Tag Archives: John McCain

Obama's Revival of the Republican Party

Upside of this administration: We all thought the GOP was dead. And slowly, they’re remembering what it means to be a Republican. Stacy Mott has said, and I’ve often quoted, that Obama is currently the leader of the conservative movement.

Let’s face it, he’s done more to mobilize us than anyone else has. The numbers from the 9/12 march, and at rallies across the country, have proved that this is more than a fringe contingent of the right. Despite what any media source would have you believe.

Ben Stein writes:

You have named men to office so wildly irresponsible, so extreme in their positions, so vulgar in their means of expression, that they have made the Republican Party regain its of gleam of gentility and good graces. I am not talking only about the tough guy/ballet dancer Rahm Emanuel, who screamed like a jilted drunken sorority girl at GOP leaders after Joe Wilson’s outburst (itself a disgrace) last Wednesday night.”

He has brought more energy and conviction to Republicans and the right than I thought possible six months ago. So, for that I thank you, President Obama. You are exposing the flaws in liberal policy faster than anyone else in recent history has been able to – even Jimmy Carter.

A few months ago I’d given up on the party. Now, I see a glimmer of hope. I see Sen. Jim DeMint and Rep. Marsha Blackburn and Rep. Mike Pence turn out for the 9/12 rally, and say the things that conservatives have been dying to hear from their Congressmen.

Granted, there are those that still need to be held accountable. There are those that I still have no use for. McCain adviser Mark McKinnon said this last week:

Mark McKinnon, a former adviser to Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and other Republicans, said there is an “opportunity for Republicans” to tap into legitimate fears about an overreaching federal government. But he said that “right-wing nutballs are aligning themselves with these movements” and are dominating media coverage.

“It’s bad for Republicans because in the absence of any real leadership, the freaks fill the void and define the party,” McKinnon said.

So now we’re not only extremists, nut jobs, a mob, racist, etc… but one of the men who was supposed to be one our side refers to us as “freaks”. McKinnon, maybe if there were a leader who did his job and stopped pretending to be a Democrat to appeal to both sides, we wouldn’t have an absence of leadership. The fact that we don’t have a real leader tells me two things:

  1. This is a movement of the people. This is bottom up. This is grassroots. There is no top down organization happening – anyone paying attention knows there ISN’T anyleadership.
  2. The former leaders have been pushed aside, because we have decided that they don’t represent us. And I’m good with that.

I can honestly say that at this moment I’m grateful Barack Obama won the election, if for no other reason than to get us off our butts and force us to pay attention. I have very little faith that John McCain would have done a better job… and Republicans would still have been taking the blame. If Obama is the fall out from 8 years of Bush, I would hate to see what the fall out would be if another Republican screwed things up. The rapidfire legislation and the grandeur of this administration has provided a stark contrast, and put things in perspective for many.

For the first time, I say thank you, President Obama. You’ve given us the wake up call we needed to mobilize.

Can We Be Done Talking About Palin? Please?

SARAH PALIN WILL NOT BE OUR PRESIDENT IN 2012. There. I said it. I’m so tired of hearing her name and of the backlash that occurs when you point out negatives. She is not perfect. She is not the savior of the GOP. She is a woman. A woman who has flaws that will prevent her from holding the office of POTUS and VPOTUS. Her downfall, should there be one, would not be the downfall of conservatives.

I will be the first to admit that I loved her. She got me excited. When she came out onto the scene at the convention I was stoked. Part of that was that she was a breath of fresh air in contrast to McCain. I was looking for ANYTHING about this election that didn’t nauseate me. However, the glitter has faded.

The debacle on my facebook page last night is a prime example of why she SHOULDN’T run for national office. She is the most polarizing candidate we could possibly put forward… and we do NOT need a polarizing candidate on our side. We need a candidate that can effectively communicate what we stand for and win votes that way. Palin is not going to do that for us. I agree, she rallied the base. I’m not devaluing that – someone had to do it. What is not okay is how conservatives are cannibalizing each other over the Palin issue. Do we really think she can be effective if she can’t even unite us?

I know you all are going to blame the media. This is only partly true – the media did her dirty. She got the shaft. Hardcore. There’s no disputing that. There are issues beyond her national image that can’t be swept under the rug anymore.

First, I have a problem with her oil company tax. How is that any different than what Obama is doing? Let’s tax the heck out of the big evil companies, and then give the money back to the people. Sound familiar? Why has this not been brought up?

Second, there are social con issues I don’t feel like dredging up on here.  I’ve already done that.

Third, I despise the cult of personality that she seems to inspire. I have heard entirely too much about Palin in 2012. The slightest criticism of her always results in an all out war. Why is it okay for us to behave like Obamabots? Conservatism is NOT about one person. It is not about Palin or Jindal or even Reagan. It is about our principles. It is about making government smaller. It is about upholding the Constitution. Shifting our enthusiasm from principles to people will result in further breakdown.

I can already hear Palin supporters heads exploding over this one. Sorry guys. Now, if she were to somehow, by some crazy scenario, end up on the GOP ticket in 2012, I would probably support her. I may not even have to hold my nose when I pull the lever like I did with McCain… but my focus for 2012 is elsewhere.

Open Letter To Lefty Haters

Dear Lefty Hater,

I cannot wrap my brain around your definition of tolerance. In real life, tolerance means this:

tol·er·ance

Pronunciation:
?tä-l?-r?n(t)s, ?täl-r?n(t)s
Function:
noun

1: capacity to endure pain or hardship : endurance , fortitude , stamina

2 a: sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one’s own b: the act of allowing something :toleration

3: the allowable deviation from a standard ; especially : the range of variation permitted in maintaining a specified dimension in machining a piece

This means allowing for deviation from YOUR standard, too. Quite honestly, though, I’m not entirely sure what your standards are. According to your non-discriminatory, politically correct rhetoric, anything goes. After all, we wouldn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. Feelings are more important than logic and reason, right? We must do everything we can to avoid stepping on toes.

By my interpretation, your definition of “tolerance” extends to anyone who is not rich, white, Christian, or male. And Lord help you if you all in to all of the above. What happens when the oppressors become the oppressed? Who is there to defend those rights?

Rich people are targeted with higher taxes and demonized for their wealth. Do you not see the hypocrisy in the fact that 7/10 of the wealthiest senators are democrats? In the fact that Obama outspent McCain nearly 10-1? In the fact that among your most vocal supporters are Hollywood millionaires and billionaires, a la Oprah, Streisand, etc.?

I discussed yesterday how Christians are consistently demonized. I won’t rehash that, yet that still stands. It seems that your tolerance extends to non-Christians, gay people, minorities, and poor people. You act as a loud, obnoxious advocates, and generally pander to these groups until they completely submit – you own them, and you know it. After all, once a young, struggling, single mom has become dependent on WIC, how could she vote for someone who would take that away and risk her child’s welfare? After someone has been on welfare their whole life, how can we expect them to put someone in office who will remove their security blanket? The answer is simple – they won’t.

Start giving people the respect they deserve. Teach them that they are valuable, and then SHOW them you believe in them by setting the bar high. Stop providing easy ways out, and people will manage. People should be tested sometimes – how else will they know what they’re made of? Stop blaming rich, white men for your problems – many of you fall into the same category.Take responsibility. The world is not out to get you – you can choose not to hate.

Signed,

A broke but self-sufficient Christian white girl.

What I Learned From The Media…

Here are some post-election polls that DO matter… if only because they bring light to the ignorance surrounding this election.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm1KOBMg1Y8]

Clearly, Barney Frank, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are non-factors to people. And Palin was the fall back for any stupid comment that was made – including Obama’s 57 states comment, Biden’s plagiarism, etc.

These weren’t fools that Howard Stern grabbed off the street, who may or may not have been voting (although, the results were pretty similar). Had the media done it’s job, this race would have been much more interesting to watch. Here’s the Stern audio, and a segment from Anna’s fabulous entry in response to it:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyvqhdllXgU]

I’m uncomfortable with voters choosing a “brand” instead of choosing policy that actually lines up with what they think. In the following clip, reporters with the Howard Stern show ask Obama supporters why they choose him over McCain, substituting McCain’s policies (pro-life, staying in Iraq until “victory” is reached) for Obama’s. The supporters agree specifically with McCain policy when it’s presented as belonging to Obama. This is NOT OK.

Now, yes, the election is over. At this point, how he got there is irrelevant. However, if the media continues to bury truth, which we have every reason to believe it will, Obama has eliminated any accountability with the people of the United States. Not only does he have a near-filibuster proof (filibuster proof if you count his new friend McCain, as well as a few other RINOs…) Senate, the House, and 3 supreme court appointments to make, he has the entire US media cleaning up after him and spinning until the people reporting the truth don’t even know what it is anymore.

The job of the media is supposed to be unbiased reporting of the news – the good, the bad and the ugly. However, during the epic media breakdown that was this election, few would argue that they were “fair and balanced”. These videos show us that the average American gets their news from mainstream media and doesn’t do the research. Is it possible to make the best decision based on false or partial knowledge? No. Let’s check out the Zogby polls, just to illustrate:

512 Obama Voters 11/13/08-11/15/08 MOE +/- 4.4 points

97.1% High School Graduate or higher, 55% College Graduates

Results to 12 simple Multiple Choice Questions

57.4% could NOT correctly say which party controls congress (50/50 shot just by guessing)

81.8% could NOT correctly say Joe Biden quit a previous campaign because of plagiarism (25% chance by guessing)

82.6% could NOT correctly say that Barack Obama won his first election by getting opponents kicked off the ballot (25% chance by guessing)

88.4% could NOT correctly say that Obama said his policies would likely bankrupt the coal industry and make energy rates skyrocket (25% chance by guessing)

56.1% could NOT correctly say Obama started his political career at the home of two former members of the Weather Underground (25% chance by guessing).

And yet…..

Only 13.7% failed to identify Sarah Palin as the person on which their party spent $150,000 in clothes

Only 6.2% failed to identify Palin as the one with a pregnant teenage daughter

And 86.9 % thought that Palin said that she could see Russia from her “house,” even though that was Tina Fey who said that!!

Only 2.4% got at least 11 correct.

Only .5% got all of them correct. (And we “gave” one answer that was technically not Palin, but actually Tina Fey)

97% high school grads, and more than half had completed college. These were not Stern’s streets of Harlem examples. Can we blame them? Naturally I want to say yes! Yes! Read! Learn! But, is it really a horrible thing to believe that the media is doing their job? I mean, most people don’t have the time to spend hours a day researching and analyzing things people say and watch speeches. Media, do your job. Meanwhile, bloggers, speak truth. Hopefully our voices will be heard.