Thursday Open Thread: Warsaw Pact Edition
by PubliusToday, in 1991, the Warsaw Pact was officially dissolved. To all readers under 40, yes, this was a big deal. Too bad we squandered it.
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109 Comments
28 years ago I joined the Navy to fight communism…
And now there is a communist in the Whitehouse…
I am living in Cracow,Poland(Until march) and I can tell you that a majority of Poles under 30 have little appreciation of what their parents had to endure under communism. The one good thing here is Obama is viewed as a 'balwan', roughly translated means IDIOT.
When you stop and think of all the lives lost, trying to stop communism from getting to our front door, only to wake up to one in the White House…it starts to feel like it was all for nothing! WE have to keep fighting the good fight! WE cannot let this country go under the rule of these idiots in Washington, who have no idea how to run anything!!!
I recall the summer of 1992 I went to an Air-Show in Oregon and a "Russian Federation" SU-27 I think. I was moved to tears at seeing a plane in exhibition flight that prior I had only seen as "an enemy" before.
I felt that I had helped "win the cold war" and we were at peace and it would be OK to start thinking about getting amrried and having a family…
And now, there is a communist in the white house…
Yes, we fought against communism, and yes we helped to bring down the Warsaw Pact, but, it would have eventually fallen anyway. Why, you ask ? Because communism DOES NOT work. Progressive professors and left wing politicians have to be the stupidest people on the face of the earth to have not figured that out by now. Are you listening Obama ? Put down the f#cking 9 iron and listen to me. Communism, under any name, DOES NOT WORK.
In this case, I'd say that is 'exactly' translated.
Obamarx, Obamao etc etc
Please Join me in The Campaign to Have the Obamas Vacation on the Gulf
Some comments:
GREAT NEWS EVERYONE! Bill Clinton is joining the campaign. He told me it's the least he can do. I'm naming him as vice….
Jimmy Carter has volunteered for the campaign. He told me that he would have vacationed on the Gulf and built his own vacation home, too, with the help of those poor, oppressed Palestinians.
Oh no, Rahm just called and he didn't sound too happy. He told me to expect something in the mail from him. I asked him if this means he's not going to join. He hung up on me.
balwan? oh I thought you said Alec Baldwin. Thats English for idiot.
I've made that point here many times. Yet I'm always told i'm wrong, that it was President Reagan that single handedly brought USSR to its knees. It makes me chuckle oh so much.
Dumb conservatives are almost as dumb as dumb liberals.
Reagan certainly helped to speed up the process.
I thought Ronald Reagan single handedly brought USSR to its knees?
Was the Cold War a non interventionist policy?
My husband is in the Army and has already put in over 18 yrs. He's fighting to keep us free, but unfortunately he's also fighting to keep the Communist do what he wants. This is pure B.S. if you'd ask me.
Pedro,
Where to next after March?
You seem like a good neighbor to have so I would suggest moving to Virginia maybe…
Why was it important to end communism? Should the U.S. go after China as well?
But, was it a "big effing deal"?
It all keeps coming back to that harsh reality, doesn' it? And what worries me is will he leave even if voted out in 2012? I don't trust this little Hugo any further than I can throw him. He's gonna try to pull something- some kind of national emergency- mark my words.
Johnny, Johnny, Johnny…..*sigh*
Is that Ron Howard in the picture LOL
Thank you for your service David. I know what you mean, really I do.
My dad would be rolling in his grave if he seen this Country now. His parents left communism and went to Ellis Island. My dad taught me at an early age what it meant, when most kids my age couldn't pronounce it.
I just never believed this would happen in my lifetime.
It has been an education for us all DM, almost makes one afraid to EVER declare victory in any endeavor.
I too thought our country was sailing in calm waters after the fall of the USSR. Then I heard a caller on
Michael Savages radio show, by the name of Jimmy, who said the Soviets had gone underground with
the fight. I didn't hardly believe his whole line of BS, but his call did lead me to raise my antennae, pay
more attention. Well, well………look what came out'a the woodwork this week? Long-term Ruskies em-
bedded in American society. Wonder what their neighbors, co-workers and casual acquaintances think?
If you can read this, thank a teacher.
If you can read this in English, thank a soldier.
I love those lines, I don't know where they originate, but I've seen it around the `net.
What is sad is that Poland has already been sold out by Dear Leader Emperor Barack Hussein Obama (mmm mmm mmm), and he did so (pulling the missile shield from them) on the anniversary date OF THE SOVIET INVASION in 1939! This sellout got us nothing of course, didn't stop Putin from dispatching hot redhead spies to spy on us.
Biggest mistake the allies made was not declaring war on BOTH Germany and the USSR.
Biden calling Republicans Nazis, Freaking libtards don't even know their history. NAZIs were NATIONAL SOCIALISTS just like democrats, just like every liberal around. Socialism is just the lite beer of communism and both are slavery or worse. Talk to anyone that lived under communism and they never want it to return, but some how the american left and the world in general thinks that the slavery of socialism is any better. Socialism is still enforced at the barrel of the gun and is as destructive as communism.
Don't beleive that they are slavery? Don't pay your taxes, the government shows up on your property with guns. Puts you in chains and takes you off to prison. The government then steals all your property, displaces you family leaving them barren. Meanwhile, you are in prisoned, separated from your love ones and unable to work to pay off you debt. The elites don't pay their taxes and they might get a slap on the wrist, and lieing on their taxes they get no punishment. Just like the communists the socialist make rules for the rest of the population while living above the law! GET RID OF YOUR SOCIALIST FRIENDS THEY WANT TO ENSLAVE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!
Next time you hear a socialist call a capitalist a nazi, you'll know they are ignorant, but also you know that they want to enslave you and tell them. "YOU LIKE SOCIALISM THEN YOU LIKE SLAVERY BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT YOU ARE PUSHING FOR!" Until every communist is Confirmeddead.com Slavery will continue….Communism millions killed, billions enslaved. BIDEN IS Uncle Joe Stalin!!!!! Joe Biden/STALIN
Don't foget that reporter (author?) that Putin had assassinated/poisoned a couple years ago, too. Talk about something right out of the Cold War…
Lord have mercy!
Should the U.S. charge the chinese credit card or tell Bernanke to fire up the presses and invade North Korea?
Would a cost benefit risk reward analysis (and Christian principles if one is such) justify invading North Korea?
Would humanitarian reasons be a justification for taking North Korea over? Would the military forces that have been holding down the fort in South Korea for decades be ready to clean the rust off their guns and eagerly head north in the name of righteousness?
Will economic forces relegate the U.S. to a position of power equivalent to Great Britain?
Guns or butter ladies and gents, guns or butter. The American people have gotten exactly what they deserve with this current administration.
I applaud John Boehner for the first time, addressing Social Security and raising the benefit age to 70. May not be the way to go, but atleast he brought up the issue.
Israelites one and all!
Morning trout.
Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy!
The billions and billions of our tax dollars that were spent year after year throughout the Cold War,………
so the world can have the opportunity to enjoy the freedom that is theirs,………
and we have a president that has spent his entire administration apologizing to this world,………..
and we expect 30 year olds throughout the world to appreciate what,..??????
The USSR was brought to it's knees by Reagan, Thatcher, and John Paul II.
And by the fact that the American People could out work and outproduce the communists to the point they could not even maintain an illusion of being competitive.
If you think we are in Afghanastan because of terrorism, when it is clearly evident that any terrorist could waltz right across the Mexican border if he so wished…
Hmm. Any other reason we might be propping up a corrupt puppet regime in Afghanastan?
Professor,
Unfortunately, you are most correct.
Those who rewrite history are doomed to repeat the mistakes they edited out…
Effing idiots…
You can see Barry kicking around the Oval Office, thinking aloud about the wonders of the Warsaw Pact, “Those Soviets sure knew how to run a dictatorship, a true workers paradise…if only we could get rid of the Constitution!”
Ok, I thought communism was unsustainable, and that it would collapse all on its own.
Think of the USSR as a frozen steak, thawing on the counter. Now, think of Reagan as a microwave…..
Johnny you seriously beleive that communism is a good thing, that repression, slavery, genocide, and rape of a country should be encouraged? Communism is slavery and socialism is just the lite beer of communism they are both enforced at gun point with near limitiless power over the majority of the populace.
Regan fought the Commies
Cater tried to fight the Commies
JFK fought the Commies
Unfortantly chairman MaObama is in the white house because americans have been fed a line of BS, and the Commies are the left party.. The democratic party of slavery(read your history) hasn't chnaged any, they still want you enslaved while the ruling class live above the law.
Communism can not survive without a capitalist to steal from…. Communism is a parasite and capitalism is the host. Lenin even said it in his writtings that the Communism can't exsist without a capitalist to steal from. READ YOUR HISTORY!
"And now, there is a communist in the white house…"
And this brings more fears and tears to my eyes then the cold war ever did!!
Everything we feared is coming to pass without a shot being fired, just like Krushchev
said so many years ago!!
David, your patriotism and service are appreciated…I have a feeling there are a lot
of Vets out there that are stunned at the turn in our country….We all have to do a lot
better in educating the younger people..They are being misinformed in schools and
the MSM, that's why so many of them voted for this socialist…Hopefully we can do
something in November!!!….
The Lord will have mercy on those who know him. I will have no mercy on those who would destroy America.
All that blood and treasure……..and for what?
And I thought I'd killed my last Communist…..
THEY don't care whether it works or not. What THEY do know that it's the most efficient way to rid the world of it's useless feeders.
Was Kruschev at the UN when he banged his shoe on the podium?
June 29
1767-British passes Townshend Revenue Act levying taxes on America
- http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/related/town...
1776-The Constitution of Virginia adopted & Patrick Henry made governor
- http://www.nhinet.org/ccs/docs/va-1776.htm
- http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/E/townshend/dutiesxx.ht...
1784-Caesar Rodney, judge and signer of the Deceleration of Independence, died
- http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/signers/rodn...
1814- Gouverneur Morris (signer and penman of the Constitution) gave an oration at the request of the people of New York, "We have seen the tumult of democracy terminate … as [it has] everywhere terminated, in despotism. … Democracy! savage and wild. Thou who wouldst bring down the virtuous and wise to thy level of folly and guilt." (Republic vs Democracy)
- http://www.history.army.mil/books/revwar/ss/morri...
- http://www.partyof1776.net/p1776/fathers/Morris%2...
Hi Cornpone, yes, he was at some UN Conference…and I believe
while he was pounding his shoe, he said, "we will bury you"…..
1863-Lee orders his forces to concentrate near Gettysburg, PA
- http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Gettysburg_Ca...
1863-Battle of Westminster, Maryland (Officially considered part of the Battle of Gettysburg)
1876-Nellie Taylor Ross, 1st woman to serve as a gov (Wyoming, 1925-27) is born
- http://ahc.uwyo.edu/eduoutreach/citizen/ross.htm
1891-National Forest Service organized
1940-U.S. passes Alien Registration Act requiring Aliens to register
- http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAalien.htm
1943-U.S. forces landed at Nassau Bay, near Salamaua, New Guinea
- http://www.history.army.mil/brochures/new-guinea/...
1944-U.S. 7th army corp conquers Cherbourg, France
- http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_cher...
1949-U.S. troops withdraw from Korea after WW II
1956-Federal-Aid Highway Act signed
- http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/rw96e.cfm
1964-Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed after 83-day filibuster bu the Democrats in the Senate
- http://coursesa.matrix.msu.edu/~hst306/documents/...
- http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minut...
1982-Voting Rights Act of 1965 extended
- http://www.justice.gov/crt/voting/intro/intro_b.p...
Yeah, THEY are the ones misinformed. Just keep telling yourself that.
And after November, after you've done something, are you going to STFU? Yeah right! Conservatives will always whine,will always play the victim, even when you have the country bent over and you're the one screwing us.
So you can whine. Why else does anyone do anything?
When you're done venting methane, there's a clean-up on isle three….
Good post. The important thing is that we don't point the finger at ourselves and ask what we did to usher this communist into our White House. Its not our fault, it never is, so we don't need to examine our own actions and views to understand why the country turned against us and voted in this communist. The last thing we need to do is change. We just need to keep fighting the good fight and do it louder and more forcefully.
Just chalk it up as another failure of the Boomer generation. The sun rises, the sun sets.
And then we sent our production to Mexico, then China, then India, then …
All to the cheers of "Let there be cheap crap in our stores!".
Is it stealing when we give it to them? Capitalism drove us to export our production and jobs to them, how can you blame Communists for accepting it?
That's just what Patton wanted to do, too.. But we in America had it wrong at the time, we had been told Joseph Stalin was really a helpful, good guy.
Stenny Hoyer (D) from MD suggested this FIRST. Didn't see the COMMUNIST IN CHIEF taking him to task
for this comment. JUMP on the Republicans. We NEED to elect the PEOPLE who believe in the same principles of FREEDOM as we do, to MARCH BACK all this HORRIBLE LEGISLATION, FIX OUR SOCIAL PROGRAMS OR GET RID OF THEM ALL (PER THE FOUNDERS) AND GET OUR AMERICA BACK!!!!
AMNESTY MUST GO!!!!!
Apparently your memory only goes back about 18 months, given the reasons that glib, inexperienced pols are even considered for leadership. The grass is always greener, never more so than when one is standing in a yard of shit. We live on a pendulum.
Been tryin' for years to fight the good fight. Too many progressive pigs manipulating the data. People are waking up now, though. Gonna sux bad for all you left-wing jackasses, there PieceACrappy.
Are you a liar, or are you stupid ?
Places without goofy government regulations and unions. Whadda ya know.
Now thats the right attitude. Those damn progressive pigs manipulating the data, its their fault.
I don't know about people waking up though. Right-wing jackasses hand it over to left-wing jackasses, now LW-JA are handing it back to RW-JA. I'll give you 2 years before you hand it back, including the re-election of our communist in chief. You heard it here first. … Sorry, I have the wrong the attitude. Its not your fault, you do everything right, the progressive pigs must have manipulated me.
Um, neither?
Explain yourself.
Places with low, low wages and no protections for the lives of workers, and no goofy regulations to prevent cheap toxic poisons .to be used in manufacturing. Whadda ya know.
But thats awesome of you, directly above you call into question my point that capitalism is what sent our production jobs to other countries, now here you support my point. Nice work. You better check with your right wing sources to determine which way you should think.
Yup, they sure have manipulated you. First thing you've got right all day. Good for you. And there hasn't been any so called right-winger (small limited government) in power for many years. Reagan was cut from the right cloth, but he had to deal with a left, big spending congress. And I didn't 'hear it here first' because there are other tools like you out there making the same prediction. We'll see. ; )
Gotta be one or the other. Why the question mark ? If you're not sure which you are, then you must be both.
Capitalism didn't export our manufacturing base, nor was the reason the low wages. What caused it was the socialist view that distrubution of wealth is some how better for the world. Regulations aren't capitalist, they are communist and push buisness off shore, government taxes the buisness off shore, and generally the federal government made the enviroment for buisness terrible in the USA and that drove them off shore.
There hasn't been capitalism in the USA since the early 1800's we have slowly and progressivly slipped into the socialist state and now headed to communism and tyranny of the federal government. The "cheap crap…" is a consumerism and once again not related to capitalist nature (austrian economics if you are truely uneducated) tariffs aren't capitalism, unions aren't capitalism, regulations aren't capitalism. The only truely capitalist economy is now the black market economies, because governments have their hands into everything in the "free Market".
So your whole arguement about the export of jobs is because capitalism is based on a FALSE Premisis and UNEDUCATED as to what true capitalism is! Stop reading the propaganda and pick up a book yourself, not regurgitate talking points that are FALSE!
Then if you really want to get into it, we can talk about currency surpression(China), trade embargos/disparities and the general treaties that forced everyone out of this country….
[...] » Thursday Open Thread: Warsaw Pact Edition – Big Government [...]
The perceptual dyslexia on the left is amazing! You guys are so communist in your approach it is not even hidden anymore.
Who is it that always plays the victim? Who is it that is incessantly whining?
Who is it that NOW has the country bent over? And exactly who is it that is getting screwed on a not-seen-before scale right now??
Seriously!
I have no interest in communism.
I have no interest in the U.S. model of judicial branch working to create big central government.
I have no interest in U.S. model of fake free market capitalism.
I think the Swiss have a pretty good model.
In other news, a few left-over H1N1 vaccines are being destroyed. And by a "few", I mean 40 million:
http://www.wishtv.com/dpps/news/strange/millions-...
"Swine flu turned out not to be as deadly as was first feared. About 12,000 deaths have been attributed to it — or roughly a third of the estimated annual deaths from seasonal flu."
Well, duh…
Oh, so the USSR stole from a capitalist country?
Oh, ok, would you call that a non interventionist policy, since no boots on the ground in USSR?
The Swiss have a tiny, landlocked, mountainous country of seven million people. We do not. There model would never work here, and they can exist in their model because bigger nations did the heavy lifting around them, ensuring their perpetual neutrality (that, and the fact that resource-wise there just isn't anything all that vital in vast quantities to bother with Switzerland).
Oil Spill Cleanup, Obama-style.
Just more slavery in the Swiss system….Although I like the fact that the government gives out guns to the citizens and requires them to keep them in working order…
One of the highest citizen owned weapons in the world, how would the libtards like that one, be required to have a machine gun in the house and use a gun.
"Who is it that always plays the victim?" The right.
"Who is it that is incessantly whining?" The right.
"Who is it that NOW has the country bent over?" The left.
"And exactly who is it that is getting screwed on a not-seen-before scale right now?? " Our children.
The left has had us bent over for 18 months so far. Chump change compared to the previous 8 years. The right has no ground to stand on when they tell us they're different than the left but do the same damned BS. Its awfully strained for the right to now complain about deficits after the leftists took over, when we had record deficits for most of the past 8 years when rightists were in the driver's seat.
Thats an objective view, which I fully expect you're incapable of understanding. I know full well your blinders are firmly attached and you can only see in one direction. Which explains why you'll always whine, you'll always play the victim, and you'll be the ones bending us over after you get the left removed from the rear position. A dick is a dick, whether its left or right. You just don't seem to grasp that reality.
You're using a very limited definition of capitalism for your argument. Its not a realistic definition. You should look it up and educate yourself a little bit, it might give you some perspective.
Regulations and unions are indeed a part of capitalism. They are responses to fraud that occur in free markets. You could argue regulation is less of a free market solution because it involved government intervention, but unions are pure capitalism, a response to corruption in the free market. Our cheap crap is exactly a product of capitalism- our consumerist nature creates demand and suppliers step up to meet the demand in search of profits. Pretty simple really. But it doesn't fit the narrative you're fed by Fox News so I doubt you'll get it.
The exportation of jobs is a natural affect of capitalism, its perfectly logical a company would build products in China and ship them here to sell, because it is cheaper to do so. Its that simple. You're right it has to do with regulations and taxes, thats part of it. An even bigger reason is the fact wages are so much lower in China, and the fact they tend to use cheaper materials. Companies don't have to pay benefits to Chinese workers, no concern for working conditions and wages that are pennies on the dollar compared to American workers.
Currency suppression in China is a very valid point to be made.
Trade embargoes affect very few, specific industries. Truly meaningful embargoes don't last long because the politics can be incendiary.
Disparities, yes. Like free trade policy?
No companies were forced out of America. They made their choices based on profits. Sure, its more expensive to run a business in America than China, thats because our economy is so much more advanced, we have a much higher standard of living. Your points about regulation and taxation are valid too, especially taxation.
The good news is the pendulum is slowly swinging back again. We Americans still love our cheap Walmart crap, but the demand for local products, American made products, even at a slightly higher price, is on the upswing.
You mis-spelled your handle,
You clearly meant to call yourself PieceOSh!t because as evidenced by everything you say, that is what you are…
STFU & FOAD.
DXM,
As if a grocery store would hire that piece of crap…
That is FUNNY!
Dear God I hope not…
Yeah, I am giving POS too much credit. He probably hangs out on the on ramp with his little cardboard sign, and uses some of the money at an internet cafe.
Well, now that you mention God… there's always the possibility of Divine Intervention. I guess I shouldn't be playing the prophet lol. But I do think it's in Obamalinsky's heart for sure.
You are correct, the left have the country bent over. And yes our children are getting power-slammed now.
But I don't think the "Right" was in the drivers seat for quite as long as you make it out to be during the previous 8 years. At least , not the way I define "Right". To me "Right" = "conservative ideology".
It was Ted Kennedy that basically wrote the education Bill — No Child Left Behind. Prescription drug entitlements in Social Security? Not a conservative idea. So much of the domestic policy especially left what I would call the "Right" (conservatives) scratching our heads.
You are right, if you say the right plays the victim by complaining and whining — though I think it is for different reasons than you think. The right has a respect for rules and process.
The leftist whiners are the ones that turn aggressive and violent. They are too busy doing Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson shakedowns to really "play" the victim, but they will talk a great dialog about how they are being victimized and need this entitlement or that entitlement. I've seen the protesters out with their "Shame on XYZ" "Labor Dispute" signs. These are not folks that have jobs to get back to. They are being funded by labor unions like SEIU and the like. And these are funded off of union dues and money siphoned off from taxpayers.
The real "Right" (conservatives) is awake to the fact that if we don't organize and organize now our country will be stolen from us and returned in a way that we can't recognize. But, in the words of Margaret Thatcher, "Truth Will Prevail".
The ideology of the Left is built on a lie and will eventually crumble, regardless of how many bodies it chews up in the process.
Maybe you live on a pendulum.
I live in a free nation, one that has the Constitution as it's foundation.
[...] » Thursday Open Thread: Warsaw Pact Edition – Big Government [...]
[...] » Thursday Open Thread: Warsaw Pact Edition – Big Government [...]
[...] » Thursday Open Thread: Warsaw Pact Edition – Big Government [...]
Truth hurts, as evidenced by your reaction to it.
I take it from your comment that you wouldn't consider George Bush to be a conservative?
Ted Kennedy co-authored NCLB but it was W that brought it into the light and started on its path to passage. NCLB and prescription drug entitlements wouldn't be law if they didn't receive W's signature.
I don't mean to taint your thinking by sharing my position, but I do think Bush was not much of a conservative. He threw some bones to the right, he used their preferred buzzwords a lot, and he did give another go to the failed economic theory known as "supply side", but he also spent money like a drunken democrat and treated our liberty like a bug on his shoulder. I'm still scratching my head about why NCLB and prescription drug entitlements were made into law. Thats some poor governance.
I'm anxiously awaiting to see who or what the real "Right" is. I hope for two things, that conservatives go back to the principles of classical liberalism, and, they dump social conservatives over the side of the ship. Social conservatives are a pox on the ideology. If conservatives could muster those two things they very well could become mainstream and a real force in American politics. Conservatives are a force now, but they can't win general elections on their own. Same is true of leftist ideology, they both need the middle to achieve electoral victory. Thats the rub for the right, they're going the other direction, alienating the middle. It can still work in House district elections, not as well in Senate elections and not at all in POTUS general elections.
My hope is that the Left and Right crumble and re-emerge as a 4 party system. Five or six parties would be even better.
Oh, yes, I forgot, you like to narrate the truth.
Well said though. We're both right, and thats the truth.
The plight of Arizona is not new. Bush tried to go down the path of comprehensive immigration reform, but then he caved into pressure from the right and ended up doing nothing. I see nothing different from Obama, other than he doesn't have to worry about placating neo-cons.
I agree with you to an extent. The performance of the feds on immigration is abhorrent. But it is a very difficult issue to wrestle with. Its a divisive issue and there are many factors in the mix that receive consideration. On one hand we're America, we have open borders and welcome the downtrodden (traditionally speaking), on the other hand we're under assault from the south and its bringing unacceptable violence and suffering to our lands. So what do we do? Spend even more money and lock down the border? Spend more money to apprehend and deport illegals everywhere we can find them?
I respect your concerns, I just don't share the depth of the concern. I have many criticisms of the Obama Administration, but I'm still in his corner for now. He's going in the wrong direction in that regard and not doing a good enough job of communicating, but he came into office with a slew of huge problems left by his predecessor and the other party in unanimous opposition of everything he tries to do. The luster is gone, but at least we're friends with the world again and we value science again and the people making decisions use their heads and don't rely on war to solve every international problem. I look forward to Republicans coming back to some power and actually having to govern again. I only hope they aren't lost in the rabbit hole and incapable of governing.
I actually agree with most of that. You are correct, I don't consider George W to be a real conservative. He may have had some conservative ideas, but in my view it was George W and the structure behind him that wanted the Republican part to become the "Big Tent" — which sold out what Conservatives really stood for in the name of getting larger numbers. And I credit that move with the rise of John McCain. Would you call John McCain conservative? Absolutely not, even less so than George W in my book.
I disagree though that Conservatives won't win general elections on their own. Conservatives, running on conservative platforms and behaving in conservative ways are unstoppable. Case in point: Chris Christie in New Jersey. "Conservative" is the largest single idealogical group in america, scoring some 42% if I remember right. Then it was some 30% who identified themselves as "moderates" while only 20% identified themselves as "liberal". (This is polling data that I heard quoted on Rush. So it is credible, but I forget the source). Even Scott Brown (who I wouldn't call conservative) was running on a conservative message and got elected in a landslide Massachusetts.
When conservatives run on conservative platforms they win. Conservatives vote for them and they are able to capture enough of the "moderate" vote to form a coalition. Moderates are abandoning the Left in droves right now for the newer conservative candidates. How would Sharon Angle have 50% in Nevada over Harry Reid — a long time incumbent?
I think a 4 or 5,6 party system would actually be disastrous. The Weimar Republic in Germany was crushed by so many political parties. The "New Socialists" had nowhere close to a majority, but gained power and control because they were able to make a showing bigger than anyone else. When you split the vote 5 ways, you only need 20% to get the "most" votes and become the leader. And we know how the New Socialists ended … (i.e. NAZI party)
But largely, I agree with you. George W. was not what I would call conservative. Personally, I yearn for the days of our last "conservative" president, Ronald Reagan.
[...] » Thursday Open Thread: Warsaw Pact Edition – Big Government [...]
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