Posted on 11/03/2013 12:05:28 PM PST by Kaslin
That’s a startling question, to be sure. But it’s a question that haunted me during my recent visit to Australia. There, political conservatism is experiencing a revival of sorts after six years of socialist wilderness.
While in Australia, I kept thinking about a surprising statement made to me by a prominent American conservative leader during the last U.S. election. At that time, he said, “I will not support the Republican candidate. In fact, I hope Obama wins.”
When I couldn’t hide my shock, he went on to explain his perspective: eventually the socialist ideology in our country would over-tip its hand, and then the people would wake up and elect a modern-day Reagan.
Well, now a short time later, socialism has certainly over-tipped its hand. Our debt has spiraled to more than $17 trillion. Twenty percent of our economy—healthcare—is mired in the mud pit of Obamacare. Millions of dollars are spent on the entertainment of public servants. Billions more have been incinerated within expanded bureaucracies of ineptitude and government-funded companies, such as Solyndra. And all of this happened while more and more people dropped out of the workforce and the food stamp program expanded to more than 47 million people.
Now that President Obama’s favorability has plummeted to its lowest levels, and his diehard supporters in the media have given him “Four Pinocchios” for his Obamacare “truthfulness,” I’m wondering if my friend wasn’t prophetic after all.
To be sure, the U.S. electorate has been significantly dumbed down since Reagan’s election in 1980. But nonetheless, what I saw happening in Australia, a country with a center-left majority, could happen here.
In Australia, the socialist government of Julia Gillard began to kill the goose that laid the golden egg—namely the mining industry—by imposing a hefty “carbon tax.” The country then watched as the government—which had run a surplus under the conservative prime minister, John Howard—ran up a $500 billion annual deficit.
The people revolted, and they elected the conservative coalition in a landslide.
The first item on their agenda? Abolishing the carbon tax on the mining companies. And surprise, surprise, the Labor Party is now supporting the conservatives in that effect. One has to assume that the left did not want to become totally irrelevant.
The wisest man who ever lived, King Solomon, once asked: “Why does every generation have to keep on making the same mistakes of the previous generation?” That’s a great question to ponder.
The answer I believe is that human nature is fickle and easily persuaded by silver-tongued snake oil salesmen.
But maybe Obama’s low approval ratings are a sign that folks are finally waking up. Maybe they are finally returning to the sanity of proven policies—low taxes, less government, individual freedom, and above all, respect for human life, born or unborn.
It is a dim hope, but in the end, hope springs eternal.
Oh how I wish we could even get a modern-day Reagan on the ticket!!!!
The liberal statist mindset behind Obamacare is that the destruction of the healthcare insurance industry will lead to a single payer system via big brother government.
While they may succeed in destroying the healthcare insurance industry, I seriously doubt that Americans will go willingly into a single payer system.
This leaves the free market... which has been pretty much absent for a LONG time in the health care industry.
So, in the long run, it may very well be that Obamacare WILL eventually lower health care costs... but in the opposite way in which liberals intended.
For that I guess I can be thankful... but not to Obama but rather to God for protecting us from him.
....Thankful when he is with Allah.
This is why I will never understand the thinking of some freepers who act as if we are dealing with some political master here. When Carter hints that you're incompetent, then you know it has to be really, really bad. Everything this administration touches turns to crap. Everything. From Cash for Clunkers to this. And having the nation watch him have a temper tantrum after getting caught in a big lie that damages millions of people will wake the sleeping nation up further
You said...
“While they may succeed in destroying the healthcare insurance industry, I seriously doubt that Americans will go willingly into a single payer system.”
Agree.
There is a monument to the boll weevil in Enterprise, Alabama.
Even if this is pragmatic political goodness one must still do everything civicly, morally, and legally possible to stop 0bama’s destruction before it takes hold.
Not even then.
Is that the same agenda as Obama, Reid, and Pelosi? It's certainly the agenda of the left, and also includes forced embrace of open homosexuality and the "right" to abortion.
Why do I think the GOP would have advanced the same agenda had Romney won?
Because I did my due diligence on Romney. It was a bridge too far. His entire political career was one of advancing things I'm against.
You get what you vote for. There is no voting "against." That's pretend.
That could turn out to be a prophetic illustration. I think there is a good chance that when the Obamacare garbage heap collapses on itself the media will be effective in putting the blame on republicans and the dems might retake the house in ‘14.
I hope you’re wrong, because I see it the exact opposite way...
Yet we have a government tyrannical enough to deny we the people the right to post Christian character pointers -- the Ten Commandments, etc. -- that were the very founding "character" principles. America is a Christian nation. Western Civilization is "Christian," or at least it got to where it has by following basically the Judeo-Christian ethic. Christianity is a CRUCIAL componenent of America's heritage.
And government makes it illegal to teach in public school.
/*sigh*
(But, I am shocked at what they have managed to pull off so far)
So we rejoice at Obama’s victory? Nope. 2012 was a disaster all around. No good can come from it.
Australia works differently. They have a parliamentary system. So a conservative government can actually reverse some of the gains of the left. Here, the best we have ever accomplished is slowing down the rate of decline into statism.
It will take a century (of regularly elected conservatives) to reverse the damage Obama has done in five years.
I’m still waiting for the day when Repubs stop being go along to get along types. I’ll be convinced when I see some entitlements eliminated, some departments deep-sized, and Fedzilla cut to 1/2 its present size. Instead we have new prescription drug entitlements due to Bush, nationalized health care, and the destruction of the military and coal industries.
We have nearly fifty percent of the population who pay no federal tax; they aren’t invested at all in the nations success and seek only what they can bleed from the government.. I don’t see those people cheering on a return to rugged individualism. We’re dealing with a fatal turn in the fate of America.
Don’t do that, don’t lie and post that I think Americans are dumb.
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