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Political Hay
Here Comes Trouble
The Republicans storming Washington scare the right people.
Before the voters in Utah elected him to the U.S. Senate, Mike Lee caught the media’s eye. Lee’s campaign headquarters prominently displayed the famous painting of George Washington kneeling in prayer by his horse at Valley Forge. The portrait served as an apt illustration of two Lee convictions: that the federal government must be limited by the Constitution and that the nation’s founding was guided by the hand of Providence.
Not everyone thought it was such a pretty picture. In a New York Times Magazine essay on the “radical constitutionalism” of the Tea Party, Jeffrey Rosen wrote that Lee “offered glimpses of a truly radical vision of the U.S. Constitution.” One that, horrors, “views much of what the federal government currently does as unconstitutional.”
According to Rosen, the “scattershot right-wing hostility to government” known as the enumerated powers doctrine could only have been gleaned from the obscure writings of W. Cleon Skousen, the alleged “constitutional guru of the Tea Party movement” who died three years before there was such a thing and who most Tea Partiers have almost certainly never heard of. But there was that constitutional seminar attended by 25 people — “most of them over 50,” Rosen warns — at the Omni Shoreham.
Lee will be joined in the Senate by Rand Paul, the Kentucky Republican about whom even more hysterical things were written and said. An article in New York cited the younger Paul’s election as one of its few pieces of evidence that libertarians “haven’t been this close to power since 1776.” Paul has been using the devil’s music, rock ‘n’ roll, to send the electorate subliminal messages about libertarianism — “he entered to the strains of Rush, the boomer rock band famous for its allegiance to libertarianism and Ayn Rand.”
Jonathan Chait of the New Republic also reminded us that Paul liked Ayn Rand, which made him “exactly tantamount to a candidate whose worldview was shaped by Karl Marx.” Chait further suggested that this proves Paul “harbors a private contempt for Christianity.” Well, his name is Rand! Some even say Paul’s god is Aqua Buddha.
All this goes without mentioning the scores of mini-Pauls and mini-Lees scheduled to take control of the House of Representatives. Do you know what those wild and crazy guys plan to do? “When Republicans take over the House next week, they will do something that apparently has never been done before in the chamber’s 221-year history,” reports the Washington Post. “They will read the Constitution aloud.”
What next? Will those Tea Party radicals conduct a séance with the Founding Fathers, perhaps using a Skousen-autographed ouija board?
The reality, of course, is that most of Congress’s new recruits will quickly acclimate themselves to Washington and revert to the depressing Republican norm of talking constitutionalism while voting for big government. As Kevin Gutzman, a conservative history professor at Western Connecticut State University, told the Post, “It looks like this will be business as usual — except for the half-hour or however long it takes to read the Constitution out loud.”
As we sadly learned with all the sound and fury that attended the Republican Revolution of 1994, the real risk isn’t that a tidal wave of right-wing kookery will wash over the land. The greater likelihood is that the GOP rebels will quickly lose their reformist spirit after a few fizzled confrontations with the bipartisan Beltway establishment and end up governing much like the Democrats they replaced.
Still, the midterm elections did bolster the noble ranks of trouble-makers on Capitol Hill. In the Senate alone, Lee, Paul, Pat Toomey, Marco Rubio, and Ron Johnson will join Tom Coburn and Jim DeMint in shaking things up. Paul has already proposed to tack spending cuts to most major pieces of legislation — a suggestion that will no doubt annoy the Democratic leadership and probably irritate more than a few Republican bigwigs too.
It may also be the case that grassroots conservatives now have a greater appreciation for the fact it will take more than one 1994 or Reagan landslide to right the country. Continued engagement, even after putative allies of conservatism are in power, will be necessary to accomplish anything worthwhile. Righting the country’s finances, restoring its Constitution, and repealing Obamacare are long-term projects.
The Republican freshmen storming Washington are scaring the right people. Only time will tell whether they’ll do the right things.
About the Author
W. James Antle, III, author of the new book Devouring Freedom: Can Big Government Ever Be Stopped?, is editor of the Daily Caller News Foundation and a senior editor of The American Spectator. You can follow him on Twitter @jimantle.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (103) | Leave a comment
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Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 1.3.11 @ 6:10AM
And what will the new political class bring? Will the milquetoast Republicans come out of their political comas and grasp the simple opportunities which have been laid at their rostrum? Or will they fail to see that they should be an assembled army to fight the good fight, which in fact is a civil war?
(Que the melody from When Johnny Comes Marching Home.)
For it is with all certainty that we are engaged in a civil war of standards which will define personal freedom. It's a civil war which is being fought on the field of ideas, and the Democrats regularly load their weapons with lies. deceptions and other forms of misrepresentations to promote their side of the battle. A battle they want to win that will ensure the Constitution will become a talking point as opposed to a living document which defines your rights, and it did that by defining limitations to governmental authority.
On one side we have the fascists, whose main desire is to destroy the personal freedoms laid out in the U.S. Constitution, versus the group who sees the danger in ever bigger government. As the government grows larger, the individual gets smaller.
Now there are 100 Republican freshman in the House who appear to have more power to accomplish massive changes in government then they may realize. But will they take up the challenge? Will they accept the mantle of responsibility for which they campaigned and were ultimately elected?
(Continue with the melody from When Johnny Comes Marching Home)
Or is the public to watch the continued deterioration of the country and their freedoms while the professional political class sticks it to them again? A political class who keeps reshuffling the deck with the same tired political schemes over and over, whilst telling the public it's the change they waited for when it's simply a painted over scam?
As the next year unfolds will the unelected authoritarian class seize ever more power while the elected class worries more about re-election then facing and tackling the hard issues?
The newly elected Republican freshman better learn to trust no one including the leadership in their own party. We've observed this drama too many times and it's amazing that the professional ruling class comes back to the party time and again with the same tired violin music playing in the background.
(Continue with When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again)
If you don't believe it, just look at the current crop of Republicans the press keeps promoting. Let's take Newt Gingrich, whose grasp of climate change is frightening, since there is no scientific evidence to support it. When you think of Newt and climate change, think of Al Gore, because their beliefs are only different to a small degree. And what can you make of that?
Newt and several of his recycled counter parts can be found on Fox, and several conservative talk shows sounding impressive with many of his and their beliefs. But they are simply the result of years of being carefully crafted professional politicians, whose vision of the future contains nothing new or earth shaking to change the course of history which has taken on a life of it's own from within the beltway.
Bizarre political movements like climate change and the tenets of secular humanism are talked against, but ultimately succumbed to by the politically elite because they also worship at the altar of the state run press.
Newt is easy to remember, but he is also easy to forget. Newt led a Republican revolution in 1994 which eventually gave the Republicans all three pieces of the governmental processes needed to make major changes. And what did they do with it? They threw the opportunity away, creating ever larger and more failure prone government, never once holding to their stated principles and very shortly thereafter the public rejected them, lock, stock and blowhards.
In the final analysis that's what counts, whether you have principles and are willing to stand by them. More importantly, will they stand by the Constitution? Once again, they have stated they will but our last 60 years is full of broken promises, broken politicians and broken government.
As we enter 2012 close to 20% of the population is unemployed. Yet little attention has been paid to the root cause of our financial calamity. The political class engages the situation with hubris and a merry go round of obviously flawed solutions which have not provided any jobs or economic boost.
The response from the political class was to spend a 1.4 trillion dollars and to establish a fiscal commission which was hamstrung in so many ways it's only become another problem on the political landscape. It was staffed with a group of political hacks, many of whom got us to where we are today. The White House that appointed the fiscal commission is calling for a raising of the ceiling on the national debt. What's wrong with that picture?
In a nutshell that is Washington is all it's infamy, half hearted solutions to real problems while thousands of overpaid bureaucrats sit behind desks playing word scrambler and the professional liars and political cockroaches who thrive by the thousands in D.C put out phony fiscal commissions before the public, while they simply intend to continue with business as usual.
Happy New Year! Which in Washington, D.C. Is the same as the old year.
(Melody from When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again)
Booger | 1.3.11 @ 6:15AM
From the desk of President B. Hussein Obama:
Dear Comrades,
As you are well aware, the mid-term elections did not go quite as I had hoped. While I have managed to temper My displeasure with those of you in My administration who failed to properly communicate My Greatness to the amerikkkan people, I am prepared to offer My gracious forgiveness to you. As usual, My magnanimous offer will come with a price. One of you will have to do something about this buzzing gnat of a Congressman Darrell Issa for Me.
Having reviewed My options, there are a number of ways in which we can approach this problem. First of all, however, it is imperative that you understand the gravity of this situation. I have no intention of letting some two-bit tea-bagger from podunk amerikkka disrupt my Grand Plan with his pathetic investigations and threats to hold up funding for My Great Health Care Initiative. I assure you, I will not hesitate to throw just as many of you under the bus as I need to if Congressional investigations become a problem. I will then back the bus up and run over you repeatedly. Are we clear?
First of all, Timmy Geithner has assured Me that there is a great deal he can accomplish using the IRS. Even now he is preparing a Mongol Horde of auditors to look into Issa's personal and office expenditures. Timmy also assures me these auditors will be looking into the finances of Issa's immediate and extended family as well, along with those of any of his close friends and business associates. Timmy assures Me that once Congressman Issa's wife, parents and children are all facing audits and criminal investigations from the IRS he will become much more manageable. I expect nothing less than complete success from you Timmy, as I know you understand all there is to know about getting taxes done properly.
Just in case, however, Eric Holder assures me that his minions at the DOJ are looking into the possibility that some of Issa's staffers may wish to file sexual harassment complaints against him. Additionally, the DOJ will be looking VERY closely at Issa's campaign finance reports. Eric assures me that between these two fronts it is almost certain he will find something useful when dealing with Issa. After all, he shouldn't be investigating us if he doesn't want us investigating him.
Covering additional ground for us will be Secretary of State Hilary Clinton. Hilary has assured Me that she has in her possession certain files from her time in the White House. She has indicated that these files are quite extensive, and that she is hopeful that they may be culled for important information about Congressman Issa. She has indicated, however, that her research into these files is going slower than she would like due to the fact that Sandy Berger left certain stains all over them. I'm not certain what she means by that, and quite frankly I don't really want to know.
Finally, my good friend Bill Ayers is available if needed for a last ditch effort. Bill assures me he has some "explosive" info that will shut Issa up once and for all. I know that some of you have expressed some reticence to employing Bill and his "direct action" techniques, but the fact is that he's just the man to get the job done when no one else is up to it.
Okay everybody, you've got My game plan, so get to work. Remember, just because you didn't win the election doesn't mean I have to give up power!
Your Comrade in the Struggle,
President for Life B. Hussein Obama
http://beautifulletters-bls.blogspot.com/
Mimi| 1.3.11 @ 7:18AM
A GOOD-ONE...BOOG ! What a relief....The beauty of the U.S. Constitution.....Now we are back to " Checks and Balances " The RATS have to scramble and hide. The SHOW we've been waiting for has only just begun!!!
MikeD| 1.3.11 @ 8:30AM
Boog:
It's been a while; but we're glad you're back. Your wit is as sharp as your tongue and your pen; but your message is frighteningly accurate. Barry the muslim and his fellow thugs have already shown clearly that they will not let such insignificant things like election results and the wishes of the vast majority of Americans deter them for one minute. This dictator-in-waiting is just going to hide his worst actions behind empty words about bi-partisanship; moderation, and worst of all; "Reaching across the aisle". DO NOT BELIEVE ONE WORD OF IT!
The "New" demoncrap party continually proves their complete lack of fitness to govern and their constant tactic of lie, divide, and conquer. The Republicans' only chance is to attack every minute like it was the last battle of the last war... and they were down to their last soldier. That's where we are as a Country because of the demoncrats and the RINOs.
We have to watch every comment and every vote and then"out" every rino and lib in the primaries in early 2012; cutting the monster's head off. Are you reading this Bob Bennett? How about you, Mike Castle? But most importantly, how about YOU: Mr. McConnell and Mr. Boehner? THIS IS ASSUREDLY NOT BUSINESS AS USUAL.
Ken (Old Texican)| 1.3.11 @ 12:03PM
Bill, good one.
Say, I just figured out where Antle got his picture for this article:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9sCIOolSLU
Dixie Pixie| 1.3.11 @ 1:24PM
Nice try Ken ( Old Texican ), but no cookie.
The picture is of 1st Cavalry Division Combat Aviation Brigade and the Horse Detachment preforming a mock charge at Fort Hood Texas.
The uniforms and guidon are very distinctive.
The picture is in the Wikipedia entry for the 1st Cavalry Division.
More photos of the 1st Cavalry Division Horse Detachment can be found at:
http://www.hood.army.mil/1stca.....onies.html
Ken (Old Texican)| 1.3.11 @ 3:18PM
Damn, Pixie!
Thank you!
I should have known Texans couldn't wave "six-guns " in the air in a political add.
Heh.
Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 1.3.11 @ 3:51PM
Thanks for your comment. The photo inspired the theme "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" as a leitmotiv for the comment.
Dixie Pixie| 1.3.11 @ 7:52PM
Swords, Six-guns and the coolest headgear and boots in any army.
1st Cavalry Division leaves a lasting impression wherever it goes.
Th US Army has some of the finest military traditions for such a young country.
The 1st Cavalry Division, Horse Detachment is one of them.
The funny thing is, the 1st Cav would have been quite happy to airlift the 112th Congressional Freshman into Washington.
Picture the above photo in your mind.
Now think of the TEA Party faction storming up the Congressional steps with a cavalry escort.
It certainly make for a dramatic entrance.
It is a pity no one thought to ask them.
Ken, I did enjoy your video about Texans marching on Washington.
Bill, I can sympathize with your position.
However it is to early to panic.
Wait until next year to pass judgment on the Republican Party.
Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 1.4.11 @ 5:15AM
It isn't panic to point out the facts, past and present.
L. Chapman| 1.3.11 @ 12:41PM
Required reading for all incoming freshmen:
Anthony Sutton - America's Secret Establishment --an introduction to Skull and Bones.
Perhaps Washington might change, should people wake up and realize 'left' and 'right' are actually the same. Leadership has its marching orders and intends to stay the course. A civil war in Congress is only possible if those who are thusfar uncompromised actually wake up and realize who really runs things.
It's possible...but, alas, not probable.
Tex Expatriate| 1.3.11 @ 12:42PM
Antle's cynicism is closely matched by yours. I refuse to believe the tea party candidates will roll over when they get to D.C. Those who do will so be dis-elected.
Alan Brooks| 1.3.11 @ 12:48PM
You will all botch it again, because you no longer have Reagan or the Cold War to unite you.
Plus, corporations no longer conserve anything.
Poppakap| 1.3.11 @ 7:36PM
Who needs the Cold War? The US Constitution will work just fine. However, we do know the libs will continue with Bolshevik-era class warfare (..and they call themselves [cue laugh track] "progressives").
Alan Brooks| 1.3.11 @ 9:47PM
What about a Reagan? you have none at this time.
Palin isn't up to speed.
We the People| 1.4.11 @ 2:29AM
I Am Ronald Reagan.
Angelo | 1.4.11 @ 9:47AM
The new Ronald Reagan ..is ..John Bolton.......
Clint| 1.3.11 @ 6:25AM
Those 45 Tea Party Candidates being seated in The House and Senate today and sworn in by the 5th are just The Vanguard of The Tea Party Rebellion with The Second Wave coming in The 2012 Primaries and General Elections.
These Candidates are Our Hired Help and we will fire their asses, if they don't consistently uphold The Tea Party Mission Statement & Core Values. We don't have designated Leaders.
That goes for The Ruling Elite Fop RINO-CINO's ,without question.
Ret. Marine| 1.3.11 @ 6:39AM
I hold a sense of hope that this incoming Congress is not the "business as usual" crowd. I also am reminded that it takes "two to tangle". I would like to think that not all, but many have gotten the message of the "wrong direction" they have been too inclined to venture into is exactly the right thinking that desperately needs attention in this new year.
The many items are backed by too few. This is to say, the power brokers for too long have had it their way and seem to think they can just continue to run rough shod over the earners of this country and that it will have no consequence to their precieved powers, they are wrong, and this is the time for the R's to understand they are on probation, the entire lot of them, if they think we are short of memory, think again. Some of us out here in the fly-over country have had it right up to our noses with the stench coming from the elitist, or movers movers and shakers. It may not come as a surprise to some among these movers and shakers that the Tea Party movement is long over due but I am confident they understand the consequences to their actions. It might be helpful to these movers and shakers to come on down to the fly-over country and start talking to those of us who pay the bills. We will not be ignored and our concerns are that of National Security matters, be it in the economic, fiscal, or freedom, they are important issues to our children, their children and the future of this Nation. One way or the other there is a shake up coming in their direction, the end of the most corrupt CONgress is now a foot note into what should not been done or any attempt to continue, now its time for a correction of the course in the Country around the sound principles of this experiment called a Representative Republic. It time for the new crowd to tell the old movers and shakers they had their time and literally crewed the pooch big time, sit down and STFU, your way is not our highway. Many of roads were paved with good intentions, very few made it to their destination. I am an AMERICAN, a citizen, not you subject, it would help if you remind yourselves at the start of your day going forward.
Maddox| 1.3.11 @ 7:17AM
"Your way is not our highway," and The U.S. Constitution is the map!
Excellent thoughts Marine.
saleboter| 1.3.11 @ 7:26AM
In a year we will know if we have seen the end of the republican party. If they cave they are over.
al| 1.3.11 @ 7:36AM
right on the money, saleboter. if Republicans screw up, we'll have a third party by 2012--and it will be those same Republicans, trailing behind the Tea party and the Democrats
Melvin| 1.3.11 @ 7:48AM
It wasn't so much the Tea Party Candidates getting elected, but rather the process that put them into position to get elected.
The process was us. And it will be, "Us" who is responsible for keeping that process moving forward.
It wasn't just the Tea Party members getting their candidates elected, it was a whole lot of other people who were not T.P. members that voted for T.P. candidates.
They also have to be kept engaged. We and they cannot be allowed to take the packs off and set the rifles down and recommence watching Dancing with the Stars.
I have also heard by the grapevine of some squishiness that is starting to be developed by one certain freshman from AZ to one certain Democrat Freshman from Detroit, who both vowed to reach across the aisle. This type of brotherly love needs to stop and stop now. The Dems are already starting to places wedges in Tea Party unity within the ranks.
Ken (Old Texican)| 1.3.11 @ 7:55AM
I think each of you would be SHOCKED at the administrative costs tacked on to the entitlements programs.
Hopefully, one of our contributors here will do some number crunching and lay it out for us.
As all of us in business know, the huge majority of 'overhead' in any effort...is payroll.
In government it is the same. Millions of useless bureaucrats, federal, State, and local; many in government unions.
Also billions spent in stupid boondoggles, (green energy, dept of education etc.).
Throw in tens of thousands of "regulators" ...and here we are....
InLineFour| 1.4.11 @ 12:03PM
Indeed.
Countless, institutionalized, pencil-pushing, "..Assistant to the Deputy Assistant to the Assistant Deputy Director.." bureaucrat positions paying six figure salaries plus benefit packages for life. All paid for with our tax dollars.
JimBeam| 1.3.11 @ 8:11AM
The difference between Republicans and Democrats is that Democrats believe in socialism (to some degree or another) while Republicans understand why it doesn't work.
The problem is that when you understand why socialism doesn't work, it is far easier to game a socialist system to your advantage than it is to change it. When you understand the inefficiencies of socialism, it is easy to exploit these to your advantage.
Perhaps the Republicans will try to change things, but they probably won't get too far. They will then give up on trying to change things and go back to gaming the system for their own advantage and that of their supporters.
Which is exactly what happened the last time the Republicans took Congress.
Petronius| 1.3.11 @ 11:52AM
Back in '95 when Newt took the Chair he allowed a bunch of Democrat moles to cross the aisle. They joined the Republican caucus and sabotaged the Republicans from within. They won't try this again because they don't have to. The MSM has spies in every office inside the beltway working hand in fist with the DNC.
My advice to every incoming freshman to this new Congress is to assemble your staff and make all of them place their wallets, cell phones, and laptops on their desks. Each Congressman and Woman's personal hand picked secretary will then vet each and every staffer face to face. Find out what organizations they join and support, what press contacts they have, and what they read, watch, listen to, and who they associate with. The first thing you do when cleaning House is take out the trash!
Louis Jenkins| 1.3.11 @ 8:20AM
I am sure many of the new congressional members are asking themselves whether to be or not to be. Let's make sure they will be. We are standing on the edge, and it will only take a slight nudge to send us over that edge. The cost of running Big GovCo staggers the imagination and if these newly elected representatives don't back away from the brink, well, I'll leave it to your mind to figure up the ultimate costs.
ncjetsfan| 1.3.11 @ 8:21AM
"The greater likelihood is that the GOP rebels will quickly lose their reformist spirit after a few fizzled confrontations with the bipartisan Beltway establishment and end up governing much like the Democrats they replaced."
True. However, Republicans may now be aware that we're looking as critically at them as their big government colleagues on the other side and won't be shy about letting them know about it. In addition, although we didn't win some of the key Senate races we wanted to, we have shown and will continue to show that we will Primary anyone. That's a big change.
martin j smith| 1.3.11 @ 8:31AM
As I have posted previously here comes a political civil war of which I know Have never experienced in my lifetime. I suspect this may well be true of others.
This 112 th congress will from day one be a contentious environment and you can bet the Democrat Left will be extremely viscious.
The convervative side and that will include the Tea Party Movement will be challenged to have to maintain the greatest courage,backbone and fortitude ever. Why: Not only attacks from their Democrat opponents, but the Media and other ancillary groups . This is winner take all.I am not active in Politics but I am a Tea Party Symp and if they are for real in their beliefs in smaller government and reducing spending and such they
in the end have no choice but to do what they can with the Repubs who are RINOS,waversers or just plain cowards or currupt. The Tea Party and their followers can be useful in forcing RINOS to put up or shut up about being republicans ( In my view they are Democrat Socialist Phoneys ) And the cowards who are given enough pressure to come thru may do so. I think it will take,calls,e-mails, and demonstrations. Not Whining!!!!!!!!!!!
In my mind this is a fight where the idea of losing is not an option--as they say.
lawhite| 1.6.11 @ 3:24AM
I agree, Martin. What we have today is a different picture than we've ever had before. We've had a clear view of what harm the leftists do to our nation, and we've had a massive wake up call. Our citizens are more aware than they were before, and they will not let it be "business as usual". The establishment will kick against the trend, but they will lose. We have to be certain of this, and we have to keep after them, but I think true change will continue if we do.
The pessimists do not have grounds yet for their pessimism, IMO.
Bill| 1.3.11 @ 9:29AM
I got a kick out of that "most of them over 50" remark. Evidently the person who made it wants to make the point that people over 50 are nearing the end of the period when peoples' beliefs and actions count for something.
Given that life expectancies are approaching the 80s, I would say a person in their 50s has 25-30 years of life left ahead. That would make a person of 50 in the late middle of his/her life, far from being considered over the hill.
LiveFreeOrDie| 1.3.11 @ 11:17AM
It was a completely slanted and bigoted comment. Still trying to discredit tea party members and stereotype them as "old and white." All because (as every liberal puke knows) old people and white people are all racist, slow-witted idiots who don't deserve to have a say in their own government.
Bill| 1.3.11 @ 9:34AM
Johnathan Chait says that Ron Paul's liking for Ayn Rand is "tantamount to a candidate whose worldview has been shaped by Karl Marx." Since the word "tantamount" means "the same as," was Mr. Chait saying that liking Ayn Rand is like being shaped by Karl Marx?
In some sense, Chait of course is right: Ayn Rand's hatred of collectivism WAS shaped by her experience of Marxism in the USSR's early days. But I question if that particular meaning is what Chait was after.
L. Chapman| 1.3.11 @ 12:50PM
I suspect Mr. Chait has not actually read Ayn Rand, but merely reflects on what he's "heard." YOU, sir, are quite correct in that her views were shaped by the horrors linked to the early days of the USSR and not a fond recollection of Karl Marx. I suspect Ayn Rand also studied Heigel and Mr. Chait probably thinks that's some sort of sandwich at a gourmet shop in New York.
Cheeseburger in Paradise| 1.3.11 @ 9:47AM
Never, I mean NEVER take your eyes off the
%astards. My congressman knows who I am, and he hears from me often. This is my government. They will only get away with what we let them.
By the way, can we stop saying "tea partiers?" Does anyone else prefer the term "Constitutional Republican?" or "Constitutionalist?"
rpm| 1.3.11 @ 9:48AM
"As we sadly learned with all the sound and fury that attended the Republican Revolution of 1994, the real risk isn't that a tidal wave of right-wing kookery will wash over the land. The greater likelihood is that the GOP rebels will quickly lose their reformist spirit after a few fizzled confrontations with the bipartisan Beltway establishment and end up governing much like the Democrats they replaced."
This is the crux of the issue. I think the author is correct--the new folks will be quickly housebroken. If that is true and the Tea Party folks throw them back out, along with a bunch more, there is hope. If the Tea Party fizzles, the once great nation of the USA will fade into history.
Impeach Don't Wait| 1.4.11 @ 9:44PM
"If the Tea Party fizzles, the once great nation of the USA will fade into history."
Yep. But I'm not thinkin' the Tea Party will fizzle. What are they (we) going to do? Give up and move to Europe? The fight is on, we know we're not alone, we have the Constitution and the "Founders" spirit on our side. And socialist policies will fail. We ARE the alternative.
If nothing else, a new tone is being set: One of Congress' proposed rules to be considered Jan. 5:
"Section 2. Changes to the Standing Rules.
Citing Authority under the Constitution. Paragraph (a) creates a new
clause 7 in rule XII providing that a Member may not introduce a bill or joint
resolution unless the sponsor also submits a statement citing as specifically as
practicable the power or powers under the Constitution authorizing the
enactment of that bill or joint resolution. The statement will appear in a separate
section in the Congressional Record and be made available to the public in
electronic form."
If you wanna read more:
http://rules-republicans.house.....?NewsID=50
stephen feldman| 1.3.11 @ 10:32AM
It will be easy to evaluate the T-party/libertarian caucus: CUT. Entitlements, "education" spending, defense contracts and missions, Free Trade Agreements.
If but a few or none are cut, bring back Nancy- Real -Thing.
Michael L. Hauschild| 1.3.11 @ 11:10AM
Take a bitof time and go read the piece on bolton over at NRO.
Skep41 | 1.3.11 @ 11:25AM
OK, there are a few 'sane' members arriving in Congress this year...people who appear to be kooks in the eyes of the NYT. Maybe we should stop electing lawyers to the Senate and House and put together a slate of accountants. How can the current crop of morons not see that the end game, bankruptcy, is staring them in the face? If expenditures arent cut drastically, soon, we are headed for a Soviet Union-style meltdown that will bring the whole misconceived system down in ruins. Are the libs so greedy and short-sighted that they wont take the minimum moves necessary to stave off the total ruin of everything they've done in the last seventy years? Apparently not. Liberal legislators are every bit as stupid as the people who vote for them. Well, I live in California and we are now governed by 100% libs. From the governor, through the legislature, the entire bureaucracy, the entire media and most local governments the Democrats have parleyed irrelevant and trivial social issues (abortion, guns, gay marriage) into huge majorities of maniacs who support an insane level of spending and regulation that will cause a collapse very soon. California is a very large domino that will exert a gravitational pull on the whole system. So maybe Washington wont corrupt the Tea Partiers. They are staring into the terrifying maw of the deficit pit...that should keep them honest.
JeffW| 1.3.11 @ 11:27AM
I got news for the newly elected Republicans that benifited from the Tea Party. Stick to your guns, resist the "Beltway Mentality" and we will send you re-enforcements. That is how this war against socialism will be won. One trench at a time, keep pushing them back until they either collapse or fall of the cliff.
JP| 1.3.11 @ 11:36AM
Of course Ayn Rand's worldview was shaped by Karl Marx; her home land was violently taken over by Troskyites and Lenninists. Making that point is akin to complaining that Henry Kissenger's worldview was shaped by Nazisism. So what?
It should be noted that Progressivism outlasted both the Nazis and the Communists. What took root in Europe in 1948 and later here was a form of Third Way politics that mixed a number of political, economic, anthropological, and social ideas into one soup we know as Progressivism.
Many commentator here point this out repeatedly. It isn't that the commies lost and went home. Nope, most weren't even communists or socialists. They cloaked themselves with the flags of many thinkers and invaded the society from within. Some pundits called this the "Long March through our Institutions". You see them in our churches, schools, day-care centers, universities, research centers, media outlets, inside both parties, and especially in the Beltway. They use the language of the social worker, "healer", and management guru. That is why Obama and his groupies can say with a straight face that he is niether a socialist or a communist. That is why, Rep Fred Upton can call himself a Regeanite while agreeing with most of what the EPA wishes to regulate.
And that is why Mr Antle is correct in predicting that most of the newly elected Teapartiers will be consumed by the Borg we know the Beltway.
JP| 1.3.11 @ 11:46AM
Here are a few things to watch:
1)Will the House demand that HHS show them in detail thier plans to implement ObamaCare? This includes budgets, lines of authority, who and what will be making what decisions. Will the House grill HHS bureaucrats and demand to know where thier authority comes from explicitly? Will it contest HHS's authority, and if needed write new codecils to ObamaCare limiting HHSs authority? Will the House do the same to the FCC and EPA?
2)Will the Senate GOP cover the House's back? Or will it do what it has done since 1995 and team with the Democratic Majority and stifle what comes out of the House (watch the Maine Twins, Brown, Lugar, Lindsay Graham, McCain, Corker, Murkowski, and Alexander)?
3)Will the GOP threaten to keep the budget ceiling at current levels unless Congress immediatly implements budget reforms?
The key is the GOP Senate. For it is usually the Senate where reform dies. There are 10 GOP Senators who hold the key (see list above). If McConnell cannot force some kind of party discipline and show a united hand, the 112th Congress will be a disappointment to many.
Osamas Pajamas| 1.4.11 @ 2:05AM
The Tea Partiers will need to get vociferous and sink their teeth into the legs of RINO Republicans who think that we'll go away if we're ignored. Fat chance, sports fans. This is "our" country and neither Democrats nor fake Republicans should be allowed to piss on it and destroy it.
Oldefarte| 1.3.11 @ 11:57AM
Let me proclaim my simplified version of this historic situation. Democrats operate their quid-pro-quo political agenda of their providing governmental welfare to their indigent constituents in return for same's votes for Democrats at election time. The onlly problem with this extreme generosity is that THESE GOVERNMENTAL BENEFITS ARE FUNDED/PAID FOR BY THE TAXPAYERS WHO EARN/GENERATE INCOME THROUGH THEIR LABOR/BUSINESS OPERATIONS. If Democrats had to fund/pay for said benefits WITH THEIR OWN PERSONAL ASSETS/MONEY, then there would be no aid to this, that and the other thing being provided to indigents. Liberals and Democrats [especially wealthy ones] by nature are among the stingiest of givers to charities/poor, and only because it is other individuals [taxpayers] that are paying for these benefits are liberals/Democrats so generous with their giving through the political process. Conversely, Republicans and conservatives [constituting the majority of the income producers and therefore taxpayers of this country] have historically been more concerned with decreasing governmental taxes and the spending of same, and therefore the resulting conflict between Democrats and Republicans constantly exists!!!!!!!!
899898| 1.3.11 @ 11:58AM
99999990
mtiv | 1.3.11 @ 12:08PM
I think the author is correct--the new folks will be quickly housebroken.
Chalkdust| 1.3.11 @ 12:26PM
I would like to convince myself that the age of the beginning of the end of more than 80 years of the rape of our constitutional republic is upon us. Sadly, the most I can hope for is that 2010 is the beginning of the beginning.
Strikingly, 2010 political landscape is much like 1994.
* The majority leader is a old political hand, who will become great good friends with the sitting president.
*A president/senate majority leader who will sit astride the road to any REAL change. (who will dispute Bob Dole, RINO in charge of the senate was almost as bad as Harry the Reid?)
* After 100 days of sound and fury, things will pretty much return to what is considered normal.
* The new Republican congress will make a landmark change or two over the next 24 months.
* Lobbyist and RINOs will select another another pretender in the 2012 republican presidential primary
* The political independents will go back to sleep, the economy will improve and women will help elect another evil, lying sitting president who will take credit for the changes.
Folks, 2012 can be the beginning of the end if we keep up the pressure and donate our cash to the people who are running for office and not the RNC, at least until they earn our trust.
Bob| 1.3.11 @ 12:27PM
The GOP is today's version of the Maginot Line. Liberals will bypass it solidify their gains, gain even more ground and once the howitzers fire the Republicans will disintegrate into dust. History repeats itself.
Ken (Old Texican)| 1.3.11 @ 12:35PM
Sorry,
Gloomers Doomers.
A committed minority always wins. Quit whining, and lock and load...in Sarah's words.
JP| 1.3.11 @ 2:52PM
Yes!!!! We sure showed the Dems last spring when they passed ObamaCare!
Chalkdust| 1.3.11 @ 4:30PM
Oh yeah! We few, we band of brothers/sisters really scared the pants and spats off the lame duck congress. They got the message from the peeps loud and clear....quit the stupid spending!
PattyMor| 1.3.11 @ 12:38PM
But the wildcard is inflation and depreciation of the dollar. The welfare state is collapsing, but neither party wants to deal with it. All will tinker around the edges until it consumes them all. The only question is, what remains standing after the welfare state falls apart??
Chalkdust| 1.3.11 @ 4:42PM
I hate to be so negative today PattyMor, but don't be silly. Inflation is not the wild card. It's being contrived by the controlled depreciation of the dollar and the "welfare state" is behind it all for purposes of it's own.
Richard baker| 1.3.11 @ 12:42PM
Did you ever notice that the Dems never water down their "principles?" As we used to say in the Infantry, "Lead, Follow, or Get the Hell out of the Way!" Good advice for OUR Representatives.
L. Chapman| 1.3.11 @ 12:56PM
When is somebody going to wake up and point out the emporor is naked?
Richard Baker| 1.3.11 @ 1:06PM
L. Chapman:
Of course he's not read it. At over 1000 pages (1200 in paperback) and full of thought provoking ideas, it attacks the foundation of the welfare state. That's anathema to many of these liberal "minds." Would he then say that Bonhoeffer was influenced by the Nazis in his writings? Curious.
martin j smith| 1.3.11 @ 1:09PM
Let me be a bit of a trouble maker. This relates to the "doom and gloomers". I ask myself this questionf them ( obviously i do not know these people personally ):
Who are they: Are they just naturally depressed people and need medication ? Are they totally hopeless that they decided to live in a Marxist Paradise because there is no other hope or are they phoneys ? Lets use the term trolls or seminar posters ? ( in some cases ). In my view it is necessary to give the new congress at least 24 hours to solve all of our problems. Then..... and only then can you maon and groan all you want.
Until the I would question each and every post of this nature and watch for patterns and groups ( not gropings ) of posters. Be suspiscious of these people because they cannot be on " OUR" side.
In some cases it is possible that trying to grind down conservatives with pessimism planted here and there is not an unheard of strategy. The question of being right or wrong is immaterial certainly now before the 112 have even started
their work.
JP| 1.3.11 @ 2:50PM
Maybe you should go by the moniker Charlie Brown. Remember him? Now matter how many times Lucy pull the football away as he kicked it, he always trusted her the next time. Kind of like Einstein's definition of insanity.
But I must hand it to the Cheerleader Wing of the GOP. They are loyal no matter how many RINOs they must defend.
Osamas Pajamas| 1.4.11 @ 2:08AM
Defund the RINOs --- don't defend them.
Margie| 1.3.11 @ 3:17PM
JP,
Nasty, as usual.
martin j. smith,
You are right, as usual.
Onward!
JP| 1.3.11 @ 3:44PM
Margie,
Lucy is over there holding the football.
JP| 1.3.11 @ 3:54PM
Marge,
If you want to know what I would like to see, it is this:
Both the the House and Senate GOP members showing a united fron concerning the defecit ceiling. Nothing would fire a shot across the Beltway bow than both Boehner and McConnell promising that no business will get done until real spending cuts are implemented.
But that would require planning, political skill, and real guts. It is just the kind of political leadership that the Teapartiers promised.
Margie| 1.3.11 @ 6:00PM
Life is short.
You do the best you can with what you've got.
I hate gloom in myself and it doesn't do anybody any good, so why allow it in others?
Do we want a sinking ship of fools or are we going to stay risen up and awake like we are now?
Personally, I've been awake sine '92 with my first vote and never looked back.
Politicians will be politicians, they are no more perfect than we are.
I do know there's a faction of anti-war types that want to take over the Republican party, or destroy it. They want a third party. You'll ALWAYS hear them comparing the Repubs to the Dems saying there's no difference between them.
I have no tolerance for liars.
Ya wanna talk about LUCYS!
JP| 1.3.11 @ 7:40PM
Margie,
I come from a state that has given the Union Richard Lugar and Dan Coats. We shall see who is holding the football 2 years from now. BTW, I do love your enthusiasm. I hope it outlasts to RINOS.
Margie| 1.3.11 @ 9:24PM
Well thanks, JP. The key word I think is this: Awake!
I wish we could scream it from the mountain tops. If conservatives keep vigilant and keep voting for conservatives running in the Repub party.. we cannot lose! I am just as tired of having to vote for a RINO in a final election rather than pull the lever for a Democrat.. which I will still do if that is the situation, but I am hoping those days are over.
I listened to Herman Cain on the radio recently for the first time. I never heard of him before, and he was sitting in for Sean Hannity. (Thanks, Sean).
This man really encouraged me, and I think he is a Reagan conservative. Here is another great conservative guy who is just like us. He GETS IT so totally. If he does run I am thinking now that between him, John Bolton, Sarah Palin, Marco Rubio, and others... that there might be too much competition! I'm kidding but in how long have we not been able to be this hopeful about so many conservatives?
We'll keep doing great and have success as long as we keep awake.. and keep others awake. I'm hoping my own family are finally starting to come around.. they're all Democrats!! I'm the black sheep and proud of it, been working on them for decades.
Like the poster said, below.. we have to hope for the best but prepare for the worst. One eye on the problem and one eye on the cure.
root for the underdog| 1.3.11 @ 3:59PM
Margie, I think I love you.
As she said, ONWARD!!
Margie| 1.3.11 @ 6:01PM
;^)
davelnaf| 1.3.11 @ 2:08PM
It could turn out as the author suggests. The new members, once they get the delicious whiff of spending tons of other people’s money, will dive right into the Washington orgy. By the time they come up for air the need for a VAT will be manifestly obvious to most and it gets passed by a substantial majority, with the usual suspects vowing on their sainted mothers’ graves to use the torrent of money a VAT produces to only pay down the deficit.
And, of course, they will not keep this promise. The outrage this produces throughout the saner parts of the country will make voters do in 2014 and 2016 what they are already primed to do next year. As a result many of the new members elected to Congress over the next three national elections will either be Tea Party people or sympathetic to the moment and its goals—it’s a given that a fair number will be pretending to be sympathetic. RINOs will at last become an endangered species, if not outright extinct. The Democratic Party will be ground down to its purest essence: a far left-wing, progressive, and faintly anti-American, party. Only after these things happen will VAT money be used to pay down the debt.
There is no guarantee that this scenario will eventuate, but some version of it absolutely has to.
Osamas Pajamas| 1.4.11 @ 1:44AM
There will never be a "need" for a VAT / value-added tax. There may be a need for killing a bunch of bloodsxckers who have a neverending thirst for our money, however. Better to spill the blood of bloodsxckers than to pay more and more and more taxes. Overthrow these scum and destroy them.
e cowan| 1.3.11 @ 2:26PM
'Will the Senate GOP cover the House's back? Or will it do what it has done since 1995 and team with the Democratic Majority and stifle what comes out of the House (watch the Maine Twins, Brown, Lugar, Lindsay Graham, McCain, Corker, Murkowski, and Alexander)?'
Good question.
I would like to know if the newly elected INDEPENDENT senator from Alaska, Ms. Murkowski, will be left in her Republican committee assignments......
rpm| 1.3.11 @ 3:11PM
Yes.
martin j smith| 1.3.11 @ 3:12PM
Action not whining. What is needed is a monitoring of the behavior of those who don't get it and flood their lines with messages and same with Senate or house leadership. Demonstrations may be needed. Action not whining.
martin j smith| 1.3.11 @ 3:52PM
I would say this, serious people in the voters class, who were active to one degree or another will NOT go to sleep. Voters who were angry will pay attention
At least some of the newly elected in the senate such as Jim de M Rand Paul,Marco Rubio will take leadership positions and this will certainly be true in the House. So lets see if Charlie Brown does the same goofy thing or not also. I strongly suggest that there will be internal pressure on RINOS-no absolute iron clad how they will respond. But frankly if some changed parties that might not such a terrible thing. Lets see what happens. Remember speaking of Charlie Brown--Nancy pelosi said she would keep her seat. Well buddy... I think not. It will take a replay of Town Halls,large scale call
-ins and demonstrations. . Freedom is not for nuthin.
JP| 1.3.11 @ 4:00PM
Good post. But, to illustrate the points I made above, look at Pat Toomey. If anyone owes conservatives, it is him. It was thier support not just in PA, but across the nation that kept his career afloat (the same can be said of Sen Brown from MA who recieved millions from Teapartiers). But if his recent votes are any indication, not to mention some public comments he made this past week-end (his pledge to be independent of the GOP, his willingness to "move the center of gravity in the Beltway (whatever that means), we can assume he is already positioning himself to the Left. Not a good sign. McConnell is going to have real problems with the growing RINO wing.
jack carlson| 1.3.11 @ 3:57PM
This is just the first wave. Tsunamis have multiple waves that get progressively bigger. 2010 was the beginning of a tsunami!
tall mel| 1.3.11 @ 5:04PM
"radical constitutionalists"
I like the way that sounds
Simon Templar| 1.3.11 @ 6:45PM
Radical constitutionalism!? Why do we allow the Leftist America haters define not only the agenda but the language itself? THERE is NO such thing as radical constitutionalism! There is Constitutionalism and then there is Radical Unconstitutionalism!
Carnifex| 1.3.11 @ 6:51PM
Hope for the best but prepare for the worst.
To paraphrase Razack in Starship Troopers:
"I need a congressman. You're it until you're dead or I find somebody better."
Martin Treptow| 1.3.11 @ 7:49PM
We'll see how everybody behaves in the 112th Congress. However, the 2012 elections are a simple matter of math: In the Senate, the Left has too many seats to defend, and not just Democrats, but RINO's will be in the crosshairs. And as for the House, do you think the "Tea Party Movement" will be more galvanized or less galvanized after two years of this Socialist president's trying to implement his agenda through Executive Fiat, bypassing the enumerated powers?
I'll put my money on a seven or eight seat pickup in the Senate and an expansion of the majority in the House. After that, quite honestly it matters little if Obama is elected to a second term. He will be completely neutered at that point. Hell, elect a RINO president that will placate the "moderates", it won't matter one bit who sits in that Oval Office
Osamas Pajamas| 1.4.11 @ 1:51AM
What if the Executive refuses to enforce laws enacted --- or repealed --- by a conservative-libertarian majority in Congress? Best also to have a CINC who can stand and deliver on the subject of limited, constitutional government.
FreedomRose | 1.3.11 @ 8:04PM
Well said. One other additional point--advice--question. WHY THE HELL CAN'T THE REPUBLICANS GRAB THE MICROPHONE? They need speech lessons. They need professional help. They are dealing with the masters of deceit. Get with it, you guys! God speed!
sans| 1.3.11 @ 8:18PM
libertarian = anarchist. if you hate government, why do you want to serve in it, and glean the free health benefits while you're at it. you're not going to get away that easy. And to all the pseudo patriot GOP/TPers, who call dems socialist, please be aware that your right wing party resembles the party politics of Communism than any Democrat could ever be. So live in your sheltered little worlds creeps - and remember, Communism went down once, and it will again right here in America, as your right wing politics is exposed to the country as the CON game that it is.
Osamas Pajamas| 1.4.11 @ 1:41AM
I hardly know where to begin in confronting your gibberish, "Sans" --- and perhaps it would be better to simply paraphrase it into something like "I hate people who earn money and won't give it to me." I will say that sometimes it is better for a libertarian or a conservative to attack dictatorship from within its fat belly --- the better and more easily to stab it in the heart and kill it.
axbucxdu| 1.3.11 @ 10:00PM
CON game? Oh my, how rash. If the last century of progressive government has demonstrated anything, it's that your left wing pols can't add. The only thing that's being exposed today is the piss poor, slipshod financial accounting conducted by the dreamers on the left.
How are we then to explain these fiduciary errors to the taxpaying citizens footing the bill for all these flying guvmint broomsticks?
I mean, who would dare to describe their intentions as anything so malevolent as a con, since their ideals represent only the heartfelt desire of noblesse oblige. Nevermind that the bulk of these progressive schemes consist of stealing from tax producer A and transferring the loot, net handling fees to said pols of course, to tax consumer B.
No, the libs aren't insincere, not at all, but only arithmetically incompetent.
Osamas Pajamas| 1.4.11 @ 1:55AM
Well, the Democrats "sincerely" want to hijack your wallet and take up residence inside it --- in case you make some more money that they can steal in the form of taxes, laws, and regulations. And by the way, we help them to stay camouflaged from effective view when we call them "liberals." They are no such thing --- they are "statists" and they pledge allegiance to "statism."
Osamas Pajamas| 1.4.11 @ 1:47AM
SAM ADAMS IS MORE THAN JUST A GREAT YANKEE BEER!
TAX HATER SAMUEL ADAMS, ON A ROLL AND ARMED TO THE TEETH, AUGUST, 1776……
"You darkeners of counsel, who would make the property, lives and religion of millions depend on the evasive interpretations of musty parchments; who would send us to antiquated charters of uncertain and contradictory meaning, to prove that the present generation are not bound to be victims to cruel and unforgiving despotism, tell us whether our pious and generous ancestors bequeathed to us the miserable privilege of having the rewards of our honesty, industry, the fruits of those fields which they purchased and bled for, wrested from us at the will of men over whom we have no check.
"Contemplate the mangled bodies of your countrymen, and then say, What should be the reward of such sacrifices? Bid us and our posterity bow the knee, and supplicate the friendship, and plough, and sow, and reap, to glut the avarice of the men who have let loose on us the dogs of war to riot in our blood and hunt us from the face of the earth? If you love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom – go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.
“Courage, then, my countrymen, our contest is not only whether we ourselves shall be free, but whether there shall be left to mankind an asylum on earth for civil and religious liberty. Dismissing, therefore, the justice of our cause, as incontestable, the only question is, What is best for us to pursue in our present circumstances?”
“It does not take a majority to prevail….but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.”
“Among the natural rights of the colonists are these: first a right to life, secondly to liberty, and thirdly to property; together with the right to defend them in the best manner they can.”
“The Constitution shall never be construed… to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms.”
Osamas Pajamas| 1.4.11 @ 1:56AM
What this country needs is a truly LIBERAL president and congress and judiciary! And I forgive the reader for suspecting that this must be some kind of bad joke!
But the Democrats believe in "statism" --- not "liberalism."
They benefit from the imprecise American political terminology ---- we say "the government" here in the USA ---- rather than "the state." And that's a dangerous problem. Famous brands of statism in recent centuries have been Nazism, socialism, fascism, communism, and welfare statism ---- this last is sort of a mix of fascism and socialism.
Liberalism, on the other hand, is a political philosophy of small, cheap government ---- it is a constabulary ---- and the job of a liberal government is to enforce human rights within its own jurisdiction. I speak of the unalienable and perfectly-natural and universally-valid human rights of life, liberty, private property, and the pursuit of personal happiness.
The first article of private property is "the self" and all other rights are derivatives of and flow from these cardinal rights. These rights ---- The Rights of Man ---- are the gift of nature or of nature's god ---- and they belong to all human beings, everywhere.
Show me a Democrat who subscribes to all of the above, without qualifications or weasel words. The words "liberal" and "liberalism" were hijacked by the Democrats and socialists and fascists long ago ---- and it was the mistake of conservatives and libertarians to let them get away with it.
It is long past time that liberalism be reclaimed, defined, and explained by its rightful owners ---- by the champions of freedom, i.e.: not by Democrats.
Well, how about "progressivism?" Whuzzat?! “Cancer” is “progressive,” too. Isn't “progressivism” just another statist cancer? It chews you up, piece by piece, in the name of Da Peepul? Eat Da Rich? Moral cannibalism, anyone?
Friends of freedom! Friends of peace-through-strength! And friends of prosperity! Declare yourselves to be "liberals," then ---- and kick over the bloody coffee tables --- and overthrow and trounce the Democrats in 2010 and 2012!
jo blo| 1.4.11 @ 9:22AM
With all due respect to Mr. Antle and the other cynics, if we spent half the energy we spend in being cynical and whining about how the GOP will let us down into putting fire under their tails, we'd get everything we want.
It is like watching a man who is sick in bed, with the cure to his disease in reach on the nightstand , die because he is too lazy/cynical/whatever to take the danged medicine. It's tragic and it's disgusting.
jgo| 1.4.11 @ 9:50AM
All they have to do is keep on proposing cuts and elimination of unconstitutional programs and the radical leftists will keep exposing their insanity and mean-spiritedness.
Randy131| 1.4.11 @ 12:49PM
Hey Mr. Antle, do you really believe that sarcasm achieves goals? Wouldn't sarcasm be relegated to the list of vinegars rather than a list of honeys? Wouldn't a little enthusiastic motivation of goal achievement with inspirational words work a little better? If the liberal establishment ever gets all that it wants, who would they blame for the destruction of our society and country and the loss of everything they worked for and accumulated over the years? For after they've destroyed the Constitution, those with guns who refused to give them up will destroy them, for there will be no more rule of law, but rule of the strong over the weak, just as all socialistic and communistic governance has degraded in to.
Charles Perkel | 1.4.11 @ 3:12PM
Never underestimate the power of sarcasm. It stimulates more thought and more action than several reams of blather. I was recently reading excerpts from Abraham Lincoln's letters and speeches. He made excellent use of sarcasm and accomplished quite a bit for the constitutional cause along the way.
The fact is that there is and will always be a constant battle between the leftist cant which dominates our political and cultural elite and the advocates of limited government. There is only one effective antidote to the pressure from the interests which push big government. It is constant pressure from those of us who understand the price we will have to pay. If I had my way every members of Congress would read Arthur Brooks' "The Battle" and "Leave Us Alone", by Grover Nordquist. In addition, The U.S. Constitution and excerpts from the "Federalist Papers" should be read aloud every day. Since this is unlikely, I recommend, a daily dose of sarcasm from concerned constituents.
Achilles Toejam | 1.5.11 @ 6:46PM
Well said Boog & Bill Hussain O'Stalin. The only thing we can do is pray and hold their feet to the fire that this will not be a repeat of 1994, we need to give the permanent Jonah tossed to phony posers like Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney.
From now on the politicians we consider should have already gone through the Cleon Skousen 5000 year leap course and passed with flying colors.
Our freedom depends on it!
http://www.nccs.net
Adidas | 8.11.11 @ 6:07AM
is good
العاب بنات | 4.10.12 @ 12:34PM
It isn't panic to point out the facts, past and present