GOP Infighting Fills Our Enemies with Joy ((The Stupid Party getting even stupider)

The Times-Picayune [New Orleans] ^ | February 12, 2004 | James Lileks [Newhouse News Service]

[quidnunc]

Let's just be blunt: The North Koreans would love to see John Kerry win the election. The mullahs of Iran would love it. The Syrian Baathists would sigh with relief. Every enemy of America would take great satisfaction if the electorate rejects the Bush doctrine and scuttles back to hide under the U.N. Security Council's table. It's a hard question, but the right one: Which candidate does our enemy want to lose? George W. Bush.

And some conservatives will be happy to help, it seems.

Woe and gloom have befallen some on the right. Bush has failed to act according to The Reagan Ideal.

The actual Reagan may have issued an amnesty for illegals, but the Ideal Reagan would have done no such thing. So unless Bush packs freight cars full of gardeners and dishwashers and dumps them off at the Mexican border, some voters will just sit this one out.

The Ideal Reagan would have eliminated the National Endowment for the Arts; the actual Reagan proposed a $1 million increase in his final budget. But Bush increased NEA funding. So angry conservatives might just sit this one out.

And if a Democrat takes office, and the Michael Moores and Rob Reiners and Martin Sheens crowd the airwaves on Nov. 3 to shout their howls of vindication? If the inevitable renaissance of Iraq happens on Kerry's watch, and the economy truly picks up steam in the first few years before the business cycle and Kerry's tax hikes kick in? If emboldened Islamist terrorists smell blood and strike again? Fine. Maybe the next Republican president will do everything they want.

-snip-

[quidnunc]

KantianBurke wrote: ("And some conservatives will be happy to help, it seems") That's a bare faced lie. What are we conservatives supposed to say when we have been betrayed beyond reason? Bush's betrayal goes even beyond the usual stupid party's lilly liveredness. He has made intolerable statements about illegal immigration. He is spending like there is no tomorrow. He has chosen to help with the outsourcing of millions of American jobs, and calls it good He never fought for his judges, allowing Orin Hatch to play ball with the Democrats and not putting a stop to it. Only those who don't care about America's future refuse to speak out.

And things will be so much better after President Kerry takes the reins of government in hand, right?

[Howlin]

So what? What does it matter what Reagan MIGHT have done or not done?

Try to at least give the appearance of living in the present.

Either vote for Bush or find yourself another candidate; stop bitching about Bush.

[Sloth]

Why is the required compromise *always* to the left and *never* to the right?

[EEDUDE]

I agree with you on every point you've made.

But I will still vote for Bush next November, and I will do everything in my power to sway others to do so.

Kerry is singing "Anything you can do I can do better" He would be a COMPLETE disaster.

This business of voting solely on one or two issues got me a Clinton in 1992. I will NOT make that mistake again.

Instead, I will work with my representatives and tell them I will un-elect them if they don't oppose this immigration plan and reign in spending.

The way to get what you want is to choose your battles carefully, and live to fight another day.

If too many people who are mad at our President choose to sit it out, we may get something we REALLY don't want.

[Howlin]

What are we conservatives supposed to say when we have been betrayed beyond reason?

Find yourself a candidate pure enough for yourself and vote for him.

The GOP is running Bush this year.

[FlipWilson]

From an idealistic standpoint, you are absolutely correct. The world would be great if we could get 100% of what we want all the time. It would be great if Bush closed our borders, reformed the tax code, cut government programs by 1/3, reformed Social Security, etc. etc. etc.

From a practical standpoint, you are wrong. One thing is for certain. We will get NONE of the Conservative agenda advanced with a Kerry or Gore in office plus we will surrender to the UN and most likely see terrorist attacks on this country that make 9/11 look like a minot event. Oh, and did I mention the judiciary. The one gift that keeps on giving. Even when a Dem is not in office or when the Dems are out of power they can count on the radical judiciary to legislate a liberal agenda from the bench. Abortion on demand, wait till you get a load of Doctor assisted suicide on demand.

All I know is that love it or loathe it, when a Democrat is the President, the left lines up behind that guy no matter what. In many ways, Clinton was to liberals what Bush is to Conservatives. For example, Clinton enacted welfare reform and that enraged the left, BUT still, they stood behind him in lockstep. I loathed the Left for standing by that guy and all his moral and ethical failings. but the liberals made a cold hard judgement, namely, with Clinton in office, their agenda was more helped than hurt.

[rrrod]

noted and agree..... now what do we do?

[scory]

Agree with posts that state in effect that Bush inflicted this upon himself. His apparent disregard for a notoriously touchy base is mystifying. His policies can be modified or voted down if we let our congressmen and senators know what we want. And don't stop lambasting the White House with letters, calls and e-mail. But for heaven's sake don't sit out the election. If we vote a dimrat into the White House we risk far more than mere money. We risk the lives of untold numbers of Americans and our allies as any dimrat who runs is going to do so on a promise to retreat in the war against the islamofascists. We simply cannot afford to do this. Bush is our only choice in 2004.

[Howlin]

It's alright to whine but not alright to continually announce the intention to not vote.

Exactly. Not going to vote for him? Fine! Stop telling us about it.

[kassie]

Thanks for the ping.

[swampfox98]

Republicans that you cannot be trusted, and the Republicans will see NO reason to stick their necks out for you.

When did any Republican stick their neck out for anybody but a Democrat? Do they need a reason to stick their necks out for me? Tell me, if the Republicans weren't lying to the country they would be acting like Republicans should act, and they shouldn't be angry at their base for stating the obvious.

The problem is, most Republicans want to canoodle with the Democrats and the liberal lying news media, and they don't want anyone to point to their betrayal of party principals.

[Howlin]

Shop somewhere else!

[Luke21]

I deplore Bush's immigration policies. I despise Orrin Hatch and the gutless Republican cowards like Frist, and wonder why our president doesn't call them to the White House and tell them a thing or two.

That being said, the damage a Kerry presidency could do is beyond our worst nightmare. He would fill the judiciary with criminal loving, gun grabbing nutballs. Lawyers and courts are already a huge problem. This would be a jump off a cliff, people.

Our enemies have one hope. They must divide us. We must fight so much that some of us stay home on election day. It's okay to have conservative principles and want them upheld, but our enemy is at the gates and some of us would rather carp than fight the true enemies; the Democrats, the multiculturists, the haters of America and all that is good, and of course those that loathe our nation abroad. This isn't the way, folks. This happened in 1992. We got Clinton. That was a long eight years.

Let's unite and re-elect the president. After that, we can fight each and every day while our TRUE enemies seethe and lick their wounds.

[Howlin]

That's a bare faced lie. What are we conservatives supposed to say when we have been betrayed beyond reason? Bush's betrayal goes even beyond the usual stupid party's lilly liveredness. He has made intolerable statements about illegal immigration. He is spending like there is no tomorrow. He has chosen to help with the outsourcing of millions of American jobs, and calls it good He never fought for his judges, allowing Orin Hatch to play ball with the Democrats and not putting a stop to it.

Then don't vote for him.

Only those who don't care about America's future refuse to speak out.

You mean the ones you think are wrong because we don't share you short-sighted, myopic, self-serving tunnel-vision view of the world?

[RockyMtnMan]

I like tax cuts but I love tax reform. Abortion doesn't energize me even though I'm pro-life. Kyoto? Would ANY republican accept Kyoto?

Don't be an ass, perception is reality and Bush needs something to energize his base, like maybe supporting HR25.

[Carolinamom]

I see that the "real" conservatives are still bitching. THEY walk on water, you know.

As for me and my house, WE WILL BE VOTING FOR BUSH, no matter what these malcontents have to say. Thanks for the ping.

[Jim Cane]

Stupidity is an affliction of the head. Bush is the head of the GOP. If you want to end stupidity, cure the head first.

[AFPhys]

"And some conservatives will be happy to help, it seems"

You fit this to a "T", but you're not alone. You are really sounding more and more like "SoreLoserman" every day. For any reasonable conservative, such as myself and many others here, the positives on GWB's balance sheet outweigh the negatives. We who listened to GWB's record and campaign promises have found that he is acting predictably, though in some ways we would have liked it otherwise.

The question really comes down to "... a hard question, but the right one: Which candidate does our enemy want to lose? George W. Bush."

I know the right answer, and that answer is the only one which will has any chance of success in moving this country in the right direction.

[quidnunc]

scory wrote: Agree with posts that state in effect that Bush inflicted this upon himself. His apparent disregard for a notoriously touchy base is mystifying. His policies can be modified or voted down if we let our congressmen and senators know what we want.

Except for some indoividual stastes and local regions conservatives can't elect anybody by themselves.

Politicians almost always have to appeal to a broader constituency and that means giving non-conservatives some of the stuff they want too.

[Howlin]

I just can't figure out what they want US to do.

We have a candidate they don't like.

Right here on the front page of FR:

Question ...

---

If it's Kerry vs Bush how will you vote?
Bush - 78%



Kerry - 3%



Libertarian - 3%



Const Party - 6%



Other - 0%



Sit it out - 2%



Undecided - 4%


Heck, they can't even unite in their opposition to Bush!