The American Spectator

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Ding Dong?

5.20.08 @ 12:01AM

(Page 2 of 4)

Our hope for the future must lie in Mrs. Clinton's assertion that words don't mean anything. I remember Neville Chamberlain, in 1939, waving his Hitler-signed paper and saying "we have peace in our time."

You know, Maybe Reverend Wright is right and God has damned America.
-- Jay Molyneaux
North Carolina

It was nice to see John Samples highlighting one of the least reported aspects of LBJ's call for a Great Society. Jonah Goldberg highlighted this very same tendency in what he termed Liberal Fascism. The idea that politics can have spiritual dimension first appeared in the Progressive Politics of the late 19th century. However, as late as the 1990s Hillary gave her "Politics of Meaning" speech. Obama continues this trend.

I would like however, to point out a big difference between LBJ and Obama. LBJ, for all of his flaws, paid his dues with 30 years of yeoman service to the Democratic Party. His was a New Deal Democrat who began his political career on the dusty plains of Depression era Texas as a congressional aid. He attended a teachers college and not Harvard Law. By the time he was nominated Vice President in 1960 he spent 30 years in politics, with over a decade of service in the U.S. Senate. By contrast, Obama is a first term senator, who spent only 8 years in the Illinois State House. Obama appeared to be on a fast track to the Presidency the minute he graduated from Harvard Law. He brings no significant accomplishments in public service other than his CV.

What gave LBJ such an advantage in getting his Great Society legislation through Congress was his complete understanding of how the wheels of power worked in the Beltway. He may have been a flawed politician, but he did believe in the power of big government to do good. LBJ lived through the Great Depression, the First World War, and the transformation of the America through a hyperactive centralized government. Obama has none of that. What he does offer America is himself, his charisma, and his scripted speeches. This isn't 1965. America realizes there is no going back. And I think most Americans realize that even if we could go back, we haven't the money to do so, and Barack Obama hasn't the political skill to make it happen.
-- JP Koch
Indiana

DEAN'S GENIUS
Re: W. James Antle's Not so Special:

It doesn't seem that long ago that conservative web sites of all kinds were predicting that it was the Democrats that were going to become extinct (or least the minority for a long time coming). What a change! Is it time to start giving credit where it's due? Maybe howlin' Howard Dean was a jerk of a presidential candidate, but since he replaced terrible Terry McAuliffe, the Dem's fortunes have skyrocketed.

I guess I would classify myself as a part of the Republican base, and I have completely refused to send one thin dime to the RNC or any of the Republican presidential candidates (although I probably would have had Fred Thompson been the presumptive nominee). It's hard to put my finger on exactly why this is the case with me, but I guess it's the squishy-natured, spineless, relativistic kind of Republicans we seem to have now (with a few good exceptions). As an evangelical, Reformed Christian, I am turned off by the corruption, greed, non-principled stand that many of our candidates and current office holders take. Mr. Davis in Mississippi for example, did raise taxes and have a nice Yukon purchased for his use by the taxpayers of that municipality. I'm turned off by just painting a Democrat rival as "tied to Obama" or whatever. It comes off as useless mudslinging and in many cases blatantly hypocritical (as opposed to my latent hypocrisy that work so hard to keep hidden from everyone).

Just a good old-fashioned Republican; pro-life, principled, conservative, strong, willing to stand up for what's right despite the prevailing pop-cultural preferences, is what I vote for and support financially.

I suppose Rush Limbaugh is right about this one. If Republicans will run on conservative ideals, they win. Anything else is just too risky (obviously).
-- Morgan P. Yarbrough
Southwestern Tennessee

THAT LOUD KISSING SOUND
Re: The Prowler's NARAL Pro-Choice Obama:

Yesterday on "Meet the Press" (I think, they run together sometimes) Mike Huckabee was groveling to the McCain campaign to the effect of, "I was always kind and generous to John McCain; I was the most complimentary during the primaries..." At the time I wondered this was all about. Your Prowler article explained that loud kissing sound coming from the television.
-- Judy Beumler
Louisville, Kentucky

COMPROMISING POSITIONS
Re: W. James Antle III's California Dreamin':

Much like John McCain's "compromise" on global warming (reducing carbon emissions by 60%, versus Barack Obama's goal of reducing it by 80% in the next few decades), "civil unions" and "domestic partnerships" were always steppingstones on the path to homosexual "marriage." Politicians, take note: this is what compromise gets you.

However, this issue is more serious than the manufactured global warming crisis, as bad as that is: it strikes at the very heart of our civilization, and the long-held notion that has been proven again and again: children and societies are much better off when the latter sanctions and supports married mothers and fathers. Ask any honest sociologist, and they will tell you that married couples and their children are happier, healthier, and wealthier. Certainly, no family is perfect, but marriages are a major asset to every society. But whether it's no-fault divorce laws, or narrow state Supreme Court majorities taking it upon themselves to re-write the rules of civilization, crippling this institution has devastating consequences.

Letter to the Editor

topics:
Taxes, Foreign Policy, Education, John McCain, Barack Obama, Television, Business, Religion, Environment, Global Warming, Hollywood, Constitution, Law, Supreme Court, Founding Fathers, Military, Iraq, Iran, Russia, NATO, Africa, Fascism, Energy, Oil, Unions