How Can You Claim Moral Superiority Voting For Bob Barr?–UPDATED
Saturday, July 18th, 2009“Don’t blame me!” Bellowed one of my redneck relatives,”I voted for Ross Perot!” Did ya now? And that vote wasn’t a “screw you” vote, that felt inwardly satisfying while it also served Bill Clinton the presidency on a nice, silver platter (the one taking a prominent position on a shelf in his sprawling residence out on Long Island)? Oh no! It was a vote of conscience. It was a morally superior vote. Sniff.
Have conservatives, libertarians, and other factions on the Right learned nothing from history?
So now, people are coming out of the woodwork saying, “Don’t blame me! I voted for Bob Barr!” I ask you, Is that something to be proud of?
John McCain was a terrible candidate for a myriad of reasons I won’t list here. Rather than blogging anything negative, many times, I just held my tongue. (Other times, not so much.) Why? Do I and all conservatives who voted for John McCain lack a spine and principles? Some would say so. Did I hold my nose and vote for John McCain because I’m a conservative sellout?
I voted for John McCain for precisely the reasons we’re seeing right now. President Barack Obama is a statist. He’s a socialist. He wants to remake America into some liberal delusional utopian fantasy and he’s damn near succeeded at every single thing he’s wanted to do.
My brother was in Venezuela last week and talked to a local businessman who marveled of Chavez,”It’s amazing how much has changed in four years. How quickly it happened.” And it wasn’t good change. And he wasn’t hopeful. Do those who voted for Obama honestly think a slide of Venezuela-like proportions is impossible?
President Obama is a disaster for America and I hold those who voted for Bob Barr every bit as accountable as if the so-called principled person voted for Barack Obama himself. It was a vote that aided and abetted an enemy of freedom. How can a freedom-loving person be proud of this?
Stacy McCain’s defense for a Bob Barr vote is this:
A couple of days ago, I explained in a phone conversation with a buddy that, if I’m going to get screwed over, I’d much rather be screwed over by my enemies than by my friends.
Well, we’re not being screwed, these days. We’re being freaking gang-raped. And while I knew that a John McCain vote meant some serious discomfort in the future, there is no way in hell he would have presided like Barack Obama. Fiscal policy alone would have been drastically different. Does anyone really believe that a John McCain presidency would have sold out the country to the Unions? Does anyone really believe we’d have to be beating back the biggest power grab by the federal government ever?
The “teach you a lesson” folks want Americans and most especially, Republicans, to learn that Obama’s statist ideas are huge failures. After all these huge policy disasters come to pass, go ahead and say “Nah, nah, ne-nah nah!” That’s some hollow victory. America will have gone down the shitter. Yay, you! You were dead right! But dead.
Still, that does not mean that I believe conservatives and libertarians need to bend over now. Hells bells. We have nothing left to lose. And this is where I believe Ace is wrong. Here’s what Ace says:
But I really hope we don’t lose sight of the fact that we’re in a bad position — worse than we anticipated, I think it’s fair to say — and that winning is indeed preferable to “losing with principle and ideological integrity.”
Oh yes, we’re in a bad position. But the time to take on the mantel of appeasement is not now. Now is the time to push back against our squishy, fuzzy-headed Republican overlords. They have the equation all backwards. And since every branch of the government is now in the hands of the Left, conservatives and libertarians can fight nearly without restraint and expect the corrupt, bloated, entitled, DC power brokers to get in line or lose.
We are six months in on a four year hell sentence folks. If the Republican leadership can’t get religion in these circumstances, they deserve to lose. Again and again and again.
Here are some things that need to change:
King making: Don’t tell me Mitt Romney will lead us out of this mess. Please. Democrats love him because they know he is eminently beatable (just like McCain). Republicans should stop handing down the Republican nomination to the next guy who has done his time. It’s stupid. It nets us terrible candidates. Also, the NRSC needs to stop endorsing ANYONE. Let the local Republicans decide and then the party can throw their weight behind the Republican candidate (no matter how left, right, middle) with abandon. Ace is right about this: we need people with “R’s” behind their names.
Sniping: Some Republicans seem not to notice who the real enemies are here. FOCUS PEOPLE. We are getting our asses handed to us and we are helping the other side by piling on. If the RNC makes a mistake, if Michael Steele misspeaks, etc., unless someone is doing something horribly destructive (hello ACU), SHUT UP. For every one stupid thing Republicans do or say, there are fifty seriously stupid, hugely detrimental things Democrats are doing. How long must we bleed before we stop cutting ourselves? Turn the weapons on the enemy and then fight like badgers behind closed doors. Maybe this year at CPAC we can have a padded room and just let Republicans have cage matches. Get out our aggression and then get our sad asses together so we can return to the problems at hand–you know, a decimated economy, smothering socialist policies and on and on.
Stop Talking About A Constitution Or Third Party: It’s crazy talk. Stupid, moronic, dull-witted, self-defeating crazy talk. It won’t happen. It’s not going to happen. Let’s clean up the Republican house and start at the bottom. Get involved. And stop the delusional fantasizing.
Embrace Partisanship: How can any Republican still be squishy these days? How can a Republican not see that their party didn’t lose because of being so conservative but by being so all over the road? When Susan Collins and Olympia Snow voted for the Stimulus, they enraged Republicans further. If you can vote for huge spending, how can you consider yourself a Republican? I’ll allow for the social issues. Most thinking people understand that a Texas Republican is a different animal than a New England Republican. But can’t we all agree that smaller government which means more individual freedom is quintessentially Republican? If you’re not that… why are you Republican? Go. Away. Like Arlen Specter. Really, you’re already a Democrat.
Message better: Can we agree that John McCain is woefully inadequate at communicating either Republican or conservative values? I don’t see many doing much better. And yo, Tea Party people: If there’s someone who communicates the small government values well Let Them Speak. If they are actually a Republican, fine. Newsflash, people: The problem is politicians and the solution will be politicians too. It’s not like they’re a pure breed in a pure business.
Anyway, I don’t see any honor in voting Bob Barr. I don’t see any honor in losing. And I don’t see what we have left to lose. Conservatives and libertarians should come out with teeth bared and put some bite behind the bark. If that means going hard after fat-n-happy-n-lazy incumbents, fine. If the old guys are forced to stand on their unprincipled records, and fall, fine. But more than that, the lazy, disorganized and dithering local and state Republican party folks need to snap to attention. If they don’t, buh bye. This is where the Tea Party can be extraordinarily effective. And from there the party will change. And hopefully, for the better.
In the meantime, it’s fun to be the out-of-power party. Republicans are so far out of power, they literally are helpless before the Democrats socialistic onslaught. But in this position there is opportunity. Pick battles. Offer better alternatives. Regroup. Clean house. Tighten the belt. Get back in shape. And never lose an opportunity to point out how pure, unfettered liberalism is a destructive force. Highlight all the failures. And there will be many.
Before this is all over, conservatives, libertarians and everyone else is going to be reminded of why a bad Republican is better than the best Democrat on his best day. And that’s why I voted for John McCain. Because I already knew this and needed no reminding.
Since we lost, it’s time to give up going with crappy candidates. It’s time to rebuild the team. We can start making bad Republicans better or boot them and find great Republicans and elect them. Here’s my gamble: the Democrats are going to screw things up so badly, nearly any Republican will look good in comparison. We need to make sure that a nice solid conservative-small-government type is the Republican.
P.S. The Republicans who vote for these big government policies will pay. The policies will fail and they’ll be hugely unpopular with voters. Voting with a popular President buys you good press and immediate gratification but it’s a long-term losing, unprincipled decision.
UPDATED:
McQ opens a can of whup ass on me. He quite rightly notes that the Barr vote didn’t make a dent in Obama’s electoral superiority. A Barr vote did nothing except register discontent. What about the next election? You know, when there are more impure Republicans? Do the libertarians plan to vote for an independent or vote for a Democrat?
I’ll grant you, the choices have been grim. After this election, in a fit of pique I wrote that I was glad McCain lost. And McQ’s sentiment here rings true to me, too:
Barack Obama sits in the White House not because of Bob Barr or the libertarian vote. He sits there because the GOP has completely and totally failed to live up to its claimed philosophy and its word for decades. John McCain’s nomination told libertarians all they needed to know about the lack of seriousness within the GOP to remedy that situation.
If the GOP wants libertarian votes, then it had better mend its ways. We don’t do “tents” and we don’t do “plantations” and we don’t belong to the GOP. You want us, you’d better do what it takes to get us – and you’re not even close right now.
Fine. All I’m saying is that McCain WOULD be better than Obama and I don’t want to see the Right fracture into delusion that nets us socialists in charge. That is worse. Much worse. It is worse right now.
And who owes the GOP anything? The party owes the faithful an apology for treating the base with contempt. And it would help, like I said above, if the Republicans wouldn’t undercut their own position by being corrupt, arrogant, and big government, but not quite as big as Democrats, they would still have a party. Thus, my bringing up Snowe and Collins.
But the Libertarians don’t help anything by flopping around at the edges and indulging in third party fantasies. Libertarians needs to put their formidable energy into the Republican party at the bottom and take the party back to constitutional greatness.
The Left, They Be Scared
Thursday, June 11th, 2009It might be a little early to state unequivocally, but I’m tentatively going to say that yesterday, the worm turned.
The last couple of weeks has been very revealing. The political and media class are in a lather and the people at home are watching. What are they seeing?
Crazy people killing. While those of us blogging and the media types are ferreting who is doing the killing and why, the people who have lives are just noting that a lot of crazies are killing. They’re also noticing that normal groups of people are being tagged and blamed for what are clear acts of hate-filled insanity. Still, the killings didn’t happen before. They’re happening now. It is not good.
People don’t have jobs. It’s getting worse. President Obama promised people the moon. Remember the lady who said President Obama would get her groceries? Now, President Obama is less trustworthy. It’s not that he lacks power–he controls the banks and the auto industry and now the tobacco industry is in his cross hairs. He drops terrorist on allies’ islands without permission. He’s omnipotent.
Jeremiah Wright rears his hating head. This is the man who influenced Barack Obama for twenty years. This is the man who was his inspiration and mentor. And this is the man spewing nonsense right during a delicate time in Middle East relations. As President Obama talks about conversations with Iran without preconditions, Reverend Wright’s words ring in everyone’s ears.
Playboy and David Letterman abuse conservative women. And the feminists? Nary a squeak, well a couple, but not big ones. And defending the indefensible has been alarming. Imagine if Malia…never mind.
Biden is a turd. As if anyone needs any reminders, but the Prez’ No.2 is making Dan Quayle look like a super magnificently great Veep choice. People are tiring of the Palin slams. They might work better if Biden wasn’t so goofy, alas. Right about now, Governor Palin is looking, well, executive-ish.
Spending like a rock star, baby. While everyone is cutting back, the Prez, family and government spend, spend, spend!
More czars than Russia–none of whom get Congressional oversight, none of whom, confirmed.
And the media fawns over President Obama and the Democrats in Congress, rarely asking the tough questions and emphasizing minutiae to distract from big issues.
The biggest sign the Left is in full panic mode? Well, they get personal and nasty and vitriolic. If the email and comments mean anything, I’d say the tide is turning.
Sexist Leftist Of The Day: David Letterman
Wednesday, June 10th, 2009Maybe there should just be a regular post highlighting the Leftist sexist, racist, whatever is not p.c.-ist of the day here. Goodness knows the list would be filled. Today, it’s David Letterman.
David Letterman made news for spewing sexist tripe about Sarah Palin, but more than that, making jokes about Palin’s 14 year old daughter–because, you know, it’s okay to talk about statutory rape if she’s a conservative women. They’re not people!
John at Powerline says:
Malia Obama will turn fourteen during her father’s term in office. What do you think the chances are that Letterman (or anyone else) will make obscene jokes about her on network television?
Tommy Christopher says a few interesting things and I’m quoting him extensively here. He says:
Now, I need you all to stay with me here while I make a small distinction. There are some who would try to hang Letterman’s attack on “the Left.” I’ll get to “the Left” in a minute, but Letterman is no more a liberal, in the political “team sports” sense of the word, than Guy Cimbalo is. They are not conservatives, but they are also basically apolitical. Their words are owned by a popular culture that is hostile to conservatism, but also to liberal ideals (of feminism as well as others). They are a third column.
Bill Maher is a guy who straddles the line between the Left and pop culture. As a liberal, I don’t claim ownership for what he says, but there is a clear argument to be made in favor of this. When he makes “retard” jokes about Sarah Palin, which I’ve heard him do frequently, he deserves nothing but scorn from all sides.
I include them with the Left, Tommy, and for one simple reason: how they vote. They vote Democrat. Every. Single. Time. They are on the Left. Like the major media organizations, they like to pretend at “being above” or “transcending” party affiliation. Bull crap. They are Democrats. They vote Democrat. They’re the Left. And as their worship of President Obama (and in the comedians cases avoid poking fun of him altogether) demonstrates, their politics most definitely influences how they report.
On to the Left, Tommy says:
This is where the Left comes in. While they might not own what these entertainers say, they do have a duty to dis-own, a duty born of their desire to condemn Mel “Sugar-tits” Gibson et al, a duty that I’ve found them shirking for the most part. Instead, the tendency is to engage in “Yeahbut.” You know, “Yeah, but x conservative said y horrible thing…” (a curious exercise that essentially lets people you view as scumbags set your boundaries for you), to excuse it, or to ignore it altogether. It is here that the Left takes ownership.
When Keith Olbermann launched a sexist attack on Carrie Prejean, unless I missed it, there was silence from the Left, or agreement. On the Playboy article, with the exception of HuffPo, the Left’s reaction was to excuse Playboy and smear me. Even the National Organization for Women had to be prodded into a statement, but one which they didn’t feel compelled to put anywhere on their website.
The entire world is hostile toward women, but you don’t get to lay claim to being the good guys if you don’t believe in protecting all women, especially when it’s this obvious.
Feminism is not about equality for women, it is about promoting abortion and creating a special class for Leftist women. Women on the Right, are not considered women. Period. They are considered gender traitors. There simply can be no honest disagreement. This is thought policing and fascistic thinking at it’s worst.
Remember, rape is used to shame and silence. There was little to no outrage for Playboy’s cyber-rape, and there won’t be about David Letterman by the left either because these people want Sarah Palin shamed and quiet. They want the conservative women on that list shamed and quieted.
Brace yourselves, readers, because it’s not over yet. This year has been Misogyny Mania for liberals who claim to be “pro-woman.”
No it ain’t over. It never was over. The Left uses their “isms” as a hammer to silence their opposition and employs the methods they deem offensive because their used to silence the “right” people. Hypocrites.
More at Hot Air, Jim Treacher, Pirates Cove, and Dan Riehl .
By the way, please note that it’s MEN who are outraged. And well they should be. Double standards are really about silencing them, too.
Why Gays Don’t Get Mad At President Obama
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009Vice President Dick Cheney threw the whole intolerance meme on its ear with his very progressive stance regarding same-sex marriage. In contrast, President Obama, the progressive’s objet desire, holds very, very, very traditional views. Marriage is, says Barack Obama, between one man and one woman.
Why don’t gay people get mad at the President? It’s simple, really. They know he’s lying.
President Obama knows that the issue is a political loser. So do gay activists. For the greater good, gay activists won’t push the President. They will hypocritically maintain their silence. They will be willingly silenced by the President because it serves the Democrat’s purpose.
Is anyone astonished and appalled at the hypocrisy around this issue? We shouldn’t be. The Left has a long record of political expedience around this and other social issues. Remember President Clinton’s treatment of women? Yeah. And they love, love, loved him!
Maybe President Obama isn’t lying. Maybe he really does hate gay people. The first rumblings of this notion are up at Kos:
So why is Obama silent on gay issues? Is it because he has too much to do? He’s had a change of heart and now is anti-gay? In an effort to be “bipartisan” and “compromise” with the far right wing, he’s the throwing gays under the bus? He just faked support of gay rights since Hillary Clinton already had the “conservative Democrat” vote locked up in the primary anyway?
Nah, patience friend. Your cream frosting dreams will come true. Consider: President Obama wants to get re-elected. He needs the support of blacks and Catholics, two very solid Obama voting groups. He wants to keep them happy. And after re-election all the campaign promises will be be fulfilled.
It’s politics. I’m actually surprised that there is one idealist on the left who doubts this.
Frolicking Through The Leftist Hypocrisy Flowers
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009Remember when the Democrats loved the children?
Remember when peace activists decried the bombing of innocent civilians?
Remember when the press cared about sex scandals? A lot?
Remember when a President’s Wife was out of touch?
Remember when car companies were evil?
Remember when the mantra was “my body my choice“?
Just feeling a wee bit nostalgic today and thought you might be, too.
When Conservatives Peacefully Protest Leftists Are Afraid–UPDATED
Tuesday, April 7th, 2009I don’t pay attention to Lefty blogs…mostly, because they’re havens of psychologically imbalanced emotionalism. For more psychological dissecting of the Left, read Dr. Pat Santy of Dr. Sanity fame.
There is one key psychological concept every conservative should know because the Left is in this perpetual state. It’s called projection. Or, in Kindergarten speak “when you you point one finger at me, three point back at you”. Projection is defined as follows:
psychological projection (or projection bias) is a defense mechanism where a person’s personal attributes, unacceptable or unwanted thoughts, and/or emotions are ascribed onto another person or people. According to Wade, Tavris (2000) projection occurs when a person’s own unacceptable or threatening feelings are repressed and then attributed to someone else.
This is important to know. Because when a leftist screeches “hypocrisy!”, it’s a case of projection.
When a Leftist decries the incendiary talk of the “right wing”, it’s projection.
When a Leftist calls Conservatives crazy, it’s a case of projection.
When Leftist worry about the violence of the Right Wing killing cops, it’s a case of projection.
I bring this all up because commenters at my Houston Chronicle blog–basically a bunch of liberal trolls with nothing better to do than spew stupid–are kvetching about the upcoming Tea Party Protests. People (of all political stripes, by the way) peacefully protesting are called racist, radical, hate-filled, etc. You know the drill.
The Left just cannot handle when they do not control the anti-establishment narrative. But it’s time they admit it: They are the establishment. Government interference means that their beloved Barack Obama is interfering with American lives. It is Barack Obama taking control of individuals and companies and industries.
Protests used to be a sign of patriotism. Now, if a person is anti-establishment (i.e. anti-the ideas coming out of the Democrat House, Senate and Executive Branch, oh, and don’t forget the media), he’s an obstructionist, racist, violent, crazy person. Well, if the press decides to cover the Tea Parties, they’ll meet working Americans who are sick of being bullied by a ruling class that has forgotten that they represent the people rather than preside over subjects. They will see families and tax payers and fed up Americans wanting to have their voices heard.
What bothers Leftists so much is that they believe they own the outsider, persecuted status and don’t much like seeing the opposition protesting now that their leader is the establishment. The whole order of things has been shifted. Well, you can’t own the power everywhere and still cling to your victim-status, Leftists.
The Marxist ideology, socialist actions and liberal arrogance is waking up the silent majority. People who haven’t paid attention to politics for years are paying attention now. And they’re going to Tea Party protests across America on April 15th. Unlike most Leftist gatherings, these protests will be peaceful, energized and fun. Nothing to fear here… No need to project violence fantasies on the Right.
More from Michelle Malkin
UPDATED:
Kim Priestap has an excellent piece about the Chief Projectionist In Charge.
Lorie Byrd and I are on the same wavelength, evidently.
Cross-posted at Right Wing News
Mos Def’s Study In Post-Modern Thought
Wednesday, April 1st, 2009There’s some discussion about this clip where Christopher Hitchens intellectually eviscerates Mos Def on Bill Maher’s excreable TV show. Some see a case of racism. Says James Joyner:
While I agree entirely that this is an absurd pairing, it’s most definitely not a racist one. Sandefur has apparently never seen “Real Time with Bill Maher.” The premise of the show, from its inception more than six years ago, has been to pair politicos and pop culture figures in discussion. (Whether the point of the exercise was to demonstrate that the latter are morons or that their opinions are equally valid, I could never determine.)
I see a case of stupid post-modern thought. Or rather, emotionalism disguised as a feeble attempt at argumentation. Here’s the video:
But really, the focus should be on what Mos Def says.
He starts out fine enough by asking the other panel members, Christopher Hitchens and Salmun Rushdie this question,”What is the Taliban and al Qaeda’s political objective?” He doesn’t seem to like the answer, however, and asks again.
When, in exasperation Bill Maher says, “They’re bad. They’re bad motherf*ckers.” Mos Def responds with, “I’m not wearing an al Qaeda T-shirt”.
Christopher Hitchens jumps in and says,”This sounds like this is news to you.”
Mos responds,”I don’t believe something just because it’s on CNN.”
Translation: There is no objective truth.
Mos then tells a story about a Black Panther woman in Cuba who ostensibly didn’t commit a crime she’s accused of and so says he’s suspicious about what is said about al Qaeda because “this kind of thing happens all the time in my community–maybe not in your community.” The audience clapped.
Translation: Al Qaeda is being framed for crimes they didn’t commit even with the obvious evidence of the Twin Towers down in front of my face.
So Christopher Hitchens says,”So you’ve never watched a Bin Laden interview.”
Mos Def replies,”I don’t speak Arabic and I don’t trust the media.”
Translation: Unless I see it with my own eyes, it’s not true. Only my own experience is truth.
So then Christopher Hitchens licks his chops and goes in for the rhetorical kill. “You’ve already told me you won’t take it just from me. Do a bit of work on your own account.”
Mos Def is then caught by his own argument and says, “I’m from Compton and I’m not afraid of no answers.”
Hitchens responds to that inane diversion with,”I’m from Hampshire.”
Mos then says,”I’m strong enough to hold an an unpopular opinion. I can think on my own.”
Hitch says,”We’re just waiting for evidence that you do that.”
Hitchens then says,”You said earlier that you thought Bin Laden was a mythical figure.”
Mos Def says,” I said that he was promoted like a mythical figure and I have a right to feel that way.”
Translation: My feelings matter more than facts. There is no objective reality, just my interpretation of my experience.
Mos Def then says,”You don’t have any right to cast my thought process into dispersion.”
Hitchens says,”Yes I do, because I think it’s a very stupid position to have.”
Translation: No one can criticize my thoughts. Thoughts and ideas are me. So by criticizing them, you criticize me.
Hitchens then says,”I know you.”
Mos Def says,”Don’t pretend to know me.” He then turns to Maher and says,”You had to know this was going to happen.” [Maher takes umbrage at this and says, "No."] Mos finishes with,”Maybe I’m just black and paranoid and sh*t.”
Translation: So instead of an argument that started out on ideas, it’s become a personal attack.
There isn’t much to say with all this except to say this is a classic conversation with a Leftist. There is no winning the argument because it ceased to be an argument once the ignorance was revealed.
You’re A Bad Person
Tuesday, March 31st, 2009Angie Harmon doesn’t like being labeled a racist because she disagrees with President Barack Obama:
“Here’s my problem with this, I’m just going to come out and say it. If I have anything to say against Obama it’s not because I’m a racist, it’s because I don’t like what he’s doing as President and anybody should be able to feel that way, but what I find now is that if you say anything against him you’re called a racist,” Harmon told Tarts at Thursday’s Los Angeles launch of the new eyelash-growing formula, Latisse. “But it has nothing to do with it, I don’t care what color he is. I’m just not crazy about what he’s doing and I heard all about this, and he’s gonna do that and change and change, so okay … I’m still dressing for a recession over here buddy and we’ve got unemployment at an all-time high and that was his number one thing and that’s the thing I really don’t appreciate. If I’m going to disagree with my President, that doesn’t make me a racist. If I was to disagree with W, that doesn’t make me racist. It has nothing to do with it, it is ridiculous.”
You might not be racist, Angie, but you’re most certainly a bad person. Only bad people disagree with the President.
I think it’s time to give credit where credit is due. The Left has succeeded in framing every issue morally. Leave your lights on Saturday night? You’re a bad person and don’t care about the environment. Believe that marriage is, by definition, between one man and one woman (a position so self-evidently obvious it’s been understood since the beginning of man)? You’re a bad, closed-minded person. Believe that people should pay their bills and that includes the government? You’re a bad, judgmental person.
The Left has done an excellent job of vilifying the normal and common sense. I don’t know how we get back to normal. You know, where hard-working, bill-paying, rationally conserving families are viewed as the normal and not framed as freaks.
The fact is, normal people are afraid to speak out. And when they do have the temerity to share their perspective, they’re labeled, as Angie Harmon notes, as racist or whatever fill-in-the-blank word it takes to get you to shut the hell up.
Embrace it: You’re a bad person.
