Posts
Adding to the general confusion to be expected in a political rout is how questions are framed. Establishment Republicans tend to put it this way: How did we lose? Contrast the question with this essay's title. I hope the reader will see what I see.
Monday, November 12, 2012
How Progressives Won
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Adding to the general confusion to be expected in a political rout is how questions are framed. Establishment Republicans tend to put it this way: How did we lose? Contrast the question with this essay's title. I hope the reader will see what I see.
Adding to the general confusion to be expected in a political rout is how questions are framed. Establishment Republicans tend to put it this way: How did we lose? Contrast the question with this essay's title. I hope the reader will see what I see.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Mea Culpa; Mea Maxima Culpa
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Whatever shortcomings I may have -- and they are many -- I maintain a high regard for integrity. In myself and others. It's for that reason that I long ago resolved not to be a "drive-by" blogger.* If I make a mess along the way, I'll retrace my steps and clean it up.
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| Manasseh's Sin and Repentance |
Whatever shortcomings I may have -- and they are many -- I maintain a high regard for integrity. In myself and others. It's for that reason that I long ago resolved not to be a "drive-by" blogger.* If I make a mess along the way, I'll retrace my steps and clean it up.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Predicting An Early Night
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Here, I take a position squarely at odds with pollsters, pundits and political pros. I expect the presidential election to be called early by Fox News. For Mitt Romney on the wave of a strong mandate. If I am wrong, there is a great deal more at stake than my credibility.
Here, I take a position squarely at odds with pollsters, pundits and political pros. I expect the presidential election to be called early by Fox News. For Mitt Romney on the wave of a strong mandate. If I am wrong, there is a great deal more at stake than my credibility.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Obama Is Right About Changing Government
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"The most important lesson I've learned is that you can't change Washington from the inside." [1] Though I may have arrived at the same conclusion much earlier, by another route, and in another context, I have to concede that the President spoke the truth; which, in itself, is noteworthy.
"The most important lesson I've learned is that you can't change Washington from the inside." [1] Though I may have arrived at the same conclusion much earlier, by another route, and in another context, I have to concede that the President spoke the truth; which, in itself, is noteworthy.
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Debate: How MSM Set Up Obama to Fail
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Contrary to what seems to be the consensus, I don't think Mr. Obama was "off his game" in the first Presidential debate. It's just that the game wasn't played by his rules. MSM rules.
Obama at his best is prolix, stammering, pretentious and careless of fact, but his gift is a rare combination of rich voice, perfectly reinforcing gestures, facial expressions and cadence, capped by ex cathedra delivery that is mesmerizing and freighted with a strong hint of intimidation that discourages debate. He is the uber elitist, perfectly miming the best features of the truly elite. That he is profoundly ignorant in so many areas of common knowledge, thoroughly corrupt and intellectually vapid is not easily seen behind the persona of an accomplished man of letters. Not seen at all by legacy-media types.
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| Obama In Love |
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| Romney (In the Real World) |
Contrary to what seems to be the consensus, I don't think Mr. Obama was "off his game" in the first Presidential debate. It's just that the game wasn't played by his rules. MSM rules.
Obama at his best is prolix, stammering, pretentious and careless of fact, but his gift is a rare combination of rich voice, perfectly reinforcing gestures, facial expressions and cadence, capped by ex cathedra delivery that is mesmerizing and freighted with a strong hint of intimidation that discourages debate. He is the uber elitist, perfectly miming the best features of the truly elite. That he is profoundly ignorant in so many areas of common knowledge, thoroughly corrupt and intellectually vapid is not easily seen behind the persona of an accomplished man of letters. Not seen at all by legacy-media types.
Friday, September 21, 2012
Ignorance vs. Stupidity: A Dead Heat at CNN
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More and more I am convinced that legacy media folks -- contrary to the opinion of some conservatives -- are perfectly sincere. Innocent of fact, curiosity or independent thought, to be sure, but sincere. They believe they are right in most, if not all, things, and I think they might even feel sorry for the rest of us if sympathy wouldn't interfere with the pleasure they take in condescension.
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| CNN Ireport Badge |
More and more I am convinced that legacy media folks -- contrary to the opinion of some conservatives -- are perfectly sincere. Innocent of fact, curiosity or independent thought, to be sure, but sincere. They believe they are right in most, if not all, things, and I think they might even feel sorry for the rest of us if sympathy wouldn't interfere with the pleasure they take in condescension.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Mr. Obama: A Competent President
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If many people have styled President Obama as incompetent, they can be forgiven for their error; they are thinking that a robust economy and a position of strength in foreign policy are his objectives. They are traditional Americans. But seen from a Marxist point of view (the President's and that of his ardent Jacobin cohort) he has been extremely -- perhaps, spectacularly -- successful. He has further divided America along lines of race and class, hardened the ideology and dogma of the Left, increasingly marginalized capitalism in the public mind, and, by straining the economy to the point of collapse, he has set the stage for socialist revolution. The uprising of the masses against the bourgeoisie that historicism demands. He has succeeded beyond the dreams, so long unrealized, of Marxists planners who have so often been disappointed. [1]
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| Rope and Chains |
If many people have styled President Obama as incompetent, they can be forgiven for their error; they are thinking that a robust economy and a position of strength in foreign policy are his objectives. They are traditional Americans. But seen from a Marxist point of view (the President's and that of his ardent Jacobin cohort) he has been extremely -- perhaps, spectacularly -- successful. He has further divided America along lines of race and class, hardened the ideology and dogma of the Left, increasingly marginalized capitalism in the public mind, and, by straining the economy to the point of collapse, he has set the stage for socialist revolution. The uprising of the masses against the bourgeoisie that historicism demands. He has succeeded beyond the dreams, so long unrealized, of Marxists planners who have so often been disappointed. [1]
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Tea Party Terrorism
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I was recently dismayed to learn that, as a Tea Party member, I am, per se, a terrorist. Well, a potential terrorist anyway. And that revelation on no less authority than the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). [1]
A report commissioned by DHS called Hot Spots of US Terrorism tells us exactly who the terrorists are:
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| Che Guevara |
I was recently dismayed to learn that, as a Tea Party member, I am, per se, a terrorist. Well, a potential terrorist anyway. And that revelation on no less authority than the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). [1]
A report commissioned by DHS called Hot Spots of US Terrorism tells us exactly who the terrorists are:
Extreme Right-Wing: groups that believe that one’s personal and/or national “way of life” is under attack and is either already lost or that the threat is imminent (for some the threat is from a specific ethnic, racial, or religious group), and believe in the need to be prepared for an attack either by participating in paramilitary preparations and training or survivalism. Groups may also be fiercely nationalistic (as opposed to universal and international in orientation), anti-global, suspicious of centralized federal authority, reverent of individual liberty, and believe in conspiracy theories that involve grave threat to national sovereignty and/or personal liberty.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Short Take: Republicans Endorsing Hillary? (*)
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In political contests all sides labor diligently to insure that events affecting the contest are not left to chance. Though mistakes are inevitable, some "mistakes" are contrived. That's exactly what seems to have happened in the case of the public endorsement of Hillary Clinton by Sarah Palin and John McCain.
In political contests all sides labor diligently to insure that events affecting the contest are not left to chance. Though mistakes are inevitable, some "mistakes" are contrived. That's exactly what seems to have happened in the case of the public endorsement of Hillary Clinton by Sarah Palin and John McCain.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Voter ID is Clearly Discriminatory
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Laws that require careful verification of a voter's identity discriminate not so much against blacks, Hispanics or other ethnic groups and the poor as against an entire political class -- cheaters. Known also as Democrats. [1] Polls indicate that as many as 80% of the American public (including many of those said to be injured) favor stringent voter ID laws. The Marxist-Progressive Left, however, behind lamentations and crocodile tears, stands in utter contempt of the righteous public will. Citing a litany of imagined (and therefore real) abuses of helpless 'victims', they howl with feigned outrage. If strawmen, in company with the dead, could vote, Marxists would never lose another election.
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| Karl Marx |
Laws that require careful verification of a voter's identity discriminate not so much against blacks, Hispanics or other ethnic groups and the poor as against an entire political class -- cheaters. Known also as Democrats. [1] Polls indicate that as many as 80% of the American public (including many of those said to be injured) favor stringent voter ID laws. The Marxist-Progressive Left, however, behind lamentations and crocodile tears, stands in utter contempt of the righteous public will. Citing a litany of imagined (and therefore real) abuses of helpless 'victims', they howl with feigned outrage. If strawmen, in company with the dead, could vote, Marxists would never lose another election.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Illegal Immigration: Seen and Not Seen
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As with most things in Western politics, America's illegal immigration question is argued within contending narratives. The Marxist Left points to cultural enrichment, tolerance, virtuous altruism, abundant and cheap labor and "diversity". Conservatives point to enormous burdens on Federal and local governments in the areas of healthcare, public education, law enforcement and revenues. Given that both are imperfect, which narrative is more correct? Does either go beyond what is easily seen?
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| Frederic Bastiat |
As with most things in Western politics, America's illegal immigration question is argued within contending narratives. The Marxist Left points to cultural enrichment, tolerance, virtuous altruism, abundant and cheap labor and "diversity". Conservatives point to enormous burdens on Federal and local governments in the areas of healthcare, public education, law enforcement and revenues. Given that both are imperfect, which narrative is more correct? Does either go beyond what is easily seen?
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
2012: Testing the American Narrative (Part II)
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As I said in Part I, this election -- more than most because of
unusually clear contrasts -- will test the the American ethos, the
narrative, the vision that tells us who we are. For those of us who, contrary to a century of Marxist/progressive indoctrination, have managed somehow to maintain a reverence of founding principles, this is a make-or-break affair. Many will say that ideas of the American Founders were but temporal signs of time and place and that we have evolved and matured in matters social, political and economic. We have put away old ideologies. And they may be correct in their assessment.
As I said in Part I, this election -- more than most because of
unusually clear contrasts -- will test the the American ethos, the
narrative, the vision that tells us who we are. For those of us who, contrary to a century of Marxist/progressive indoctrination, have managed somehow to maintain a reverence of founding principles, this is a make-or-break affair. Many will say that ideas of the American Founders were but temporal signs of time and place and that we have evolved and matured in matters social, political and economic. We have put away old ideologies. And they may be correct in their assessment.Thursday, June 21, 2012
2012: Testing the American Narrative (Part I)
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Who are we and what were we as Americans? Today, there are competing narratives. Two, though divergent, are organic, in that they grew out of the American Revolution and the founding principles. A more recent narrative that emerged out of European Marxist philosophy is being grafted onto one of the native strains.
Who are we and what were we as Americans? Today, there are competing narratives. Two, though divergent, are organic, in that they grew out of the American Revolution and the founding principles. A more recent narrative that emerged out of European Marxist philosophy is being grafted onto one of the native strains.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Evaluating The Republican Field
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In company with many Tea Party conservatives, I am not particularly sanguine about the current field of Republican candidates. But my choice at this point is not a difficult one to make. Simple elimination leaves me supporting only Rick Santorum. A year ago I would not have thought it possible, but things change. The candidates currently in the early lead are not, in my view, core conservatives. If either makes the nomination cut, I will vote for him in the general election. With all the enthusiasm I felt for John McCain; maybe a tad more...
The big talking-point issue with establishment Republicans in general (and other wobbly conservatives) is "electability". A combination of hubris and elitism causes too many to think it is a knowable trait. Makes them confident they know what the electorate will decide in November. A conceit of known and would-be pundits everywhere. I think more in terms of principle than what is believed to be the most likely outcome. Let me explain.
In company with many Tea Party conservatives, I am not particularly sanguine about the current field of Republican candidates. But my choice at this point is not a difficult one to make. Simple elimination leaves me supporting only Rick Santorum. A year ago I would not have thought it possible, but things change. The candidates currently in the early lead are not, in my view, core conservatives. If either makes the nomination cut, I will vote for him in the general election. With all the enthusiasm I felt for John McCain; maybe a tad more...
The big talking-point issue with establishment Republicans in general (and other wobbly conservatives) is "electability". A combination of hubris and elitism causes too many to think it is a knowable trait. Makes them confident they know what the electorate will decide in November. A conceit of known and would-be pundits everywhere. I think more in terms of principle than what is believed to be the most likely outcome. Let me explain.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Human Nature
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Human nature is imperfect, and it is unchangeable. The failure of the naive to acknowledge and accept those two simple, yet elemental facts leads inevitably to grief.
But grief does not discourage idealists; when their schemes fail they see only error in planning and execution, never questioning the possibility of -- nor their own faith in -- achieving a perfect end-state.
Utopian Dreams
The belief that men are capable of creating a perfect society is an old one, attested in Biblical writings and in Plato's vision, articulated in his Republic.
That vision echoed through the Middle Ages and persisted, with growing momentum, into the current era. Along the way it found expression in Thomas Moore's Utopia (most famously), in the writings of Rousseau and in the early codification of communist socialism by Marx and Engels in reaction to the Industrial Revolution and the rise of capitalism. [1]
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| Utopia |
Human nature is imperfect, and it is unchangeable. The failure of the naive to acknowledge and accept those two simple, yet elemental facts leads inevitably to grief.
But grief does not discourage idealists; when their schemes fail they see only error in planning and execution, never questioning the possibility of -- nor their own faith in -- achieving a perfect end-state.
Utopian DreamsThe belief that men are capable of creating a perfect society is an old one, attested in Biblical writings and in Plato's vision, articulated in his Republic.
That vision echoed through the Middle Ages and persisted, with growing momentum, into the current era. Along the way it found expression in Thomas Moore's Utopia (most famously), in the writings of Rousseau and in the early codification of communist socialism by Marx and Engels in reaction to the Industrial Revolution and the rise of capitalism. [1]
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Voting: Principle vs Praxis
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One finds no shortage of persons who will tell you with great confidence who is and who is not electable. Certainly one can analyze what he knows -- or believes he knows -- about American voters, their political and policy opinions, their "mood" and their likely preferences and form an opinion as to how any election will fall out. In fact, polling data, in experienced hands most often yield high probabilities of electoral outcomes. But surprise! Human behavior is not always predictable. Black Swans -- perhaps far more common than the name suggests -- have ways to make laughable statistical models that very often assume a stability in kinetic systems that does not exist. The models are correct often enough to create the illusion of predictability, but as, for example, the recent collapse of the derivatives market has shown, our confidence may be misplaced. Said more directly, the laws of probability are not the laws of physics; they do not compel outcomes. And it is always possible that there are variables that we do not recognize, anticipate or even imagine.
One finds no shortage of persons who will tell you with great confidence who is and who is not electable. Certainly one can analyze what he knows -- or believes he knows -- about American voters, their political and policy opinions, their "mood" and their likely preferences and form an opinion as to how any election will fall out. In fact, polling data, in experienced hands most often yield high probabilities of electoral outcomes. But surprise! Human behavior is not always predictable. Black Swans -- perhaps far more common than the name suggests -- have ways to make laughable statistical models that very often assume a stability in kinetic systems that does not exist. The models are correct often enough to create the illusion of predictability, but as, for example, the recent collapse of the derivatives market has shown, our confidence may be misplaced. Said more directly, the laws of probability are not the laws of physics; they do not compel outcomes. And it is always possible that there are variables that we do not recognize, anticipate or even imagine.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
The Historical Roots of Statism in America
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Opposing Statism: The Incomplete Conservative Argument
Until recently, I had never been satisfied with with conventional explanations of the steady rise of American statism. Within the conservative pundit class there seems to be general agreement (or, at least, emphasis) that beginnings lay in the presidencies of Roosevelt, Taft and Wilson and the rise of the Progressives. To be sure, anti-Jeffersonian policies flourished in their administrations as it later did with F.D.R., Lyndon Johnson. But the nagging question for me was how, after the Founding period, did this trend -- more or less suddenly -- emerge? Say with Theodore Roosevelt...? So recent? What about the Hamiltonians, the Federalist Party? Some of our conservative voices, Glenn Beck, for example, will talk about Alexander Hamilton (a good start), but then they seem compelled to leap over a big chunk of history to the late Nineteenth Century. Why is that? What are they avoiding?
Opposing Statism: The Incomplete Conservative Argument
Until recently, I had never been satisfied with with conventional explanations of the steady rise of American statism. Within the conservative pundit class there seems to be general agreement (or, at least, emphasis) that beginnings lay in the presidencies of Roosevelt, Taft and Wilson and the rise of the Progressives. To be sure, anti-Jeffersonian policies flourished in their administrations as it later did with F.D.R., Lyndon Johnson. But the nagging question for me was how, after the Founding period, did this trend -- more or less suddenly -- emerge? Say with Theodore Roosevelt...? So recent? What about the Hamiltonians, the Federalist Party? Some of our conservative voices, Glenn Beck, for example, will talk about Alexander Hamilton (a good start), but then they seem compelled to leap over a big chunk of history to the late Nineteenth Century. Why is that? What are they avoiding?
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Tea Party Metaphor and the Clueless Left
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The Left [1] doesn't like the Tea Party; not one little bit. No sirree bob! They're, by God, extreme ultra right-wing fascists; violence waiting to happen. They're a hate group. And racists to boot.
The list goes on. [2]
The Left [1] doesn't like the Tea Party; not one little bit. No sirree bob! They're, by God, extreme ultra right-wing fascists; violence waiting to happen. They're a hate group. And racists to boot.
The list goes on. [2]
Friday, August 19, 2011
APS Cheating Scandal: In No Way Excusable; In Every Way Predictable
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The Atlanta Public School (-teacher) cheating scandal, and similar reflections in other cities, points to the systemic corruption of the K-12 educational establishment. That corruption is especially prevalent in major metropolitan areas where affirmative action priorities [1] have reduced the level of competence and judgment of "educators" [2]. Crony Socialism (a redundant phrase) invites collusion between city bureaucracies with oversight and those overseen. To offer cash incentives for teaching and administrative performance within a system where incompetence has become the accepted standard, is to ask for trouble. Moral hazards and predictable outcomes.
The Atlanta Public School (-teacher) cheating scandal, and similar reflections in other cities, points to the systemic corruption of the K-12 educational establishment. That corruption is especially prevalent in major metropolitan areas where affirmative action priorities [1] have reduced the level of competence and judgment of "educators" [2]. Crony Socialism (a redundant phrase) invites collusion between city bureaucracies with oversight and those overseen. To offer cash incentives for teaching and administrative performance within a system where incompetence has become the accepted standard, is to ask for trouble. Moral hazards and predictable outcomes.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
What is the Vital Nexus Between Progressives and Islam?
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After puzzling for some time about the strong affinity between the Left and Muslims, [1] I think I have finally sorted it out.
The answer to the title question is a brief one, and for that reason, this promises to be a short essay. It is simply this: the two groups share a culture of entitlement and a conviction of their own innate superiority, on the one hand, and of right of dominion on the other. In a word, Progressives and Muslims have much in common.
After puzzling for some time about the strong affinity between the Left and Muslims, [1] I think I have finally sorted it out.
The answer to the title question is a brief one, and for that reason, this promises to be a short essay. It is simply this: the two groups share a culture of entitlement and a conviction of their own innate superiority, on the one hand, and of right of dominion on the other. In a word, Progressives and Muslims have much in common.Wednesday, August 17, 2011
European Riots and the Vision of Thomas Hobbes
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The rioting we have recently seen in Great Britain, Greece, Sweden, France and parts of Germany (not to mention the emergence of American "flash mobs") gives us a window into the future. A future that will surely come if the West persists in its determination to commit cultural suicide. The violence of mobs also invites us to look at the past, and, indeed at most of the world around us today.
Of the several points to be covered here I want to place special emphasis on this one: most of us in the West have lived so well for so long that we do not appreciate how fortunate we are. And we don't recognize than we are a tiny island in a vast sea of human predators who understand only existential conflict and brutality. They exist in established states which attempt to conceal murders, starvation, slave prisons and the near-total loss of liberty, and they exist openly in the killing fields of Rwanda and other African states. What good people know in these places we do not -- what it means to live in constant fear of other human beings.
The rioting we have recently seen in Great Britain, Greece, Sweden, France and parts of Germany (not to mention the emergence of American "flash mobs") gives us a window into the future. A future that will surely come if the West persists in its determination to commit cultural suicide. The violence of mobs also invites us to look at the past, and, indeed at most of the world around us today.
Of the several points to be covered here I want to place special emphasis on this one: most of us in the West have lived so well for so long that we do not appreciate how fortunate we are. And we don't recognize than we are a tiny island in a vast sea of human predators who understand only existential conflict and brutality. They exist in established states which attempt to conceal murders, starvation, slave prisons and the near-total loss of liberty, and they exist openly in the killing fields of Rwanda and other African states. What good people know in these places we do not -- what it means to live in constant fear of other human beings.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Wanted: Strong, Artilculate Men Of Principle
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In the current political war over the US debt ceiling and reductions in spending, I find myself more than slightly annoyed by the want of a certain kind of courage on the part of establishment Republicans. John Boehner, Speaker of the House comes to mind [1]. Like others of his experience in politics, he is foremost a pragmatic man. He weighs his options and carefully considers their political consequences. Pragmatic men are precisely the kind who are needed to conduct the day-to-day business of government, but only so long as two conditions are met. The first is that their political opponents act in good faith, and second, is that there not be an issue of such magnitude that the future of the nation is in peril. Neither condition is currently satisfied by the current administration and the Democrat members of congress. It is no longer the time for leadership to remain in the hands of moderate pragmatists. Sorely needed are men of principle with the political will and courage to stand fast by their values and those of the American people.
In the current political war over the US debt ceiling and reductions in spending, I find myself more than slightly annoyed by the want of a certain kind of courage on the part of establishment Republicans. John Boehner, Speaker of the House comes to mind [1]. Like others of his experience in politics, he is foremost a pragmatic man. He weighs his options and carefully considers their political consequences. Pragmatic men are precisely the kind who are needed to conduct the day-to-day business of government, but only so long as two conditions are met. The first is that their political opponents act in good faith, and second, is that there not be an issue of such magnitude that the future of the nation is in peril. Neither condition is currently satisfied by the current administration and the Democrat members of congress. It is no longer the time for leadership to remain in the hands of moderate pragmatists. Sorely needed are men of principle with the political will and courage to stand fast by their values and those of the American people.Friday, July 22, 2011
What the Debt Battle Really Means to America
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The outcome of the pitched battle now underway in Congress will be of enormous importance to America's future. Though nominally concerned with fiscal and economic matters, it is much, much more than that. At issue is nothing less than the peoples' sovereignty.
In earlier essays (notably here) I have remarked that the behavior of the current president, his leaders in the house and senate and his allies in the Executive branch is stunning for its arrogance -- its contempt for the majority of Americans. Add to that, and in concert, the same arrogance of the legacy media [1], K12 and academe, Hollywood, labor unions, the "permanent government" bureaucracies and many of the nation's courts, and we have to ask ourselves if they know something we don't. What might that be?
The outcome of the pitched battle now underway in Congress will be of enormous importance to America's future. Though nominally concerned with fiscal and economic matters, it is much, much more than that. At issue is nothing less than the peoples' sovereignty.
In earlier essays (notably here) I have remarked that the behavior of the current president, his leaders in the house and senate and his allies in the Executive branch is stunning for its arrogance -- its contempt for the majority of Americans. Add to that, and in concert, the same arrogance of the legacy media [1], K12 and academe, Hollywood, labor unions, the "permanent government" bureaucracies and many of the nation's courts, and we have to ask ourselves if they know something we don't. What might that be?
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
The Left Deals in Good Faith: A Dangerous Assumption
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There is an on-going argument among conservatives that Obama and the Progressives are simply misguided and ignorant, on the one hand, or that they are deliberately bent on America's destruction on the other. That argument is perhaps best exemplified by the thinking of Michael Medved in the first case and that of Rush Limbaugh in the second. I believe Limbaugh is correct.
Both men are deeply rooted in the Western Tradition's norms of civil society, and that is a good thing. Limbaugh, however, is canny enough to recognize that Progressives, while careful to appear otherwise, entertain no such notions. They are deconstructionists whose sole motivation is the will to power, and they well understand that their ends can only be achieved by the calculated and deliberate dissolution of American society and its roots in the heritage of the West.
Mr. Medved, like other "moderate" conservatives, naively -- and dangerously -- assumes that the Hard Left upholds the same values and plays by the same rules honored by the Right. He fails to see that Progressives have launched upon a course of triangulation in aid of division and conquest: the fascist "third way" [1].
There is an on-going argument among conservatives that Obama and the Progressives are simply misguided and ignorant, on the one hand, or that they are deliberately bent on America's destruction on the other. That argument is perhaps best exemplified by the thinking of Michael Medved in the first case and that of Rush Limbaugh in the second. I believe Limbaugh is correct.
Both men are deeply rooted in the Western Tradition's norms of civil society, and that is a good thing. Limbaugh, however, is canny enough to recognize that Progressives, while careful to appear otherwise, entertain no such notions. They are deconstructionists whose sole motivation is the will to power, and they well understand that their ends can only be achieved by the calculated and deliberate dissolution of American society and its roots in the heritage of the West.
Mr. Medved, like other "moderate" conservatives, naively -- and dangerously -- assumes that the Hard Left upholds the same values and plays by the same rules honored by the Right. He fails to see that Progressives have launched upon a course of triangulation in aid of division and conquest: the fascist "third way" [1].
Friday, July 1, 2011
The Institutional American Left, Conservatives and the Debt Ceiling Battle
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Our politicians are engaged -- not in debate but in ideological war over the conditions for raising America's debt ceiling. A game of brinkmanship is being played out as the deadline (variously defined) approaches. Both sides agree that the US credit rating hangs in the balance and that the ceiling must be raised. At issue are government spending and taxes. The Right is intent on reductions as a quid pro quo for an affirmative vote, and it has offered numerous good faith proposals, while the Left is equally intent on the continuation of deficit spending and raising taxes. On the one hand, there is concern for putting the nation's fiscal house in order and on the other there is a real fear that the continuation of political power is at stake.
Our politicians are engaged -- not in debate but in ideological war over the conditions for raising America's debt ceiling. A game of brinkmanship is being played out as the deadline (variously defined) approaches. Both sides agree that the US credit rating hangs in the balance and that the ceiling must be raised. At issue are government spending and taxes. The Right is intent on reductions as a quid pro quo for an affirmative vote, and it has offered numerous good faith proposals, while the Left is equally intent on the continuation of deficit spending and raising taxes. On the one hand, there is concern for putting the nation's fiscal house in order and on the other there is a real fear that the continuation of political power is at stake.
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