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.
How can this be? I was just informed that nobody is looking.
Xenophobic Alien..
is no more. And after a post like that I'm convinced he/she/it never belonged here in the first place.
Language straight off the DU/Kos cesspool.
I was wondering the same thing.
I didn't miss the point at all, in fact I wrote a fairly long post in response to the lead post. I guess you missed that.
I offer up all kinds of dissent here on this forum and for the most part ( aside from simple trouble makers) it is taken in the spirit it is sent.
The point YOU missed was that I offered you an experience based point of view, Dismiss it all you want to, it is your choice.
Yeah. Paid another quarter for extra cucumber sauce.
*APPLAUDS* This Navy wife thanks you, both for your service to your country, and for your work on this website.
Official Friday Silliness Thread.
Women get banned for saying things not near as vile as the men say when they have their T&A threads or the lesbian threads. PLEASE!!!
I had to hit the mute button when the swimmer came on. That would have killed me.
Indeed.
I'd like to see the Republicans present a unified front on the most vital issues of the day. Immigration reform is one of those. The President can't run for reelection, but many other Republicans holding office now can. Does it help the larger goal of the party to have them distance themselves from the President's position, or would it be better to speak with a single party voice? I'd choose the latter.
Have you written to senators and congress to voice your opinion?
I have. Both on this issue and many in the past. I realize that it's impossible to expect every constituent's letter to be answered promptly if not with a form letter, but the feedback seems to be the same regardless of the opinion I submit.
Does anyone with direct experience in a Congressman's office know what would constitute "critical mass" in terms of numbers of letters received?
"The best I can gather from this post is that there can be no debate because if you disagree with the Bush stance you are evil. This defies my brain's natural ability to reason and conservative principal.
I guess I will just self-censore and not opine on immigration any more, because FR has in effect, through slights , etc.. and things like this made it quite clear that no dicussion on the issue is welcome."
No, no.
Steady on, mate.
Pukin didn't really mean that.
He said quite a bit there that acknowledged your position.
He said, for example, that Border Conservatives need to get out and vote in huge numbers in the PRIMARIES, to get Border Conservatives on the ballot. That's true, to the extent it works.
Of course, where there's an open borders GOP incumbent, that won't work. Now, you and I know that you won't vote for an open borders incumbent, no matter what.
We know that you're not going to cast a caucus vote this time. DO be sure to know your candidate's position. Don't just punish Republicans: focus your ire on Republicans who refuse to give you your fence.
And don't stop talking here.
Rather, stop fighting.
You've LOST the political fight: The President doesn't want to give you your fence, and the Senate doesn't want to either.
Don't snarl at them and at Republicans in general.
Instead, be hard as a diamond, and focused, and explain - calmly - that the PRICE of your vote is a Fence.
You can't have everything. You're not going to get deportations and enforcement against employers and all those things you want. But you can get the most reasonable thing, and the thing that will ULTIMATELY achieve your goal: the Fence, sooner or later, provided you remain active, remain involved, remain committed, but be CLEAR: you will give your VOTE and your MONEY to somebody who will give you a FENCE. Otherwise, no.
This has been the pro-life strategy for years.
Remember that George Bush 41 was in fact personally pro-choice. But he saw, clear as a bell, that pro-choice voters would stay home unless he changed his position. Note that he didn't do anything about abortion, so it was merely the symbolism that the counted. But it counted. Republicans are afraid of tax hawks, because they lost the election of 1992 because of them. Then they took over the party in 1994. Republicans never propose tax hikes anymore.
Republicans are afraid of pro-lifers. Bush threw his friend Miers under the train because he knew he had to. The pro-lifers were not going to let the party live if an open Supreme Court seat was snatched from their certain grasp.
Republicans are not currently afraid ENOUGH of you BorderBots. They're going to either wake up before November, or November will wake them up. In any case, you have to be clear with them, and realistic: a FENCE is your minimum condition. You can't demand everything on your agenda,just like tax hawks cannot demand the Fair Tax as a condition of their vote, and pro-lifers cannot demand impeachment of all pro-choice Supreme Court justices as a condition of their vote.
Universal prosecution and deportation and penalties are unreasonable and unrealistic. But a FENCE, that is reasonable, and realistic, and in the end it is the MOST IMPORTANT piece of the immigration battle anyway, because THAT stops the flow.
So, don't leave.
Don't snipe.
Don't pick on other Republicans who disagree with you.
Hunker down and state your condition.
Be sincere, stay in the game. Sooner or later the party HAS TO come to you guys. It would be better if it were this Summer instead of next Summer, but one way or the other you are going to win on your issue - IF you stay in ranks and stay the course.
No. It just proves the depth of your interest in actually discussing these issues is paper thin. It reveals with absolute clarity what your true motives are. Your posting history is on the record for all to read. Your objective is to throw darts and avoid discussions. You are a disrupter, yet you have the gall to complain about getting suspended. Here's a little info for you to think about. The "average" Freeper has never been suspended. That is because the average Freeper understands the difference between discussion and cheap shots. Your keyword trolling is a sure indicator of your cheap game. You have been exposed.
Condemning both Bush presidencies. You're a troll.
Who's "Miss Cleo?"
Let me play Miss Cleo with your post.
Who's "Miss Cleo?"
Had I posted about EV, I would have named him and pinged him. After all, EV is the only poster we have here who was offered a White House job by Karl Rove and refused him.
Is he? How do we know for sure?
News to you, but I work in campaigns and actually know paid campaign worker(s).
Fabulous! Living in DC, I know a lot of paid campaign workers, too. This area is lousy with them, so to speak.
Maybe you need to step back from your keyboard and MYOB.
Yes, ma'am! But only because you asked me so nicely. I have a garden to weed, shrubbery to prune, mulch to spread, a Freep at Walter Reed to prepare for, and a life beyond my keyboard.
Now I'm off to do as you instruct, minding my own business...
Repinging in case you didn't catch it.
I gotta be near Ace status by now....
Uh huh.
Are you really suprised he would mention it??
I'm not ..
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