Posted on 12/24/2009 9:16:47 AM PST by Signalman
Parker Griffith’s decision to step out of line and refuse to drink the Democratic Kool-Aid illustrates the Achilles Heel of the Democratic regime in Washington: The radical reign of Pelosi and Reid is held up by pillars of moderate and conservative Democrats who come from districts that regularly vote Republican. To survive in these red precincts, Democrats must act like Republicans, advocating a balanced budget, opposing big spending, and fighting against socialized medicine. But, in Washington, Pelosi and Reid use their backing to bring a radical left leadership to Congress.
Once it sufficed for a moderate Democrat merely to vote “no.” But American voters are onto their tricks and realize that a Democrat — any Democrat — will vote “yes” when his party leaders need it. The unanimous Senate Democratic support for Obamacare shows that there are really only two types of Congresspeople: Democrats and Republicans. All other shadings and adjectives are mere decoration.
The Senate deal-making that produced party unity has gone on in full public view, a vindication of Otto Von Bismark’s wisdom in proclaiming that the public should never witness either a sausage being made or a law being passed. We are watching, real time, as moderate Democrats fold for tiny, dirty little payoffs to their states and their egos.
A moderate Democrat is just someone who will demand a higher price for caving into what Reid and Pelosi and Obama want him to do. By focusing on his so-called moderation and hoping for his support, we just drive up his market price and elevate the bribe he will get.
(We only know now about the publicly funded bribes these moderate members of Congress are getting. We will learn, as the years unfold, what private commitments were exchanged for their health care votes. Follow the judgeships, ambassadorships, and cabinet positions to see where these folks land after their voters have thrown them out.)
So Parker Griffith realized — as others will — that merely voting against the legislation he did not like would not be sufficient to inoculate him against voter anger. To get out of the way of the looming tsunami of 2010, he had actually to switch political parties and become a Republican.
In 2010, voters will realize that their can vote only for one of the two parties. Individuals don’t matter. Candidate personalities, preferences, backgrounds, and even ideologies don’t matter. Once the smart voter said that he votes for the person, not the party. Now, this once virtuous citizen would be a fool. There is no such thing as a moderate Democrat or a centrist or a conservative or a Reagan Democrat. There are only Democrats who, when the chips are down, will vote as his leaders need him to vote.
Congressman Parker Griffith, the newly minted Republican, is typical of his class of freshmen Democrats from heavily McCain districts. For them to survive, they need to switch parties. Otherwise, they — and the damage they have done — will be two year footnotes to history.
A moderate republican is as bad as a moderate democrat.
Ironic considering all the lecturing the GOP got about not listening to our ‘moderates’.
divide and conquer.
Now I only see a further diluted less ideological party.
What we need are new faces.
A “moderate” is someone who when asked to pay for the rope that will be used to hang him, agrees instead to split the cost.
This is what I’m fearing. McKennedy is supposedly courting another Dem to switch, but I don’t think adding more RINOs is the answer to the GOP’s problems. It’s good political theater though.
Parker Griffith is far more conservative than Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe.
When it counted both of them voted against the bill and also voted that a little something was unconstitutional. Would you rather have had two Northeastern Dems in their place voting for this monstrosity?
I still know people in GA and AL that think “our southern democrats” are different than liberal northern democrats.
And I try to explain to them that southern or otherwise, any democrat elected forms party of the majority that gives people like Nancy Pelosi power.
We have people here in Tennessee like Jim Cooper who says he knows what makes the health care industry tick but continuously votes with his party to do one stupid thing after another. At the end of the day what you say in TN, GA, or AL to get elected doesn’t count - it’s all in the way you vote. It’s time for some Southern Democrats to switch and I would rather have them as Republicans than some of the elected Republicans we have in the Northeast.
If we had a majority healthcare would never have been brought up. Quandry, yes we are in.
It does appear that the Dem party has undergone a purification of their ranks.
Doesn’t matter. In the end, God wins.
The sad truth of the matter is the name Moderate is simply a code word for a liberal that is lying.
No, I’d rather have had two strong conservatives in their places voting no instead of having to sit and hold my breath waiting to see whether they’re going to roll over and screw us. But that’s just me.
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