The shocking radicalization of the center Right
Those unruly un-American mobs of enraged independents and conservatives (and perhaps even a sprinkling of moderate Democrats) keep annoying our elected representatives with their inconvenient anger at the fact that the Obama administration and Congress seem to be intent on pulling a fast one on them by attempting to pass legislation that will change their lives for the worse in the intimate and touchy area of medical care—and to be doing so without bothering to explain to the people (or in some cases even knowing) the details of what the government is actually planning to do and why.
The resultant dismay the Left feels at this development would be almost comical if it weren’t so sad. After all, it’s the Left that’s supposed to champion “power to the people” and “speaking truth to power.”
Community organizing is the coin of the Leftist realm. But it turns out that it depends on which community is organized. If it’s downtrodden minorities, the unemployed, illegal aliens, unions, or any other group composed of and/or appealing to the natural constituency of the Left—then it’s not a mob, it’s a populist group of concerned citizens speaking their mind in classic American fashion. But if it’s anything that even remotely smacks of the Right or the middle class or even the non-union working class, it’s a bunch of pitchfork-wielding astroturfing swastika-carrying thugs.
One of the things that’s so interesting about the current development—a true populist movement that involves centrists and the Right—is the shock of the Left that such a thing is even happening. It started with the Tea Party movement, which prompted the Left (along with its handmaiden, the MSM) to immediately attempt to marginalize and invalidate that movement, by banding it as a bunch of fringe crazies. Now this strategy continues towards the even more alarming (to the Left) and more visible phenomenon of the Town Hall meeting protesters/questioners who are filled with righteous indignation that their concerns are being marginalized and condescended to.
It takes a lot to radicalize the center and the center Right. Historically, demonstrations have tended to come from the more extreme ends of either party, and ordinarily have been larger on the Left than the Right.
During the Vietnam era, we saw some of the biggest and most frequent demonstrations we’ve seen in modern times in this country, and the force of them came from the fact that although they were orchestrated, managed, and used by the far Left, many of the demonstrators came from the center Left and even the center rather than the fringes. What motivated those demonstrators—other than the pictures of carnage on the nightly news, or Walter Cronkite’s declaration of our defeat in Vietnam—was a simple fact of life: self-protection. The demonstrators were overwhelmingly young people whose lives were deeply affected by the draft, either actually or potentially.
People tend to be more driven to protest things that affect them personally rather than abstractions or faraway problems in distant lands. And it’s hard to imagine a government program that promises (or threatens) to affect people more personally than the health care reform bill, or one that has been more suspect in its claims and more murky in its lack of transparency. Therefore it should not be the least bit surprising that there’s a lot of energy in the fight against it.
What is surprising—to the Left—is that now they’re the objects rather than the perpetrators of the outrage. Their charge that opponents are astroturfers is partly a cynical ploy. But I suspect it’s also partly sincere, because they are experiencing shock and resultant denial that a populist movement has arisen against the Left itself.
After all, they wrote the book on community organizing. And now they’ve got a community organizer President—what could be better? How astounding to have the tables turned at this moment of what should be their greatest triumph.
Now, here’s a mob:
“All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.” [Arthur Schopenhauer]
I think the “truth” of health care reform specifically, and conservatism generally, are leaving the “first stage” and entering the “second stage.” I think the Left knows this too.
Every movement has to have some sort of central rallying point.
Take the Alamo, for instance.
While I’m sure many good Texans were extremely pi$$ed off at what happened there, it was important because it became a rallying point for forces opposed to Mexican authority and became symbolic of resistance that was based on a variety of reasons.
Same with “Remember the Maine”, and “Remember Pearl Harbor”.
Those events were more than single events. As bad as they were, they clearly depicted a line of which you could decide which side you stood on and whose views you associated yourself with.
I’m wondering if the tea parties and protests at town halls are not the modern equivalent of *virtual* rallying points.
There’s not a concrete, physical or historical thing that can be photographed, painted, touched, smelled, etc. – the opposition is all very philosophical and political.
As such, rallying points for opposition to what the leftists are doing are few and far between – and extremely difficult to find.
The tea parties and town halls, on the other hand, are very visible and voice views that a respectable percentage of the population agrees with – providing a rallying point for opposition to the more general direction the leftists would take the country.
This is both a strength and a weakness. A strength because of the vast numbers starting to associate freely in opposition to authority, and the subsequent interconnections that will end up being created that can be used for political purposes later. A weakness because it’s still unfocused as any kind of unified force across the nation.
Certain individuals opine that the tea parties lack focus, and should stick to one issue.
I disagree because to do so will diminish the degree of enthusiasm as various parties decide they do or don’t agree with the organizer’s pet peeves.
As it is, it’s enough that the tea parties are in opposition to *something* coming out of Washington, and that there is widespread dissatisfaction with Washington – and that alone is enough for a lot of folks to join in.
This is why I think those in positions of power are so put off – they don’t know how to respond to this movement as it continues to give the political opposition something to rally around, and a voice to frustrations with how the powers that be are conducting themselves.
Pingback:Die gute alte “Racist Card” « Aron Sperber’s Weblog
With the looming prospect of the exceedingly murky Obamacare (and the rationing that is highly likely to come eventually), I have a new appreciation for the part where Howard Beale yells:
“..I’m a human being, G–dammit! My life has value!”
And this is with unemployment of only ~10%. What do you think the anger will be like when he gets these socialist programs passed? The economy is in shambles now and he’s going to kill it dead. How will American’s handle 13-15%+ unemployment? Imho, the pot’s just started to boil.
Jeff, I think you are right, they do know it and that is why they have been ratcheting up the attacks, ridicule, scorn and ad hominem attacks. And their lackeys in the MSM have been all to glad to help.
Let’s hope and pray the anger of the electorate doesn’t dim and die when the townhall meetings are over and the pols are safe back inside the beltway. I’m thinking what this country needs is another Million Man March times six. 6,000,000 people protesting this unprecedented grab for power by the federal government would get their attention.
I also think this populist revolt of sorts runs more deeply and broadly than is evident in the numbers of people who have been motivated to go out to a town hall meeting and speak up.
It reminds me of one of something I once heard regarding customer service. For every person who takes the time to complain either in person or in writing, there are many more who have similar feelings but don’t take the time to express them.
Precipice,
You can easily add high inflation to that mix as well. Many economists think high inflation can’t be avoided with all the spending Obama and the dims have been doing. (and I am not overlooking the obscene spending during W’s years) I think you are right the pot is just starting to boil. Or at least I hope you are right.
I always have considered myself a conservative, but I have never attended a demonstration of any kind until this year when I attended a tea party to understand the message and assess the composition of the crowd. After attending, I made reservations for the September 12, 2009 demonstration on Capitol Hill. I do not consider that I was radicalized, but awakened. The greater the number of reasonable citizens who turn out, the greater the impact. Please consider attending the 9/12 gathering in DC to show your concern about our dwindling freedom of choice. I do hope that 6 million peaceful people attend.
CV: right you are. While I haven’t gone to a Tea Party nor to a Town Hall Meeting, I am appalled at the way that the Democrats and the MSM seek to marginalize them: extremist, un-american, Republicans, tools of the Insurance companies, etc.
Here are some bumper-sticker slogans from another website.
rational = congressmen who support 1000-page bills they don’t read
obamacare: good enough for you but not for your congressman
Congress: If we wanted your opinion, we would have asked for it.
support faith-based legislation: vote for it but don’t read it
if they disagree with obama, they’re a mob
if you disagree with obama, you’re divisive
Obama ‘08
Poverty ‘09
Fascism ‘10
http://www.bookwormroom.com/2009/08/10/bumper-sticker-wisdom/#comments
irrational = citizens angry at congressman who don’t read 1000-page bills
Outside the townhall location, and before the doors have opened for the meeting, the purple shirt union bullies are preparing to attack. They have baseball bats. And they still refuse to offer private ballots.
Across the street, holding a diverse collection of hand lettered signs, stand the Obamacare protesters. The younger men are nervous. The older men, including the military veterans, study the purple shirts and factor in the surrounding ground: quietly assessing the strategic and tactical circumstances. Quiet, prudent calculation is their way: best not to alarm the womenfolk. The middle-aged women are resolved: they have no doubts; give no consideration to backing down as an option. The older women want blood. If unleashed, the older women will damage some cojones and ambush-knock some noggins before this hour is over.
The purple shirts really have no idea what they are facing on the inside of the Obamacare protest crowd. If the purple shirts knew, they would run. The protest crowd is nervousy. However, if moved to action, the protest crowd will not back down. The old protester women chase off burglars with broomsticks. What do they care about either odds of success or potential cost of failure? They are old women: they care about righteousness and retribution, only. If they are injured, at least the grandkids will visit them in the hospital. If they are killed, it publicly validates the martyrdom they have endured their entire lives, and for which they have never received proper respect, dammit.
A van speeds into the gap between the two groups, skidding to a stop. Joe the Plumber leaps out. He’s wearing a polo shirt, plus light makeup to cut down the glare from his bald head (he is scheduled on Cavuto later in the day). From the back of his plumbing van, he begins tossing heavy wrenches to the accountants and middle managers in the Obamacare protesters crowd. And some heavy duty plungers. He shrewdly fails to arm the older women. As he tosses wrenches and plungers, he shouts out:
video link
Why is the left never ashamed of how they view people as cattle that needs to be herded? These people really have no vestiges of morality left in them.
This movement started well before the Tea Parties. It started with immigration “reform”; this center-right coalition’s first target was none other than George Bush (and by extension, McCain). It moved on to the TARP program (a Bush-Obama co-joint) and then naturally progressed to the stimulus package.
It’s amazed me how blind most of the pundits have been to the size and power of it.
In general, Americans need Big Things happening in order to allow the (central, federal) government to do Big Things. The Great Depression and WW2 are examples of this (maybe 9-11-01, thought the jury is still out); this recession and crisis simply isn’t/wasn’t big enough. This isn’t a backlash against all things liberal, as much as it is a push back akin to “If it ain’t that broken, we don’t need a new one.” Health care ain’t that broken. Some tort reform here, de-regulation in some areas, stricter regulation in others and we’d be fine. Nothing to get apocalyptic about.
Imagine if GWB tried to nationalize the Internet in response to the dot.com market bubble?
When the nature of this Obama production of The American Auto Da Fé first became evident people were talking a lot about “going John Galt” and I thought, No, this is more of a Howard Beal kind of situation.
And now this! Q…E…D!
I went round and round early this week, on Open Salon, on this very topic with this almost hysterical lefty-blogger. (Yes, I blog at Open Salon – I know it contains high numbers of hard-core liberals – but many of them are civil and reasonable sorts, who have the good taste to like my writing…) Anyway, I spent a good few entries calmly and rationally pointing out that I am a member of the organizing committee of the San Antonio Tea Party – that we are all volunteers, that we all put our own time into it, as well as our own funds in hosting our website, that none of us are shills for the insurance companies – and I know all this for sure because I am on the g-d–mn organizing committee for pete’s sake! You’d think that actually having been there, being either a key planner or working with those who are, having done the events and protests – well, that would count for something, wouldn’t it, when it came to idiocies like insisting we are all in the pay of the RNC or the insurance companies … nope. She actually wound up telling me that I was either clueless or a liar, and closed the comment thread forthwith.
I should have remembered the saying about how useless it is trying to reason someone out of a belief they were never reasoned into in the first place.
It’s actually kind of sad, how desperately the administration and their pet news media, and all their true believers are insisting on the astroturf-neo-nazi-racist-unreasoning-Obama-hater line, in the face of all evidence to the contrary. They are demonizing in the vilest manner their neighbors, friends, their parents and co-workers, the policeman who protects them, and the military veteran who has defended them. They are bearing false witness against anyone who just wants some straight answers from their local politician, and feels strongly enough about it to actually get up from behind their computer to go downtown and demand it.
(PS gcotharn – love the speech! By all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you stand, Men and Women of the West!)
Nancy Pelosi Reconvenes House Un-American Activities Committee
netrightnation.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1251797:nancy-pelosi-reconvenes-house-un-american-activities-committee&catid=1:nrn-blog&Itemid=7
I think it’s partly sincere, but for another reason: because it’s exactly how the Left operates, and so they presume that we must be doing the same. The possibility that we really are building the “mass movement” so beloved of communist propaganda doesn’t occur to them — they figure it’s as bogus as the ones they’ve touted since forever.
But it isn’t, and in their hearts they suspect the truth. And that truth torments them.
“It will be his Waterloo!”
“It will be his Waterloo!”
That unduly dignifies the Messiah. I’d say it was more like “his intern.”
Artfldgr: link cleaned up.
Pelosi reconvenes HUAC.
They are learning why the ‘old’ system never resorted to the dirty tricks and other things that everyone saw as a slow but relatively easy way to win once one side employed it. The other side of course would never turn it.
ah… but the problem is that such scorched earth policy and tactics create a certain kind of political situation if no actual totalitarian power becomes attainable.
Anyone who isn’t following what they are doing because they believe it will get them power will be scared or seem fearful now (in fact many of them have seem to have lost the advice that got them to where they are and they seem to completely not know what to do). But the ones who know that this is the natural outcome of the revolution know that this is supposed to facilitate the change.
But there are some thumbs in these plumbs.
OBLIO this ones for you… 🙂
We may be seeing that this might have been planned from the other side. that all these years and all the bipartisanship has done was let more and more left anti constitution types infiltrate more and more and there wasn’t anything one could do about it.
Well, what would happen if everyone took a step back, and left the field to the opposition?
Where would they hide if they were stupid enough to see this as a grand victory and their opportunity that they have been working for?
The tactics of the left REQUIRE an enemy. This election, they put up a loser, and they bowed out and left them no enemy.
There are basically two ways political issues can be resolved. One is the way they are using. It leads to despotism and unpredictable outcomes because it’s not a move that is intended to preserve anything. Torch the building and we have to rebuild one way or another. They think they will guide that one way.
It is OBVIOUS that some of them are not very smart and those are the ones that were chosen for being stupid. They owe their positions to the network of politics games that can put people in places to SOME degree. Since they are earning far beyond their ability they are moldable. (ergo Richard Wrights book too smart to be a communist).
The tactics of the left also are a many to one tactic. The idea here is that a few of the many added together are more powerful than the one, and the one wishing to respond would have to attack the many. Counterproductive at best.
Eventually the habitual liar is found out just because enough time passes and things start not adding up so much that you can not avoid noticing it. its not a long term strategy.
Neither is leftism, it’s a strategy that has a conclusion, while the prior political tug of war was about merit, and so had no conclusion over the long haul. Leftism, socialism, etc. its strategies to power have to resolve to some conclusion.
Here is the problem. The tactics are not effective over the time period they have been using them. They were intended more to appear more suddenly, wreak chaos, and get things in place. They have been using political terrorism for over 40 years. In the old days this worked because the majority population was loath and too nice.
They too are calling this political terrorism and that IS what it is as well as that they should know. It’s what they have been doing for 40 years as a way to refuse to admit that the systems methods of review and change do not exit.
The premise of a class state is that the people are stuck where they are. There is no way for a bum to somehow rise up into offices. Failure is not failure, etc. this is the same unchanged rhetoric from the French revolution. But that isn’t America. Not yesterday, not in toquvilles time, and I don’t think today either.
The truth is that this system, unlike all the others, is open to change and reform through itself and its own institutions and laws. The left always knew that and always relied on the fact that they were the only ones who would use political terrorism because everyone else knew that the system could work and wouldn’t. (Lights should be coming on now)
So they never expected to be on the receiving end of their own tactics. That their several generations training program could train methods, but could not train who to bite. This is why the counter revolution has to be suppressed. But they don’t have the options they had before, when the books were written.
Anyone want to notice that Saul Alinsky never knew about scale free networks like the internet? He didn’t believe Warhol’s 15 mins, and so never believed in ubiquitous digital media methods. No longer live in a time when you can do things to people and the majority not know.
This is a nation that has tasted real freedom, it was forged in it and its not one who had other systems. Other countries are new to freedom or only had it short times in their past, so turning them is reverting them to their past. Our reversion state is not the same norm as every other state in the world (except maybe Canada).
They have taught the middle class their tactics by trying to get all the middle class part of the project. The kids get lessons from nickelodeon all the way up to college.
They are totally in a bind, and the more they try to protect rather than trust and talk and listen and change course the worse it will get till the public freezes them till next election.
[edited for length by neo-neocon]
Gringo thanks!
Long live the Literalistically-Rightly Allied — LRA!!
… they have been ratcheting up the attacks, ridicule, scorn and ad hominem attacks. And their lackeys in the MSM have been all to glad to help.
I’ve been tuned to MSNBC much of the day and they are really spinning hard. Here are some things I’ve heard:
Death panels are an out and out lie — there is NOTHING even remotely like that in the legislation[which the talking head probably hasn’t read].
The townhall meeting protestors are violent and dangerous.
The protestors are “Rightwing fringe” idiots.
There’s going to be violence sooner or later if the Right keeps jacking up the rhetoric.
Grassley is a stupid, fear-mongering idiot.
Palin is a stupid, fear-mongering idiot.
Republicans are a bunch of stupid, fear-mongering idiots.
Conservatives are a bunch of stupid, fear-mongering idiots.
“Pulling the plug on grandma” is stupid, fear-mongering phrase that has no relation to the good thing Obama is trying to do for the nation.
When are the Democrats and moderates going to “take off the gloves” against all these lies?
“We”[meaning I suppose “we good people”] have been fighting for healthcare for many years and what right do “they” have to take it away from us just as we have elected Obama?[I’m not kidding, the talking head actually said something to that effect and with a hurt tone and demeanor]
The guy who wore the pistol strapped to his leg is what the Right is all about — killing people.
The protestor’s signs say bad and dangerous things about Obama.
The insurance companies are behind the protests.
The insurance companies are attacking Obama with stupid studies, biased polls and attack ads.
“Best Practices” is never mentioned. The CBO report is never mentioned. Rationing is never mentioned. “End of Life” counseling is barely mentioned — I heard it once, very quickly used to make some other point.
It goes on — this is all I could remember on the spur of the moment. These are all paraphrases but believe me — they are accurate. It is always good to listen to MSNBC/CNN/etc. to see what their chatter is about. I would say it’s 70-30, 70% healthcare related, 30% other news.
If they have anyone on from the Right they try to make it a complete dolt like Pat Buchanan(sorry Buchanan fans) and then they interrupt and talk loudly over them if they begin to sound good. They never have someone articulate like Newt Gingrich unless it’s very controlled and then they are very careful to switch the topic or cut them off(“We’re running out of time”) if the going gets rough.
I go to Daily Kos and other Lefty websites also. It’s hard to expose myself to this trash. I can’t seem to keep myself from talking back to the TV. Every once in awhile, though, they DO have a valid point and I learn something I wouldn’t learn by confining my exposure exclusively to like-minded venues. Not today, though.
There is definitely a grassroots uprising and I think Neo is correct that it started with the Tea Parties. One commentor suggested it started with the opposition to immigration reform but I don’t think so. The Tea Parties were the first real harbinger and the thing that is interesting to me about the Tea Party movement is that it happened outside the Republican Party and its hierarchy. That is a good sign, I think, not to be beholden to the Republican Party. If the Republican Party elite controls it they can kill it if it gets out of hand or if the Republicans want to compromise with the Progressives in Congress.
I hope the Tea Party movement has “legs.” And I hope this grassroots fervor against healthcare continues after the healthcare issue is resolved one way or the other and morphs into a general opposition to anything Obama-connected. NOTHING he wants to do, domestic or overseas, is good. He’s the Joker Poster.
The conservative elite are taken an aback at the developments in the polls. Charles Krauthammer (I love the guy) today admitted that he was wrong as to the profound effect that hystrionic old people have had on public opinion. Anger and outrage are the answer.
The mains stream media calls citizens mobs – get angry.
Congressmen call you ‘brownshirts’ – get angry.
Senators call you UnAmerican – get angry.
The Speaker of the House speaker accuses the voice of thousands of being contrived – get angry.
The President counteracts alleged misinformation with blatant disinformation – get angry.
They’ve lied to you, they’re stealing from you, they have only contempt for your opinion.
They call you “political terrorists”, accuse you of carrying swastikas, sick their union thugs after you…tell you they’re going to “punch back twice as hard”.
Get in their face, push back even harder, show your disgust, show ’em your fist if you have to, get angry people, get angry, get angry.
Scottie Says:
“I’m wondering if the tea parties and protests at town halls are not the modern equivalent of *virtual* rallying points.”
It seems a little backwards to me. This healthcare bill is the ‘Alamo’ IMO (and possibly Obama’s Waterloo since in this version, we might ‘win’).
Thing is, it’s his choice. If he backs down then it doesn’t have to be. If he leaves us alone, great. We’d probably leave him alone. He could get universal healthcare if he wanted that. Thing is he wants to go beyond that to single payer and uniform insurance (re: you can’t buy better insurance than anyone else even if you want to). His over reach will lead to the rallying which might bring him down.
Thomass,
Big difference between the Alamo and Waterloo is that the Texans rallied around the idea embodied in the stand at the Alamo and ending up triumphant – Napoleon lost at Waterloo and never really recovered.
I’m hoping this fiasco of a health care plan is Obama’s Waterloo….
Operation Counterstrike is a dangerous psychopath. Go to his blog if you need evidence, what a demented piece of crap!
You had to go to his blog to figure that out?
Grackle, hope you took a long shower after going those places 🙂 your a better man than I.
I am absolutely delighted at the aghast reactions to the Hitler comparisons, what a hoot. Some how nobody noticed all the ones with President Bush.
What absolute unmitigated bullshit. People power is not synonymous with orchestrated demonjstartions motivated by calculated lies. Those only work with the simple-minded — like the writer of this column.
Scotty I’m new here but I guess I wondered if his post was satire. What a freakin’ loser
bill Says:
“Operation Counterstrike is a dangerous psychopath. Go to his blog if you need evidence, what a demented piece of crap!”
If he is talking about killing people, turn him to the feds.
Mandy, what calculated lies?
I went to a Tea Party in Chicago on April 15th and saw the thousands of “normal” people who attended. On that day I knew that Obama would be a loser, and his marxist/black power hopes and dreams would turn to dust.
All the big Zero can try to gain are laws that require more government employees with more pensions. Those pensions are supposed to be paid by the taxpayers.
However, the State of Illinois and other states are already broke. Where is this pension money going to come from? Script? I don’t think so.
Our Illinois governor knows that he’s going to have to fire public employees soon, but he hasn’t admitted this yet. This scenario will be repeated in many blue states.
The entire welfare/government system is going down. Depend on it.
Promethea, yes it is, sooner than we all think, I have posted before on the foreign investors reluctance in buying our debt, they are getting them to buy it and then buying it back 10 days later with printed money, they will have to print a lot more to fund all of these initiatives check this out, not too long:
http://www.foxnews.com/video2/video08.html?maven_referralObject=8130444&maven_referralPlaylistId=&sRevUrl=http://www.foxnews.com/glennbeck/index.html
Mandy,
What an amazing comment. I guess you have missed all of the orchestrated demonstrations of the left. How about Obama calling out the unions. Is that not orchestrated? How about planted questions? Orchestrated?
Calculated lies? Every time Obama opens his mouth he is lying. Did you see his last town hall? He flatly contradicted things he has said in the past. All on video.
C’mon, Mandy, go easy on the Democrats. They’re doing what they think is best for us all.
Mandy: I bow down before the startling complexity of your mind.
Neo, drive by….Ive noticed lately, there aren’t many people willing to argue the subject, strange…..where are all the trolls?
Mandy knows fishy evil-mongering when she sees it… Mandy, don’t forget to report this to the Whitehouse hotline!
Mandy’s not trolling, she’s patrolling…
Perfected democrat Says:
“Mandy’s not trolling, she’s patrolling…”
More like drive by trolling…
One can only hope the interest and outrage doesn’t fade as it has in the past. The SEIU crowd deserves a good thumping.
Well played, Neo! (12:57am)
Remember just 2 weeks ago how we were arguing over whether the birthers’ nuttiness would drive all the moderates and centrists into Obama’s camp?
How fast this stew is cooking! C’mon, Raeid, Pelosi, Obama, MSM, keep adding the fuel!
Is This A Proper Use Of A Government Web Site?
http://www.healthreform.gov/support.html
Is that what official government websites are for — ginning up petitions to support pending legislation that support a president’s political agenda?
neo, I was in Portsmouth on Tuesday, walking around, looking, listening and taking photos (which I blogged), and you have exactly and intelligently described what I observed.
How a minority,
Reaching majority,
Seizing authority,
Hates a minority!
Leonard H. Robbins
The Left’s attempts to demonize and ridicule the protesters was just a knee-jerk last gasp response to the fact that they’ve lost control of the issue. Public support tanked when the CBO estimates proved Obamacare adds trillions to the national debt (highlighting Obama’s lie that it would reduce costs)…not because of the Townhalls.
The Dems have already conceded defeat and you can tell because they’ve now changed their focus from Health “Care” Reform…to Health “Insurance” Reform. They’ll pass a watered down bill that targets insurance companies and try to declare a great victory headed into the 2010 elections.
“A good man can be stupid and still be good. But a bad man must have brains.”
Maxim Gorky
“Get all the fools on your side and you can be elected to anything.”
Frank Dane
“The secret of the demagogue is to make himself as stupid as his audience so that they believe they are as clever as he.”
Karl Kraus
Study finds 18- to 24-year-old group more politically active, but not more knowledgeable
http://www.physorg.com/print169378857.html
in other words they are gullible useful idiots who are so self confident that they will not learn from anyone else anything.
The trouble with the world is that the stupid are confident
Bertrand Russell
i have three youngins like that where i work, and each one laughs when they dont know something. even worse when they answer it makes little sense.
“A stupid man’s report of what a clever man says is never accurate, because he unconsciously translates what he hears into something that he can understand. ”
Bertrand Russell, “A History of Western Philosophy”
so they dont understand when I say something or others do. they come up with big speeches about how they are individuals (though they act like collectivists trying to get you to conform to them), and as such have different understandings of reality than everyone else and so understand words differently.
this is a major reason that the politics of now is no longer abotu debate. you cant have a debate if there is no one capable of rational debate because they refuse to admit ignorance.
We have enough youth, how about a fountain of smart?
It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in argument
William G. McAdoo
The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance
It is the illusion of knowledge
Daniel Boorsti
sad really…
i am speaking in quotes today since i talk too long otherwise… i went for knowlege in concentrate.
“When I disagree with a rational man, I let reality be our final arbiter; if I am right, he will learn; if I am wrong, I will; one of us will win, but both will profit.”
Ayn Rand, “Atlas Shrugged”
and saadi had it so right…
A wise man among the ignorant is as a beautiful girl in the company of blind men.”
and so was george burns:
“Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are busy driving taxicabs and cutting hair.”
and i feel that sadly confucious was right and we are going to have some hard lessons
By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third, by experience, which is the bitterest.”
Confucius
The left has to believe that populist sentiment is for them and their ideals. If this belief were ever stripped away from them, they would psychologically collapse. So they keep lying to themselves, and believing their own lies. They won’t let in the idea that maybe the American people really are center-right.
Funny as a former liberal and now a crunchy-con, I dont FEEL radical….I do feel like I understand my feelings better though….
Every time the President, Congressman, Senator or staff member tries to peddle Obamacare with a lie, just do like they asked and send an email to flag@whitehouse.gov! Let them know we are watching and we know BS when they try to shovel it to us! This way we discourage the snitch patrols or efforts to even have one!
quiet ants, through rain
wind, hail; until the moment
they pour from the ground
WM, that was perfect. Succinct and accurate.
“The left has to believe that populist sentiment is for them and their ideals. If this belief were ever stripped away from them, they would psychologically collapse. So they keep lying to themselves, and believing their own lies. They won’t let in the idea that maybe the American people really are center-right.“
Very well thought out article. Although the irony of the situation is hilarious. The Liberal left spends their most of their lives claiming to be the voice of the people, and then suddenly they find that a lot of the people have different ideas about the situation. They are so clearly in denial of this fact, that it’s making them look even more out of touch.
You nailed it. Great analysis. For a reminder of just how hypocritical the far left of the Democratic Party has acted regarding crazy protesters, check this out:
http://facetwitch.blogspot.com/2009/08/pot-kettle-black-democrats-suddenly.html
One doctor’s take on government run healthcare
August 06, 2009
ObamaCare and me
By Zane F Pollard, MD
It’s too long to post, so if you wish use the link and read.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/08/obamacare_and_me.html
PS – Mandy, Since you have probably already turned in enough people to Big Brother to meet your quota I don’t recommend you reading article.
Today I read an interesting theory that Obama will spend the first year or so swinging for the leftist fences then tack back to the center in time for the economy to get better and for him to be re-elected in 2012. Then he can do whatever else in his second term.
Maybe. I remain one of the possible minority on neoneo to believe that Obama is still dedicated to Obama and not the dreaded Cloward-Piven strategy for destroying America as a capitalist country.
Still, it’s possible that even if Obama is planning to leave the bunker in a year or so and go to the center, it will be too late to restore his rapport with voters.
Healthcare is too intimate and frightening an issue for Obama to turn into a leftist toy.
The left likes the masses in the abstract, but they don’t have much use for them in person.
The economy is having its dead cat bounce moment now. What going to help revive it 6-12+ months from now? Does anyone think the WH and Democrats are going to swing center or right and cut taxes and adopt a pro-growth policy with spending cuts which might actually make the economy grow again? HA!
Listen to Summers/Geitner and the rest of the puppetheads lately? These guys are ready to jack up all sorts of taxes and hit us with a VAT tax with an unemployment level hovering around 10%. You couldn’t pick a more anti-growth policy if you tried. That is unless you are trying to turn the country into the United Socialist States of America (USSA). Check out what happened to Europe once they enacted the VAT. The size of government exploded.
Imagine what our anger will be like when that happens. Its going to be off the charts baby! The public is very aware of the recent growth of the deficit under BO and polls show it being a big item on their radar. They know the spending is out of control and want the remaining stimulus money back in the bank or in their pockets.
Personally I don’t see how they can recover from all this. If I had to guess, by the end of Obama’s first term, he will have been completely abandoned by all you see around him now including the press. And don’t be suprised to see the WH surrounded with torches and pitchforks either.
@huxley Says:
August 14th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Today I read an interesting theory that Obama will spend the first year or so swinging for the leftist fences then tack back to the center in time for the economy to get better and for him to be re-elected in 2012.
For all of Europe’s neo-socialism, its economies grow — until recently — though not as fast as ours. I think even under Obama-style impediments our economy will resume growing, albeit more sluggishly, in time.
Furthermore, very little of the last January’s stimulus will reach the US economy until next year. It’s a matter of bureaucratic inertia and, I suspect, intentional timing for the 2010 elections. It is an artificial stimulant of course but it will have some salutary short-term effect.
Nonetheless I do believe that the Obamameisters are not quite so clever as they think and I’m betting that they have underestimated the US economy’s resilience in the face of all their meddling.
Obama and the Dems’ only hope is that the economy recovers to some extent so they can do well in the next couple elections.
huxley,
“Still, it’s possible that even if Obama is planning to leave the bunker in a year or so and go to the center, it will be too late to restore his rapport with voters.”
I was just thinking today somewhat along similar lines.
You never get a chance to make a second first impression.
Yes, Obama made a first impression as a candidate and a lot of people fell for the act.
However – he’s forgotten that he still had to make a first impression as president once he got the job.
That first impression, unlike his candidacy’s first impression (at least to the gullable) kind of sucks…..
Think of it this way – a guy makes a great impression in the job interview and people are excited he’s coming on board.
When he starts the actual job everyone realizes just how shallow his experience and judgement are and it becomes a matter of how to mitigate the damage.
Do you fire him, try to train him, or sideline him until he gets the hint he needs to really look for a job someplace else?
Scottie: Good analogy. I think for many voters it’s like that — a sinking feeling that they’ve hitched their wagon to a mediocre guy and what are they going to do now?
As opposed to those of us who have more energetic and trenchant thoughts on the matter.
Pingback:Maggie's Farm
Pingback:The Daily Brief: Military Musings and Thoughts Less Filtered » The Politics of Fear