Posted on 10/10/2004 8:32:16 AM PDT by jmstein7
Black is Black
By Jonathan M. Stein
Honesty is clearly the best policy; that is not in question. However, broadcasting one's honesty isn't always the best politics -- sometimes, in fact, it is incredibly stupid.
There is no question that, in general, conservatives are more honest than their liberal counterparts. However, conservatives have a nasty habit of crowing about just how honest they are, often to their detriment. Conservatives know when they're right, when they're wrong, when they've done well, and when they've done badly. That doesn't mean that they have to stand on the rooftops and shout about it. Loudly letting liberals know when things are going badly for conservatives doesn't make liberals think "wow, gee, look how honest conservatives are!" It doesn't make liberals feel badly about themselves. On the contrary, it is incredibly stupid in that liberals wisely, and gladly, use it against conservatives. As liberal bloggers, and John Kerry, have demonstrated, they are only too gleeful to use Republican criticisms of Republicans against Republicans in the public debate.
Now, I'm not urging dishonesty; I'm certainly not advocating lies. All I am saying is that the liberals do not need any more free advice or any more free ammunition to use against Republicans and conservatives -- they already have plenty of that. All I am asking is that, as we move into the final weeks of an election that will determine the safety and security of all Americans going forward, a life or death election, if conservatives don't have anything nice to say about themselves or their candidates, then don't say anything at all. This can be boiled down to two simple words... if you don't have anything nice to say then shut up.
The consequences of not shutting up are clear; just look at what happened after the first debate, when things didn't go as well as we liked: we criticized, we grumbled, we despaired -- and the liberals fed off it, gained strength, re-energized their base, used it against us, and made some headway in the polls. This same mistake must not be repeated. If you don't like how things are going, that's fine -- just keep it to yourself. As is often said: "loose lips sink ships."
Alternatively, what conservatives should not do is what liberals do when things go badly for them: lie, deceive, and spin. Just look at what happened after the second debate, when President Bush made a comeback. Democrats and other liberals went beyond merely keeping quiet about their losses; that would have been fine. No -- they actually went out of their way to convince others that the opposite was true -- that their loss was actually a win. That is dishonest, and it is something conservatives should never do.
What is truly frightening about all this isn't the lying, spin, or deception. What is truly frightening is that, to liberals, the lies, spin, and deception actually became their truth! They really believed what they were saying! Look no further than the rhetoric at the Democratic Underground. This is frightening because it is further evidence of just how far the left has gone down the Orwellian path.
In 1984, George Orwell describes a trio of though-control devices that make this self-deception possible -- and orthodox. The concepts are crimestop, blackwhite, and doublethink. In 1984, any thought that went against that which was considered "orthodoxy" was considered a crime. Thus, citizens were trained to consciously stop themselves, stop their though processes, before their very thoughts strayed beyond what was considered orthodox. This concept was known as crimestop, i.e. consciously stopping unorthodox, "criminal" though (crimethink) before it "polluted" the mind. The left-wingers have clearly mastered this, especially considering the things they have gone on record saying about Senator Kerry's debate performance. As their negative thoughts about Kerry formed, they simply, and clearly, stopped thinking. Scary.
Of course, crimestop is necessary when the beginnings of adverse thought have already entered the mind. Thus, to remedy the effects of some tainted thought, it is necessary to convince one's self that the opposite of those thoughts is really true. If it is bad to think that black is actually black, and you started to think about that, but stopped short, then one must convince one's self that black is actually white. If black is a bad thought and white is a good thought, you must convince yourself that black is white. This technique is known as blackwhite. If a Democrat had started to think that John Kerry gave a dismal performance, that Democrat must quickly, and consciously, convince himself that Kerry was fabulous, despite reality. Blackwhite.
The final step in this conscious self-deception is paradox resolution and reconciliation. The process of convincing one's self that black is white is a conscious one. In the back of one's mind, one knows that black is black. So, it is necessary to convince one's self that although one knows that black is black, black can also be white in fact, black can be black and white at the same time! It is necessary to believe that a non sequitur can be logical, and that, in fact, it has always been logical. Not only did John Kerry do well, despite the fact that he did badly, but the fact is that he had been doing well all along. And, by gosh, he actually did vote for the $87 billion before he voted against it! Doublethink.
This is how liberals lie so effectively -- because they really believe it, and they have mastered believing it, and they never believed otherwise. A contradiction can be consciously true and false and reconciled, and, in fact, it has always been true. They have mastered these Orwellian thought-control techniques and if they assume power, they will make sure that everyone else masters them as well.
Frightening.
The simple fact is, there are statements that are *per se* unconstructive.
No judges required.
jmstein7 did not advocate lying or pandering;he advocated shutting up the whining and posturing. Each time some of the Jim Wright conservatives posts a screed, it gets taken up by the DNC and its minions. These scoundrels then use it to have stories written in the papers of record, use it to find the whiners for face time against us.
Of course the alternative is that some of the Jim Wright true and principled WANT a Democrat victory so they have even more to whine and moan about,sort of a political Munchausen Syndrome.
Alternatively, what conservatives should not do is what liberals do when things go badly for them: lie, deceive, and spin. Just look at what happened after the second debate, when President Bush made a comeback. Democrats and other liberals went beyond merely keeping quiet about their losses; that would have been fine. No -- they actually went out of their way to convince others that the opposite was true -- that their loss was actually a win. That is dishonest, and it is something conservatives should never do.
Give it a rest.
I will not accept a self-appointed daddy. Save it for your kids and your pets. This is exactly what gives Freepers a black eye, the tendency to regard honest dissent and opinion as ammunition for the enemy. No ammunition is as damaging as blind lemming-like behaviour. Deal with that.
I will repeat that I am voting for the lesser of two evils. there is no better choice on the horizon.
Would I vote for someone else if he/she addressed my three top concerns? In a heartbeat!
Give me someone who will:
1) Continue the offensive war against islam. Call it what it is. If the enemy says he is at war with us by his actions I will prepare, not waste time disagreeing with him. Cut the islam is a religion of peace crap. It is not a religion and that should be codified.
Expel all non-citizen muslims, and install a semi-permanent ban of future entries.
2) Cut non-defense spending. Tax cuts are a trojan horse and totally useless if I can't buy groceries on my $10,000 monthly social security check.
3)Do something about illegal aliens. Stop telling me it can't be done and enforce our laws. Prevent aliens from pouring across our southern border. Expel existing illegals no matter how long it takes.
If you feel that my holding those opinions constitutes aiding the enemy, and nothing else, there is only one possible reply: shove it!
I have to read what you're saying through the prism of my current personal experience.
Our old friend Dr. Keyes has been savaged more by liberal Republicans than by anybody in this election cycle. The liberal press/Democratic Party has only had to follow their rhetorical lead.
Rather, he is pointing out that when Republicans in positions of political power, and those who go to speak before media outlets -- who take their message onto another level altogether from FR, one that reaches out to a mass audience -- should not be so open about their feelings that they end up downing their own candidates with friendly fire. When average-Joe Freepers scream that George Bush screwed up this and that and the other, even if they're right, the media and the DNC are not gonna pay any attention at all. Hell, they're trying desperately to pretend that we don't even exist. But when Republican senators do it, it becomes front-page news.
One thing I've noticed is that too few Freepers appreciate the value and necessity of politicking. In a forum like this, it isn't necessary, or desirable. FR is an outlet for pure, unfiltered, conservative/libertarian thought. But when Republicans go before this country's unfriendly media, discretion is a must. The Democrats know how to play the political game: John F'n Kerry plugged honest dissension from the Republican message to the hilt in the last debate, from Rumsfeld to Lugar. The Republicans need to recognize that the field is mined, and act accordingly. They do not have to be dishonest. But they ought to be smarter. As does any Republican committed to re-electing the President, when the circumstances warrant.
Republicans can either win this election and save the country, or they can shout every disagreement with the President from the rooftops from now till Nov. 2nd, let the press and the Democrats (same difference) hit the ground running with the sound bites, and then pat themselves on the back for losing on principle, while our major cities disappear within radioactive clouds as President Kerry just sits there in the Oval Office looking like an orange Botoxed horse. Our choice.
-Dan
Exactly!
The Lord has turned them over to a reprobate mind. describes Liberals to me.
:-) We are all in this together, and I don't want to "hang separately."
"Constructive criticism is always useful. However, empty defeatism does nothing but hurt us, e.g. "the sky is falling, we're finished, woe is me, etc."
Exactly. Those posts ought to be Zotted with extreme prejudice. Someone posts a Chicken Little screed...GONE! It's not only cowardly and pathetic and trollish, it's plain annoying as it mucks up the forum.
To FR's attention seeking wobbly-kneed: Grow a pair or shut up. (The kitties lie in wait for you!)
Exactly. Thanks!
Yes. Discretion is a MUST!
The consequences of not shutting up are clear . . .<
They are, indeed: Relinquishing to others the right and RESPONSIBILITY to criticize aloud those who control our lives. Suppression of opinion for the "greater good."
That trade-off won't hunt.
Discretion, not suppression.
Do you really find value in the statement "the sky is falling"? Such chicken little-ism is necessary?
However, the statment "I didn't like XYZ answer; he should have said ABC" IS useful.
There is a difference.
Enter the grandiloquence...
Remember the first rule of digging holes: the best way out is to stop digging.
It is not necessary to tell Jim what he might or might not agree with. It gives your tencency to control others no boost whatsoever.
It's his forum, after all; he is free to weigh-in.
And he does -- often.
And I almost always agree with him.
If you say something that you know to be the opposite of the truth, a falsehood, then you are lying.
The point I was making was, if a person believes what he is saying is true he isn't lying though he isn't making a factual statement.
An intersting thought.
Some of you people are starting to sound like Hollywood Bush-bashers screaming that their rights are being violated when their grosses go down.
I've combed through the article and I still can't find the part where he suggests that moderators ought to start zotting complaints or that the government ought to extend McCain/Feingold to cover FR.
Get a freakin' grip.
-Dan
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