Posted on 01/02/2016 7:23:02 PM PST by kristinn
Every political movement has a tipping point. It goes too far, or it loses its original purpose -- or it becomes so self-enamored, under the influence of anger and mob rule, that ugliness shades all the good of its original intent.
Such is true of the populism that peaked this summer in America.
Years of incompetency and a tin ear at the White House, along with a Republican-controlled Congress accused of not accomplishing much, drove people to figuratively or literally shout, "Enough is enough!"
Never mind that many of the loudest shouters likely did not vote in 2008 or 2012 against Barack Obama. Or apparently they do not understand that, despite Republicans holding a sizeable House majority and a slim Senate majority, institutional voting rules often prevent those majorities from enacting sweeping changes.
With Donald Trump's emergence, and with a chorus of talk-radio hosts suddenly behind him, the mob-rule crowd deems everyone who was ever elected to office (with the exception of Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas) to be a Republican-in-name-only or part of a dark establishment cult intent on crushing the souls of average white voters.
Never mind that this same GOP "cult" helped recruit candidates from a range of ethnic and racial backgrounds to run and win more than 900 additional state legislative seats, 70 additional congressional seats and more than a dozen additional governors races -- many of them in districts and states that Republicans once had no hope of competing for, let alone winning.
The mob-rule crowd gnaws on any piece of political red meat thrown out as truth, never checking to see what kind of flesh it just consumed. None of this represents true conservatism. All of it is pure populism, and it is radically contaminating conservatism's values.
(Excerpt) Read more at triblive.com ...
There a great deal of truth to her indictment of populism.
People don’t want to vote, don’t care what their elected representatives do in their name and are disengaged from public life are angry things haven’t changed.
Frustration with our institutions and our parties has been channeled into a drive to burn them down.
Populism is not conservatism. Conservatives stand for incremental change and preserving tradition, not catering to the passions of the mob and unpredictable change.
Trump is a liberal. If he should get elected, conservatives may be disappointed with his conduct in office and his espousing policies the opposite of their professed principles.
People are letting their feelings cloud their sober judgment. If conservatives want to be ruled by the darker side of their nature, that is their right.
But they should not be fooled into believing the fury of the crowd equals a dispassionate and abiding respect for conservative values.
We’re going down a road we can’t see to where it leads and we might regret where we would wind up.
I read that she is or was “a board member of the Center for Media & Public Policy at the Heritage Foundation.”
Is the Heritage Foundation now just a wing of the GOPe? I don’t know. I am just asking.
And I'll bet this is one of her more "kinder, gentler" articles.
Leni
Voting people out of office you disagree with — Yep that sounds like what your typical mob would do. /sarc
Comedy piece for the Onion?
They screwed us first!
Democrats are always crying about our darker side when it comes to winning
Um - yes people are upset.
Why haven’t you Ruling Elitists done anything?
Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.Let us not be taken in by the sellouts.
— Declared Communist goal #15
The GOPe have brought this all on themselves, they think they can shove down our throats who they want us to vote for, well not anymore...this election is going to go the way of the Legal American Voter, the GOPe can try their tactics, they can do their usual crap, it isn't working and it's not going to work...
The GOPe have made Americans angry, they are fed up with these ‘high classed mucky mucks’ they think they are, nope, it's over and now they don't know what to do about it...well we do, we will drown them out, and we will shut off their voices, and guaranteed by the time this election is over with, they will know they are in the bottom of the garbage can where they belong....
GO. AMERICAN VOTERS and SHOVE IT DOWN THE GOPE'S THROATS!!!
B.S. detector: institutional elite duplicity prevented the majority from having any impact at all.
I need to make a tagline about the GOP-ewes.
Goldstategop said that: “We’re going down a road we can’t see to where it leads and we might regret where we would wind up.”
That is true to a large degree, but fails to consider that we are NOW GOING DOWN A ROAD that we KNOW takes us to the hell of tyranny. We must make a sharp turn immediately. I’m hoping Ted Cruz gets behind the wheel of this bus, but if Trump gets there first, it’s better than going off the cliff that’s straight ahead of us.
Oldplayer
We’re going down a road we can’t see to where it leads and we might regret where we would wind up.
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You’re right, but we can see clearly that electing anyone other than Trump or Cruz will result in us losing our country.
Amnesty and the continuing flood of foreigners will turn the USA into a third world, one party state in no time.
Funny how Trump is the kind of liberal that the Uniparty can’t abide, though. Especially when he talks up conservative matters.
>>>with a chorus of talk-radio hosts suddenly behind him<<<
Really, can someone name just one?
I think part of what simply infuriates us is the lack of fighting spirit the House and Senate have shown. I, and I think most of us understand it’s rarely going to go our way always in all things in D.C. I don’t expect it. I do expect there to be some real negotiations with the left, I expect them to have to cave more often than not, WHEN WE ARE THE MAJORITY PARTY.
The omnibus bill just passed is outrageous and I cannot for the life of me understand the right going along with it.
I guess this writer thinks we’re just all brats who don’t grasp the finer points of legislation.
I’d be more sympathetic if I thought any of them were aware of what is in these bills BEFORE they vote on them.
I’m not for Trump, but I can surely see why so many are and I share their anger. I’m not really for anyone ...liked Cruz for a long while but not sure now.
Hell of an election season.
...but they’re revolting...!
Yeah when I read that the b.s. meter pegged.
If the GOP(e) had any balls at all Mitch the PostTurtle McConnell would have used the nuke option to reverse Everything Dirty Harry Reid pushed thru using it.
Instead he allowed the rats to bulldoze him. All so he could push thru trade and spending bills that favored his Masters ie. Chamber of Commies/open border shills.
They did make sweeping changes. The Senate flipped the Constitution on its head to make sure the Iran weapons deal (and their bomb) got passed.
The reaction to Trump seems similar to that of the establishment to Andrew Jackson and his unwashed masses.
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