Its really marvelous.
Posted on 02/28/2009 5:32:56 PM PST by Phsstpok
The Sunday shows
Presented in the order they run in my area
NBC Meet The Press (David Gregory)
CBS Face The Nation (Bob Schieffer)
Fox News Sunday (Chris Wallace)
CNN State Of The Union (John King)
ABC This Week (George Stephanopoulos)
My Analysis
I've really only listed Democrat / liberal media memes above (and more (snarky) analysis than I probably should have up there), but there are Republican / Conservative memes, as well. They are primarily a sudden rediscovery of small government principles of personal freedom and budget discipline (national defense and fighting crime are next month's sudden discovery). Some of this is political posturing but (IMHO) it mostly reflects a civil war between the Conservatives and the "centrist" country club RINOs for control of the Republican party. This contest is represented this week by Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan and Jon Kyl, for the Conservatives, and Mike Murphy, perhaps Joe Scarborough and maybe even Robert Gates for the RINOs.
If the Conservatives win out for dominance in the party, as they seem to be doing, it's likely the "moderates" will walk. If the RINOs win out the Conservatives will almost certainly be purged or suppressed. The Bob Michel "go along to get along" types can't abide "troglodytes," don'tcha know? The media is starting a campaign to promote the "moderates" and attack and undermine the Conservatives. That's the significance, to me, of the stories like the one on Jon Kyl sponsoring a showing of Geert Wilders film, Fitna. There is a campaign to cast Wilders as the modern equivalent of Joseph Goebbels. Right or wrong, the media wants to tar Kyl (and by extension all conservatives) with the same "racist" brush.
If the Conservatives do win and the RINOs then walk, as I predict, I think that the Republicans can rebuild their party, and a significant majority, by giving a new and more effective home for libertarians. If the RINOs walk they'll either sit out, in a huff (unlikely), or form overt alliances with either the Blue Dogs and form a centrist bloc (natural, but also unlikely), or they'll sell out to the progressives in order to "get a seat at the table" and provide "balance" against those evil Conservatives (seemingly unnatural, but most likely IMHO).
The first scenario sets up a three way situation with the centrist providing advantage to either side on issues as they see fit, providing them enormous power. The latter scenario sets up two diametrically opposed philosophical camps and could lead to the kind of political conflicts not seen in this country since the mid 19th century. The reason I think scenario two is more likely is that I see the RINOs as fundamentally dishonest, unprincipled weasels driven mostly by prejudice, envy and spite and on my assessment that they despise the Blue Dogs as just "more of the same" as the Republican Conservatives they despise. They're more comfortable with Pelosi and Reid and their ilk sharing the country club than they are with "low life red necks" being in "their" government. It's that sense of entitlement that drives both the RINOs and the progressives. The obvious third scenario is that the RINOs win and then, inevitably, the apocalypse is at hand. Seriously, what it means is that it will be as if Ronald Reagan never existed and we'll be right back to Jimmy Carter's dystopian America in decline. I think that's what the Progressives and RINOs want (along with the isolationist Buchannanites... but that's for another day).
On the Republican side we've got this contest over who controls the party and for the next few months we'll see the settling out of these questions. On the Democrat side we've got the desperate balancing act Obama is trying to perform between his "lunatic left" supporters and the vast (and soon to be very vocal) majority of Americans. He has thoroughly pissed off his core supporters (along with rivals Pelosi and Reid) with his "half a loaf" moves on Iraq and Afghanistan. He needs to reassure the American people that he's not going to put them in danger at the same time he dismantles our defenses and surrenders to our enemies in the name of his ideology and in order to pay for his goody bag of payoffs to his special interest backers. I don't believe that he's "the messiah." I don't even believe that he's the great Wallenda. And remember, even Wallenda fell and was dashed on the ground. Obama is heading for a fall. We need to start positioning ourselves and our nation, even our world, to survive his collapse.
Whew! That's more pontificating than I've done in over a year!
An aside, before I post this: I made a point of posting George Will's column from yesterday here because I got banned from LGF for daring to support Will (who I'm no big fan of) over Charles Johnson's apparent devotion to the cause of anthropogenic global warming and the loopiest of Gorebots. I think my main crime was suggesting that his devotion to this cause was reminiscent of the most fringe elements of the creationist movement that appears to be his White Whale du jour (though he may have a full pod of whales, based on this incident). Even including (that's a joke) after that paragraph didn't assuage this Ahab's wrath. This from a man who has tried to take sole credit for uncovering Rathergate. I bet he stole the phrase "fauxtography," too.
PING
The Weekend Talk Show Preview thread is now up.
Beware. I have temporarily reverted to my old, over expressive, personae. Faint hearts should look away! Be warned.
Let’s see if we all survive this (that is a comment with many levels and meanings in this context)
Harold Ford is a snake.
Mike Murphy is an idiot.
I see Joe Scarborough is demanding a larger role.
LOL. Excellent pontificating, my friend.
As Carville says, it’s woah, and this time more is at stake then ever before.
I think that the worst thing some on our side do is let false premises and false statements stand, something Rush Limbaugh never does. I don’t understand why it’s so hard to put up a fight when you have the truth on your side, but some seem unable to do it, I guess because they don’t want to appear “mean.”
But the media will hate us and fight us at every turn, so it seems to me that every chance our side has to tell the truth, or yell the truth, they need to do it.
That's classic!
Pontificate all you like - it's always appreciated.
Junior, as us Memphis locals call him, is “a snake,” in that he is a liberal Democrat, but he’s someone I’d consider voting for, under the right circumstances. I put him in the same category as Moynihan, meaning a “basically honest partisan Democrat” (I know, an oxymoron), which makes him light years better than someone like Bill Clinton, let alone our current crop of National Socialist Fascist overlords.
If we’re going to get back to a sane two party system involving Republicans and Democrats then we need people like Harold Ford Jr on the other side. He’s partisan as the day is long, but he’s also both fundamentally honest (unlike the rest of his family) and, more importantly, competent.
He was very good at the basic job of a Congressman, which is representing his constituents when dealing with the mind numbing and soul destroying government bureaucracies. I have direct knowledge of him intervening on behalf of folks from neighboring districts when the government turned on it’s “customers.”
That is good information to have, Phsstpok.
BTW I have no doubt, after his speech this week, that in Obama-land he only cares about progressive America and the rest of us either have to get in line or he will railroad over us.
Wasn’t there something a week or so ago that Scarborough was thinking of running for Martinez’ seat?
Thank you, Phsstpok, enlightening as always.
Oh dear, I didn't see that. We have enough horrible people in the Senate already.
Thanks for your excellent analysis. I will miss all but the latest of programs tomorrow because of attending a later mass, but I will try to catch up when I return.
Thanks, I knew I saw it somewhere. Of course to read the different articles it’s Crists if he wants it and no others need apply. I don’t know who would be worse Scarborough or Crist...
Super job,P! Tomorrow’s MTP interview with Robert Gates should be informative to us all re the future of the Republican Party.
“Beware. I have temporarily reverted to my old, over expressive, personae. Faint hearts should look away! Be warned.”
Stay “reverted”. This is the side that I enjoy the most. Great thread!
Crist came in last in the straw poll from the Conservatives. Not that Scarborough would do any better.
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