Comments Posted By grognard
Displaying 21 To 30 Of 108 Comments
The problem for thinking conservatives is access to the megaphone. The Limbaugh crowd can be brought to a boil by ceaseless denunciations of Liberals, that means listeners or book sales and that translates into revenue. Who is going to sponsor a radio program where the speaker calmly explains conservative solutions to problems without the standard anti liberal diatribe? Hate to say it but most “conservatives” I talk to can go on and on about Liberals and their proposals but are unable to make a case for what smaller government would be like or what conservative solutions there are to any problem. The Limbaugh ditto heads are phonies who act more like cult members than people with a political philosphy, and unfortunatly they are the majority of conservatives. My hope is that thinking conservatives will find that megaphone so that there is a reasoned counterpoint to the left, but how to go about that is the 64 dollar question.
Comment Posted By grognard On 10.06.2009 @ 12:37
THE CONSERVATIVE CASE FOR GAY MARRIAGE
If Conservatism is to be intellectually consistent this is the correct view. You can’t call for less governmental interference in business but turn around and call for more of it in peoples personal lives. But this applies to more than marriage. If someone wants to use drugs that is their choice also. Not a good choice, but having more freedom does not necessarily mean that you use it wisely. Ultimately the choice of how you use your freedom is up to you and should not be mandated by government. I think that this idea would resonate well and Conservatism could offer an appealing counter position to the Liberal idea of mandated governmental solutions for everything. With creationism being taught in schools and gay marriage it is time to dump the social “conservatives” and start new. You might not win the next election but long term the idea of more freedom of choice for every everyone is a powerful idea.
Comment Posted By grognard On 18.04.2009 @ 10:37
The Beckian Wing of Conservatism
Don’t think that the Limbaughs define Conservatism? Where is Wm. F. Buckley’s son, Christopher Buckley now? What horrible sin did he commit that made the editor of the National Review accept his resignation? Thousands of emails demanding that he goes, for what? Daring to say that Obama is rational? Do you really think that Limbaugh would make 400 million a year formulating constructive Conservative alternative solutions to the big government ideas of Liberals? The left is not as far off the mark as you think, bashing liberals is a very lucrative business, and it has nothing to do with a political philosophy on the powers of government. The sooner real conservatives realize this and forcefully divorce themselves from the Limbaugh wing the better. Yeah, the few brave ones that would do this would spend some time in the wilderness shunned by the “true believers”, but long term they would prevail as their constructive message started to resonate with the much maligned middle. There is no room for both in the Conservative movement, it is time for Conservatism to go back to the intellectual roots it started with and throw out the people that turned a political philosophy into a perverted true believers only pseudo-evangelical movement.
Comment Posted By grognard On 12.04.2009 @ 10:16
This reminds me of an old joke called the train to Communism.
Lenin gets everyone on board for the great train to Communism but before the train can leave the station he dies. Stalin takes over and when he realizes the train is not moving he executes the engineer, fireman, and the conductor. Stalin dies and Khrushchev takes over, he hires another train crew but before the train leaves the station he is removed from power. Brezhnev takes over and orders the blinds over the windows to be drawn. He then says ”Pretend we are moving”.
Conservatism is the same thing, for some reason he train never leaves the station. Other than bashing the left you got nothing.
Comment Posted By grognard On 2.04.2009 @ 17:34
THE POST MY DETRACTORS WISH I HAD WRITTEN ABOUT THE TEA PARTIES
When the Republican party tore up the Contract with America you should have had the 'tea party', you're eight years too late. Here is what I suggest for a rally. Make gigantic portraits of Limbaugh, Coulter and Hannity. Parade around the city square chanting their more famous remarks like “We need to execute people like John Walker in order to physically intimidate liberals, by making them realize that they can be killed too.”- Ann Coulter or “I’ll tell you who should be tortured and killed at Guantanamo - every filthy Democrat in the U.S. Congress. ”- Hannity. Then gather around a speaker who will tell you that the good honest hard working folk farmers will loose their subsidies if they don't virulently denounce the ugly hideous liberal Jews that ruined the banking system. During the speech everyone should yell “Ditto, Ditto” repeatedly. Whatever you do don't say anything positive about the creativity of capitalism and the exciting dynamism of the private sector. Don't show how rejecting the blame game and being a responsible citizens translates into having no need for government solutions to problems. Just denounce liberals over and over and over again.
Comment Posted By grognard On 28.02.2009 @ 12:11
SMALL GOVERNMENT, BIG GOVERNMENT, OR CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT?
Article number one expressed well my frustration with Conservatism, I got a whole lot of complaints about Liberals but when it came down to nut and bolts about how to get ”smaller government”nothing but just some nebulous goal and few details. I am glad to see some movement is being made in that direction, but the Limbaughs are still around to hijack the movement and continue the money making liberal bashing cult.
Liberals and Conservatives approach each other and politics in the same way; my side is righteous and right and your side is the spawn of a sewage treatment plant. In fact the real argument is over personal preference on what government should and should not do. Reality is that neither side is right or wrong, the real problem is that we are trying to make a one size fits all government that ultimately will please none. The best book on government I ever read, and one I wish was mandatory reading for anyone that talks about politics, is Anarchy State and Utopia by Robert Nozick. He explains that the best government would be one where like minded people in their own communities would begin on the same what-government-should-do page and go from there. People that want, and are willing to pay for, a nanny state would have exactly what they want. Libertarians could walk down the street smoking pot in their community and Social conservatives could ban evolution in their schools. Of course there are adverse consequences for certain beliefs, but those consequences are something each community would have to deal with and not affect anyone else. If you read Nozick you can see that there should be a way to create a government that gives Liberals and Conservatives everything they want, with the added benefit that there would be nobody from the other side to deal with.
Comment Posted By grognard On 7.02.2009 @ 16:59
WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO OBAMA'S 'WELL OILED MACHINE?'
The Democrats are doing what they said they would do, spend like crazy. Republicans have no credibility on spending, their claims that they want “smaller more efficient government “ are only valid when they are the minority party. Win an election and Republicans will quickly rediscover the earmark. We will see if Obama learns from his mistakes, but at least admitting them is a first step that most politicians are not willing to take. The real test of his administration will be the review of government programs for worth and efficiency. When the programs are put on the chopping block the special interest groups will howl, we will see if he wins or they win that political battle.
Comment Posted By grognard On 4.02.2009 @ 10:17
IF GOVERNMENT MAKES LIFE EASIER, DOES THAT MAKE IT BETTER?
The government vs individualism can also be a question of time. I work 55 to 60 hours a week. My wife has MS so I have to take care of her and the household duties fall on me. I have two kids that have their needs, from homework to soccer. In a libertarian state I would have to manage my own retirement, and find the time to become an expert on investments. I would also have to manage my own medical care and, again, find the time to become an expert on heath care. I would also have to constantly monitor these things, among many others, because without any governmental regulation I alone would be responsible for the outcome of my choices. That “freedom” becomes a huge burden that pretty much consumes every moment. I'm not saying that a Nanny state is necessarily the answer, but I am saying that the libertarian state would not be much of a Utopia either.
Comment Posted By grognard On 31.01.2009 @ 16:18
DAVID FRUM, THE BIG TENT, AND SPLENETIC CONSERVATIVES
No offense taken, I have been called a lot worse. I was just making the point that the middle is open to your arguments and honey works better than vinegar. I want Conservatism to succeed because I think it is a much needed brake to the impulses of Liberalism, but both sides relish bashing the middle as being imbeciles, and frankly I am tired of it. Obama has been making the point that the old ideological fights need to go, that good arguments can be made by both sides to solve our problems. It remains to be seen if we descend into the mud of politics but I would encourage Conservatives to take him up on this and offer up some smaller government solutions rather than the same old liberals are a bunch of %$#@% arguments.
Comment Posted By grognard On 24.01.2009 @ 12:22
As a Moderate I voted Republican for the first Bush term thinking I would get a review of Federal programs and a reduction in Government, at the very least the pay as you go programs would continue. Instead I got an explosion in earmarks, the K street project, and deficit spending in key districts to win elections. This had nothing to do with RINOs or Liberals, it had everything to do with a cynical attempt by Rove and the Republican hierarchy to buy the next election. It worked for awhile because they controlled the noise machine. Every time an objection was raised on the direction Republicans were going they could have Linbaugh say “librul” pull the choke chain and Conservatives would start yelping. Conservatives play the same blame game the liberals do, they just blame other people for their problems but it is exactly the same thing. So now I'm being told that the Liberal Bashing Cult is going to offer ideas and solutions to our problems, here is a suggestion from the “milquetoast” middle, the group that you need to win elections. Blaming and insulting the middle doesn't score any points and just shows a lack of maturity, nobody will buy your argument when you call them a “moron”. The middle is open to ideas from both sides, make a good argument and you will get your way, but blubber about liberals and blame the middle for being deluded and you will stay in the wilderness.
I wasn't talking about an electoral strategy necessarlly. Obviously, for that you need centrists to win. I was talking about Republican Congressmen who ran as conservatives and then when the brand was driven into the ground in recent elections have scrambled toward the center. That's what I meant by "milquetoast" - politicians who ran as righties who chickened out when the going got tough.
And you have a thinner skin than I do if you are offended by the term "milquetoast."
ed.
Comment Posted By grognard On 24.01.2009 @ 11:49
