Replies

SunTzuWu wrote:

I see, it's all Bush's Fault. Now where have I heard that before?

You haven’t heard that from me. Ultimately it is our own fault as voters. We have chosen the wrong Presidents, the wrong Congress Critters, the wrong Senators. But we’ve also chosen weak State Legislatures, Governors, county commissioners and all the way down to the local level. Our representatives and executives at the lower levels should also have been standing up and rigorously defending their own powers, instead of allowing Washington DC to usurp many of those powers.

As for Presidents, Bush gave us his share of problems. A fairly large increase in total dollars flowing to Washington DC, A large increase in discretionary spending. A new entitlement. But that certainly wasn’t the start of our problems.

Bill Clinton — deregulated banks, blurred the lines between investment banks and commercial banks, expanded “fair housing” setting the stage for the sub-prime meltdown of 2007.
George H.W. Bush — Tried to increase revenues by raising taxes, though that didn’t work and that flip-flop, combined with the economic consequences it caused got him out of office after a single term.
Ronald W. Reagan — Nearly doubled (though less if you adjust for inflation) federal revenues under the color of “tax cuts.” Presided over massive spending increases in all areas. Tried to “save” and thereby perpetuate the Ponzi scheme known as Social Security.
James E. Carter — <Bandwidth restrictions exceeded.>
Richard M. Nixon — Many transgressions, most notable, he thought he could dictate the price of everything and everyone’s wages
Lyndon B. Johnson — Promoted (in a big way) the involvement of the Federal Government in Health Care.
John F. Kennedy — Again, dramatically increased federal revenues under the color of tax cuts, enabling massive spending growth.

I’ve reached the limit of what I personally have observed (actually exceeded it slightly as I was born during Kennedy's time).

AmericanVictory wrote:

Did the frogs who were being cooked go out and send gun and ammo sales through the roof? There is a difference between frogs and patriots.

Actually, the frogs simmering in the pot haven’t done that so much. Those sales are to the frogs who have jumped out of the pot. And don’t ascribe a negative connotation to the term “frog” as used in this story. It was chosen only to fit with the story of the pot, and raising the temperature slowly.

sourcery wrote:

The only way to get such a party is by a) converting your friends and neighbors from couch potatoes into informed voters who know and understand the political philosophy of our nation's Founders, and b) voting for the right people in the primaries, and then the general election. Don't expect such candidates to magically appear on the ballot, though. Getting them there is hard work, and it's our responsibility.

I'm in total agreement with you on this. See my post today, “Term Limits from the Grass Roots.”

oneamericanvoice wrote:

What is your prognosis for the Democrats? Change can only happen if people stay in the (Republican)Party and take action to "steer the ship" back on course. No excuses of not having the time, etc. I was a Democrat and a liberal. Briefly, I was Declined to State until I realized that DTS, Independents, and Libertarians are only "feel good" measures. They have no weight and never will.

I’m not sure about the Dems. In theory, they could return to recognizing Constitutional limits and returning powers to the states and the people. But it would take a lot to convince me that any individual candidate would actually stand up for Constitutional principles. And I don’t have much hope that the party as a whole ever will. Any Congressional candidate who wanted my support would have to pledge full support to Constitutional limits, vote in accordance with that pledge (or no re-election, and possibly even a recall campaign), and they would have to tell me who they would vote for as Speaker of the House. No votes for Pelosi or any other liberal usurpers in that position.

ReagansShinyHair wrote:

I thought the general message is that this is an opportunity for the Republicans...to become a party of smaller government, etc. I suspect that part of the reason the Dems won is because Republicans are angry about all the out of control spending of the last XX years. The frogs already started to jump out of the pot, and they didn’t vote Republican.