Sunday open thread
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Pundit & Pundette
» Bishop Jenky, Nicki Minaj, and the "98%"JustOneMinute
» We Hear From The Department Of Good Ideas And False Choices
OR
“Does my butt look big in these jeans?”
type questions?
Thanks for sharing your experience, Cogs! I am very encouraged when I hear things like that. And to think stuff like that is going on all over our great country! Smiles…all day!
Actually, I was dead serious.
OR
“What is your quest?” “What is your favorite color?”
Type questions?
“Actually, I was dead serious.”
Now THAT’S funny!
Js…I know you are trying to be funny, and I appreciate your humor. But I really think it is a good idea. Can you come up with anything that would actually work in this regard?
…or do you want to just make fun of my idea?
Not that I disagree that some principled litmus tests are needed as non-negotiable planks in the party platform, (government size, taxes, defense, etc.), but McCain certainly needed no such litmus test. He was already known as a RINO. He had a history for not just ‘reaching’ across the aisle…he often JUMPED across the aisle and sometimes even ended up sitting squarely in the lap of some of the worst liberal policies ever enacted – McCain/Feingold for example.
I agree that some RINO’s are very obvious. But there are others who will try to fool us. That is why we need to find a way to “trip them up”. I thought it was a decent idea. But I could be wrong. Anyway, I don’t think ridiculing ideas is very smart. We are in this together and if we make fun of ideas, no one will feel free to share them. Right, jsmiddleton4?
On August 30th, 2009 at 1:30 pm, chapoutier said:
Are you sure your brains have not already been eaten?
JS – How about questions like:
As President will you endorse and sign legislation :
1. for a Balanced Budget Amendment?
2. to reduce taxes for all taxpayers?
3. to index capital gains
4. to eliminate taxes on dividends?
5. to eliminate welfare?
6. to terminate our membership in the UN?
7. to terminate the Department of Education
8. to dissolve the Federal Reserve Bank
9. to put a leash on the EPA
10. yada …
Just a note to Michelle.
While checking out a current “blogworthy link” to Protein Wisdom, I see it’s permanent link in the regular Blogroll is a dead; it leads to PW’s old URL.
The correct-current URL is:
http://proteinwisdom.com
(Dang linkrot.)
Other than that it’s grand and beautiful Sunday afternoon!
As for McCain ending up as our candidate…that was a tragedy that shouldn’t have happened. The primary system is badly flawed. How can we get it changed? We know what would work best…why can’t we get it fixed??? The whole thing is being done very “stupidly”. What is the procedure for changing the way primaries are done? Do we have to change them state by state? If so, we are SOL. This needs to be a sweeping change across the country so every state is on the same page. All primaries should be done on the same day at the same time. Make it a national holiday and everyone goes to the polls to pick their candidate. You should be required to register and not allowed to vote in both primaries in your state. That way, the democrats can’t vote in a bad candidate for the republicans. That works both ways. In fact, my daughter voted for a democrat candidate because he was so bad she wanted him to run against our candidate. That is what they are doing and it is wrong on both sides. Let us pick our BEST. The country does not deserve these games! Look who we ended up with…and who is suffering…this country!
“chapoutier said:
But while the author is busy trying to philosophize on the Nature of Zombie, I will be running away and shooting them in the head and, most importantly, NOT getting my brains eaten.”
FLadd, but Chappy’s brains would barely provide even an appetizer for any zombie lookin’ for a free lunch!
(j/k, j/k, Chap)
Good ones! And Glenn Beck’s questions are also spot on.
Here’s a couple too…
1. Are you williing to fight the environmental terrorists so we can drill and use our own resources? If so, sign this pledge. Then we might consider you.
2. Are you willing to actively work to control our borders and deport illegal aliens? If so, sign this pledge. Then we might consider you.
Stuff like that.
I just hope the LVRJ follows up on their promise to crawl up his azz and find/report on any other business he has bullied.
That jagweed deserves a very generous media anal exam.
I’d be curious to know whether he has any business ties to anyone making a vaccine.
It will be like the early anthrax vaccine where Crowe had direct ties to the company. Ramp up the talk of a threat, then make money on the contracts.
…or like the RFID chips for all farm animals…to track Mad Cow disease. Put it in cows rather than requiring all farm animals be chipped. I guess it spreads the cost around huh?
…or like the recent vaccine being required for young girls, HPV I believe it was.
Follow the money in each one, and you find a massive lobbying effort to create a crisis where none exist, so certain businesses with ties to politicians make money.
Seems to be the same thing happening with Swine Flu, and more so with the CDC recently disputing WH numbers on the number of deaths.
Which politicians have connections to vaccine makers?
How soon until all school children are required to have it to attend school?
How soon before it is being tested in the military because they may not find enough civilian volunteers to test on?
I have entertained even uglier thoughts about that man. I have asked God to forgive me, but I didn’t promise not to do it again.
Another reason to hate the public school “system”. Home school or private school if at all possible.
This swine flu thing really needs to be looked into. I wonder if Glenn Beck or Michelle are working on it as we speak? This could be big.
…he never once worked with any Republican to get other than leftists on the judiciary.
Remember Clarence Thomas? Remember Bork?
The problem as I see it. When someone is running and tells the voters ‘I will do this or that’ because you want it. Send money, vote for me. They get to dc and the ‘good old boys’ want something passed and need your help for your vote. They will see a 100m pork project is snuck in for your vote. Very few elected will have the testosterone or estrogen to resist to do what they promised to the voters. That dc bunch have gotten away with murder for years getting re-elected, they think they will be there till they die. We need to change that! They think the American taxpayers are ‘their piggybank’.
L
In order for the USA to be converted into a communist state the people must first be subjected to a failed economy to undermine their economic independence. This can be achieved in several ways including the use of their tax money to buy corporate entities that will further reduce the people’s control of those enties. Another way is to impose enormous tax increases to take away their money and prevent them from creating more wealth. Such can be achieved by making them think they are saving the planet and must stop using energy. Therefore imposing huge taxes on energy is a very good way to do this. (Give the man who thought of this a peace prize!)
The next step is to control their lives directly by forcing them into a government health program whereby every aspect of their daily living experience can be regulated in the name of their health. That imperialist dog Reagan warned them about it but that was over 4o years ago and they have forgotten him. Having each person’s medical information is of utmost importance to this step to be certain that each person obeys the government.
As they bear our yoke of a failing economy and lose control over their individual lives we must also be sure to take one more very important step before too many of them wake up to our plan. And that is that we must take away their guns. I remind you comrades that no revolution has ever been successful against an armed population…
Remember the Swine Flu Scare of 74-75, Scrapper, where many more folks died-were disabled from the vaccine than from the disease itself?
I got suckered into it that time myself. Fortunately, I had no bad reaction to the shot.
And here I thought they were all saying “Lyin’ Of The Senate”….
Michelle,
You like this.
The Reclamation Project
THE RECLAMATION OF INDEPENDENCE
August 29, 2009 by Blackiswhite, Imperial Consigliere
I’m not generally a “shot across the bows” kinda guy, but I felt that this message was important enough to be given in the form of a ‘fair warning’. If you agree, please attach your name or alias, post it, and pass it on.
FAILURE TO TAKE HEED AND ACT ACCORDINGLY FROM THIS POINT FORWARD IS UNDERTAKEN AT YOUR PERIL.
THE RECLAMATION OF INDEPENDENCE
WHEN IN THE GENERATIONS SUCCEEDING the one that pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to usher in the birth of the world’s only truly free nation, Liberty’s Progeny incrementally ceded their birthright to the government conceived and designed to serve a free people, and not be its servant, this generation is awakening to the terrible mistake that we, and our ancestors allowed to happen. Charged with the terrible knowledge that comes with opened eyes, we now take up the long abdicated duty to rouse our fellow citizens and actively wrest the power and the liberties that have been progressively talked, cajoled, threatened, wheedled, and extorted from us, not only by those who ostensibly served us, but by their supporters and enablers who, by accident or design, saw fit to usurp and disdain such freedoms, that they might be withheld, and where impossible to withhold, might be condemned, until a corrosive contempt for these liberties, wrapped in velvet gloves, might so suffocate the circulation of them that this nation, conceived in liberty and the providence of a wise and benevolent creator, might indeed perish from the earth, plunging the rightful heirs of a proud and noble heritage in the the darkened waters of chaos, despair, and evil that surround them, a dank deluge that even today, other human beings actively seek to escape from in the inspiring embrace of this blessed and free country.
We, the awakened and aware, freely accept the charge that the architects of this republic passed on to us over two centuries before, in the hope that all who partook in the blessings made possible by nation they created would somberly undertake the duties of citizens, and so appropriately train themselves in virtue, and educate themselves in the workings of the precepts and ideals set forth in their foundational documents that they would possess enough wisdom to recognize that not all threats to our freedom would come from without our ranks, the knowledge to recognize that not every chain and shackle menacing us will immediately appear to be what it actually is, and the humilitynot to assume that the ingenuity and innovation that has been the hallmark of American success has been the product of man alone.
To this end, we hereby identify and reclaim our independence from the tools used to slowly enslave a free people and usurp the freedoms that we could not be persuaded to freely give up, or voluntarily suppress the free exercise of on our own:
1. We reclaim our independence from the tyranny of ‘Political Correctness’.
The Constitution does not now, nor has it ever guaranteed a right to be free from being offended. Early successes in causing the disruption of free speech by insisting on the use of words or terms stripped of their meaning or altered by redefinition and deliberate use of ephemism, in order to avoid offending more delicate sensibilities lead to its use to deliberately avoid, delay, or prevent the free exchange and communication of ideas because we allowed ourselves to be more afraid of offending someone or being branded with a label chosen to imply that there was a problem with the offending speaker, rather than the intended recipient.
No more.
Words have meaning and names have power. But truth overcomes, when it is given the opportunity to exist unfettered by the artificial restraints that those who fear it would place upon it. The Founding Fathers knew this, which is why they favored the “marketplace of ideas” approach. And we now ratify and affirm this concept, having borne witness to the damage and impaired decision making that results when we remain silent and let others avoid any real discussion of topics, events, and ideas out of the fear that we might offend someone.
2. We reclaim our independence from your victimhood.
For too long, we have stood by silently, and allowed some to increasingly balkanize this country with sob stories of how one thing or another makes them a victim, and therefore they deserve some special deference, special preference, and recognition that they are special. We watched for too long, with growing alarm, as the hyphenated-Americans increasingly failed to take it upon themselves to overcome their victim status, yet continually expect to be rewarded for it as they brandished their victimhood like a cudgel, ready to bludgeon any who dared to question their entitlements and almost rapacious appetites to expand them.
No more.
One of the many unique blessings that this country has to offer is the presence of second and third and fourth chances. Others know this, and rather than think that the good things available to those who work for them were something that they were simply entitled to by virtue of their sob story, real or imagined, they decided to man up, and overcome. That doesn’t happen through accepting help and deciding to continually demand more. We are a generous people, but there are limits. Decide of your own accord to know the satisfaction of making your own destiny, rather than subsistence on the labor of others. You might be surprised at what you accomplish, or how that might come to benefit your fellow citizen in ways that you cannot even imagine.
3. We reclaim our independence from the myth of a compelling interest in diversity at the cost of excellence.
The latest affront to the ‘American Exceptionalism’ that our current President feels the need to apologize for in foreign capitols is the recent notion of a “compelling interest in diversity in our government, our institutions, and our culture”. This is the bastard child of Political Correctness and victimhood, which would not have been possible without the misapprehension of the concept of equality as enshrined in our law, the correct interpretation being that citizens of this country have equality of opportunity and equality in stature in the eyes of the laws that govern us. Once the “right” of offense took hold and started keeping company with victimhood, those benefiting from the employment of both decided that equality really meant that everyone had a right to be to be surrounded in all walks of life by people who looked just like them, whether those people were qualified to fulfill those roles or not.
No more.
Americans rose to prominence in the world in no small part due to the idea of merit and the pursuit of excellence. This was embodied in our government and institutions as much as in the private sector. Civil Service exams for public sector jobs ensured not only that people could do the work required of them, but that the best qualified were hired to do the job. Now, the standard in many fire departments, police departments, government agencies, and university staffs is not excellence, but the color of skin, gender, or sexual preference. The identity has eclipsed ability and we are all the poorer for it. Prepare for a change.
4. We reclaim our independence from the contempt of our citizenship.
For too long, we have silently permitted others to use the appeal of emotion to exact our acquiescence in their actively allowing people who have violated our laws to come here to live and work among us without asking permission to do so, or obeying our laws in doing so. We have allowed others to cajole us into allowing these persons to use our resources, and take benefits intended for citizens, without them being required to become citizens or apply for residence. We have been too long silent as others continually advocate for the application of the protections that are conferred upon us as our birthright to those who are not citizens and have tried to kill citizens, or have expressed a deep-seated desire to do so.
No more.
No sane person so despises something of value that is theirs by virtue of “the accident of birth” that they simply would give it away to others who want it and yet show contempt for those who have it by stealing it from them. Likewise, no sane person so dishonors a gift purchased with the blood of others that they will give it to those who only desire to kill or enslave them. No longer will we be silent as others confer all the benefits and protections of citizenship upon those who disrespect it, or would steal such benefits and protections without assuming the responsibility to pay for them, or worse yet, murder us because we have them.
5. We reclaim our independence from the “Freedom from religion” that has erroneously been read into the Constitution.
From the institution of Thanksgiving, to the architecture of our public buildings and monuments, the opening of government proceedings, down to the acknowledgement on our currency, this country has very deep and undeniable judeo-christian roots, and has been governed by leaders who unashamedly proclaimed their according personal beliefs while in office. It has influenced our laws and been the bedrock of every ideal that has allowed this nation to grow and prosper. This heritage has been the target of a decades long campaign to shove God out of the public square and exile him from congress with our elected officials by people who have refused the notion of a higher authority, because their own beliefs and desires are in contravention to those expressed by that higher authority.
No more.
Assaulting our national heritage with such dubious legal notions such as a separation of church and state that forbids any mention of God or expression of religion on or in state-owned property, and dismantling existing law with the fallacious statement “You can’t legislate morality” does violence to our history and demonstrates weak logic and understanding of what law is. The Founding Fathers’ intent with the Establishment Clause was the prevention of any one church gaining the favor and sanction of the Federal Government. A ban on ANY expression of religion or belief in God was never their intention, and the evidence of that is still surrounding us to this day. The current state of the law is based on a false premise that can be easily dismissed by a simple walk around the monuments and buildings in the District of Columbia, and taking out you wallet to pay for an ice cream cone. As for the “You can’t legislate morality” canard, this is also false. The law is, in its most simple essence, an expression of morality, codified. The question that then arises is whose morality should be expressed in the law? Those of people who can point to no particular belief system that has certain valuable virtues at its core, or those that can?
6. We reclaim independence from the cynical attempts to use shame to stop us from speaking out.
We have all felt this. The accusations that we are poor Christians because we refuse to give the government power not granted to it in the Constitution and go along with the currently contemplated healthcare reform bill. The charges that we hate the Earth and our children, because we oppose the highest single tax increase ever, combined with the deleterious effect on American jobs that would result in the passage of the Cap and Tax bill, which owes its existence to the myth of man-made global warming and the fact that it feeds the Federal Government its two favorite entrees: money and power. The charges that we are bad, greedy, selfish people for not supporting the idea that government and welfare entitlements are the way to improve the lives of Americans who are struggling, whatever the reason. The charges of “Racism” whenever we raise a provocative question or level a criticism at a person, policy, or idea that might happen to involve a person or persons who are not Caucasian.
No more.
Charges like “racist” and “racism” made without objective, quantitative support, and only the subjective justification of emotion will be ignored. The race card is maxed out, and the bank is no longer willing to extend the credit line. As for attacking our faith, or our practice thereof, we will no longer be held to account by people who do not understand the faith they would use as a weapon against believers, when the wielder subscribes to no belief system at all. Those who rely only on themselves for the regulation of their conduct and ethics no longer get to condemn those who answer to a higher authority. Not any more. We reclaim control of the shame that you have opted out of, and we will no longer allow you to use it to make us answer to you.
7. We reclaim independence from the notion that the Federal Government is the solution to every problem and the answer to every question.
For too long, we stood by and allowed debate and action on all matters, predicated upon on a destructive and dangerous idea: That the Federal Government is the only way to meet a need, fix a problem, or prevent a problem. In time it became a security blanket, and we became a nation of thumbsuckers, eager to give the federal Government more power and more money, if only it would keep us safe from life and the living of it as free people, until we no longer looked to it for protection from others who would have our liberties or destroy them; we looked to it for protection from the consequences of our own actions.
No more.
We were so fixated in seeking the federal government’s assistance with every aspect of our daily lives, no one within or without the Federal Government ever exercised restraint and said “No. The Consitution does not give the Federal Government the authority to do that.” And now that people are alert to the fact that the Federal Government is poised on the cusp of the largest power grab it has ever made with the healh care bill, some of us are finally saying “No. You do not have the authority.” The stakes have never been more obvious. Met with the anger of constituents who are actually paying attention, elected officials are employing various means to intimidate these citizens who are expressing their disgust and anger that a government that serves them would ever feel so entitled to our money and our data in the passage of something so clearly opposed by those who wold have to live under it, these servants have resorted to insulting their constituents, calling them shills in the pay of their political opponents, calling them stupid and saying that they simply did not understand the printed words on the pages of the bill, brazenly lying to them outright about what they have proposed and are considering, and filling audiences at public meetings with rent-a-mobs from the SEIU, ACORN, and others, so that they will face a friendly audience that is also hostile to the voters opposed to this latest demonstration of government of its leash. The days of promising good governance but delivering graft, corruption, and self serving sinecures are over. We do not care about your party; both have proven themselves reckless and dishonest. We demand that you act responsibly, that you do the people’s business, not your own, and we demand that you act within the confines of the Constitution. No more will we simply accept legislation that exceeds the authority strictly enumerated in the Constitution. No more will we accept interpretations of the Commerce Clause and the Necessary and Proper Clause that are so tortured and stretched beyond reason or recognition as to be unrecognizable to anyone who has read the Constitution. No longer will we accept legislation from the bench that relies not on interpretation of the Constitution, but mystical divination of mysterious penumbras that only a few ‘right-minded’ jurists can see. Those days are over, and you can return usurped powers to the states and the individual citizens in whom the Constitution rightfully places them, or you can have them stripped from you.
We, those who have come together in virtual congress to reclaim our independence from those who have by various means obtained it from us, realize that this probably wasn’t the HOPE! and CHANGE! that those persons had in mind, but nevertheless, the time has come.
Blackiswhite, Imperial Consigliere
Free Citizen of the United States of America,
August 29, 2009
Or Mrs. Alito in tears
“really think it is a good idea.”
Politicians will answer the questions with what you want to hear. They will insist on having the questions some time prior to answering them so their staff can look up and prepare for them the “best” conservative answer at the time. It will mean nothing more than a meaningless act that is more like taking a poll and answering the way you want to hear the answers.
What needs to be done is rating behaviors. What do these folks do, not what answers these folks give to questions.
In Arizona we do a rating for judges based on a review by lawyers, yes lawyers, so before we vote for judges we can see what those judges have done during the year based on lawyers who tried cases in front of those lawyers. Not what those judges say.
Do we need to evaluate politicians? Yes. A set of questions tells you nothing other than their ability to answer those questions.
Isn’t it almost laughable that the very people who keep claiming that they favor ‘diversity’ are the ones trying to force everyone to goose step to the beat of central planning?
The other day I said I thought Harry Reid was likely not going to lose.
Well it appears he is more likely tom self-destruct thanI first thought.
Follow this “http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/56171937.html?numComments=1527#blogcomments?submitted=y”
JS – The examples I posted were all “YES OR NO” responses – no need to ‘prepare an answer’.
Of course, you couple those yes and no repsonses to their past behavior to see that they are being sincere. You also have to expose candidates that have promised one thing during a campaign and done another once they got into office, (a la “read my lips”).
Yes, I do remember that farce. I’m not saying this one is totally bogus, but I have suspicions on just how serious is actually is.
Good answers work better than ridicule, don’t you think? That was a good answer.
“really think it is a good idea.”
And they’ll usually preface an “answer” with “that’s a good question”, meaning “I’ve been briefed on how to handle it”.
When a politician speaks his-her convictions from their heart and mind, a la Reagan, that’s rare.
“JS – The examples I posted were all “YES OR NO” responses – no need to ‘prepare an answer’.”
You are kidding me right? Politicians not going to prepare an answer? Oh really?
It doesn’t help matters much when you have an administration that proudly confesses to seeing crises (real & manufactured) as nothing more than opportunities for radical political ends.
That’s a good question – I am concerned, of course, and my office will look into it. We’ll probably need a commission to study the issue.
(standard non-answer to the rare unexpected question)
And further more, I don’t vote for a person because he or she gets the answers right today.
I vote for a person who based on their values, their philosophy of government, their history, will think through the issue and act consisntently with those values. I do not want a person who is stuck in terms of taking a vote because they answered some questions last year and will be faced with people busting their chops cause on a questionare they answered “yes” and now they need to answer “no”.
I don’t want politicians being forced to vote based on what is best for their careers. You know, sorta like it is now.
I want conservatives who will vote consistently with their principles. I don’t want robot politicans who feel forced into a particular vote because of some answers to some questionare during the election cycle.
Yeah, and then we are ridiculed for not blindly trusting what they say. We are called “truthers” “conspiracy theorists”, for merely questioning these lying weasels. I don’t trust ANY of them…and that is the very sad state of this country today. I was once told never to trust the government and I thought that was so cynical. I now know it is just good, sound advice.
Another good answer. See, that wasn’t so hard! Smile.
Latest account of Glenn Beck sponsors to have dropped his show, possibly will and those who are sticking by him and his comments accusing Odopey of being a racist…imagine that after all the racist comments he’s made in the last 2.5 years.
I will support the sponsors that stay with him and boycott the quitters.
The most important change to any primary voting system is to make it a closed primary.
Unless you were registered to vote Republican in the previous 6 months, you cannot vote Republican.
If you switch your affiliation, you can vote in the primary, but you cannot switch back until AFTER the general election.
Oh, and requiring voter ID.
Yes but if your favorite color is “brown” and you answer “blue” you will soon find out that is a serious mistake.
Yo be sure there are the nutso conspiracy theorists who see a dozen conspiracies before breakfast who don’t trust anything or anyone, Scrapper.
But it is good sense not to trust the government no matter which party controls the WH and Congress.
It’s just the nature of the government beast; it exists to grow, gain power and feed itself no matter who is in office.
Not to worry, a spirit of “bipartisanship” will solve that problem.
11. to totally overhaul the IRS?
12. to eliminate in your first 6 months the death tax? Alternative Minimum Tax?
13. Pass a federal law requiring Voter ID?
14. to eliminate the NEA?
15. to empower JD authorities to investigate, and if required, prosecute 501c3 organizations that are involved in political issues barred by their non-profit status?
16. Will you actively push for, demand, etc., and sign legislation banning federal earmarks?
You forgot a couple.
Don’t forget to require in the legislation our direct access to the peon’s bank account so we can grab their money whenever we want.
Their entire medical history will be accessible on line so we not only know which ones to re-educate, but we know which ones should not be allowed certain medical procedures.
Besides, when they start thinking we still have a Constitution and get mouthy, we will leak a few details from their records.
Me too, after all the media said it was going to save us from an epidemic, yeah I know, I was young and very naive to the ways of a corrupt government at the time.
Just last Thur. talking with my pulmonologist, I asked if they had the normal flu vaccine in yet and I do not want the swine flu vaccine, told him mainly because nobody knows for sure what it is, he agreed, told me to comeback in early Oct. for the yearly flu shot for us old fogies and babies. I like that, straight forward reply no BS.
Republicanvet.
You betcha! It won’t happen, but I will do my darnest. Every bill passed has billions upon billions of crud not needed we taxpayers are paying for. A bridge, air strip, some rodent, this list goes on and on. No one in dc reads the bills and at the last minute these ‘pork’ projects are put in. Even a raise for everyone in dc! Gads, WE are paying for this. They look at a billion dollars as I would a hundred. It does not seem to bother them one bit either.
L
Isn’t it laughable that the Obamunist thinks when life begins is above his paygrade, yet he or his thugs believe when your life should end is not?
Quoting myself, how weak is that?
Anyway, thanks everyone for the ideas (some of which were pretty good) and comments, positive and less so. I think some people did miss the point I was struggling to make: it’s all about political marketing. The Republican name brand is in bad shape but can be reclaimed with new, extra-strength Conservatism(TM).
Historically, it’s a lot cheaper to take over a party, as the commiecrats have shown, than to start a new one. The machinery of a national party is extremely useful and very expensive and time-consuming ike you wouldn’t believe to duplicate. Worse, third parties tend to be one time shots at best. Sure, sometimes they are absorbed into a mainstream party, usually the democrats who are very good at co-opting other movements, but typically they fade away, never to be seen or heard from again (Free Silver, Know-Nothings, anyone?). If people insist on trying the third party route, fine, more power to them. But by doing so, I think the message is being sent that the good guys are unwilling or even afraid to take on the RINOs on their home turf. That’s a bad message.
Right now, the RINOs pretty much own the Republican Party. As stock holders, again using a business analogy, I am strongly suggesting we take over firm and fire/severely demote them. Yeah, it’s an analogy and it’s not perfect. But my sense is that RINOs are fundamentally cowards or bullies that will become so. They can be defeated and the Republican brand can be reclaimed and to me that makes a lot of sense and is something well worth fighting for.
Every time I get another call asking for money, or get another “survey” from some GOP organization, I give them stock answers.
Not until you start acting like Republicans.
Not until the party finally gets rid of RINO’s like McCain and Grahamnesty.
Considering their fundraising has been lacking, I think many others are thinking the same thing.
FYI…the yearly flu vaccine is out early. I just got mine this week. They wanted to get those shots done so there will be at least two weeks between the yearly shot and the swine flu shot (which I don’t intend to get).
Excellent-they have taken us for granted for too long.
I just took the time to read this very lengthy document. It is awesome! Everyone should read it. It is right on the money and should be adopted as our new Rededication of the Founding Principles. I would add some to what is on there, but it does cover a lot. If we can get this out there and get people to dedicate themselves to those principles…we will have a great start in getting our country back.
I remember one solicitation I got from the GOP was a survey and then at the end it had options for giving them money. One of the options was “No, I won’t be giving any money because I don’t care about these issues”. Or something like that. Anyway, if you wanted to fill in the questionnarie but didn’t have a donation, they were basically telling you that you didn’t care about the issues or you would send them money. It really disturbed me and I sent them back a very scathing note, adding that they had received their last dime from me.
I have been trying to get AARP to stop emailing me, mailing me, etc.
“Grahamnesty”
Where has he been anyway? Seems like he has been kinda quiet.
Obviously my Dr. does not have the yearly vaccine or I would have got a shot at that time, don’t ya think?
Well, for anyone here interested in Maryland, I’d like to introduce myself.
http://danielmcandrew.com
Feel free to tell me what you think.
Thank you.
from wikipedia…
My Democrat Senator, Blanche Lincoln, is having a town hall meeting here on Wednesday at 12:30PM.
I might get to ask her a question, and I’m torn between health care and illegal immigration. I think I’ll go with illegal immigration, maybe something like this.
Senator, do you see a correlation between the high unemployment rate in Arkansas and the nation, and the millions of jobs that are held by illegal aliens because existing immigration laws are largely ignored?
Maybe someone has a better suggestion?
Wow. What did I say?? What I think is that you took my post wrong or something. I was merely letting you know in case you wanted to get one now instead of waiting. You can get them at many places, not just your doctor’s office. Whatever. Some people are getting testy today. Or maybe it is me. I think I will sign off for today. This is getting us nowhere.
AN, what is great about putting your thoughts on their survey is that it usually is a pitch for money, which means you can use their SASE to mail it back.
You KNOW they will open a letter that may have a check in it.
Why is your “About” section in the third person, while the rest of the site is in first person?
Last time he was around he was slobbering over Sotomayor, realized how foolish he looked and tried to act tough, then dropped out of sight.
Hopefully he’s home catching three shades of hell from his voters.
Publicly live and fight for the principles shown in this topic and you should do well.
“Senator, when will you uphold your oath to the Constitution, demand enforcement of illegal immigration laws, and refuse to support any health care reform that does not contain a prohibition against illegal aliens getting care paid for by the same people who pay your salary, the taxpayers.”
“This would help solve the huge unemployment problem in your district, and go a long way towards providing affordable medical care for your constituents.”
beenthere: I’m all for reclaiming the Republican brand; It just seems odd they have been given a prolonged hanging slider by P-BO and his Clown Cluster, and have done nothing but swing and miss, which to me means they are just as deeply entrenched in the morass that is D.C. as the Democrats are; They crave power, not a sincere desire to bring America back from the brink; Remember the Omnibus bill, where over 40% of the earmarks(money we don’t have) were GOP sponsored, and they do nothing but defend those votes; A curse should befall those individuals!
*When I get mailings from the GOP, I send them a Bush Peso, and tell them to get rid of the RINO’s and get back to their conservative roots; Never forget that Bush, as the leader of the Republican Party, was the primary advocacy pimp for illegal alien amnesty; The fact that the party hasn’t changed their ways on that issue alone tells you all you need to know about where they are coming from.
*And witness how they continue to marginalize Sarah Palin, a proponent of smaller government and an outsider, just like millions of us; If we starve the GOP beast, then just maybe they will pay proper attention.
*I still maintain that the Fair Tax is the best vehicle ever conceived to neuter the power brokers in D.C.; And if the GOP wants to be its’ driver, its out there waiting for them; Huckabee for one is a supporter.
….so much for freedom of speech and respect for the flag and pledge.
‘Take that thing off your head’
ROTC student suspended for telling Muslim to respect flag, remove hijab
In the first debate, 9 out of the 10 candidates declared their support for a national ID card. I was appalled. I am old enough to remember the chilling stories of the KGB asking citizens for their papers. I don’t want to live there.
I see no significant difference between the two parties any more.
Did you guys know that after Ross Perot was allowed in the debates, the DNC and the RNC took the debates away from the League of Women Voters to keep that from ever happening again?
They’re playing us like fiddles.
I apologize if someone has already pointed this out (busy) but the current foofoorah over the DNC accusing Cheney of being a torturer in response to his appearance on Fox News this morning reflects exactly the same position that McCain has over the use of enhanced interrogation techniques.
Voters are fleeing from the Democratic Party in droves and yet GOP registrations keep falling anyway? We may not even have any major parties if they insist on warring against the majority of their own voters.
Not long ago, both parties accounted for about 90% of all voters. Now it is Dems 32-33% and Reps 22-23%. If current trends continue, the Dem Party will soon be reduced to its core liberal base (18-19%) with the GOP reduced to its nose-holding core (15-16%). I’m not a CalTech grad but the math sure seems to leave plenty of room for a major party to emerge. We should have at least one.
Go Sarah!!!
I don’t know it’s all that important, Chap, but I do think a site’s “flow” works better if an objective/subjective take is consistent throughout.
Republicanvet,
Fair points. My “About” page spawned from my original Press Release. Perhaps I should change the third person to first.
As for the Constitution, I agree wholeheartedly – this is the backbone of our origin and I fully intend to support it and keep to it.
And it is one of my biggest reasons why I am ‘stepping into the ring’ as it were – because I am fed up with what I see with the Tea Parties and Town Hall meetings. Not themselves, but the fact that our “representatives” clearly are not willing to listen to us. (I attended Senator Cardin’s Town Hall in Towson not long ago. It is clear to me that both our senators would prefer we join into the public option, despite our cries to the contrary.)
So, the way I see it – the only way to fight this is to get inside, hopefully replace the incumbent (in my case, Barbara Mikulski is up for re-election right now, er, next year) and change the landscape of Congress in 2010.
That’s my story and I am sticking to it.
Oops.
My response about the tense of my About site should have been directed to chapoutier.
Excuse me.
“objective/subjective take is consistent throughout”
I know all the major blow ups my wife and I have are when my objective is quite different than her subjective!
So I’m all for having objective/subjective being totally consistent…..
Nice Daniel,
Good Luck
If I may, when describing yourself,
do not say “Daniel has been a resident”….
Say Daniel is,, this or that etc…
Saying has been should be reserved for your opponent….
17. Stop foreign aid.
Again if I may Daniel on your candidacy. I see from the front page you are talking a lot about HR 3200.
I agree the bill has much wrong within it.
However, a specific issue,like death panels or any other specific entry is secondary to the real problem with this and most legisaltion affords us.
It grows power in a ever-growing central government. T
That is the real problem, and from that all the issues, like death panels, emanate.
once you master that understanding all other arguments become secondary…
oldcollegeguy1980,
heh – got me. I will correct that.
Thanks.
My only suggestions:
On the “contribute” page, while you’re working on setting up some kind of payment mechanism put up something to the effect of “You can contribute in various ways – your time, your talent, financially, etc. please contact me to see how you can help”.
Move the site from WordPress to an inexpensive webhosting company which will give you more flexibility and tools to work with; I’d suggest Hostgator (been good for me so far, at least), but there are quite a few good hosts from which to choose.
Best wishes to you.
And, yes, I do understand the primary issue is determining ever larger amounts of control over the population. (That this current administration is attempting.)
This has to be stopped. This country wasn’t founded to enslave us but to allow for individual freedoms and growth through free enterprise.
Ok JS, humor me – give an example of how one ‘prepares’ to give a yes or no answer?
I’m NOT looking any rhetoric along with the the ‘yes’ or the ‘no’ – I tried to give examples of questions that can be answered without further explanation and frankly, I do not want any further explanations or qualifications so I don’t want questions that give any room for such.
Happy was trying to devise such a ‘test’ and I was exploring it with him/her, your constructive input would have been welcomed…
The Q&A thing is interesting, DWD, but I think if the candidates could get together and generate “the answers” themselves it works much better. Something along the line of the “Contract With America”. i.e. “these are points we all agree on and will all work for.”
purplepeep, thank you for your suggestions.
Yeah, instead of only hearing state run media tell us details of Joe the Plumber’s tax problems, we’ll hear about Jim the Electrician’s STD’s or that Harriet the hairdresser is really a Harry.
Oh but we mustn’t allow computers to analyze yet un-named local phone numbers calling suspected terrorist organizations in foreign countries – no…that’s clearly an invasion of privacy! (/sarc)
Eh, what do I know, tho? lol. Just because you’re using a WordPress template doesn’t mean it’s at the wordpress.com site, so I probably assumed wrong on that!
But I’d do away with the “under construction” line for a coupla reasons. When you have some space on a page and are looking for a “placeholder” there are sites where you can get some fine, free public domain images.
Wikipedia lists quite a few resources:
Public Domain Image Resources
Buona fortuna!
Danke.
I agree and wasn’t implying that answering a list of questions was the only thing they have do. This was just a quick acid test kinda thing, point by point, where do you stand on the kinda of issues where ~compromise~ isn’t an option.
For example, I want a candidate to tell me point blank whether or not they would favor having the USA to pull out of the UN. They can tell me all the whys and wherefores to defend their reasoning later but the yes/no question forces them to state their position clearly so everyone knows exactly what it is.
If you do not get them to answer such a direct question some will try to weasel out of giving a straight answer and hope they have fooled enough people into thinking they answered it.
DWD,
Well, myself, for one, favors extricating ourselves from the UN.
Given that however, there is something to be said about keeping an eye on undesirables that are already sitting on and moving about our land.
So let me ask you a question, if you don’t mind.
Would you rather not be able to watch your enemies at all? Especially under the guise of ambassadorships?
If we were to leave the UN, then I would think it would also be prudent to move the UN to another country.
This way, we have less to worry about with potential harm having access to our internals.
Just sayin.
We’ll I’m only eliminating one ambassador – the one to the UN. And yes, it’s time for the UN to find a new home.
@Pasedena Phil:
No way. The DNC and the RNC have ballot access locked up tighter than a drum, and besides – weren’t you here during the election? There are plenty of people who won’t vote 3rd party because they think it only harms the GOP candidate.
I don’t want a third party candidate that draws from both parties. We have enough of those already actually *in* the parties.
I’m at the point of wishing there was another country to go to.
OK, who the heck does trackbacks to open threads?
Yeah, they’re called “nose-holders” and “Republican Uber Alles” and only account for the 15-16% of voters who comprise the GOP base. They will vote for whomever the GOP nominates. We need to make sure they don’t get to decide. They need us, not they other way around.
We are doing better today than when the GOP controlled everything and we aren’t even represented. Both parties are at war with us and yet they can’t get anything crammed through Congress. It ain’t the nose-holders who are responsible for this. They don’t belong in this conversation because they have no principles. We need to ignore them.
Capitalism the villain as Moore movie hits Venice
Moore will make sure that this will be shown for free at the theaters and all dvd’s will be given away for free since capitalism is bad, right?
Hi Michelle! I just wanted you to know that I purchased your book today at Sam’s Club. Usually when we have a little bit of shopping to do we go there right after church because it’s on the way home.
They had your book front and center for $17.88 and to my knowledge, that was the Sam’s Club price. I haven’t really shopped around for it though. I just sort of felt like it was meant to be because it was the only book that grabbed my attention.
I’m looking forward to reading it and you never know, I might quote your stuff from time to time on Twitter. I know I’m gonna find lots of good quotes that mesh with my political beliefs.
Ok… that’s all for now. I thought it was neat that you had a post up that said “talk among yourselves.” I think that’s very cool. Have a great week. :]
Hmmm, are you keeping the Sabbath Day holy if you purchase Michelle’s book on the way home from church? Just don’t use it for firewood or Moses would definitely have you stoned…
I would like to see a very gentle revision of our Constitution, to include:
1) that Congress shall pass no law that discriminates based on: race, gender, mental attitude [i.e., insanity/hate crimes] or, wealth/station in life.
2) the Census shall be based on an actual enumeration of US citizens who are registered to vote.
3) all taxation rates determined by Congress shall be at the same rate for all.
4) the value [for all legal purposes] of all US citizens lives shall be the same.
5) any change to the geographical layout of any voting district must first be approved in a referendum by a majority of members in the district to be changed. Such vote may only occur on any day where Congressional members are routinely elected.
sarc This wouldn’t change much, would it? /sarc.