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LookieNoNookie -> RE: A or B, not yes or no. (11/14/2012 7:27:46 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: TheHeretic
On another thread, Tazzy brought up a quote from good old Saul Alinsky that I thought was worth a look, and some comment.
A People's Organization is dedicated to an eternal war. It is a war against poverty, misery, delinquency, disease, injustice, hopelessness, despair, and unhappiness. They are basically the same issues for which nations have gone to war in almost every generation. . . . War is not an intellectual debate, and in the war against social evils there are no rules of fair play
The snip is from his 1946 book, Reveille for Radicals, and it's interesting because the libs of today would love to pretend that they hold exclusive interest in resolving these eternal ills. They would have us believe that the solutions they are offer are the only solutions, and that to reject their methods is to maliciously wish the problems continue.
I'm of the opinion that one big reason the Democrats squeaked through this election was by successfully defining and demonizing the opposition with just that slur.
That box which Dems want to force Repubs into, must be dealt with. It's time to call "bullshit," on the ploy.
Democrats love poverty. They love misery, and delinquency, and hopelessness, despair and unhappiness. It's how they recruit. Happy optimists with a few bucks in their pocket, vote Republican.
We now have a nice long record, a multi-generational record, of what happens when Democrats/liberals try their hand, at dealing with poverty. It has turned the traditional family into a rarity in our inner cities. It has given us taxpayer funded "mentors" for the poor, who cannot show their clients how to cover a hole in a window with a bit of cardboard, and who give them little plaques for not deserting their children, or getting themselves sent to prison. It has given us program rules that hold people right where they are in poverty, and deny aid to fixed income seniors who went into retirement with a little bit set aside. It has given us the thought process of the Obama phone lady, and a sub-culture that thinks a job is something you are given, instead of something you go out and get. It has given us 47 million Americans on food stamps, and radio advertising to go sign up. This is the Democrats idea of fighting poverty, and it has given us more poor people than ever before, whose leading health problem is obesity.
What is the conservative approach to poverty? You can look back to the quote above, and see what, "A People's Organization" is NOT committed to fighting for. Individual liberty. Self-determination. Economic freedom. These are the tools we address poverty with. Unlike the thoughts of our President, who denigrates the values of hard work and being smart, a conservative will believe that these are the core essentials to leaving poverty behind.
A conservative believes the way to assist people in leaving that miserable condition is with opportunity, and the freedom to pursue it. A conservative believes that if the government is going to deliberately create jobs to prime the pump of opportunity, then we should get something real and tangible for our money. Even FDR, the man who gave us the New Deal, understood this. The art is still there, in the old post offices, the stone guardrails still line many a scenic road. The Reagan military build-up ended the Soviet Union, after it got GM and Ford back to production.
The position is not, and has never been if conservatives care about people in poverty, it's what do we think is best to do about it.
What do Republicans need to do in the aftermath of this election? They need to stop allowing the Democrats to be the ones who define what conservatives values are.
Heretic....the GOP defined what conservatives value....we just did an unbelievably shitty job of it.
The Democrats won fair and square (which is a lot to say after Gore won the Presidency in 2000, but the courts gave it to Bush because of the Electoral college).
The electoral college sucks.
The proof of that was in 2000 when Gore rightly won the Presidency and in 2012 when Obama won, largely because he had a vastly better team (once again, it wasn't stolen from Romney....Romney fucked up. He WAS the better candidate...of the two....but not in fact).
Interestingly, contrary to what every Dem will tell you..."Romney was a flip flopper"...the truth is, like Obama on the illegal alien thing and marriage, he changed his mind.
Smart people with new information do that. Hopefully.
Things change...what was true 10 years ago...may not (and is likely not to) be true today.
I could list all Romney's failures as to what the "populace" wanted but I have to give it to the guy (and his comments re: President Obama when he walked away, I feel, express how sincerely he meant what his entire campaign was about...to him).
When he walked away, he said that he and Ann were praying for the President and that he'd be successful (I'm paraphrasing....don't have the copy in front of me) and that he'd (Romney) be available if needed.
Today in news reports (supposedly) he's now blaming the 47%. I don't buy it any more than that Bush Jr. voted for Obama accidentally on November 7th....ridiculous news reports are often discounted a few days later. It's not Romney's style and I'm confident Snopes will discount in the days ahead.
Let's just all hope and pray (if you're of that inclination) that Obama really means what he says and will earnestly give it his all to solve our problems, and not be swayed by unions among others. Doubtful...but, let's now assume he meant what he said....he is the Prez of all of us.
On Monday the 6th, I prayed he'd disappear from the world stage, but he's now the Prez, he's got the football and even as I didn't vote for him (and for the first time since 2000, I actually did vote), I support him 100%.
Bitching doesn't solve anything.
It's a waste of time.
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