I was watching CNN last night and I was getting a little frustrated. Actually not with their newscasting (although I do get frustrated with it a lot of times) but with the news that McCain is (just barely) leading Obama in the latest national poll (or that they are in a deadlock--depending on which poll one is looking at it). That in itself was frustrating but I'm a little disappointed with Obama in how's he's handling this Palin phenomenon.
He's just getting a little distracted. He needs to focus on his message and let Biden and his other advisers go on the attack. Obama's always walked that fine line of criticizing without completely going negative and he's done a good job with it. His speech at the convention was superb. But he can't let the Republicans dictate the narrative. He's basically getting dragged down because that's what they want. The Republican machine is a lot like those classic John Chaney teams at temple...they play ugly basketball and force the opponent into the type of game that the team is unfamiliar playing. Obama just needs to stay above the fray. Yes, he has lost some momentum and buzz with Palin's arrival on the national scene but he needs to let that play out...because...I'm certain that Palin (when the general public finds out more about her) will ultimately be seen for what she is--an ultra-conservative neophyte that has no business leading this country (if something were to happen to John McCain).
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Believe it or not, part of me is still surprised by what the republicans are doing. Even after the last two elections, I thought this one would be different with McCain at the helm. It just seems like he's sold out on so many of his core issues. I really hope people wake up to the disaster in waiting that is Palin, but I am worried that the republican machine will fear people into voting for them again. I am not sure I can take it.
This is what happens when someone excites the conservative base. The fact is the majority of Americans are conservative and believe in the principles that form the foundation of the republican party. For that matter, i know most of the people reading this blog are conservatives at heart. At the end of the day Obama does not hold true to those conservative principles in which most americans believe (and is therefore simply on the wrong side of too many of the issues).
1. I don't even know how you can claim that the majority of Americans are conservative...I think by looking at the past two elections...the results are clear that it's pretty split right now.
2. I don't really think I'm going out on a limb here...but I'm pretty sure that most people who do read this blog are not conservative.
3. Let's just look at two examples of principles that form the foundation of the republican party and how they are currently being played out.
A. Fiscal responsibility. Our current debt is over 9 trillion dollars. It seems to me that President Bush is not following basic conservative values.
B. Personal Liberty. Republicans deeply believe that the government should not interfere with personal freedoms. Bascially that the government shouldn't tell an individual what to do. But when it comes to giving women a choice they choose to ignore that principle and want the government to intervene.
At the end of day...I'm glad Obama doesn't hold that many conservative principles and that's one reason I'm voting for him.
1. My claim that most Americans consider themselves conservative is not my opinion, it is a statement of fact. Refer to question D3 of the recent bipartisan Battlegroud poll results released a couple weeks ago. 60% of Americans consider themselves conservative while only 36% consider themselves liberal. Poll results are similar throughout recent history.
http://www.tarrance.com/bg.cfm
2. Do not mistake my using the term conservative as meaning Republican. They are not the same. Why do I think most of the readers of this blog are conservative... because most of us grew up in rural Indiana raised and surrounded by conservatives. Maddux - your parents, grandparents, sister and wife are all a part of that 60%. Even so, that doesn't determine how one will vote.
3A. Bush did not create the $9 trillion debt. And for that matter, presidents do not spend money... congress does. And guess who's the majority of congress? (That reminds me... Nancy Pelosy, senate majority leader, is the dumbest person in Washington) We can all agree that fiscal responsibility is desired and never quite what we hope it to be. That's our money after all.
3B. Agreed, Republicans feel strongly about personal freedoms. That's exactly why they feel so strongly in favor of pro life. Problem is, liberals approach this issue from the adult's standpoint while conservatives from the unborn baby's standpoint, believing the baby would choose life. Recently Obama quoted Matthew 25:45 which says, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me." Who is "the least of these"? Unborn babies! That's who. How can Obama quote this scripture AND vote for legislation that allows abortion? Makes absolutely no sense. I could go on, but I'll stop here. Anyhow, Republicans' pro life stance is totally consistent with their belief in personal freedoms.
What are these conservative principles that most Americans believe? I can't believe that the abortion issue is the most important one for most Americans (it's certainly not for me).
It seems like what people want are good paying jobs that will support their families now and through retirement. We don't want to have to worry about getting sick and not being able to pay health insurance premiums, and we want our kids to be able to afford college if they choose to go. McCain, and the republicans in general, do not have the interests of the average person in mind. They are certainly thinking about the health insurance companies, the oil companies, and those will million dollar incomes.
Does McCain really have those conservative values that you hold? He left his wife, who was in the hospital for a woman 17 years younger than him! Obama is a family man with a strong marriage that regularly goes to (a Christian) church.
A few Conservative Principles (certainly not meant to be a comprehensive list)...
- Individual liberty
- Individual responsibility
- Equal opportunity
- Limited government
- Capitalism / free markets
- National security
- Fair (low) taxation
Here's an interesting list I came across on the internet... The Ten Cannots of Conservative Principles
1. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
2. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
3. You cannot help little men by tearing down big men.
4. You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
5. You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
6. You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money.
7. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
8. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.
9. You cannot build character and courage by destroying men's initiative and independence.
10. And you cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they can and should do for themselves.
--William J. H. Boetcker, 1916
Obama does not believe much of the above. In fact, his beliefs and proposed legistlation directly contradicts most of it. This is why I will not be voting for him. McCain / Palin more closely align with the above. And this is why come November I believe McCain / Palin will win.
Back to that ever-so-controversial issue... When our founding fathers were drafting the Declaration of Independence and Constitution they knew some day the country would have to face the issue of slavery. Why? Because slavery was a contridiction to the principles on which the country was founded. And sure enough a hundred years later the issue came to a head. I believe the abortion issue to be similar in that it too contradicts those founding principles. The difference is these humans do not have a voice and are the most vulnerable of society. Because they do not have a voice they must depend on those of us who do. Many people use that voice when they go to the polls. Like it or not, abortion is an important issue, not just because of the lives lost, but because what it says about our society as a whole. Just imagine... the person that was to grow up and discover the cure for cancer may have been aborted. Our loss.
I wonder what this conversation would be like if Patrick and Ryan were in the same room. Atleast this way Patrick can get his thoughts said without being interrupted. As I type this right now, Ryan has been contemplating all day his response. Here we go for another round.
Valerie
Ryan can contemplate till the end of time... even deliver stirring speeches before thousands in the streets of Germany or open-air stadiums in the States. He can not "win" this discussion. True Conservatism beats Liberalism every time.
Especially when it comes to things like Civil Rights. Conservatives just love civil rights, don't they? They sure beat liberals on that.
Yes, you are correct Andy. One could say the Republican, "conservative" party started the Civil Rights movement when the Democrat and Republican parties split during the Civil War over the slavery issue. As mentioned earlier, a similar battle is going on today over the issue of abortion. Consevatives are fighting for the civil rights of the unborn.
And don't forget, Dwight Eisenhower, a conservative Republican president, supported the integration of schools and proposed and signed the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and '60 (the most significant civil rigts legistlation since just after the Civil War) which laid the groundwork for the all important Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Democrats claim to be the party of civil rights (which as I point out above is simply not hte case) but the dirty little secret is that just the opposite is true. Among many other things, the present day Democrat party preys on people and their "uncivil" rights. Without that perceived inequality, those liberal democrats high up in the party food chain (ie. Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton) lose their power. Think about it... these "champions" of the modern day civil rights movement "succeed" when people are treated "uncivilly". Why would they want to give up that power? They wouldn't. So they continue to preach to the masses that "the man" is holding them down. Bill Cosby (a conservative by the way) will try to convince you otherwise. And in response the civil rights establishment (Jackson, Sharpton, etc.) criticise Cosby by saying his views hurt "the cause"? Who are you going to believe... liberals like Jackson and Sharpton or a conservaive like Cosby?
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