and delay, and nothing whatever will be accomplished for the next two years, except to let the problems become more intractable.
But we know all this. If this is what appeals to you...go ahead. Stay home. I have gripes with this administration. A lot of what they have left undone (immigration and homeland security) has really hacked me off, and I am angry the failure to cut domestic spending, or to tax to pay for the war.
Quite truthfully, I think the Democrats are in a cul de sac...win or lose. If they can't win now, with as inept a campaign as the Republicans have won...they should just slit their wrists now and save time. If they can’t win now, they can’t win ever.
And if they win ? "Speaker Pelosi" -- (i'm laughing) -- oh what a total joke. The Democrats in the House of Representatives couldn't organize a kiddo ice cream party. I can’t wait to see Pelosi and Kerry go to Europe, and expecting to be patted on the back by their buddies Chirac and company for promising “multilateral” and “international” solutions for everything. It’ll be a real windbag fest. Still, it will be kind of funny when the Deanics find out there’s nothing waiting for them in Europe but talk: that the Euros think they’re just another bunch of stupid Yankee rubes who will pay for everything and take all the heat, in exchange for a lot of talk. Maybe they’ll call it a “new Era of Responsibility.”
The Democrats in charge are going to make more recruits for a really hard line on the war, and everything else, than Dick Cheney could on his best day.
Ta ta.
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