Nov 05 2010
Some On The Right Are Misreading This Election
We are all quite aware of how the President and Democrat Party misread the 2008 election and went on a leftist, hyper-partisan rampage in DC. Now some on the right are already misreading the 2010 election – and I can already hear the cries of “RINO” and “squishy centrist” coming.
Power corrupts, it’s one of humanity’s major dysfunctions. When given the opportunity to take on responsibility and lead, too many succumb to the desire to dictate their own limited view of how things should be on everyone else. It is always simpler to force others to do your bidding than it is to face up to giving ground to move forward at a slower pace than one wishes. But that is what sets leaders apart, the ability to keep a common principle in everyone’s sites while they work together making progress towards the goal adjusting the path and plan along the way through inputs and consensus.
The force behind this election was the independent center. The voters were not drawn to the right of the political spectrum. They gave conservatives an opportunity to propose – not dictate. The country was repulsed by the over-reaching of the liberals in DC. As we in President Obama’s morning after press conference, our young inexperienced president still has not figured this out, and I don’t think he ever will. The myths surrounding his personnel gift’s were greatly exaggerated.
The impetus behind the center’s rejection of the Democrats was about the massive deficit spending, high taxes, government over reach, government incompetence. The rallying flag for the Tea Party, the energy behind much of this election cycle, was “Don’t Tread On Me” – something the new GOP better understand and appreciate:
The Tea Party movement attracted a lot of people from the left of center to the far right. But now, some on the far right are assuming this was all about ‘true conservatism’, not about fiscal responsibility through minimal government, low taxes and personal responsibility. For example:
The Brody File has coined a new phrase: The “Teavangelical Party.” The polling from the 2010 Midterm Elections proves it.
According to a Public Opinion Strategies poll that has assessed the Midterm Election results from Tuesday, (conducted for the Faith and Freedom Coalition) 52 percent of all people who identified themselves as part of the Tea Party movement are also conservative Evangelicals.
If 52% are evangelicals (give or take a few percent) then the other half are not. This is not the Teavangelical Party or movement. The quickest way to screw up like Obama and the liberals is to run out and claim a turn at telling the nation how to live their lives.
Coherence seems to be in short supply all around these days. If Obamacare is the epitome of government invasion into the privacy between a citizen and their doctor, what is the demand to ban contraceptives by the same government (a tenant of the hyper right to life wing of the conservative movement)? If Obama telling us what our health insurance must be is too much government, why is the government telling a woman or a family how to deal with a pregnancy not too much government?
In my view, we need to demonstrate scientifically and legally conception creates the instance of a human being – because that is the fact of life. There is no scientific ambiguity here, and the DNA tests used in courtrooms across this nation prove this without any doubt. But proving pregnancy creates a human life does not give license to one group of individuals over others to determine how to deal with that situation. As with all things in life, we need to leave the judgment of determining the course of that life to the parents, as we do throughout their journey to adulthood. We either believe in the individual or we don’t.
I for one am all for educating, counseling, supporting a new mother to avoid a tragic decision. I have promoted before the idea of having women who have faced both situations (birth and abortion) be the voices of reason and hope for those simply afraid of the responsibilities. But in the end, there are situations were decisions have to be made, and they can only be made by the family or mother. I am pro life and against abortion for convenience, but I am not for government rule here.
Let me give another example of how this new partnership can turn into disaster. Most people are religious in some manner, and most of us abhor the liberal efforts to wipe religious expression from the public square. This year in Loudon County, VA the spot usually occupied by the images of the birth of Christ will be replaced with what is, for all intents and purposes, a billboard from Atheists:
That organization’s display will be a banner in an 8×8 freestanding wooden frame, with the top reading “Greetings from your friendly Loudoun County Atheists” and the lower portion reading, “Solstice is the Reason for the Season.” The main body of the banner will include language recognizing the principle of separation of church and state, and text that reads, “Religion is the business of churches, not of government. This is not a church.” The display will be up from Dec. 16 to Jan. 1.
Dipstick bureaucratic rules led to this insanity and intolerance. The Atheists are not forced to believe, but they can neither force others to be silent. The common ground that could be achieved in the next Congress is to unshackle freedom of religious expression by individuals. Allow voluntary prayer back in school. Put limits on what whiny Atheist can do to religious expression. This is all fair game and would not meet much resistance. No more bands of citizens misusing courts to silence others. That is not the reason government was created. It was created to protect rights.
However, if some on the right want to impose creationism or intelligent design into public schools – forget it. That would result in the current political alliance that swept the dems out of power to totally collapse. This country is not in the mood for minority views to be imposed on the general public in terms of mandates. Minority views of course can be held and expressed, but never mandated. It is a balance that has worked and it the foundation of this nation.
These are but two examples of where common ground exists, and where disaster looms. Outside that common ground is where people can produce nothing but an opening for the left to arise again. No more recklessnes, the nation’s patience has worn too thin. Sarah Palin said it well in her piece yesterday – almost:
The last, and possibly most important, lesson is that a winning conservative message must always be carefully crafted. If candidates are going to talk boldly on the campaign trail about entitlement reform and reducing the size of government, they must be prepared to word it in such a way as to minimize the inevitable fear-mongering accusations of “extremism.”
She is both right and wrong here. Governor Palin is beginning to become part of the Political Industrial Complex, she needs to tread carefully here (pun intended with respect to that flag above). This is not just a message crafting challenge. It requires making sure the proposed changes will stand up to scrutiny and be accepted. They must stand on and remain within the common ground of broad support. And since none will be perfect initially, they will need to be adjusted to gain acceptance to become law. Be prepared for reasonable adjustments. There is no consensus yet on what is the minimal size required, and how we can safely transition to it.
That is the right answer at this moment. We need the public debate on how to proceed – and it cannot be a stage show run by special interests and power players. The American people need real buy in, therefore real input. Some of us will smell a PR stunt a mile away. Don’t trip up over message management.
All this silly talk about ‘compromise’ in DC is missing the point. There is not a score card, where each side gives something on a basic screwed up approach. Some things are wrong and need to be taken off the table. The day of big government is over – that is not going to be negotiable. And the day of social conservatism has not arrived – that too is not negotiable. There is a center of mass the country agrees on and can be passed. Focus there and leave other fights for another day. For example:
(1) Taxes: Extend all the existing tax rates for two years. Make the middle class ones permanent, revisit the upper income ones in two years with the promise if taxes must be raised it will only be on the obscenely rich, not those just peaking out of the upper middle class. Ban the estate tax forever.
(2) Don’t extend unemployment – 2 years of safety net is enough for any person. We cannot afford people sitting around taking hand outs. Sorry to be hard about this, but personal responsibility made this country, not handouts.
(3) Cancel all non-essential stimulus projects. No more wasting money on dog runs, etc.
(4) Cut wasteful spending and begin the national debate on shrinking government down to a manageable size. Make sure there are ways to manage job cuts in the government sector. It can take a year to close up programs, facilities, etc – give people time to find new work as they are paid to close things down gracefully. The GOP does not have the votes to do too much, but it can engage the nation and make the case for actions after 2012.
(5) The government contains a wealth of assets and resources that can be privatized. As government shrinks it can sell a lot of its efforts and resources to the private sector – thus creating new business opportunities and kick starting this economy. Lower taxes and the selling of the wasteful and redundant aspects of government can provide a path out of this mess (just look to the examples of governors like Mitch Daniels and Chris Christie).
(6) Slow down Obamacare. Hold hearings on all its short comings and unintended consequences. Obama started giving out waivers to companies – make them permanent and universal (he cannot object to actions he has taken). It is trivial to suspend Obamacare if done right. There is no repealing Obamacare the next two years. But it can be suspended as it’s unintended consequences arise. Premiums are up, lots of policies are on the verge of being stopped, etc. Focus on the economy, and simply push to slow Obamacare down to stop the damage.
These are not carefully crafted messages, these are well founded strategies. Governor Palin needs to appreciate the difference. It will help her from making the same mistakes as we saw in this year’s Tea Party candidates. They all spouted great messages, but that is not sufficient. Not by a long shot. She enjoys a life far from DC, which means she is fairly naive to its pitfalls and landmines. She knew how to deal with Big Oil in Alaska because that was her home turf. To be a national force (instead of a farce) she is going to need to broaden out her pool of advisers and be prepared to make lots of real time adjustments.
Just ask Barak Obama, once he figures out what went wrong in his first two years attempting to lead.
Good one, AJ.
This was a victory for Limited Government. Which is not socially conservative in itself – but is not socially liberal, either. It merely stays out of the way. And having the Government keep its nose our of our business has a broad appeal.
Now, as to policy. From where I sit, one big improvement that can be made is for Congress to revoke all the reports they have mandated that the Department of Defense make to them. Call program managers in to testify if they like – that is a legitimate part of oversight – but don’t waste time and money having people write and review reports that nobody will read.
Another big improvement would be to change the acquisition laws to prohibit protests except on the grounds of criminal misconduct. Right now, the laws favor the bidders – essentially claiming that the bidders have a RIGHT to the taxpayer’s dollars. The consequence of this is that every major military procurement is tying itself into pretzels to prevent the inevitable protest of a contract from turning into the Air Force Tanker Follies.
For those readers not familiar, the USAF has been trying to replace its 50-year-old KC-135s for a decade. They have held three separate competitions over eight years…and STILL don’t even have a contract, much less airplanes to replace the worn-out relics used today.
And yes, if Sarah Palin is to be a credible Presidential candidate, she is going to have to put a first-rate team together. I’m available for SECDEF. (shameless plug)
I’ll add one other BIG point.
Be bold.
I’ve heard off-and-on proposals to delete the Commerce Department for years. It’s a bad idea – because it is not bold enough.
A really smart move would be to KEEP the Commerce Department…and consolidate in it the existing Departments of Commerce, Agriculture, Labor, Transportation, and non-military parts of the Department of Energy.
Successive Congresses and Presidents have responded to every political flail-ex by creating new Cabinet-level agencies. IIRC, the Cabinet now has 26 members…which is about three times the number of people that can be reasonably managed. And every one of those people has all the staff, perks, and expenses of a Cabinet-level official. About half those positions need to be pushed back to the sub-Cabinet level.
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Radio Vice Online, AJ Strata. AJ Strata said: new: Some On The Right Are Misreading This Election http://strata-sphere.com/blog/index.php/archives/15266 […]
agree with *almost* all of your ideas, except for #1 – it’s important for *all* of the tax cuts to be extended permanently. The fact that *everyone* now wants to extend the obviously popular middle class tax cut is the lever to make sure that *all* of the tax cuts are made permanent, as they should have been years ago. (a major screw up of the Bush years, although I think they left it as an intentional time bomb for the next administration to deal with)
Here’s why it is not only important to extend the upper level tax cuts, but to make them permanent: it is a great myth, perpetrated by the left, that these tax cuts are “for the rich.” Fact is, anyone who is truly rich can quite easily find ways to avoid paying almost all of this. (Figuring this out is what estate lawyers do for a living)
So who Does pay extra taxes under this provision? Subchapter S corporations, that’s who, and they make up the vast bulk of small businesses in this country. Subchapter S (for those who don’t know) allows small businesses to treat all income as ordinary income for tax purposes, thus avoiding many of the regulatory burdens of a more advanced corporate structure. However, this means that *any* small business with more then $250K in income (the vast majority of them) faces increased taxation under the proposed higher tax rates – and this cuts *directly* into the resources that small businesses, the greatest job creators in this economy, can use to fuel growth and increased employment.
If the higher tax rates are only temporarily extended for 2 years, then no small business will have the confidence to fund expansion, knowing that in only 24 months their prosperity will be taken away. It would make far more sense to bank any extra earnings and wait to see what the long term landscape is going to look like – and that in fact is exactly what is happening today.
If we want job growth fueled by the small business sector, then it is *Absolutely* *Crucial* that ALL the tax cuts be made permanent *now*, Especially those for income above $250K! This isn’t a matter of political ideology; it’s an economic necessity!
WWS,
a small compromise to make for the Dems is to revisit the upper income rates in 2 years (would be done anyway). It is great to leave that out there for 2012, because raising taxes on an economy just seeing daylight would be a great wedge issue.
AJ, imho, the media is going to (and are now) trying to drag social issues into the debate because they KNOW it hurts republicans when this happens. AND, in doing this, they will try to create a divide among all who are not democrats. I heard Eugene Robinson on MSNBC already talking about how people “are going to be disheartened” when congress has to vote to raise the debt ceiling which will prove they(republicans) are not fiscal conservatives and they are doing the same old thing as what democrats would do. (I say DON’T RAISE the ceiling, btw.) The media are going to try to manipulate us and whip up our anger at EVERY turn. Trust me.
As far as I can see republicans IN POWER are talking ONLY about fiscal issues. The media are America’s enemies, imho, in that they are intellectually dishonest in their attempts to “create/manufacture” news to help the Left and harm all others…nothing new as we know but it is corrupt to do this. I have noticed now also, that on MSNBC they are whipping up enthusiasm for Bloomberg to run for President from a new Independent Party, obviously trying to co-opt the Tea Party’s independence.
Soros would love NOTHING better than to wipe republicans off the map in ’12. We ALL must be vigilant as to who is trying to do what to America…for their own power grabs. And that includes any in the republican establishment, as well. We (except the hard left) are all Tea Partiers now!
Btw, I have heard discussed how BAD it would be for republicans to be defending the “rich” in 2012…
I agree 100% with WWS on this one. As a small business owner myself he is right on the money.
I wish republicans would come out with a basic chart of what we need the government to do…and what that would cost. All else would be irrelevant.
I can accept those proposals AJ and more specifically believe that the social Issues must be relegated to the States where they belong.
The Liberals love to drag the social issues to D.C and have the Fed play mommy or daddy telling us all what we should do, accept, and how we should live.
Much of this accomplished via an activist Judiciary.
Those “rights” not SPECIFICALLY granted to the federal Govt are reserved to the States and as such have no reason to be in the national dialogue, other than as a means for individual parties to divide, conquer, and increase the Feds power over our lives.
My State, IA, just threw out three State Supreme Court judges who found some obscure right to gay marriage in the states constitution and overturned a law banning such. A law in acted by the legislature with the full support of the people of IA.
It was outside interests that perceived a weakness in IA law and pushed their far left ideology in a state they felt was ripe for the picking. They were protected by a Dem majority who refused to allow the people to vote and be heard on the law so they are now the minority.
This is as it should be, a States Issue and the Fed must be made to stay out of such issues and those “rights” need be determined individually, locally, by the states, who are the most responsive and responsible to their citizens!
PS NO FEDERAL BAILOUT DOLLARS MAY GO TO ANY STATE! THOSE IRRESPONSIBLE STATES LIKE CA MUST SUFFER THE HARDSHIPS THEIR FOLLY BREEDS AND NOT SPREAD IT TO ALL OTHERS WHO ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR IT!
LET EM SINK IN THEIR OWN EXCESSES!
I would like to agree with you guys article, if in truth, the Federal government was in fact socially neutral.
Values voters are attacked by:
Federal Judges that over-rule voter propositions that represent voters values and are replaced with the values of activist leftist judges. Even California voted down Gay marriage and legalized drugs.
Government schools do not teach just the 3 R’s but an intense leftist social agenda.
Government Czars that dictate leftist social policy…..
I could go on.
Our government delves into moral and social policy all the time, Always has, always will. Eliminating one policy and replacing it with its polar opposite or it’s (non) is not abscence of government intrusion, it is still legal policy, ie no abortion vs abortion on demand, no Gay marriage with Gay marriage. Libertarians, the ones it listen to and know, by and large tend to support leftist social issues. I listen to “Free Talk Live” at night quite often. Those guys remind me of 1960’s hippies.
But then we are delving into deep philosophical arguments here. Having said that, I do agree that the thrust of the current conservative resurgance should focus on economics and national security.
Wowww.
The end of the world is coming!
I finally agree with AJ that some on the right are misreading the Tea party movement.
There is an un-easy sentiment growing in me for some time, seeing the Tea Parties being under the spell, more and more, of professional politicians, like Dick Armey and such.
The more that happened, the less the initial impetus of overseeing the banks, the FED and prosecuting the malefactors in the banking criminal activity that took place in the last 10 years.
That is corollary, in a way, to the growing emphasis placed on the demsheviks’ policies that led to the crash, Bawney Fwank and Dodd and such.
Both parties are responsible for the occurrance of the crash, and blaming exclusively the demsheviks, doesn’t solve the problem, which means another crash, much worse this time.
The same can be said about the initial Tea Party request that the “free trade” be transformed into what it should be-FAIR trade, which would eliminate the loss of jobs to other countries, and, maybe even reverse the trend.
Instead, the Tea Parties have been goaded into the much more traditional repubic model of “free trade” worshiping.
Such evolution carries a significant chance that the Tea Parties will splinter in goals even more, finally coalescing into a third party.
But one thing seems to be clear to me: if the GOP doesn’t do the right thing now, for the people, not for the ruling class, it will become irrelevant, the third party, always in minority.
And don’t be so ch****n s**t about social security…
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eg … There was No COLA for last couple years (Cost Of Living Allowance) so they gave us ALL … ALL of us on social security… $250 for being old and on social security… Nonsense … (IF they want to do this… make it for people whose taxable income is small… say $25,000 … they probably DO need that boost)
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(Hay… I’m 72 yrs… I cashed the dam $250 check… tx youngsters … haha… jokes on you… I’ve got mine… )
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Here’s a few others off the top of my head… (already posted but you know how old people repeat themselves)
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Freeze payment for (7) years for any recipient whose taxable income tax is over … say … $25,000… or 50… Make it meaningful …
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Raise min age ONE year…
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Without this… no reform is possible…
PROHIBIT SS FUNDS FROM BEING USED FOR ANY OTHER USE THAN TO PAY SENIORS WHO GET IT… You pols in DC… Keep your hands OFF !
This means YOU… tea partiers … Dems … Presidents … (R)’s
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Raise contribution 1% for anyone whose taxable federal income tax is more than $50,000…
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I think we seniors would be willing to take some hits but
it has to be meaningful …
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Raise the cap of $106,800 to say… $5,000,000 … AND refer BACK to
(Without this… no reform is possible) above …
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Tax 100% of SS if your taxable income is over say… $50,000…
for you youngsters … when we do our taxes… 85% of SS is taxable
income presently … (rules apply but that’s generally it)
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As we say in the flying industry… Have a good one … and I always add… tx kids for all these wonderful benefits that won’t be around when you get old …
And for you tea partiers… Now that you’ve had successes in electing your better candidates… (and btw… I support you and am pretty much with you…
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Put up or shut up… Time for talking is just about over…
Toes,
Are you kidding?
Now it is NOT the time to shut up.
It is the time to keep shouting and keep the repubics on the straight and narrow path.
What I mean_ is_ Put up “specific proposals” _ thot that was clear_ So as you see_ I put up a few “specific” proposals for Social Security_ You may not agree… but … “shouting” … and ” straight and narrow” is just blustering …
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What “specific” legislation do you want to see passed … or … repealed …or… maybe adjusted…
First, for the record: NOBODY tells me to shut up. Nobody.
Second, if you read my first posting you may see two very important issues that I would like to be dealt with.
And not only me. Many others, too.
dbostan: Shut up.
couldn’t resist. No wait, you said Nobody, uhhh, that’s not my name so I guess you didn’t include me in that.
I agree with most of what you said earlier, but NOBODY tells me not to tell them to shut up. Nobody.
AJ: while I have no problem with abortions at some stages of pregnancy (especially the first 3 months), you said “we need to leave the judgment of determining the course of that life to the parents, as we do throughout their journey to adulthood. We either believe in the individual or we don’t.”
Do you mean for the whole nine months? or even later?
Surely there is a place for having laws to determine what is legal and not. I don’t think any parents should be able to render sole judgment of whether their child can live or not at any stage up to adulthood. I think I know what you intended but, just wondering.
the post is good, I hope no one reads more into the election than is there. It was a repudiation of the people in office and the direction they are headed. It was not a referendum on what to replace it with.
heh… Well, dbos… I did read your comment … zippo… nada specific … only generalizations… On the other hand … read MY post… specifics that you may (or may not) agree with …
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As far as your veiled tough-guy threat… Here’s a little lesson for you youngsters… El Toro MCAS 1960’s … I am restricted to my room except meals and work (don’t even ask why) … My 120 lb girlfriend comes over so tough-guy me used to press her one handed overhead… and … I thought I was a really good fighter with quite a few trophies until… I got clocked & knocked out … Lesson … always someone better than you … and … the lightbulb went on and I realized that … and you should too … since I could really really hurt someone in a big hurry … IF that someone better & I got into it… I would definitely be in the hospital very quickly …
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Fast forward … 2003 curling 100 lbs at 24 hr fitness…heart by-pass Statins … one side effect statins can be … loss of muscle and muscle tone…I can barely curl 40 lbs now… So … I 100% capitulate to your threat … Unless, of course… you break into my home … in which case you have about 8.5 seconds (timed and practiced) before my shotgun is retrieved and a shell chambered…
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But I repeat in the safety of the internet … Put up “specific” legislative suggestions or as stated before… it’s just posturing and bluster …
Best from Alaska … and …no I don’t reveal my identity either …
Haha!
Exactly what is your term for Conservative AJ? All of the items you listed are what most “true” conservatives, as you call them, stand for. So then you are a “true” conservative sometimes?
But then you show your moderate , ie, fence sitter, can’t commit, have to compromise side with abortion. Life either begins at conception or it doesn’t. Make up your mind. With your reasoning, a parent, primarily mother can murder at will, as long as it’s her child. When does this right to murder stop, AJ? Adulthood? If it’s a life it’s murder, plain and simple. Which is it?
And then there’s the tax cuts. Taxing the rich…the biggest friend of every lib. Exactly what is your definition of “obscenely rich?” You must not see the tax returns of many people who make good money, because the amount of taxes they pay is truly obscene. But there must always be a souce of money for those who suck at the government teat! If you can’t earn it, take it from them right?
By the way, your little employment ad at the top of the page is in quite poor taste and proves the real reason taxing the rich is something you are fond of. I wonder what the rest of the public does without government contracts…..hmmm. But when your own source of income comes from that government it’s easy to rationalize taxation of those who can “afford” to pay.
I wonder how many people an obscenely rich person could employ if they weren’t paying obscene amounts of taxes. What if everyone felt that their personal livelyhood was worth taking money from someone else to be better off? Pretty much what a liberal thinks, no?
So, Conservatives are pretty much black and white, it is what it is, whether it benefits their personal situation or not. A lib is pretty much black and white that it is what it is only if it benefits their personal situation. Moderates appear to be those who are gray who have no strong convictions unless it benefits themselves and if they have no interest in a particular topic everyone can do as they please. Thank God our founding fathers weren’t shrouded in gray.
Whippet, both conservative and centrist Republicans had some big wins on Tuesday. Time to be gracious in victory! Let the Dems do all the infighting (already starting over Pelosi) – this is the time for everyone on our side to unite on the basis of this win and learn how to do it even better next time – which is coming in 2 short years.
This election wasn’t everything we wanted, but it still was good, and it was a great setup for the big show in 2012. Done right, the GOP can take 20 – 30 MORE seats in the House – not that difficult to game out the seats. (10 redistricting, 10 retirement, 10 more blue dog defeats) With good candidates and good planning, it can happen. And the Senate seats are far more friendly next time than this.
Vitriol is best spent on our *real* enemies, not on allies we all need if we’re going to take back this country.
A great interview with Charles Goyette:
http://www.schiffradio.com/pg/jsp/charts/audioMaster.jsp;jsessionid=2180476454A944E9080EF203A0AA3C67?dispid=301&pid=51099
And a great Article on what the election means:
http://www.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2010/11/05/what-does-it-really-mean/