It's like Jimmy Carter never left town
Dionysus
HEAD: Fred Barnes: It's like Jimmy Carter never left town
By: Fred Barnes, executive editor of The Weekly Standard
November 9, 2009 Republican conservatives and moderates are at each other's
throats. Tea party populists are furious at President Obama and House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and aren't crazy about Republicans either. Democrats
haven't got a clue. There's talk of a third party. The economy is stagnant
as unemployment, now 10.2 percent, climbs. It's beginning to look like the
late 1970s.
This is good news for Republicans -- extremely good news. Today's struggles
between conservatives and moderates are mere skirmishes compared with the
titanic intraparty battle touched off by Ronald Reagan's challenge of
President Ford for the Republican presidential nomination in 1976. Ford's
dreamy Democratic successor, Jimmy Carter, brought matters to a head. He
proved incompetent in foreign policy and a bumbler on anything to do with
the economy.
The result was a Republican bull market. In 1978, Republicans gained 15
House seats and 3 senators. That was a preview of 1980, when they netted 35
House seats and captured control of the Senate with a 12-seat pickup. And,
oh, yes, there was another victory. Reagan won the presidency in a
landslide.
The resemblance between the 1970s and today isn't exact. Political analogies
never are. But there's enough to hearten Republicans. As we saw in the
election of Republican governors in Virginia and New Jersey last week, the
political energy and ardor are on the center-right. Just as they were 30
years ago.
A coalition of Republicans, independents, and tea party populists is
beginning to take shape. How come? Because they again have a common foe. In
the 1970s, it was Carter's feeble leadership in the face of stagflation and
the collapse of U.S. interests abroad.
Today's it's the hyper-liberal policies of Obama and Pelosi that are for
fostering rampant spending, surging deficits, ruinous debt, higher taxes,
growing unemployment and unlimited government in Washington. On top of all
that, Obama's foreign policy of "engaging" adversaries and hammering allies
is a dangerous flop.
Obama and congressional Democrats could frustrate the emerging coalition by
changing course, seeking a "reset" in relations with Republicans, and
agreeing to bipartisan (and far less costly) deals on health care and other
domestic policies. But they're too stubbornly ideological for that. They've
decided voters in Virginia and New Jersey were sending no message at all.
Instead, their response is: If you don't like what we're offering, we'll
give you more of it. Far more Americans oppose Obamacare than support it.
Yet Democratic representative Gerald Connolly of Virginia said he
"concluded" from last week's election that "we've got to pass health care
... [and] give Democrats something to be excited about." It's "a matter of
tangibles being delivered," said Democratic representative Jan Schakowsky of
Illinois.
Democrats have persuaded themselves that the Republican blowout of 1994 was
caused by President Clinton's failure to enact health care reform. This was
the election dominated by "angry white men." So we're to understand it was
the defeat of Hillarycare that enraged them? Only a fool or a liberal
Democrat could believe that.
The mainstream media haven't scoped things out any more convincingly. Their
line is Republicans won two big races last week and, boy, are they in
trouble now. The most telling result was the loss of a Republican House seat
in upstate New York as a result of turmoil among conservatives and
moderates. And more such clashes, in the media's mind, will hamper
Republicans in capturing House and Senate seats in the 2010 midterm
elections.
What happened in the 1970s suggests otherwise. The turmoil among Republicans
then was a sign of interest and intensity. The same is true now. The effect
of the battles inside the party is to focus attention on combating the
greater threat that draws Republicans, independents, and tea party folks
together. Moderates and conservatives both argue they're better at the
overarching task of stopping the Obama-Pelosi agenda.
There's another important task for Republicans. They must keep the fragile
coalition from splintering. Independents and tea party people got on board
last week, but they haven't coalesced with Republicans in an enduring way.
They need to. Victories in 2010 and 2012 depend on it.
Republicans can firm up the coalition by doing three things. One, refrain
from dissing the tea party people. "They're not fringe," says Rep. Darrell
Issa, R-Calif., Two, stress the fiscal and economic issues that appeal to
independents (and most Americans).
Three, run candidates guided by conservative principles who can talk about
these issues in concrete ways, as Bob McDonnell did in winning the Virginia
governor's race. Manage all three and the Republican future will be bright.
****************
That needs repeating: "Today's it's the hyper-liberal policies of Obama and
Pelosi that are for fostering rampant spending, surging deficits, ruinous
debt, higher taxes, growing unemployment and unlimited government in
Washington."
"Fear of the law is the beginning of wisdom" --French proverb
"The American people are now suspicious of not only the lawmakers, but the
process they hide behind to do their work,"--Michael Franc, president of
government relations/The Heritage Foundation
"A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be
restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever." --John Adams
No Surrender!
Dionysus
myobic
"Dionysus" <no.sur...@never.net> wrote in message
news:7cOdnV68spJifWTX...@giganews.com...
Dionysus
"myobic" <mi...@yourownbiz.com> wrote in message
news:nTlKm.11297$Qd7....@news.usenetserver.com...
> Third party- where do I sign up?
Nope, l understand your frustration, me too, but a third party ain't the
answer. It'll be philosophy, not politial factions (President Washington's
term for them ) that'll save this republic.
We need to destroy modern repressive liberalism with freedom loving
conservatism.
"Man is not free unless government is limited."--Ronald Reagan
"Rights began as protections against what the state could not do to a
citizen; now they have become what the government must do for an individual.
Ultimately, [however], people [only] have rights to life, to liberty, and to
property" --Rachel Patterson, Adam Smith Institute
"The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the
republican model of government are justly considered�staked on the
experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people." --George
Washington
"Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the
freeness of speech" --Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who
approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright
force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined." --Patrick Henry
No surrender!
Dionysus
Dionysus
"mani deli" <nob...@rinterlog.com> wrote in message
news:pl1kf5l40kneuaf0t...@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:33:54 -0800, "myobic" <mi...@yourownbiz.com>
> wrote:
>
>>Reagan won the presidency in a
>>> landslide.
>
> <no.sur...@never.net> wrote:
>
>>Reagan won the presidency in a
>>landslide.
>
> substituted the command of oil and car companies. He contributed to
> the ruin of the railroads and public transportation. Enjoy the costly
> roads overcrowded with stinking trucks
>
> He even removed the solar panels on the White House put there by
> Carter. To get elected Raygun made an agreement with Iran to hold the
> hostages until after the election. For all his end big government
> baloney he increased the military and spy stuff and left an economic
> disaster to come. And never mind the Contra stuff.
>
> The results of the ruin of the educational system at that time left
> Americans debauched by advertising and entertainment, religious
> hysteria and massive political ignorance and a one weak attention
> span.
>
> It's now a nation where what counts is "In God we Trust." The guy who
> is never around, who people actually believe will do something. And of
> course there's the American Dream. You have to be asleep to believe
> it.
>
> Raygun started Americans on the road to voluntary amnesia and a
> disgust for critical thinking.
>
> "Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them
> are stupider than that." George Carlin
*********
And you do so perfectly exemplify that stupider half. You must real hate
your fellow Americans to think so little of them; your "elitist" disdain
reeks and sours your words to vile and noisome putrification.
Here, suck on this for respite: "The Reagan free market - deregulation
revolution, with a sound dollar and low tax rates, launched a 27-year boom.
The Gipper's policies were copied all around the world." --Larry Kudlow
"Man is not free unless government is limited."--Ronald Reagan
And these, Head-Up-Arse:
"The Founding Fathers knew a government can't control the economy without
controlling people." --Ronald Reagan
"Public servants say, always with the best of intentions, "What greater
service we could render if only we had a little more money and a little more
power." But the truth is that outside of its legitimate function, government
does nothing as well or as economically as the private sector." --Ronald
Reagan
"Every dictator who ever lived has justified the enslavement of his people
on the theory of what was good for the majority." --Ronald Reagan
No surrender!
Dionysus
Michael Coburn
> FROM WASHINGTON EXAMINER
>
> HEAD: Fred Barnes: It's like Jimmy Carter never left town By: Fred
> Barnes, executive editor of The Weekly Standard
The year that Carter was elected the unemployment rate was 9% and the
inflation rate was 7% and rising steeply. And now as then the Republicans
are rallying around blaming Obama as they did Carter for the mess their
president(s) made of America.
> November 9, 2009 Republican conservatives and moderates are at each
> other's throats. Tea party populists are furious at President Obama and
> House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and aren't crazy about Republicans either.
> Democrats haven't got a clue. There's talk of a third party. The economy
> is stagnant as unemployment, now 10.2 percent, climbs. It's beginning to
> look like the late 1970s.
>
> This is good news for Republicans -- extremely good news.
Yes.... The party of "all that matters is us", will certainly have reason
to celebrate any of their poison pills taking effect.
> Today's
> struggles between conservatives and moderates are mere skirmishes
> compared with the titanic intraparty battle touched off by Ronald
> Reagan's challenge of President Ford for the Republican presidential
> nomination in 1976. Ford's dreamy Democratic successor, Jimmy Carter,
> brought matters to a head. He proved incompetent in foreign policy and a
> bumbler on anything to do with the economy.
>
> The result was a Republican bull market.
The result was a load of Republican borrowing pig manure that is still
destroying the United States.
> In 1978, Republicans gained 15
> House seats and 3 senators. That was a preview of 1980, when they netted
> 35 House seats and captured control of the Senate with a 12-seat pickup.
> And, oh, yes, there was another victory. Reagan won the presidency in a
> landslide.
All of this is true. And it is also true that Carter appointed Paul
Volcker to the Fed and caused his own party's defeat while arguably
saving the US dollar. The rest is Republican swill.
> The resemblance between the 1970s and today isn't exact. Political
> analogies never are. But there's enough to hearten Republicans. As we
> saw in the election of Republican governors in Virginia and New Jersey
> last week, the political energy and ardor are on the center-right. Just
> as they were 30 years ago.
Now all you lying pigs have to do is continue to use the media to spread
your filthy lies and the dupes of America may hand you some gains in the
2010 elections. It really does get down to education of the people. If
they are lied to an a constant basis then it is possible for you thieving
pigs to win a few seats.
> A coalition of Republicans, independents, and tea party populists is
> beginning to take shape. How come? Because they again have a common foe.
> In the 1970s, it was Carter's feeble leadership in the face of
> stagflation and the collapse of U.S. interests abroad.
This really is an accurate picture of the current Republicans party. No
plan, no vision, no positive message of any kind. Just hatred and
spittle for anyone or anything that attempts to DO something other than
hate the Muslims, Blacks, Hispanics, and anyone else that isn't white.
> Today's it's the hyper-liberal policies of Obama and Pelosi that are for
> fostering rampant spending, surging deficits, ruinous debt, higher
> taxes, growing unemployment and unlimited government in Washington. On
> top of all that, Obama's foreign policy of "engaging" adversaries and
> hammering allies is a dangerous flop.
Monkeys are entitled to their opinions. Yet Obama inherited the most
disastrous mess of any president since Jimmy Carter and to that extend
the analogy actually works. The screech monkeys inherited peace and a
budget surplus and turned into a disaster.
> Obama and congressional Democrats could frustrate the emerging coalition
> by changing course, seeking a "reset" in relations with Republicans, and
> agreeing to bipartisan (and far less costly) deals on health care and
> other domestic policies. But they're too stubbornly ideological for
> that. They've decided voters in Virginia and New Jersey were sending no
> message at all.
That is essentially correct. The Democrats have already been far too
tolerant of the Republican idiots. There is no real excuse for it
because Republicans will never bargain in good faith and never actually
compromise. For them it is stone wall all the way. And every attempt to
mollify the Republicans worsens any good legislation.
> Instead, their response is: If you don't like what we're offering, we'll
> give you more of it. Far more Americans oppose Obamacare than support
> it. Yet Democratic representative Gerald Connolly of Virginia said he
> "concluded" from last week's election that "we've got to pass health
> care ... [and] give Democrats something to be excited about." It's "a
> matter of tangibles being delivered," said Democratic representative Jan
> Schakowsky of Illinois.
And that is an absolute fact. No more Mr. Nice Guy with the ignoramus
Republican party and Joe, Republican, LIEberman and Max, Republican,
Baucus.
> Democrats have persuaded themselves that the Republican blowout of 1994
> was caused by President Clinton's failure to enact health care reform.
And along with Democratic corruption, that is essentially correct.
> This was the election dominated by "angry white men." So we're to
> understand it was the defeat of Hillarycare that enraged them? Only a
> fool or a liberal Democrat could believe that.
Dan Rostenkowski was the posture child for what sunk the Democrats in
1994.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Rostenkowski#Changing_times ----
Rostenkowski's downfall in 1994 was portrayed by Republicans as
emblematic of Democratic corruption. The scandal helped fuel the
Republican victory in the House, led by Newt Gingrich and his Contract
with America. "The rise and fall of Dan Rostenkowski tracks the rise and
fall of Democrats in the House," concludes Richard E. Cohen in his book
on Rostenkowski.[6] "It is a story of power, accomplishments, and,
ultimately, failure and humiliation." Rostenkowski was defeated by
Republican attorney Michael Patrick Flanagan by a margin of eight points.
Flanagan would be defeated two years later by Rod Blagojevich.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The problem for Republicans is that such corruption no longer exists to
any significant degree on the Democratic side of the isle. Meanwhile,
the nation knows that changes must be made if the common people are to
maintain a decent life. And those changes are _NOT_ a backward move to
the failed policies that got us where we are. The most interesting thing
about the health care debate is the very sane and balanced acceptance of
the tax increase on millionaires to provide health care subsidies for the
disadvantaged. It remains to be seen whether that tax increase will
survive the bought and paid for Senate. But chances are actually pretty
good. BECAUSE of those tax adjustments the bill can be a reconciliation
that reduces the deficit and therefore immune to Republican obstruction.
> The mainstream media haven't scoped things out any more convincingly.
> Their line is Republicans won two big races last week and, boy, are they
> in trouble now. The most telling result was the loss of a Republican
> House seat in upstate New York as a result of turmoil among
> conservatives and moderates. And more such clashes, in the media's mind,
> will hamper Republicans in capturing House and Senate seats in the 2010
> midterm elections.
There is little doubt that the Republicans have a serious internal
problem. The left wing of the Democratic party is adamant about pro
choice. But they will not sink health care reform over this issue. It
may be that the final bill signed by Obama this year will not have a
Public Option. But that sets up the real political battle for the
forthcoming elections: The Public Option will be introduced as a stand
alone bill and every lying pig will be forced again to carry their own
water on that particular issue. The liars have been able to lie about
the Public Option being a tax funded program because of all the other
confusion in health care reform. With the rest of the issues resolved
into law, the liars can be called out with no fear of having to
"compromise"
> What happened in the 1970s suggests otherwise. The turmoil among
> Republicans then was a sign of interest and intensity. The same is true
> now. The effect of the battles inside the party is to focus attention on
> combating the greater threat that draws Republicans, independents, and
> tea party folks together. Moderates and conservatives both argue they're
> better at the overarching task of stopping the Obama-Pelosi agenda.
Yes... That seems to be the only rallying point for the asshole party.
They have no ideas and no plans and no vision. Stopping those who want
progress is their only agreement.
> There's another important task for Republicans. They must keep the
> fragile coalition from splintering. Independents and tea party people
> got on board last week, but they haven't coalesced with Republicans in
> an enduring way. They need to. Victories in 2010 and 2012 depend on it.
>
> Republicans can firm up the coalition by doing three things. One,
> refrain from dissing the tea party people. "They're not fringe," says
> Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., Two, stress the fiscal and economic issues
> that appeal to independents (and most Americans).
It will be very important to LIE big, LIE early, and LIE often.
> Three, run candidates guided by conservative principles who can talk
> about these issues in concrete ways, as Bob McDonnell did in winning the
> Virginia governor's race. Manage all three and the Republican future
> will be bright. ****************
The _ONLY_ way the Republicans can gain on their own initiative is to LIE
big, LIE early, and LIE often and hope they can use the media to make the
lies stick.
--
"Those are my opinions and you can't have em" -- Bart Simpson