I am an old Republican. I am religious, yet not a fanatic. I am a free-marketer; yet, I believe in the role of the government as a fair evenhanded referee. I am socially conservative; yet, I believe that my lesbian niece and my gay grandchild should have the full protection of the law and live as free Americans enjoying every aspect of our society with no prejudices and/or restrictions. Nowadays, my political and socio-economic profile would make me a Marxist, not a Republican.
I grew up in an era where William F. Buckley fought the John Birch society and kicked them out of the Republican Party. I grew up with -– in fact voted for the first time for –- Eisenhower. In 1956, he ran a campaign of dignity. A campaign that acknowledged that there are certain projects better suited to be handled by the government. See, business thinks in the short term, as he said. That’s the imperative of the marketplace. I invest and I expect that in a few quarters, I garner the fruits of my investment. Government, on the other hand, has the luxury to wait a few years, maybe decades, for a return on a given investment. As a former businessman, I know that first hand. Am I a Marxist for thinking that?
[….]
I do not recognize myself in the Republican Party anymore. As someone said it before, I did not leave the Republican Party, the Republican Party left me. I have the same ideological positions on most of the issues that I had when I voted for Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan and George W. Bush in 2000. However, I just cannot trust the reins of our government and nation, of this formidably complicated and complex gigantic machine that is the USA, to the amateurish leadership of the Republican Party.
We are living through tough times. We are being challenged like I have never seen America being challenged before. China is a formidable foe, and it is out there competing against us on every field and beating us on several fronts. While our education budgets are being slashed in every state across the nation, China is doubling and tripling theirs. These are the challenges and challengers that we are facing. And we need our best and brightest to lead us, not a half-term governor or radio/TV talking heads.
Maybe I am too old and too cynical, but I think the Republican party is in the last stages of agony. If nothing happens, we might win an election or even two, but in the long run we will lose America.
Category: Republican
Yes, I think this is extremely stupid
The Video:
The Story via ABC:
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele’s comment on “Good Morning America” today that he and President Obama have a slimmer margin of error because of their race was dismissed by the White House as “silly.”
“Well, I think that is a fairly silly comment to make,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters today. “I think Michael Steele’s problem isn’t the race card, it’s the credit card.”
The embattled chairman played the race card today when asked if he has a slimmer margin of error because he is African American.
“The honest answer is, ‘yes,'” he said on “Good Morning America” today. “Barack Obama has a slimmer margin. A lot of folks do. It’s a different role for me to play and others to play and that’s just the reality of it. But you take that as part of the nature of it.”
“My view on politics is much more grassroots oriented, it’s not old boy network oriented, so I tend to, you know, come at it a little bit stronger, a little bit more street-wise, if you will. That’s rubbed some feathers the wrong way,” Steele told “GMA’s” George Stephanopoulos.
Today’s “GMA” interview is not the first time Steele has asserted that his race plays a role in the criticism he has faced as RNC chairman. During a recent interview with Washingtonian Magazine, which took place before the sex-club controversy, Steele said, “I don’t see stories about internal operations of the DNC that I see about this operation. Why? Is it because Michael Steele is the chairman, or is it because a black man is chairman?”
I have said on this blog a half of a million times, (or so…) that the G.O.P royally screwed up, when they put Michael Steele in as the chairman of the G.O.P. No, not because I am racist bigot. But because of this; it is quite obvious to me and many other people, that Michael Steele is all about identity politics — which is antithetical to what the Republican Party stands for, again, not because the Republican Party is racist, but because the Republican Party believes in “freedom for all, special privileges for none.” At least that is how it is supposed to work.
Of course; if you say a cross word about a Jew to a Republican, you are libeled as a Anti-Semite. Which is quite hypocritical, if you ask me. However, speaking for myself. I do not feel that I owe a Black Man or a Jew anything at all. If anything, I feel the Jews in this Country owe their lives for what this Country did for them during the second World War. Most Jews are grateful for this, but, honestly, there are some, who act like the United States did not do enough or not quickly enough. Which is, in my opinion, bogus.
Yes, I have seen that on a certain so-called “Conservative” blog, who is ran by a Jewish Lawyer from Michigan. I won’t mention any names, least that person file stalking charges against or something stupid like that. Funny how she can claim Anti-Semite nonsense; while all the while bashing Roman Catholic Conservatives. Funny how that works.
Anyhow, about Michael Steele; I think he should resign. It is quite obvious to many people that his skin color is more important than his Conservatism. Otherwise, stuff like this here will continue to happen:
In another serious blow to the Republican National Committee, one of its top fundraisers — and its few remaining connections to the traditional GOP donor base — has resigned a senior, unpaid position.
Former Ambassador Sam Fox, a top supporter of George W. Bush who was one of the co-chairmen of the Republican Regents — the RNC’s top-level fundraising board — has left the post, two Republican sources said.
Fox, a Missouri businessman who was Bush’s ambassador to Belgium, was one of the RNC’s few remaining connections to the deep-pocketed Republican establishment and was viewed as the heaviest hitter among its fundraisers.
Fox didn’t return a call seeking comment.
But Fox was “deeply troubled by the pattern of self-inflicted wounds and missteps,” another major Republican fundraiser told me today, and had “lost confidence” in Steele.
He was also finding it harder and harder to tap fellow wealthy Republicans for the RNC, the source said.
The GOP source predicted a coming wave of high-level finance resignations amid dissatisfaction over the arrival, under an ethical cloud, of a new fundraising staffer.
Michael Steele, Uniting Conservatives everywhere. 🙄
Now, if the G.O.P. wanted to put a REAL Conservative minority in as chairman; they could look at Michelle Malkin. Now that’s a woman that could do something for that Party! 😀 She’s screechy, She’s annoying as hell; but damn it, she’s about as pure as they come. Think about it Republicans. Who do you want representing your party? Megan McCain with black skin? or a Minority who’s truly down with the cause? It is something to think about! 😀
Is the Afghanistan/Pakistan mission unraveling?
It seems that way. 🙁
The Story via Stratfor.com:
Three explosions, two rocket attacks and subsequent gunfire have been reported in the near vicinity of the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar, Pakistan, on April 5. The attack occurred early afternoon local time when the consulate would have been full of both American and local employees. The death toll is reported at 36 but is expected to rise.
There are no assessments yet of the damage that the consulate building has sustained, but reports indicate that the explosions led to the collapse of other, adjacent buildings. Pakistani soldiers are also reported to be engaging militants in gunfire, indicating that militants are actively engaged in an attack near the area — possibly with the intention of breaching the U.S. Consulate.
[….]
UPDATE:
One attacker was able to blow up in the U.S. Consulate premises, AAJ TV reported April 5. The front side of the U.S. Consulate has been totally destroyed. Reports indicate that seven or eight security personnel in the consulate are dead. The consulate’s communication system is down.
Many people are wondering why this has happened. I think I know why. It could very well be because of this here:
The Story via Washington Post:
KABUL — President Obama’s visit to Kabul last week, intended in part to forge a closer working relationship with President Hamid Karzai, has helped produce the opposite: an angry Afghan leader now attacking the West for what he perceives as an effort to manipulate him and weaken his rule.
Karzai’s relationship with his U.S. backers in the past week has taken a sharp turn for the worse after his two anti-Western speeches in three days, remarks that some officials see as a rehearsed, intentional move away from the United States.
In remarks to parliament members Saturday, Karzai said that if foreign interference in his government continues, the Taliban would become a legitimate resistance — one that he might even join, according to lawmakers present.
“When I heard Karzai’s remarks, it really shocked me. It scared me,” a senior Afghan official who works closely with Karzai said. “We should not take this lightly. This is a golden opportunity to have the West here; we can’t squander it.”
Karzai’s comments have angered U.S. officials and some of his prominent Afghan colleagues in the government, who fear he is jeopardizing international funding and military support because his pride has been injured.
“That guy’s erratic, he’s unpredictable. I don’t get him,” said a senior U.S. military official in Kabul.
However, if you read a little deeper, you will see this:
But the next day, Karzai told a gathering of lawmakers that foreign interference fuels the insurgency. One lawmaker said Karzai made the point that if he is compelled to obey foreigners, “I’ll join the Taliban.”
“I know he’s cooperating with the U.S., but he just wants to give us a wrong perception. He’s trying to prove himself as a hero, a nationalist,” the lawmaker said.
Some of the presidents’ supporters said that people overreacted to the statements, and that Karzai is well aware of how reliant he is on the United States and other countries fighting in Afghanistan. The United States pours billions of dollars monthly into Afghanistan, and 30,000 new troops are arriving to fight the Taliban.
Speaking at a meeting of about 1,200 tribal leaders and local officials in the southern city of Kandahar on Sunday, Karzai again suggested that U.S. pressure is counterproductive.
“Afghanistan will be fixed when its people trust that their president is independent and not a puppet,” he said. “We have to demonstrate our sovereignty. We have to demonstrate that we are standing up for our values.”
I think this guy needs to make up his mind. Trying to play to his people and be friends with the west is not going to work. The United States of America is NOT interested in owning that Country, no more than it is interested in owning Iraq. We are, or at least we were, there to get rid of Al-Qaeda terrorists who wanted to attack and destroy America. It seems that our focus is shifting and we are now trying to play “Paddy Cake” with Afgan Leaders who want to be friendly with the the U.S. and the Taliban. The President of the United States needs to firm with Karzai, and tell him either choose the Taliban and possibly being killed by the United States in military action or choose true freedom and democracy. You cannot have it both ways, terrorism and democracy cannot co-exist.
Just a personal aside, I had a sinking feeling that this sort of a thing would happen, if we elected a Democrat for a President. For all of his failings, for all of the stuff that I did not like about him; George W. Bush knew exactly how to deal with these sorts of things. He was seen by the Afghan people and the Iraqis as a firm strong leader, who was willing to risk it all to stand against terrorism, Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. President Obama just does not have that same stance. President Obama and by default, the Democrats see terrorism as a juvenile criminal behavior; and it is not; it is a war against freedom and democracy in the name of a backward and dangerous religion.
I guess the only hope at this point is that Obama realizes what he is dealing with here and changes his focus. However, I just do not see that happening at all. Needless to say, the next year few years is going to be interesting, when it comes to the war on terror and this entire situation.
NYT compares the Tea Party Movement to the Weather Underground
Go figure. 🙄
Ann Althouse Says:
I have had lovers quarrels with Communists.
Lovely. 😯 😮
R.S. McCain screams:
TMI!
Indeed. 😛
Just my observation; Anyone that cannot differentiate between a violent anti-Government or Anti-American terrorist and someone peacefully protesting the misdeeds of the current Government in power, shouldn’t be driving a damn car —- Much less writing an opinion column. Besides all of this, just where the hell where these socialist liberal idiots, when the idiotic people were calling for the death of President George W. Bush? Oh, that’s right! They were providing covering for them and also, supporting them as well. 🙄
Damned hypocrites, every last one of them. 😡 Which is why I will never support the Democratic Party, ever again. I’d rather never work another damned job in my life and be as poor as a Church mouse, and never vote again for that Party again; than to sell my soul to a party of Socialists who reek with the smell of utter hypocrisy.
Others: The Gun Toting Liberal, Pajamas Media, Atlas Shrugs, Neptunus Lex, Questions and Observations, Left Coast Rebel, Washington Monthly, American Power, JammieWearingFool, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Hot Air
The Other McCain on the Economic Reality
A very interesting read, quite true too.
Why do Conservatives do stupid stuff like this?
Geez… 🙄
Transcript:
ERICKSON: This is crazy. What gives the Commerce Department the right to ask me how often I flush my toilet? Or about going to work? I’m not filling out this form. I dare them to try and come throw me in jail. I dare them to. Pull out my wife’s shotgun and see how that little ACS twerp likes being scared at the door. They’re not going on my property. They can’t do that. They don’t have the legal right, and yet they’re trying. (Source)
Brilliant, just.farking.brilliant! Feed the Meme some more Erik, that we right wingers are some sort of psycho crazies. What a moron. 🙄
A Douche Nozzle, that’s what he is. 😡
Speaking of snort worthy
Oh man! 😯
Via the Politico:
A new entrant in the when-it-rains-it-pours category.
The Republican National Committee sent a fundraising mail piece earlier this month with a return number that leads to a phone-sex line offering “live, one-on-one talk with a nasty girl who will do anything you want for just $2.99 per minute.”
At the bottom of a piece designed to resemble a census form, a toll-free number is listed next to the national party’s address.
A voter in Minnesota received the mailer and called the number intending to complain about the attempt to raise money with a form that looks like a government document.
But the Minnesotan was instead directed to a second toll-free number that greets callers as “sexy guy” before offering them the chance to talk with “real local students, housewives and working girls from all over the country.”
The individual then forwarded the mail piece to the voter’s congressman, a Democrat, who shared it with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
A spokesman for the RNC declined to say how many copies of the census-style mailer were sent out.
Oh man, and this right on the heels of the thing with chairman Michael Steele no less. Ouch! 😮
It's about time: Obama proposes offshore drillng
Finally, the stupid socialist is doing something right:
The Obama administration is proposing to open vast expanses of water along the Atlantic coastline, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the north coast of Alaska to oil and natural gas drilling, much of it for the first time, officials said Tuesday.
The proposal — a compromise that will please oil companies and domestic drilling advocates but anger some residents of affected states and many environmental organizations — would end a longstanding moratorium on oil exploration along the East Coast from the northern tip of Delaware to the central coast of Florida, covering 167 million acres of ocean.
Under the plan, the coastline from New Jersey northward would remain closed to all oil and gas activity. So would the Pacific Coast, from Mexico to the Canadian border.
The environmentally sensitive Bristol Bay in southwestern Alaska would be protected and no drilling would be allowed under the plan, officials said. But large tracts in the Chukchi Sea and Beaufort Sea in the Arctic Ocean north of Alaska — nearly 130 million acres — would be eligible for exploration and drilling after extensive studies.
The proposal is to be announced by President Obama and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on Wednesday, but administration officials agreed to preview the details on the condition that they not be identified.
The proposal is intended to reduce dependence on oil imports, generate revenue from the sale of offshore leases and help win political support for comprehensive energy and climate legislation.
via Obama to Open Offshore Areas to Oil Drilling for First Time – NYTimes.com.
It’s about time that Bambi Teleprompter is doing something right.
An exasperated Moonbat Steve Benon whines:
My confusion, then, is over the administration’s negotiating tactics. In February, the president cleared the way for the first new U.S. nuclear power plants in more than 30 years. Today, the president will reportedly open up new opportunities for coastal drilling.
In other words, Obama has already effectively given Republicans what they wanted on energy. What is he getting in return?
My question is, why the fuck should he get anything in return, at all?
He better be fucking hoping and praying that we don’t make his origin of birth a big issue when the Republicans take back the house and senate come 2010! What assholes… like the Republicans owe that floppy eared son-of-a- bitch anything at all. 😡 🙄
Again, I say, good on ol’ big ears for finally learning that capitalism is a good thing and that drilling is a good idea. Now if we could just teach the REST of liberal and socialist, and communist America that! We’d have to start in the fucking oval office first!
Your Daily War Porn Video
(H/T Zip)
Marine's father could use our help
So, let’s get to work… First background:
Lawyers for the father of a Marine who died in Iraq and whose funeral was picketed by anti-gay protesters say a court has ordered him to pay the protesters' appeal costs.
On Friday, the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ordered that Albert Snyder of York, Pa., pay costs associated with Fred Phelps' appeal. Phelps is the leader of the Westboro Baptist Church, which conducted protests at the funeral of Snyder's son, Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, in Westminster in 2006.
Lawyers for Snyder say the Court of Appeals has ordered him to pay $16,510.80 to Phelps for costs relating to the appeal, despite the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review the Court of Appeals' decision.
They say that Snyder is also struggling to come up with fees associated with filing a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court.
“We are extremely disappointed,” said Sean E. Summers, an attorney for Snyder. He added that the U.S. Supreme Court will likely hear the case during its October term and make a decision in June of next year.
via Marine’s father ordered to pay Westboro’s court costs – baltimoresun.com.
Now how to help via Gateway Pundit:
UPDATE: I called Sean E. Summers law offices this morning and asked how we can help. They already set up this website– http://www.matthewsnyder.org/.
You can donate to the Snyder family– here.
You can also send the family an email– here.
Ya’ll know what to do….
Others, Right and Left: JammieWearingFool, No More Mister Nice Blog, Outside The Beltway, Moonbattery, The Jawa Report and Wake up America
