Posted on 09/21/2012 8:43:12 AM PDT by xzins
Mitt Romney's comments about 47 percent of Americans being dependent on government and locked in to vote for President Obama highlight a fundamental reality in American politics today: The gap between the American people and the political class is bigger than the gap between Republicans and Democrats in Washington, D.C.
Romney's remarks are the GOP equivalent of Obama's notorious comments about small-town Pennsylvania voters bitterly clinging to their guns and religion.
Both Romney and Obama highlighted the condescending attitude that political elites hold of the people they want to rule over. A National Journal survey found that 59 percent of political insiders don't think voters know enough to have meaningful opinions on the important issues of the day. That's a handy rationalization for those who want to ignore the voters and impose their own agenda.
In the nation's capital, this gap creates bigger problems for Republicans than Democrats. Democratic voters tend to think that their representatives in Congress do a decent job representing them. That's because Democrats are a bit more comfortable with the idea of government playing a leading role in American society. However, 63 percent of Republican voters believe their representatives in Washington are out of touch with the party base.
Establishment Republicans in Washington broadly share the Democrats' view that the government should manage the economy. They may favor a somewhat more pro-business set of policies than their Democratic colleagues, but they still act as if government policy is the starting point for all economic activity.
Republican voters reject this view. They are more interested in promoting free market competition rather than handing out favors to big business. They detest corporate welfare and government bailouts, even though their party leaders support them.
The GOP base sees government as a burden that weighs the private sector down rather than a tool that can generate growth if used properly. Ninety-six percent of Republican voters believe that the best thing the government can do to help the economy is to cut spending and free up more money for the private sector.
The Republican base is looking for someone like a 21st century Ronald Reagan, who will display his faith in the American people. The Washington Republicans are more comfortable with politicians like George W. Bush, Bob Dole, John McCain and Mitt Romney. Though the establishment has dominated the party since Reagan left the White House, the 2012 election could well be the end of the line.
If Romney loses in November, the Republican base will no longer buy the electability argument for an establishment candidate. From the view of the base, the elites will have given away an eminently winnable election. Someone new, from outside of Washington, will be the party's nominee in 2016.
If Romney wins and does nothing to change the status quo, the economy will falter. He will end up as the second straight one-term president, and the nation will desperately be searching for an authentic outsider in 2016.
If he wins the White House, the only way for Romney to succeed will be to side with the nation's voters and throw out the club in Washington. That will be great news for the country but bad news for political insiders on both sides of the partisan aisle.
lol
Yep, they need those 24 hours of hate a day
Except, if you pass, you're likely to soil them anyway.
"First you say it, then you do it." - Bill Cosby
>>>If he wins the White House, the only way for Romney to succeed will be to side with the nation’s voters and throw out the club in Washington. That will be great news for the country but bad news for political insiders on both sides of the partisan aisle.<<<
This is a hell of a lot to hope for. I keep thinking that maybe Romney will be, so to speak, the sheep in wolves clothing - that the first thing he does coming into office is rescinding Kennedy’s executive order allowing federal employees to unionize, or deliberate defunding of many federal agencies, or wholesale firing of upper levels of entrenched liberal bureaucrats.
The only small clue I see is that he chose Paul Ryan as VP.
On the other hand, maybe this will be like the 1900 election - McKinley dies early in his term, allowing the younger and more vigorous VP to make his imprint on the presidency.
My gut feeling, sadly, is that we’re looking at another Republican caretaker who will go along to get along, and the left will continue its deliberate destruction of American society. Eventually, the society will collapse or convulse. I hope I’m wrong. God help us.
There are always complications with mom’s wisdom. :>)
I don’t think the GOP will change either. I think it will split. It’s happened before.
From what I understand, it is actually impossible to grow ourselves out of this debt burden we’ve accumulated quickly, that it will take decades if we hold spending down.
The ONLY way quickly to fix our debt problem is cuts.
We sell all the cadillacs and buy used Fords.
the following is just A, B, C, and W of agencies and departments. The remainder are found here: http://www.usa.gov/directory/federal/W.shtml
•AbilityOne Commission
•Access Board
•Administration for Children and Families (ACF)
•Administration for Native Americans
•Administration on Aging (AoA)
•Administration on Developmental Disabilities
•Administrative Committee of the Federal Register
•Administrative Conference of the United States
•Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
•Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
•African Development Foundation
•Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
•Agency for International Development (USAID)
•Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
•Agricultural Marketing Service
•Agricultural Research Service
•Agriculture Department
•Air Force
•Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau
•Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Bureau
•American Battle Monuments Commission
•AmeriCorps
•Amtrak
•Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
•Antitrust Division
•Appalachian Regional Commission
•Architect of the Capitol
•Archives (National Archives and Records Administration)
•Arctic Research Commission
•Armed Forces Retirement Home
•Arms Control and International Security
•Army
•Army Corps of Engineers
•Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Interagency Coordinating •Bankruptcy Courts
•Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program
•Bonneville Power Administration
•Botanic Garden
•Broadcasting Board of Governors
•Bureau of Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade
•Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
•Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
•Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection
•Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
•Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
•Bureau of Industry and Security
•Bureau of International Labor Affairs
•Bureau of Justice Statistics
•Bureau of Labor Statistics
•Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
•Bureau of Prisons
•Bureau of Reclamation
•Bureau of the Census
•Bureau of the Engraving and Printing
•Bureau of the Public Debt
•Bureau of Transportation Statistics
•Capitol Police
•Capitol Visitor Center
•Census Bureau
•Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
•Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
•Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
•Central Command (CENTCOM)
•Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
•Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board
•Chief Acquisition Officers Council
•Chief Financial Officers Council
•Chief Human Capital Officers Council
•Chief Information Officers Council
•Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee
•Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
•Civilian Radioactive Waste Management
•Coast Guard
•Commerce Department
•Commission on Civil Rights
•Commission on Fine Arts
•Commission on International Religious Freedom
•Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission)
•Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements
•Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States
•Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS)
•Community Planning and Development
•Compliance, Office of
•Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US CERT)
•Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
•Congressional Research Service
•Constitution Center
•Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
•Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
•Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
•Copyright Office
•Corporation for National and Community Service
•Corps of Engineers
•Council of Economic Advisers
•Council on Environmental Quality
•Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
•Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
•Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
•Court of Federal Claims
•Court of International Trade
•Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia
•Customs and Border Protection
•Washington Headquarters Services
•Weather Service
•West Point (Army)
•Western Area Power Administration
•White House
•White House Commission on Presidential Scholars
•White House Office of Administration
•Women’s Bureau (Labor Department)
•Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Palin is about 1:20 in, I think she was in Vegas, I didn't like the new look either.
“A thriving economy will change the direction of the country and re-build families and belief in God.”
You have it COMPLETELY backward. Putting morality FIRST, will be followed by a stronger economy, etc. Prosperity NEVER breeds morality....but morality will lead to a healthy economy. A “moral” people know you don’t spend what you don’t have.....fiscal conservatism. Get morality right, and everything else falls into place.
If you believe the Bible and study it, you will find that during times of “prosperity” in the O.T. - the depravity of Israel was at its worse. They were very far from God.
LOL!! Yeah, those guys!
I want to believe that, but as they say, "Demographics is Destiny", and this just isn't the same country as it was when we were growing up. These generations haven't faced the kind of hardships the previous generations did. I think they will wilt fairly easily when the SHTF....hope I'm wrong, but that's how I see it.
Romney pulled a boner with his remark sounding so final. He should have said (and I have no qualms in giving younger people rapprochements) was that he was setting out to show the 47% just how wrong they were in going down the path of socialism/communism that Obama was taking them. He needed to show the 47% that the USA has always been a better world than that of Obama and his enablers even if they are now ,just for now, enjoying the bribes that take away the dignity which has always been in the USA. Where is the smarts of Romney’s advisers and even perhaps Romney himself.
Reminds me of earlier this evening when one of our girls had a hissy fit because we ran out of the type of jelly she likes for peanut butter sandwiches (had other kinds on hand). But then I saw a 60+ year old woman do the same thing a few days ago when the Diet Coke dispenser at Burger King didn't work. So I don't know. Most all of us may have become soft during the easy living of the past few decades. Everyone (including me) seems to feel entitled to ever increasing abundance and plenty. I keep extensive emergency food supplies on hand but shudder to think think what what kind of interpersonal strife we're going to face when the fat lady sings and that's just within the family (not suggesting anyone here is overweight)!
Anyone who thinks that Romney is the end of the GOP~e go along to get along suck as much donkey dick as they can, I have a bridge that I want to sell you in New York Harbor. Small bills only no consecutive serial numbers on the bills please.
Big Business is an extension of Big Government.
[[Sorry, Cott, but you and your friends are the ones who are not representative of the GOP. Real conservatives aren’t welcome in the club]]
Oh Good golly!!! You mean I’m ‘not allowed in ‘the’ club”? Egads- My life is ruined-
Me and my friends? What friends woudl that be? I dissagree that Mitt represents the many good peopel in the GOP and all of a sudden I’m categorized as a NON Republican? Lol-
as I said- there are many good peopel in the GOP- and simply because America nominated the worst of the rhinos doesn’t mean the whoel Republican party walks lock-step with Romney- lol- Good Golly!
[[You have it COMPLETELY backward. Putting morality FIRST, will be followed by a stronger economy, etc. Prosperity NEVER breeds morality]]
Careful- although you speak the truth- you’re in danger of being ‘kicked out of hte club’ lol
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