Ralph Nader has never addressed the risks
of vehicles that automatically veer to the Left.
UNSAFE AT ANY SPEED!
Here's a Constitutionally-friendly alternative...
script on the side says "One Nation, Under God"
Posted on 03/10/2005 7:53:06 AM PST by Congressman Billybob
It is received wisdom that the Democrats cannot regain the Presidency unless they can win the votes of “NASCAR Dads.” Howard Dean’s demeaning phrase was “guys in pick-ups with Confederate flags.” But if the Democrats kiss off the whole South and most of the West, they are not going to see the inside of the White House without a visitor’s pass.
Obviously, the Democrats need some NASCAR lessons. They have learned one lesson they shouldn’t have.
Stock car races are run on oval tracks with the cars going counterclockwise. All drivers turn left at every opportunity. In racing, this choice is entirely arbitrary. It would work just as well if all cars turned right. That is not true of politics.
Always turning left in politics means more government, more bureaucrats, more taxes. It also means less freedom. Each citizen has less and less control or ownership over his/her education, employment, home, neighborhood, property and possessions. For fifty years, the Democrats dominated the political Winston Cup, winning most races by turning left. Times have changed, but the Democrats haven’t changed with them.
Being confident that Democrats won’t listen, here’s some good advice from NASCAR that the Democrats haven’t taken.
“Governor Howard Dean, M.D., Chairman, DNC” put out the following when elected Chairman. He repeated it in an e-mail to the Democrat electronic mailing list last week.
Governor Dean's Plan for the Future of the Democratic Party
* Show Up! Never concede a single state, county, district, or voter. Build a truly national party that wages a permanent campaign in all 50 states.
* Strengthen State Parties and the Grassroots. Better integrate state and national party operations and support Democrats organizing in local communities.
* Focus on Our Core Values. Articulate core Democratic values strongly and clearly, and show people how our agenda for reform reflects those values.
* Take Advantage of Cutting-Edge Technologies. Leverage the Internet and cutting-edge technologies to better organize, empower, and communicate with people.
* Train Tomorrow's Leaders. Strengthen our leadership institutes so we can recruit new talent, cultivate new leaders, and elect Democrats at every level of office.
Did you see what was missing? If not, read it again and ask yourself what the Democrats intend to do if they get back into office.
This is all process and no content. The only reference to what Democrats might do if they regain power is: “Focus on our core values.” But what ARE those values? The Plan offers no clue.
Here’s a NASCAR lesson the Democrats need to learn, but haven’t.
Imagine you are the King -- Richard Petty. You’ve been offered a “sweet ride,” a well-built, aerodynamic car with a finely tuned racing engine under the hood. But unlike the King, you don’t know where the racetrack is, and if you get there, you don’t know which way to go.
Now you understand the Democrats’ dilemma under Dean. They might get all dressed up, organizationally, but they have nowhere to go. This is male-pattern map disorder; if you don’t know where you’re going, driving faster won’t get you there quicker.
The Democrats’ indecision on what direction to drive brings us to their unannounced front-runner for nomination, Senator Hillary! Clinton. For all the hundreds of thousands of words that have already been spent on the theoretical boomlet of Hillary! for President in 2008, no one has named the principal opponent she will have to defeat.
For those wondering about the “!” I use, when she first announced for Senate in New York, she had materials printed that said just “Hillary!” but dropped that when staff realized the imperious message it sent. It was, “New York owes me this position because I am Hillary! Clinton.”
In a distinction made popular by Donald Rumsfeld, whenever Senator Clinton announces for President, I guar-on-damn-tee (a word popular with NASCAR Dads) there will be an immediate debate in the blogosphere between the “old” Hillary! and the “new” Hillary. The loser in that debate will be the “new” Hillary.
And the stealth campaign of Hillary Clinton will fail unless she defeats her most formidable opponent, the Old Hillary!, whose views are the opposite of the New Hillary.
Plenty of us remember Hillarycare, the medical proposal with the implied message that Americans are too dumb to handle their own medical needs and the government should take over. That’s one of many examples that Democrats still don’t know which way to drive.
What we are witnessing now is the fourth time in American history of the death of a formerly successful political party. But that’s a story for another day.
About the Author: John Armor is a First Amendment attorney and author who lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. John_Armor@aya.yale.edu
John / Billybob
Amen to that!
Democratic 'values?' What values? Let's see....baby slaughtering, world socialism under the UN, tax, tax, tax.....
Great read!
Add this one to NASCARs Lessons for Democrats:
Never sit on the stick shift.
You've just eliminated a core Democrat constituency. ;-)
For some time now, they have offered no vision whatsoever, beyond hazy catch-phrases couched in emotional rally speeches. The only thing that Dems have stood behind for the past 6 years is opposition, nay-saying, and obstructionism. The more they do along those lines, the more seats they lose. Yet, thankfully, they are utterly incapable of recognizing this pattern.
In reality, the Dems are victims of their own successes. There's little left of the Socialist agenda to push for that the mushy-middle will accept.
The next "great" Democrat will be the one who offers their version of the Contract with America: a simply-stated list of their specific legislative goals.
Or to paraphrase DW, if you're look out your windshield at the front straight at Daytona and it's getting longer, it's time to lift.
duh
What's missing?
NOTHING!
If the Democrats and Dean don't even have an agenda, then how can it be missing?
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
"You've just eliminated a core Democrat constituency. "
On the other hand, they might like it that way. sorry, I'll climb outa the gutter now.
;-)
I believe like Rush said a week or two ago, the only hope democrats have is to lay out what they believe (all of it) and why.
He also said they don't because they know that would guarantee defeat for the next 20 years....but at least they would be standing for SOMETHING.
Not to get picky but the fact that stock cars race counterclockwise is far from arbitrary. It is for safety since the driver is seated on the left and helps prevent serious injury if the car hits the retaining walls. Now if they were racing european cars they would turn right since the driver would be on the right side of the car.
That article made little sense.
"That article made little sense."
Democrats steer to the Left....Dems need NASCAR Dads to win.
"DNC spinouts on Turns 06 and 08."
Too bad the author took many paragraphs to say what you said in 7 words.
NASCAR is about as impressive as the WWF. Completely NOT.
"Democratic 'values?' What values? Let's see...."
Treason
Lying
Gay sex
Lying
Treason
Gay sex
...
Need I go on???
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