dmartin: “These initiatives will give the left a permanent majority and there will be no pause in their rush to extinguish what remains of our rights and freedoms.”
I differ from many folks on the right in that I don’t attribute evil motives to people on the left. Do I think some election fraud goes on? Of course. Do I think there’s enough fraud to change the outcome of tight races? Certainly. However, there are still millions upon millions of good folks left in the USA, and we can still win if we get out the vote. We need to win by large margins, but we can still win.
As for politicians, there’s no doubt they want to be reelected. Who wouldn’t? However, I also think many would sacrifice reelection if absolutely necessary to achieve their goals. Plus, they know from experience that the odds (of reelection) are decidedly in their favor, and even if they are tossed out, there are plenty of lucrative jobs waiting for them. Say what you will about professional politicians, but have no doubt these folks (both right and left) generally know how to stay in office.
Finally, I want to make the point that most leftists think they are doing good. In fact, someone is always on the receiving end of wealth redistribution, so it isn’t right to say immigration amnesty, nationalized health care, and cap and trade won’t help some folks. Say what you will about Social Security, but millions of elderly are now dependent on it. For every person who is taxed more, there is someone else being helped, and I think this is what motivates many leftists. They see the immediate effect—someone is helped, and they don’t see the downside. I have to be honest here, and say they have largely gotten away with this freebie stuff for some time now. Why should they think they can’t get away with even more of it?
BTW, I oppose all government wealth redistribution schemes on moral principles. It is simply wrong to steal from one person to give to another, no matter how effective. Once you get away from the morality, or lack thereof, all discussions devolve into arguments over the effectiveness of various wealth redistribution schemes. Our leaders never talk about the morality of forcing people to share wealth—private property that they have worked to earn. No, our politicians are focused on whether a particular plan works or not. Yet, there’s not one socialist program in government that couldn’t be voluntarily (and morally) performed by private organizations using voluntary participation.