Reflections on revolution
November 7th 2009 20:38
What are the implications of the New Jersey and Virginia Gubernatorial elections this past week? What is the significance of the election in New Yorks 23rd Congressional District? In my opinion, both Republicans and Democrats have read too much into the results according them far too much significance. Both parties have characterized these races as determinative of the direction the American voter is leaning; both parties are so busy perfecting the spin that some essential truths are being ignored.
I suggest that both Democrats and Republicans have allowed their respective parties to split into factions; the schism within the GOP has been far more obvious but Democrats have similar, although not so severe, issues. Both parties have examined the results of the elections without considering Tip ONeills maxim that all politics are local. This is especially true in the New Jersey and Virginia races.
Both extreme fringes of the parties, comprised of ideologues on the left and on the right, treat all elections as being a referendum on the president, having only national meaning. In reality, most Americans are firmly ensconced in the middle, shifting slightly to the left or right candidate that appears to satisfy their comfort zone. My father, who appears to have gained wisdom as I grow older, was fond of explaining that the average man (or woman) on the street was not inclined to think in terms of international affairs or war; he or she merely wanted to be left alone to support and raise the children.
I have written extensively that America needs a strong, vibrant opposition party, one willing and prepared to govern which entails negotiation and compromise. Since the Republicans are the minority at this time, it is necessary to check if the GOP is assuming that goal.
At the present, Republicans have allowed their party to be taken over by those for whom compromise, at least on social issues, is anathema. One of the consequences of this position is that there are internal conflicts that cannot be resolved.
One or two examples should be illustrative. One of the most basic tenets of modern Republicans is that there should be a severely limited role for the Federal, and to a lesser extent, state government. If one accepts this premise (and I am inclined to do so to some degree), then it would follow that the right to be left alone would allow a womans right to choose with respect to her own body and procreation; that same right would deny the power of the state to forbid same-sex marriage. Those restrictions are based upon religious beliefs and should not be imposed by Government on a non-believer.
Of the three elections, the New York Congressional election may suggest the attitude of the people with regard to the rejection of the extreme far Right approach to seat is now filled by a Democrat. The GOP candidate chosen by local party officials, Dede Scozzafava, who is hardly an ideologue Republican officeholder but a thoughtful GOP stalwart, was forced out of the race by the fringe right. Instead of Ms Scozzafava, Sarah Palin and the rigid right demanded that Doug Hoffman, a 100% true blue tea party, anti-abortion, anti gay rights, Obama hater be the GOP standard bearer. Mr. Hoffman did not live in the District and had no discernable talent for governance but he hated in the approved manner. Result, a Congressional seat that had been held by Republicans for 150 years is now occupied by Bill Owens, a Democrat.
The moral is that the hysterical fringe of the Republican Party will not attract the vast majority of Americans who sit on the moderate right of center. Some benefit to the Democrats will and does follow, but the decision of the GOP to purge moderates from the party because of social conservatism will create more Independents, This has already been verified in Virginia and in Florida.
The antics of Republican leaders this past week, joining with the most irresponsible Tea Baggers calling for armed revolution and citing the Declaration of Independence (a document that does not form a government but rather states the reason why that government should be dissolved) is rhetoric which goes beyond the pale.
We now have a major political party repudiating an election and justifying the spilling of blood to back up that repudiation.
Much has been written about Michele Bachmann, the Republican who represents the Sixth Congressional District of Minnesota. She has, to be kind, extreme views that transcend reality, violently opposed to gay rights and unions, abortions of any nature refuses to accept any theories of evolution and insists on Creationism being taught in the public schools, believes that Democrats and moderate Republicans favor a socialistic One World Government and, naturally hates the President! As a bonus, she has conversations with and personal directions from God. According to Ms Bachmann,
So when Ms Bachmann incites a crowd with talk of revolution and a violent overthrow of the constitutionally elected president and majority political party, it may be deemed the rants of a crazy individual. But at their Tea Party rally this past week, she was joined by John Boehner, the Republican House Leader who displayed a remarkable bit of ignorance. Representative Boehner held up a small booklet which he identified as his personal copy of the Constitution:
Of course, that language comes from the Declaration of Independence, a fine and noble document that serves to justify revolution.
What is significant is that, for the first time, the official Republican Party has adopted the ugly and horrific imagery that has been openly displayed at the Tea Party protests. Obama is the same as Hitler? The Democrats want to recreate the stacked corpses from the Nazi Death Camps? No more deniability, no more passing these views off as non-representative extremists.
Please, please look at these images:
Up to now, the absurdities of the rabid fringe, on this site and elsewhere on the Internet, have been just silly and shallow jokes, like calling President Obama B.O. (B.S.) or denying his American birth. But we are now seeking elected leaders of a major political party fermenting armed revolution?
And when you raise up a citizen mob, armed to the teeth, do you really expect to defeat the United States military? Do you expect the service men and women of the armed forces to mutiny against the civilian constitutional leaders? Is this what the protesters want?
This isnt the America I want for my family.
Democrats have their far left base and that base fails, in my opinion, to appreciate the economic realities to increased and never-ending deficits. I will discuss those issues in a subsequent post. But in the meantime, be careful for what you wish; you may get the wish.
I suggest that both Democrats and Republicans have allowed their respective parties to split into factions; the schism within the GOP has been far more obvious but Democrats have similar, although not so severe, issues. Both parties have examined the results of the elections without considering Tip ONeills maxim that all politics are local. This is especially true in the New Jersey and Virginia races.
Both extreme fringes of the parties, comprised of ideologues on the left and on the right, treat all elections as being a referendum on the president, having only national meaning. In reality, most Americans are firmly ensconced in the middle, shifting slightly to the left or right candidate that appears to satisfy their comfort zone. My father, who appears to have gained wisdom as I grow older, was fond of explaining that the average man (or woman) on the street was not inclined to think in terms of international affairs or war; he or she merely wanted to be left alone to support and raise the children.
I have written extensively that America needs a strong, vibrant opposition party, one willing and prepared to govern which entails negotiation and compromise. Since the Republicans are the minority at this time, it is necessary to check if the GOP is assuming that goal.
At the present, Republicans have allowed their party to be taken over by those for whom compromise, at least on social issues, is anathema. One of the consequences of this position is that there are internal conflicts that cannot be resolved.
One or two examples should be illustrative. One of the most basic tenets of modern Republicans is that there should be a severely limited role for the Federal, and to a lesser extent, state government. If one accepts this premise (and I am inclined to do so to some degree), then it would follow that the right to be left alone would allow a womans right to choose with respect to her own body and procreation; that same right would deny the power of the state to forbid same-sex marriage. Those restrictions are based upon religious beliefs and should not be imposed by Government on a non-believer.
Of the three elections, the New York Congressional election may suggest the attitude of the people with regard to the rejection of the extreme far Right approach to seat is now filled by a Democrat. The GOP candidate chosen by local party officials, Dede Scozzafava, who is hardly an ideologue Republican officeholder but a thoughtful GOP stalwart, was forced out of the race by the fringe right. Instead of Ms Scozzafava, Sarah Palin and the rigid right demanded that Doug Hoffman, a 100% true blue tea party, anti-abortion, anti gay rights, Obama hater be the GOP standard bearer. Mr. Hoffman did not live in the District and had no discernable talent for governance but he hated in the approved manner. Result, a Congressional seat that had been held by Republicans for 150 years is now occupied by Bill Owens, a Democrat.
The moral is that the hysterical fringe of the Republican Party will not attract the vast majority of Americans who sit on the moderate right of center. Some benefit to the Democrats will and does follow, but the decision of the GOP to purge moderates from the party because of social conservatism will create more Independents, This has already been verified in Virginia and in Florida.
The antics of Republican leaders this past week, joining with the most irresponsible Tea Baggers calling for armed revolution and citing the Declaration of Independence (a document that does not form a government but rather states the reason why that government should be dissolved) is rhetoric which goes beyond the pale.
We now have a major political party repudiating an election and justifying the spilling of blood to back up that repudiation.
Much has been written about Michele Bachmann, the Republican who represents the Sixth Congressional District of Minnesota. She has, to be kind, extreme views that transcend reality, violently opposed to gay rights and unions, abortions of any nature refuses to accept any theories of evolution and insists on Creationism being taught in the public schools, believes that Democrats and moderate Republicans favor a socialistic One World Government and, naturally hates the President! As a bonus, she has conversations with and personal directions from God. According to Ms Bachmann,
God then called me to run for the United States Congress. And I thought, what in the world would that be for? And my husband said You need to do this. And I wasnt so sure. And we took three days, and we fasted and we prayed. And we said Lord, is this what you want? Is this Your will? And after along about the afternoon of day two He made that calling sure.
So when Ms Bachmann incites a crowd with talk of revolution and a violent overthrow of the constitutionally elected president and majority political party, it may be deemed the rants of a crazy individual. But at their Tea Party rally this past week, she was joined by John Boehner, the Republican House Leader who displayed a remarkable bit of ignorance. Representative Boehner held up a small booklet which he identified as his personal copy of the Constitution:
Im going to stand with you and all freedom-loving Americans against [the Democratic health reform] bill. This is my copy of the Constitution. And Im going to stand here with our Founding Fathers, who wrote in the preamble, We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Of course, that language comes from the Declaration of Independence, a fine and noble document that serves to justify revolution.
What is significant is that, for the first time, the official Republican Party has adopted the ugly and horrific imagery that has been openly displayed at the Tea Party protests. Obama is the same as Hitler? The Democrats want to recreate the stacked corpses from the Nazi Death Camps? No more deniability, no more passing these views off as non-representative extremists.
Please, please look at these images:
Up to now, the absurdities of the rabid fringe, on this site and elsewhere on the Internet, have been just silly and shallow jokes, like calling President Obama B.O. (B.S.) or denying his American birth. But we are now seeking elected leaders of a major political party fermenting armed revolution?
And when you raise up a citizen mob, armed to the teeth, do you really expect to defeat the United States military? Do you expect the service men and women of the armed forces to mutiny against the civilian constitutional leaders? Is this what the protesters want?
This isnt the America I want for my family.
Democrats have their far left base and that base fails, in my opinion, to appreciate the economic realities to increased and never-ending deficits. I will discuss those issues in a subsequent post. But in the meantime, be careful for what you wish; you may get the wish.
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Comment by Jim Stillman
on An Olympian-sized failure
Political Certainty
The president was rebuffed by the international community as proof that he is weak, stupid and considered a joke by those with whom he has tried to engage. To the extent that President Obama was unsuccessful in having Chicago chosen, he made a fool of himself and weakened America. Yeah!
Then the president is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. This is proof that he is, in the eyes of the international community, smart, strong and serious by those with whom he has tried to engage. This puts America in a foolish and weakened position. Yeah!
I get it, now that its been explained.