Posted on 01/20/2016 11:54:10 PM PST by WTFOVR
So! YOU. STILL. DON'T. GET. IT!
It is an irony of politics that we often get that which we most despise yet doggedly work to bring into fruition - mediocrity ...
Purists want nothing less than complete lock step with whatever definition each one of them individually defines to be their ideology. But life, in a land that upholds as sacrosanct the historically novel idea of individual freedom, must by its very nature admit as many diverse opinions as their exists individuals.
The nexus of the problem is that the purist can never bend in the wind - and so he snaps - at everything and everyone, friend and foe alike. Not settling for anything less than 100 percent of that which defines his personal orthodoxy, he or she will cast out those who otherwise might be his best ally in the fight.
So goes the present contest of wills between two groups, each of whose chosen leader now battles for the number one position in a political struggle that will decide the fate of this American Republic for generations to come - that is, if our nation manages to survive as a republic.
Thus, it is to the "conservative purists" that I direct this rebuke ...
You, oh most orthodox believer in the church of "conservatism," would have all other members march, in perfect Hun tradition, as one gloriously synchronized goose-stepping phalanx. You, oh most pure of ideologues, would brutishly force all to go lock step to the beat of your most holy drum, left-right-left, without but a millimeter of deviation nor a nanosecond of doubt - even while the entire edifice burns and crumbles down around you ... Boldly you shall continue to sing only the most orthodox of conservative hymns, while holding up your fist in defiance and rage, obstinately certain of your "ideological purity" throughout the ensuing sociopolitical collapse.
Shall we attempt to douse the flames? NO! The water is contaminated with impurities! We dare not allow it to touch our sacred conservative tabernacle! We must not defile ourselves! We should rather perish! But the flames will surely spread and burn down the city ... So be it! Better to die than compromise our precious bodily fluids! Commander Jack D. Conservative will have none of it! OK, have it your way ...
The total destruction of EVERYTHING Americans ever were, or could ever hope to be, is but a minor thing; for you will happily perish in the flames of political Armageddon, gladly be reduced to ashes, because you may proudly shout from your graves that never did you deviate in the slightest from your dogma ... Let the irony of your indifference forever echo above the charred destruction ... Let the epitaph of this Republic be chiseled into the cold granite of your obstinately monolithic stupidity:
"Here lies Pure Conservatism - His cause perished with his country, but at least he pridefully never gave one inch!"
And you, oh purist, with your willing accomplices, made certain that neither could any other, less you beat them into submission with incessant mockery and damnable calumny - "Burn the heretics! Long live the Church of Pure!"
In your absolute arrogance, you forgot one very important axiom of life - a tree that never bends in the wind, snaps.
There is nothing so constant as change, and if it is not allowed to develop organically, then it will come by way of destructive revolution. Nor is there any object so elusive as the entity without blemish. Nothing in this life is pure - not even gold, and least of all political ideology ... There will always be heretics and compromising hellions to muddy the waters. Oh, the shame of it all!
The fact is that the political brinkmanship is not about electing the the most ideologically pure candidate ... The contest is and always has been one of choosing the MOST ELECTABLE ideological candidate ... You don't get 100 percent unadulterated conservatism - you settle for the mutt, because in politics the purebred is a myth - a figment spun only in the imaginations of those who have not acquired the ability to courageously face life's awful truths. Reality often sucks for ideologues.
No, you do not get the "purist" candidate - for reason that there is not one political animal who can win a national election by the weight of his ideological purity alone. Why? Because there is not one individual voter who is made up of 100 percent unadulterated anything. We're all political mutts! No citizen this side of sanity, who functions productively within our Constitutional Representative Republic, is so self-absorbed in their orthodoxy as to play the purist fiddle while the nation burns to the ground around them.
This is not a dress rehearsal, there is no do-over. This is our moment of trial. We have a nation in financial and cultural chaos, a Republic sitting on the precipice of the abyss. We have but one last opportunity to perhaps pull her back from the edge; and in this hour of peril "purity" takes a back seat to self-preservation.
We are now in a "fight to the death" with forces that unabashedly mean to destroy us and all we have ever been. Let me remind those who perhaps have forgotten those fateful words past spoken:
"... Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. ..." - Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address
We need ALL hands on deck - the purists and the not so pure; the ideologue and the pragmatist; Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Independent, man, woman, young, old - every one who believes in what this country stands for ... We need every creed, color, race and ethnicity who, at their very core, are AMERICANS FIRST!
Which now brings me to the point of my rant: Donald J. Trump ...
OK, I get it - Trump is not a straight down the list "pure" conservative. Well, golly gee, all you followers of Captain Obvious, thanks for pointing that out to me - I might never have guessed! But then again ... Neither is Senator Ted Cruz, his protests to the contrary notwithstanding.
In fact, I doubt you ideological bloodhounds will ever find such a creature among us, because we each hold to a different idea of what defines that ubiquitous moniker of "conservative" - and that reality check IS the point that Governor Palin made in her endorsement speech for Donald Trump.
On the other hand, the enemy we face IS VERY "pure" - and VERY focused on one singular evil goal - the utter destruction of our Republic ... He is the Dragon of fascist governance - let's call this beast "Smog," if you please, and we are the Hobbits.
Smog is the guardian of the gold that lies beneath the seemingly impenetrable mountain fortress of The Establishment, whose evil overlords have plotted down through the centuries so to protect their ill-gotten gain - and thus, by treachery of their warring dynasties, cast a perpetual darkness upon the Land of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Their proxies promise reform - some promise to "spread the wealth;" and still others promise to "punish the wicked and restore justice." But somehow the smothering darkness never yields its grip on the land, no matter how often the dynastic throne changes hands, because the Dragon allows none but its heirs to enter his gold filled lair.
This Dragon, this entrenched and most powerful adversary, desires to crush our rugged individualism; he desires to extinguish the guiding spirit that beats in every American heart; any who dare threaten his power are burned out of existence - the orthodox and not so orthodox alike ... For all must accept their serfdom, never to be more than drones, existing but not prospering in this planned utopia of Dynastic crony collectivism.
Unfortunately for the cause of freedom, those who demand nothing less than "ideological purity" consistently act to deny admittance to those falling short of their personally prescribed measure. Thus the purists help our Dragon adversary achieve his evil goals.
We are a nation in search of a champion; but,more than a Bilbo Baggins, we need a Brave Heart ... We need a leader who will exploit the Dragon's weakness, see the chink in the Dragon's allegedly invincible armor, and let fly the arrow of liberty to its fateful mark. We need a new breed of warrior, one who fights to win; not merely for the purists, but for all Americans: the red, the white, the blue - and all the shades in between. That individual may not be the most "pure" of conservatives, but he's the only man consistently hitting the target ... A lean, mean fighting machine, named Donald J. Trump.
er, you did see that realclearpolics has Cruz beating hillary and trump losing
i know, the polls dont matter.
but you said in your article that we choose the one most likely to win.
right now that is cruz.
people go wild over the polls showing trump beating cruz at that website.
why are they ignoring the part where he loses to hillary and ted wins.
You need to log off, write a reasoned out editorial how a successful real estate mogul with forty years of media scrutiny can be worse than the dope dealer from honolulu. If you do that, I’ll read it, and give it consideration. But please refrain from the shoot from the hip, drive by stuff.
This “to heck with ideological purity” argument is just as easily applied to voting for Rubio. Hey, if this argument helps people to sleep at night when then realize they had a constitutional conservative ready to be elected and they went with the squishy moderate, more power to them.
As for me and my house, we will vote our conscience.
The general election will be a disaster if we pick the wrong man in the primaries ... and BTW, I am not a “moderate” by any stretch ...
I know a bare-knuckle fighter when I see one. Donald Trump does not take crap from anybody - and that is why he has my support.
We need a ball busting SOB this go around; and, while I do appreciate Senator Cruz, he’s just not the man for the Big Chair.
Unfortunately many suffer from this disease.
Many Christians seem to worship conservatism more than Christianity.
Many purists are spending most of their time prepping for SHTF and really don't care what happens so long as the zombies can't make it to their little hidey holes in Tennessee.
I'm voting for Bernie in the primary because I do not want Clinton as President. Then I'm voting for the Republican unless by some bad run of luck it turns out to be Bush.
That's right. I would even vote for Christie.
But never ever would I vote for a Bush.
I didn’t mean to compare Trump with the poseur. I’m sorry I left that impression. Nothing could have been further from my mind. I’m focused on the primaries and getting the guy nominated with the best chance to win. That’s not Trump. At least as I read the lay of the land.
Also, like most folks, some of my posts are short and pithy, others long, reasoned and supported with links. Depends on the need. This is basically a drive-by thread, it got a drive by comment.
Take it or leave it, but no insult was intended to you or anyone else. It’s part of the give and take.
Sen Thad Cochran(RINO MS) agrees. That Conservative purist Chris McDaniel was not gonna win anyway!
Eight years ago my brother registered as a Democrat so he could vote for Obama to stop Hillary. He has yet to live that down.
I don’t think we need to be planning for Hillary. She is going to be nostril deep in criminal indictments by the time of the Democrat convention.
Great post!
Nicely done poster, nicely done.
That said, it's my opinion that Donald Trump is a snake. I've been watching him for decades and wouldn't trust him as far as I can kick him.
If I'm totally wrong about him and he turns out to be a national benefactor, no one will be happier than me.
Don't be a purist, vote for Romney!
Same hogwash, different election.
Fantastic post. Thanks for the hard work that expresses what many of us have come to realize. BTTT. Will also BTTT tomorrow. This is to important to have buried by the purists.
I'd suggest you take another look around. Nobody else is drawing like Trump. On either side. Like him or not, he is attracting crowds from across various demographics.
Here’s the problem with your premise. It’s not that we do not get it. We get it. And speaking for myself, I don’t care. I’ll go my grave knowing that I didn’t support an enabler of baby-killing politicians like Trump. If that’s the Republic you’re interested in saving then you can have it. I’m not going to sell out the unborn babies of this country for vague promises of ensuring border security, job creation, and armchair general wet dreams of dealing with the 1,400 year old war against Islam. This is nothing more than the politics of saving one’s own ass at the expense of moral principle.
We all know that the election of a President has become an undercard bout. That the real power is in the judicial oligarchy that rules over all of us and that the value of a President rests on his Supreme Court nominations. Neither a Cruz or a Trump supporter can dispute that. Is it what was intended? No. But that’s where we find ourselves in the 21st century.
Now, Trump supporters have no basis by which they can assure that he will appoint the kind of justices that will reverse this holocaust. We simply don’t believe you, or Trump for that matter. And if supporting Cruz means Hillary, Bernie or Joe gets in then so be it. America deserves what it gets. And means it hasn’t fallen far enough to do what is necessary to right the ship.
The geriatric fear mongers around here have gone all in on 2016 as the pivotal moment in an existential crisis. They are terrified because their longevity to 2020 or 2024 is in doubt. And because of that they have sold conservatism down the river in their hysteria for this moment.
You perhaps do not get that immigration is THE most important issue of this election? If we fail on that issue - NOTHING else will matter, b/c we shall cease to be a nation ... And then, all those conservative values that BOTH you AND I hold dear will fade into the fog of a new Dark Age. Trump gets it. I am saddened that so many here do not.
Forget it he's rolling.
Good on ya mate! Cheers big ears. ;^)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.