AMERICAN CONSERVATISM IN 2008 AND BEYOND

The theory I advanced - that the GOP relies on white racial resentment and perceptions of bias towards whites as an electoral strategy - is neither offensive nor highly contrived. It is a long-understood part of our political scene.



Neither is it racist to point out that this is a conscious strategy. I have no self-loathing whatsoever, but I can see why it might serve your argument to pretend I do.

When I wrote my piece above, did you think that I thought you would trip over yourself, rushing to congratulate me on being so insightful? Of course not. You should examine the idea that you are as close-minded regarding your own party as anyone you accuse of having that fault. I would also submit that your personal political opinions are generated as much, if not more so, by what you read and what you are told by your party and political media, as mine are; examine the beam in thine own eye before accusing others of merely parroting what they are told.

Cycloptichorn

I guess Finn never heard of the Tea Party and their "no" votes - most of the time on most legislations.

I doubt very much that Finn understands the English language, but here's one paragraph from Cyclo's link that essentially summarizes the GOP under Obama.



I believe Finn's brain flew out of the cookoo's nest.

Why not name the most obvious parties who would extract wealth from others to provide for themselves -- large corporations and banks who secure themselves bailouts and favorable legislation to ensure their profits? Defense contractors -- even less accountable than government employees. Unions wouldn't even exist had it not been for the over reaching of unchecked corporate greed. Let's just be honest -- we are all human and all parties are capable of greed and the desire to use the government to enrich themselves. The question for me is who has the power to do the most long term damage. Right now it's not unions and it's not poor people.

There is a role for government to provide checks on the market players to prevent them from taking us all down when the dollar happy risk takers gamble away our collective life savings, and to protect consumers and workers from abuses by corporations (and the wealth manufacturers who buy and sell them) who are after short term profit. I personally also enjoy clean water, parks, libraries, and public schools and would like to see more and better of these as the free market won't ever provide them. I've seen governments do these things well, so I believe that if they have a mandate to do it they can do it efficiently and satisfactorily. I think it's long been time to have a national discussion on the territorial divide between what services we want our government to provide and what we want to leave to the market. The market, when protected by the government, is every bit as inefficient as and more costly than the government itself.


If only it were encouraged in our public schools we might have an electorate that wasn't so easily fooled by propaganda. Cyclo may have his biases but I've seen people on the other end of the spectrum just copy and paste from opinion pieces without attribution. I'm not sure I've ever seen it this bad.

You've got it spot on! The problem with conservatives is they don't remember any history; most everybody gains under democratic administrations, and only the rich gain under republican administrations.

Look what GW Bush did to the world's economy; the US economy suffered the Great Recession, the worst economic disaster since the Great Depression, and conservatives now want to blame Obama for the high unemployment rate.

They have no idea (or clue) on what a world recession means to all economies.

Job growth will be slow after "any" Great Recession that impacts the whole world.

There will be less demand for everything any country can produce. Even China had to cut back production on many goods.

Speaking of comprehension you might want to work on your sentence structure or just read what you write! You are sadly misinformed on this issue.

The 16th amendment was never ratified. We are supposedly on a "voluntary" tax program, yet the companies we work for take out the taxes of our wages before we get the check. This and everything else should be closely looked at, just like the Federal Reserve is a private banking institution and not a federal entity or office.

Have you ever tried not getting your tax deductions on your pay check? Your employer is required by law, and they're not going to jeopardize their standing with the IRS for you! Trust me.

Romney plans to change the federal educational system into a voucher system for K through 12.

I hope all parents are ready to pick their child's school before the best ones gets flooded with applicants.

I wonder how that will affect supply and demand in all school districts?

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/12/us/politics/in-romneys-voucher-education-policy-a-return-to-gop-roots.html

But even if the tea party votes "no" on everything, the dems still have the votes in the Senate.
Granted, they dont control the house, but even when they did they couldnt get stuff done.

That's funny. Completely out of touch with reality funny.

The 16th amendment was ratified. Any claims that it wasn't are wrong and the courts have said as much. There have always been hucksters willing to sell people on outlandish schemes as to why they shouldn't have to pay taxes and there have always been willing dupes willing to follow that advice. Eventually reality in the form of the law catches up to them.

Now that you mention "that," I remember some years ago some people promoting that B.S. about US tax laws are illegal, and you can choose not to pay.

They landed in the pokey.

No, the dems don't have the votes in the Senate since the GOP has decided to use the filibuster cloture rule for almost everything that needs a vote in the Senate.

And before you argue that the dems had 60 votes in the Senate for 2 years, I will point out in advance that any such claim on your part would be factually wrong. (Franken didn't take office until July 7 2009, Ted Kennedy died on August 26 2oo9. That means the Dems had 60 votes for less than 2 months.)

Ridiculously incorrect usage of 'Dems have the votes in the Senate.'

Cycloptichorn

"Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican] party, and they're sure trying to do so, it's going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise. I know, I've tried to deal with them."

- Barry Goldwater - 1994

What Romney said today,


All Romney knows how to do is criticize everything Obama does, but he never provides detailed solutions on any of his offerings. He keeps telling the American People that Obama has done a poor job of creating jobs, and Romney claims he knows how to create jobs. If that is so, why not share his "secret" with Obama to get Americans working? What's his problem? Doesn't he want Americans working now? Is he an American to help Americans, or is he just a blabber mouth with no real solutions to anything?

Americans need jobs now; not next year.

If Romney is so confident that he can create jobs in the US, why does he keep his money in foreign countries?

Is he also afraid he'll lose the election?

Where's his "confidence?"

Louie Gohmert, the republican representative from Texas' first district, described last night's shootings in Colorado as an attack on Judeo-Christian values and asks why there was no armed member of the audience to take down the shooter.

Why should anyone go anywhere with a gun? The very notion posits a lack of confidence in humanity, in goodness, in equality. This man seeks to enforce what is sometimes called "the law of the jungle."

He is a member of the tea party caucus; does not believe mankind contributes to global warming; made statements about terror babies; is pro-life; believes the Alaska pipeline gives caribou a place to have sex, and is a follower of Grover Nordquist.

The worst part of his belief system and his MO is that he serves on these Congressional committees:

Committee on the Judiciary
Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties
Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security
Task Force on Judicial Impeachment

Committee on Natural Resources
Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands

Proving once again that gungasnaKKKe is correct and evolution doesn't work--Neanderthals are still alive and flourishing in TX First District.

The NRA put up a statement on their facebook site than took it down because it seems they made fun of the shooting. It was gone before I could get it up.