Republicans

Posted on Conservatives, Democrats, Liberals, Republicans

wanted: republican rock stars?

the republicans have an image problem. they are perceived as intolerant and shockingly enough, even uncool. we are trying to achieve coolness by hanging around the popular kids (loosely applied term) Giuliani and Governor Arnold. as we all know from our high school days, this hardly ever works. this is almost as ridiculous (but not quite) as Snoop Dogg and Iacocca playing golf together in that Chrysler commercial. should we as republicans reach out to everybody? to a certain extent, yes. but when a party ends up losing their core values by following the crowd, its soul is lost.

i think that republicans (with very few exceptions) care too much about public opinion to stand up for what they believe, especially those running for office. at least the democrats with their wild-eyed maniacal screamer-in-chief howard dean, say what they think and don’t apologize for it. if something is worth fighting for, fight for it. why are we as republicans ashamed of who we are and what we believe? our values are shared by quite a few people in this country. who cares if the Hollywood left or the mainstream media agree with us? why should Barbra Streisand be taken seriously on politics when she knows next to nothing about it? (more on this in a future post)

so to the republican leadership, i suggest this: quit trying to be cool. this isn’t high school. it’s a battle for the hearts and minds of the american electorate. we will win not because of our friendship with rock stars or Hollywood glitterati but because we have ideas that work for the people of this country. we might not end up at the prom with a cheerleader or a football player, but we will still be better off in the long run.

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Posted on Conservatives, Democracy

p.j. o’rourke’s take on the role of government

this linked article is long but it’s a message rarely heard by today’s politicians, whether liberal or conservative. i’ll post a couple quotes from it here, but the whole thing is totally worth reading. here’s the first of two —

“By observing the progress of mankind, we can see that the things that are good for everyone are the things that have increased the accountability of the individual, the respect for the individual and the power of the individual to master his own fate. Judaism gave us laws before which all men, no matter their rank, stood as equals. Christianity taught us that each person has intrinsic worth, Newt Gingrich and Pat Schroeder included. The rise of private enterprise and trade provided a means of achieving wealth and autonomy other than by killing people with broadswords. And the industrial revolution allowed millions of ordinary folks an opportunity to obtain decent houses, food and clothes (albeit with some unfortunate side effects, such as environmental da mage and Albert Gore).”

in America, you succeed or fail by your own hand. if we all came to grips with that concept, we wouldn’t require the government to take care of us. and by the way, it is OUR money that the government takes to finance all these bloated, ineffective social programs. if we truly realized this, we would junk this idealistic bent for the government to provide everything for everybody.

More P.J. —

“Government is an abstract entity. It doesn’t produce anything. It isn’t a business, a factory or a farm. Government can’t create wealth; only individuals can. All government is able to do is move wealth around. In the name of fairness government can take wealth from those who produce it and give wealth to those who don’t. But who’s going to be the big Robin Hood? Who grabs all this stuff and hands it back out? (Remember: even in a freely elected system of government, sooner or later that person is going to be someone you loathe. If you’re a Republican, think about Donna Shalala; if you’re a Democrat, think about Ollie North.)”

capitalism is not a zero-sum game. in the free market, everybody benefits. everybody gets a slice of the pie. the producers of the wealth always end up with more than those who sit on their couch and play xbox all day. the government cannot fix this. that’s just the way it is…and exactly how it should be.

read this brilliant explanation of conservatism for yourself.