The Briefing Room
General Category => Politics/Government => Topic started by: 240B on April 08, 2018, 03:12:20 am
-
The Daily Caller
STEWART LAWRENCE
3:24 PM 04/05/2018
It’s called the “mid-term curseâ€: first-term presidents suffer a loss of appeal and voters decide to punish them at the polls. It happened to President Obama in 2010. Republicans rode a Tea Party wave to regain control of the House of Representatives in one of the most momentous election turnarounds in US history.
Will Democrats follow suit and recapture the House from Republicans this fall?
Predictions of a “Blue Wave†inundating the GOP in the November mid-terms abound. Everyone from polling expert Nate Silver to never-Trumper Ed Gilgore say one is coming. It will stoke the Democrats’ ambition to impeach Trump and completely stall the GOP agenda, they say.
(more)
http://dailycaller.com/2018/04/05/in-historic-reversal-republicans-are-likely-to-retain-control-of-congress/
-
The Daily Caller
STEWART LAWRENCE
3:24 PM 04/05/2018
It’s called the “mid-term curseâ€: first-term presidents suffer a loss of appeal and voters decide to punish them at the polls. It happened to President Obama in 2010. Republicans rode a Tea Party wave to regain control of the House of Representatives in one of the most momentous election turnarounds in US history.
Will Democrats follow suit and recapture the House from Republicans this fall?
Predictions of a “Blue Wave†inundating the GOP in the November mid-terms abound. Everyone from polling expert Nate Silver to never-Trumper Ed Gilgore say one is coming. It will stoke the Democrats’ ambition to impeach Trump and completely stall the GOP agenda, they say.
(more)
http://dailycaller.com/2018/04/05/in-historic-reversal-republicans-are-likely-to-retain-control-of-congress/
This op-ed piece is very optimistic considering that the DEMS have been winning the special elections. Has the GOP done anything to ensure that they retain their majority? No repeal. Certainly no accommodating Trump's wall. No moving conservatism forward. What promises have they fulfilled that they campaigned on? I think it is perhaps foolish to think that they will retain their majority, especially when leadership never changed and therefore, neither did the results.
The article brings up gerrymandering by the GOP, which may have given them an advantage, but didn't the courts rule in favor of the DEMS?
-
I can't view articles from dailycaller. This one, for example, wants to run 81 different scripts from 12 different sites on my computer. Yeah, um, not gonna happen.
That said, I do wonder if the article matches the headline. My understanding is that the POTUS party usually loses seats in the midterms, which is quite different from losing control.
-
Well, the guy running for the GOP State Rep in my district who knocked on the door this afternoon to chat indicates that most of the voters he has talked to on his 'list' (apparently I am still listed as a registered Republican), are disgusted to the point he said he might actually lose to the Democrat in November if he wins the nomination (which he should because his opponent in the primary is also running for a judgeship and doesn't want to be a state rep anymore). After my quip about being done with his party - he hung his head and said that is a common thread running though most of the conversations he is having while pressing the flesh in the county. Based on his own experiences locally - he does not think the Republicans are going to retain the House at all.
-
What a bunch of bs. There is no pattern of losing Congress in the first mid-term. It's only happened to Obama, Clinton, Eisenhower, and Truman in the last 100 years, and Eisenhower had a razor thin margin coming into office to begin with.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_divisions_of_United_States_Congresses
-
Well, the guy running for the GOP State Rep in my district who knocked on the door this afternoon to chat indicates that most of the voters he has talked to on his 'list' (apparently I am still listed as a registered Republican), are disgusted to the point he said he might actually lose to the Democrat in November if he wins the nomination (which he should because his opponent in the primary is also running for a judgeship and doesn't want to be a state rep anymore). After my quip about being done with his party - he hung his head and said that is a common thread running though most of the conversations he is having while pressing the flesh in the county. Based on his own experiences locally - he does not think the Republicans are going to retain the House at all.
Certainly is true with me. I am hoping for Conservative Party to come through as the party to replace the failed GOP who have lost their way.
-
Certainly is true with me. I am hoping for Conservative Party to come through as the party to replace the failed GOP who have lost their way.
After 8 years of Hope?
If wishes were horses, . . . .
We don't have any option in the real world but to destroy the Democrats as a precondition to cleaning up/reforming/Conservatizing the GOP.
The DNC is $16 Million in the red. They can put money into special elections now but when the general election comes how are they gonna treat Every seat as a Special Election they can afford to buy?
Splitting the ticket with an honest, upright, 'Just We Wanted' 3rd Party/Movement will kill us.
Finish off the hard left before you go chasing the perfect.
-
What a bunch of bs. There is no pattern of losing Congress in the first mid-term. It's only happened to Obama, Clinton, Eisenhower, and Truman in the last 100 years, and Eisenhower had a razor thin margin coming into office to begin with.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_divisions_of_United_States_Congresses
It's not necessarily the loss of the House or Senate that's historic, but the loss of seats, in general.
-
This op-ed piece is very optimistic considering that the DEMS have been winning the special elections. Has the GOP done anything to ensure that they retain their majority? No repeal. Certainly no accommodating Trump's wall. No moving conservatism forward. What promises have they fulfilled that they campaigned on? I think it is perhaps foolish to think that they will retain their majority, especially when leadership never changed and therefore, neither did the results.
The article brings up gerrymandering by the GOP, which may have given them an advantage, but didn't the courts rule in favor of the DEMS?
Exactly right IMO. The key to mid-term elections is often voter turnout. Which party is more energized to get out the vote? Looking at elections since the inauguration from the AL Senate race to the PA 18th to the VA Governor race, Democratic turnout has been relatively high. "The Resistance" is clearly motivated much like Republicans were in 2010 against Obama when the GOP picked up 6 seats in the Senate and 63 in the House. The Republicans have a distinct advantage this year in the Senate since the Dems are defending so many more seats, but I can't see the GOP retaining the House. Since the end of World War II, the party in control of the White House has, on average, lost 26 House seats in midterm elections. Just that average would be enough to flip the House.
-
Certainly is true with me. I am hoping for Conservative Party to come through as the party to replace the failed GOP who have lost their way.
And how will having a Conservative Party snatching 10-15 percent of the Republican vote help move the country away from the radical Leftism of the Schumer/Pelosi/Hillary axis?
How will ensuring far more democrats get elected to both Houses of Congress AND eventually the White House make this a more conservative nation?
The GOP May be perpetually disappointing...as it is limited by narrow majorities and the need to keep a broad Right-of-Center coalition together...but what the Dems will bring you is a ton more Left wing judges, more weaponization of our Fed law enforcement against their enemies(conservatives), a weak military...AND...legalization of 20 million illegals as opposed to 1.8 (With a true wall, everify, better border enforcement), and the loss entirely of your 2nd amendment rights.
So instead of a GOP that can only get a partial bit of the conservative agenda moved forward, you will get the active and perhaps irreversible horror of a Socialist agenda shoved down your throat.
Smart.
-
This op-ed piece is very optimistic considering that the DEMS have been winning the special elections. Has the GOP done anything to ensure that they retain their majority? No repeal. Certainly no accommodating Trump's wall. No moving conservatism forward. What promises have they fulfilled that they campaigned on? I think it is perhaps foolish to think that they will retain their majority, especially when leadership never changed and therefore, neither did the results.
The article brings up gerrymandering by the GOP, which may have given them an advantage, but didn't the courts rule in favor of the DEMS?
Special elections are generally about local candidates and local issues. Mid-terms however reflect national mood and tend to be a referendum on the president and his party.
-
And how will having a Conservative Party snatching 10-15 percent of the Republican vote help move the country away from the radical Leftism of the Schumer/Pelosi/Hillary axis?
How will ensuring far more democrats get elected to both Houses of Congress AND eventually the White House make this a more conservative nation?
The GOP May be perpetually disappointing...as it is limited by narrow majorities and the need to keep a broad Right-of-Center coalition together...but what the Dems will bring you is a ton more Left wing judges, more weaponization of our Fed law enforcement against their enemies(conservatives), a weak military...AND...legalization of 20 million illegals as opposed to 1.8 (With a true wall, everify, better border enforcement), and the loss entirely of your 2nd amendment rights.
So instead of a GOP that can only get a partial bit of the conservative agenda moved forward, you will get the active and perhaps irreversible horror of a Socialist agenda shoved down your throat.
Smart.
Agree. Now is not the time to bail on the GOP as we are a nation that is culturally divided, with ownership of the culture firmly in the hands of Hollywood and the opinion makers in the elite media centers of New York and LA. Until we can wrest control of the culture from their hands, it would be unwise to dilute the GOP’s political power with third party votes or worse, votes for democrats.
Work to change the GOP into a more Conservative party. That’s the answer.
-
And how will having a Conservative Party snatching 10-15 percent of the Republican vote help move the country away from the radical Leftism of the Schumer/Pelosi/Hillary axis?
How will ensuring far more democrats get elected to both Houses of Congress AND eventually the White House make this a more conservative nation?
The GOP May be perpetually disappointing...as it is limited by narrow majorities and the need to keep a broad Right-of-Center coalition together...but what the Dems will bring you is a ton more Left wing judges, more weaponization of our Fed law enforcement against their enemies(conservatives), a weak military...AND...legalization of 20 million illegals as opposed to 1.8 (With a true wall, everify, better border enforcement), and the loss entirely of your 2nd amendment rights.
So instead of a GOP that can only get a partial bit of the conservative agenda moved forward, you will get the active and perhaps irreversible horror of a Socialist agenda shoved down your throat.
Smart.
@Mesaclone
Doing the same thing over and over and over again, expecting different results.
Insane
-
And how will having a Conservative Party snatching 10-15 percent of the Republican vote help move the country away from the radical Leftism of the Schumer/Pelosi/Hillary axis?
How will ensuring far more democrats get elected to both Houses of Congress AND eventually the White House make this a more conservative nation? ....
Two essential questions @Mesaclone ... I'm looking forward to reading the answers.
-
Agree. Now is not the time to bail on the GOP as we are a nation that is culturally divided with ownership of the culture firmly in the hands of Hollywood and the opinion makers in the elite media centers of New York and LA. Until we can wrest control of the culture from their hands, it would be unwise to dilute the GOP’s political power with third party votes or worse, votes for democrats.
Work to change the GOP into a more Conservative party. That’s the answer.
I feel as though the GOP have bailed on me. When they hold the House, the Senate, and the Presidency and all three are perfectly satisfied to add trillions to the debt even though they hypocritically went after Obama for the doing much the same, I’m done with them. I don't think they want to be a more Conservative Party. The leader of the party wants to spend money like a drunken Obama, and the GOP leadership is just fine rubber-stamping it's approval to more and more deficit spending. And don't get me started on the Omnibus Spending Bill.
-
After 8 years of Hope?
If wishes were horses, . . . .
We don't have any option in the real world but to destroy the Democrats as a precondition to cleaning up/reforming/Conservatizing the GOP.
The DNC is $16 Million in the red. They can put money into special elections now but when the general election comes how are they gonna treat Every seat as a Special Election they can afford to buy?
Splitting the ticket with an honest, upright, 'Just We Wanted' 3rd Party/Movement will kill us.
Finish off the hard left before you go chasing the perfect.
Perfect??
I don't know about anyone else, but my standards do not require anything close to "perfect" (which is why I remained a Republican until 2016).
All I want is reasonable movement towards conservative standards, and a return to the acceptance of conservative moral values, which were tossed down the sewer with Trump.
There is no place in the current Republican party for Christian Conservatives. The Party has rejected everything we stand for.
As for some midterm miracle..... the author should probably study his history a bit more before making predictions about historic reversals.
-
I feel as though the GOP have bailed on me. When they hold the House, the Senate, and the Presidency and all three are perfectly satisfied to add trillions to the debt even though they hypocritically went after Obama for the doing much the same, I’m done with them. I don't think they want to be a more Conservative Party. The leader of the party wants to spend money like a drunken Obama, and the GOP leadership is just fine rubber-stamping it's approval to more and more deficit spending. And don't get me started on the Omnibus Spending Bill.
Yes, I agree. The GOP constantly disappoints. But, political change is glacially slow and politics reflects culture, so change must begin with culture. And in the age of Internet, we’ve at least got a shot at speeding things up. Remember, it’s been only a handful of years that our generation has stood at the threshold of this evolutionary technological change. It remains to be seen how it could all impact the human species, society and our politics.
I love the constitution as written. But, let’s be honest. The authors could never has anticipated the rapid speed of information, transportation, medical science, weaponry in our age. When facts change, we must change.
Edited to add, But, of course those changes must be inline with our underlying principles as spelled out in the constitution.
-
There is no place in the current Republican party for Christian Conservatives. The Party has rejected everything we stand for. ...
This is absurd. Christian conservative support the President to the tune of 80%. They have more of home under President Trump than they had under President Bush ... either one of them.
-
@Mesaclone
Doing the same thing over and over and over again, expecting different results.
Insane
Yup, that's why I've gone Galt.
Lost in the rosy forecast for the GOP, and the relatively high approval numbers of Trump, is the specter of Democrats who will crawl over broken glass in November, just to vote against Trump. I suspect the turnout will be greater than what the TEA Party engineered in 2010, on the heels of the passage of Obamacare.
You don't need any money/fuel to feed that fire.
-
Perfect??
I don't know about anyone else, but my standards do not require anything close to "perfect" (which is why I remained a Republican until 2016).
All I want is reasonable movement towards conservative standards, and a return to the acceptance of conservative moral values, which were tossed down the sewer with Trump.
There is no place in the current Republican party for Christian Conservatives. The Party has rejected everything we stand for.
As for some midterm miracle..... the author should probably study his history a bit more before making predictions about historic reversals.
Trump hammered the last nail in the coffin when he signed the bill that funded Planned Parenthood.
The caps are off on spending, and the debt limit has been "suspended" for over a year. I can only imagine what Republicans would have said had the democrats under Obama done the same thing.
-
Trump hammered the last nail in the coffin when he signed the bill that funded Planned Parenthood.
The caps are off on spending, and the debt limit has been "suspended" for over a year. I can only imagine what Republicans would have said had the democrats under Obama done the same thing.
Agree.
When he doubled the funding for PP in that hideous spending bill, he revealed who he truly is, and what he truly believes in. (Which, of course, we knew before in spite of his campaign rhetoric).
The sheer hypocrisy among Republicans in their approval of what they claimed not to approve under Obama, is breath taking.
-
The sheer hypocrisy among Republicans in their approval of what they claimed not to approve under Obama, is breath taking.
:amen: @musiclady
-
What a bunch of bs. There is no pattern of losing Congress in the first mid-term. It's only happened to Obama, Clinton, Eisenhower, and Truman in the last 100 years, and Eisenhower had a razor thin margin coming into office to begin with.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_divisions_of_United_States_Congresses
The pattern is loss of seats by the party in power during the mid-term elections of a first Presidential term. And that pattern is fairly robust, if I recall in recent times only Bush II bucked the trend, due to post-9/11 support, and that pattern goes back a long way.
-
Splitting the ticket with an honest, upright, 'Just We Wanted' 3rd Party/Movement will kill us.
Too late. Your party and it's leadership already killed us. They've told us and shown us that they hold us in abject contempt and they want us and our principles GONE from their party.
So we obliged and we're working to rescue more from the plantation.
Finish off the hard left before you go chasing the perfect.
The Republican party is funding and pushing the Leftist agenda itself and spending us into oblivion with deficit spending faster than Pelosi and the Democrats did under Obama. When you get rid of the Oligarchy running your party and kill all the rules it passed to keep grassroots conservatives from being nominees in national elections - then we can talk about 'finishing off the Left'. Because it seems to me your party is being run by moderate Leftists that toss a piece of red meat to Conservatives now and then to try and keep them in the fold for their vote, but want them to shut up and swallow their own version of better managed Socialism that they feed them.
We're out. Your party was taken over by Democrat Statists, and the head of your party is a lifelong NYC liberal Democrat.
Your party left us in total. We're no longer going to support it. As I told the state rep candidate that came by my place yesterday - if they want my vote - they are going to need to get out of the GOP.
-
Historic since when? The Mid-terms during W's first term when Republicans gained seats?
-
Yup, that's why I've gone Galt. ...
But you haven't gone Galt. Going "Galt" means, in large part, you've also gone silent.
You've simply taken your marbles and gone home to pound out criticisms from your keyboard --- criticisms that help keep liberal wet dreams alive and well. :shrug:
-
But you haven't gone Galt. Going "Galt" means, in large part, you've also gone silent.
Ahhh we come to it at last.
They want us to shut up, and be silent - even when we dump their party after being told to vote the way they tell us and then to sit down and shut up.
If you had bothered to read Atlas Shrugged - Galt spent his time RESCUING productive liberty-minded people from the enslavement of the state, and speaking about the very things you want us to shut up about.
I really cannot tell the difference anymore between a radical 'progressive' and Republican Party hacks.
You've simply taken your marbles and gone home to pound out criticisms from your keyboard --- criticisms that help keep liberal wet dreams alive and well.
Let's just cut to the chase: what do you intend to do about it?
-
They want us to shut up, and be silent - even when we dump their party after being told to vote the way they tell us and then to sit down and shut up.
@INVAR but then you already knew that right? It's just now they are more open about what they really want.
-
Let's just cut to the chase: what do you intend to do about it?
Not a thing.
Just don't call fighting a keyboard war "going galt". :shrug:
-
Historic would be if it hasn't happened in 50-60 years.
But we already know that the Republicans gained seats in the first term of a Republican President as recently as 2002.
What makes this one so "historical"?
-
Not a thing.
Just don't call fighting a keyboard war "going galt". :shrug:
What if we do?
John Galt spent much of his life working to get innovators and the productive out of the enslavement to the corrupt political parties and the state. He worked to get them to start over somewhere else, and let the existing system collapse on itself in total, so that after it did so - they could rebuild from the ashes.
So - when someone tells you that they have gone Galt from the GOP - let that Cliffs Notes version of Atlas Shrugged ring in your mind. Because that is EXACTLY what going Galt from your party means.
We're going to rescue Conservatives from your party and into a party not corrupted by DC - while your party and it's system collapses into itself or gets folded into the Democrat party where it belongs. As your party goes Whig - Conservatives will have a new platform to operate from.
-
Historic since when? The Mid-terms during W's first term when Republicans gained seats?
Yes, but that came while the nation was coming together behind a wartime president. Patterns can be broken, if only temporarily.
-
What if we do?
You'll be deliberately wrong, again. :shrug:
-
What if we do? Well, we don't have to DO anything...you simply expose yourself as a fool.
John Galt spent much of his life working to get innovators and the productive out of the enslavement to the corrupt political parties and the state. He worked to get them to start over somewhere else, and let the existing system collapse on itself in total, so that after it did so - they could rebuild from the ashes.And we come to it...your dream is to let the Dems win big and create a self destructive society so abhorrent that some sort of apocalyptic uprising will occur. Quite frankly, that's stupidity of the highest order....and reflective of a childlike fantasy mentality. Come back to the real world.
So - when someone tells you that they have gone Galt from the GOP - let that Cliffs Notes version of Atlas Shrugged ring in your mind. Because that is EXACTLY what going Galt from your party means.In this context, going Galt simply means doing your best to usher in half a century of Democrat domination of our culture and government. Great plan.
We're going to rescue Conservatives from your party and into a party not corrupted by DC - while your party and it's system collapses into itself or gets folded into the Democrat party where it belongs. As your party goes Whig - Conservatives will have a new platform to operate from. So your plan is to create a party that consistently draws about 30% of the vote, with the Dems taking the other 70...strategy may not be your thing. Nor ethics, as your plan ensures all the things Conservatives despise in government come to full...and lasting...fruition.
You've gone full Dem in this sense...you don't think, you simply "feel" and then act irrationally. Sadly, you are as much an agent of the Left as Bernie Sanders...I believe the term Socialists would use for you is "useful idiots".
And quit with the "what are you gonna do about it" childishness...if you have to peacock on the internet, you're a weakling.
-
Yes, but that came while the nation was coming together behind a wartime president. Patterns can be broken, if only temporarily.
The Libs and their media mouthpieces had already had well over a year to trash the effort in Afghanistan...which is the only place we were in November of 2002. "Quagmire was already an over used term to describe progress there as well.
The country stopped being "together" shortly after Bush's 2002 SOTU address. Then it was back to business as usual for the Libs because there was an election coming up.
That's about the time the Libs decided that politics didn't end at the waters edge anymore and Pelosi and others started trashing the Presidents policies while he was meeting with foreign heads of state.
Again...why is this one so much more historical compared to the other times the Republicans made gains under a President of the same party?
-
The Libs and their media mouthpieces had already had well over a year to trash the effort in Afghanistan...which is the only place we were in November of 2002. "Quagmire was already an over used term to describe progress there as well.
The country stopped being "together" shortly after Bush's 2002 SOTU address. Then it was back to business as usual for the Libs because there was an election coming up.
That's about the time the Libs decided that politics didn't end at the waters edge anymore and Pelosi and others started trashing the Presidents policies while he was meeting with foreign heads of state.
Again...why is this one so much more historical compared to the other times the Republicans made gains under a President of the same party?
Okay, but still wasn’t there a lot of talk in the air about invading Iraq, which we eventually did March the following year?
Besides, just because democrat politicos were trashing Bush didn’t mean folks weren’t giving their support and prayers to the president. Patriotism is a much stronger emotion than political partisanship. And the shock of 9-11 was still fresh in people’s minds and folks were still holding their breath wondering if another attack on the homeland was looming.
I still maintain Bush’s first midterm was atypical.
-
Okay, but still wasn’t there a lot of talk in the air about invading Iraq, which we eventually did March the following year?
Besides, just because democrat politicos were trashing Bush didn’t mean folks weren’t giving their support and prayers to the president. Patriotism is a much stronger emotion than political partisanship. And the shock of 9-11 was still fresh in people’s minds and folks were still holding their breath wondering if another attack on the homeland was looming.
I still maintain Bush’s first midterm was atypical.
All you keep trying to to is downplay the fact that it's the first time in recent memory...at least 50 years that an incumbent Republican President gained seats in the House and Senate in the first mid term after he was elected.
I'd consider the 60 seat turn around in the 1994 mid-terms much more of a historical election even though Clinton was President because it gave us the majority for the first time in a couple generations in both the House and Senate.
IF we gain any seats...and in reality that's not likely considering the ones we keep losing in the special elections this year...it will be the first time since 2002 it's happened...but it certainly won't be historical.
Unless you can logically and reasonably explain why it would...other than just because the author of the article says so.
-
And how will having a Conservative Party snatching 10-15 percent of the Republican vote help move the country away from the radical Leftism of the Schumer/Pelosi/Hillary axis?
How will ensuring far more democrats get elected to both Houses of Congress AND eventually the White House make this a more conservative nation?
The GOP May be perpetually disappointing...as it is limited by narrow majorities and the need to keep a broad Right-of-Center coalition together...but what the Dems will bring you is a ton more Left wing judges, more weaponization of our Fed law enforcement against their enemies(conservatives), a weak military...AND...legalization of 20 million illegals as opposed to 1.8 (With a true wall, everify, better border enforcement), and the loss entirely of your 2nd amendment rights.
So instead of a GOP that can only get a partial bit of the conservative agenda moved forward, you will get the active and perhaps irreversible horror of a Socialist agenda shoved down your throat.
Smart.
This is fear mongering to keep people enslaved to a GOP which is increasingly moving to the left. To me there isn't much difference. If it take a big loss and a liberal presidency for four years I don't care. The idea that moving left is going to take us out of the Socialist agenda you are wrong. Its an easy creep. This year gun control. Next year more gun control. This year continue to fund Planned Parenthood and buy into Obama Care. This year celebrate gay at the Pentagon. Next year the same and more. Until this country is unrecognizable and emulates Europe.
The problem with GOP is that they believe they must move left as an effort to keep up with increasingly insane moral decline. They themselves are immoral. If they are men and women of good character they also will be willing to dump the GOP that is committing suicide. They are wrong.
I have a son that I had thought I lost to liberal public education. Said he was an Atheist. Was going along with all of that liberal bull crap they feed them at school. He came around and he is more Conservative than I am now. I didn't change his mind. He did. Of course I was a liberal when I was young too. I thought I knew more than my parents and I also came to see how outrageous and wrong liberal politics are.
-
This is fear mongering to keep people enslaved to a GOP which is increasingly moving to the left. To me there isn't much difference. If it take a big loss and a liberal presidency for four years I don't care. The idea that moving left is going to take us out of the Socialist agenda you are wrong. Its an easy creep. This year gun control. Next year more gun control. This year continue to fund Planned Parenthood and buy into Obama Care. This year celebrate gay at the Pentagon. Next year the same and more. Until this country is unrecognizable and emulates Europe.
The problem with GOP is that they believe they must move left as an effort to keep up with increasingly insane moral decline. They themselves are immoral. If they are men and women of good character they also will be willing to dump the GOP that is committing suicide. They are wrong.
I have a son that I had thought I lost to liberal public education. Said he was an Atheist. Was going along with all of that liberal bull crap they feed them at school. He came around and he is more Conservative than I am now. I didn't change his mind. He did. Of course I was a liberal when I was young too. I thought I knew more than my parents and I also came to see how outrageous and wrong liberal politics are.
Yes, the GOP has moved to the left in a bid for votes. They've lost their message, their purpose and they really no longer represent an alternative to liberalism, though they pretend otherwise and the majority leaders cater to the left.
I was hoping that a Convention of States would take place returning power to the states; they came close, but I don't see that happening before the mid terms. IMHO the time to do so was now and I don't forsee it happening. I don't hold out a lot of hope for the future these days. Too much corruption within both parties.
-
All you keep trying to to is downplay the fact that it's the first time in recent memory...at least 50 years that an incumbent Republican President gained seats in the House and Senate in the first mid term after he was elected.
I'd consider the 60 seat turn around in the 1994 mid-terms much more of a historical election even though Clinton was President because it gave us the majority for the first time in a couple generations in both the House and Senate.
IF we gain any seats...and in reality that's not likely considering the ones we keep losing in the special elections this year...it will be the first time since 2002 it's happened...but it certainly won't be historical.
Unless you can logically and reasonably explain why it would...other than just because the author of the article says so.
Reagan did gain in the Senate in the first mid-term, lost in the House. Problem is though, the Dems had nearly an iron grip of control for 50 years, so who cares if they went from 252 to 267 seats in the House with a GOP President when they were already a steep majority? It skews the stats a bit.
I put little stock in special election wins. At usually 15-25% of the general election vote, it's easy to get your motivated hard core base out. It speaks nothing of having the depth to turn out for a general where Republicans tend to vastly out vote Dems. Not to mention the ridiculously out-of-proportion money their side has spent on these little elections, while the DNC is already broke and most of it is PAC support.
I still say this is 100% in the GOP's power to win or lose, and based on whether or not they choose to do some things that will motivate the base.
-
Reagan did gain in the Senate in the first mid-term, lost in the House. Problem is though, the Dems had nearly an iron grip of control for 50 years, so who cares if they went from 252 to 267 seats in the House with a GOP President when they were already a steep majority? It skews the stats a bit.
I put little stock in special election wins. At usually 15-25% of the general election vote, it's easy to get your motivated hard core base out. It speaks nothing of having the depth to turn out for a general where Republicans tend to vastly out vote Dems. Not to mention the ridiculously out-of-proportion money their side has spent on these little elections, while the DNC is already broke and most of it is PAC support.
I still say this is 100% in the GOP's power to win or lose, and based on whether or not they choose to do some things that will motivate the base.
The GOP has done absolutely nothing to motivate their base; quite the opposite. The DEMS have been energized since Her Thighness lost and I believe that the GOP is going to get trounced. They had their chance and so far they've blown it. I have never missed an election since I've been eligible to vote and I just may opt to sit this one out.
-
The GOP has done absolutely nothing to motivate their base; quite the opposite. The DEMS have been energized since Her Thighness lost and I believe that the GOP is going to get trounced. They had their chance and so far they've blown it. I have never missed an election since I've been eligible to vote and I just may opt to sit this one out.
They've energized their hard core base in special elections. It remains to be seen whether they have the depth and money do that nationwide in the general plus woo the Indies.
I think what they do is irrelevant, it's completely in the hands of the GOP as to whether they want to win this or not.
-
Yes, the GOP has moved to the left in a bid for votes. They've lost their message, their purpose and they really no longer represent an alternative to liberalism, though they pretend otherwise and the majority leaders cater to the left.
I was hoping that a Convention of States would take place returning power to the states; they came close, but I don't see that happening before the mid terms. IMHO the time to do so was now and I don't forsee it happening. I don't hold out a lot of hope for the future these days. Too much corruption within both parties.
Sad but true. Why we must get away from voting for lesser of evils. In this case we went from (evil) "lock her up" Hillary to honoring her at the Inauguration lunch. Buddies! Birds of a feather. Obama said at the end of his Presidency that his agenda would continue.
-
InHeaven wrote in reply 2 above:
"I can't view articles from dailycaller. This one, for example, wants to run 81 different scripts from 12 different sites on my computer. Yeah, um, not gonna happen."
Got a tip for ya.
Do you have javascript running by default? (I usually do, using Safari on a Mac).
If you're getting overtaken by ads, popups, etc., from a particular website, try TURNING OFF javascript, and then visiting the site in question. Of course, remember to turn javascript back on after you're done.
I do this now when I do "my morning reading" at The Washington Times (which not to long ago started using some intrusive adware, and now prevents access to their site if you're running an "adblocking extension").
I normally use both an adblocker (UBlock) -and- an anti-tracking extension (Ghostery).
They work pretty well on the Mac.
-
The GOP has done absolutely nothing to motivate their base; quite the opposite. The DEMS have been energized since Her Thighness lost and I believe that the GOP is going to get trounced. They had their chance and so far they've blown it. I have never missed an election since I've been eligible to vote and I just may opt to sit this one out.
How many people saw increases in their take home pay due to the tax "cuts"? In the end, I think that will be the single most important issue for voters. IMO, if people saw THEIR paychecks go up early this year, they're going to be motivated,
Those of us on the right who are paying attention are of course outraged by things like massive deficit spending and saving 0care/PP, but I suspect we're a tiny minority.
Then again, they've still got about six months to screw it up.
-
How many people saw increases in their take home pay due to the tax "cuts"? In the end, I think that will be the single most important issue for voters. IMO, if people saw THEIR paychecks go up early this year, they're going to be motivated,
Those of us on the right who are paying attention are of course outraged by things like massive deficit spending and saving 0care/PP, but I suspect we're a tiny minority.
Then again, they've still got about six months to screw it up.
...hmm let's see. Paychecks may be going up a tad but the cost of healthcare hasn't been resolved nor has the repeal of Bammycare. Trump just signed a $1.3 Trillion spending bill and is proposing increasing the gas tax in order to repair and expand infrastructure. So really the slight increase in paychecks isn't all that and we really won't know exactly how the new tax plan is going to affect us until next year.
IMHO the only issue that's going to win the midterms is the wall and Congress refused to allocate monies. The House also failed to repeal Bammycare and passed it on to the Senate where it also failed. What really has the GOP congress done to warrant re-election? Notta. Zilch. Zip. Zero.
-
Well, we don't have to DO anything...you simply expose yourself as a fool.
Oh yes, I'm exposing myself a "fool" for providing a summary of Atlas Shrugged to illustrate the fact that is precisely what Conservatives are doing when they get off your party plantation.
And we come to it...your dream is to let the Dems win big
Hey clueless, the Dems ALREADY WON BIG. They got their entire agenda through Congress funded and approved with a big fat GOP stamp on it and ownership of everything from ObamaCare to Planned Parenthood to deficit spending in the TRILLIONS. The Dems won big, thanks to your feckless bastardized Republican party, that now does what Democrats do - such as write omnibus trillion-dollar deficit spending bills in secret and vote them into law without giving anyone adequate time to read them before making them so.
and create a self destructive society so abhorrent that some sort of apocalyptic uprising will occur.
I guess you don't watch the news much either.
Quite frankly, that's stupidity of the highest order....and reflective of a childlike fantasy mentality. Come back to the real world.
Oh, you mean like the fantasy of childlike idiocy that insists that voting for Republicans will stop the Left and advance conservative principles?
THAT fantasy?
Might want to look at the 'real world' of the last 6-8 years with your party at the helm there hoss. Conservatism has little to show for itself when your party was given power. You're about to experience a repeat of 2006 all over again, and the base your party told us they did not want - is not coming back.
In this context, going Galt simply means doing your best to usher in half a century of Democrat domination of our culture and government.
You already got that via the Republican Party. Congratulations on what your party has achieved to make that Democrat domination of our culture and government a reality. They just put a big fat GOP sticker on the Obama agenda and called it their own.
So your plan is to create a party that consistently draws about 30% of the vote, with the Dems taking the other 70...strategy may not be your thing.
I think the strategy of staying in a wholly corrupted party of liberals pretending to be an opposition party to Democrats while enacting and funding the Democrat agenda is entirely a lesson in abject insanity. If you want to talk strategy, one does not stay in a party of traitors to the cause of limited government and Constitutionality - of which your party has abandoned wholesale. But if you have a fatal case of Normalcy Bias and Cognitive Dissonance - by all means, continue to practice insanity if that is where your comfort zone is. I choose not to continue practicing it.
your plan ensures all the things Conservatives despise in government come to full...and lasting...fruition.
Your own party has already achieved this and put their stamp of approval on all things Conservatives despised and wanted them to repeal, stop and end.
You've gone full Dem in this sense...you don't think, you simply "feel" and then act irrationally. Sadly, you are as much an agent of the Left as Bernie Sanders...I believe the term Socialists would use for you is "useful idiots".
You're just projecting. I don't support lifelong NYC liberal Democrats and declare them to be Conservative. That's what you and your cabal does. Useful idiots indeed.
And quit with the "what are you gonna do about it" childishness...if you have to peacock on the internet, you're a weakling.
Do something about it then. Let's see who is the weakling.
-
Perfect??
I don't know about anyone else, but my standards do not require anything close to "perfect" (which is why I remained a Republican until 2016).
All I want is reasonable movement towards conservative standards, and a return to the acceptance of conservative moral values, which were tossed down the sewer with Trump.
There is no place in the current Republican party for Christian Conservatives. The Party has rejected everything we stand for.
As for some midterm miracle..... the author should probably study his history a bit more before making predictions about historic reversals.
THANK YOU!
We have given the Pubs everything they asked for and have seen nothing other than tax cuts.
Has the needle moved at all to the right on abortion?
Has planned parenthood lost any funding?
Has the education dept done anything to slow down or stop the radical sexualization of children in schools?
What good does it do to keep electing people who won't represent us?
-
Oh yes, I'm exposing myself a "fool" for providing a summary of Atlas Shrugged to illustrate the fact that is precisely what Conservatives are doing when they get off your party plantation.
Hey clueless, the Dems ALREADY WON BIG. They got their entire agenda through Congress funded and approved with a big fat GOP stamp on it and ownership of everything from ObamaCare to Planned Parenthood to deficit spending in the TRILLIONS. The Dems won big, thanks to your feckless bastardized Republican party, that now does what Democrats do - such as write omnibus trillion-dollar deficit spending bills in secret and vote them into law without giving anyone adequate time to read them before making them so.
I guess you don't watch the news much either.
Oh, you mean like the fantasy of childlike idiocy that insists that voting for Republicans will stop the Left and advance conservative principles?
THAT fantasy?
Might want to look at the 'real world' of the last 6-8 years with your party at the helm there hoss. Conservatism has little to show for itself when your party was given power. You're about to experience a repeat of 2006 all over again, and the base your party told us they did not want - is not coming back.
You already got that via the Republican Party. Congratulations on what your party has achieved to make that Democrat domination of our culture and government a reality. They just put a big fat GOP sticker on the Obama agenda and called it their own.
I think the strategy of staying in a wholly corrupted party of liberals pretending to be an opposition party to Democrats while enacting and funding the Democrat agenda is entirely a lesson in abject insanity. If you want to talk strategy, one does not stay in a party of traitors to the cause of limited government and Constitutionality - of which your party has abandoned wholesale. But if you have a fatal case of Normalcy Bias and Cognitive Dissonance - by all means, continue to practice insanity if that is where your comfort zone is. I choose not to continue practicing it.
Your own party has already achieved this and put their stamp of approval on all things Conservatives despised and wanted them to repeal, stop and end.
You're just projecting. I don't support lifelong NYC liberal Democrats and declare them to be Conservative. That's what you and your cabal does. Useful idiots indeed.
Do something about it then. Let's see who is the weakling.
I've already done "it", you're just not sharp enough to notice. And you've already exposed yourself as the weakling, no one else needs to lift a finger to make that case.
-
I've already done "it", you're just not sharp enough to notice. And you've already exposed yourself as the weakling, no one else needs to lift a finger to make that case.
If you say so.... I'm sure everyone on this board agrees with your assessment.
-
The GOP has done absolutely nothing to motivate their base; quite the opposite.
A disappointing thing on forums, is overstatement.
Tax cut, defense increases, regulatory reduction, serious steps towards better securing the border, progress with Northh Korea, possible progress in the middle east, are not "absolutely nothing."
If your mischaracterization is a reflection of the judgment of "their base," there is really no point discussing things.
-
A disappointing thing on forums, is overstatement.
Tax cut, defense increases, regulatory reduction, serious steps towards better securing the border, p
, possible progress in the middle east, are not "absolutely nothing."
If your mischaracterization is a reflection of the judgment of "their base," there is really no point discussing things.
Tax cut... for some, maybe. Yet to be seen.
Defense increases... Can we really afford them? How about reducing our "defense" spending by stopping subsidizing a vast amount of global military spending (and saving lots of American lives in the process)?
Serious steps towards better securing the border... Promising "news" about using the military to secure the border recently. Hope it's true, but unfortunately there's no reason to believe anything Trump says.
Progress with North Korea... Will Madelline Halfbright be there for the toast?
Possible progress in the middle east... Possible, or progress?
-
Agree. Now is not the time to bail on the GOP as we are a nation that is culturally divided, with ownership of the culture firmly in the hands of Hollywood and the opinion makers in the elite media centers of New York and LA. Until we can wrest control of the culture from their hands, it would be unwise to dilute the GOP’s political power with third party votes or worse, votes for democrats.
Work to change the GOP into a more Conservative party. That’s the answer.
@aligncare That is something I don't understand: it would take decades and probably more than one generation to change the culture that fundamentally, wouldn't it?
P.S. I read your later comment. I agree that the Internet and repaid technological changes may speed up cultural change, but I'm not sure the "opinion-makers" will trend conservative.
-
Tax cut... for some, maybe. Yet to be seen.
Defense increases... Can we really afford them? How about reducing our "defense" spending by stopping subsidizing a vast amount of global military spending (and saving lots of American lives in the process)?
Serious steps towards better securing the border... Promising "news" about using the military to secure the border recently. Hope it's true, but unfortunately there's no reason to believe anything Trump says.
Progress with North Korea... Will Madelline Halfbright be there for the toast?
Possible progress in the middle east... Possible, or progress?
@truth_seeker @InHeavenThereIsNoBeer
I also don't know if the economic moves will be overshadowed by the huge budget and possible tariffs.
-
That is something I don't understand: it would take decades and probably more than one generation to change the culture that fundamentally, wouldn't it?
Yes it will.
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction." RWR.
Where's the 'Tea Party' today?
Scoundrels sent out mailers etc grubbing money to elect Tea Party candidates, and pocketed the money.
The perfect is the enemy of the good.
Object lesson:
Eisenhower as Supreme Allied Commander in WWII had all kinds of trouble with Montgomery who was forever making plans upon plans, like Market Garden.
Patton on the other hand - because he Kept It Simple - drove so fast and hard that he outran his supply lines.
If it had been Monty with his 'Perfect Plans' instead of Ike running the show there's a good chance Britain would be a part of greater Pan Germania today.
"The price good men pay for their indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men."
Plato
Way too many voters pay hardly any attention to what goes on after they leave the booth, for the following 2 to 4 years.
A 'Conservative' 3rd Party in this mix is going to split the vote and hand everything right back to the Democrats.
The DNC is broke. They're on the ropes. Think Patton, not Monty at this point. Finish them off for at least the next 2 years and concentrate on getting control of the Judiciary back. When the Law itself means whatever the Judge's whims are, no 3rd Party is gonna matter squat even if it passes All the Laws it promised to pass rather than imploding at the polls and dragging us all down with it.
And I Don't need another heated screed full of sound and fury, signifying nothing, about how "They're All The Same".
Not with the HRC 'Show That Never Ends' as a nightly comedy.
-
Yes it will.
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction." RWR.
Where's the 'Tea Party' today?
Scoundrels sent out mailers etc grubbing money to elect Tea Party candidates, and pocketed the money.
The perfect is the enemy of the good.
Object lesson:
Eisenhower as Supreme Allied Commander in WWII had all kinds of trouble with Montgomery who was forever making plans upon plans, like Market Garden.
Patton on the other hand - because he Kept It Simple - drove so fast and hard that he outran his supply lines.
If it had been Monty with his 'Perfect Plans' instead of Ike running the show there's a good chance Britain would be a part of greater Pan Germania today.
"The price good men pay for their indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men."
Plato
Way too many voters pay hardly any attention to what goes on after they leave the booth, for the following 2 to 4 years.
A 'Conservative' 3rd Party in this mix is going to split the vote and hand everything right back to the Democrats.
The DNC is broke. They're on the ropes. Think Patton, not Monty at this point. Finish them off for at least the next 2 years and concentrate on getting control of the Judiciary back. When the Law itself means whatever the Judge's whims are, no 3rd Party is gonna matter squat even if it passes All the Laws it promised to pass rather than imploding at the polls and dragging us all down with it.
And I Don't need another heated screed full of sound and fury, signifying nothing, about how "They're All The Same".
Not with the HRC 'Show That Never Ends' as a nightly comedy.
@To-Whose-Benefit? I'd never seen that quote by Plato! What a depressing illustration that we never learn. I know the DNC is heavily in debt, but I'll bet the anti-Trump fervor brings out a flood of Democratic voters anyway.
BTW, I just saw Ernest Borgnine in "Red", which was so much fun ;). He looked great; I'm sad he's gone, though I know he had a long, long life. My mother really liked him.
-
The perfect is the enemy of the good.
That is a bullshit proverb.
It's no different than saying 'embrace the devil, and you will achieve righteousness'.
If abandoning an apostate party is to be declared an enemy to what you say is good, then let it be so.
Character and principles matter, even if you say they do not. You can call them an obstacle to achievement all you like. It is exactly what the Left tells us.
A 'Conservative' 3rd Party in this mix is going to split the vote and hand everything right back to the Democrats.
I don't care anymore. It's irrelevant as far as I am concerned. The GOP has showed us that they govern just like Democrats, even to the point of drafting trillion-dollar spending bills in secret and refusing anyone time to read it before they vote it into law.
If anyone handed everything back to the Democrats, the Republican party itself made sure of it these last 4 years. They own ObamaCare now and funded everything Pelosi and Schumer wanted that the GOP promised was going to be stopped or repealed 'root and branch' "day one".
There is no greater enemy of the good than treason from within, by your own leadership.
A Conservative 3rd party now is inevitable and necessary if there is to be ANY resistance to this Socialist Bog-Government , Crony Corporatist Statism that both parties now represent.
-
@INVAR
"Tea Party"
-
@INVAR
"Tea Party"
With that being stated, do you feel that the "Tea Party" split this past election with some voting for Trump and others voting for Cruz?
-
@aligncare That is something I don't understand: it would take decades and probably more than one generation to change the culture that fundamentally, wouldn't it?
P.S. I read your later comment. I agree that the Internet and repaid technological changes may speed up cultural change, but I'm not sure the "opinion-makers" will trend conservative.
As Andrew Brietbart once famously noted, politics is downstream from culture. The international Left has for decades been hard at work changing – tearing down – the American experiment through universities, Hollywood and news media. Yes, taking back the culture is a long process. But, understanding is the beginning of change.
-
As Andrew Brietbart once famously noted, politics is downstream from culture. The international Left has for decades been hard at work changing – tearing down – the American experiment through universities, Hollywood and news media. Yes, taking back the culture is a long process. But, understanding is the beginning of change.
The cultural morality of the nation has been rejected and changed for the worse. With it went everything else. As Franklin noted, only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. A corrupt and vicious people will have more need of masters, meaning they will require iron-fisted rulers to keep order. Liberty cannot exist in that environment.
Sadly, the bulk of the Republicans and a whole lot of Conservatives somehow bought into the idea that we change the culture by electing people to office, all-the-while while continuing to eschew principles and morality that they consider to be a 'drag' on 'winning' elections. Now we elect people to power based on their ambition, not their character that would reflect trust to preserve that which the culture itself no longer values.
Transforming the culture into one where liberty can flourish does not happen at the ballot box, or in the halls of government. Those are the reflections of a culture and a people. Trying to make a people into a reflection of government is a tyranny.
"It is when a people forget God that tyrants forge their chains. A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience, is incompatible with freedom. No free government, or the blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue; and by a frequent recurrence to fundamental principles."- Patrick Henry
-
With that being stated, do you feel that the "Tea Party" split this past election with some voting for Trump and others voting for Cruz?
No doubt there was a very small percentage who wrote in Cruz but the over whelming majority were people voting against HRC and the continuation/acceleration of Obama's Saul Alinsky.
As @aligncare points out the left has done a real Bang Up job of hijacking the culture and if we expect any change in Govt we'll have to take it back from them.
Our institutions were invaded and the infection seeded before most of us were born.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurt_School
-
No doubt there was a very small percentage who wrote in Cruz but the over whelming majority were people voting against HRC and the continuation/acceleration of Obama's Saul Alinsky.
As @aligncare points out the left has done a real Bang Up job of hijacking the culture and if we expect any change in Govt we'll have to take it back from them.
Our institutions were invaded and the infection seeded before most of us were born.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurt_School
The fundamental problem is that WE did not take it back from them with Trump.
Trump (primary) voters may have thought they were roiling the waters of the swamp, but they were just contributing to it.
As long as we have ignorant voters who don't know that populist liberalism isn't even remotely conservative, WE will never get this country back.
As of May, 2016 when the Republican Party officially removed any vestige of conservatism in their party, I have little hope that we ever will.
-
The fundamental problem is that WE did not take it back from them with Trump.
Trump (primary) voters may have thought they were roiling the waters of the swamp, but they were just contributing to it.
As long as we have ignorant voters who don't know that populist liberalism isn't even remotely conservative, WE will never get this country back.
As of May, 2016 when the Republican Party officially removed any vestige of conservatism in their party, I have little hope that we ever will.
One cannot save or retain a culture via elections. Elections are a reflection of the culture.
A culture that wants virtue, morality and liberty, will select representatives that reflect those values.
A culture that wants government to impose everything from payback to paychecks - selects rulers that will impose those values.
Here we are, being ruled by the latter - because the culture has rejected the foundations that made liberty possible.
-
The fundamental problem is that WE did not take it back from them with Trump.
Trump (primary) voters may have thought they were roiling the waters of the swamp, but they were just contributing to it.
As long as we have ignorant voters who don't know that populist liberalism isn't even remotely conservative, WE will never get this country back.
As of May, 2016 when the Republican Party officially removed any vestige of conservatism in their party, I have little hope that we ever will.
I think you're paying Trump voters a disservice when you describe them as "ignorant". Trump was (is) their vessel for giving DC a double bird. IMO, they held their noses, closed their eyes, and covered their ears while shouting "he's no Hillary!!" after they boarded the Trump Train.
That is not ignorance, that is a conscious decision they made in casting their lot with such an immoral man. They have no choice but to ride it out, much like those evangelical leaders who expected a sea change of morality when Trump became President.
We don't live in a vacuum, so I will continue to praise Trump when he's right, and voice my disagreement when he's in the wrong. I expect him to be a leader this country needs, not a bully given to tweetstorms engaging in personal attacks. The issue of his personal failings has been litigated in the Electoral College, now he must perform the difficult task of demonstrating the attributes that a great leader possesses:
https://blog.taskque.com/characteristics-good-leaders/ (https://blog.taskque.com/characteristics-good-leaders/)
Honesty and Integrity. ...
Confidence
Inspire Others. ...
Commitment and Passion. ...
Good Communicator. ...
Decision-Making Capabilities. ...
Accountability. ...
Delegation and Empowerment. ...
Creativity and Innovation.
Empathy
I'm looking hard at this list, and I give him props for Confidence and Commitment & Passion. The remaining 8 are a Himalaya to climb in my book.
-
I think you're paying Trump voters a disservice when you describe them as "ignorant". Trump was (is) their vessel for giving DC a double bird. IMO, they held their noses, closed their eyes, and covered their ears while shouting "he's no Hillary!!" after they boarded the Trump Train.
That is not ignorance, that is a conscious decision they made in casting their lot with such an immoral man. They have no choice but to ride it out, much like those evangelical leaders who expected a sea change of morality when Trump became President.
We don't live in a vacuum, so I will continue to praise Trump when he's right, and voice my disagreement when he's in the wrong. I expect him to be a leader this country needs, not a bully given to tweetstorms engaging in personal attacks. The issue of his personal failings has been litigated in the Electoral College, now he must perform the difficult task of demonstrating the attributes that a great leader possesses:
https://blog.taskque.com/characteristics-good-leaders/ (https://blog.taskque.com/characteristics-good-leaders/)
Honesty and Integrity. ...
Confidence
Inspire Others. ...
Commitment and Passion. ...
Good Communicator. ...
Decision-Making Capabilities. ...
Accountability. ...
Delegation and Empowerment. ...
Creativity and Innovation.
Empathy
I'm looking hard at this list, and I give him props for Confidence and Commitment & Passion. The remaining 8 are a Himalaya to climb in my book.
The ignorance I was referring to was that of the primary voters screaming that Trump was "THE ANSWER" to the nations ills, and would supposedly move the country to the right when he was nothing more than an immoral liberal populist. Their ignorance was also in thinking that giving Washington a middle finger by angrily nominating a man who was a part of the corrupt system already was somehow going to solve DC's problems.
I don't think that calling them ignorant is doing them a disservice. I think it's actually preferable to be ignorant than to willfully help the country lurch further left by electing a corrupt, immoral man.
JMHO.......
-
One cannot save or retain a culture via elections. Elections are a reflection of the culture.
A culture that wants virtue, morality and liberty, will select representatives that reflect those values.
A culture that wants government to impose everything from payback to paychecks - selects rulers that will impose those values.
Here we are, being ruled by the latter - because the culture has rejected the foundations that made liberty possible.
Agree with every point.
-
Not a snowballs chance in hades that the GOP will retain the House. Heck...I'm not even voting for my own repub representative after his voting for the budget. I'll sit that one out.
-
We don't live in a vacuum, so I will continue to praise Trump when he's right, and voice my disagreement when he's in the wrong. I expect him to be a leader this country needs, not a bully given to tweetstorms engaging in personal attacks. The issue of his personal failings has been litigated in the Electoral College, now he must perform the difficult task of demonstrating the attributes that a great leader possesses:
https://blog.taskque.com/characteristics-good-leaders/ (https://blog.taskque.com/characteristics-good-leaders/)
Honesty and Integrity. ...
Confidence
Inspire Others. ...
Commitment and Passion. ...
Good Communicator. ...
Decision-Making Capabilities. ...
Accountability. ...
Delegation and Empowerment. ...
Creativity and Innovation.
Empathy
I'm looking hard at this list, and I give him props for Confidence and Commitment & Passion. The remaining 8 are a Himalaya to climb in my book.
@Night Hides Not
I agree completely with your assessment of the President against those 10 leadership characteristics. I, too, give him high marks on Confidence and Commitment & Passion, but low marks on the balance. This is surprising to me because I really expected high Creativity and Innovation particularly on deal-making and Good Communications. Instead, it’s become clear to me the President just lacks the attention span and attention-to-detail to effectively engage in political deal-making, and the messages and policy coming out of his Administration are often muddled and contradictory.
I’m particularly surprised and disappointed in this, but at this point, I don’t expect a 70+ year old man to learn and significantly improve these skills. If he could, I’d be slightly more optimistic about the mid-terms, but his poor leadership skills, stupid tweets, and petty squabbles simply give fodder and motivation to “The Resistanceâ€. I’m afraid the US House of Representatives is likely going blue in November.
-
No big deal. Blacks were never anything but a fashion accessory for those people,anyhow. They just needed them to "prove" how "evolved" they are,but that was 20 + years ago. Now they have moved on to homosexual rights,transgender rights,brown power,etc,etc,etc.
-
I think you're paying Trump voters a disservice when you describe them as "ignorant". Trump was (is) their vessel for giving DC a double bird. IMO, they held their noses, closed their eyes, and covered their ears while shouting "he's no Hillary!!" after they boarded the Trump Train.
That is not ignorance, that is a conscious decision they made in casting their lot with such an immoral man. They have no choice but to ride it out, much like those evangelical leaders who expected a sea change of morality when Trump became President.
We don't live in a vacuum, so I will continue to praise Trump when he's right, and voice my disagreement when he's in the wrong. I expect him to be a leader this country needs, not a bully given to tweetstorms engaging in personal attacks. The issue of his personal failings has been litigated in the Electoral College, now he must perform the difficult task of demonstrating the attributes that a great leader possesses:
https://blog.taskque.com/characteristics-good-leaders/ (https://blog.taskque.com/characteristics-good-leaders/)
Honesty and Integrity. ...
Confidence
Inspire Others. ...
Commitment and Passion. ...
Good Communicator. ...
Decision-Making Capabilities. ...
Accountability. ...
Delegation and Empowerment. ...
Creativity and Innovation.
Empathy
I'm looking hard at this list, and I give him props for Confidence and Commitment & Passion. The remaining 8 are a Himalaya to climb in my book.
No, I don't think so. They made a choice in the Primary to vote for the immoral one.
-
Tax cut... for some, maybe. Yet to be seen.
Defense increases... Can we really afford them? How about reducing our "defense" spending by stopping subsidizing a vast amount of global military spending (and saving lots of American lives in the process)?
Serious steps towards better securing the border... Promising "news" about using the military to secure the border recently. Hope it's true, but unfortunately there's no reason to believe anything Trump says.
Progress with North Korea... Will Madelline Halfbright be there for the toast?
Possible progress in the middle east... Possible, or progress?
@InHeavenThereIsNoBeer
Depends on your POV. If you are a RINO that thinks the Bush Crime Family were just peachy-keen,you think they have done nothing.
If your POV is based on promoting actual conservative programs,you are as giddy as a school girl.
-
@InHeavenThereIsNoBeer
Depends on your POV. If you are a RINO that thinks the Bush Crime Family were just peachy-keen,you think they have done nothing.
If your POV is based on promoting actual conservative programs,you are as giddy as a school girl.
No, POV doesn't mean jack.
The list of "accomplishments" I responded to were almost all either false, or simply promises (and we know what a Trump promise is worth).
As an actual Conservative, I'm pleasantly surprised Trump hasn't swung far left as I expected. But he's basically Bush III (or IV, if you count 0 as III). None of the Bushes made me giddy, not even this one.
-
No, POV doesn't mean jack.
@InHeavenThereIsNoBeer
It means EVERYTHING,bubba. Your own "she doesn't sweat much for a fat girl" POV illustrates your prejudices. No matter WHAT Trump accomplishes,it will never be good enough to suit you.
Please tell us who YOUR choice was.
-
No, I don't think so. They made a choice in the Primary to vote for the immoral one.
:amen: They made a conscious decision in the primary to not only vote for the immoral one, but disregarded his liberalism and failed to support the true conservative. They not only tossed morality aside but they tossed conservatism aside. Cruz was correct; "those who bolstered Trump WILL bear that responsibility going forward"!
-
:amen: They made a conscious decision in the primary to not only vote for the immoral one,
@libertybele
"immoral one"????? We elected presidents in this country,not nannies and not religious zealots. Keep your superstitions in your family. We are a free nation,not a cult.
but disregarded his liberalism and failed to support the true conservative.
Name the "true conservative". Go ahead, I dare you.
They not only tossed morality aside but they tossed conservatism aside.
Proof you are a loon. Conservatism has nothing to do with religious cults. In FACT,members of religious cults are the LEAST conservative people in the nation. That is always true of slaves.
Cruz was correct; "those who bolstered Trump WILL bear that responsibility going forward"!
Message to Ted Cruz,ESAD. He and Bubbette! should get together and have a pity party.
-
@libertybele
"immoral one"????? We elected presidents in this country,not nannies and not religious zealots. Keep your superstitions in your family. We are a free nation,not a cult.
Name the "true conservative". Go ahead, I dare you.
Proof you are a loon. Conservatism has nothing to do with religious cults. In FACT,members of religious cults are the LEAST conservative people in the nation. That is always true of slaves.
Message to Ted Cruz,ESAD. He and Bubbette! should get together and have a pity party.
:word:
Now, for those still howling about Govt ignoring Their religious compass, . . .
After Site Seizure Feds Accuse Backpage of Facilitating Prostitution
http://freebeacon.com/issues/site-seizure-feds-accuse-backpage-founders-facilitating-prostitution/ (http://freebeacon.com/issues/site-seizure-feds-accuse-backpage-founders-facilitating-prostitution/)
And 2 essential reads on how the world Really works
The Prince/Machiavelli
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1232 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1232)
The Art of War/Sun Tzu
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/132 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/132)
-
As for this rescuing the PO-ed 'I USED to vote Republican but Never Again!' off and away into a True Conservative 3rd Party stuff:
Tea Party
Constitution Party
Libertarian Party
Bull Moose Party
Anti Federalists (they were called a faction in their day because they opposed the centralization of power in a Federal Govt)
Where are they today?
How much actual effect have they had?
Any 3rd Party that makes a real showing, IF it happens and it won't, opens the door to a 4th and 5th Party.
Democratic Socialists
CPUSA
Then we get Govt by coalitions of these multiple Parties.
And Votes of No Confidence in the Executive, like Europe.
-
As for this rescuing the PO-ed 'I USED to vote Republican but Never Again!' off and away into a True Conservative 3rd Party stuff:
Tea Party
Constitution Party
Libertarian Party
Bull Moose Party
Anti Federalists (they were called a faction in their day because they opposed the centralization of power in a Federal Govt)
Where are they today?
How much actual effect have they had?
Any 3rd Party that makes a real showing, IF it happens and it won't, opens the door to a 4th and 5th Party.
Democratic Socialists
CPUSA
Then we get Govt by coalitions of these multiple Parties.
And Votes of No Confidence in the Executive, like Europe.
Great points. Who wants to be Europe? The two party system is awful, except for all the others.
I think Trump represents a natural evolution when a party calcifies. Shake up the comfortable in government, or the fat and happy as I call them, but restore the system to its foundation, with two parties that reflect their base in a responsive and honest, open contest of ideas and solutions for expanding liberty and opportunity.
We interrupt tonight’s episode of Fantasy Island to bring you this commercial message...
-
As for this rescuing the PO-ed 'I USED to vote Republican but Never Again!' off and away into a True Conservative 3rd Party stuff:
Tea Party
Constitution Party
Libertarian Party
Bull Moose Party
Anti Federalists (they were called a faction in their day because they opposed the centralization of power in a Federal Govt)
Where are they today?
How much actual effect have they had?
Gotta start somewhere. A thoroughly corrupted Statist party that told Christian Conservatives to sit down, shut up and get lost while making a lifelong NYC Liberal Democrat it's standard-bearer of Conservatism - is not a party redeemable to carry the principles of liberty we are beholden IMO.
The Republican Party might as well be the Democrat Party AFAIC. They certainly act and govern similarly, just not as aggressively. I no longer trust them with being an opposition party to the Statist Left. They have demonstrated that they are simply another party of the Collectivists that they think they can manage Statism better.
I'm done messing around with Lucy and the football or the Boy who cried "Help me stop the Democrats!"
I'm putting my energies elsewhere.
-
What are you talking about? Christians stood up for Trump.
-
@libertybele
"immoral one"????? We elected presidents in this country,not nannies and not religious zealots. Keep your superstitions in your family. We are a free nation,not a cult.
Name the "true conservative". Go ahead, I dare you.
Proof you are a loon. Conservatism has nothing to do with religious cults. In FACT,members of religious cults are the LEAST conservative people in the nation. That is always true of slaves.
Message to Ted Cruz,ESAD. He and Bubbette! should get together and have a pity party.
The true conservative is Cruz. He and Bubbette a pity party? Really? Cruz is the one who helped get Trump elected. Where have you been?
I never stated that Conservatism with a religious cult. Go back and read my post. Then when you actually have a legitimate rebuttal, I'll consider discussing this further. Next.
-
What are you talking about? Christians stood up for Trump.
Yeah? So?
Lots of "Christians" today stand up for homosexual marriage in the church and are a-okay with abortion too.
Is that supposed to get me to abandon my views of morality and go with the flow just because they say vote for someone I considered reprehensible?
Notwithstanding the fact that a huge number of Republicans have opined publicly that they wish SOCONS would get lost because their "myopic views of morality" are a drag on their party and they are sick and tired of us.
So fine. We had both the leadership and a good chunk of the GOP membership tell Christian Conservatives to shut up and either vote the way they demand - or get lost.
-
Gotta start somewhere. A thoroughly corrupted Statist party that told Christian Conservatives to sit down, shut up and get lost while making a lifelong NYC Liberal Democrat it's standard-bearer of Conservatism - is not a party redeemable to carry the principles of liberty we are beholden IMO.
@INVAR
HorseHillary! You HAVE NO PRINCIPLES OF LIBERTY because you want religious doctrine to be law.
Organized religion is slavery by another name.
And quit demonizing collectivism or people will begin to question your commitment to Christianity.
-
The true conservative is Cruz. He and Bubbette a pity party? Really? Cruz is the one who helped get Trump elected. Where have you been?
@libertybele
Living sober. You should give it a try.
I never stated that Conservatism with a religious cult.
Of course not. You just state that is what you want it to be. You are just always complaining because there are too many people who refuse to walk in lock-step with you and become members of your Borg.
-
I’m afraid the US House of Representatives is likely going blue in November.
:shrug: It's already blue...
-
They made a conscious decision in the primary to not only vote for the immoral one, but disregarded his liberalism and failed to support the true conservative. They not only tossed morality aside but they tossed conservatism aside. Cruz was correct; "those who bolstered Trump WILL bear that responsibility going forward"!
That's right.
-
What are you talking about? Christians stood up for Trump.
No, not by half, or he'd have had a landslide.
-
"immoral one"????? We elected presidents in this country,not nannies and not religious zealots. Keep your superstitions in your family. We are a free nation,not a cult.
@sneakypete
Has less to do with religion than with trust.
An immoral man cannot be trusted and will be, predictably, indefensible.
-
No, not by half, or he'd have had a landslide.
My Kansas county is loaded with churches. It went by 17.5 points in 2012 for Romney. In 2016, Trump won it by 2.4 points.
-
My Kansas county is loaded with churches. It went by 17.5 points in 2012 for Romney. In 2016, Trump won it by 2.4 points.
Doesn't surprise me - I know a ton of Christians regionally and locally, mostly pretty hard core Christians (orthodoxy wise) and I don't know anyone who admits to voting for him. Not a one.
-
@INVAR
HorseHillary! You HAVE NO PRINCIPLES OF LIBERTY because you want religious doctrine to be law.
Come on Pete, you're better than that and we've already had discussions where we agreed that our laws were based on moral biblical principles that undergirded liberty as intended for us. This includes murder, theft, lying, adultery and coveting what yer neighbor's got that 'aint yours.
The problem we agreed upon together is when 'religious doctrine' (i.e.; denominational positions) is attempted to be administered as law (i.e.: Prohibition). I no more will tolerate a theocracy than you will. I'm self-governed by a set of beliefs and principles that I don't want government meddling with. Besides, the most likely candidate for a theocracy in this country is going to be Islam.
Organized religion is slavery by another name.
Correct. And, I prefer to be a slave to Christ and my biblical understanding than a slave to any man or institution of men.
And quit demonizing collectivism or people will begin to question your commitment to Christianity.
This is also true - because "Christians' have been indoctrinated to hold to the Red Letter Doctrine preached in recent years that Jesus was a Socialist - and that to be a good Christian means you have to be a government-empowering Collectivist.
-
I know a lot of Christians, besides my Family, and they are still Trump but many I know, besides the aforementioned Family, voted for obummer. It taints my Belief beyond recognition.
-
Come on Pete, you're better than that and we've already had discussions where we agreed that our laws were based on moral biblical principles that undergirded liberty as intended for us
.
@INVAR
What's this "we" stuff? I never agreed to that. I DO agree that most (all?) religions have moral stands based on common sense,but if anything "the Bible" stole/borrowed those ideas from previous civilizations.
The problem we agreed upon together is when 'religious doctrine' (i.e.; denominational positions) is attempted to be administered as law (i.e.: Prohibition).
That IS the only area I have a problem with MOST religious doctrine. I can't broaden that claim anymore because I am not familiar with every religious doctrine on earth,past,present,and future. IMHO,if you want to live your life a certain way and no one is purposely harming children or animals as a part of the doctrine,it's no business of mine and I have to place approving of disapproving of anything you do. Your business,not mine.
I no more will tolerate a theocracy than you will. I'm self-governed by a set of beliefs and principles that I don't want government meddling with. Besides, the most likely candidate for a theocracy in this country is going to be Islam.
Complete agreement,there. It is a simple fact of life that ALL organizations will take as much power as they can grab,and then abuse it. That is because organizations are controlled by humans,and human nature never really changes.
And, I prefer to be a slave to Christ and my biblical understanding than a slave to any man or institution of men.
You are an adult capable of making up your own mind,so it's none of my business what you believe. Nor is it my place to approve or disapprove of it. Live and let live.
This is also true - because "Christians' have been indoctrinated to hold to the Red Letter Doctrine preached in recent years that Jesus was a Socialist - and that to be a good Christian means you have to be a government-empowering Collectivist.
That's pretty much the message of the New Testament,but since I am not a follower,I am in no position to argue the rightness or wrongness of it with a true believer.
-
Yeah? So?
Lots of "Christians" today stand up for homosexual marriage in the church and are a-okay with abortion too.
Is that supposed to get me to abandon my views of morality and go with the flow just because they say vote for someone I considered reprehensible?
Notwithstanding the fact that a huge number of Republicans have opined publicly that they wish SOCONS would get lost because their "myopic views of morality" are a drag on their party and they are sick and tired of us.
So fine. We had both the leadership and a good chunk of the GOP membership tell Christian Conservatives to shut up and either vote the way they demand - or get lost.
We agree on a lot of things, especially how the Pubs have lied to and cheated their supporters, including me. However you will not find Christians supporting homosexual marriage and abortion. You may find people who claim the title, but obviously the Holy Spirit is not within them if they support those things. As paganism has grown a lot of churches that used to be Christian have been infected and succumbed to this evil.
One of the reasons you see such a strong support for Pres. Trump among Evangelical Christians (the Born Again) is precisely because of the Pub party always failing us. It's obvious the Pres. Trump is flawed in a lot of ways, but he does fight for us. Whereas, the Pub party could careless.
-
What's this "we" stuff? I never agreed to that.
Well... you did. That the founders were governed by a set of moral principles found in the bible that influenced the kind of liberty they sought to preserve for us - was not an issue we had in contention.
I DO agree that most (all?) religions have moral stands based on common sense,
If that was the case, America would have come into existence in another culture long before White Men ever set foot on these shores. Hinduism, Islam, on back to the Egyptians had no religions that respected individual liberty and rights to life, liberty and pursuits of happiness. We are an anomaly in the entirety of mankind's written history that our government was based upon a foundation built on biblical principles of morality, and not under the castes of serf and noble.
That IS the only area I have a problem with MOST religious doctrine. I can't broaden that claim anymore because I am not familiar with every religious doctrine on earth,past,present,and future. IMHO,if you want to live your life a certain way and no one is purposely harming children or animals as a part of the doctrine,it's no business of mine and I have to place approving of disapproving of anything you do. Your business,not mine.
Self-governed means being guided by a set of moral principles that everyone agrees to in a way that enables a society to respects life, liberty and the property and pursuits of happiness without the leave of government or monarch to micromanage. Most religions on the planet would not permit such a covenant due their own castes and abuse encoded in their doctrines of lesser peoples. The Biblical/Judeo/Christian ethic is the reason our liberty is and was unique in all human history.
Complete agreement,there. It is a simple fact of life that ALL organizations will take as much power as they can grab,and then abuse it. That is because organizations are controlled by humans,and human nature never really changes.
Somehow that fact is willfully forgotten in this day and age of making men and political leaders into popes and saviors. I firmly believe in the adage that if a people are not self-governed by the biblical principles that established us (meaning all the stuff you and I would agree is morally reprehensible and wrong), then we will be ruled by the tyranny of men. As Benji Franklin rightly noted: "As nations become more corrupt and vicious, they will have more need of masters".
You are an adult capable of making up your own mind,so it's none of my business what you believe. Nor is it my place to approve or disapprove of it. Live and let live.
Except that people need a Safe Space from hearing anything that is contrary to their Social Justice worldview.
That's pretty much the message of the New Testament,but since I am not a follower,I am in no position to argue the rightness or wrongness of it with a true believer.
Actually, that is NOT the message in the New Testament letters. That is simply a Leftist perversion of the Sermon on the Mount. Nowhere in scripture does Jesus tell His followers to empower government to serve others on their behalf. Doing so robs the Believer of their own personal responsibility to do charity and serve where he is led or compelled to serve out of a willing heart.
Not only that - but Jesus expounded on the fact that Union fairness is not the way God thinks if one considers the Parable of the laborers in the Harvest. Jesus talks about paying workers the same exact wage, regardless of the hour He commissioned them to work. His words to those who were outraged that the owner of the vineyard would pay the same wage to someone hired at dawn as someone whom he hired and only worked for an hour - "You agreed to work for me at the price I offered did you not? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? So the last will be first, and the first will be last.†Matthew 20:14-16
That pretty much kills the idea of what modern society says is fairness.
-
Actually, that is NOT the message in the New Testament letters. That is simply a Leftist perversion of the Sermon on the Mount. Nowhere in scripture does Jesus tell His followers to empower government to serve others on their behalf.
TRUE.
-
One of the reasons you see such a strong support for Pres. Trump among Evangelical Christians (the Born Again) is precisely because of the Pub party always failing us. It's obvious the Pres. Trump is flawed in a lot of ways, but he does fight for us. Whereas, the Pub party could careless.
I think the excuses Evangelicals make for Trump's own character flaws, sins and problems being trumpeted - is hypocrisy of the highest order, when they were outraged when similar things were done under the Clinton and Obama regimes. They give Trump a full pass for because of the 'he fights for us' meme and then go on to insist that God anointed Trump to the office.
Nope.
-
Well... you did. That the founders were governed by a set of moral principles found in the bible that influenced the kind of liberty they sought to preserve for us - was not an issue we had in contention.
@INVAR
Maybe the disagreement lies in my interpretation of "found in the bible" is different than yours? To ME,it IMPLIES it ORIGINATED in the bible. What does it mean to you?
If that was the case, America would have come into existence in another culture long before White Men ever set foot on these shores.
It did. White men didn't invent the continent,and AFAIK white men weren't the first men to live here.
Hinduism, Islam, on back to the Egyptians had no religions that respected individual liberty and rights to life, liberty and pursuits of happiness. We are an anomaly in the entirety of mankind's written history that our government was based upon a foundation built on biblical principles of morality, and not under the castes of serf and noble.
A SERIOUS stretch of historical events. White men mostly came from Europe. Are you claiming Europe was a model of morality and equality?
Are you totally unfamiliar with the Catholic Church,the Old Testament,and European History?
Self-governed means being guided by a set of moral principles that everyone agrees to in a way that enables a society to respects life, liberty and the property and pursuits of happiness without the leave of government or monarch to micromanage.
Organized religion is very much a government.A harsh one.
Most religions on the planet would not permit such a covenant due their own castes and abuse encoded in their doctrines of lesser peoples. The Biblical/Judeo/Christian ethic is the reason our liberty is and was unique in all human history.
I am sure you believe that to be true because it is what you have been taught since you were a child,but it's not.
Somehow that fact is willfully forgotten in this day and age of making men and political leaders into popes and saviors.
The typical scumbag politician of today is too moral to be a Pope.
I firmly believe in the adage that if a people are not self-governed by the biblical principles that established us (meaning all the stuff you and I would agree is morally reprehensible and wrong), then we will be ruled by the tyranny of men. As Benji Franklin rightly noted: "As nations become more corrupt and vicious, they will have more need of masters".
Once again,those principles were not given birth by the Bible.
BUT.....,continue to feel free to believe anything you want to believe. Just don't demand that laws be enacted that force me and others to live according to your religious beliefs or face punishment.