This election established that "conservatism" is a failed political ideology that has no place in the modern world. America has spoken and rejected that ridiculous ideology. (a generic Liberal)
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OK, I’ll bite, looking at Tuesday’s results, I must agree, though I'm happy to see that the "NEW" Liberalism now opposes gay marriage, which went down to overwhelming defeat in Arizona (atoning for failing to do so in 2006), Nebraska and even California, of all places....even SF voted in favor of strictly defining marriage as "between 1 man and 1 woman...and three more states passed referendums banning race and gender preferences, which must now also be an established part of this "New Liberalism.”
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Four of five Americans polled want a smaller, less intrusive government and lower taxes, even though almost 2 of 3 support the NSA surveillance programs (as does Obama)....all I can say is that I support all those positions...always have..
Now I see where Rahm Emanuel (a former IDF member) and a bona fide Conservative Democrat, who was responsible for recruiting scores of Blue Dog Democrats to run in 2006 and 2008 is now Barack Obama's Chief-of-Staff! Doesn't sound much like an olive branch to the Arab street, does it? It also seems to signal that Obama has aligned himself with those who've most outwardly opposed the Party's Left-wing )the Waxman's, the Conyer's and the Feingold's)...Has this "New Liberalism" moved to the Right, or have I moved Left???
Sadly, the biggest casualty in this election was the economic truth - the credit crisis was not a "bipartisan failure" (even though many Republicans DID help block the called for reforms and oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2003 and AGAIN in 2005). That crisis is almost entirely the fault of Rep. Frank, Senator Dodd, Franklin Raines, Tim Johnson, etc.
The MSM has been in the tank for Liberals for decades. An independent survey showed that ABC and CBS ran appx. 58% negative stories on McCain compared to 22% negative on Obama and 20% neutral stories, while far-Left MSNBC ran 78% negative on McCain and 13% negative on Obama and 9% neutral.
By comparison, the "hated FoxNews" reportedly ran 40% negative on McCain, 40% negative on Obama and 20% neutral.
Ironically enough, the MSM hasn't been able to convert many Americans - gay marriage again went down to defeat, even in CALIFORNIA, which went for Obama by 24 points! Race/gender-based preferences also barred on a number of ballot initiatives....PLEASE Liberals....PLEASE don't think that the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity "had more influence than the entire MSM." That's utter BS. The American people merely thought for themselves on those issues and voted their Center-Right predilections.
As for the economy, ironically enough, we've had a Democratic Congress since 2007 and they've moved the country onto a very definite Keynesian path.
The Spring "stimulus package," the recent "$700 BILLION bank bailout" and the 2007 SHAMnesty Bill were all Democratic creations, originating in Congress.
It's no coincidence that the economy has taken a nose dive since 2007.
The Misery Index will tell the story going forward. If 2009's Misery Index tops double digits and 2010's (when the last vestige of Supply Side policy, the Bush "across the board" income tax cuts expire) gets worse, then we'll be on a four year negative Keynesian track.
But we'll see.
Obama ran on a platform built on tax cuts, on supporting the NSA surveillance program and on gun rights...he even touted lowering the Corporate tax, which is really just a stealth sales tax, as its passed on to all of us, as consumers.
If he follows through on that agenda, I'll be fine with much, if not most of it.
Bottom-line, the Misery Index will tell the story on the economy over the next couple years.
Sadly, the biggest casualty in this election was the economic truth - the credit crisis was not a "bipartisan failure" (even though many Republicans DID help block the called for reforms and oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2003 and AGAIN in 2005). That crisis is almost entirely the fault of Rep. Frank, Senator Dodd, Franklin Raines, Tim Johnson, etc.
The MSM has been in the tank for Liberals for decades. An independent survey showed that ABC and CBS ran appx. 58% negative stories on McCain compared to 22% negative on Obama and 20% neutral stories, while far-Left MSNBC ran 78% negative on McCain and 13% negative on Obama and 9% neutral.
By comparison, the "hated FoxNews" reportedly ran 40% negative on McCain, 40% negative on Obama and 20% neutral.
Ironically enough, the MSM hasn't been able to convert many Americans - gay marriage again went down to defeat, even in CALIFORNIA, which went for Obama by 24 points! Race/gender-based preferences also barred on a number of ballot initiatives....PLEASE Liberals....PLEASE don't think that the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity "had more influence than the entire MSM." That's utter BS. The American people merely thought for themselves on those issues and voted their Center-Right predilections.
As for the economy, ironically enough, we've had a Democratic Congress since 2007 and they've moved the country onto a very definite Keynesian path.
The Spring "stimulus package," the recent "$700 BILLION bank bailout" and the 2007 SHAMnesty Bill were all Democratic creations, originating in Congress.
It's no coincidence that the economy has taken a nose dive since 2007.
The Misery Index will tell the story going forward. If 2009's Misery Index tops double digits and 2010's (when the last vestige of Supply Side policy, the Bush "across the board" income tax cuts expire) gets worse, then we'll be on a four year negative Keynesian track.
But we'll see.
Obama ran on a platform built on tax cuts, on supporting the NSA surveillance program and on gun rights...he even touted lowering the Corporate tax, which is really just a stealth sales tax, as its passed on to all of us, as consumers.
If he follows through on that agenda, I'll be fine with much, if not most of it.
Bottom-line, the Misery Index will tell the story on the economy over the next couple years.
9 comments:
Remember, this is simply a time for us to regroup while the Left continues to make the argument for us.
Conservatism has not failed; the economy gave the Dems the upper hand. For Republicans to flail because they lost this election is kind of silly. I know they have to regroup but gees. If the Detroit Lions can still be together as a group, Republicans can:) We need both worlds to get the best of both worlds.
It is a time for regrouping Nickie.
Right now, the Moderate (Dole-Bush-McCain-Whitman) wing of the GOP is fighting to keep the Conservatives from saddling the Moderates with the blame for the post-Gingrich GOP meltdown and taking control of that Party.
I think the GOP needs a new Newt Gingrich...maybe even the original Newt would do fine.
I agree 100% Rachel!
The terrible thing here is that the GOP took the blame for a credit crisis that Democrats like Barney Frank and Chris Dodd had more to do with.
Saying that, I WILL acknowledge that the GOP has dug its own grave lately. Post-Gingrich, the DeLay and Hastert Congresses abandoned Gingrich's policies and became just another set of pigs at the trough.
The same GOP Congress that passed a Bill to eradicate the AMT when Clinton was in office, refused to do that, when a Republican President was in the WH.
Those same post-Gingrich GOP Congresses failed to lower the Corporate tax, despite the evidence provided by "the Irish miracle."
If the incoming administration seeks to govern from the Left and raises taxes and continues along the line of issuing toxic over-regulation (like the turbo-charged CRA) they will fail, as Carter failed.
In my view, if they take a more moderate tone, they have a good chance to do well.
It's so astonding to think there are actually individuals running around loose who feel that the universe is predicated solely on the dualistic dogmatic notions of "conservatism" and "liberalism," as if they were laws of physics, or existed prior to man's arrival on Earth. The universe is bigger than this. The problem is that capitalism was supposed to be a tool to better mankind and society. Instead, we have become it's slaves; the government cannot solve every problem, but neither can the free market. Their is no legal or Constitutional prohibition against a socialist (or other system) remedy to our various socio-economic problems. People, learn to think outside the ideological corners we paint ourselves into. Use what works, not what is ideologically secure!
Actually there is ONLY "Conservatism" and "Liberalism" as there are ONLY two existing economic systems - Capitalism (the market-based system) AND socialism (the government-run or "command economy").
There is no 4th way, there is no 5th way....hell, there really isn't even a 3rd way, although the current-day government-regulated market that is THE economy of the U.S., Canada, Western Europe, Australia and Japan, is a slight deviation on Capitalism.
ONE economic system has failed miserably and that would be socialism, which has never been instituted ANYWHERE without mass murder. Socialism, being predicated on the abolition of private property has been a failure everywhere it's been tried.
Socialism is indeed incompatible with America's Constitution which is predicated ON private property rights and individual rights or "freedom FROM government coercion."
Keynesian (big government or "socialistic") policies are what have (1) caused the current credit crisis (the turbo-charged CRA is primarily responsible for the credit crisis, (2) has been responsiblle for the incredible over-spending (the inane spending of the NCLB Act, the prescription drug boondoggle, the ill-conceived "stimulus package" and the current TRILLION dollar bailout) over the past few years and (3) the worsening economy that it's brought about over the last two years.
We had our greatest recent economies with the Gingrich Congress forcing Supply Side policies on a somewhat reluctant President. Those Gingrich policies (massive federal spending cuts, a major overhaul and reform of our dysfunctional welfare system and lowering the Cap Gains rate) were what (1) brought on the LOWEST Misery Indexes in over four decades AND delivered those budget surpluses of the late 1990s.
All of that makes clear that Supply Side policies WORK and Keynesian (big-government or "socialistic") ones DON'T.
Anyone who thinks that following the Bush-Pelosi-Reid policies that have been en vogue in D.C. post-Gingrich "work," is not paying attention.
I guarantee that if you continue to stop by, I'll continue to provide the facts, figures and statistics that will show why Supply Side policies work and Keynesian policies don't.
UNLESS, of course, some empirical evidence shows that despite delivering the "WORST economy since the Great Depression" - the Stagflation-plagued Carter years, suddenly those same Keynesian policies are delivering a better economy!
That doesn't seem to be the case. Although G W Bush began his administration with some classic Supply Side across the board tax rate cuts, which INCREASED tax revenues every year since, his EVERY other move has been Keynesian in nature (te prescription boondoggle, the NCLB Act, the "stimulus package" and the "current trillion dollar bank bailout," etc)...and, predictably enough, since Liberal/Keynesian Pelosi-Reid took over Congress in January of 2007, the economy has gotten progressively worse.
2008 looks to be the first DOUBLE-DIGIT Misery Index year since 1992!
If the Misery Index worsens in 2009 and gets even worse (as I'd expect) in 2010, then that would seem to be proof enough of the failure of Keynesianism - and grounds for returning both Houses of Congress back to the GOP.
Hey JMK,
It was not a "generic liberal" who wrote that. It was me. Anyway, I stand by what I wrote. Conservatism is a failed and, in fact, ridiculous and selfish ideology. It just collapsed in this election and will not recover. Cheers.
BW, you are a "generic liberal," because you spout reflexive liberal ideas without being able to make actual arguments in their favor.
Barack Obama ran a "Moderate Suburban-oriented" campaign - supporting the NSA surveilance program, low taxes, gun rights and even opposed gay Marriage.
It's not just that Conservatives outnumebr liberals in America by at least 2 to 1 (40% to 20% according to a very generous, to liberals, Newsweek poll), but it's that Conservative policies work and liberal ones don't.
The TWO major ballot initiatives this year, like the THREE in 2006, ALL went the Conservatives way.
In 2006 Eminent Domain was reined in, in 12 states, gay Marriage was defeated in 8 states and race-based preferences went down in MI.
This year, gay Marriage went down in 3 states, including California and race-based preferences went down in 2, maybe 3 more states (I haven't seen any final tallies from CO).
G W Bush's across the board income tax rate cuts INCREASED income tax revenues in every year since they were passed. Unfortunately he then engaged in more misguided social spending than LBJ.
The Gingrich Congress' slashing the Capital Gains rate FROM 30% to 20% resulted in skyrocketing Cap Gains revenues...and G W Bush's cutting it to 25% raised Cap Gains revenenues again.
Conservatives want the federal budget cut. I claim it could be slashed by 20% to 25% without anyone feeling much pain.
The ONLY time in which the federal budget has been cut is during Gingrich's tenure. He forced a reluctant Clinton to accept some significant federal budget cuts by shutting down the federal government for a few weeks in 1995.
Those federal cuts were responsible for not only some of the lowest Misery Indexes in decades (1998's 6.05 MI was the lowest since 1956), but they also created all those vaunted SURPLUSES in the late 1990s.
Right now, Barack Obama is as straight-jacketed by economic considerations as are Bloomberg in NYC and Patterson in NYS!
NYC is already laying off workers. Chicago's teacher's pension is one of the most underfunded and vulnerable in the nation and NYS is already looking at $5+ BILLION in budget cuts over the next two years.
Should Obama raise Capital gains rates, and/or hike income taxes on the highest income earners that will not only INCREASE unemployment by stifling investment, but it will drastically REDUCE federal tax revenues and skyrocket the national debt even more....should the debt grow much higher, the fed will be sorely tempted to inflate its way out of it, by paying that debt back with cheaper dollars.
I'd hate to see high unemployment, high inflation and rising interest rates (STAGFLATION) wreck Obama's tenure, and I'm betting that he has no intention of letting that happen.
That's why his pick of Rahm Emanuel, one of the architects of the "Blue Dog" Democrat rise, which began in 2006, is an intersting pick....it signals that his pro-Arab overtures for the Mideast are "just words," and that his liberal agenda may be more a "wish list" than a "to do list."
TYPO: "The Gingrich Congress' slashing the Capital Gains rate FROM 30% to 20% resulted in skyrocketing Cap Gains revenues...and G W Bush's cutting it to 15% raised Cap Gains revenenues again."
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