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Maybe It's The Minorities' Values That Need Changing
Townhall ^ | 11/13/2012 | Dennis Prager

Posted on 11/13/2012 8:54:15 AM PST by SeekAndFind

The most widely offered explanation for Mitt Romney's defeat is that the Republican Party is disproportionately composed of -- aging -- white males.

That is, alas, true.

But the real question is what Republicans should do with this truth.

There are two responses.

The nearly universal response -- meaning the response offered by the liberal media and liberal academics (and some Republicans) -- is that the Republican Party needs to rethink its positions, moving away from conservatism and toward the political center.

The other response is for conservatives and the Republican Party to embark on a massive campaign to influence, and ultimately change, the values of those groups that voted Democrat.

The Democratic Party, and the left generally, have done a magnificent job in identifying conservative values as white male values. One reason for their success is that they dominate virtually every lever of influence -- the high schools and universities, television, newspapers, movies, pop culture and everything else except talk radio. Another is that they really believe that conservative values are nothing more than white male -- especially aging white male -- values. Remember, leftism has its own trinity -- the prism through which it perceives the world -- race, gender and class. In this case the race is white; the gender is male; and the class is rich.

As a result of this identification, there is no debate over whether the minorities' (and single women's) values are correct or whether the values of the white males are correct. The left has successfully forestalled any such national discussion by simply reducing conservative values to the dying fulminations of a former ruling class.

In the words of New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, "Mitt Romney is the president of white male America."

This identification seems to be working. But it's intellectually dishonest. Aging white males are as important to the left as they are to the right.

In a recent issue of the New York Review of Books, liberal Harvard professor Benjamin M. Friedman strongly criticized the Tea Party. After citing "surveys showing that Tea Party members are 'predominantly white, male, older, more college-educated and better off economically than typical Americans,'" he noted parenthetically "they sound like, say, readers of The New York Review of Books."

Come to think of it, these people who make up the tea party also sound like the people who attend classical music concerts, who endow concert halls, museums, hospitals, and universities, and fund left-wing causes (George Soros, for example).

Perhaps when this generation of aging white males dies off, aging women, aging Latino and black males, and young people will become the readers of journals such as the New York Review of Books and endow symphony orchestras.

I suspect not. And if not, the left may come to regret its contempt for this particular group. Without aging white males, I doubt the New York Times would survive. How many young people, females, Hispanics and blacks subscribe to the New York Times?

Obviously the issue for the left isn't aging white males, it is conservatives, whether they are young or old, white or nonwhite, male or female. If female aborigines were conservative, the left would have a problem with female aborigines.

For conservatives, the issue is that for generations now, they have failed to make the case for their values. They haven't even conveyed conservative values to many of their children. And when they have, the university has often succeeded in undoing them.

The only answer to the "demographic" problem, therefore, is to bring women (single women, to be precise), young people, Hispanics, and blacks to conservative values. I wrote a column in September ("It's not Just the Economy, Stupid!") criticizing the Mitt Romney campaign for only talking about jobs and the economy. President Obama kept saying that this election was about two different visions of America. But like George Herbert Walker Bush, the Romney campaign appeared to disdain "the vision thing."

Our only hope for America is that every conservative takes upon him or herself the project of learning what American and conservative values are, coming to understand what leftism stands for, and learning how to make the case for those values to women, young people, blacks and Hispanics. That is what my radio show, latest book and Prager University are about. And while I am, happily, hardly alone, there are still far too few of us who understand "the vision thing." Surely the Republican establishment has not.

We should missionize for the American Trinity (Liberty, In God We Trust, E Pluribus Unum) as least as passionately as the left has missionized for its antithesis -- Egalitarianism, Secularism and Multiculturalism. Or we will lose America as we have always known it.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: elections; minorities; values
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1 posted on 11/13/2012 8:54:16 AM PST by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

lotsa luck wit dat


2 posted on 11/13/2012 8:55:36 AM PST by Doogle ((USAF.68-73..8th TFW Ubon Thailand..never store a threat you should have eliminated))
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To: SeekAndFind
The nearly universal response -- meaning the response offered by the liberal media and liberal academics (and some Republicans) -- is that the Republican Party needs to rethink its positions, moving away from conservatism and toward the political center.

Okay. Fine. If anyone on this forum falls into that category, please tell me why those who voted for DemocRATS or didn't vote at all would then vote Republican?

3 posted on 11/13/2012 9:01:47 AM PST by Texas Eagle (If it wasn't for double-standards, Liberals would have no standards at all -- Te?xas Eagle)
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To: SeekAndFind
What the left doesn't understand about demographics, and a lot of us forget, is that the ranks of the middle-aged and elderly Republicans and conservatives includes many who were liberals in their 20s and 30s. Life, and the realization that there are many out there who aren't needy but who will parasitize you, quite often leads to a shift in political thinking in early mid-life on. It's not like conservatives aren't being replenished. Don't think for a minute that those listening to hip hop and aspiring for a new tattoo right now aren't going to be rethinking their lives down the road. Not all will, but many will. We need to be there to guide them to the light when they're ready.
4 posted on 11/13/2012 9:07:27 AM PST by pieceofthepuzzle
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To: SeekAndFind

How do you argue against “free stuff” with people who don’t care about something as complex as somebody else’s debt? There’s a 10 trillion dollar lesson to be learned, if the 47% can learn it.


5 posted on 11/13/2012 9:09:29 AM PST by Smedley (It's a sad day for American capitalism when a man can't fly a midget on a kite over Central Park)
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To: SeekAndFind
Maybe It's The Minorities' Values That Need Changing

Maybe? Hell yes they do!

And it's not just politics too. It's more than that. When I look at what's happening with minorities, especially blacks, it's tragic.

Look at inner city youth: they join gangs, drop out of school, treat women poorly, do drugs, misuse guns... it goes on, of course. Why? Sh*tty, corrupted values.

On education, minority youth are told that evil white people are keeping them down, and that they can't succeed on their own; that have to get pity scholarships (i.e. Affirmative Action). Their role models are people who haven't advanced through hard work and education. Result? They give up on education. The politically correct approach to this problem? Drop standards and don't hold kids responsible for anything. Thanks, Leftists!

Minority youth are in a culture that increasingly worships thug athletes and 'musicians.' Kids find themselves looking up to and emulating people that openly advocate drugs, violence, hatred of public institutions, and abuse of women. And if anyone criticizes this, the Leftists immediately jump in and defend it as minority culture and cry racism. They love to treat the vile role models as the modern result of minority heritage to justify their existence and defend them. Thanks, Leftists!

Minorities of all ages are told, even more than other demographics, that they're entitled to other people's money and efforts. Result: less drive to be employed, and a Liberal outlook. Thanks, Leftists!

And if a person of color strays from the above (think Allen West or Thomas Sowell), there's an immediate and vicious outpouring of vitriol and horrifyingly racist comments, which are ignored or even implicitly endorsed by the Left, because Hey, racist comments from the Left aren't actually racist because they're from the Left (which by politically correct definition is incapable of racism), and, more importantly, they've got to keep minorities on the political reservation to stay in power.

It's absolutely sickening. Minorities are being kept down to some degree in this country, but not by nonexistent shadowy white supremacist cabals or latent racism, but by the very people who claim to be their advocates. Under the guise of Multiculturism they have succeeded in instilling separate values into minorities, and making minorities think that shifting to better values is somehow destruction of their heritage and pride. Instead of the Melting Pot and unity (and people simply not caring about race), the Left has transformed America into an Us vs Them country, divided along various demographic lines. Racial, religious, class warfare etc. The only way it's going to change is with a drastic realignment of values toward the political and moral Right: one that instills work ethic over a gimme-gimme-gimme attitude, morality over thuggery, responsibility over racial victim status, and education and self-betterment over dreams of getting rich quick with a microphone, a pair of cleats, or bag of white powder. The only way that is going to happen is to break the neck of multiculturalism and bring minorities back into the fold of on assimilated country where we're all part of the same people, not divided into evil Whites and "Holder's People."


/Rant
6 posted on 11/13/2012 9:21:59 AM PST by verum ago (Some people must truly be in love, for only love can be so blind.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Trayvon Martin?


7 posted on 11/13/2012 9:29:14 AM PST by showme_the_Glory (ILLEGAL: prohibited by law. ALIEN: Owing political allegiance to another country or government)
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To: pieceofthepuzzle
“Don't think for a minute that those listening to hip hop and aspiring for a new tattoo right now aren't going to be rethinking their lives down the road.”

I am not optimistic about this. The majority of kids raised by parents who were never married, who have abortions in their teens and twenties, who grew up on welfare, and were raised to think that white people or “rich people” are their enemies will not ever be Republicans or conservatives.

I now believe that nothing short of a dramatic intervention or chastisement by God will change the course this country is on. One example: assisted suicide just lost in Massachusetts. However, it lost by only two percentage points. I'll bet it's put to a vote in that state again within three years...and passes. People are being ground down and Americans who remember a time when abortion, being on welfare, and gay marriage were anathema are dying off.

Yes, young people tend to be politically liberal and people grow more conservative as they age. However, our culture no longer gives lip service to traditional values, so there is nothing for most young people to go back to once they realize they've been mistaken.

Last year, President Obama didn't even allude to a Creator in his Thanksgiving Day Proclamation. How will this country survive when its President is a de facto atheist and when God-fearing people can't get elected?

8 posted on 11/13/2012 9:31:30 AM PST by utahagen
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To: SeekAndFind

BINGO....BINGO....BINGO, DENNIS!!!! How RIGHT you are. The minorities are a MESS..


9 posted on 11/13/2012 9:36:09 AM PST by Ann Archy ( ABORTION...the HUMAN Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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To: SeekAndFind

BINGO....BINGO....BINGO, DENNIS!!!! How RIGHT you are. The minorities are a MESS..


10 posted on 11/13/2012 9:36:42 AM PST by Ann Archy ( ABORTION...the HUMAN Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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To: utahagen
I'll bet it's put to a vote in that state again within three years...and passes. ...

I'm a bit more optimistic about this. We are more likely to win (ie, not lose as much) in non-presidential election cycles. You can probably plot a straight line on a graph - as turnout increases, liberalism increases proportionally. Applies to candidates as well as ballot questions. This got Brown as Senator for 2+ years; this got the fake indian, non-licensed practicing lawyer warren in last week. It would be interesting exercise to see if 'R' state reps/sinators increase more in the off years and shrink in the presidential years...

11 posted on 11/13/2012 9:44:06 AM PST by C210N ("ask not what the candidate can do for you, ask what you can do for the candidate" (Breitbart, 2012))
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To: C210N
Look, I hope you're right about election cycles and turnout. However, even if you are correct, all the bad guys will do is put assisted suicide, gay marriage, etc, up for a third or fourth vote the next time there's presidential election. Check out the front page of today's NYTimes vis-a-vis how emboldened pro-gay marriage folks are after this election. They are going to go after every state in the union and they will not give up and any state that eventually voted in favor if gay marriage will never reverse that.

I'm not saying I am giving up or that any of us has a right to give up. I'll keep voting, writing letters, donating, and marching. However, I now believe that dramatic action by God is the only thing that will save this country.

“God is not mocked.” I fear for our country that God will act — and I fear for our country that He won't.

12 posted on 11/13/2012 9:52:28 AM PST by utahagen
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To: SeekAndFind; ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas; DoughtyOne; Gilbo_3; Impy; stephenjohnbanker; NFHale; ...
RE :”The only answer to the “demographic” problem, therefore, is to bring women (single women, to be precise), young people, Hispanics, and blacks to conservative values. I wrote a column in September (”It’s not Just the Economy, Stupid!”) criticizing the Mitt Romney campaign for only talking about jobs and the economy. President Obama kept saying that this election was about two different visions of America. But like George Herbert Walker Bush, the Romney campaign appeared to disdain “the vision thing.”
Our only hope for America is that every conservative takes upon him or herself the project of learning what American and conservative values are, coming to understand what leftism stands for, and learning how to make the case for those values to women, young people, blacks and Hispanics. That is what my radio show, latest book and Prager University are about. And while I am, happily, hardly alone, there are still far too few of us who understand “the vision thing.” Surely the Republican establishment has not. “

This is on the mark. That is the only hope because fast changing demographics are making it harder and harder to win certain key states every year.

I know we are still in bitter (shock of loss) mode :” They all can go to hell we dont need them. We can just impeach Obama and our problem will be solved
.or..
:”We won that election easily. It was voter fraud in all those swing states that did cause this. I know they stole the election. And most of the polls were rigged too. The only accurate poll Gallop said that Romney would win and by gum that is what he did, so next time we will ...??

but ‘head in sand = drowning when tide comes in’

And yes, it will be very difficult! But Romney didnt have a clue. I saw that too.

13 posted on 11/13/2012 10:24:05 AM PST by sickoflibs (How long before cry-Bohner caves to O again? They took the House for what?)
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To: SeekAndFind
"Our only hope for America is that every conservative takes upon him or herself the project of learning what American and conservative values are, coming to understand what leftism stands for, and learning how to make the case for those values to women, young people, blacks and Hispanics. "

The start is that we need to agree on what conservative values are, before we attempt to influence others.

If you're like me, a social conservative that wants traditional American and Christian values supported. And a fiscal conservative that wants fiscally responsible government that doesn't shirk from it's duties, but does them efficiently and in a balanced approach. Then fine.

But if you're not like me, then you're the problem. You're probably why we nominated Romney in the first place.

I'm still puzzling over the Romney nomination, though. The MSM played a part. But is there a large part of the GOP that calls itself conservative, that believes conservatism is just a democrat platform with a GOP label?

14 posted on 11/13/2012 10:35:17 AM PST by DannyTN
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To: SeekAndFind
The code word and mantra these days is "We must win the 'latino' vote."
That is a code word for illegals.

Not gonna happen. I am a 'latino' myself, an immigrant, but legal and American first.
I first experienced the postwar USA and it was a different universe where immigration laws were unquestioned and applied without controversy or challenge.

The current "appealing to the Latino vote" is simply the road to Mexico North. If we wanted to live in Mexico, my family would have immigrated there.

The 'new' political strategy for the melting pot can not end well.

15 posted on 11/13/2012 11:03:33 AM PST by publius911 (Formerly Publius 6961, formerly jennsdad)
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To: SeekAndFind; sickoflibs; All

” For conservatives, the issue is that for generations now, they have failed to make the case for their values. They haven’t even conveyed conservative values to many of their children. And when they have, the university has often succeeded in undoing them. “

We dropped the ball. but the Republican Party dropped it harder. You are NOT going to convert 20+ million illegals to vote Republican, either.


16 posted on 11/13/2012 11:09:40 AM PST by stephenjohnbanker ((God, family, country, mom, apple pie, the girl next door and a Ford F250 to pull my boat.))
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To: stephenjohnbanker; SeekAndFind; ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas
RE :”You are NOT going to convert 20+ million illegals to vote Republican, either.”

What if we just offer them more *stuff* than Dems do? That wont work? :)

Thats always my first question when Rs propose amnesty to ‘save the party’, “How will you make sure they wont Vote Democrat like the others do”

17 posted on 11/13/2012 11:23:20 AM PST by sickoflibs (How long before cry-Bohner caves to O again? They took the House for what?)
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To: sickoflibs; SeekAndFind; ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas; DoughtyOne

” Thats always my first question when Rs propose amnesty to ‘save the party’,”

Any republican who says this is a traitor.


18 posted on 11/13/2012 11:29:35 AM PST by stephenjohnbanker ((God, family, country, mom, apple pie, the girl next door and a Ford F250 to pull my boat.))
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To: stephenjohnbanker; Liz; AuntB; SeekAndFind; ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas; DoughtyOne
RE :’” Thats always my first question when Rs propose amnesty to ‘save the party’,”
......
Any republican who says this is a traitor.”

Maybe when they (illegals after amnesty) see how well you have done they will turn down the food stamps, section 8, government jobs, medicaid, free college, all handouts, and just open up a small business and hire people, and vote Republican for a tax cut.

If every illegal hired 10 Americans we would have a shortage of workers and the deficit would be zero. I heard they are very conservative.

You see any flaws in my plan ?? :)

19 posted on 11/13/2012 11:54:16 AM PST by sickoflibs (How long before cry-Bohner caves to O again? They took the House for what?)
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To: SeekAndFind

Please - put me into the category of an angry, white, Christian, straight, conservative, “rich,” male. Why am I angry? Because the majority of my country are narcissistic, self-centered, and apathetic towards the future of the USA. And our President and Congress do not have the will to control their spending.

How can I be “happy” under those circumstances???


20 posted on 11/13/2012 12:22:19 PM PST by DennisR (Look around - God gives countless, indisputable clues that He does, indeed, exist.)
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