Now That Bush Has Sold Us Out... What are we going to do about it? (vanity)

[Cultural Jihad]

There is one big problem with that. The problem being that people are stupid. Good ideas scare people. Solutions instill anxiety in those who thrive from the problem. To fix things would destabilize the status quo and those stupid people don't want that. Sometimes a house gets too run down to repair. Sometimes there are tenants in that house that do not want to have it fixed. Sometimes you have to allow the house to fall on the people that live inside and start over.

You may choose to sneer at people and applaud the destruction of civilization, but the vast majority of those supposedly stupid people can smell an ideologue's death trap a mile away. "It's just because of their stupidity that I am not in charge, running things the correct way, yessiree." Such is the whine of every self-deluded true believer.

Shucks, if only people didn't have any worth or value we'd oblige your craving to tinker with civilization, watch it crumble and regroup all you want to in your search for that Final Solution.

[Texasforever]

Those dirty Republicrats Just for the moment let’s accept that the various 3rd parties main goal is smaller government and the reason they hate the GOP is that the Republicans are no different than the Democrats regarding the size and scope of the Federal Government. Starting from that premise let’s review the reality of the last 10 years staring with the first Clinton term in which democrats held both the executive and legislative branches of the government.

First out of the bag was Clinton’s demand that Gays be allowed to openly serve in the military. It was the Republicans, in the minority, that stopped that fiasco dead in it’s tracks.

Next came Hillary Care. The largest expansion of Government since the New Deal. Once again the Minority Republicans aborted this monstrosity. Do they get credit from the 3rd parties? I think the answer is obvious.

Once the American people saw the consequences of having total control of the Government by the liberals they gave both Houses to the Republicans. To hear 3rd parties tell it the Republicans took this golden opportunity and just sat on their thumbs , or worse yet acted more like Democrats than Democrats. But once again you need to look at the reality

First there was that little thing called the “Contract with America”. Do any 3rd parties ever mention that? It consisted of 10 items 8 of which were pushed through congress over the steady howls of the Media and Democrats. The most important of those 8 items were the “End of Welfare Entitlement”, and the “balanced Budget requirement”.P> The ending of welfare was the greatest reduction of domestic spending in history. Does that not count for advocating smaller government and doing something about it? I guess not to a 3rd parties.
The Balanced Budget requirement led directly to the surpluses we have now and hopefully in the future given the economic expansion since the mild recession in 1992 and the now extinct 2001 recession..
Then the democrats made somewhat of a comeback in 1996 and Clinton decided to flex his muscles a little by another little gem the “patients bill of rights”. It was not the democrats that stopped it was once again those “Republicrats” as the 3rd parties like to call them..
But the “Columbine Massacre” gave the democrats and Clinton another opening on gun control. An entire flurry of draconian gun control bills were put forward in the congress and once again it was Republicans that stood up and took the “bullet” from the soccer moms and the media and made sure those bills never passed out of committee. But I guess 3rd parties can’t believe a Republicrat could ever stand with the Constitution.

As to the Republican “cowardice in pursuing Bill Clinton the CROOK. I guess the 3rd parties forget a little thing called IMPEACHMENT! Yes a few Republican Senators did not do their duty, but 90% of them did, I am sure you can find 10% of “3rd parties” that would have voted not to remove also.

3rd parties take an almost perverted pleasure in pointing out to Republicans that they have been duped. I would have to say that 3rd parties are the ones being duped by their perpetual candidate. He knows he will never be elected but if every Brigadier gives him just one dollar a year to write his angry rants and pretend to campaign once every 4 years, that five hundred grand a year makes a pretty comfortable lifestyle. Pat Buchanan caught on to this very quickly.

Now we are 14 months into the first term of a Republican president in an election the likes of which we have never seen before and according to all the “experts“ installed the first 1st term lame duck with NO political power at all. In his first week in office, Bush nullified 6 Clinton Executive orders and put all of them on indefinite hold.
In the first two months he told the EU to go to blazes on the Kyoto accords that would have raised the cost of doing business a minimum of 20% for every company in the United States which in turn would have been passed directly to each and every one of us in the form of price increases on every item we purchase. He then itold the senate that he would NOT sign the ridiculous “ergonomics“ regulations that would have added another 10% cost of doing business and resultant pass through to us
He then pulled funding from the UN in programs that pushed abortion. He told the UN to go to blazes on their little “conference on racism” that was nothing more than a bash Israel orgy.
He then started pushing for his tax cut, and once again, the “experts” including many on this sites, started snickering. He would never get it done, but step by step he, GASP, won over enough democrats to get the EXACT tax cut he promised

Once John Ashcroft survived his Senate confirmation hearings his first action was to completely reverse the Reno DOJ stance on the 2nd ammendment from encompassing only the militia (National Guard) to the individual right to bear arms of all law abiding citizens.

He then started pushing for military budget increases. He was not asking for massive new weapons systems, just the funding to at least change the spark-plugs in the Humvees and to try to give our military men and women a raise that would allow them to someday fight a war without being on food stamps. Once again, the “experts” scoffed. We are at PEACE they sneered let’s enjoy the “PEACE DIVIDEND”.
Then came Sept. 11 2001, 9 months into this man’s first year of his first term. The United States of America was delivered the most stunning wake-up call in our history and all eyes turned to this “lame duck” president. The yokel from Texas. For just a brief moment the “experts” were left speechless but not Bush. What would he do? He told us quickly that he would not send a 3 million dollar missile to hit a camel in the butt. That one little Texas bit of humor cloaked a final message to the world. There is going to be hell to pay, and we are seeing the results in real time.

Now the “experts” , feeling secure again, have found their voices and it is business as usual. The left, scared to death, that 80% of this country is approving of this “boob” even when they have so very patiently tried to tell them they should not are in full throat.. Those on the right that hold themselves out to be the arbiter of all things “conservative” are once again ready to bring down this “CINO” and are completely willing to pull just enough support away to get a democrat elected in 2004. While you 3rd parties are beating up on the GOP for being Repulicrats, stop and think just exactly what would have happened in just the last 10 years had they not been there to stop the real enemy. Then stop and ask yourselves where have you been? What have you done in the last 14 months? Where are the tax cuts that you are responsible for? Where are Federal Government regulations that you have repealed? Where are the actions you have taken since 911 to make a constructive contribution to the war effort? Where have you been?

[Nix 2]

Those on the right that hold themselves out to be the arbiter of all things “conservative” are once again ready to bring down this “CINO” and are completely willing to pull just enough support away to get a democrat elected in 2004

As of yesterday, President Bush also instructed the DOJ to intervene and help the state uphold its Partial Birth Abortion ban in Ohio, even though it is a STATE Law that pro-abortionists are seeking to have overturned. If it is overturned by the Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, it bodes not well for pro-lifers who now have a real sense of hope that the President is backing them 100%.
Kudos for this President. You who call him sneaky should watch what the man does and not let David Limbaugh or any other talking head assign their own reasons to what GW Bush has done or will do in the future, because up until this very moment, they have been 100% wrong.
Whoever doesn't know by now that Pat Buchannan is an underhanded political opportunist who depends on racists and bigots to even keep him treading water are flat out losers and their cause is hanging on his coattails because they think he represents conservatism. So I suppose the IRA is conservative and so is Lola baby. The quest for a legacy goes beyond Clinton. Buchannan's legacy is that he is a perpetual loser and will stop at nothing to keep his name in play, including money laundering.

[OldDominion]

bmp for later reading

[jpsb]

"The fact that 50% of our electorate doesn't vote"

50% of those eligible to register to vote register. Of those registered voters 50% vote. So the real is number is 25%. Which means that if you can get 13% of the adults in this country to vote for you, you get elected.

[BillofRights]

You are obviously a tireless cheerleader for Bush and the Republican Party. That's good for you. You have a much better chance of having this government operate YOUR way than MY way. However, if you look at the expansion of the federal government's power since about 1868, with particular emphasis on the period from the 1930's until present day, you will notice that the federal growth curve is virtually linear. No matter which Party is in power, the government grows, new programs are continuously created while none are ever eliminated, a stream of unConstitutional laws continue to be enacted, and individual freedom/responsibility continues to decline.

Every American tragedy is now a new government entitlement program. The government has unConstitutionally federalized education ($54 billion this year), they are federalizing private charity programs, and they have added over 30,000 (and climbing) new federal union members in the form of airport security. They allow the unConstitutional 16th Amendment and their strong-arm, gestapo collectors (IRS) to force the productive American citizens into slavery to the state and the unproductive. I could go on and on, as I'm sure you could about your positions.

Let's face it. You and I see the world entirely different. We have a different set of values and a different perspective about the kind of world in which we want to live. Be happy! You are winning. I'm losing! Freedom is losing!

[BillofRights]

Thanks for posting the link. I'll have to read it later when I have more time. It would be remarkable if it altered my pessimism, uh realism, about the future of freedom. We'll see.

[CaptBlack]

I've heard him criticize Republicans before. As for his "irrational hatred of Alan Keyes" (a mischaracterization and exaggeration, to be sure) and "third parties", as far as I'm concerned, his credibility is only enhanced by your description.

How does that logic obtain? The fact that someone criticizes an "icon" makes his iconic status that much more secure? Boy, I bet that really makes for some DEEP thoughtful self-analysis on Medved's part. He's never wrong in your book, apparently.

His own COLLEAGUE (a fellow hardcore Republican radio talk show host in Seattle) agreed with me in person about his irrational dislike for Keyes and hatred of third parties. I live and work in Seattle and have corresponded with Medved. How do YOU know him? Just because someone criticizes him, you rush to his defense? You sound as if you have the same knee-jerk reactions he does. It never ceases to amaze me on FR how when someone criticizes a favorite, there is a rush to suspect the critic's "credentials". Your whole point turns on the assumption that I'm part of the unwashed "not authentic" conservatives whose instincts are so wrong that you can count on the fact that whatever I espouse, must be bad, and whatever I hate confirms its goodness to you.
You don't know me.

If you want sustained, reasoned, careful thought, go with Thomas Sowell, George Will, Charles Krauthammer or Victor Davis Hanson. If you want minute detail accompanied with a lot of "because I said so" go with Medved.

[Texasforever]

You are obviously a tireless cheerleader for Bush and the Republican Party.

As I asked in my post, what have the 3rd parties done to advance the conservative cause? The answer seems to be nothing beyond whining and helping to get democrats elected.

[BillofRights]

As I said before, I'm not necessarily an advocate for a 3-, 4-, or 5-Party system. I am an advocate for our "public servants" (uh, masters) upholding and defending the Constitution, as they ALL swear to do immediately before they violate their oaths -- again and again and again!

I hold you and your ilk partially responsible for permitting both Democrats and Republicans, via your silence or defense, the repeated opportunities to lie to us and violate their oaths. Your kind is complicit in my and other Americans' loss of freedom.

[Texasforever]

I hold you and your ilk partially responsible for permitting both Democrats and Republicans, via your silence or defense, the repeated opportunities to lie to us and violate their oaths. Your kind is complicit in my and other Americans' loss of freedom.

I love the ILK comment,. a real ice breaker. Once again, what have you done to improve the situation? Do you have a solution that goes beyond stomping you feet and holding your breath? Put forward a short list of what you consider to be true blue conservative candidates that the public will accept and defeat Bush.

[BillofRights]

Hey, I've readily admitted that I'm on the losing end of this! It would take about 50 million Americans who are as angry as I am to be able to have an effect. And that's not happening. Like I said -- there are too many of your ilk to ever expect that politicians should actually honor their oaths. Look around the world, pal. Who's free? Look at the history of human civilization. How many have known true freedom? We had as much or more freedom as any society in history. And we lost it because of the likes of you! And I admit, you are among the majority. You win! I lose! Who cares about freedom anyway? It's apparently not meant to be!

[Texasforever]

And we lost it because of the likes of you!

Yeah, you have lost your "freedom". Get a grip.

[WRhine]

No he did not. You don't even know the reason for Reagan's amnesty nor the scope. If you want an example of a true blanket amnesty that was the gold standard. 3 million overnight, NO questions asked. Now for a cupie doll, why did Reagan push for that action?

Texasforever, jla after some research on this I CANNOT counter your claims. While it is true that Reagan's amnesty was poorly handled, from everything I have gathered it was the blanket amnesty that you described. Reagan sold it however as a one-time deal and final solution to end illegal immigration as we knew it back then. Of course the amnesty predictably only encouraged more illegal immigration.

Also, I could NOT find any remark from Reagan that suggested he thought his amnesty was a mistake or failure. I have queried a number of people about this and some think he did say something to this effect others were not sure so I'll concede that point to you also.

I enjoyed our exchange a few days ago. In the end the only thing I really care about is the truth, however that shakes out.

[Timesink]

That's a very classy thing for you to have just posted, WRhine. Not many others would have done so; they just would have tried to spin their way out of it.

[BillofRights]

I've got a grip, pal. You are the one who is deluded! Hope your children will enjoy being slaves to the state. They can thank you and your ilk for the gift! Our generation certainly passed along less freedom than we enjoyed. Should be all over, soon.

[Texasforever]

I enjoyed our exchange a few days ago. In the end the only thing I really care about is the truth, however that shakes out.

I also enjoy a rational debate and you just proved yourself a worthy opponent.

[BillofRights]

Thank you again for the link. I just finished reading it. It was a very interesting and informative perspective. However, I do not share the author's optimism about the prospects for freedom in the future. Like he said, Communism is socialism on the left and Fascism is socialism on the Right. Thus, the author's position confirms my belief about our 2 political parties -- the Democratic Party is socialist and the Republican Party is fascist. Both parties are collectivists and neither party promotes individualism. Many Americans seem to like it that way. I'm not one of them! And I don't see any force on the horizon capable of undoing what has been occurring in this country for 150 years, as well as globally. I remain pessimistic -- but enjoyed the read.