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.
At least he didn’t say “eye-eye Corinthians”.
Funny, But I don't remember asking a question. Any question.
Is that suppose to be a joke?
Yawn....
And this dreck is starting before so much as the first caucus.
See ya in the funnies, pal. I'm persevering.
“Politics is more fun than soccer. “
Watching paint dry is more fun than soccer
Take as many words as you like, I enjoyed reading it all, and your comments as well. Kudos and thanks for posting, this was a good vanity.
Thank you.
I have never met a purist nor seen a purist on FR, though a (very) few who are close. I have seen others accuse lots of people of being purists. I've been tempted to accuse a few myself. But as for actual purists, they are as elusive as unicorns.
So when an entire piece ("Purists want nothing less than ...") is based on an imaginary entity ... well ...
It appears that for many, it has less to do with ideology and more to do with people's perceptions of who can "win." The "win" takes precedence over the actual political philosophy of said winner -- winning takes precedence over what is won. And that's a bad approach that "wins" you garbage.
My tagline is a truth lived and learned.
Yes.
You are soooo wrong to stereotype those of us who are concerned about the future of the country...Our longevity? Huh? Fear Mongering? Do you read Drudge Report? Even the headlines cause concern.
Am I? Yes I read Drudge. Every day.
Do you have children? If you do, then you should realize that most parents are not concerned for their longevity (regardless of their age)...but are concerned for THEIR CHILDREN...
My girlfriend's son from another relationship is 11 years old and severely autistic. I love him like he was my own son and am concerned for his well being and others like him. The likelihood of him ever being able to speak in full sentences, much less hold a job is very low. He will require constant care for the rest of his life. Trump's supposed change of heart on abortion, by his own admission, rests on his retroactive appraisal of whether the life of a child from a couple he knew, ended up being a life worth living. You think I want a person like that making SCOTUS picks?
If you are not afraid for the future of the country, you should be....and you’d better get a clue. The country is in serious trouble and many of us doubt whether we can survive 8 more years of this administration’s policies. These poliies include some of your concerns including abortion and supreme court nominations BTW.
Oh I've got a clue. More so than Trump supporters. Abortion, euthanasia, eugenics, etc. I know what the future holds for this country. I know that the focus of autism research is developing prenatal tests to sniff out genetic markers so Autistic children can share the same fate as those with Down Syndrome. And the fact is this shift towards materialistic narcissism in this country will not be halted or even slowed down by a Trump presidency. And because politics is informed by the culture I'm going with the guy who is determined to buck those cultural trends and that person is Cruz. Goldman Sachs, misfiled FEC disclosures, TPA, H1-B, etc., etc., doesn't mean a damn thing to me.
Many of us who support Trump will vote for Cruz if he is the nominee. A few weeks ago, many here were touting a Cruz/Trump or Trump/Cruz ticket. Rhetoric has gotten so caustic, I wonder now things will shake out.
I'll be honest, I probably won't make up my mind until later this year. And if Trump is the nominee I wouldn't be surprised if my decision to pull the lever for him or not is made in late October. He may surprise me. The problem is that historically once the Republican nomination is secured the candidate moves to the left to garner more centrist support. We'll see if Trump goes against the grain on that.
BUMP
Yet Trump polls as the least likely pub to win a general election as per the Gallup poll.
Perhaps you should take your own advice.
I do get it.
You enjoy bending over.
You could of cut that all real short.
I read your title okay. So you believe the lying bully, little shell of a man.
Millions of gop will never vote for him.
We look at facts. We don’t vote because someone makes us feel.
Good luck.
“We are a nation in search of a champion”
Really want a champion who thinks America is a hellhole?
Doing the same thing over and over (electing politicians) expecting different results in the definition of Insanity.
It’s almost past time to do something different. Vote Trump.
Exactly!
I’ll vote in the primaries for the conservative (Cruz ). Should Trump make it to the general? He is my second choice. His nationalism is refreshing but some of his choices over the years. (DiBlasio, the Clintons, Obama care), concerns me.
I’m backing Trump too but I think you could have made your point and had your rant with one paragraph.
At some point extra words just become a word soup.
Just sayin. Everyone is entitled to rant as they wish though.
But like Boomer, I do think you should have edited this down and said the whole thing more concisely.
And I also, obviously, support Trump.
Well, damn. That was INSPIRED. Beautifully said!
He's not even close. And you and the rest of his loyal, adoring fans will rationalize it all as "telling the right people what they need to hear" in order to further his interests.
So, knowing his policy positions, political alliances and party affiliations have shifted like beach sands in a tornado... what gives you the idea it isn't YOUR turn to be similarly played?
And yet liberals refuse to bend, are putting up probably the biggest political criminal of the 20th and now 21st century and you are rebuking Conservatives because they refuse to bend?
Our country was founded on a set of moral, ethical and legal principles, put onto paper and became law. It is that piece of paper which keeps our nation from falling into total anarchy. It is that piece of paper that separates us from other political systems and religions that have killed millions in the name of their “purity.”
As you call us “purists”, like any good Conservative, instead of shying away from that label, I embrace it. The reason I embrace it is because that piece of paper ensures my freedom and the freedom for millions and each time that piece of paper erodes just a bit, our freedom erodes.
How does this play with electing a President? Because there are enough “purists” on the right whose voice, despite what we hear, see and read from a leftist media is powerful enough to elect someone who shares the principles of our founding fathers. Our opponents want us to bend for the simple reason that the more we bend,each time we snap back it is less and less until eventually that bend becomes the new “normal.” Then the process is reapplied. It is like water on a stone. It takes many years and a lot of patience, but eventually the stone wears down.
This is what the left has been doing to this country since Wilson. Slowly, steadily they have applied pressure, watched for fissures to form and then moved into that space, not unlike the camel and tent analogy. The only thing that guards the stone in the first place is the “purist” and it is the job of the opposition to take us off of guard duty. We are the gatekeepers of everyone’s freedom. Without us, this country ceases to exist. We refuse to bend because we understand the ramifications of bending. We understand the magnitude of saying, “oh well, abortion is not my problem.” We understand that our rights were given to us by a higher power and not the state.
Each time we bend, the state takes more from us, blames us and then takes even more. A “single issue” Conservative is willing to lose on one battlefield in order to win on another battlefield. The problem is, that “single issue” Conservative doesn’t want to win the war.
The difference between Cruz and Trump is simple. Trump wants to win great battles and have his name splashed all over the history books as a winner of great battles. Cruz wants to win the war, without fanfare or ego, but based on a piece of paper that a bunch of white dudes wrote more than 200 years ago.
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