I am thoroughly convinced that the vast majority of people in this country do NOT wish to fund welfare taxcredit checks to the 40% of potential taxpayers who pay no income tax. Call it what you want, but that’s NOT “the American way.”

Wright was his pastor for 20 years, but he wasn’t the out-of-control crank he is now, at this level, for 20 years. I think Obama will be the first to admit he immersed himself in the left and associated with left-wingers, in part because as a black Democrat he felt pressure not to validate conservative or even moderate thought. I believe he writes about this with some level of self-awareness in one of his books. Hopefully he’s beyond that.

Wait a minute, the 20-year “pastor” in question became “ex” only after the guy’s lunacy became public knowledge and therefore, it became politically expedient to throw him under the bus. How sad.

Secondly, it’s not “some guy”….it’s multiple “bad actors.” Association with one unscrupulous character might be judged unintentional, coincidental, or unfortunate but forgiveable. However, this guy you elected to be our next President wouldn’t even be granted a security clearance based upon his multiple prior associations.

Either not important to a lot of folks, or there are just too many uninformed and unconscious voters (like those who approved of Obama when led to believe that he opposed abortion, wanted to “finish the job in Iraq” and approved of Sarah Palin as Obama’s running mate). How sad is that?

But I guess I would suggest that since they feel so strongly, they should split from the party that exploits them (and colludes against them, and markets to their fears) and create some third-party. As it is they’re supporting a party that really stands at core for trickle-down economics and unchecked global commerce. (You can make the bailout bigger - if you approve free trade with Colombia!). Let’s untangle the issues. Let’s not vote against “flag burning” and “gay marriage” so that some rich guys can reduce wages in America and increase offshore investment and outsourcing. Vote for what you want, within the framework of the Constitution, but I’m sick of seeing people get exploited by the elitists who run this country, and sell out what it is and could be. Their agenda has nothing to do with abortion.

I think we would have known. But it would have been understood in perspective. Do you want to be judged on what an ex-pastor says and what some guy you knew professionally did or goes on to do?

“The heartbeat of America is NOT leftist in nature.” Hey I agree. The country leans further to the right than it used to. The GOP only lost the reigns of power because everything they/Bush touched for 8 years turned to dust.

Let me address one issue at a time…abortion. I come from a very large family which includes many members who are either Evangelicals or conservative Catholics. Their oppostion to abortion is faith-based, deep, and ardent. Let them be criticized for their beliefs by atheists or rationalists if you will, but it is a part of their makeup that simply will not change. For many of them, any retreat on this issue is tantamount to committing a personal “mortal sin.” It is beyond politics. It is their “faith”; and, in the end, their “faith” trumps earthly concerns every time, even their economic well-being.

As a family historian I have talked to many of those in the so-called “Greatest Generation.” They told me almost to a person that their “faith”, Catholic or Protestant, is what brought them through both the Great Depression and World War II. They passed that “faith” on to the next generation; and the succeeding generations in many cases have respected it and remained attracted to many of the tenets, including an opposition to abortion. Abortion in and of itself is bad enough to them. Partial birth abortion absolutely horrifies them. Most consider it inhuman and outright murder. This is especially so for those in the South, the Midwest, and the Plains states, which is where most of my extended family lives.

So, if all parties downplay abortion as an issue, where will these people go? I have a feeling that many of them may just drop out all together. They may be so turned off by finding themselves in a position of supporting politicians who do not recognize the depth of their “faith” that they simply opt to shun the system, retreating even more into — how should I put it — a religious focus on what they strongly believe to be the “kingdom” which comes after this one, i.e. Will I personally pass muster with God when the time comes ?(That’s kind of crudely stated but it’s a bit difficult to express this thought.) I recently found some who are already so turned off by the current parties with regard to moral issues that they gave up trying to decide and simply did not vote. They never considered Obama, but they also had a strong suspicion with regard to the true moral nature of McCain — even though they did see him as a genuine war hero. Palin’s religious background brought some of them back but not nearly far enough.

It might be interesting to try an rearrange or modify the issues in the way you have suggested, but I fear it could result in leaving out there a considerable segment of the population which is thoroughly alienated from the overall body politic. While that segment was apparently not large enough to overcome the level of support received by Obama, it was an important part of the Republican base nevertheless. It seems to me that, if the Republican Party was seen to be divorcing itself from that base, it would rapidly become a much smaller entity with even less of a chance to win at almost any level.

I think what you may have here is a puzzle inside a dilemma. “Faith” is a mighty hard thing to ignore, even in this modern age. Beats me what you would do with these people if you decided to dismiss their moral concerns.

Oh, I think you are sooooooooooo wrong on that one. Call it “fear mongering” if you wish, but the Hannity and Limbaugh types are the only (and good) alternative.

How can you justify ANYONE’s association with the radical left relationships/associates/friends/cohorts or whatever you wish to call them of the “President elect”? If it hadn’t been for the Limbaugh/Hannity types, no one would have even known.

The heartbeat of America is NOT leftist in nature.

There needs to be a collective awareness on Americans’ part that the issues that are used to get them to pull the lever are false issues. Then and only then things will get better. Either by a new political party coming to prominance, or by one or both of the existing ones becoming more real.

Partial-birth abortion is not something to fight about at length. It hardly ever happens.

The idea that GOP leaders REALLY want to make abortion illegal, or legal on a state-by-state basis, is not real. In fact they have done no planning or studies on what such an America would be like. Because they have no real intention of really making that happen.

Obama’s ideas on progressive taxation are not “socialism”.

Joe the Plumber doesn’t really benefit from the portion of Bush’s tax cuts aimed at the wealthiest Americans.

Obama cannot really help average citizens who have financially overextended themselves, nor offer any lasting help to those who can’t find employment. Migration and training are needed.

We can’t find Osama bin Laden without sacrificing many American lives, for the sake of finding a toothles old man.

Gay marriage won’t make life much better for gay people, nor any worse for straight people.

etc. etc.

The hope for betterment is awareness on citizens’ parts … the Republican ones, to me, are ever more rabid about pulling the lever every 2-4 years because “They want gays to marry” or “They want to burn flags” or “They want to take the word ‘god’ out of the pledge of allegiance” or “They are killing babies and Bush/McCain want to make it stop” or “The troops need a strong leader and Bush is that, because no one’s run as many negative ads on my TV about him and swift boats”.

Give the Democrats credit for this - they demand that their represtatives be actually somewhat liberal. They are willing to not vote for them if they are not satisfied with them. In 2000 the fact that 5% or so of them voted Nader in a close election spelled the difference and gave the GOP the White House for 8 years. Republicans don’t do that - they pull the lever every time and swallow the sandwhich. Hence their party has lost its “conservative” rudder while the Democratic party has probably moved to the left in the past 8 years.

I think that’s inarguable. The fear-mongering and rabid anti-liberal rhetoric of people like Limbaugh and Hannity has had the counter-intuitive effect of moving America to the left.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/1111081obama1.html

You seem to be trapped in a world of nihilism. Instead of making snide comments about the thoughts and opinions of others, why don’t you buck up your courage and put some positive and possibly helpful comments on display so the rest of us can suck up your infinite wisdom. I would assume that you must have some philosophy of your own hidden in there somewhere — beyond your simplistic blog handle.

http://www.drudgereport.com/flashbol.htm

“Bush indicated at the meeting that he might support some aid and a broader economic stimulus package if Obama and congressional Democrats dropped their opposition to a free-trade agreement with Colombia,”

What would he know about it? I have a generally positive impression of Steele, but he’s hardly going to be key to getting minority voters. No more than singular token Repiblicans like JC Watts did in past eras.

There is a Repiblican strategy for splitting the minority vote, it’s called pandering to Latinos. It seems to be failing through because the Democrats do it with less inhibition.

Police were called to a Haymarket neighborhood Sunday after a man started shooting his gun in the air.

The gun was fired just after 7 a.m. in the 17000 block of Loftridge Lane, while a group of men and women were arguing in the street, Prince William County police spokeswoman Erika Hernandez said.
No one was injured in the incident but four people were arrested.

Axel Haroldo Reyes, 30, of 17068 Loftridge Lane, is charged with fighting with police after they arrived on the scene, Hernandez said. He was charged with reckless handling of a firearm, destruction of property, swearing in public, obstruction of justice, resisting arrest and three counts of assault of law enforcement officers. He was held without bond.

Carlos Lira Millones, 27, and Oscar Martin Sanchez, both of 518 Casino Circle in Silver Spring, Md., were charged with public intoxication.

Cintya Maritte Castro, 25, of 11500 Lucrest Terrace in Germantown, Md., was charged with disorderly in public. She was held on a $1,500 bond.

All four have a scheduled court date of Jan. 20.

Just re-read your post with the intro about Ralph Waldo “Petey” Greene. In my opinion, you hit a whole lot of nails right on the head, and your recommendations sound like an excellent formula for our future political battles. While those who are upset by the results of 4 November should be given a certain amount of time to vent their frustrations, I agree with you that we have to put a limit on it and get back to business. Today is the first day of the next political campaign.

I have been a fan of Michael Steele for a long time. He’s an impressive presence — almost the epitome of that old liberal media cliche called “gravitas.” In my view, Michael needs to take the lead in giving us some solid ideas on how to get a bigger slice of the minority vote without our resorting to “using” these voters as opposed to forming a genuine and honest alliance with them. Has he written anything lately giving his views on the subject? If so, I’d like to read it and learn from it.