Posted on 05/17/2006 7:47:58 AM PDT by Pukin Dog
Edited on 05/17/2006 8:30:59 AM PDT by Lead Moderator. [history]
"A house divided against itself cannot stand." – Abraham Lincoln, 1858
It is getting somewhat strange around these parts when not only the President, but yesterday the First Lady was personally attacked by someone claiming to be a ‘Conservative’. Can there be any doubt that there are forces among us looking to drive a wedge between us?
A few weeks ago, this forum’s owner attempted to remind all of us of the big picture, that regardless of any personal animosity towards the President or Republican Party over their adherence to Conservative principles, that they are still a clear choice over the alternative Democrat Party rule. At that time, I assumed that FReeper-sanity had been restored, and that some of the negative rhetoric aimed at those in Washington D.C. would be dialed back.
Free Republic is a political forum with a proud history and vision, responsible for dragging Dan Rather from his post, and providing countless radio-talk shows with their daily talking points. FReepers are unique in their determination and energy towards protecting and defending the goals of our Founding Fathers.
We are also quite a powder keg of emotion and anticipation, expecting our Republican majorities to take advantage of this opportunity to make permanent gains in our Conservative agenda. Some might argue that this opportunity has been squandered, but those persons would be ignorant of history, lacking understanding that change cannot occur overnight in Washington, and that this is the way our Founders designed our Republic.
In frustration, impatience, and ignorance, we have allowed this forum to become a haven for those who do not share our Conservative goals. I do not blame our enemies anymore then I would blame a scorpion for stinging me. If anger and stupidity were one’s nature, I would expect the trolls that infect this forum to be angry and stupid consistently, which also makes them somewhat easy to detect.
The trolls are not the problem, though. The problem is that so many of us are allowing ourselves to be taken in by those who seek only to prevent us from going to the polls in November to keep their stinking hands off our government for another term. There can be no doubt, that no matter how disappointing our current government has been in promoting the Conservative agenda, that the alternative, enabled by our staying home will be MUCH worse.
The way to deal with Republicans who have actively worked against our goals is to defeat them in Primary elections. We do not even have to defeat them all, only enough of them to send the message that we will indeed target them if they work against our agenda. It should be the goal of EVERY conservative to see that Lincoln Chaffee is defeated in November. His seat is one we can afford to lose. Were I a Rhode Island resident, I would vote for the Democrat if only to send a message to Snowe, Hagel, Collins, Graham, and especially that bastard Specter that their primaries just got a lot tougher.
We only need to get one of them, and Chaffee is the one to get. It does not really matter if a Democrat takes his seat; he will be junior and mute as long as we maintain our overall majority in the Senate.
The one thing that bothers me here like nothing else, is the simple disrespect of the President. Am I am Bush-Bot? Damn straight I am. If you want to know why, click on my handle to read Southack’s excellent list of Bush’s accomplishments in office. But if Bush had done almost nothing in office, it would be no excuse for some of the slights and disrespect he has received from some of us on this forum.
Some of the things I have read here this past week match in tone what one can find on our favorite Democrat sewer site. Someone calling himself or herself a FReeper was promoting shooting aliens at the border until they stopped coming. Is that what we are about? Obviously not, and that so-called Conservative has been eliminated from this forum.
I think it is important to remember that you and I have just as much responsibility as George Bush does in changing our culture to better reflect Conservative values. Right now, this very moment, Conservatives have the government they deserve. We put them there. They are not our mommies and daddies sent out to bring home our Conservative bread. That responsibility lies with all of us. These Republicans represent us, they don’t serve us. Our job is to pick the best individual and send him/her to Washington in the hope that their CHARACTER will see them through.
This is why it is such a nutty thing to consider punishing the Republican party, when we should be letting them know that we’ve got their back, but if they cant do the job, we will replace them with ANOTHER Republican, instead of handing the reigns of government to the party of anger, hopelessness and despair. We sometimes like to think that those people we send to Washington are different from us, that they are capable of meeting our every need and desire.
I want every one of you to think about what you would consider to be your perfect mate. Maybe some of you think you have found that person. If you are married and totally in love with another person, that is great. Now I want to ask you to think about the last time that person you love, who is PERFECT for you, completely pissed you off. Remember, this is your perfect mate, your one true love. Do they do everything you want them to do? Obey your every desire? If you answer yes, I am going to put you on my troll list.
Those people in Washington do not even cut your lawn, yet you expect perfection. Get over it.
I am issuing a challenge to every person who considers him or her to be a Conservative; why don’t we all commit to a return to HONOR? Do we honor our Conservative agenda when we comport ourselves in disgraceful ways? Is it an honorable thing to suggest that our President is a moron, as I read here a few days ago? Is it honorable to attack Laura Bush or any other person representing true Conservative values?
Some of you might argue that George Bush is not representing Conservative values to your liking. I would remind you that the first thing Bush said upon taking office, is that he was going to be President of ALL the people, not just some. You know that if you followed Bush from the beginning that he campaigned of the very immigration platform he is defending right now. Did you vote for him? Yeah?
If you have ever had a steak at a Ruth’s Chris restaurant, you know that sometimes they bring that wonderful steak to your table with a sprig of parsley on it. I hate parsley. Hate it. If I were to treat my steak the way some of us want to treat our President, I would have to throw out the steak, due to that nasty parsley that comes with it. I can deal with the parsley to get the steak, and that is what I am asking FReepers to do.
Expecting perfection from any person, group or team is a recipe for disaster. George W. Bush is my president. You can disagree with him, you can blame him for your problems if that is your desire. If you disrespect his office, his service, his risking his life to be with our troops in Iraq, his steadfast desire to bring a new tone to Washington, or if you just like the way he keeps Democrats so pissed off they lose their minds on a regular basis, I ask you to treat him and his wife with respect and cut the personal attacks. If you call him ‘Shrub’ or ‘Jorge’ consider yourself my enemy.
Right now, our real enemy are the Main Stream Media, the Democrat Party, and all who follow and support them. If you want to jump-ugly on someone, why not start with those leaky bastards and give our side a break?
Do it for Pukin.
I knew that you could.
Obviously no issue is completely self contained and impacts others. Illegals' impact on these more important issues is not that great. However, making Illegals the only thing that matters is just a means of destroying the GOP.
There are not 20 millions here in any case.
Those among the GOP who voted the "wrong" way are not insane because they don't fall over backwards at the antics of the Hysterical. Besides from any observation of events many millions more support the Illegals than don't. Where are the marches or other visible evidence the anti-Illegal side is so popular?
Ah...we already have a guest worker program. The only way to table the issue is to repeal it. Or begin every public sentence with "I promise not to propose any changes to the guest worker program already in place because the term 'guest worker' makes your eyes go all buggy and your mouths go all foamy", which would be amusing, but probably leave him panting by the middle of the speech, even in the shape he's in.
I don't think CWO has any intention of asking Bush to hold off on a guest worker program before border security is in place, despite the clear history of such being a mistake.
They'd grouse a little and then drop it. They sure as heck wouldn't go rabid if a Democrat "proposed" it.
Lord dealing with these maroons gets tiresome. Where is the Not This S... Again guy?
Nothing like what Bush is promoting. I really think it would be in the best interests of this country and the GOP for Bush to just drop it. But since the Senate just passed a royal stinker of an immigration bill, I expect Bush to now try and stab the House GOP in the back by trying to peel off a few RINOs to join the Dems.
Gawd, when George W. Bush is running to the left of Richard Byrd on this matter, you know he is doing the wrong thing. RICHARD BYRD!
I was an Army brat so local speech patterns didn't much phase me. In 1976 I brought my pregnant wife, from northern Minnesota, eh' (I mean northern, they thought Minneapolis-St.Paul was where the Mason-Dixon Line was), to Elizabeth City, NC.
I spent the first year interpreting for her and the locals. I still remember that look on her face when a waitress offered her Hush Puppies.
How many times do I have to ask you to leave me off your screeds? Please just peddle your BS elsewhere.
I know it is tiresome when the serfs don't just bow down and do what they are told.
That's where I think both sides are missing the boat. There needs to be a LEGAL, DOCUMENTED guest worker program, and perhaps some of those who are here illegally could apply to become legal, documented guest workers. I think that is where the President should make his proposal: Those who are here illegally can apply to become legal guest workers, but if people here illegally are identified and have not applied for legal status then they should be deported and ineligible to return to the US. Come up with a plan that becomes workable, but don't reward people with shortcuts to citizenship just because they have gotten away with breaking our laws for a long time. There has got to be middle ground between the "round them all up and march them back across the border" side and the 3-tiered amnesty-lite plan in the senate bill.
In case you missed it, the initial post was to both of us. I responded to the poster after you and I responded - and posting guidelines say I need to ping you when I talk about you, Mr. Civility.
Yep, there and those stretches of strawberry farms etc. around Asheville. And last I heard they aren't hiring college students for help as much over in Highlands/Cashiers. I did a stint of about a month one summer over at one of the country clubs myself
Yes, many of them pose as single-issue right wingers (some actually are), but you'll notice that their single issue morphs over time with the controversy of the day.
They also wouldn't go out and vote for that Democrat.
"Fascinating. This is TN in reverse. We are also 3 states. Traditionally republican east"
The mountain folk were Republican when Abraham Lincoln was president, and never stopped being Republican. That's true of any state along the Appalachian mountains, from Pennsylvania on down, with the possible exception of unionized coal miners in KY and WV. But, that was pure economics, and the only instance where you'd ever get me to admit a union did anything but harm. They were still pretty conservative otherwise, for the most part.
Welcome to the crisis de jour...if there ain't one we'll make one up.
A wide range of people, including folks such as Krauthammer who believe those here already should be allowed to stay, also believe we have to control our borders first. ANY actions taken now, from amnesty to a guest worker program to complete deportation, or any mix thereof, is doomed to fail until we control the migration process into this country - just as Reagan's amnesty failed because there was no subsequent upgrades of enforcement and border security.
That is why it is so important to secure the borders first. We can have a good old-fashioned donnybrook later over what to do with those here and bang out a compromise. But doing such now is not just pointless - it will just make matters worse.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.