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Why I Prefer to Be a Bad Sport for Now

Submitted by R. Thomas Risk on Thu, 11/06/2008 - 16:49

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On November 5 John Kasich wrote: “We must figure out how to reorganize and restructure ourselves so that we can once again command the confidence and respect of not only the members of our own party, but voters of all stripes.” I certainly agree that conservatism must be redefined, and I will offer my suggestions in a moment. But I submit that none of us is ready for the task just yet.

In her 1969 groundbreaker On Death and Dying, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, M.D., introduced a model known as the Five Stages of Grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. While not every process entails all five stages, the good doctor stated categorically that everyone experiences at least two. But it appears that virtually every conservative commentator has tossed the model out and substituted his own single-phase paradigm: Submission. No sooner had Senator McCain delivered his concession speech than some of my favorite radio talk show hosts – who had been breathing fire just hours earlier – blandly appealed to my optimism as though the proponents of capitalism and self-determination had merely lost a preseason football game. Perhaps they don’t want to appear sore losers. Perhaps they want to come across as “high-roaders.” But in whose eyes? I guarantee you the liberals are so drunk with victory that they don’t care whether we lost sportingly or otherwise. Besides, it is a bit late for conservatives to worry about image. We have been drubbed. We have been bulldozed, hoodwinked, ground into the muck. We fought fair while they pulled every dirty trick in the playbook, and they clobbered us silly.

Where is the outrage, ladies and gentlemen? Do liberals hold a patent on passion? Did someone outlaw indignation while I wasn’t looking? The liberals seem to wield it freely enough. History instructs that we can not move forward until we fully appreciate where we are. Permit me to remind all of those blasé “we’ll-gettum-next-timers” a few facts I can recall off the top of my head about the man who just gave conservatism a bloody nose. Barack Hussein Obama: (1) exhibited blatant sexism during the primaries, then thumbed his nose at feminism by snubbing Senator Clinton in favor of “Conehead” Biden; (2) showed the “common man” his true elitist colors when he rejected public campaign financing and outspent Senator McCain by a factor of 7 to 1; (3) would turn our courts into tools for “redistributive justice”; (4) used government computers and databases to find dirt that would discredit Joe the Plumber; (5) has bragged about the fact that he wants to increase the tax burden on the producers of this country so that he can guarantee a better living for the 30-40% who are freeloaders; (6) was endorsed by both Hugo Chavez and Iran’s parliament; and (7) has little patience for the notion of individual rights.

And another thing. Let us not forget that, despite his silken demeanor, the man is an empty suit when it comes to concrete solutions. I know attorneys because I am one. The first lesson they teach in law school is how to use as many of the biggest words available to say as little as possible. Our new chief executive took that lesson to heart. People are weeping and screaming and dancing in the streets because “we” made history on November 4 by electing the first African American in U.S. history. Unfortunately, a majority of the voters got so caught up in making history that they forgot to ask what kind of person lay beneath the fashionable skin they were about to vote for. Let’s face it. Obama didn’t have to make sense. He needed no substance. And he didn’t need to curry favor with moderates. All he needed was to be a good looking, well-spoken black man who hung out with “cool” people like Madonna and Bruce Springsteen. And he knew it from day one. When I was a boy I was taught that the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s would someday stamp out racism. I’m sorry to report that racism is still with us; it has merely switched sides.

This is the America our complacency has nurtured. So spare me the silver-lining pablum. I want to hear some emotionally healthy yelling and desk-pounding out there. I’m not talking about rioting or bullying. Those of you with an established forum in the media know exactly what to do. I only hope you’ll find the motivation to do it. As for the rest of you, try this as an example. When I moved to a college town some years back, I confess that I allowed my vitriolic liberal brother-in-law to temper my philosophies. Whenever he would rant about the evils he perceived Bush to have perpetrated, I was quick to remind him that the common enemy wasn’t Bush – it was career politicians and elitists in general. When he simmered down I patted myself on the back for "remaining above the fray." But one evening my 9-year-old nephew bragged to me that he had browbeaten a schoolmate of his into “voting” for a liberal in an important race. With the glassy-eyed exuberance of a Hitler youth, he recited the mantra he had heard night after night from his father. I decided I had placated the brother-in-law for the last time. Though I don’t hang out as much with my sister’s family as a result, I can rest assured that my nephew now knows his father’s way of thinking is not the only way.

So conservatism as we know it has been pulverized. It lies dead in the gutter. How do we resurrect it? The first thing we do is reintroduce ourselves to some fundamental principles many of us have forgotten: lower taxes; limited government intervention; disciplined government spending; individualism. All variations of the concepts of tradition and convention must be eliminated from our lexicon. Who do we attract? On the count of three, let’s all scratch our heads. One … two … three … and there is our answer: Real People. But just what is a real person? As a rule of thumb, real people don’t toe the party line or wear the homogenous blue blazer. Take me, for instance. I’m into The Who, Pearl Jam and the Black Keys, but I refuse to buy a suit that is anything but double-breasted. I have tattoos, but I believe shoelaces should be tied, belt loops should be belted and undershorts should be covered in public. I am licensed to carry a concealed weapon, and I will not hesitate to go for the kill shot if someone breaks into my home. On the other hand, I have never understood, and will never understand, the attraction of game hunting. I am an agnostic. I detest abortion, but I think an outright ban ignores reality. Though I am a heterosexual, I don’t understand how letting gays get married diminishes the institution for straights. By the same token, I don’t understand why gays feel the need to impose an archaic religious ritual on an otherwise fulfilling relationship. I don’t indulge in illegal recreational drugs; just the same, I don’t see the harm in legalizing marijuana or cocaine – people bent on destroying themselves will do it one way or another, so there’s no reason to spoil the party for responsible users. Blah, blah, enough about me.

The point is that today’s conservative is not as easy to peg as was the little twerp Michael J. Fox played on prime time television in the 1980s. That is why there were so many so-called Independents out there for Obama and his string-pullers to swoop up this time around. The key to redefining conservatism is to refrain from overdefining it. Agree on a very limited number of core principles, leave the rest of the slate clean and welcome the deluge of fresh new faces with bold ideas who will inevitably flock to your doorstep.

-R. Thomas Risk

Final Electoral Predictions: What a McCain Upset Would Look Like

Submitted by Aaron Marks on Mon, 11/03/2008 - 16:24

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Cross-posted from NextGenGOP.

At this point, I don’t think that any of us can effectively predict what the outcome of tomorrow’s elections will be. Quite frankly, I’m not even sure that we’ll know the who the next President of the United States is going to be for many hours, if not days, after polls close. That said, it seems that there are three possible scenarios that could play out in tomorrow’s Presidential election:

Barack Obama wins in a huge landslide.
Barack Obama wins in a close race.
John McCain pulls off an historical upset in a close race.

Barack Obama Wins in a Huge Landslide

This seems to be the narrative that the Leftosphere would like us to believe. This scenario seems to be the most unlikely due to a number of factors, including the huge percentage of undecided voters (which should break for McCain), McCain’s success in raising doubts in the minds of voters about Barack Obama, and Obama’s struggles with working-class voters in states like Pennsylvania and Ohio. Nonetheless, if current polling is to be believed, then we should see a such a landslide with an electoral map looking something like this (this is pulled straight from the RCP “No Toss Up States” map):

Barack Obama Wins in a Close Race

Unfortunately, I strongly believe that this scenario is the most likely. Basically, I see Florida and Ohio departing from their current polling numbers and going for McCain. Obama is polling near, but not at, the 50% mark in each of the states, and I think that the vast majority of undecided voters will swing to McCain in these states, allowing him to win each of them, albeit closely. Thus, the final electoral map in this scenario would look like this:

John McCain Pulls of an Historic Upset in a Close Race

I am extremely hopeful that John McCain can pull off an upset tomorrow. Unfortunately, looking at the electoral maps above, it’s hard to imagine a scenario in which he can accomplish such a difficult feat. However, if it’s going to happen, I think that in addition to Ohio and Florida bucking the current polling trends, so will Pennsylvania and, out of necessity, another state with a couple of electoral votes. Based on current RCP averages, I’m of the opinion that Nevada is the other state most likely to swing.

First, let’s talk about Pennsylvania. I’m Pittsburgh born and raised, and so I’ve lived in Pennsylvania my entire life. As a former Santorum 2006 staffer, I know that accomplishing a statewide victory in Pennsylvania is an incredible challenge for Republicans. However, I also believe that the dynamics of Pennsylvania’s electorate make it the next most likely state to flip from polling projections after Ohio and Florida. No, this isn’t because we’re racist or a bunch of rednecks (although I believe that Murtha’s comments may drive an increased number of Republicans in his district to the polls tomorrow, which is undoubtedly in McCain’s favor). Rather, I believe that the blue collar voters of Pennsylvania, although reliably Democrat, find it extremely difficult to swallow Barack Obama’s “spread the wealth around” policies – and as a result, they may either decide to not vote at all, or to pull the lever for John McCain. Additionally, there are a number of highly competitive Congressional races in PA in which an outcry of Republican voters could help turn the race in favor of McCain. Specifically, I look to William Russell’s race against John Murtha (which I mentioned above), but also to Lou Barletta’s race against the filthy Paul Kanjorski, in which I think Lou will defeat Kanjorski. With Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Florida going against polling trends, the electoral college stands at 270 for Obama-Biden to 268 for McCain-Palin, requiring one more state to flip for a McCain-Palin victory.

In my eyes, there are two other states that potentially could end up becoming red despite polling that indicates otherwise: Virginia and Nevada. Winning in either of these states will prove difficult for John McCain. However, he only has to flip one of them from its polling trends in order to win. So a McCain-Palin victory might look something like this:

The roadmap to victory for the McCain-Palin ticket is enormously difficult and quite improbable, although certainly not impossible. Some important questions to ponder over the next day or so: Can Barack Obama close? Will the GOP’s vaunted GOTV machine have the success we’ve seen in previous elections? Will young voters turn out in droves, and if so, will they really disproportionately vote for Obama? And, most importantly, does John McCain’s campaign have the ability to pull off an unprecedented and historic electoral victory?

Aaron Marks's blog
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Time to name names.

Submitted by davidfarrar on Thu, 10/09/2008 - 15:18

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As I recently pointed out (click here and here), now that McCain and Obama have done their duty for their real masters, Wall Street; John McCain can now afford to name names.

For the record: while it may seem like many middle Americans are only to happy to respond to this ploy; what they really are responding to is the realization that someone has finally heard their voices in this election -- that free-market, fiscal conservatism is not dead -- that once their true leader is found, these ideals will rise to political dominance again and right the wrongs that are presently being undertaken in their name.

ex animo

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More Palin Criticism

Submitted by Daniel Ruwe on Fri, 10/03/2008 - 22:15

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Crossposted at Right Minds

I took some heat in the comments over my criticism of Sarah Palin’s debate performance. First, it might be worth reminding everyone that there wasn’t anyone rooting for Palin more than I was—I really, really wanted her to do well. And I’m not sure why I was so down on her—even the most anti-Palin pieces always seem to begin with “well, you all might have thought she did well, but she didn’t, and here’s why.” I can’t imagine (literally, can’t imagine) how anyone could think she won the debate, or even came close to winning.

Evidently, I was wrong—everyone else though her performance was very strong at worst, and fantastic at best. Lines like “Obama’s plan is a white flag of surrender” sent chills up conservative spines—but I wasn’t impressed. Palin looked at her notes—where she had evidently reminded herself to use that line somewhere—smiled nervously, waited a beat, then blurted out her talking point. If that’s the standard for a knockout answer, then maybe we should reevaluate some of George Bush’s more awkward speeches, because they’re not half bad compared to Palin.

If Palin didn’t win the debate, it’s not because of anything Joe Biden did. Biden held his own—but he made a lot of mistakes, far too many mistakes for someone is his position. Some of his mistakes were inexcusable—he confused Article I and Article II of the Constitution, and invented an imaginary war in which the U.S. and France drove Hezbollah out of Lebanon. I don’t think he was being dishonest—worryingly, that’s just Joe being Joe. And that’s a bit scary.

Another point about Palin—like Bush, her language is sometimes simply incomprehensible. As I write this, Drudge’s main headline is that Palin expressed the notion that Obama isn’t fit to be commander-in-chief. I’m not quite sure what the news in that is—VP candidates rarely issue ringing endorsements of the other candidate’s ability to lead in times of crisis—but what is truly remarkable about her statement is its total incoherency.

“Some of his comments that he has made about the war that I think may — in my world– disqualifies someone from consideration as the next commander in chief.” That sentence might have the most awkward phrasing I’ve ever seen. The tenses aren’t right, she substitutes “that” for “which (I’m pretty sure that’s right), and her usage of “that” is confusing. And that, sadly, is a Palin soundbite—a line that the whole nation will hear.

One criticism that the few Palin detractors try to make is that Palin didn’t do what she needed to do, because she didn’t attack Obama. That’s absurd—attacking Obama was never on Palin’s to-do list, at any time. Her challenge from the beginning has been to present herself as an attractive, smart, competent running mate for John McCain—her role was never to hit Obama.

Much has been made of Palin’s winking at the audience. I didn’t notice—I was too busy cringing.

One thing Palin did very well—at the beginning and end of the debate, she kept her microphone on. Her “can I call you Joe” was pretty syrupy, but it seemed to work, and her interaction with her family at the conclusion—all caught on microphone—was pretty effective. Palin was strong in that respect—and she read her final speech splendidly. True, it was written before the debate—but then, so was Biden’s, and his speech wasn’t very memorable.

Even if we assume Palin won, the election isn’t over, not by a long shot. There are still two more presidential debates. The first one seemed to be a draw—McCain needs to win at least one of the next two. The next debate is Tuesday—McCain’s got to be ready.

[NOTE: Yeah, I’m being hard on Palin here. That doesn’t mean that I hate America, or am a closet liberal, or that I worship at the feet of the mainstream media. It just means that I didn’t happen to like one performance by a conservative. And it’s not like I heard Palin enunciating unshakably conservative views out there.]

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Please help me honor those "House Patriots" who voted against the bailout bill.

Submitted by davidfarrar on Fri, 10/03/2008 - 20:05

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It is always important to honor those who did the right thing. So I humbly ask all those here at TNR to help create a cyber "State Honor Roll" of House members from each state who had the right stuff, who did the right thing, and to distribute their list to its widest limits on the boundless public stage of the internet.

I hope by doing so, all those other politicians who didn't measure up, who didn't see their way through to do the right thing, will understand we will not forget come election time. It is very imporant that we do this.

I will start with my own State delegation from Georgia, who numbered an amazing nine(9) Representatives who voted against the Wall Street bailout give away-- God bless them all!

1. Rep. John Barrow (D GA 12th District)

2. Rep. Hank Johnson (D GA 4th District)

3. Rep. Paul Broun (R GA 10th District)

4. Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA 9th District)

5. Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA 11th District)

6. Rep. Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA 1st District)

7. Rep. John Linder (R-GA 7th District)

8.Rep. Tom Price (R-GA 6th District)

9.Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA 3rd District)

Please create your own "State Honor Roll", or I will work with anyone who would like help in creating their own for their House Reps who did the right thing. Positive re-enforcement is a very powerful tool yet seldom used in politics. It is time we used it in conjunction with the power of the Internet do demonstrate to all those who didn't do the right thing their mistake in a positive way.

So I would ask all those who can post these "State Honor Rolls" to do so one their own websites, or where ever and when ever you can on the vast public stage of the Internet.

ex animo

davidfarrar

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McCain behind in the polls is his own fault.

Submitted by davidfarrar on Fri, 10/03/2008 - 12:40

in

A posting from the "Politico":

Member Since: Oct. 3, 2008

Party: Republican

Last Visited: Oct. 3, 2008 - 12:52 PM EST

#70Oct. 3, 2008 - 12:48 PM EST

McCain lost my vote when he supported this bail-out. he couldn't even wait to be elected before sticking it to the conservatives and if elected he'd have 4 years to give us heart-burn, i'm not going for it. how can he call himself a reformer and vote for socialism like he just did. obviously the republicans didn't learn the lesson we tried to send em in 2006. maybe 4 years of democratic rule will bring SOMEBODY we can vote for.

ex animo

davidfarrar

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The price of pork

Submitted by davidfarrar on Fri, 10/03/2008 - 10:03

in

Oh, I get it...the Senate is now asking the House to approve a pork laden bailout bill to solve a credit crunch that was caused by too much government credit in the first place. You can't stop a problem of too much spending, too much deficits and too much inflation with more of the same -- you can only delay the inevitable. There is something else afoot here, and it has nothing to do with the state of our economy.

Make no mistake about it, this bailout bill was never about the money, but all about the consolidation of power. The Senate deal has now been reduced to adding a few barrels of pork in return for fundamentally restructuring the division of power from the Congress to the executive branch.

Sure, the Senate made a few provisions to address this issue, but those provisions really didn't change the fact that after this vote, it will be the executive branch that determines what to spend the nation's wealth upon, not the Congress. I hope every House Rep who votes for this bailout bill enjoys their pork because the 110th Congress will live in infamy as the Congress that gave away its power and our liberty.

ex animo

davidfarrar

The National Online Party

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Biden's Facts Wrong?

Submitted by Contratimes on Fri, 10/03/2008 - 07:01

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I already touched on this in a comment elsewhere here, but I thought I'd throw this out to everyone.

Did Joe Biden get his facts wrong? Has anyone here done any research (my day is just beginning, so I am behind schedule here).

Immediately after the debate, Fred Thompson asserted that Joe Biden had indeed made several serious factual errors. I wonder what will become of Thompson's claims.

Here is what one blogger had to say this morning. I have not checked the blogger's own "facts," but if what the blogger says is true, then it would seem to me that there will be some significant negative fallout for Mr. Biden. In other words, perhaps Mr. Biden did not do so well at all.

Any thoughts?

Future of the Republican Party? Palin!

Submitted by Tiger4Truth on Fri, 10/03/2008 - 02:38

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There is a key difference between the two VP candidates that became more and more obvious as the debate progressed. This is Biden’s last chance but Palin’s first step.

Not Even Close

Submitted by Alan Peel on Thu, 10/02/2008 - 22:42

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Growing up, the last thing that any boy ever wanted to have happen is to compete head-to-head against a girl and lose. Despite the number of girls at my school that were exceptional athletes (one of whom was a Division I basketball player at Tulsa University), the taunts of “You got beat by a girl!” would mortify any boy on the playground. Tonight, the taunt is directed at Delaware Sen. Joe Biden.

Folks, we have a race again! It was a four-to-six point race entering tonight, but it’s going to get a little bit tighter before next debate between Arizona Sen. John McCain and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama on Tuesday night. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin took it to Biden and it was not a good night for the Obama-Biden campaign as a result. John McCain’s gamble paid off for tonight.

The girl on the playground that went head-to-head with boy was better than the Biden. Sarah-Barracuda is back and Obama should be concerned about what the fallout of this is when polling comes out on Monday.

Tonight, Joe Biden looked his age and presented himself as a cantankerous, old man. Believe me when I say that some of these people can be funny (go watch a Jeff Dunham video with his doll Walter and you’ll see why). But, Biden looked downright mean.

At this time, Biden hasn’t been called on his gaffe-proneness, but he had a moment during tonight’s debate where it reared its ugly, hair-plugged head. Palin made it a point that the Obama-Biden ticket had done nothing more than chastising the last eight years as opposed to sharing their vision for the next four years. When Biden went back to “old reliable” and attempt to tie President George W. Bush to John McCain, Palin caught him and field-dressed him in front of millions of people watching at home.

Meanwhile, Gov. Sarah Palin looked fresh, energized, and was able to lace her beauty and wit when she was critical of both Barack Obama and Joe Biden. If there is nothing else, it appears to me that the American public wants something fresh. Democrats think that Barack Obama is that embodiment while Republicans see Sarah Palin in the same respect. On this night, Palin looked fresher than Obama and many times fresher than Biden.

However, despite all of the beauty and grace that was exemplified by Governor Palin, the most surreal moment for her came when she asked moderator Gwen Ifill, “Can we talk about Afghanistan for a minute?” This was a moment where Palin wanted to talk foreign policy in a debate against a foreign policy “genius” (really a doofus, but that’s neither here nor there). She then went after Obama on accusing troops of “air raiding villages and killing civilians”. That was the game-changer of the night.

While Biden’s approach plays in the Boston-New York-Philadelphia-Washington axis as well as the in-the-tank-for-Obama media, Palin appealed to just about everyone west of the Mississippi (save California), the Midwest, and the South. In using those totals with a calculator (minus Hawaii), McCain-Palin defeats Obama-Biden 341 to 197 in the Electoral College and that doesn’t even include the 21 electoral votes in Biden’s native Pennsylvania.

It was also an amazing and surprising job done by debate moderator Gwen Ifill of the PBS show “Washington Week”. Ifill was able to stay surprisingly unbiased despite the cloud hanging over her head with her Obama book that would be a six-figure windfall for her.

All in all, Palin just made this race tighter and gives McCain an opportunity to narrow the gap further, if not close it, Tuesday night against Barack Obama at the town-hall format debate at Belmont University in Tennessee.

Why I Prefer to Be a Bad Sport for Now

Final Electoral Predictions: What a McCain Upset Would Look Like

Time to name names.

As I recently pointed out (click here and here), now that McCain and Obama have done their duty for their real masters, Wall Street; John McCain can now afford to name names.

ex animo

davidfarrar

More Palin Criticism

Please help me honor those "House Patriots" who voted against the bailout bill.

McCain behind in the polls is his own fault.

A posting from the "Politico":

The price of pork

Biden's Facts Wrong?

Future of the Republican Party? Palin!

Not Even Close

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As I recently pointed out (click here and here), now that McCain and Obama have done their duty for their real masters, Wall Street; John McCain can now afford to name names.

ex animo davidfarrar

A posting from the "Politico":

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ex animo

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