I hesitate using the lyrics from a song I deeply love for this post, but the more I listened to "Helplessly Hoping" by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, the more apparent it was that I had no choice: "Helplessly hoping, her harlequin hovers nearby..." there are just too many inferences in this song to the current seppuku being waged between Hillary and Obama. Not that the Democrats have a corner on the short sword market...the Republican talking heads are doing a pretty good job of disemboweling their own too - more on that anon. First, let me address the issue of "hope."
"Hope" has become the almost cultish rallying cry for the followers of the young Senator from Illinois. Frankly, it creeps me out to watch the people behind him fawning in adoration like young girls at a Beatles concert when he gives a speech. Here's the weird part...he says...well... nothing. I guess he just says it so damned well. If you go to his website, there is a quintessentially Barack quote: "I am asking you to believe in change; not only the change I can bring in Washington, but change in yourself." What is this guy? Politician AND Self-help guru? What is change? Well - scratch a little deeper into the website and you can pull out the "Obama Blueprint for Change." A 50 some odd page download that is chock full of change all right...change you can believe in. Change like: "Obama believes the disparity between sentencing crack and powder-based cocaine is wrong and should be completely eliminated. " Or how about this stem-winder: "Obama’s retirement security plan will automatically enroll workers in a workplace pension plan. Under his plan, employers who do not currently offer a retirement plan, will be required to enroll their employees in a direct-deposit IRA account that is compatible to existing direct-deposit payroll systems." This is the stuff that Socialists dream of - on the one hand micro-managing the sentencing requirements to distinguish between powder and crack cocaine and on the other hand imposing pension plan requirements on employers. Make no mistake about it - at the intersection of change and hope is the loss of freedom.
I guess that's why my local chapter of the H.O.G.S. (Hillary's our Gal Society) was so happy last week when Hillary made a brief come back with Ohio and Texas. The math is definitely against her right now, but I think (and I can't believe I am typing this!) that she would be the saner candidate for the Democrats to field. It may be too late, but I sense the gild is off the Obama lilly a little bit. What a delicious irony that it took venerable Saturday Night Live to shame the press into finally asking some real questions. Click here for the video that got the ball rolling.
Call me crazy, but I honestly think that a contest between Hillary and McCain will bring out a sharper discussion of the issues than one between Barrack and John. The latter contest would degenerate into a media full court press (pardon the double entendre) for any indication that RACE was being used by the Republican candidate in the race. It would be tough enough for the Republicans to run against a woman, but everyone knows Hillary and despite a tear or two on the campaign trail, we all know she can take it - just ask Ken Starr. And now more than ever it is imperative to discuss the course of our nation because the contrasts between the two parties couldn't be sharper.
Let's start with the economy. Multiple choice question: In an economic environment of slow growth and potential recession you should a) Raise taxes b) Raise taxes and add numerous new Federal mandates to small businesses c) Reduce taxes d) Reduce taxes and reduce onerous Federal regulations on business. My guess is that if you answered "a" or "b" you are not a regular member of the Rumblings post.
Let's try a foreign policy question. To defeat a fanatical enemy that offers their own children as suicide bombers you should a) Retreat immediately, apologize and offer reparations b) Declare "we've lost" and publicly excoriate high military officials c) Expand a successful strategy to prevent a nation from falling into chaos d) Continue to take the fight to the enemy while offering economic and political liberty. Well, you get the picture.
Hillary is the devil we know. I say this to my Democrat friends - be careful of the one we don't know. A messianic message of hope straight from Paul's letter to the Corinthians 13 is one way to get followers and appeal to the values vote, but the "faith hope and love" Paul spoke of is in affiliation with the Divine, not the Executive Branch of the Federal Government. Remember Jimmy Cliff's great refrain: "the bigger they come, the harder they fall."
Now, to my rabidly self-cannibalizing Republicans wailing from the walls on the ascension of John McCain, let's all take a deep breath. Look, I'm not happy either - I was rooting for the man from Tennessee who exited after South Carolina. I know the recitation of the Crimes of McCain: global warming nut, assault on free speech, Democrat loving cross dresser etc. etc. But let's look at the alternative. Do you really believe that the judges McCain will put forth would be worse than the ones put forward by a President Obama or Clinton II? Do you really think our economy would be better with Democrat policies that are to the left of Jimmy Carter - ahh, the good old days! Do you really feel we will be safer surrendering the Middle East to Islamo-nut jobs bent on murdering as many infidels as they can? McCain's record on the issue of abortion is damned near spotless.
I hear a couple of arguments being made from the Red side of the color spectrum on this matter. The first goes like this: better to elect a Democrat and let everything go to hell so we'll have someone to blame it on. I am not crazy about this "cut your nose off" strategy. As I wrote in a recent post, the times are too critical to gamble with our economy and our security right now. The second argument I hear is "I can't vote against my principles." While I respect the fact that you have principles, I would humbly submit that you have a higher calling, one of duty. It is the duty of every citizen to express their freedom through voting. Certainly, staying home is one way of exhibiting that expression, but I believe your country needs you and you should not ignore that call. It may be the lesser of two evils, but it is the lesser nevertheless.
Even our most iconic conservative President, Ronald Reagan, wasn't perfect. The Lebanon operation was botched and probably laid the foundation for subsequent terrorist attacks - the message given to the Middle East was that we were squeamish at the sight of blood and would retreat when it was extracted. The reality is, Reagan rightfully knew that the key battle of the era was the engagement with the Soviet Union and that our lives and lucre needed to be pitched against that truly "Evil Empire." This is the sense of realpolitik that the Conservative movement needs to embrace as we put John McCain forward.
I've been listening to a terrific podcast lately that is a weekly installment on the History of Rome. It's a great way to get a little extra learnin' in while I'm on the Nordic Trac out in the basement. A couple of weeks ago, the lecture was focused on the Samnite Wars. In the first war, the vaunted phalanx of the Roman legion was badly mauled in several engagements because of the hilliness of the terrain in Samnium and the dexterity of their light infantry and cavalry. The Romans adjusted their battle lines and fought on. After the engagement at the Claudine Forks where the Romans were humiliated, the Samnites wrongly thought that they had taught the Romans a lesson and that they would be left alone. The narrator of the podcast made the point though that "the Romans never quit." I miss that about our country. The United States that fought the Revolutionary War, Civil War and World War II were spiritual kinsmen of the early Roman Republic...they didn't quit. In many ways we have become soft and more than willing to sacrifice our freedom for temporary comfort, how do you say "Universal Healthcare?" Freedom is too precious to be trifled with and at the crossroads where we will stand in November there must be no confusion; the cost is entirely too dear.
"Hope" has become the almost cultish rallying cry for the followers of the young Senator from Illinois. Frankly, it creeps me out to watch the people behind him fawning in adoration like young girls at a Beatles concert when he gives a speech. Here's the weird part...he says...well... nothing. I guess he just says it so damned well. If you go to his website, there is a quintessentially Barack quote: "I am asking you to believe in change; not only the change I can bring in Washington, but change in yourself." What is this guy? Politician AND Self-help guru? What is change? Well - scratch a little deeper into the website and you can pull out the "Obama Blueprint for Change." A 50 some odd page download that is chock full of change all right...change you can believe in. Change like: "Obama believes the disparity between sentencing crack and powder-based cocaine is wrong and should be completely eliminated. " Or how about this stem-winder: "Obama’s retirement security plan will automatically enroll workers in a workplace pension plan. Under his plan, employers who do not currently offer a retirement plan, will be required to enroll their employees in a direct-deposit IRA account that is compatible to existing direct-deposit payroll systems." This is the stuff that Socialists dream of - on the one hand micro-managing the sentencing requirements to distinguish between powder and crack cocaine and on the other hand imposing pension plan requirements on employers. Make no mistake about it - at the intersection of change and hope is the loss of freedom.
I guess that's why my local chapter of the H.O.G.S. (Hillary's our Gal Society) was so happy last week when Hillary made a brief come back with Ohio and Texas. The math is definitely against her right now, but I think (and I can't believe I am typing this!) that she would be the saner candidate for the Democrats to field. It may be too late, but I sense the gild is off the Obama lilly a little bit. What a delicious irony that it took venerable Saturday Night Live to shame the press into finally asking some real questions. Click here for the video that got the ball rolling.
Call me crazy, but I honestly think that a contest between Hillary and McCain will bring out a sharper discussion of the issues than one between Barrack and John. The latter contest would degenerate into a media full court press (pardon the double entendre) for any indication that RACE was being used by the Republican candidate in the race. It would be tough enough for the Republicans to run against a woman, but everyone knows Hillary and despite a tear or two on the campaign trail, we all know she can take it - just ask Ken Starr. And now more than ever it is imperative to discuss the course of our nation because the contrasts between the two parties couldn't be sharper.
Let's start with the economy. Multiple choice question: In an economic environment of slow growth and potential recession you should a) Raise taxes b) Raise taxes and add numerous new Federal mandates to small businesses c) Reduce taxes d) Reduce taxes and reduce onerous Federal regulations on business. My guess is that if you answered "a" or "b" you are not a regular member of the Rumblings post.
Let's try a foreign policy question. To defeat a fanatical enemy that offers their own children as suicide bombers you should a) Retreat immediately, apologize and offer reparations b) Declare "we've lost" and publicly excoriate high military officials c) Expand a successful strategy to prevent a nation from falling into chaos d) Continue to take the fight to the enemy while offering economic and political liberty. Well, you get the picture.
Hillary is the devil we know. I say this to my Democrat friends - be careful of the one we don't know. A messianic message of hope straight from Paul's letter to the Corinthians 13 is one way to get followers and appeal to the values vote, but the "faith hope and love" Paul spoke of is in affiliation with the Divine, not the Executive Branch of the Federal Government. Remember Jimmy Cliff's great refrain: "the bigger they come, the harder they fall."
Now, to my rabidly self-cannibalizing Republicans wailing from the walls on the ascension of John McCain, let's all take a deep breath. Look, I'm not happy either - I was rooting for the man from Tennessee who exited after South Carolina. I know the recitation of the Crimes of McCain: global warming nut, assault on free speech, Democrat loving cross dresser etc. etc. But let's look at the alternative. Do you really believe that the judges McCain will put forth would be worse than the ones put forward by a President Obama or Clinton II? Do you really think our economy would be better with Democrat policies that are to the left of Jimmy Carter - ahh, the good old days! Do you really feel we will be safer surrendering the Middle East to Islamo-nut jobs bent on murdering as many infidels as they can? McCain's record on the issue of abortion is damned near spotless.
I hear a couple of arguments being made from the Red side of the color spectrum on this matter. The first goes like this: better to elect a Democrat and let everything go to hell so we'll have someone to blame it on. I am not crazy about this "cut your nose off" strategy. As I wrote in a recent post, the times are too critical to gamble with our economy and our security right now. The second argument I hear is "I can't vote against my principles." While I respect the fact that you have principles, I would humbly submit that you have a higher calling, one of duty. It is the duty of every citizen to express their freedom through voting. Certainly, staying home is one way of exhibiting that expression, but I believe your country needs you and you should not ignore that call. It may be the lesser of two evils, but it is the lesser nevertheless.
Even our most iconic conservative President, Ronald Reagan, wasn't perfect. The Lebanon operation was botched and probably laid the foundation for subsequent terrorist attacks - the message given to the Middle East was that we were squeamish at the sight of blood and would retreat when it was extracted. The reality is, Reagan rightfully knew that the key battle of the era was the engagement with the Soviet Union and that our lives and lucre needed to be pitched against that truly "Evil Empire." This is the sense of realpolitik that the Conservative movement needs to embrace as we put John McCain forward.
I've been listening to a terrific podcast lately that is a weekly installment on the History of Rome. It's a great way to get a little extra learnin' in while I'm on the Nordic Trac out in the basement. A couple of weeks ago, the lecture was focused on the Samnite Wars. In the first war, the vaunted phalanx of the Roman legion was badly mauled in several engagements because of the hilliness of the terrain in Samnium and the dexterity of their light infantry and cavalry. The Romans adjusted their battle lines and fought on. After the engagement at the Claudine Forks where the Romans were humiliated, the Samnites wrongly thought that they had taught the Romans a lesson and that they would be left alone. The narrator of the podcast made the point though that "the Romans never quit." I miss that about our country. The United States that fought the Revolutionary War, Civil War and World War II were spiritual kinsmen of the early Roman Republic...they didn't quit. In many ways we have become soft and more than willing to sacrifice our freedom for temporary comfort, how do you say "Universal Healthcare?" Freedom is too precious to be trifled with and at the crossroads where we will stand in November there must be no confusion; the cost is entirely too dear.