Sunday, November 2, 2008

It is Rush Limbaugh's fault.

comments

And

I guess Paul wants us to lose gracefully and then just go away.

Op-Ed Columnist - The Republican Rump - NYTimes.com

10 comments:

Jim G. said...

How did Conservativism get to this place? The Republican party is about to take a long walk in the woods and it has no one to blame but itself. A reason in part, is because a generation of young voters has been exposed to an unending stream of liberal indoctrination without a balancing viewpoint and are angry about the war. Granted, Conservativism, a better name for the Republican party, inherently has a higher barrier when explaining the patience and firmness required to achieve the benefits from freedom, free markets and self reliance as opposed to the comfortable ideas of redistribution and class envy. To this, add the self aggrandizing media and their inherent need for discord to support their work and by association their beliefs This is part and parcel of Democratic orthodoxy that Conservatives have faced and bested for many years, yet, an untested Ubraliberal one term Senator is about to win the election. Until this election Americans have generally found ways to enlighten themselves and were center-right politically. With am impending super majority in congress to add to the Presidency, one can not longer make this argument and a pressing question is why?

Because Rush Limbaugh has done a terrible job, that's why. He has, post Reagan, been the leader of conservative movement. He has sat behind his golden microphone predicting the implosion of the Democratic party due to its association with its fringe as it has grown leaps and bounds. He was too busy insulting former President Clinton to notice a deluge of ear marks coming from a Congress which promised otherwise. He let pass our current President creating "compassionate Conservativism" implying that it was otherwise deficient. He insults those with pro-choice beliefs instead of treating them with love, understanding their pain, and offering, with more love, an alternative. He has not stood up enough for the good of religion, instead making fun of those who imply that the religious condemn others.

And then there is the environment, smoking and Hybrid cars. Frequently using the phrase Environmental Wacko completely gives the environmental issue to the left. I don't know if Global warming exists or is man made but one cannot deny that we have polluted lakes and the air and these issues deserve our attention. Smoking causes lots of death in this country yet Rush has been hostile towards attempts to remove it from public places. Beyond the obvious contradiction between supporting the rights of smokers but not drug users which is bad enough (if we can regulate drugs, we can regulate smoking) he is also ignoring the multiple non smoking referendums which have passed in this country. Then last week, he was openly hostile to Hybrid cars in a segment where he talked about the high rate of accident related injury.

The country, especially the young and even your listeners have moved on, you should join them!

Mr. Limbaugh's special talent was making Conservativism fun, adding music and humor to a staid set of values. Using absurdity to make a point is no longer enough. He/we need a proactive, thoughtful and still humorous approach which reaches out especially to the young. A Conservative co-host now and then would not hurt either.

Baxter said...

Extremely well written, Doc, though I disagree with just about all of it.

The main problem with GOP is the dogs don't like the dog food. Karl Rove ran superior campaigns to what we are seeing today. The electorate is a little chicken for change and they are easily scared by cynical Republican officeholders. Johnny Mac hasn't worked this enough. He was very late warning of a Democratic monopoly, which I think is his best card to play.

As the democratic process is extended - as turnout increases and traditional forms of suppression are beat, you will see a more Democratic electorate. We may have quite a wave on Tuesday. The problems that the new president and Congress are facing are worse than any president since FDR. IF properly handled (yes - it is a big IF), we could see a realignment that will forever change the GOP if they hope to again hold power.

terry said...

Finally some sense comes from my friend Jim G. Yes Rush has done the Republican Party some harm not good. The two faced drug addict Rush along with prostitute chaser Dick Morris, Liar Ollie North, and Larry Craig, holier than now bathroom deviate. have not helped the conservative cause. Humbleness is the key. Religion is Faith, not Judgement. The religous zealots of the Republican Party have not been good for Republicans. A party that promised so much more a compassionate conservative agenda. I believe Obama will be center right. He is smart and knows the way to win the Democratic Party nomination against Hillary was to be more liberal and also to appeal the far left nuts that vote in primarys. So if the polls are right let's agree to get behind the President we elect and give him a chance McCain or Obama. Lets try not to Whitewater (Rezco,Ayers) and overturn an election of the people like the Republican's tried from day one of the Clinton Presidency. A whitewater investigation that turned up NOTHING switched to a sexual encounter so we could ask the President if he cheated on his wife under oath. Who would not lie, Hillary scares me and I am not married to her. People lie under oath every day in divorce court which is under oath also, but you don't try to overturn an election. Boy am I ranting tonight.

Jim G. said...

I lover when you boys agree with me, but not actually what I said.

T, I want us-the consevatives-to be more not less conservative.

Tom R. said...

Jim, I not only agree with you, but with what you say. The elected conservatives have lost their way. When I read our Friday and Saturday mail this morning, after being away for the weekend, I couldn't help chuckling over a republican mailer I received for David Schwiekert. It kept talking about the need to reform Congress. We don't need to reform Congress; we need to reform the people in Congress, the people who serve.

As I was flying home last night, it dawned on me that the current policy positions of the Republican Party are unworthy of the energy, money and toil expended upon them. Marginal, percentage point, differences with the democrats don't justify all the hooplah. I know this is an old theme from me, but why can't, or when will, the GOP actually offer a difference the voters can assess and vote upon?

I thought your comment about how conservatives treat pro-choice people was particularly powerful. I remember once when Linda and I were asked to substitute teach the senior bible-study class at our church (southern baptist), we discovered after accepting that the topic for the week was abortion. I cringed, but Linda triumphed with two simple questions. She asked the seniors if a woman who had just had or was contemplating an abortion could receive love, compassion and understanding in our church. To a person, the group enthusiastically responded yes. She then asked if the woman would reasonably believe that she would receive such love, compassion and understanding. To a person, the group mournfully responded no. Perception is reality in politics and religion, and the conservatives come across on the social issues of the day as intolerant, holier-than-thou and down right judgmental. That is not the way to win friends and influence people.

Jim G. said...

Tom: However the next post with the video addresses my concerns about right errors vs. left wasteland.

Don't get me wrong. I think there is a big difference between the parties, my side has the right ideas but poor execution. Their side will BE an execution.

Tom R. said...

Jim: I think there can be and should be a big and real difference between the parties. But, I repeat: when will the Republican start acting like it.

Certainly not with McCain.

Certainly not with the current Republicans in Congress.

For the past 50 years, every Republican I have talked to has railed against the democratically-led, massive government intervention during the Great Depression years. The New Deal has been the Republican poster child of what's wrong with the democratic views on the appropriate role and function of government.

Yet, no more. Not only do Republicans now embrace most of the new deal type programs (old and new), but their first reaction when confronted with the second greatest economic crisis of our lifetimes was the $700 billion bailout, including the nationalization of our banks.

I can forgive, and have done so, President Bush for being stupid, for being wrong on Iraq, even for "leading" during the greatest deficit-driven period of our history. What I can not forgive is his overt abandonment of fundamental principles of limited government inherent in the bailout. That's not just poor execution; that is moral bankruptcy and philosphical adultery. That Republican members of Congress went along is even worse.

terry said...

Yes, Liberalism is closer to Socialism BUT Conservatism is closer to Facism. Communism is the farthest left, Facism the farthest right. Personally, (although I'd hate either) I'd rather have Lenin than Hitler.

Jim G. said...

Yes, Liberalism is closer to Socialism BUT Conservatism is closer to Fascism.

Let's see how silly that statement is...

Remember you have read a definition of Conservativism: Free markets, freedom etc. We have talked about self reliance.

OK, so exactly were does what we have described agree in any F------ part with the following definition, you dope!

often capitalized a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition

terry said...

A form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation or victimhood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion. – Robert O. Paxton, The Anatomy of Fascism. Hey I loked this up? Are you proud of me? Fascism is the extreme of conservative was what I said.