The Two Million Frog March (Why 9-12-2009 spells trouble for Republicans and Democrats alike)

September 15, 2009 | cc2k

[cc2k]

There’s an old story about frogs in a pot. If you turn the heat up slowly enough you can cook them alive because by the time they notice that it’s too hot in the pot, the have lost their ability to jump out.

Think of the American people as the frogs. And Washington DC as the kitchen. Over the years (many many years, like since at least the 1930’s, perhaps since the teens of last century), both political parties have been advocates of cooking the frogs. The Republicans have advocated a slow simmer, because if you cook the frogs too quickly, they jump out of the pot. The Democrats favor a high, rolling boil.

In 2008, Democrats won big in the elections, and they looked at how much the Republicans had turned up the heat in the last ten years and figured the frogs are finally dead. So, they thought, “let’s put the burner up to high and finish cooking them.” To their surprise, the frogs started jumping out of the pot.

That’s what has happened this year, starting with the TEA parties, continuing through the summer town hall meetings, and reaching a crescendo at the 9-12-2009 march on Washington. The frogs are out of the pot now, and they are mad as hell.

Now, the newly freed frogs are looking around the kitchen, and recognizing the voices they heard while they were in the pot, they realize that the Republicans were the ones saying, “Go slow. Just simmer them for a good long time, they will be so tender that way.” And they recognize the Democrats as the ones that were saying, “Yes, but we’re hungry now. We have to boil them quickly, we need to eat soon.”

The problem is the frogs don’t want to be cooked. They are looking for someone who favors turning off the stove and setting the remaining frogs free. And they aren’t finding anyone taking that position.

The Republicans might think they can harness this passion, get in front and lead this movement. But, for most of them, they are really leading in the wrong direction. They have to turn around and run fast to get to the front of this movement. It’s going the other way.

And there are so many “history revisors” trying to convince you that not only is everything that Obama and the Democrats propose is bad, but they want you to believe that everything bad that has happened has been because of Democrats. They tell you Republicans have always been on your side. This just isn’t true, and most of the frogs know it.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve heard so much “news” about how we got to where we are. I call it “news” because it doesn“t match what I know to be true. It is an attempt by Republican supporters to convince you to support them. The want you to believe that the Republicans had nothing to do with how we got to this point, and that they are the only solution to get us out of the bad spot we find ourselves in. Here are a few examples:

Revised “News”	The Truth
Obama took over the auto companies.	George W. Bush, in December of 2008, started this takeover by authorizing funds from the TARP program to be loaned to GM and Chrysler. Obama just picked up where George Bush left off, continuing the takeover, firing the CEO of GM and “investing” even more taxpayer money into both GM and Chrysler.
ACORN gets all funding from Democrat initiatives	Again, the Bush Administration authorized and disbursed funds to ACORN for various programs. Much of the $53,000,000 plus in taxpayer funds that have been given to ACORN over the years have been paid by the Bush Administration. And I’m fairly certain that many Republican Congress Critters and Senators have voted in favor of bills containing funding for ACORN over the years.
Republicans are the party of “smaller government.”	This might have been true in the past, perhaps even as recently as 1994-1998, but since 2001, the Republicans have consistently favored growth of big government programs: 1998, after approving 100% of what the Clinton administration requested for the Department of Education, Bill Clinton decided that if the Republicans agreed, then he obviously didn’t ask for enough. So he threatened to veto the FY 1999 spending bill unless additional increases were included. The Republicans caved and gave him even more money. 2001, No Child Left Behind. George W. Bush and Ted Kennedy agreed to another major expansion of the Department of Education. Remember, this was one of the departments that the 1994 “Contract with America” proposed to eliminate. 2001, Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage. A new entitlement, created by Republicans, costing into the hundreds of billions in the years since it passed, and adding many trillions to the unfunded future commitments to all American retirees. I could go on, but the explosion of “discretionary non-defense spending” under George W. Bush and the Republican Congresses from 2001 through 2005 or 2006 is fairly well documented.

I’ll be writing more pieces shortly detailing some things we can do to move in the right direction. We do need to educate ourselves, and our neighbors about many things. The situation we are in now is complex, and it can’t be fixed entirely through federal elections and the Congress. I do think we have to rebuild this country to get it back, but it needs rebuilding from the bottom up. And we must be much more vigilant. I hope people have awakened to the point where they will not easily be lulled back to sleep.

I’m not sure whether the Republican party can become part of the solution, or if it is so damaged and such an integral part of the problem that it can’t be saved. One thing is certain, without major restructuring and a commitment to the kind of changes we really need, they will be irrelevant at best, and an obstacle to be overcome at worst.

[Taxman]

I don’t feel like I have been called a FRog.

The point being made is that many Americans were being treated as if they were FRogs, and they did not know it.

They now know it. And, that is a good thing!

Because as the “FRogs” jumped out of the simmering kettle, they transmorgrified into Warriors!

LIEberals and RINOS are terrified of Warriors — particularly Warriors who are willing and able to fight for kith, kin and country.

We’ll find out in the next election just how willing the Newly Awakened American Warrior is.

As my FRiend, Interesting Times is fond of saying, “These are Interesting Times.”

[cc2k]

MNJohnnie wrote (on another thread):

Kind of curious why there is such desperation to link Republicans and Democrats together as enemies of the 09-12 movement? Seems to me this is an attempt to diver attention from the real problem rather then facing the problem squarely. Seems to be there is an unwillingness to look at the real enemies in this desperation to defend Democrats and smear Republicans.

All elected Democrats, 100% of them, are at odds with the stated agenda of the 09-12 Movement. Some Republicans are enemies of the 09-12 movement, Most are not. A number of them, Like Mike Pence SPOKE to the 09-12 Rally.

So how about people focus on the REAL enemy instead of fraudulent trying to paint Democrats and Republicans with the same brush?

I thought this would be more appropriately answered on this thread.

Actually, I recommend reading the whole article at the top, and also my post #39. Those contain some answers to your questions.

I think your estimate of the Republicans is optimistic. There are some good Republicans. Mike Pence is one of them. He did vote against the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. On the other hand, he has voted several times to cut off debate and bring large (hundreds of pages) bills to a floor vote before he has had a chance to read the bill, and before the bill has been published on the Internet for sufficient time for any of his constituents to read the bill. I don’t consider that a good thing. And he’s approaching the time where I think term limits should be set (by voters if not by law).

The Republicans are hoping your memory is short, and that you don’t pay attention. That’s the key to victory for them. But in reality, they have been the party of sustainable socialism for at least the last ten years, perhaps longer.

I can also give one example from a fund raising letter and "Obama Agenda Survey" that I just received from the RNC. One of the questions in that survey was:

---

Do you believe the federal government has gone too far in bailing out failing banks, insurance companies and the auto industry?

---

My response to that question is this: Yes, I do. But tell me, Chairman Steele, does the Republican party believe they went too far, about far enough, or that they didn’t go far enough when they voted on the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. That legislation was proposed by a Republican Administration, a Republican Treasury Secretary appointe by a Republican President. Thirty four Republican Senators and ninety-one Republican Representatives in the House voted for that legislation. I personally feel that went too far as well. You won’t be receiving any donations from me if any of this money will be used to support those Representatives and Senators who voted for that bill.

---

From the desk of cc2k:

Term Limits from the Grass Roots The Two Million Frog March (Why 9-12-2009 spells trouble for Republicans and Democrats alike)

[MNJohnnie]

Only problem with this simplistic “A plague on both their houses” dogma is it is totally divorced from fact.

Find it odd how desperate some supposed "Conservatives" are to keep from ever actually holding the Democrat Party accountable for their actions. Why is that?

No matter what happens these "Conservatives" ALWAYS have to make some shallow argument about how it not really the Democrats who are to blame and "the GOP is just as bad". No they are not as the facts clearly show.

Bush's last deficit. $160 billion

The 0’s 1st defect $1.6 TRILLION

[MNJohnnie]

Find it odd how you conveniently forget to mention which party controlled the Congress and the Senate when the TARP bill you so stridently object to passed.

I will meet you half way. Yes, the GOP screwed up. SO WHAT?

They are now the minority party without even enough votes to stage a filibuster in the Senate. A more proper analogy for you might cutting off your nose to spite your face. The GOP wasn't perfect so you all fired them to elect the 0. And just what did that buy you? Every flaw in the GOP you stridently object multiplied 1000 times. Curious why you are so desperate to avoid ever holding the Democrat Party accountable?

Why avoid the 90% of the problem to fixate on the 10%? How about you actually try focusing at least some of your energy on the 90%?

Why spend all your time screaming about past mistakes rather then focusing on current ones? Seems to me all you are accomplishing here is deflecting legitimate criticism from the current regime onto the past one.

Which oddly is also the standard PR tactic of the 0 regime. Blame everything on the last regime rather then own up to it's current errors

[CharacterCounts]

I don't think the Republicans are "just as bad". But, I do think the Republicans as currently situated enable the Democrats.

We cannot ignore the fact that there is a third element at play here. It is the ever growing impact of lobbyists and the campaign funds they control. Both parties are controlled far too often and enjoy way to close of a relationship with the special interest groups.

Rather than start a third party or try to change the party from within, conservatives drive both parties to the right from outside the party. The Tea Party movement is the perfect vehicle for this. Fear of not getting reelected is a huge motivating factor.

Republican and even Democrats are not the real enemy - leftist special interest groups are the enemy.

[cc2k]

MNJohnnie wrote:

Find it odd how desperate some supposed "Conservatives" are to keep from ever actually holding the Democrat Party accountable for their actions. Why is that?

First, you completely mis-state my position. I believe that every Democrat should be voted out of office. They are the party of Marxism. They do not represent what I believe this country should be. They want to go against everything I believe in. I am in no way defending Democrats. I never have, and I probably never will. How you even think you can set up that straw man is beyond me. You are totally dishonest in your statements there.

MNJohnnie wrote:

No matter what happens these "Conservatives" ALWAYS have to make some shallow argument about how it not really the Democrats who are to blame and "the GOP is just as bad". No they are not as the facts clearly show.

Bush's last deficit. $160 billion

First, about those facts, have you checked yours? The budget deficit for FY 2008 was $438,xxx,xxx,xxx, not the $160,xxx,xxx,xxx that you stated. And, if you check the numbers for total public debt, you’ll find that in FY 2008, total debt rose by over $1,000,000,000,000 (that’s a trillion by the way), so there is something screwy with the deficit number being so low that year.

And I held that FY 2001 was a Clinton year, mostly because he signed the bills passed by the Congress in 2000 that set up that year.

For FY 2009, the equation is more complex. The stimulus spending, $787,xxx,xxx,xxx is 100% Obama. The TARP and spending attached to the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 was 100% Bush.

I also hold all spending increases over FY2008 against the Republicans. Here’s why. When the Omnibus 2009 spending bill was being pushed through the House and Senate, Obama wanted it done and out of the way. The leadership in both houses wanted it done and out of the way. There were 12 to 15 Democrat Senators who were very nervous about the huge spending increases in the Omnibus bill. McCain proposed a spending freeze as a substitute for the Omnibus bill. If the Republicans could have held together 38 or 39 votes for the McCain substitute, it would have passed with votes from the Democrat Moderates. But the Republican leadership couldn’t hold even 35 votes together for McCain’s spending freeze amendment (I think the final count was 31 or 32 Republicans, not enough for the moderate dems to get it over 50 votes), so we got the Omnibus bill with the huge spending increases. Do not tell me that was the Democrats fault. It was Republicans who enabled those increases when they had an opportunity to stop them with a spending freeze. Overall, FY 2009 spending and deficits are probably split nearly evenly between Democrats (Marxists) and Republicans (Sustainable Socialists) about evenly in my mind.

I know I probably won’t convince you. You can continue to believe that “Republicans have always been the party of smaller government and fiscal responsibility.” I’m sure you also believe that Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia.

---

From the desk of cc2k:

Term Limits from the Grass Roots The Two Million Frog March (Why 9-12-2009 spells trouble for Republicans and Democrats alike)

[MNJohnnie]

Sarah Palin

That right there give the lie to your notions about “the GOP maybe being too damaged to be saved”.

The problem here is your start with a fraudlent assumption (Democrats and Republicans are the same) then build your whole arguement on that mistaken assumption instead of looking at the issue with a serious, balanced view of the facts

You seem curiously afraid to hold the Democrat Party leadership to account and instead want to focus all attention on the past mistakes of the GOP. Why is that?

Why are you so afraid of actually calling the Democrat Party to account? Why do you fixate on the 10% of the problem while stridently ignoring the 90% core of the problem?

[cc2k]

Wow, is the GOP Paying you by the post for this stuff?

For the record, I don’t think I’ve ever voted for a Democrat. And I hold both parties responsible for the current mess. From now on, I’m looking at individual candidates, their stand on the issues, and their values which form their position.

I will no longer vote for someone because they are better than the alternative. I know where that leads. It leads to exactly where we are today.

Going forward, I will only vote for someone who I believe is a good choice. I will vote for candidates who share my beliefs and values. I will vote for candidates who wish to move this country in the direction I believe is correct and good. If the GOP can’t deliver candidates like that, I’ll look elsewhere.

And I think my position is in line with the entire 9-12 project goals, and with the tea party protests.

[MNJohnnie]

So, in a nutshell, Having mistakenly fallen in love with a fraudulent notion about the GOP, you would rather cling to that mistake set of assumption rather then admit your error and deal with the real problem. Here is a basic fact you seem completely incapable of facing.

All of the things you are so hyper angry at the GOP about took place WITH A DEMOCRAT controlled Congress.

The Legislative, not the Executive branch, crafted all the legislation you are so upset about. Bush had a choice sign it or do nothing. In retrospect he should of done nothing. That would of been the better choice but he did not choose that path.

Spending all your time squally about the GOP merely helps obfuscate the Democrats role in crafting all that legislation you are so upset by.

Rather then focus on the 90% of the problem, you are spending all your time and energy focusing on the past mistakes of the GOP.

I am still waiting to hear SOME rational explanation for why you are so afraid to take on the Democrats.

Everything you are posting is only designed to deflect attention AWAY from the Democrat Party's current, and past, misdeeds by focusing on, or exaggerating, the GOPs sins. Merely recirculating the same argument does not answer that question. Why are you afraid to focus on the Democrats and the O regime? Why are you clinging desperately to past GOP errors instead of focusing on past, and current, Democrat Party conduct?

I will hazard a guess here. I am guessing you are a typical third party activist. Rather then focus honestly, and factually, on the issues at hand, you hope to hijack the 09-12 movement into backing your personal fringe political cause. I suspect you think that if you repeatably post and repost these fraudulent threads attacking the GOP you will some how attract the 09-12ers to your choose political cause.

No other explanation fits why you are so hyper active in spamming this fraudulent doctrine about the GOP everywhere and anywhere you can on this board.

[CRBDeuce]

A 3 party USA would look exactly like the communist USA Obama has planned for you. France found that out years ago. They’ll be lucky to pull out of the dive before Sharia Law takes over.

[oneamericanvoice]

So you aren’t going to vote anymore, right?

[oneamericanvoice]

So you aren’t going to vote anymore, right?

It is the voter’s fault. Those on the Right who identify as Conservatives couldn’t get behind a candidate that could win. It was like being in a real life version of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”. They stayed home to teach America a lesson, or played the “high ground” card. Well, their actions gave us Obama.

[OneWingedShark]

>>Think of the American people as the frogs.
>
>No way.

Why not? There have always been allegories and anologies between animals and people. Jesus compared his followers to sheep, and even further in the day of judgment He separates the sheep from the goats. Jesus also used a sparrow (which is sold in the market for a low price) to illustrate the worth that God puts on PEOPLE... because if not even a little sparrow can fall to the ground w/o God noticing how much more someone that He created in His own image?

[OneWingedShark]

Question: What results came about from the Republican controlled WH and Congress (just after 11Sep)? What major party-platform policies did they address?

*They did not address abortion, not even a bill to restore the right to recognize as murder to the individual states.

*They did not seriously address illegal immigration and border security. (Massive inconvenience at airports <> more or better security.) The half-measure that they DID do was authorize Operation Jump-Start, which had national guard deployed along the borders watching/reporting illegals to the Border Patrol... they MASSIVELY failed in that they did not allow active, forceful protection of the border. (as in Shoot to Kill)

*They instituted the Patriot Act and Department of Homeland Security; as the report from DHS on rightwing extremism shows they are more focused on advancing their politics under guise of “security” rather than ACTUAL security. {Side note: Ben Franklin, I believe, said: “Those who trade their freedom for security deserve neither.”}

Remember here I am talking about the Republican party as a whole, not about Pr Bush... he did what he could to end the abortions he could with the Mexico City policy; and he also led the charge against embryonic stem-cell research.

[Texas Fossil]

These frogs have teeth and fangs.

Here is the target list.

“Who brought US to this point? Congressional Score Card.”

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2341921/posts

I plan to do the same type of analysis for the Senate.

[savage woman]

Sometimes I(the frog who jumped out) envision:

By 2010 Sarah Palin has found some honest, reliable,
patriots (not politicians) to stand for the people,
by the people. One for each state that is up for
reelection. They will come with the Constitution and a new document in their hand (declaring how they will bring
back the America that we love). It will be signed by
all members of her special brand of hand picked Americans.

It doesn’t matter what name you give it (Democrat,Republican,Frogs), just come forth with a pack
of true and honest leaders.

I would like to see this group - not speak to the ABC,NBC, etc...crowd, and to never speak alone, but to band together as one talking group when ever they can...

Because it does take an army to get your message across.
And We The People or Frogs or whatever will come jumping
across this beautiful land...

[YankeeReb]

The GOP needs to stop worrying about being an "inclusive" "big tent" party and actually stand for the constitution. Cut taxes, require sunset provisions on all government programs, so the ones not working will expire, term limits for congress and maybe even judges. In short get the government at the federal, state and local levels to a manageable size. While we're at it close the borders and make US immigration policy serve US needs as opposed to Wal-Mart and McDonalds needs.

If they can become the small government party and mean it, then they'll become a big all inclusive party, because people will gravitate towards them.

[rawcatslyentist]

>"Now, the newly freed frogs are looking around the kitchen, and recognizing the voices they heard while they were in the pot, they realize that the Republicans were the ones saying, “Go slow. Just simmer them for a good long time, they will be so tender that way.” And they recognize the Democrats as the ones that were saying, “Yes, but we’re hungry now. We have to boil them quickly, we need to eat soon.”

And some people don't believe there was a talking snake in the Garden!

They Rule US. It sucks big ones.

[rawcatslyentist]

>"CFR is a huge breach on the First Amendment when it comes to election time."

Thank you Juan (I shredded the 1st - 1st) McLame!

Tell us again how we "HAVE" to vote R.... Rush?