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Political Hay
The Charlie Sheen Republicans
House GOP struggles to kick spending addiction.
Charlie Sheen and Lawrence O’Donnell.
What do the actor and MSNBC host have in common?
And what role does addiction play?
Hang on. First, one of Jack Kemp’s favorite stories. The former congressman, HUD Secretary and vice-presidential nominee loved telling this story, always told it to effect — and to a point certain.
“Councils of war breed timidity and defeatism,” Kemp would say, quoting Douglas MacArthur quoting his own father, General Arthur MacArthur, on the eve of the invasion of Inchon in the Korean War. The senior MacArthur, overshadowed in later history by his son, was no slouch at military strategy himself — he had begun his own distinguished military career by winning the Congressional Medal of Honor as an 18-year old in the Civil War.
Kemp would use the Inchon story repeatedly to inspire his audiences, whether a handful of staff or thousands of cheering Republicans. The one-time quarterback for the Buffalo Bills, who had the broken finger on his throwing hand molded permanently to fit a football — a move which helped him not only continue a career others insisted was at an end but helped him quarterback the Bills to two back-to-back AFL championships — knew a thing or two about throwing the long ball, about getting tackled, getting up and running the ball again. And again and again and again and again. Until the goal line (the Kemp-Roth tax cuts that produced some 21 million jobs and launched the Reagan Revolution) was crossed.
Jack Kemp and his favorite Inchon story come to mind as the news of the House GOP’s acceptance of a budget deal with President Obama and the forces of the American Left in Congress were announced. It comes to mind as the fight to raise the debt ceiling looms as the next big fiscal fight, along with the next chapter in the budget fight. It comes to mind as President Obama prepares, reportedly, to ask for — shocker — higher taxes. The MacArthur story in Kemp’s (historically accurate) telling went roughly as follows:
It is the summer of 1950. North Korea has successfully, out of the blue, invaded South Korea, quickly capturing the capital of Seoul as the Communists relentlessly sweep over the border and through the South Korean countryside. President Harry Truman had determined this would not stand, and MacArthur, summoned from his post-World War II post in Japan, was given command. MacArthur surveyed the situation and had an idea. It was bold, startling in its creativity. What Douglas MacArthur was planning was a surprise amphibious landing at Inchon, a coastal South Korean city on the Yellow Sea. His goal was to land well behind the Communist forces that had taken Seoul, execute a great turning movement… surprise the enemy… and defeat him. Retake the South Korean capital and begin to drive the North Koreans back over the 38th parallel.
The Pentagon, alarmed, balked. Generals were adamantly opposed. Admirals said not only no but hell no. Every conceivable reason was given as to why invading Inchon was a bad, very bad idea. No beaches, impossibly high tides or low tide mud flats. Strong currents. Shoals, rocks, small bay, narrow channel, high seawalls. Whatever Inchon was, it was not the flat beaches of France on D-Day. It was absolutely not the place to try and land 75,000 troops and maneuver over 250 ships.
On and on went the list of objections. And in the end, hearing his father’s wisdom, MacArthur, possessed of clarity of vision and the courage to act on that vision, stood and said (Kemp’s husky voice growing hushed here): “I can almost hear the ticking hand of destiny. We must act now or we will die… Inchon will succeed.”
And so it did. Spectacularly, taking the North Koreans completely by surprise. In took a mere four days to take and secure the city, putting an abrupt halt to a series of North Korean victories and led to the re-capture of Seoul. MacArthur’s bold vision — and the steel nerve to carry it out — was vindicated.
Kemp’s point was understood exactly by his friend Ronald Reagan. This was precisely what Reagan meant when he gave his famous 1975 speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference:
I don’t know about you, but I am impatient with those Republicans who after the last election rushed into print saying, ‘We must broaden the base of our party’ — when what they meant was to fuzz up and blur even more the differences between ourselves and our opponents.
Our people look for a cause to believe in. Is it a third party we need, or is it a new and revitalized second party, raising a banner of no pale pastels, but bold colors which make it unmistakably clear where we stand on all of the issues troubling the people?
Let us show that we stand for fiscal integrity and sound money and above all for an end to deficit spending, with ultimate retirement of the national debt.
About the Author
Jeffrey Lord is a former Reagan White House political director and author. He writes from Pennsylvania at jlpa1@aol.com.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (41) | Leave a comment
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Steve G| 4.12.11 @ 6:38AM
A most excellent analogy, Mr. Lord.
Our sole chance is the (hopefully) dawning realization that the Left cannot be reasoned with or engaged in constructive compromise. They must be smashed like the Wehrmacht; crushed, not defeated; stepped on and ground back into the dirt every time they attempt to raise their heads.
Sadly, it has come to that. Or some sort of secession through which their destructive habits harm only themselves and allow us to climb down from that train.
Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 4.12.11 @ 6:45AM
You took a rather long way of saying to the Republicans that courage is an American quality.
Going along with stupidity is rarely applauded or noted.
American history is replete with tale after tale of courage and innovation and nerve.
Inside the beltway those qualities are not only not appreciated, they are disdained.
It can also be observed in the aftermath of the budgetless deal because in fact there was no real cut.
What was promoted was financial mayhem courtesy of two greedy parties who can't let go of the greed. How as the Republican move greedy when there were cuts?
It was greedy because their moves are based on their need to hold onto power. The Republican leadership doesn't want to lose their exalted positions and that's a worse addiction then Charlie Sheen's because they what the do affects the entire nation.
There is no power though when you simply make small moves with the promise of bigger moves to come. The last time I checked that is failure.
O'Donnell is nothing compared to the weeping of some of the Republican establishment including articles posted at the TAS.
The Republicans who are not happy are being accused of whining and not understanding.
Yes, the aftermath and the after plan is to tell the little people that you don't understand what is going on here, just shut up, roll over and take it, and smile. That's the establishment plan for the little people.
Dee See| 4.12.11 @ 6:47AM
---Instead of blinding us with the sheen of his
stale rebelliousness, he might dazzle and inspire
by taking on the toxic powers that be straight
on.
He's made his money. WHY doesn't he start
with his own industry which has been deliberately
burying ALLLLL consciousness of the RED Chinese 'eugenics friendly' Halocaust for decades,
while saying nothing about the sellout here, while
slyly pre-programming us ever further into suicide.
HUAC meets NUREMBERG! ---and Hollywood's
invited, uh, we mean indicted --too!
Ken (Old Texican)| 4.12.11 @ 7:43AM
Mr. Lord,
well spoken!
I'm very afraid that the only "intervention"that will work is another national tragedy like 9-11...only a magnitude of scale worse.
Wasn't it Ryan who called our situation "the most predictable crisis in our history"?
I do hope you will check out my just-released E-novel web-site with customer reviews.
My "future history" narrates an "intervention".
www.americaalonesaidno.com
martin j smith| 4.12.11 @ 7:54AM
I think that the current Republican Leadership should be advised by e-mail or phone mail that support for them is getting to be near if not non existent. And, that if they do not show great resolve and concern for this country and its voters by standing for Economic Conservative values in the debate coming up about the Debt Ceiling they will be perceived not only as doing great damage to this country--but in addition-as conspiring with the Socialists against A MAJORITY OF AMERICAN VOTERS. While I certainly do not recommend staying home or voting Socialists in election day I would suggest--under any circumstances: Primarying anyone who does not support Free Market ideas and legislation to that end and certainly anyone who seems to ignore the Voters who got the Republicans the majority. And, I would also suggest that NO PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE BE SUPPORTED WHO IS A RINO AND BOEHNOR AND MCCONNELL SHOULD BE SO ADVISED. Third: Lump the RINOS with the SOCIALISTS
and set up large c=scale Demonstrations against
THEIR POLICIES that will destroy our country.
Fourth: Make a well publicized statement signed by as many people was possible asking for NEW LEADERSHIP. That is all.
The Bishop| 4.12.11 @ 8:16AM
Great analogy. When you have to get Dems to sign on to an agreement to get the numbers you need, disaster waits in the wings. It's almost like November never happened - five short months later.
The real problem is that the DC culture has totally corrupted both parties. The differences are only those pale shades, not contrasting colors.
Isn't it ironic (to illustrate how out of hand the federal government has become) that 150 years ago, Lincoln waged and won a landmark war in our country's history and had a White House staff of two? God help us!
Erling| 4.12.11 @ 8:42AM
Inchon Republicans are few and far between in Congress. Answer? 2012 primary challengers to Platts, Boehner, Meehan, and the herd of RINOs who refuse to defend the Founders ingenious concepts of limited government and unalienable rights. (Speaking of unalienable rights, how about Speaker Boehner's surrender in maintaining tax-payer funding of Planned Parenthood's abortion mills?)
JimH| 4.12.11 @ 8:44AM
Government benefits tend to go to those interest groups that can deliver the biggest benefits to those dispensing such largesse, particulary as the costs, widely distributed are not well percieved. With the Tea Party there is finaly a large influential group standing for those who pay the cost. And are asking only to keep what is rightfully theirs. There have been groups in the past which stood for similar principles, such as the National Taxpayers Union but never had sufficient influance. The Tea Party may be at the forefront of a historic change.
R Martin| 4.12.11 @ 8:49AM
I agree with Steve--perfect analogy. When dealing with substance abuse step one is remove the substance. In this case money.
Obama and the Democrats (plenty of Republicans, too) are going to push for new and increased taxes to support their addiction. We must not let this happen; it must be our line in the sand. I have always believed, as does Paul Ryan, that the top income tax rate should never exceed 25 percent. That is a rate most people considerable reasonable and would not do contortions to avoid paying. Andrew Mellon also used that rate to start the Roaring Twenties. Furthermore, the tax base should be broadened--virtually all income earners should pay some tax, even at a very small rate.
With those guidelines in place the government would have to live on a fixed income and could not continue to implement new lavish spending programs. In fact, it would take the government beyond addressing cuts and force it prioritize and implement roll-backs. Which is what we need now.
Lullabys, Legends and Lies| 4.12.11 @ 8:52AM
The recovering addict analogy is spot on, after years of living one way, it’s hard as hell to just change direction and live another way. I’m a recovering addict myself, 11 years clean & sober now, but in a lot of ways, I’ve still got the same psychological mentality as I used to have back then. I stopped drinking alcohol, but now I drink Monsters like they’re going out of style (a lot of them!!). I also don’t do the “other” thing I used to do back then either, but now instead I jump out of airplanes, and rant and rave about Democrats (it’s my New Years Resolution too). So you change your ways, but in a lot of ways, you still stay the same inside. The best you can hope for when you have this type of character “flaw”, is you redirect your energies from bad behavior, to something much less dangerous yet still slightly bad behavior. The worst thing an addict can have in life though is an enabler, someone who looks the other way, makes excuses for the addict, and lets them continue on with their destructive behavior. If you want to help them, if you want to save them, Cut them off!! Say No!! Kick them out!! And then hopefully, one day instead of doing destructive things all the time, they’ll only be doing slightly bad things some of the time. Life’s not perfect, but it’s a hell of a lot better than it was before!! The 14 Trillion Dollar Debt Ceiling is the moment to save them from themselves, it's the cutoff point, throw them out on the street, say No!! Don't enable them for another dollar!!
Michael L. Hauschild| 4.12.11 @ 9:05AM
Your point is illustrated perfectly by Boehber’s statement, “We will not raise the debt ceiling unless there are significant promises from the democrats on future spending cuts.”
The democrats always lie, the republicans always capitulate. They will raise the debt ceiling.
Until this bipartisan cabal of “spending other people’s money” is removed the National Debt will increase. Those that defend Boehner, those that support “their” congress people, those that want to recycle the Republican parade of losers bandied about as Presidential material are as guilty of destroying the USA as the progressives.
This is so simple; you cannot borrow money to “catch up.” If you suggest otherwise, or support people that believe this you are deaf, dumb, blind and stupid. Do not blame the democrats, do not blame the progressives, and do not blame anyone but yourself. The country is hanging by a thread and your response is to heap praise on RINO clowns like Boehner.
LarryK| 4.12.11 @ 9:07AM
Where are leaders like Reagan and Kemp?
Bold, decisive, and unafraid.
Any takers in the GOP?
Alky| 4.12.11 @ 8:34PM
Palin, Bachmann, West, DeMint, Cain... there are a few but the GOP will never let them into their establishment circle.
Agent Rose| 4.12.11 @ 9:39AM
THEN AND NOW
1. THEN: "courage to act on that vision" The Republicans are totally without courage--or complicit in the Obama disaster. It is amazing to behold!
2. THEN AND NOW: The communists/marxists in North Korea invaded. The communists/marxists in our government don't need to invade; they have already landed! Or, maybe they don't need to invade--they just need to bankrupt us. Don't you think they know what they're doing?
3. The Republicans will deliver this country over to an Obama victory in 2012.
4. It is time for a third party!
loulou| 4.12.11 @ 10:04AM
Get rid of Boehner, Cantor and all the other eunuchs. Primary challengers are needed!
martin j smith| 4.12.11 @ 10:11AM
MAYBE IF WE ASK OR PERHAPS DEMAND STRONGER AND BOLDER WE WILL GET IT. BUT WE MUST MAKE DEMANDS !!!!!!!!!!!
John Navratil| 4.12.11 @ 10:59AM
Cut now, cut more, cut immediately. Anyone who disagrees is an addict, blah, blah, blah. Cue Limbaugh.
We were dealing with a continuing resolution for a year which was already half done. Where was the authority to cut the 1/2 of the budget (Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, debt interest) which requires structural overhaul to reduce expenditures. There was no authority to say the seniors checks will be cut in half and even if there were, is that the way to go about it?
Where is the authority to cut the 20% of the budget for the military. Were we simply going to cut the soldiers pay in half or send half our force home? No. The reductions require restructuring which was not possible in the C.R.
So we are left with the 30% of the budget to play with ($400 B, or so) half of which has already been spent. The extreme limit which could have been achieved would be to tell EVERYONE to go home (from the President on down), come back on October 1, and cut $200 billion.
I certainly would have like to see more, but even the $100 billion promised would have been a stretch UNDER THE CURRENT RULES AS STRUCTURED.
Ryan has one plan to restructure the entitlement obligations in order to make these savings. That's where the fight is.
Consider for a moment that if the ship of state were so easily turned, Obama would have sunk it by now.
Anthony| 4.12.11 @ 11:00AM
Michael has it right, Boehner is willing to accept promises from people who have no morality, no decency, nor an ounce of integrity. And yes, they want to bring America to its knees.
What's worse, Boehner and the boys don't even recognize who and what they are dealing with, because in the wooly world of Washington, "we're all good people, trying to do what's best, but we just sees things differently".
WRONG, Mr. Boehner. Very wrong. You and the boys had best wake the hell up and face facts with who and what you are dealing with.
You have already blinked once, and Obozo and Reid smell blood.
How's this for a promise you can bank on; keep this up, and you, Cantor, and the rest of the RINO trolls will be back home trying to earn an honest living. That's a real world promise.
Hey, it beats guillotines.
Agent Rose| 4.12.11 @ 11:59AM
You know you have to admire the Democrats. They stand for pollution, lies, deceit, bankruptcy, crony capitalism, exterminating pre-born infants, socialism and high taxes---BUT THEY NEVER BACK DOWN. They stick to those principles!
On the other hand--Republicans--who no longer deserve the name--ALWAYS BACK DOWN --even when they are holding all the cards!!!
RINOS are not the answer.
ELEPHANTS stampeding are!
CalMark| 4.12.11 @ 2:40PM
So right!
There is very little to admire about the Democrats. But one of those things is that they never consider themselves beaten.
Unlike the Republicans, who start planning for the end of their majorities (with procedures and processes in Congress that the Dems promptly sweep away).
Boener & Co. = LOSERS. Dump 'em. Get a new crowd in there who won't be co-opted unlike the disappointing Tea Party Freshmen (who are mostly seasoned politicians, after all).
Anthony| 4.12.11 @ 5:39PM
Problem is, there are no Rs willing to stampede. Boehner and the boys are not leaders. They are not willing to sacrifice their political careers and take the arrows from the Ds and the LSM.
Understood, but if they are not willing to lead now, when America is in desperate shape, then when, and who?
If they will not step aside for a real leader, then America has a few more years before complete chaos takes hold in America. A complete economic and societal breakdown.
I don't know if the Rs in Washington believe this to be true or not. If they do, then shame on them for not having one man/woman to step up and lead to save this great nation.
If they don't, they are as clueless as the Ds.
Boehner has a chance to be a Washington, instead, he is Chamberlain. There will be no peace in our time either, and no America to save herself.
Who Knows?| 4.12.11 @ 12:21PM
Usually, I greatly enjoy your weekly zingers, Mr. Lord, but while agreeing with you about the addiction to spending other people’s money by the left and lots of Republicans, I think you’ve pulled a fast one on too many people with this attempted analogy.
First off, your Kemp story about the successful landing at Inchon fails to note that it was a near failure. Indeed, we were lucky because bad weather could have resulted in a disaster similar to what happened to the Spanish Armada, if I recall my history correctly.
The opposite of timidity is recklessness---now, sometimes it is necessary to be recklessly bold, but when one takes UNKNOWN chances, especially in close run situations, horrible losses are very possible.
One of the most basic rules for investors is NOT to put all your eggs in one basket---usually.
On a more sour note, the key word to keep in mind when ranting about the American addictions, especially spending other people’s money, is---ALREADY.
Imagine your whole situation, say in 1975---or, pick any year when you were an adult---and let’s focus on your take on politics.
When did you, if ever or yet, come to the realization that at some time in the future, all hell would break loose, and America would be over the tipping point?
Well, I for one have gone though the “evolving” consciousness of the worsening state of politics in this country for over 50 years, and baby---it’s ALREADY past the tipping point.
“Charlie Sheen” is the new normal!
The people have ALREADY voted, and the non-addicts have ALREADY been thrown off the American island.
The addicts are ALREADY in control.
Think back to when smoking cigarettes was “cool”, and the vast majority of adults were “addicted”.
Besides, we are each addicted to something that’s bad for us, unless enlightened.
Nevertheless, there are some people who are relatively MORE sober, and Paul Ryan and his supporters are presently their most powerful representatives. And, we should all be happy about their attempted intervention in the “coke machine” in D.C, and beyond.
I can’t resist relating another “addiction” history lesson, this one from WW II.
The Nazis commonly gave their warriors uppers, when they went into battle. Thus drugged, their soldiers were certainly able to fight more fiercely than otherwise, for a while, anyway.
Just so, the addicts in D.C. are likewise able to fight with more resistance, than if they were sober, the try by Ryan etc to clean them up.
We are in for one hell of a LONG TERM war, since addicts who are cornered have NOTHING to lose!
ALREADY!
Coda---don’t forget the fact that the majority of Americans are ALREADY fat or obese. Now, that’s some ADDICTION!
Are YOU one of them?
Pot, meet kettle.
PolishKnight| 4.14.11 @ 10:52AM
Calling someone fat or obese because it's assumed they like to eat is a misunderstanding of the problem. American obesity is largely caused by an overreliance on the automobile and lack of regular exercise (walking), poor nutrition (or more likely, an availability of delicious albeit unhealthy food) and genetic factors (many recent immigrants come from nations where diets are rich in fat but they exercise a lot and then they don't adjust to the lifestyle here.)
Conserdude| 4.12.11 @ 12:27PM
Mr. Lord, you spent a lot of meandering words with a false characterization: Jack Kemp IS a "Charlie Sheen Republican" who was addicted to spending, and opposed cuts in spending. Yes, Happy Jack was for tax cuts, but he also was the quintessential "compassionate conservative" before George W. Bush came on to the scene, and opposed a limited government agenda of the true Reagan conservative. You botched this one, sir.
John Navratil| 4.12.11 @ 12:56PM
I am wearing ribbons of shame. I was working of the deficit numbers rather than the entire budget. While I still suggest that structural overhaul of the non-discretionary spending is the solution, I now realize that the amount cut, this term, could very possibly have been the $100 billion promised. I wish I could delete my previous post.
Occam's Tool| 4.12.11 @ 1:32PM
Keep the message simple, and on point:
1)Keep taxes low.
2) Keep non-defense spending as low as possible. Evaluate all NON-Defense spending under some version of "is this worth shooting grandma?" (If she doesn't pay her taxes, she goes to jail. If she tries to escape, she gets shot. Thanks PJ O'Rourke.)
3) Don't attempt to fight with or rehabilitate overseas enemies, crush them. Let it be known that we are the best friend you can have and the worst enemy. Do not get into "nation building"---simply warn Islamic scum that we will destroy them if attacked, and leave them to put together the radioactive (or non-radioactive, so long as destroyed) pieces.
4) Shut down our borders to illegal immigrants. Shoot to kill if necessary.
That's it. Repeat and repeat the message of freedom inside the border, enemy destruction without. Use taxes to raise money for essential government services, not to reach social leftwing goals.
The Republican who can repeat this message convincingly will win.
Truth is King| 4.12.11 @ 1:50PM
OT/Bolton 2012.
CalMark| 4.12.11 @ 2:34PM
Absolutely right! Fantastic analogy.
How about another? Tiger Woods (stop snickering--this isn't about you-know-what).
Tiger's contemporaries were OBSESSED by him. Tiger was the first and last thing one elite golfer thought about every day. So Tiger won 40% of the time, which is stunning domination in golf .
Now we have pros a decade-plus younger than Tiger. They don't give a damn about the Woods mystique: they ignore it, and win.
Same thing with politics. Four generations of viciously aggressive leftists have controlled government. In their craven little hearts, weakling losers like Boehner believe that Dem victory is INEVITABLE.
The Tea Parties are like the new generation of golf pros. We want OUR SIDE to win, and will do what it takes.
The biggest problem: in sports, "generations" are short; in politics, people like Boehner stay forever, their power increasingly unassailable, their length of tenure seemingly in proportion to their worthlessness. (Don't forget: Boehner was GOP leader during the 2006 and 2008 bloodbaths; until the Tea Parties came along, he and his pals were predicting more of the same in 2010.)
cicero| 4.12.11 @ 3:21PM
The analolgy doesn't hold. More apt would have been if the 1st Division and the 2d Division had started shooting at one another as soon as they got ashore. The Republicans only control one house of Congress. They can't even hold all of their votes in the Senate. (Give me the reason for Susan Collins.) They have carved our about $80 billion from the spending allocated for the current fiscal year. Ryan's budget looks to role back the Obama increases, and cut from there. If successful, it will begin the long road back.
Now, if they regain the Senate and the White House in 2012, and then fail to "take Souel", we will have a major cause for revolt.
Fed Up| 4.12.11 @ 3:46PM
cicero and others, you are forgetting one key component of the government (the most important one) "We The People."
Even nearly all libertarians, independents, and a host of demoncrats out there in the 50 states get it: Every real family in America has had to radically adjust the family budget to stay afloat since 2008.
And they say, "Gosh, if we can, you idiots in Washington, D.C. can."
Americans that have become debt free after cutting up and never again applying for credit cards....they get it. (And they love the 'feelings' of being more financially independent)
Use the power of ALL the restless American people to shame the 2 idiot Maine US Senators and ALL the REST of them.
I am amazed at how much people think that the liberal media, Hollywood, etc. matter. They try to shape the discussion; NO ONE IS LISTENING.
Everyone knows better. This budget cut for FY2011 should be $500 billion -- absolute minimum figure. (That still means $1 trillion of deficit spending)
Pat| 4.12.11 @ 4:18PM
If we’re going to use a history lesson to explain today’s politics – how about this version? Over 60 years ago, forces under that great American general, Franklin D. Roosevelt, won a long, hard fought war. They employed a new and devastating weapon to secure their final victory – basically, they told the voters: “we’ll take money from other Americans, folks you don’t know or care about and we’ll give their money to you – because you deserve it”. This simple message, this immensely powerful idea secured a lasting victory. To be honest, the ensuing peace hasn’t been all that peaceful – from time to time the Republicans fight a guerrilla action to recapture Washington, but they never succeed in turning back the clock – the Democrats always unleash their powerful weapon and then the conquering Democrats regain any and all lost ground - plus they usually manage to capture additional rebel strongholds.
Today, the belief that most Americans are Conservative by nature and by principle, that self-reliance is a cherished virtue held by a majority of Americans seems incredibly naïve. Recently, in fact, it has been reported that a majority of the American public relies on some form of government transfer payment – whether it be the unwed mother of three children in Detroit or your typical struggling billionaire receiving millions in special agricultural incentive payments from the Feds. Following in Roosevelt’s footsteps, Obama used the same weapon to defeat the Republicans only a couple years past – the millions of Americans who voted for Obama, most of whom weren’t yet born in the Roosevelt era, are still around. These true believers, these born again Socialists haven’t gone to ground – they’re still out there patiently waiting for the economy to recover.
We can argue that Obama’s victory was a fluke, that the Pied Piper of Chicago has lost his hold on America’s children, both the very young and the not so very young. But history teaches us such an argument would be false. FDR’s great weapon, his idea that your wealth belongs to someone else will be there to secure future Democratic victories – we won’t learn from history so we’re certainly doomed to repeat it.
Clint| 4.12.11 @ 5:55PM
"Lead, Follow, Or Get the Hell Out Of The Way."
The Tea Party Rebellion Escalates.
Walk The Talk On Tax Day.
Clint Lovell| 4.12.11 @ 5:59PM
Who was this article written for I wonder... Mr. Lord accurately describes the situation, but fails to come to grips with the fact that people inside the Beltway (including himself) routinely snub their noses at those of us who have the guts to stand up and be willing to fight. Furthermore, they routinely denigrate any new idea that comes from outside the Beltway, so the end result is always the same crap.
The first step is admitting you have a problem. The second step is to admit the problem can't be fixed by the usual crap.
Until you geniuses come to that conclusion, this is just an excuse to have the bile rise and ruin my dinner.
Thanks for nothing.
Jeffrey Lord| 4.12.11 @ 8:00PM
Clint Lovell...
But I don't live inside the Beltway....and you seem to be waiting for them. Where are you?
Pelligrino| 4.13.11 @ 12:59PM
Mr. Lord, while you may not live within the D.C. Beltway, perhaps your thinking is at times skewed by your associations, contacts, and friendships with those who do?
These politicians (and their staffs -- please include them) are not addicted to spending; they are addicted to the game and self-preservation/self-aggrandizement.
Truth be told, they all want to wind up like former West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd, feted and named for countless projects back at home.
We deal with very LARGE and simultaneously frail egos at ALL levels of our governance.
Mr. Lord, you are helping. Here is a suggestion so you can help more: Please do a story on how many of our politicians are from the legal professions (how many are lawyers) and how many have just graduated up the chain from the state house, to state senate, to the US House of Representatives, etc.
Examining closer my current Representative's background, I can see that he plotted all along: State House, State Senate, now US House of Representatives.
Before the last step to Washington, D.C., he was just biding his time, doing favors for all the right party people, etc.
Surprise, surprise: He's a lawyer.
And the (no so) crazy thing: As "junior" as he is, one can already see him doing NOTHING that would jeapordize a chance to run someday for the U.S. Senate.
Hubris.
Merlin| 4.12.11 @ 11:53PM
Is there anything more irresponsible than spending money you do not have year after year after year . . . . . ?
Maybe the progressive do not realize it, but they do not have to get everything they ask for in any particular spending bill. What ever they get suddenly become something that cannot be taken away because it will cause some sever hardship and we hear the endless sob stories election after election after election. . . . . Constitutional government, limited government is a little harder to explain, and too many Republicans are happy if they just slow down the approaching disaster.
Johnny| 4.13.11 @ 6:33AM
Exactly Merlin, That is the difference in todays repubs. and dems. The rebubs only take us over the edge at a little slower pace. Our Gov. has got to be obliterated and rebuilt from the ground up and it's getting harder and harder to see a way of doing it without a revolution. There are many in this country that are content and even supportive of the way we are currently ruining our country so how do we fix this problem?????? Help honest conservatives, stand up, take our country back and fix it!
PolishKnight| 4.14.11 @ 11:02AM
Regarding the addication comparison.
It's a useful one because Charlie Sheen is a successful hollywood actor whose mania and vanity probably has served him well in landing roles which portray him as the bad boy.
The left's addiction isn't to money, but rather power which is why they worship government: It's the ultimate power that promises politicians, and their special interest groups, a share of powers formerly held by monarchs. All the Bolshevik revolutionaries in Russia did was to execute the monarchy and take over the power among themselves.
Back to the left: Being addicted to power isn't such a bad thing. It's like a nerd being addicted to learning. It's a winning formula that often lands them in the history books. Addictions are often positive. The problem is that their addiction, like negative addictions to drugs, often require others to sacrifice to enable theirs. Their addiction to greater power requires dehumanizing others. Even as the left preaches that they're out to help the "little guy", it's the little guy that is the number one target for them to screw over in order to achieve their goals.
All this talk about them taxing the rich: They KNOW that their buddies like Soros and even Bill Gates have tax shelters set up to hide their income. They're specifically going after middle class workers in private industry and the self-employed (such as plumbers) because those tend to be republicans. They want a place like Mexico where you're either ultra rich and have political contacts to get the peasants arrested and their property handed to you, or you're a peasant. And at that point, they needn't make a serious pretense at helping the poor anymore since they'll have all the elections fixed.
And the republicans are going along with it because they're first and foremost, politicians and leftism is an addiction to government and political power. It's like a republican trying to pick up a cocaine habit in order to hang out with Sheen and wean him off of drugs...
And that's the challenge.
Francis W. Porretto | 4.14.11 @ 1:42PM
Unfortunately, "removing the addictive substance," as matters stand, requires a revolution. Quite probably a violent revolution, with corpses littering the streets.
Shocked? Ponder this: Republicans won their seats in Congress this past November by the simple expedient of: 1) Not being Democrats, and: 2) Making promises they had no intention of keeping. So, on Election Day 2012, should we therefore vote for Democrats?
If you hesitated less than five seconds over that question, you're what the addiction specialists call an "enabler." Most conservatives are. We vote for Republicans on the specious grounds that there's nowhere else to go. We disdain the third parties in their profusion as "irrelevant," places to "waste your vote." So we perpetuate the very behavior we claim to deplore.
At best, rather than support one family of addicts over the other, we refuse to vote at all, hoping that lowered turnout might refute the winner's claim of a "mandate to govern." How well has that worked out? What might make it work any better?
There's only one sure way to "persuade" our political class that we'll stand for no more of their shenanigans: Hang the worst of them from lampposts, and brand the rest on their foreheads with a large "A" before running them out of town on a rail. If it was good enough for Hester Prynne, it should suit them just as well.
Rev Trask| 4.19.11 @ 9:38PM
Did Jack Kemp ever complain about deficit spending when Bush decimated the 200+ billion surplus that he inherited? Or did he fall in line with Dick Cheney, when he intoned in 2002 that "Deficits Don`t Matter--Ronald Reagan proved that"?
And not even Jack Kemp could get Bob Dole to the finish line in 1996, don`t forget to tell THAT part of the story.
Creative Recreation | 8.10.11 @ 10:26PM
is good