Form the above picture you can see that the cites of Buffalo, Rochester ( where i live), Syracuse, Utica, Ithaca, Binghamton, and below westchester are all blue. Yet the surrounding counties are all red.
Posted on 10/22/2008 11:32:45 AM PDT by grundle
Why the Republicans Must Lose
Nothing short of defeat will put the GOP back on its limited government track
I grew up in a particularly conservative part of the already conservative state of Indiana. I voted for Bob Dole in 1996 and George Bush in 2000, generally because—though I'm not a conservative (I'm a libertarian)—I'd always thought the GOP was the party of limited government. By 2002, I was less sure of that. And by 2004, I was so fed up with the party that I did what I thought I'd never do—vote for an unabashed leftist for president.
Since then, "fed up" has soured to "given up." The Republican Party has exiled its Goldwater-Reagan wing and given up all pretense of any allegiance to limited government. In the last eight years, the GOP has given us a monstrous new federal bureaucracy in the Department of Homeland Security. In the prescription drug benefit, it's given us the largest new federal entitlement since the Johnson administration. Federal spending—even on items not related to war or national security—has soared. And we now get to watch as the party that's supposed to be "free market" nationalizes huge chunks of the economy's financial sector.
This isn't to say that Barack Obama would be any better. Government would undoubtedly grow under his watch. And from my libertarian perspective, he has been increasingly disappointing even on the issues where he's supposed to be good. We may not go to war with Iran in an Obama administration, but we'd likely become entrenched in a prolonged nation-building adventure in the Sudan. Obama's vote on the FISA bill and telecom immunity also suggests that, for all his criticisms of President Bush's use of executive power and assaults on civil liberties, Obama wouldn't be much better. On the drug war, Obama has promised to end the federal raids on medical marijuana clinics in states that have legalized the drug for treatment, but he wants to resurrect failed federal criminal justice block grant programs that have had some disastrous effects on civil liberties.
While I'm not thrilled at the prospect of an Obama administration (especially with a friendly Congress), the Republicans still need to get their clocks cleaned in two weeks, for a couple of reasons.
First, they had their shot at holding power, and they failed. They've failed in staying true to their principles of limited government and free markets. They've failed in preventing elected leaders of their party from becoming corrupted by the trappings of power, and they've failed to hold those leaders accountable after the fact. Congressional Republicans failed to rein in the Bush administration's naked bid to vastly expand the power of the presidency (a failure they're going to come to regret should Obama take office in January). They failed to apply due scrutiny and skepticism to the administration's claims before undertaking Congress' most solemn task—sending the nation to war. I could go on.
As for the Bush administration, the only consistent principle we've seen from the White House over the last eight years is that of elevating the American president (and, I guess, the vice president) to that of an elected dictator. That isn't hyperbole. This administration believes that on any issue that can remotely be tied to foreign policy or national security (and on quite a few other issues as well), the president has boundless, limitless, unchecked power to do anything he wants. They believe that on these matters, neither Congress nor the courts can restrain him.
That's the second reason the GOP needs to lose. American voters need to send a clear, convincing repudiation of these dangerous ideas.
If they do lose, the GOP would be wise to regroup and rebuild from scratch, scrap the current leadership, and, most importantly, purge the party of the "national greatness," neoconservative influence. Big-government conservatism has bloated the federal government, bogged us down in what will ultimately be a trillion-dollar war, and set us down the road to European-style socialism. It's hard to think of how Obama could be worse. He'll just be bad in different ways.
The truth is, unless you vote for a third-party candidate (which really isn't a bad idea), you don't have much of a choice this November. You can either endorse the idea of a massive, invasive, ever-encroaching federal government that's used to promote center-left ideology, or you can endorse the idea of a massive, invasive, ever-encroaching federal government that's used to promote center-right ideology.
Sadly, if the GOP does lose, it's likely to be interpreted not as a repudiation of the GOP's excesses, but as an endorsement of the Democrats'. When the only two parties who have a chance at winning both have a track record of expanding the size and scope of government, every election is likely to be interpreted as a win for big government—only the brand changes.
Voting yourself more freedom simply isn't an option, at least if you want your vote to be taken seriously (and I'm not denigrating any third parties here; I'm just reflecting reality).
Which brings me back to why the Republicans need to get throttled: A humiliated, decimated GOP that rejuvenates and rebuilds around the principles of limited government, free markets, and rugged individualism is really the only chance for voters to possibly get a real choice in federal elections down the road.
Of course, there's no guarantee that's how the party will emerge from defeat. But the Republican Party in its current form has forfeited its right to govern.
LOL!!!!
LOL!!!!!
LOL!!!!!!
LOL!!!!!!!
LOL!!!!!!!!
LOL!!!!!!!!!
People like you are why republicans have become democrats.
Ron Paul is a fraud, he is for spending bills right up until the time comes to vote for them and then, like a true attention whore and demagogue, casts often the lone vote against the bill.
The only people delusional are the ones who can’t see through his scam. He’s a couple sandwiches short of a picnic, I’m sure there are other crackpots who I agree with on certain issues, it doesn’t stop them from being crackpots.
“I’m voting for Ron Paul, because...”
1. My tin foil hat is too tight and I can’t think straight.
2. I have latent sexual feelings for BHO, but I can’t let the cat out of the bag.
3. Ron Paul is a guaranteed loser, and I feel more comfortable being around guaranteed losers.
4. I own a chain of survival gear stores and Obama’s election will be good for business.
5. I like to see things get blowed up real good.
6. I have learned that when people don’t think exactly as I do, the best thing to do is hold my breath until they see the wisdom of my ways.
7. Ron Paul must be a genius because he is so weird, and he has such simple ideas.
8. I believe that government entitlement programs and federal agencies created by liberals are easily overturned by conservative Presidents. Look at what Reagan did to the Education and Energy Departments. Look at how he got Social Security and Medicare under control.
9. I believe in the Tooth Fairy. If I pull out all my teeth, she will leave a lot of money under my pillow.
10. My sense of moral vanity and certitude overwhelms my common sense and experience.
Pick one. They are all good.
You got that right. Anything to keep Hussein out of the White House!
and then whine like bitches about betrayal for 4 years.
Won't be any whining from me, more like fighting him as we have done in the past. Remember the President saying, "See you at the signing." when it came to Mcamnesty?
We know exactly what a back-stabber McCain has been to conservatism. We also know what Hussein's plans are for this country, so just go ahead on and waste your vote. Hussein will 'love' you for it.
Who's the real idiot? Good question indeed!
Is this coming from the very same kind of group think liberal marxist(YOU) that smears anyone that isn't voting for your democrat - Or is it another one? Just curious.
Except for all the noise the libs make about the popular vote. In that perspective it would still help.
bump
“Dude, I have a message for you - the nation is doomed no matter what. Here’s a profound observation that supports this statement: democratic republics represent the wishes & aspirations of the electorate”.
Dude,
It sounds like you are pretty comfortable with all that. Why fight? If rape is inevitable, just sit back and enjoy it. If you light up a doobie, it will be like totally awesome!
Instead of voting for Ron Paul, why don’t you just stay home. the result would be the same. He does not have a chance to get elected, and neither does any third party candidate. Also the author is an idiot. The damage a presidency of 0bama would be so enormous it would take years, if not generations to repair.
If McCain-Palin loses, get ready for full-blown Socialism. Within months, not years.
Can you say, "Reichstag Fire?" With the emergency powers that the President has (some courtesy of Bush and the Patriot Act, some from much earlier), a permanent power grab could be accomplished this way:
1) Some incident, contrived or not, that panics the nation. Biden even alluded to it on Sunday - though most people think that he's talking about a foreign war of some type, not a domestic incident. He spoke of unpopular choices, of the poor Obamessiah going down in the polls - VERY disturbing.
2) President signs emergency edicts, and is given more power by a fearful/complacent/complicit Congress (y'all DO remember how this bailout thing got passed, don't you?).
3) The President and all government officials "assure" us that the powers are temporary, just for a few weeks or months, until the crisis is over and we're "safe" again.
4) All effective opposition is either arrested, killed or intimidated into cooperation/silence. The "crisis" never ends, as "terrorists" or "violent and dangerous revolutionaries" continue to perpetrate acts against the government or the people.
5) Before we know it, the government will completely control the economy (and your ability to feed your family or live anywhere but under an overpass) and will round up as many guns as possible (terrorists, etc. using freely available weapons, etc., etc.). The courts will be controlled by mostly new appointees, with recalcitrant older judges having "accidents" or being intimidated into retirement.
We could be toast in only a few months, or a year or two at most.
It's evil to the core.
You better be ready to head for the hills of Obama wins and I'm not kidding.
I hate this shit logic.
Answer for storm damage? Burn the rest of the house down.
Form the above picture you can see that the cites of Buffalo, Rochester ( where i live), Syracuse, Utica, Ithaca, Binghamton, and below westchester are all blue. Yet the surrounding counties are all red.
Ron Paul has endorsed Chuck Baldwin,and says he is not in the running.
It's gonna get down & dirty.
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.