Comments on: Is Conservatism Dead? No – Its Resting

By: sinz54

sinz54 — Tue, 12 May 2009 12:21:10 +0000

dragonlady sez: "Chekote and Sinz54, please continue to be open-minded to Palin's candidacy."

I am open-minded. Candidates can recover from electoral defeat--Nixon, for example.

But Sarah Palin *must* show that she can stand on her own feet with national and international issues. (Not just read a prepared text.) What would she do about Iran? What would she do about Afghanistan-Pakistan? How would she reform the global financial system? What form of health care reform does she favor? Is she against cap-and-trade?

I'm not going to support her just because she's a "regular person," or because she can shoot a gun, or because she's against abortion. America is still a nation at WAR, there are still lots more issues to deal with than those hot-button issues.

BTW: I don't think Harry Truman was qualified either. But putting him on the ticket kept Henry Wallace, with his KGB agents of influence (such as Harry Dexter White), out of the White House. We were lucky. We almost got the Manchurian Candidate Presidency.

By: sinz54

sinz54 — Tue, 12 May 2009 12:13:24 +0000

Larryo: As usual, you don't know what you're talking about.

The growth in inflation-adjusted GDP over the last 100 years is proof that the pie was never fixed.

The fantastic growth experienced by South Korea (just compare against North Korea), Japan, Singapore, China and India (as soon as each of those nations stopped listening to lefties like you and adopted free markets) is real proof that the pie isn't fixed.

The only places the pie is fixed are command economies.

By: Cforchange

Cforchange — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 11:38:25 +0000

The lingering fanaticism surrounding Sarah Palin is bothersome.
Sure I had a favorite candidate who with his clear 12 point plan for our county and incredible presentation skills couldn’t even get near the ticket. This candidate had a lifetime of proven skill of successfully prosecuting some of the worst and then mastered the management Gotham where the size of the Mayor’s office staff probably exceeded the entire population of Wasilla.
Sure I was disappointed that our party couldn’t see that the electorate was looking for someone who could communicate expertly and provide clear direction. But I am over it like you all should be with Sarah. To recycle someone who isn’t even remotely close to the caliber of a candidate such as Rudy is absurd and would cater primarily to a noisy rigid segment of the party.

By: dragonlady

dragonlady — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 03:42:16 +0000

Chekote, I agree that cultural wars are better adapted to institutions like media and education. Generally, I think these issues belong to the states. But some of them can’t be punted like that. It is untenable for one state to recognize marriage for one couple and for another state to deem that couple as illegitimate, or withhold benefits from them. Also, how do you propose we fight values from the Left that are continually hoisted on us by judicial activists? You can be pro-choice, but see Roe v Wade was an activist decision. Ditto for redefining trad’l marriage, an institution that’s been around longer than democracy itself. Sometimes legislatures are the only way to fight back. Again, I think we should go the “hearts and minds” route but how agnositic do we want gov’t to be on these issues?

By: larryo

larryo — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 01:55:48 +0000

“Here we go again with the same old, stale thinking that it is a fix pie and the success of some can only come at the expense of others.” Chekote, as long as a private syndicate of bankers has its foot on our monetary airhose – that is, as long as it has an exclusive license to print our money, which it does and then, in effect, loans it to us at interest, the size of the pie is not only fixed but it is then manipulated for the benefit of the syndicate of bankers. Has that not yet become clear to you? I am astonished. Read “The Creature from Jekyll Island.” Read “Secrets of the Temple.”

By: Chekote

Chekote — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 00:32:56 +0000

dragonlady. I agree that the cultural wars will continue. However, I think it would be more effective to fight those battles in academia, entertainment as opposed to trying to use government to impose a certain set of values. This approach does not work for conservative. At the core of liberalism is a belief that government knows best. At the core of conservatism is that the individual knows best. That is why social issues strike a discordant note. We cannot say that we want government out of our lives and at the same time try to use government to impose a certain set of values. It undercuts our argument for limited government. I can join you in defending the attacks on traditional values by the Left but I can’t join you in legislating morality as many in the SoCon movement want to do.

By: Chekote

Chekote — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 00:19:21 +0000

Dragonlady, I am looking forward to Palin’s speech at CPAC. This is the first time that she will be speaking on her own to the party as a whole instead of her constituents. I also want to see her on a Sunday talk show. Both Chris Wallace and Bob Schiefer are very fair. I will reserve my final judgement until then. She has charisma and star power but not much substance. I also want to see how she handles social issues.

By: Jonah

Jonah — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 17:01:53 +0000

Coleman, my phrase “prejudice against incompetence and ineffectiveness” is ironic, in the vein of the sarcasm in Frum’s article. Of course Palin wasn’t up to the task –no pedigree or Ivy degree would have saved her from herself. Reagan went to Eureka College, but he had more than superficial charisma.

Chekote, if you’re equating hopes for Obama’s failure with Dems’ cheering for failure in Iraq, isn’t it hypocritical to defend the former and condemn the latter? (Or will you tell me, “But they’re hypocritical, so why can’t I be?”) I should think you’d hate to be right, or love to be wrong, if what you’re predicting is disaster. Even if your adversaries stoop, why lower the bar?

By: jummy

jummy — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 16:05:55 +0000

another example of palinite zeal: “Our job, as supporters of Sarah, is to stand behind her and encourage her to be the best she can be and to defend her to the death against those who throw up roadblocks or are obsessed with thwarting Sarah from fulfilling what we perceive as her eventual destiny.” – technopeasant on February 7, 2009 at 12:34 PM

By: realconservativ

realconservativ — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 16:03:26 +0000

Dragonlady – You don’t understand. Without an Ivy League education and being well connected with Beltway intellectuals like Frum, there is no way a peasant like Sarah Palin could ever amount to anything. Just because millions of conservatives like her? What do they know? Have they graduated form an Ivy League school, Northwestern or Stanford? Exactly!