The advance of liberalism is stunning at the moment. The lefty honey-do list that's been gathering dust since Newt swept to power in 1994 is being run through like a contest winner on a shopping spree. Just marvel at the course of events since we first became bedazzled with Sarah Palin--a fortuitously-timed global financial crisis, which allowed Obama to sweep to power and later make stunning progress against the left's chief foe--capitalism--while plowing the ground for a new global financial order that weakens the biggest economic engine and favors spreading wealth around.
Meanwhile, we have an EPA who just returned to their 70s heyday by declaring a natural and vital element of life a dangerous pollutant (no, not dihydrogen monoxide) while the federal government holds two-thirds of the domestic auto market (thanks to that fortuitously-timed financial crisis). Meet your new car, the Fiat Algore. Don't like it? You're going to jail, planet-raper.
Since liberals don't care too much about tradition our new president has found it way too easy to daily bash the previous administration and even America itself at times, feeling no qualms in defining Bush's legacy as 'dark and painful' while reminding everyone we must look ahead not back. But what do we have to look ahead to?
Well, specifically a fresh start with Cuba, no condemnation of North Korean nukes, open talks with an emboldened Iran on the verge of a nuclear weapon, and smiles all around for Hugo. And how about support for the troops as they fight a worldwide al Qaeda network in the only place the leftists find suitable for fighting--the rugged tribal mountains of Afghanistan. No cutoffs for funding there! The support will also no doubt extend to the killers coming home from Iraq by increasing the threat bulletin frequency accordingly. Ooh rah.
Some conservatives fear it might be the end; that everything the moderates were warned about (Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers) is coming true with a vengeance and America will soon be Sweden without the beautiful blonds running around everywhere. That may well occur. But can it continue?
Think about it--no. The United States population is still armed to the teeth. For every Howard Dean or that Lambert guy on Idol there is a Ted Nugent who knows how to clean fish and run a trot line and is happy to cling to his Browning and a Bible. We're also equipped with a healthy internet and radio feedback infrastructure that basically allowed the tea parties. This will be impossible to tear down before 2010, which is why Axelrod and Emanuel are nearly pulling hammies trying to get as much of their agenda passed as possible before the middling muddle wakes up. They were there when Clinton imploded in the early 90s and suffered the fate of having to endure Dick Morris.
So what's the best strategy? Well, we can continue hitting the streets and risking wild overreactions and downright lies from the Obamapress and the Constitution-loving liberal bloggers, or we can pull off an inside job by working within the system and through social networks to get the message out--a message of responsibility.
Right now the left is acting like a petulant know-it-all teenager, bound and determined to show mom and dad the error of their ways by acting like a fool. We all know how that usually ends. So perhaps a considered course might be to allow junior to screw up just enough to allow everyone to notice before offering our services when the crying begins.
11 comments:
One thing Mustang and I were discussing the other night was the need to get a handle on the way the network news is handled. The way to do this is to identify sponsors and threaten to boycott them. It works a lot for Al Sharpton.
But to do this, we have to get the message out. I know we are little blogs, but things do have a way of getting spread fast on the net. The other challenge to this, we will have to subject ourselves to watching the garbage that Couric and Williams puts out just to see the commercials.
It's not that we want to control the news, we just expect it to be told in a fair manner. If they lose sponsors and are told why, the pressure may get the networks to adjust their policies, so there can be no more "anointed" ones.
It's a thought, we have time. (Mustang has more of than you or I do.)
Well, in a way that would fit into the 'inside job' definition if done through social networking. But boycotts are also prone to backfire, ie, the Williams and Courics run features on some of the boycotters or paint them as O'Reilly clones.
I firmly believe the underlying tone from the tea parties was responsibility. A lot of the people in attendance were carrying children (my favorite sign was a 6-8 yr old girl holding a sign that said 'Hey Congress-I've read as much of the Stimulus as you have'). I'm not against targeted boycotts but we've got to keep hammering the irresponsibility issue, IMHO.
That said, there's another huge problem developing for conservatives and that's the wedge being inserted between the secular side of the GOP and the religious side. If the GOP embraces abortion and gay marriage, it's finished as a party as things stand now. The reason is simple--they'll lose Catholics/Christians to third parties and the new Latinos coming into the picture will not be drawn to the party as an alternative to the secular left. Not sure what the answer is to that yet.
Yhe bimbo blonde holding the sign that says she is a shamed of her country isn't worth more than a night in the red light district, and that way you still need to draw a picture for her! She is like a lost sheep like the rest of the leftist libs with their lies about "global warming" no such thing man made, the politician Al Goort uses more power to get from one place to another to tell his lies and uses more mpwer to heat or cool his home. He uses a big car to get around and ssys do as I say not as I do, the libs keep lying and the blind sheep keep following, well I'm no lib and I won't follow the lib losers! If the bimbo doesn't like her country, then leave and go to mexico then...bitch!
//But boycotts are also prone to backfire, ie, the Williams and Courics run features on some of the boycotters or paint them as O'Reilly clones.//Who cares? If enough people do boycott, it will be effective. Hatchet stories or not.
That's where we are right now. We have to stop being afraid to try something. Many naysayers said that the tea parties wouldn't get noticed. But they did.
The Left will always try to discredit, they will always skew their coverage, if no one tries to hold them accountable. My dad always said "can't" never did a damned thing. We cannot be afraid of failure or what others may do to us.
IMO, I think AC is suggesting that while boycotts and demonstrations do gain attention, their long-term effects are minimal without meaningful follow-on programs. And they must be well reasoned and professionally implemented. It would be beneficial if our local tea party group coordinated with other like-minded organizations here in my area. But most importantly, I think AC is saying that if conservatives do this poorly, they will end up ripping the GOP apart. It isn’t a matter of intrepidation; it has more to do with constructing an inclusionary party and building consensus within that framework. We may not agree on every little thing, but we can come together in certain areas; that should be the focus of conservatives.
At our tea party the other day, a gentleman handed me a pamphlet about the Constitution Party. Now, I am a Christian, and I very much support our Constitution; but the platform he offered me calls for a restoration of America to its biblical foundations, which in this case means Christians. I suspect that does not leave much room for Buddhists, Jews, or Muslims. I cannot concurrently support that platform, and the US Constitution. We cannot abide a state religion. If the religious right pursues a “my way or the highway” agenda, then we may not be able to reconstruct the GOP so that it can stand up to the Marxist ideology of the American left.
LA, my dad put it this way, "can't never could". But I do agree with Mustang that before the party can agree on any boycotts they've got to decide who they are first.
I see this.. If the religious right pursues a “my way or the highway” agenda, then we may not be able to reconstruct the GOP so that it can stand up to the Marxist ideology of the American left...as the biggest challenge right now. How do you tell the faithful their party will now tolerate abortion, gay marriage, amnesty and cap and trade and expect them to go get out the vote? Yet the Constitution Party, if based largely on religion, will fail. We might as well form a new one called the "Tea Party".
Excellent article and I agree on several counts. The TEA parties and taking to the streets is good, but those people must get active, or more active, in politics and work within the system. Yes we can use the internet and networking sites, instant information, instant organization, instant fundraising.
McCain came out today saying that Republicans (or the religious) need to accept gay marriage. So it's come to this point, we have to give up on our beliefs in order to get someone elected?
What good will that elected person be if they do not hold our beliefs? How much do we have to give up?
A third party is really out of the question. All they do is take away votes from someone else. I wish it were not so, and perhaps one day it won't be that way.
Debbie Hamilton
Right Truth
What good will that elected person be if they do not hold our beliefs? How much do we have to give up?Not much, if that's all we hold dear. It may come down to a choice between social issues and smaller govt, lower taxes, less socialism and stronger national defense.
Oddly enough, Obama was against gay marriage and still won but the right cannot get away with that. Since they know our social issues are becoming a loser it's likely they'll focus their attacks on the idea of fiscal conservatism (racist) and a strong defense (warmongers) going into 2010.
If Christians split en masse for the Constitution Party there will be a permanent Liberal majority. We've already seen the damage that can be done. Repubs need to get themselves square on whether it's worth chucking everything for those issues or holding firm for theocratic principles and being in the minority. Secular repubs need to understand that throwing out the entire social platform (and even making fun of it at times) to pose as Dems won't fund many campaigns.
Sounds like an uneducated party here, ignorance is bliss!
Please add your wisdom anonymous. We're all eyes.
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