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Political Hay
Cracking the Left’s Fortresses
Conservative ideas can break into urban areas like Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Miami. Here’s how.
(Page 2 of 2)
But the rise of the Obamunistas may be changing that attitude at long last. At least some limousine liberals are starting to realize that their personal fortunes are on the menu at the Obama Occupy Wall Street Diner. It is time for candidates to challenge the reigning orthodoxy in these districts.
The theme for these campaigns should be “Are We Really That Crazy,” and they should point out the more insane policy positions in liberal enclaves. For instance: unilateral nuclear disarmament; four straight years of trillion dollar deficits when the highest previous figure was less than half a trillion; and income tax hikes on “the rich” when “the rich” already pay almost all the income taxes. The limousine liberals know firsthand who pays those taxes, and will not be offended by those who point it out.
What they don’t know is the vast expanse of America’s welfare empire: hundreds of federal/state programs focused on the poor, bureaucrats who spend close to a trillion dollars a year (not counting Social Security and Medicare) and who create more poverty than they solve. Limousine Liberals tend to believe quite mistakenly that America is way too cheap when it comes to the needy. That view could not be more divorced from reality, but it does move votes in these areas. Spreading the truth about the actual extent and real world effects of America’s welfare empire, and promoting proven reforms, would produce transformative political differences in these areas.
The Two Americas
Spreading the message
further would require challenging the other pillar of
liberal/leftist domination in these urban fortresses: the Democrat
friendly media.
Yes, we have witnessed the rise of new media, which includes conservative talk radio available around the dial almost everywhere. There are established, enlightened institutions such as the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Investor’s Business Daily, and Fox News. And we have openly conservative publications that continue to thrive, such as this website and its companion magazine, National Review, the Weekly Standard, Reason magazine, and others.
But these outlets are having no effect on the politically significant fortresses of left/liberalism noted at the outset of this commentary. The mass communication explosion of the Internet, now carried on mobile phones everywhere, has only reinforced the monolithic enclaves, as audiences patronize only those institutions that follow the established party line.
Indeed, the so-called “mainstream” media teaches its audiences to disparage alternative views as morally and intellectually inferior. But I challenge you any day to compare the Wall Street Journal to the New York Times, Fox News to MSNBC, Rush Limbaugh to Ed Schultz, The American Spectator to the Nation… and you tell me which is morally and intellectually inferior.
To break through, we need to challenge the media that browbeat those enclaves into submission. The market opportunity is in the suburbs. New newspaper operations might be launched there to focus on the political corruption and scandals that can always be found at the urban core. They should expose the fallacies and intellectual corruption at the dominant paper. They should follow the examples of the Washington Times and the Wall Street Journal and include multiple opinion pages with first rate columnists and commentators.
The other opportunity is in African American, Hispanic and Asian communities. The Left has already jumped out with Hispanic TV stations and African American radio stations. But it is not too late. Fox is already establishing a new Hispanic TV network. But that is only the beginning of what is possible.
These minority communities know that they are stagnant or worse under the status quo. Check out the perpetual 15 percent African-American unemployment rate, the perpetual double digit Hispanic unemployment rate, and the growing poverty and declining real wages and incomes under Obama the Savior. These communities will be receptive to new initiatives focused on their empowerment and prosperity.
Still another opportunity is for conservative think tanks focused on the most stubborn left/liberal redoubts. Let us do more to spread the word in New England, San Francisco, and Seattle on the truth about the burden of taxes and the expanse of the welfare empire. Let us do more to spread the word in Philadelphia, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Miami, and Chicago about the true solutions to poverty. Let us explain the modern, free market safety nets that conservatives have developed, and how they would serve the poor and seniors far better.
The foundational truth is that economic growth, prosperity and freedom will always trump redistribution, stagnation or worse, and the tyranny of the status quo. Conservatives just need to go on the offensive to break the logjam of current politics. In part, we are stuck at a way station on the road away from the era of the New Deal era. The left/liberals have been chased to their last stands, where they maintain their lead through cultural dominance. We need to get the transformation reignited.
About the Author
Peter Ferrara is Director of Entitlement and Budget Policy at the Heartland Institute, General Counsel of the American Civil Rights Union, Senior Fellow at the National Center for Policy Analysis, and Senior Policy Advisor on Entitlements and Budget Policy at the National Tax Limitation Foundation. He served in the White House Office of Policy Development under President Reagan, and as Associate Deputy Attorney General of the United States under President George H.W. Bush.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (135) | Leave a comment
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Jack in Wi| 8.22.12 @ 7:01AM
I think that the way to reach these groups is to talk to them and the respectfully ask for their votes. I don't think we should push group politics but address commonsense issues. Take for example abortion. Just plainly tell the story why most abortion clinics are in minority neighborhoods. The Democrats want their constituencies to be depraved and dependent so that they can control them. A good slogan to use in these neighborhoods would be. What do the Democrats stand for but abortion, homosex, dependency, bloated government unions, war, waste, and bad education. They want their voters to be braindead and marched to the polls. The way to reach these people is to do what Reagan used to do. That is go and ask for their votes and campaign in their neighborhoods. Leave clear messages on their media on what you stand for. there are plenty of conservative blacks who might start to listen. Reach out not to pander, but to talk commonsense.
The Avenger| 8.22.12 @ 8:05AM
Good point Jack. Well said indeed!!
Paul Kotik| 8.22.12 @ 12:03PM
Sounds right, except for the inclusion of "war" in the list of things Democrats stand for.
The Democrats' stand is anti-war, that's what they pitch to their constituency. It makes them all feel so very morally superior.
That's their stand. What they do when they're sitting down is, of course, another matter. I'm not certain that war is the natural state of man ( well, I'm pretty certain it is) but it sure as hell is the natural state of Democrats.
Al Adab| 8.22.12 @ 12:37PM
Anti-war? Is that why the same people who so opposed the Iraq action want to send our troops to Syria? They do it as you say, to make themselves feel superior. Self delusion in government is very dangerous.
CJW| 8.22.12 @ 1:05PM
Al Adab
The Dem voters believe what they hear and not the reality of what they should see.
Obama escalated the Afghan war and bombed Libya. Nothing in the MSM about American deaths and the costs of the wars.
Clinton bombed Serbia, a natural ally, for no American interests.
The Dems started wars in WWI, Korea, Vietnam, Dominican Republic. We had no choice in WWII because we were attacked.
But they are the peace party.
Al Adab| 8.22.12 @ 1:23PM
W: !
Occam's Tool| 8.27.12 @ 2:33AM
I don't think we can reach Rich Liberals, but they have no children and are not important in the long run. Target Blacks and Hispanics---talk about abortion "rights" being targeted at killing Black and Hispanic babies, liberally quoting Sanger. Discuss how Welfare policies that DON'T encourage families hanging together dooms children to lifetimes of impoverishment. Discuss how Obama and the Democratic elites live VERY Conservative lifestyles themselves while preaching Class Warfare. Finally, ask them if current tax and business policies have helped their communities---how's the job outlook for Blacks and Hispanics in California?
Discuss how we plan to make them rich and prosperous.
Alan Obama Fan Brooks | 8.22.12 @ 12:13PM
"A good slogan to use in these neighborhoods would be. What do the Democrats stand for but abortion, homosex, dependency, bloated government unions, war, waste, and bad education."
Education will always be bad in America. because there will be no consensus on what to do about it. All you hear is vouchers vouchers vouchers, as if vouchers are a magic fix.
JD| 8.22.12 @ 1:30PM
Your statements make no sense. You suggest that "consensus" fixes problems, regardless of whether the idea that has consensus is bad or good. If problems cannot be fixed without consensus, than nothing will ever be fixed!
As for vouchers, you reflect the liberal tendency to say that conservatives "repeat the same tired arguments". But so long as you ignore a good idea, and it is never tried, what should we do but repeat it?
"Vouchers" are the system of some of the world's highest-scoring countries in education, even if they don't use the name.
TrueBlue | 8.22.12 @ 3:47PM
Exactly. Japan uses the system and they're ranked in the top 10. Heck, they even have to test to get into some of their high schools, not just have good grades.
LindaF | 8.23.12 @ 8:03AM
The beauty of vouchers is that they DON'T require consensus. A minority can use them, and change the public system via opting-out.
Mimi | 8.22.12 @ 7:47AM
I'm not sure...but I know in many areas Mark Levin's radio show is on now. No one comminicates the Conservative messsege better than him...he blares out into many of these metropolitan areas. It's the daily news with a good Conservative view of things....Nobody does it better. He came to our area on the station with the most megawatts and he's on 9pm til 12 ...that station goes far and wide...I'm wondering if it will make a difference this Presidential race.
The Gop should take some money and help get Fox News to the inner cities....You have to pay a lot to get it on CABLE....At least help to get it in some puplic areas so people get to see the other side of things.
The LIBS are doing nothing for the inner city folks but expecting their vote.....The Black Pastors are riled over the Gay issue and soon will speak out about the extroidinary numbers of Black Abortion....Times are beginning to change!
It will be interesting if some of these cities surprise the ward leaders!
Good article Peter ....again THANKS!
The Avenger| 8.22.12 @ 8:03AM
It is incredible to me to to witness the crime ridden and blighted landscapes of our once proud and vibrant cities. Who have been running those cities for the past 50-75 years? The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. It is past time that the conservatives make the case to the minorities that their salvation is NOT the government and the progressives.
Derek Leaberry| 8.22.12 @ 10:48AM
Most honest people and certainly all conservatives would consider the late Detroit Mayor Coleman Young a spectacular failure. Yet the wide majority of the people of Detroit consider Young's strategy of transforming Detroit into a black bastion a success. After all, the virtually all-black bureaucracy are well-paid(the city horse-shoer is paid $ 50,000), at least for now.
TLP| 8.22.12 @ 5:27PM
That's because BLACKS ARE THE MOST RACIST PEOPLE ON THE PLANET.
The Wall Street Journal just did a Poll, that found ZERO% for The White Guy - Romney - even as their Unemployment is OFF THE CHARTS, and their Great Black Hope has taken away the Private School Voichers, from the Poor Minority Children in D.C. Even though their Mothers (There aren't any Fathers) pleaded with him, to let their kids go to GOOD SCHOOLS.
Black Americans have said to Martin Luther King Jr. - "FCK YOU, and your Stupid Dream."
"Now, WHERE'S MY CHECK?
TLP| 8.22.12 @ 8:21AM
You're wasting your time.
Blacks will never turn their backs on their Liberal Masters. And, why should they? They get a Check from da Massa, to Sleep all Day, Party all Night, and run around town Knocking up Hoes like there's no tomorrow. (which there might not be, seeing as how Homicide is the #1 Killer of Black Males.) They don't care about ANYTHING that we have to offer. Jobs, Personal Responsibility, Patriotism, or Wearing ones pants ABOVE one's ASS. And the rest of the denizens ain't much better.
You've got your Guys who wanna be Girls, Girls who wanna be Guys, and the ones caught in between? (But only on the weekends) Right, Alan?
You've got your Organized Crime, Union Organized Crime, and Liberal Politicians. (I know. It's redundant)
You've got your High Priced Whores, your $20 Whores, and your Political Whores.
You've got Drug Dealers, Drug Addicts, Drug Clinics, and Runaways turning tricks in the back of cars, for money to buy Drugs.
You've got your Criminally Insane, your Regular Insane, and Jewish Communities who never saw a Democrat that Hated Them, Their Religion, and the State of Israel, that they didn't wanna run out and Vote for. Mazaltav.
Effete Intellectuals, Punks, Anarchists, and the S&M people who love them all. You've got Crooked Cops, Crooked Politicians, Crooked Corporate Crooks, and Crooked Arab Cabbies who don't speak English, and would gladly Blow Up your Cab, if they could just get their hands on one of those Fatwa thingies.
TLP| 8.22.12 @ 8:50AM
The only people left, are those poor bastards who thought like You're thinking, now. That "Sin City" is just a name, and that there are people in "Cities that never sleep" who can be reasoned with, with an offer of a 9 to 5 Job, and a Normal Life. And, they're not hard to find.
They're the ones standing on the Bridge Railings, looking down, wondering how everything about their lives got so wrong, as Emergency Services tries to talk them down.
I understand your sentiments in all of this, and if this was 20 Years Ago? I would probably agree. But, not today. Not now. The Left has done their work extremely well.
What began in 1965 with the Shut Down of European Immigration, in favour of those from the Third World, has now Evolved in to a No Immigration Laws/Y'all come in/Minority Majority Situation, the likes of which has not been seen since the final days of Carthage and Rome.
Everything dies. People, Cultures, Civilizations, Empires, Languages, Species, Planets, Stars, even Galaxies. It's Inevitable.
What I see in this Country, stinks of Inevitability.
It's a Numbers Game, and people like us are on the decline, I'm afraid.
Pecos Pete| 8.22.12 @ 9:27AM
Tim: You are sounding like GRZ. You could be correct, or maybe not. The war is a long one. We might lose some battles, but we are still fighting. I believe strongly, like GRZ, that we are faced with impending hyper-inflation that will, if it happens, cause the USA and the world to implode. Anyone serious about survival must be providing for themselves and their families solutions should it happen.
Anyway, keep preaching.
TLP| 8.22.12 @ 5:40PM
It's got Nothing to do with Inflation, and Everything to do with DEMOGRAPHICS.
It's a Numbers Game.
By the time Carthage fought Rome, they were reduced to a Mercenary Army. Their people had been using IMMIGRANTS to do all of their Manual Labor forever.
The same can be said for Rome.
At the height of The Roman Empire, 9 out of 10 Roman Soldiers, was a Roman.
By the time of their Destruction?
1 in 10 was a Roman.
This is not a Rubics Cube kinda thing.
It's a matter of Not Learning From History.
Capiche?
And, bye the way, I am correct.
I'm ALWAYS correct.
LindaF | 8.23.12 @ 8:08AM
Snap out of it!
Yes, we're outgunned and out-numbered.
So what?
We have right on our side, and truth to share with those foot-soldiers of the Left. Don't give up on them; they need us and our message.
To quote Andrew Jackson (there's a man that never shied away from a fight):
"One man with courage makes a majority".
Be that man.
Occam's Tool| 8.27.12 @ 2:40AM
Tim: Culture can be changed, for both bad and good. Conservatives need a propagandist with the skill and intensity of Michael Moore. We tend to believe that reason alone will make a difference. Not so! We need to be able to grab voters by their emotions, as well.
That's why Obama and the Dems should be tarred with the label: "Prefer to murder Black/Hispanic Babies to Whites." Because it is TRUE.
When one offers services that are preferentially used, or denies services that are preferentially used (say an insurer denies funding pain meds for patients with Sickle Cell anemia pain)---one cannot argue that those policies do NOT have an impact that over effects one group or another. Abortion "rights" in this case, sets Black and Hispanic women up for a life of infertility and pain. It also kills preferentially children of those races. Frame it: "Which party wants more Black and Hispanic kids? Democrats or Republicans?" Use the abortion facts and play it in minority neighborhoods. Explosive (and true)!
RCV| 8.22.12 @ 11:28AM
As long as folks like TLP are identified with the GOP, the chance of persuading these groups to join you is zero. It's like having Joseph Goebells as your outreach to the Jewish community.
George True| 8.22.12 @ 12:51PM
"During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." -George Orwell
Everything TLP has stated is, in fact, true. Just because it is an ugly truth, and is so politically incorrect that it could land one in jail for telling it in some so-called western democracies, does not make it less true.
So, in your analogy, RCV, in order to do what Tim has done here, Goebbels would have had to have gone out to the Jewish communities and told them that his boss Hitler had plans to round them all up and exterminate them. So your analogy utterly fails. Your analogy is the polar opposite of what is factual and accurate.
PsychoDad| 8.22.12 @ 1:31PM
Well there are a few unpleasantly racially-charged over tones in what he says, although concededly nothing like the racial vitriol which spews from leftists when a black man comes out of the closet as a conservative Republican.
TLP| 8.22.12 @ 5:44PM
The Truth is never Racist.
It is only The Truth.
And, like the old saying goes.......................................
Sometimes, The Truth Hurts.
I'm just a Messenger
RCV| 8.22.12 @ 9:04PM
TLP has amde quite explicit his views of American black citizens -- he wishes Lincoln had returned all American blacks to Africa, and that we'd all be better off without them. I think the analogy to Goebbels and Jews is quite apt.
Drunken Sailor| 8.22.12 @ 12:54PM
And groups like the New black panthers, Al sharpton and Reggie Jackson are any better?
RCV| 8.22.12 @ 1:53PM
No.
TLP| 8.22.12 @ 5:50PM
And yet , we've never heard you say the things that you just said, about Me, where Tawana Brawley, Crown Heights Pogrom, Freddie's Clothing Emporium, Al Sharpton is concerned.
He owes MILLIONS in Back Taxes.
Should this Piece of Shit have a Show on MSNBC?
And, should he be Your Boy's Liason to The Black Community?
I'll wait for your answer, Punkass.
RCV| 8.22.12 @ 9:07PM
Maybe you've not heard them, Punkass, but I've always said them. Al Sharpton is a lying, anti-semetic, race-baiting slanderer for the lies he willingly perpetrated with respect to worthless Tawana Brawley (who ought to be in jail for what she did) and for the violence he instigated in Crown Heights. This isn't the first time I've said that on TAS.
That doesn't change a word I've said about your despicable racist ass.
JD| 8.22.12 @ 2:03PM
RCV is right on this one. Regardless of the accuracy of any of TLP's statements, they will offend, not recruit.
Of course, there are many terrible things said by those who self-identify with the Left, yet the Left seems to be able to distance themselves just fine, even as they insist the Akins of the world completely represent the Right. That dishonesty is part of the problem this article cites.
TLP| 8.22.12 @ 5:55PM
I'm not Trying to Recruit Anybody.
I'm just stating The Facts.
I said, what I said.
Now, why don't you tell me what I got wrong?
Otherwise, why don't you just STFU?
And, as far as Akin is concerned?
He never RAPED anyone, like the Guy who's gonna introduce The Muslim, at the Democrat Convention.
Or, did you forget?
Occam's Tool| 8.27.12 @ 2:42AM
Except that TLP is rabidly pro-Israel. TLP also wants Blacks and Hispanics to thrive, which they cannot do under Democratic policies, RCV. He sounds anti-Black only because he despairs of them doing what is necessary for them to thrive and survive. Read through ALL his posts. I have.
Otis, my man!| 8.22.12 @ 8:40AM
I disagree.
I work with many black people and find they are open to conservative ideas once they are presented to them. It's just that most of them are products of the monolithic Liberal educational system and have never been exposed to alternative thinking.
You should have seen the look on one of my coworker's faces when I told him Abraham Lincoln was a Republican. It was priceless.
Pecos Pete| 8.22.12 @ 9:29AM
But Otis, that's the point. We need to be present in these enclaves of depression to explain that freedom works. And to educate, just as you are doing.
Otis, my man!| 8.22.12 @ 9:46AM
Pecos,
I meant to respond to TLP. I do not disagree with the article.
Cheers!
Drunken Sailor| 8.22.12 @ 12:57PM
Worse than that Otis. Ask many blacks if they are conservative or Liberal. Many will say Liberal. Then ask them specific question to see how they answer with a liberal or conservative view. Many of the ones that say Liberal will surprise you with conservative answers. They are conservative but just don't know it. I have done it many, many times.
WillyP | 8.23.12 @ 8:22PM
You are absolutely right about that. Before I got interested, I voted mostly democrat. I didn't know my own views were more conservative. And I'm not even black.
TLP| 8.22.12 @ 6:10PM
You're talking about the Needle in the Haystack.
You realize that, right?
Occam's Tool| 8.27.12 @ 2:48AM
Well, that can change with education and propaganda, TLP. We need to propagandize these communities. Make the NEEDLES into the HAYSTACK.
There are lots of potential Ben Carsons out there. The culture needs to change. It is NEVER about skin color. It is ALWAYS about culture. Case in point: my two Guatemalan Mayan babies are growing up with upper middle class Jewish/Evangelical Christian values. In short, I'm training them to Look Native/Think Conservative Yiddish. It's wonderful to see. We will adopt some more once Guatemala opens up its adoption again (they closed it down THANKS TO THE VERMIN AT UNICEF, which should ROT IN HELL.).
TLP lives in Detroit, RCV. Slack to cut.
fmm| 8.22.12 @ 8:41AM
It is not like these things are not already being done, so I suppose what you are suggesting is that they should be done better? Well Mr. Ferrara, you are a communicator and must have plenty of connections based on the many official titles you hold, so how about starting this organization you speak of and start turning the tide?
TLP| 8.22.12 @ 6:27PM
There is no Turning of the Tide.
The Black Community is a Lost Cause.
They live in Squalor, on the Plantation that the Liberals set up for them, during LBJ.
Their Unemployment Rate is 15%, and the Unemployment for their Children is over 50%.
They live in Detroit, and Flynt, and Oakland, and Baltimore, in Conditions not scene, since The Dark Ages.
Yet, the Wall Street Journal just ran a Poll, where the White Guy - Mitt Romney - got ZERO % of the Black Vote.
They are the Most Racist People On The Planet. Just listen to Wright, Sharpton, Farrakhan, Van Jones, The Black Caucus, and every Black Guest on MSNBC, NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, and NPR.
They Hate very other Group, in this Country, and they Hate them.
They Hate Whites, Asians, Hispanics, Jews, you name it.
They're 12% of the Population, yet they commit 56% of all Violent Crimes in this Country.
As we speak, they're Flash Mobbing some poor person's Store, someplace in this Country.
They don't raise families, they Breed. And, their offspring Rob, Rape, and Murder the rest of us, like it's an Olympic Event.
Everywhere they Plant Their Flag, becomes a Desolute Wasteland, and everybody knows it.
Now, tell me what I got wrong.
KennesawJack| 8.22.12 @ 7:44PM
Tim, not a damn thing.
Occam's Tool| 8.27.12 @ 2:53AM
Nothing about the current situation, TLP, except that it is NOT about skin color, but CULTURE, and that can be changed through education. If more Black leaders were like Bill Cosby, things would change. I blame the LBJ policies (he was a frequent user of the "n" word, and shafted the Republicans who voted for the Civil Rights Act) for murdering Black kids by the thousands.
But I refuse to believe that it is a lost cause. Education is a cure all. I take your kid at a certain impressionable age, and I will make him what I mold him or her into. I know because I've done it.
merlin| 8.22.12 @ 8:51AM
This article explains why Herman Cain had to be taken out of the race.
irish19| 8.22.12 @ 9:20AM
Exactly! Couldn't have a successful conservative black man running against the Won.
Indy| 8.22.12 @ 10:07AM
And Herman Cain must stay active, I would love to see him take on this cause...
TLP| 8.22.12 @ 6:28PM
Can you say: Commerce Secretary?
irish19| 8.22.12 @ 7:02PM
Not a bad choice at all.
KennesawJack| 8.22.12 @ 7:45PM
I would prefer no Commerce Secretary.
Occam's Tool| 8.27.12 @ 2:49AM
Dept of Interior, then, wrapping up any necessary Commerce duties, if any. I believe that was the way Commerce unfolded.
Indy| 8.22.12 @ 9:02PM
Only if he takes it to do away with it. I do hope Cain ends up with a key role, perhaps he can take on the task to consolidate / eliminate as much government as possible, Depts / Agencies, I'm sure we can come up with a list to get him started.
CJW| 8.22.12 @ 11:16AM
In 2006, Lynn Swann, a poular, successful businessman, who was on all pro receiver on the four Steelers Super Bowls, ran for governor against fast Eddie Rendell, and got trounced by Fast Eddie, primarily due to the black vote in Philly. It usually produces a 350,000 Dem margin like clockwork.
Anthony| 8.22.12 @ 8:59AM
Lefty New Englanders may indeed be guilt ridden, but as is the wont of lefty hypocrites, they don't put their money where their mouths are.
The five New England states are dead last in charitable giving. They believe in putting everybody elses money where their mouths are.
God love them, as Dope and Chains would say.
Derek Leaberry| 8.22.12 @ 9:19AM
I've traveled to and lived amongst the American urban Third World and would maintain that these folks' mindset is radically different than that of white red America. In places like Baltimore, Washington, Prince George's County and towns as obscure as Langley Park, Bladensburg or Cottage City, concepts like free enterprise and small government or a love of the historic American nations are foreign and if brought up by a red American would be considered bizarre by these Third Worlders. It is a waste of time to think these people can ever be converted to conservatism. In fact, most want to conserve nothing and only care about the next pay check or government benefit.
irish19| 8.22.12 @ 9:23AM
They always will. However, as Ferrara correctly pointed out, we don't have to get all of them. We only have to get enough to eliminate the counterweight effect those areas have on the rest of the electoral math. I think that is possible, and he has pointed out a promising path to do so.
Mimi | 8.22.12 @ 12:09PM
Check Daily Caller today...there is a story , about Romney ahead in Illinois...because he's ahead in the suburbs of Cooks County...unbelievable ! I wonder if they hear Mark Levin!
Drunken Sailor| 8.22.12 @ 12:59PM
I have relatives in those suburbs. The high taxes in Cook county (fed, state, county, etc.) are starting to make them see the light. Even my die-hard Democrat union brother in law is rethinking his allegiance.
Occam's Tool| 8.27.12 @ 2:55AM
Even my idiot parents are rethinking.
TLP| 8.22.12 @ 6:30PM
I called this, weeks ago.
Even the Family Dog will turn on his Master, if he's abused, long enough.
Have Faith, Mimi.
RCV| 8.22.12 @ 11:00PM
It is unbelievable, because the last real Illinois poll showed Obama's lead in double digits, which it will be on election day.
Occam's Tool| 8.27.12 @ 2:54AM
We have to get their children, not them. Change their educational mindset, and the Culture. Take a leaf from the Leftist playbook and use it in our favor.
Von Mises Jr| 8.22.12 @ 9:22AM
There is a similar article today at American Thinker "The Herd of Independent Minds." Victor Volsky's conclusion is that it is tribal. I equate it to crowd mentality as discussed by Gustav Le Bon and re-iterated by Ann Coulter in "Demonic."
You need leaders among the people to lead them. Here is the gist of Le Bon's thoughts:
"Man, as part of a multitude, is a very different being from the same man as an isolated individual" (The Psychology of Revolution - Gustave Le Bon - 1913).
Over one-hundred years after the French Revolution (1789-1799), this French Psychologist struggled to make some sense of their national disgrace. One of his conclusions is that men are cowards. They would not cut off the Noble's head on their own, but if the perceived leader of a mob calls for the guillotine, he goes along since to stand up may cost him his own head.
This is an extreme that still haunts the French nation today. But essentially, liberals/progressives are cowards. They are shaking in their boots that they may have to stand for something. And that could be dangerous to one's health or social esteem.
Boar Hunter| 8.22.12 @ 10:38AM
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals, and you know it - Agent K, Men in Black
Art| 8.22.12 @ 9:30AM
Great stuff, thank you.
Art| 8.22.12 @ 9:38AM
A thought about role models: big-name black athletes provide perfect examples of the conservative ethic of hard work with purpose leading to success. If any conservative black athletes could be recruited for this educational cause the effect could be profound.
TLP| 8.22.12 @ 6:32PM
You're delusional.
ALL OF THEM will be voting for their fellow Black.
He could Slit their Mother's Throat, at her Birthday Party, and they would Vote for him.
So much for "I have a Dream".
Indy| 8.22.12 @ 10:06AM
If only we could clone Drs. Thomas Sowell and Walter E. Williams and have them speak to these communities and mentor the youth. A short book that should be in all schools, Walter Williams autobiography, Up From the Projects.
We will need Allen West, Mia Love, Ted Cruz and others to take the lead and tell their stories. There are others, are they interested, will they do it? I hope so.
Derek Leaberry| 8.22.12 @ 10:54AM
Drs. Sowell and Williams have each been writing for over thirty years and the message has still not gotten through to a wide majority of black people. As both men are in their seventies, I think time is getting late for a radical sea change in black political, economic and moral thinking.
Al Adab| 8.22.12 @ 11:23AM
It is actually not a black issue even though the Left has managed to isolate the majority into the dependent class. In fact, we have allowed The Left to isolate group after group and treat American citizens as members of blocs rather than as individuals which they are. The creation of group after group reliant upon government largess for their well being should be anathema to us all. Sadly it allows The Left to retain power through fear and "bread and circuses" which seperates the plebs from their betters the elite patrician class, self annointed as they are.
History could teach us much if we would listen. "Any similarity between the late Roman republic and the United States is simply historical". Taylor Caldwell
Indy| 8.22.12 @ 1:33PM
There is nothing wrong with their message, it needs to be carried into the local schools, churches, etc. Here's a great example of Williams discussing the impact of minimum wage on black youth, short video is worth passing along
http://www.americanthinker.com.....lacks.html
Charles Payne of Fox Business has a compelling story growing up in Harlem, yes it is an uphill battle to move the needle but we must try. I would use the minimum wage example as a great way to start the conversation because anyone with teenagers can see the impact now, jobs are hard to find, minimum wage jobs are entry level, they teach work ethic and lead to future opportunities. My guess is Sowell / Williams theories and life stories are not taught in the inner city, that's the problem.
Mimi | 8.22.12 @ 12:15PM
Star Parker has been working, and doing a great job in the wilderness. She told how she got the Conservative message after coming off Welfare. going to school and is now helping many others...she really is a STAR !
Indy| 8.22.12 @ 1:39PM
Yes, I read Star often and try to catch her interviews when she is on TV. Deneen Boreli is another one to watch.
http://urbancure.org/
TLP| 8.22.12 @ 6:36PM
Blacks like her - and I love her - are like 5 leaf clovers, Leprechauns, Unicorns, and UFO sightings.
That's just reality.
Hey, I'm just the Messenger.
John2| 8.24.12 @ 1:05AM
TLP - "I'm just the messenger."
You are full of the message and you have provided, from your fullness, everything we could want; you might say, a complete picture. Everybody knows what you think of black people.
Now it is time to put your pants back on and get to work. The point here is to win. Ooooooops, I almost forgot, you'll want to first, wipe and then, flush. ONLY THEN, put your pants back on. Yikes! sorry, I should have given you better instructions.
Whattamess. How does AmSpec let this go so long?
Jack London| 8.22.12 @ 10:24AM
Why would poor people vote for further huge tax breaks for the rich and massive investment and welfare cuts? Why would they vote to end the investment that Ryan has been only to happy to welcome in Janesville? Why would they want a future where they have to risk their lives in backstreet abortions? Why would they vote for people who are trying to suppress their vote?
Paul Kotik| 8.22.12 @ 12:07PM
Why would they vote for the delusional party, the one you appear to be spokesunit for?
PsychoDad| 8.22.12 @ 1:34PM
Hey, look at this, gang! Say, Paul, let's hear your good, honest, heartfelt opinion on Herman Cain, whaddya say? Then tell us all about Allen West. We'd be extremely interested.
Tom Kyba| 8.22.12 @ 12:24PM
Why would poor people listen to you project your leftist hateful bigotry?
JD| 8.22.12 @ 1:33PM
Because it tells them what they want to hear - that their problems aren't their fault, that successful people aren't better than them, but rather stole from them, and that they can hate and attack the successful to get what's "rightfully theirs".
Art| 8.22.12 @ 5:53PM
JD, you've hit the nail on the head. Envy is an emotion that's easy to stir up.
George True| 8.22.12 @ 1:01PM
The Bush tax cuts reduced taxes on earned income by 30-50% for middle income earners. It eliminated taxes altogether for low income earners. It lowered taxes on "the rich" by 3.9% on income over $250K. That was a MASSIVE tax cut for the middle class, and a SMALL tax cut for "the rich".
The endlessly repeated mantra that the Bush tax cuts were a "tax break for the rich" was always an outrageous lie, which you just mindlessly repeated, like a good little parrot. Polly wanna cracker?
Drunken Sailor| 8.22.12 @ 1:31PM
Tax breaks for the rich? JFK used that method, "A rising tide lifts all boats"
Welfare cuts (reform), Your boy Clinton got re-elected doing it.
Voter suppresion: Prove it and cite me a case.
JD| 8.22.12 @ 2:01PM
That's the problem. They demand we prove vote fraud (and ignore all proof offered), but they get to allege vote suppression without any evidence!
Drunken Sailor| 8.22.12 @ 2:42PM
That was my point. I figure he will reply with another false accusation instead. You know, his typical retort.
TLP| 8.22.12 @ 6:41PM
All you need to know about Photo I.D. is that, anyone at the NAACP Meeting that wanted to meet with Eric Holder, was REQUIRED to show a Photo I.D.
Anyone Entering Eric Holder's Gun Running, Blacks Only Justice Department, must show a Photo I.D. To get through the door.
Hello?
John2| 8.24.12 @ 1:08AM
The mothers have to risk their lives in backstreet abortions? I did not know Jack London was such a funnyman, but I admit you are funny.
The significant risk is to the child, not the mother.
rjh| 8.22.12 @ 10:39AM
Political correctness and the progressives' takeover and destruction of our education system are largely responsible for these problems. Hopefully, the situation is not beyond recovery.
Houdini| 8.22.12 @ 11:25AM
The recent Wisconsin changes to teachers unions would be a good start for the nation. Declaw the beast by taking away the money gravy train and the teachers unions will wither. Then take back control of the school boards from union cronies and in a generation, there may be hope.
Stkman| 8.22.12 @ 11:02AM
This is the election where those of us who work need to stand up and say to those who REFUSE to work, or those who have dropped out of high school or are in the country illegaly that we are done paying for your freebies. This is the election that we should should just have it out with the "gimme mine" segment of our society. It's fine to help the truly needy, but its time for the lazy and the quitters to find another source of income than the American taxpayer.
Al Adab| 8.22.12 @ 11:26AM
How can we contest the votes of the dependent class when our aim is to creat self-reliant citizens out of those currently addicted to government programs for their well being? Our citizens have traded their birthright of Liberty for a bowl of government pottage. The Left pits group against group for the sake of their own power while ever enlarging the subservient class.
Jack London| 8.22.12 @ 11:58AM
What do you believe is true about poor people Al? I'm willing to bet your perception is based on myths propagated by the far-right.
Paul Kotik| 8.22.12 @ 12:09PM
Like what myths? And who, in your tiny mind, is the "far right"?
You're on the dole, aren't you?
Tom Kyba| 8.22.12 @ 12:25PM
Not handling the conservative threat to your hegemony very well are you bud?
Al Adab| 8.22.12 @ 12:52PM
Generally speaking Jack, all generalizations are false. The myth is in treating any group as a monolith when people, whether rich or poor; black or white; young or old; owner or employee; renter or homeowner or any other distinction you care to name, are and remain individuals with individual concerns and dreams.
Government exists to protect the inate rights of individuals not to select favored groups for special treatment. Government can create an environment in which individuals may pursue those dreams. It is a perversion of all we hold dear to tell our people that they cannot rise by their own energy and labor and to make them forever dependent. Don't use the charity argument for charity under compulsion is no charity at all.
Jack London| 8.22.12 @ 1:30PM
"all generalizations are false"
Yes but you do nothing but talk in generalizations. You yourself talk of the 'dependent class' - what is that exactly? That's why I say you are a victim of myths – you clearly think there is a large number of people who are 'addicted' (your word) to living off the state. But the realities for the poor in our society are very different from your generalizations.
JD| 8.22.12 @ 1:36PM
No, Jack, the reality is different from YOUR generalizations. The Hollywood "poor guy" who is noble, kind, hardworking, and simply a victim of others is the rare exception, not the rule. Living off the welfare state has become so institutionalized that many people don't even realize they do it anymore.
It's not just those claiming food stamps, unemployment, disability, etc (who total 20% of the population, BTW). People paying little or no taxes while claiming the bulk of government spending are living off the state. And those people number a full 50% of the population.
DRed| 8.22.12 @ 2:34PM
Wait, the bulk of government spending is on people who pay little or no taxes? Who allegedly number a full 50% of the population? So the money spent on social security, medicare, defense spending, interest on the national debt, veteran benefits, transportation infrastructure, medical research spending all go to moochers who never paid taxes, or are you just brainlessly parroting misleading talking points?
JD| 8.22.12 @ 2:54PM
Nice segue from "the bulk of" to "all", and from "paying little or no taxes" to "never paid taxes."
Come on, do you really think you have credibility when you change what I wrote like that?
You left "education spending" out of your list, as well as traditional welfare, unemployment, food stamps, etc, but once we've built that whole list, we'll have a big list of things that are either evenly divided among the whole population or disproportionately given to those with lower incomes. Taken as a sum, that means "the bulk of" goes to those with lower incomes, who largely comprise the half of Americans who pay no federal income tax and/or little overall tax.
And who needs to "parrot" anything? I compiled this data easily on my own.
Von Mises Jr| 8.22.12 @ 3:22PM
JD, thanks for catching D'Red Communist quoting Von Mises out of context. It further proves he is a scum pond sucker and that they do opposition research at MoveOn.
He is a moron and we know he couldn't even understand Mises, no less figure out how to misquote him.
DRed| 8.22.12 @ 5:00PM
Most of the people who aren't paying federal income tax in a year are people who are elderly, disabled, or students. Elderly people used to pay income taxes. Disabled people are, uh, disabled. Students typically go on to pay income taxes. So, no, your idea that most government money is spent on a class of moochers 'living off the state' is a fantasy.
Next, let's address your contention that these people pay 'little overall tax'. The poorest quintile of Americans pay around 15% of their income in taxes. Granted, it's not much money. But that's because they're really poor. The second to lowest quintile pay about 20% of their income in taxes. (How much do you think Mittens paid, by the way?) Now, this also ignores the fact that many of these families move into higher income brackets over time. What I mean is they are not a permanent class of people living off the state.
DRed| 8.22.12 @ 5:14PM
I also left the working poor off my list of people not paying federal income taxes. They obviously pay payroll taxes, and I don't think someone with a job is a lazy parasite.
Von Mises Jr| 8.22.12 @ 5:29PM
This is the Von Mises quote D'Red Communist selectively quoted out of context yesterday to make it appear Von Mises was an admirer of fascism.
Thanks to JD he caught the trolls lies and found the original quote.
Thank you JD. All others: ignore the lying POS Dredful.
"The full Von Mises quote:
"It cannot be denied that Fascism and similar movements aiming at the establishment of dictatorships are full of the best intentions and that their intervention has, for the moment, saved European civilization. The merit that Fascism has thereby won for itself will live on eternally in history. But though its policy has brought salvation for the moment, it is not of the kind which could promise continued success. Fascism was an emergency makeshift. To view it as something more would be a fatal error."
Context kinda kills your spin, doesn't it?
Von Mises saw the immediate threat of communism as a greater threat, but didn't really like fascism either."
JD| 8.22.12 @ 5:31PM
I didn't say "lazy parasite" either. But they are surviving by mooching off of the rest of us. Substantially.
You are wrong in excepting those with jobs. A "job" is quite a minimal standard, and plenty of people with "jobs" still mooch considerably off of the rest of society. Paying a pittance of a tax while claiming benefits costing tens of thousands of dollars makes one a ward of a welfare state. See Drunken Sailor's link below.
JD| 8.22.12 @ 5:36PM
Millions on disability are NOT disabled. Social Security is massively redistributed.
And none of that matters anyway. The "legitimacy" of leeching is not the point. The point is that it exists and is quite substantial. Your side is pushing a fantasy war between rich and middle class, but the real war is between poor and middle class.
Your quintile numbers are just wrong. At best, they're accurate if you include state taxes in the highest-tax states, but you don't include those taxes for the rich people you compare to. Apples to oranges!
As for your class mobility talk, your side is selective about that. You frequently deny it when analyzing the "rich".
All of your diversions, honest and not, don't change the initial point: There ARE a lot of people who owe their sustenance to taxpayers.
JD| 8.22.12 @ 5:40PM
*Social Security is massively redistributIVE.
I know a guy, about 50, with two adult sons, who gets full-time disability pay despite a wife making $150,000/year. They live in a nice house, and his supposed brain injury doesn't keep him from rec sports, exceptional cooking and piano playing, and substantial volunteer work, including organizational leadership. Yeah, it's nice that he makes good use of his time, but half of what he does could be paid work, and he doesn't need the money!
The number of people on Social Security disability has skyrocketed since 2008.
DRed| 8.22.12 @ 5:59PM
"People paying little or no taxes while claiming the bulk of government spending are living off the state. And those people number a full 50% of the population."
That's just not accurate, JD. That's the problem with your argument. There are many people who owe their sustenance to taxpayers, but many of them used to be taxpayers. They're called retired people. Then you've got students and the working poor. The majority of those people will, in the future, move into higher tax brackets. You're obsessing over a much smaller group of people. Their are definitely people like your neighbor scamming disability. Their are some poor people content to muddle by on welfare without trying. That's all true. But they're a much smaller part of the population than you seem willing to admit.
Looking at DS's link, if you think it's great to be a single mother with 3 kids working full time for minimum wage because of all the swank gubmint benefits you get, I encourage you to try it out. I bet it's a pretty lousy life.
DRed| 8.22.12 @ 6:06PM
whoops-there are definitely poor people. . .
TLP| 8.22.12 @ 7:09PM
What's wrong with you?
We don't have any money.
Your Boy has just submitted ANOTHER Trillion $ Deficit.
He has run up More Debt than the First 41 Presidents, COMBINED.
Are you Mentaly Deficient?
The problem with SOCIALISM is that, Sooner or Later, you run out of Other People's Money.
WTF is wrong with you?
Is this how you run YOUR FINANCES?
Is it?
DRed| 8.22.12 @ 7:18PM
Ronald Reagan ran up more debt than the first 39 presidents COMBINED. Your BOY Mittens has a budget plan that is projected to add TRILLIONS to the deficit.
He worships a god who brought revelations on MAGIC PLATES to a known CON MAN who read them using a MAGIC HAT. He had over FORTY WIVES. Your BOY wears MAGIC UNDERWEAR.
WTF is wrong with you, Timmy?
Von Mises Jr| 8.22.12 @ 7:30PM
Being a troll is a parasitic job that creates NO WEALTH. You cannot eat or live on propaganda.
Social Security Disability is skyrocketing that is where the unemployed go when their 99 weeks run out. Obama's minions send them there and they become parasites for life.
Do you think D'Red Communist is also collecting SSDI in addition to his EBT card and $10 per hour troll money from MoveOn?
John2| 8.24.12 @ 1:13AM
Troll money from MoveOn. I feel sure of it. Just sit there at the computer and type for a little awhile, smoke two joints, down a bottle of wine, get some Triscuits and cheese, and cut-and-paste your golden prose typed earlier in the day, when you could still see the keyboard.
Pretty good chance that's what you are looking at here.
Drunken Sailor| 8.22.12 @ 1:36PM
Define "American Poor" for me.
In Entitlement America, The Head Of A Household Of Four Making Minimum Wage Has More Disposable Income Than A Family Making $60,000 A Year
http://www.zerohedge.com/artic.....family-mak
JD| 8.22.12 @ 1:48PM
That's a great link. Unfortunately, Democrats won't even see it as a problem. They think everyone in America should have at least $50,000 in disposable income per year, and reject the notion that different people produce widely disparate amounts of money.
Drunken Sailor| 8.22.12 @ 2:51PM
This list didn't even cover the free goverment grants or cell phones.
I see people living in public housing, driving nicer cars than I can afford, using food stamps to buy food I can't afford, wearing clothes I can't afford and then I have to explain to my kids why we have to be responsible and can't afford some of those things. Can you blame them if they are unwilling to believe in being a responsible citizen?
Fortunately my kids have turned out pretty good and both are looking at military service and working their way through college.
JD| 8.22.12 @ 2:57PM
I hear you. I live in a nicer neighborhood, but when I see neighbors with no jobs or mediocre jobs playing with bigger better toys than I have, I wonder what all my education and advancement was for.
Actually, I don't wonder. It was for THEM.
And Democrats call me greedy and selfish!
Al Adab| 8.22.12 @ 2:02PM
Jack:
Would you prefer anecdotal arguments to philosophical ones? Read Walter Williams autobiography. Your "concern" for "the poor" obviously excludes those like myself, small wage earners, struggling to keep our heads above water while our tax money is used to 1. enrich the favored companies of the DEMs; 2. to fund private non-profits whose purposes I abhore, and 3. to pay favored classes for their votes. I prefer to be able to keep my earnings so that I, not government agencies, can direct its use.
"A wise and frugal government shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned." T. Jefferson 1st innagural.
and BTW the quote is: "Generally speaking, all generalizations are false." It's a joke.
BackToBasics| 8.22.12 @ 11:40AM
from the article - "The Democrat counties are in blue, and (perversely) the Republican counties are in red."
It was the opposite way until 1992. Before 1992, Republicans were color-coded as blue and the dems were red.
BackToBasics| 8.22.12 @ 12:11PM
This site shows the color-coded electoral maps for every election. Click on 1988 and Bush Sr.'s states are in blue, in 1992, Clinton's are blue. You can click on any election year and see the electoral maps.
I remember the electoral maps in "Time," "Newsweek," the local papers, etc. using blue for Repulicans. Maybe it was used since Republicans back then were considered more the "blueblood" party.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, for some reason, the media switched the color standard and wanted Republicans to be red. It's ironic and there must have been a reason for it and the reason was not to flatter the Republican party. Maybe the left realized that they were moving farther and farther left and wanted to hide this in any way possible from the public.
http://presidentelect.org/e1988.html
BackToBasics| 8.22.12 @ 12:27PM
Just speculation here but I remember the 1988 election as the last time the use of the word "liberal" was effective in hurting an opponent. In my opinion it became overused by the right and lost it's shock value.
But maybe the color-coding was changed by the media because it was effective in 1988 when George Bush Sr. used it against Dukakis.
Red was associated with communism and again, I think the media did all they could, including changing the color-coding on the electoral after 1988 to hide the leftists leanings of the democrats.
Indy| 8.22.12 @ 1:46PM
Interesting history of the color coding of states, it was NBC (surprise) when red was permanently tagged with conservatives and blue liberal, it wasn't always that way, check it out.
"The terms red states and blue states came into use in the United States presidential election of 2000 on an episode of the Today show on October 30, 2000 to refer to those states of the United States whose residents predominantly vote for the Republican Party or Democratic Party presidential candidates, respectively. According to AlterNet and The Washington Post, the terms were coined by journalist Tim Russert, during his televised coverage of the 2000 presidential election.[1] That was not the first election during which the news media used colored maps to graphically depict voter preferences in the various states, but it was the first time a standard color scheme took hold; the colors were often reversed or different colors used before the 2000 election"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_states_and_blue_states
BackToBasics| 8.22.12 @ 2:53PM
Appreciate the link and I looked at the site. The colors were more standardized at "least in the major news journals and newpapers" than Wikipedia asserts. They still are standardized which lends credence to what I posted, only now the color-scheme has switched and Republican counties and states are always red.
I also remember pundits such as George Will writing about the change to Republican states being denoted as Red after Clinton won. When Russert and Limbaugh talked about Republican red-states and Limbaugh often used such phrases as red-state flyover country; this was "after the fact" when the maps had already changed and they were referring to the color-coding as then presented.
The large news journals and the newspapers always published state-by-state color-coded maps after every election in the 1960's, 70's 80's and early 90's before the internet. Every map I ever saw prior to Clinton showed Republicans as blue states and democrats as red states.
It's not too important to me these days but I do remember the changes since it was more important to me years ago when the changes took place. It also bothered others then. It still bothers others today or Ferrara would not have used the word (perversely) in the opening paragraph. The site I posted above shows the history of it as it was presented in the large news journals and newspapers on a state-by-state basis.
Slacker| 8.22.12 @ 12:09PM
This is funny because Republicans would never go along with Ferrara’s plans. The party is incapable of sticking to the economic growth, prosperity and freedom agenda. The base demands social conservatism.
The urban elite are scared to death of social conservatism. There is no middle ground. Republicans can get anywhere until some sort of truce or consensus arises in the culture war.
JD| 8.22.12 @ 1:40PM
That's because there's overlap. We can't have economic freedom if government is suppressing religions, financially endorsing lifestyles, allowing the unwanted to be killed, and criminalizing contrary speech any more than we can have it if they're banning 20 oz sodas.
JP| 8.22.12 @ 2:21PM
You've got it backwards. The 35 year old man who lives off of welfare, food stamps, and housing subsidies, is the same man who smokes weed, sleeps with teens, and steals from his neighbor.
Yes, the urban elite are scared of social conservatives, because they realize you cannot reform the urban poor until you reform thier souls. And that is something no social worker or government bureaucrat can do.
Slacker| 8.22.12 @ 3:57PM
It hardly makes and difference if social conservatism could improve society because it alienates 2/3 of the electorate. The main reason republicans sometimes get 50.001% of the vote is because progressives also scare off voters.
Social conservatives and progressives are two sides of the same coin. Both are busybodies who feel the need to control others. Neither can be reasoned with because of dogma. Both have gained control of their respective political parties. It sucks for the rest of us.
Art| 8.22.12 @ 6:11PM
Slacker, I agree with you. I'm a prime example, a fiscal conservative and lover of freedom and personal responsibility who does not want folks with Moses complexes poking into other people's business and telling them what to do in their personal lives.
As a side note, Romney will lose if the Dems succeed in shifting the debate to social conservatism.
Derek Leaberry| 8.22.12 @ 5:11PM
When the modern lack of morality allows for a 40 % illegitimacy rate amongst babies, most of whom will take from society far more than they will provide, then one realizes that morality is crucial to a thriving economy.
JD| 8.22.12 @ 5:26PM
Don't get me wrong. Government shouldn't enforce social agendas beyond protecting rights (real rights, not liberals' fake rights). But not all of what the Left calls "social conservatism" is government-enforced social agendas. There are areas where they are being dishonest or scientifically wrong.
They are scientifically wrong in robbing the unborn of their humanity for their convenience. They are dishonest in pretending that forcing society to acknowledge and endorse gay lifestyles is a protection of a "right". Government should protect the right to life and avoid taking a position, for or against, a controversial non-criminal behavior.
JP| 8.22.12 @ 2:28PM
One other thing, Slacker.Do you really think that many Americans care about economic growth when they are receiving nearly $50,000 in government entitlements? And many of these people have been without jobs for 3 years. This year over 100 million Americans are receiving gubmint checks.
Slacker| 8.22.12 @ 4:03PM
Forget about the urban underclass. Conservatism has nothing for most of them. As if they turn out to vote anyway.
Urban elites are different. Most don’t read the Huffington Post. They vote against their own economic self-interest because social conservatives freak them out. It’s mostly about abortion. Don’t shoot the messenger.
Strangely elites are pretty conservative in their own behavior. They don’t have a lot of out of wedlock births, they don’t typically abuse substances, and they behave responsibility. They don’t need conservatives nagging them about morality.
Patrick in Michigan | 8.22.12 @ 8:46PM
Never happen. Liberals control the cities and they're not above dirty pool to keep it that way too.
Trust me, I know what I speak.
2blumutts| 8.22.12 @ 11:56PM
Excellent ideas...always the best from Peter Ferrara!
one dad| 8.28.12 @ 8:34PM
"Note that there is no significant conservative organization focused primarily on taking free market, pro-growth economics and family values social conservatism into these minority communities." NOT SO! Please visit urbancure.org, where Star Parker and her organization have been, and ARE doing everything Mr. Ferrara is calling for. We donate regularly to Urban Cure because they are EFFECTIVE.