by Jack Lee
It was really over for Romney long before the debates ushered in a new glimmer of hope. When Romney emerged as the GOP candidate from a long and often times nasty primary runoff, Team Obama knew they were in trouble. They had few accomplishments to run on and the wounded economy was centerfold of the great issues. They had to mortally wound Romney and his Achilles heel turned out to be his great financial success. Thanks to leftist propaganda at all levels of our society, Americans are slowly turning against the rich.
America relates better to the common man, even if it’s an illusion. When it comes to politics…perception outweighs reality every time.
The Obama camp had their target and they relentlessly drove the message home…you can’t trust Romney, he’s not one of us, he’s all out for the fat cats! Despite his considerable qualifications, Romney lacked that common-man charisma that the majority of people will trust and relate to. That was true for most of his campaign and when the real Romney came out…it was too late. Team Obama had spent millions selling the message he will grow the divide between the mega rich and the rest of us and this will be bad for America!
It took too long in trial and error for the Romney campaign to deal effectively with the endless attacks that claimed he was an elitist, that he was out of touch, that he was an insensitive rich white guy that can’t be trusted. This was the image that had been crafted for him by the Obama team and their allies in the MSM.
The second part of his failure was not addressed much in the campaign because it didn’t have to be, and that was his religion. Ask most any Christian fundamentalist and they will tell you Mormonism is a cult. And for many of them that was enough to stop them. They didn’t want some cult leader to become president. Again, it was perception, not reality took a toll on a good man and unfortunately that’s the way politics works these days.
Well, it’s all history now and this morning after Obama’s big win, the stock market brought us back to reality with a 360 point drop on the DOW (so far).
Last night I was attending the GOP gathering at the Holiday Inn night when the news of Romney’s defeat swept over the audience. This cast a pall over the evening that was only partially offset by the election success us Doug LaMalfa to Congress, Jim Nielsen to State Senate and Dan Logue’s re-election to Assembly. However, at the time the Chico City Council race was yet to be determined.
Our stalwart band of conservatives within the Butte Taxpayers Alliance, the Butte County Republican Party and other conservative groups gave it their all, to ensure a conservative victory in the council race. In any normal, thinking community, the past mismanagement, the crazy schemes, the wasteful spending and boondoggles that resulted in costly lawsuits should have mandated such a change!
That led us to actually believe the citizens of Chico had finally had enough of the liberals. And why shouldn’t we think that? The City is broke and heavily in debt. The town is suffering from job losses and a declining economy. Who in their right mind would not want to change that?
We believed this was the first time in decades where responsible fiscal managers could finally gain control of the council. So, we gave it our all, but we made one huge mistake. . .we greatly overestimated the intelligence of the local voters. This is little Berkely, and as such we are filled with leftists, weirdos and wackos. And the other side is just not up to taking them on!
This morning I awoke to the news the voters of Chico still has not sobered up. Only one conservative, Sean Morgan was elected. Toby Schindlebeck, Dave Donnan, Andrew Coolidge and even incumbent Bob Evans lost, we gained nothing. The council remains in firm control of those who brought a string fiscal disasters and embarrassingly stupid issues which I shall not waste my time repeating.
Let me sum it up like this… we’re screwed., nationally and right here in our hometown. We can overcome dumb liberals in office, but we can’t overcome the masses of dumb voters that put them there, short of a violent revolution.
The demographics of change and the new populism that came with it has traditional Americans in full retreat. This was brought about over decades by a multi-front attack within our educational system that undermined traditional patriotic values. The new demographic is akin to a stacked deck and you can’t win against a stacked deck.
The socialist indoctrination of America has passed the tipping point and there’s no turning back. Coming up…new taxes, new debt, bigger government, more attacks on the 2nd ammendment, more loss of freedom and more destruction of classic American history to be replaced with revisionist history. As for class warfare…you ain’t seen nothing yet. This new chapter in American history will usher in a bolder emphasis on creating the ultimate illusion. . .a socialist utopia.
Jack you’ve summed it up well. Perceptions are all that count in America today. The left has won on this front over decades and they will continue to win as long as they have control of media, including Hollywood, and education. Not only did the Obama campaign spend the bulk of their war chest creating a negative image of Romney, a man of excellent character, empathy, and experience, the media assisted them by remaining silent about the utter failure of this administration to improve the economy and the horrendous failure in Benghazi.
Did you know that the question googled most yesterday was “Who is running for president?” My God! Much of America has no idea what has just happened.
One major business owner had a suggestion for small business. Call, write, fax, email the White House at least once a week to express your concerns and opinions. We provide most of the jobs in America when we can afford it. What Obama has promised is higher taxes and more regulations. Obama, and the Democrats in the Senate too, should be our new battlefront.
At the moment my balloon has burst and I don’t have the energy but it is something to consider. This country self-identifies as conservative, democrats were losing affiliation while republicans were gaining but somehow we voted in leadership that stands for big government. It’s a caution.
The Republican Party does not relate to the voters. We need to get back to our roots and get rid of the side issues. We need new leadership that concentrate of fiscal stability, defense of rights and have a clear vision of government. Get out of the personal beliefs as policy and provide good, sound ideas to deal with our problems. We do this one district at a time. We do this by letting our representatives (who ever they are) know how we feel about policy. Stay on them. Socialism will fail. It takes time and damage will be extensive but repairable.
Also, remember, there is “stink’n think’n” on both sides of aisle.
Actually, that 300 points might be construed as a little nudge in Mr. Boehner’s direction. It’s very reckless of me, but I’d really like to take that tumble over the “fiscal cliff” … just so you all can find out just how clever you really are.
“They had to mortally wound Romney and his Achilles heel turned out to be his great financial success.”
I don’t know about that. Salon chose to finish up by a recap of the tale of the dog strapped to the roof … talked to some animal people … you had to come away with the conviction Mitt’s got serious empathy issues. You just don’t put doggy torturers in charge of the country.
Another thought for my conservative friends. The media that props up the democrats by refusing to report honestly needs to hear from us directly. It isn’t enough to turn off the channel or station and turn to alternatives. We have made some strides in Hollywood by refusing to support some movies or the industry as a whole and by supporting movies with greater family and literary content.
We must fight this media battle at the stronghold.
At some point we have to face reality and realize that we let the RNC force a bad candidate on us and shun a good candidate off to the side. I do not believe that Obama could have beat Huntsman. Instead we were forced to support someone who refused to release his tax returns (aren’t we supposed to be about transparency?), has way too much money in an IRA, has swiss bank accounts, and has a history of working for a company that ships American jobs to China. He also changed his opinion on what he stood for over and over and over again.
I’m not sorry to see Toby Schindelbeck lose. I was thrilled to vote for Sean Morgan. He will be a true asset to our city council. He is just a brilliant man who is loved by all of his students for his intellect. I believe he will govern intelligently and not along partisan lines.
Let me sum it up like this… we’re screwed., nationally and right here in our hometown.
Well, I have more bad news for you.
The DemoNcrats now have a 2/3rds majority in the state legislature.
Do you know what that means?
It means they can pass ANY tax increase they want, whenever they want. The Repulicans are totally irrelevant and the DemoNcrats will not need any ballot iniatives to raise taxes now.
I saw this coming a couple of years ago.
I tried to get people interested in splitting the state.
I called La Malfa’s office and Logue’s office about this and they had no interest.
I told them there would come a day soon when Republicans would be irrelevant in the legislsature but they would not listen.
As far as the city council goes the conservatives blundered. They had too many candidates running and their votes were dilluted.
They should have run only 3 solid candidates and consolidated their support. That is just common sense but they could not see it.
“… democrats were losing affiliation while republicans were gaining …”
That was true, I think, until the Tea Party emerged, at which point the Repugs started losing affiliation, driving the moderate majority of the party away. The post-mortem will probably conclude that Romney’s pandering to the far right, and then carreening back into the middle of the road, is what cost him the election. Stolidly conservative media organizations like The Economist and the Financial Times had to conclude that Romney had no coherent agenda and was not to be trusted.
I think this Redstate post sums up a lot of my feelings perfectly. Especially the part about the types of candidates we need to start running
http://www.redstate.com/2012/11/07/the-fall-of-the-house-of-romney/
“Team Obama spent millions selling the message ….”
And Rove and the Koch brothers spent … we will never know how many millions more, maybe even a billion dollars, of dark money, and could not pull it off.
That is wildly gratifying.
For people who are looking for a new news source and are open to Glenn Beck he has a station on Dish 212. His goal is to build it into a multi media news source.
It’s free right now, but will cost $5 a month. Check it out while it’s free.
We watched the end of our Republic last night which was replace by a Democracy system. We the people lost/gave our control to the elites in DC. They will now be free to continue picking and choosing what businesses will be successful and those that will be forced to close.
Obama won because he promised more “free” stuff and more Obama money and they fell for it hook line and sinker never thinking that someone still has to pay for all that “free” stuff. What are they going to do when there is no one left to pay for it? Look to Greece and other countries for that answer. It’s only a matter of time.
Do I expect Obama to work with the Repbulicans? No. Do I expect the Republicans to work with Obama? No. Nothing has changed or will for the next four years.
That $16 trillion will soon be $20 trillion and my grandkids will owe over $100k each by the time they start working. What a hell of an inheritance to leave them.
Libbya just had to drop in to gloat! “You just don’t put doggy torturers in charge of the country.”
Yeah, but you, Libbya, do put in an incompetent dog eater who has increased the debt more than all the previous presidents combined to a staggering (projected) 16 trillion and whose misguided policies have failed to address unemployment and get the economy turned around. But then he doesn’t have to contend with any of the completely idiotic “empathy” issues manufactured by the media.
I think Libbya in that one sentence just summed up what is important to the masses of liberal voters. Ann Coulter got it right, the Democrats have the stupid vote completely locked up.
It will be interesting to see how Obama deals with the mess he has inherited from Obama.
Libby: “You just don’t put doggy torturers in charge of the country.”
First of all congrats to you…not only did Obama win but so did your beloved Ms. Warren.
Now on to the Romney pup. I would like to know exactly what about strapping the dog in his secure little kennel on top of the roof of the car so he could go on vacation with the family, rather than being sloughed off on neighbors or stuck in a kennel, was either cruel or dangerous?
The most favorite place for a dog riding in the car is with his head out the window as anyone who has ever had a dog will tell you.
In order to make the assertion that this would actually harm the dog certain assumptions were made: that the dog would be “trapped” in the small box for 12 hours without water or food; that he would be bombarded by rushing air at speeds of 75-80 mph relentlessly for those 12 hours, that his his eyes would dry out from the rushing air and lack of water causing great stress. As always our liberal friends begin with the most egregious scenario they can think of to paint a picture of cruelty.
I would bet the Romney’s treated Seamus, the beloved family pet, as they do their children, with love and care. I would bet Seamus had a nice cushion or blanket to lie on. I can see the Romney family making a number of stops along the way to exercise their pet (and their children) and offer him food and water. The back of his kennel may have been closed, blocking air flow but if not, what animal stands with his head facing the air relentlessly without turning away? I’ll bet old Seamus was smart enough to circle the kennel and settle for periods of time with his back to the wind…he may even have taken a few naps! It may be that much of the trip was spent on the blue highways rather than freeways meaning the speeds for travel would have been lower and the changing scenery pleasant and interesting. My Setter loved to ride along and observe the changing scenery in Montana. One last thing. If the family perceived that the situation was indeed causing stress for their pet they would have made room inside the car somehow. As usual the left made an image out of pure fantasy and bitter hatred.
This is a great example of how the left controls the narrative. The following are examples of the headlines and talking points used to paint this family as thoughtless and cruel:
“Romney’s Cruel Canine Vacation”
See more at: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1638065,00.html
“Why Romney’s ‘dog on car roof’ story makes him unfit to be president”
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/01/13/romneys-dog-on-car-roof-story-makes-him-unfit-to-be-president/#ixzz2BZ1njsfA
That was then. Today some people are saying Romney couldn’t win because he can’t relate to the common people. Yet this is exactly the kind of thing that a common person might do. It is the type of story that would have made Clinton fun and interesting. You know that its true!
The left likened this incident to “Family Vacation” starring, Chevy Chase, which was funny because of the underlying truth about the common man, but instead of the fun and interesting image they would give Clinton they chose to make it a cruel undertaking to damage Romney’s image with the common man. And it worked. Why?
Liberals lie to win. Liberals will destroy the reputation of any decent, accomplished man or woman to win without hesitation. They claim to be inclusive. They claim not to be racist. But they have willfully disparaged the public images of black and Hispanic republicans like Condoleezza Rice, Clarence Thomas, Marco Rubio, Mia Love, or any other minority republican…and they get away with it. No one seems to notice or care. Why?
Obama said the economy was improving (it is a lie in terms of real growth that would improve our situation) and the media did not challenge him…why?
Can you explain any of this Libby? Are you proud of it? Do you think in the long run our country will prosper in this poisonous atmosphere?
Jerry thanks for sharing your thoughts. Would you be willing to share what you think specifically the Republicans should drop and why? We appreciate hearing from anyone with ideas and at this point it’s time to take a look.
One other thing you all should know about the Democrats having a super majority in the state legislature.
They will be able to override a governor’s veto.
So even if Brown comes to his senses and vetos a tax increase they can still override his veto.
Essentially, you are going to have the most radical tax hikers calling the shots now at the state level.
I don’t think people comprehend this yet.
We already have the highest taxes but things are going to get much worse.
The DemoNcrats winning a 2/3rds majority in the state legislature was much bigger news than Prop 30 passing.
As far as importance, it is on par with Obama winning.
I could not agree more about splitting the state. We tried to do this years ago and the liberals in southern California wouldn’t have it because they desperately need our water to maintain their lifestyle. But we are stuck with their governance and their sucking up of funding for road improvements. When federal money comes to California, it doesn’t go to fix up roads here. It goes to build bigger and more freeways for southern California. When it was time to build a bullet train, did they decide to put it up here so people in Eureka could get to airports more easily? Nope. People who can already fly to southern California for cheap get the bullet train that they won’t ride because it is easier to fly.
Split the state NOW!!! We do not need them, they need us.
Here is the answer to why Obama won.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SeJbOU4nmHQ
WE have become a country of dependent people, ” The government can take care of me”.
Watch Obama take us down the path of higher taxes, including huge energy costs, not to mention a liberal Supreme Court..
I fault the media most of all, too many people do not have a clue as what is going on, I mentioned Benghazi to someone they had no idea what I meant. They are supposed to inform, but instead they have become the “Liberal Guard” It is shameful.
We also need to do a better job with our candidates, some making stupid comments about rape as an example, what a vote getter that was…
As mentioned before as Californians we get hit twice, After the first of the year people will again scream about their lower paychecks, wonder if they too, will blame George bush.
“Obama said the economy was improving (it is a lie in terms of real growth that would improve our situation) and the media did not challenge him…why?”
Because 7.9 percent is less than 9.8 percent. It’s not much less, of course, but the poor man hasn’t had much help. He’s not the King, ya know.
And some of us can keep the big picture in our heads. We are not having the Second Great Depression, yet. (The EU could still implode, and that would do it.)
The big deal now, is the budget. You email Boehner, every day … 50% cuts … across the board, just get it done … I double-dare you.
You are 100% right, Princess.
The DemoNcrats getting a 2/3rds majority is huge news and is shocking.
Last night around 11 PM a state political wonk told me there was no chance that would happen. Even the experts are shocked.
Most people don’t even know about it yet and those who do do not grasp the significance of it.
The only solution at this point is to split the state. All the counties that vote Republican are completely disenfranchised now.
Libby wants to bring up Romney’s dog. Oh for crying out loud, that is the DUMBEST reason to not support Romney. Not relevant to this election.
Interesting that you would focus on that, but not mention that maybe people didn’t vote for Romney because he wants to cut the services that affect Americans, but he wants to increase the defense budget by $2trillion. One of the few specifics he gave us. He was unelectable because he had no specifics for overhauling the tax plan other than he would cut taxes and increase military spending. Um, we tried that with Bush and it didn’t work out real great, which is why the biggest Bush legacy (other than his unfunded wars), is the American Tea Party that was sick and tired of the RNC insiders screwing over their supporters.
I think both sides in this election held their nose and voted party first.
Re Tina’s Question To Jerry: Would you be willing to share what you think specifically the Republicans should drop and why?
I can answer that with one suggestion now (perhaps more later). DO NOT OPINE OR WAX PHILOSOPHICAL ABOUT ABORTION WHILE RUNNING FOR OFFICE!
Republicans cannot overturn Roe v. Wade. The very real possibility of taking the Senate was completely smashed by idiotic and wholly unnecessary statements from Richard Mourdock and Todd Akin. Those two magnificent dopes smeared the entire party and gained nothing but a big fat crash-and-burn loss not only for themselves but other Republican contenders.
The answer is simple enough, if you feel the need to announce, say you are pro-life with the possible exception in the case of rape, incest, or the potential loss of life of the mother. How hard is that? Or better yet, just keep your damn mouth shut about your personal thoughts and dodge any direct questions.
Aside: Yes, I know, I know. The baby is an innocent victim with, evidently, no God given rights. Nevertheless liberals and the stupid vote have absolutely no empathy for the innocent unborn or even partially born children who suffer the grotesque, brutal, savage “procedure” of having their skulls pierced and their brains sucked out in the name of “choice”.
The stupid vote, as Libbya so marvelously points out, is far more concerned about dogs, so leave rape and abortion out of the equation, OK?
Republicans will need to be more acceptable to the stupid vote and independent vote if they are to gain the political clout necessary to put the country back on the right track.
“Libby wants to bring up Romney’s dog. Oh for crying out loud, that is the DUMBEST reason to not support Romney. Not relevant to this election.”
Of course it is. It is relevant to the man’s character, and to the direction in which he would take the country. People lacking in an empathic connection to their fellow beings … make war … and other cruel policy choices, e.g., “but he wants to increase the defense budget by $2 trillion”. The one thing does have to do with the other.
Pie, you can’t let them just be yours, can you, your personal beliefs? What Jerry means is, as long as you insist on trying to make them law, to inflict them on other people, you will lose elections.
On top of which, nobody else believes in your belief of your belief. How’s that for cogent? See, if you really believed in the sanctity of human life, you’d be a fervent believer in universal healthcare and daycare and all-day-school. But you’re not, are you?
You believe in patriarchy! in keeping your chattels under your control! … just like that dweeb Akin who, praise be to the Goddess, is not going to the Senate.
Libby: “Because 7.9 percent is less than 9.8 percent. It’s not much less, of course, but the poor man hasn’t had much help. He’s not the King, ya know.”
Ah yes, the unemployment number. Did you know that after two years without work people begin to lose incentive to work?
But no, Libs, I was talking about the meager rate of economic growth we have had since the recovery that happened in 2009.
Our country has a big nut to cover every year and the meager 1-2 percent growth we have had the last four years won’t even cover our bills, never mind the debt interest payment.
Raising taxes on the rich won’t generate enough revenue to pay the interest on the debt. Taking that money out of the economy to pay our bills won’t create growth in the private sector, in fact, it could very well put more downward pressure on that meager 1-2% growth.
The taxes that will go into effect on January 1st will hurt all working folks giving them fewer dollars to spend at a time when inflation is hitting them in the pocket hard, their investments and savings are disappearing or gone.
Reid has said he wants to consider raising the debt ceiling to avoid the cliff…oh goody…that would give them permission to spend more and create even greater amounts of debt burden.
What is the leader of this country going to do? We have put him in office to lead the nation. What is the plan? I assume you who voted for him did so, at least in part, because you trusted him to solve this…or did you vote for him without a clue?
“You email Boehner, every day … 50% cuts … across the board, just get it done … I double-dare you.”
That isn’t a dare Libby. That is a threat!
It is a threat to someone who backed the only team, Romney/Ryan, that had a plan designed to maximize our chances to avoid the cliff and avoid doing real harm to the poor, our schools, and our military through sensible reforms. it was the only team that had ideas to get the economy, and thus revenues to government, flowing…and without putting more pressure on the citizens of this nation who are already hurting and who want to offer jobs to citizens out of work. You rejected this team.
Your 50% threat is, in contrast to the Romney/Ryan plan, emotional and unreasoned.
worse yet, the leader you chose has no new plan and will apparently just continue to do the things that have made our economic situation worse…policies that have destroyed some companies; targeted companies for destruction; poured money into companies that have failed; demonized half of the nation as racist or greedy, creating division; placed more Americans in poverty than at any time since the depression, created inflation, and promise to weaken our ability to defend our nation.
You won Libby. It’s time for you to step up and tell us exactly how you are going to create the 4% or greater growth that is necessary to pay our bills and our debt.
Man up Lady…how are you going to fix the mess?
Pie: “DO NOT OPINE OR WAX PHILOSOPHICAL ABOUT ABORTION WHILE RUNNING FOR OFFICE!”
I agree but I’m not sure it’s easily avoidable. The press will ask them about these issues and the opposition will always lie about the conservative or republican position…the war on women was filled with extreme idiocy and women, shamefully, are so ignorant they buy every scary word.
“Those two magnificent dopes smeared the entire party and gained nothing but a big fat crash-and-burn loss not only for themselves but other Republican contenders.”
The remarks were stupid. Candidates should know the media will do everything to trip our candidates…they need to have smarter responses to the questions that will come.
Libby: “People lacking in an empathic connection to their fellow beings … make war … and other cruel policy choices…”
Like Obama!
Obama has “made war” (and a big mess in the process)!
Obama has adopted policies that made sure people lost their jobs or couldn’t find work. His policies have caused people to lose their businesses. Obama has adopted policies that have made energy prices soar, harming families and business! Obama policies have made health insurance and costs go up! Obama has targeted certain segments of society for derision, creating divisiveness, hatred false perceptions of racism.
Obama and his family have showered themselves with lavish vacations and parties while Americans suffer under the weight of his policies…oh yeah…he’s just dripping with empathy!
You guys are such phonies!
Tina: Ann Coulter’s latest column just came out, she says it better than I have —
No one can be blamed for the hurricane that took the news off the election, abruptly halting Romney’s momentum, but Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock can be blamed on two very specific people: Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock.
The last two weeks of the campaign were consumed with discussions of women’s “reproductive rights,” not because of anything Romney did, but because these two idiots decided to come out against abortion in the case of rape and incest.
After all the hard work intelligent pro-lifers have done in changing the public’s mind about a subject the public would rather not think about at all, these purist grandstanders came along and announced insane positions with no practical purpose whatsoever, other than showing off.
While pro-lifers in the trenches have been pushing the abortion positions where 90 percent of the country agrees with us — such as bans on partial birth abortion, and parental and spousal notification laws — Akin and Mourdock decided to leap straight to the other end of the spectrum and argue for abortion positions that less than 1 percent of the nation agrees with.
In order to be pro-life badasses, they gave up two easy-win Republican Senate seats.
http://www.anncoulter.com/columns/2012-11-07.html#read_more
Pie I get it. And Ann Coulter is excellent, as always, in her analysis.
This only happens to Republicans which means we are a lot like the “Negros” of the forties and fifties who had to be a hundred times better than the white folks just to keep from being noticed and criticized.
Democrats can say the most outrageous, racist, bigoted, chauvinistic things…they can do vile and illegal things…and still get elected. I mean come on…Joe Biden as Vice President? Bill Clinton as President? Ted Kennedy hanging on to his seat until death!!!! And who can forget Cornelius Calvin Sale, Jr., better known as Senator Robert Byrd who said the word “ni**er” twice on television only a decade or so ago and nobody said a word! He, of course, retained his seat and the respect of the entire Democrat party!
All of the “social issues” have become a part of politics due to progressive activism. Maybe the republican party needs to run a seminar for all potential candidates (treating them like witnesses who will testify in court) so they know how to answer questions without uttering things that can be used against them.
How easy it is to be a progressive in America and how hard it is to stand up for common decency, liberty and our republic! I couldn’t imagine it just a few years ago.
Hey, I ran across an excellent article that describes the progressive elites to a tee. You might want to give Joel Kotkin a peek:
http://www.joelkotkin.com/content/00643-despite-great-recession-obama%E2%80%99s-new-coalition-elites-has-thrived
Here’s a tease:
Re Libbya’s Weird Ramble:
Specifically —
On top of which, nobody else believes in your belief of your belief. How’s that for cogent? See, if you really believed in the sanctity of human life, you’d be a fervent believer in universal healthcare and daycare and all-day-school. But you’re not, are you?
You believe in patriarchy! in keeping your chattels under your control! … just like that dweeb Akin who, praise be to the Goddess, is not going to the Senate.
Sanctity = Obamacare? Patriarchy? Chattel? Etc. That was about as cogent as the sh*t-faced drunk Dianne Sawyer covering the election.
Libbya, you are a paradigm of the left. That is to say, a total nut case. But I am impressed by your prose. Never once did I think that a slurring, staggering drunk could be so accurately portrayed in the written word as you have done. Kudos.
Now go pass out and stop bothering people with your lunacy.
Pie, silly of me, I know, but would you consider answering the question?
Do you support universal healthcare and daycare and all-day-school?
And if you don’t, would you like to explain the moral discrepancy between pro-embryonic and anti-born?
Libby: “On top of which, nobody else believes in your belief of your belief. How’s that for cogent? See, if you really believed in the sanctity of human life, you’d be a fervent believer in universal healthcare and daycare and all-day-school.”
Gee Libby your single mindedness has got to be very limiting. However do you make it through life.
We believe in charity. We believe in being personally responsible. You created the necessity for child care through entitlement programs and feminists demands and then have a fit when we don’t think national helathcare and childcare paid for through the taxes of those who work is the smartest model.
Your premise was flawed. Your solutions are as well.
“We believe in charity.”
Why can’t you see AFDC as a charitable enterprise?
Tina … is this why you can’t?
From a guy named Tome Scocca:
***
If there’s one thing white people have learned from decades of being targeted by campaigns, it’s that someone, somewhere, is trying to cheat them. This is the idea behind Romney’s 47 percent remarks in that appearance America is divided between regular, productive folks and the people who are victimizing them.
“There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe that government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it. That that’s an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what. And I mean, the president starts off with 48, 49, 48he starts off with a huge number. These are people who pay no income tax. Forty-seven percent of Americans pay no income tax. So our message of low taxes doesn’t connect. And he’ll be out there talking about tax cuts for the rich. I mean that’s what they sell every four years. And so my job is not to worry about those peopleI’ll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.”
Here, Romney is speaking fluent White. In white people’s political English, “personal responsibility” is the opposite of “handouts,” “food stamps,” and particularly “welfare,” all of which are synonyms for “niggers.” This was Ronald Reagan’s rallying cry, and it was the defining issue for traumatized post-Reagan white Democrats. Like George Wallace vowing not to be out-niggered again, the Democratic Leadership Council and the New Republic and Bill Clinton made Ending Welfare as We Know It the policy centerpiece of the 1990s.
The actual policy never mattered. Now the Romney campaign is running ads in Ohio saying that Obama “gutted the work requirement for welfare” and “doubled the number of able-bodied adults without children on food stamps.” In mixed company, Romney glosses the food-stamp lines as concern about the country’s economic status, but that’s not why “work requirement” and “able-bodied” are in there. It’s the rusty old Confederate bugle, blown one more time.
At the end of the National Journal piece about Romney’s white-vote goals, a Republican strategist acknowledged the campaign was hanging its hopes at a shrinking target: “This is the last time anyone will try to do this.” This is a demographic proposition rather than a moral one: The GOP will end its get-out-the-white-vote strategy whenever it stops working. Maybe, with luck, this will be the final sounding of that bugle.
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This is just a piece of it. There is a lot to read right now, really thoughtful stuff about how we got here, and where to go. Look around.
Libby: “Why can’t you see AFDC as a charitable enterprise?”
Well obviously I do since I have dutifully paid my taxes according to law. And now that I have admitted defeat and a willingness to learn I’m all ears to learn how creating an ever growing number of needy and taxing the wealth builders will create the utopian society you really don’t need an answer do you? Just for old times sake I’ll indulge you:
AFDC is funded by taking money from the working people without regard to their own circumstances whereas charity in the private sector relies on contributions that people can afford to give.
Charitable organizations provide personal assistance and because they rely on contributions they have incentive to help people to become productive and capable of taking care of themselves.
There are other reasons but this is old thinking so who cares? The cold progressive state is a much better model because I don’t have to think about helping, I already gave through my taxes…at least for as long as I have work.
“… and a willingness to learn I’m all ears to learn how creating an ever growing number of needy …”
Tina, this is prejudice. There is not a shred of evidence to support it. With fluctuations (like now), for the past 50 years the hard core welfare population has held pretty steady at about eight percent … and then there are people who go on, and then come off.
The unhappy fact is that you cannot feel charitable about the portion of your taxes that goes toward welfare because to have a prejudice against the people who receive the aid.
And you need to go talk to your pastor. Charity is NOT defined by a person’s ability to give, but by a generosity of spirit.
And it because so very many people, protestations to the contrary notwithstanding, have no charity … that AFDC was created.
Libby: “…for the past 50 years the hard core welfare population has held pretty steady at about eight percent … and then there are people who go on, and then come off.”
So the program was designed to sustain poverty and we can just expect that the growing cost for a program that doesn’t work is the best we can do? And we should just accept that to feel like we are doing something about the problem expansion of programs to include more stuff (which we have done) is necessary? If there was a better way would you support it? Do you think the politicians that get elected for this generosity would sign on to a plan that would support people in getting out of poverty?
“Charity is NOT defined by a person’s ability to give, but by a generosity of spirit.”
Of course not. The woman who gave all she had received the most praise even though she gave little.
But that is one reason I’m so confused. A person can give as his conscience dictates and as he feels he can afford when he decides . Under a government mandate he has no such option. Sometimes people don’t have the money to give but the government tax man doesn’t care about their circumstance.
“And it because so very many people, protestations to the contrary notwithstanding, have no charity … that AFDC was created.”
AFDC started in 1935…aren’t you being a bit hard on people who were going through a very difficult period, similar in many ways to today, by calling them uncharitable? Does it occur to you that our nation and it’s freedoms have allowed us to prosper enough to be personally charitable since the Great Depression? And doesn’t it bother you that welfare keeps so many people locked out of that free opportunity space?
I just don’t understand why you think Americans are uncharitable. For instance:
http://www.american.com/archive/2008/march-april-magazine-contents/a-nation-of-givers
Americans are remarkably charitable. …
Q. How much do Americans give? Is the amount we give going up?
A. In 2006, Americans gave about $295 billion to charity. This was up 4.2 percent over 2005 levels, and charitable giving has generally risen faster than the growth of the American economy for more than half a century. Correcting for inflation and population changes, GDP per person in America has risen over the past 50 years by about 150 percent, while charitable giving per person has risen by about 190 percent. That is, the average American family has gotten much richer in real terms over the past half century, and charitable giving has more than kept pace with this trend.
Q. So where do the donations go?
A. A large majority of U.S. citizens donate money each year to houses of worship and charitable organizations. Most estimates place the percentage of American households that make monetary contributions each year at 70 to 80 percent, and the average American household contributes more than $1,000 annually. But it is not the case that American giving goes entirelyor even mostlyto religious institutions. About a third of individual gifts go toward sacramental activities, primarily supporting houses of worship. The rest goes to secular activities, such as education, health, and social welfare.
This site is also of interest:
http://www.pfour.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=90&Itemid=185
Americans are charitable.
Considering the high tax rates for the wealthiest among us and their charitable giving through philanthropic sources it’s hard to believe that the rich really don’t pay a fair share. But you won so Obama must be right about that, right?