Posted on 05/17/2006 7:47:58 AM PDT by Pukin Dog
Edited on 05/17/2006 8:30:59 AM PDT by Lead Moderator. [history]
"A house divided against itself cannot stand." – Abraham Lincoln, 1858
It is getting somewhat strange around these parts when not only the President, but yesterday the First Lady was personally attacked by someone claiming to be a ‘Conservative’. Can there be any doubt that there are forces among us looking to drive a wedge between us?
A few weeks ago, this forum’s owner attempted to remind all of us of the big picture, that regardless of any personal animosity towards the President or Republican Party over their adherence to Conservative principles, that they are still a clear choice over the alternative Democrat Party rule. At that time, I assumed that FReeper-sanity had been restored, and that some of the negative rhetoric aimed at those in Washington D.C. would be dialed back.
Free Republic is a political forum with a proud history and vision, responsible for dragging Dan Rather from his post, and providing countless radio-talk shows with their daily talking points. FReepers are unique in their determination and energy towards protecting and defending the goals of our Founding Fathers.
We are also quite a powder keg of emotion and anticipation, expecting our Republican majorities to take advantage of this opportunity to make permanent gains in our Conservative agenda. Some might argue that this opportunity has been squandered, but those persons would be ignorant of history, lacking understanding that change cannot occur overnight in Washington, and that this is the way our Founders designed our Republic.
In frustration, impatience, and ignorance, we have allowed this forum to become a haven for those who do not share our Conservative goals. I do not blame our enemies anymore then I would blame a scorpion for stinging me. If anger and stupidity were one’s nature, I would expect the trolls that infect this forum to be angry and stupid consistently, which also makes them somewhat easy to detect.
The trolls are not the problem, though. The problem is that so many of us are allowing ourselves to be taken in by those who seek only to prevent us from going to the polls in November to keep their stinking hands off our government for another term. There can be no doubt, that no matter how disappointing our current government has been in promoting the Conservative agenda, that the alternative, enabled by our staying home will be MUCH worse.
The way to deal with Republicans who have actively worked against our goals is to defeat them in Primary elections. We do not even have to defeat them all, only enough of them to send the message that we will indeed target them if they work against our agenda. It should be the goal of EVERY conservative to see that Lincoln Chaffee is defeated in November. His seat is one we can afford to lose. Were I a Rhode Island resident, I would vote for the Democrat if only to send a message to Snowe, Hagel, Collins, Graham, and especially that bastard Specter that their primaries just got a lot tougher.
We only need to get one of them, and Chaffee is the one to get. It does not really matter if a Democrat takes his seat; he will be junior and mute as long as we maintain our overall majority in the Senate.
The one thing that bothers me here like nothing else, is the simple disrespect of the President. Am I am Bush-Bot? Damn straight I am. If you want to know why, click on my handle to read Southack’s excellent list of Bush’s accomplishments in office. But if Bush had done almost nothing in office, it would be no excuse for some of the slights and disrespect he has received from some of us on this forum.
Some of the things I have read here this past week match in tone what one can find on our favorite Democrat sewer site. Someone calling himself or herself a FReeper was promoting shooting aliens at the border until they stopped coming. Is that what we are about? Obviously not, and that so-called Conservative has been eliminated from this forum.
I think it is important to remember that you and I have just as much responsibility as George Bush does in changing our culture to better reflect Conservative values. Right now, this very moment, Conservatives have the government they deserve. We put them there. They are not our mommies and daddies sent out to bring home our Conservative bread. That responsibility lies with all of us. These Republicans represent us, they don’t serve us. Our job is to pick the best individual and send him/her to Washington in the hope that their CHARACTER will see them through.
This is why it is such a nutty thing to consider punishing the Republican party, when we should be letting them know that we’ve got their back, but if they cant do the job, we will replace them with ANOTHER Republican, instead of handing the reigns of government to the party of anger, hopelessness and despair. We sometimes like to think that those people we send to Washington are different from us, that they are capable of meeting our every need and desire.
I want every one of you to think about what you would consider to be your perfect mate. Maybe some of you think you have found that person. If you are married and totally in love with another person, that is great. Now I want to ask you to think about the last time that person you love, who is PERFECT for you, completely pissed you off. Remember, this is your perfect mate, your one true love. Do they do everything you want them to do? Obey your every desire? If you answer yes, I am going to put you on my troll list.
Those people in Washington do not even cut your lawn, yet you expect perfection. Get over it.
I am issuing a challenge to every person who considers him or her to be a Conservative; why don’t we all commit to a return to HONOR? Do we honor our Conservative agenda when we comport ourselves in disgraceful ways? Is it an honorable thing to suggest that our President is a moron, as I read here a few days ago? Is it honorable to attack Laura Bush or any other person representing true Conservative values?
Some of you might argue that George Bush is not representing Conservative values to your liking. I would remind you that the first thing Bush said upon taking office, is that he was going to be President of ALL the people, not just some. You know that if you followed Bush from the beginning that he campaigned of the very immigration platform he is defending right now. Did you vote for him? Yeah?
If you have ever had a steak at a Ruth’s Chris restaurant, you know that sometimes they bring that wonderful steak to your table with a sprig of parsley on it. I hate parsley. Hate it. If I were to treat my steak the way some of us want to treat our President, I would have to throw out the steak, due to that nasty parsley that comes with it. I can deal with the parsley to get the steak, and that is what I am asking FReepers to do.
Expecting perfection from any person, group or team is a recipe for disaster. George W. Bush is my president. You can disagree with him, you can blame him for your problems if that is your desire. If you disrespect his office, his service, his risking his life to be with our troops in Iraq, his steadfast desire to bring a new tone to Washington, or if you just like the way he keeps Democrats so pissed off they lose their minds on a regular basis, I ask you to treat him and his wife with respect and cut the personal attacks. If you call him ‘Shrub’ or ‘Jorge’ consider yourself my enemy.
Right now, our real enemy are the Main Stream Media, the Democrat Party, and all who follow and support them. If you want to jump-ugly on someone, why not start with those leaky bastards and give our side a break?
Do it for Pukin.
I knew that you could.
Well done!
You can find lots of useful info on the net.
I remember it more as a "No more taxes, read my lips" sort of moment. Perot may have taken advantage of the situation, but the afore mentioned phase is what keep most conservatives away.
Is there some kind of implication that the great unwashed '04-or-later Freepers are somehow defective? Sounds a little elitest.
We should stop calling people Bushbots. It's not fair.
Why would you even wonder about that, Lucy? I'm a Bush-Bot, but disagree with President Bush regarding the illegal invasion.
***I don't think that makes me a Bushbasher or disloyal.***
No, it makes you a fence sitter. I hope you're comfortable up there while the rest of us fight to keep the democrats/liberals from taking away our freedom.
Voting for RINOs just gets us more RINOs...
While I don't agree with Bush on immigration and a smattering of other issues, but we must not lose sight of our goals. I have a firm belief that conservative values will win out in the end IF we don't place roadblocks due to our impatience.
The fact of the matter is that now is not the time to give up - oftentimes the hardest trials occur before the victory and, frankly, I don't think we're facing our toughest yet. Moreover, we can not use a short-term time line for conservatism - it has taken around 40 years to get where were at.
The best thing we can do is get involved with the party. Be a delegate, push out the RINOs, vote in the primaries. Not doing so completely plays into the opposition's hands. Here in Utah, Rep. Cannon (pro-amnesty etc) was forced into a primary (his opponent - Jacobs - got 52% of the delegate vote). This couldn't have been done if conservatives sulked at home.
Impatience is motivation (which is good), but it must be tempered by an uncompromising willingness to fight for the ultimate objective no matter how long it takes.
IOW - No matter how long the fight, CONSERVATISM WILL WIN if we don't give up.
No. But I'm telling you that Jim Petro had the advantage over Ken Blackwell due to party infrastructure, and the voters overrode it.
It's the PEOPLE who make the decisions, sam. That's what this country is all about.
Placing blame on the party alone may be convenient, but it's not Constitutional.
I didn't prove your point. But you provided me a fine opportunity to prove mine.
I am always respectful of the office of the President and I try to be respectful when I criticize the man. I will not however sit back and silently watch as my country rushes into a train wreck of unprecedented magnitude. The demographics associated with this amnesty debacle will be an absolute disaster.
You have your history backwards. Because the country DIDN'T vote Republican in 1986, the Senate flipped to a Democrat majority, which lead directly to the Borking, which resulted in Kennedy and Souter.
So, go right ahead and "teach them" another lesson this year, and it will be another 20 years before we get another chance to solidify a Supreme Court majority.
Point noted, as is your post - well done.
I do not support the immigration policy of President Bush and have contacted elected officials asking them to not to support his position. But that should not mean that folks get nasty, rude and disrespectful to either him or Mrs. Bush. And that sort of disrespect has certainly been more and more frequent on this forum, despite the good efforts of the moderators.
All in all, President Bush has done a yeoman's job as President which is all the more remarkable given the way the drive-by media has conducted themselves the last six years, especially the last two years - they're disgraceful.
I did post on the thread and my keywords were all in fun....as I have seen done many times before.
Any freeper who does that has lost all credibility with me. I am one who has avoided commenting lately..It seemed like some threads were coming from the opposition and every thread turned into an immigration or bash Bush thread..
There have always been fierce differences expressed on this forum. The "jorge" and bushbot.."supports anything with an R by the name" slams but most of all hatred and disrespect shown to the President just turned me off. I would call a lot of what I read hysteria and perfectionism mixed. We have virtually allowed those voices to dominate..I am guilty of protecting my blood pressure.
We can disagree but with honor..I have never agreed with any President on all things..
Remember the admonitions about cutting off your nose to spite your face.
We are at war for heavens sake and this War on Terror is uppermost in my mind. I hope I can live to see it through.
I thank God George Bush is my President at this time in history. I thank God for our men and women serving our country and the families who support them.
Thank you for the rant.
I don't know a single FReeper, other than recent sign-ons, who advocated that DeLay "hit the road". The GOP for the most part, stayed the hell out of the fray. The Democrats and certain FReepers put a bullseye on his back and they were willing to use it. Delay stepped down and retired because he knew it.
He's not going anywhere. He's going to be speaking for and stumping for GOP candidates in future elections.
As to McCain, I'm not the least bit worried about him. He won't be nominated in the first place anyway.
As to you, you need some new talking points which to shoot down. The same tired old ranting gets old.
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