Suggest you read again the comment from Paul-Indiana in #95 regarding that he knows what is best for a baby. I never said that men are not capable of love & support. I also agree that a male can have valid input into the life or death of an unborn fetus; but that should be restricted to his own family. Family planning decisions are family decisions that should not be intervened in by big government or big religion.

As for who is or is not “conservative,” consider this quote from the late Senator Barry Goldwater, generally acknowledged as the founder of the modern conservative movement in the US.

“A lot of so-called conservatives today don’t know what the word means. They think I’ve turned liberal because I believe a woman has a right to an abortion. That’s a decision that’s up to the pregnant woman, not up to the pope or some do-gooders on the religious right. It’s not a conservative issue at all.”

Herein lies a massive inconsistency among many of those who consider themselves conservative. As I read posts from various individuals here on PJM, they are quick to condemn what they consider as big government/Obama interference in health care decisions. But then they also advocate for government intervention in personal life decisions. That’s not conservative.

I think we’re on the same page. I absolutely understand what you are saying.

Bear, I was referencing Massa’s explanation for saying he’d vote against the wishes of his constituents (it would appear, on the basis of his remarks, that he is a big proponent of “single payer” and his western NY constituents are not)

My comments weren’t meant to be about getting engaged in the Iraq war, merely that Eric Massa attempted to justify the notion of not representing the folks in his district by bringing up that a Republican (a guy he “admires”) had voted against authorization of use of force in Iraq in 2002, i.e., “gone against” Bush.

It seemed lame.

I hope that’s clear, clearer than mud, anyway.

For the record, once the Iraq war was a fact, a given, a fait accompli, I found the dissembly on the part of some individuals who had, in fact, voted “yea” for authorization of use of force in October 2002 (e.g., John Kerry, John Edwards, Hillary Clinton) to be disingenuous, downright near anti-American, once big difficulties cropped up in Iraq, post invasion, and “the war” became hugely unpopular.

I found their repudiation of their own votes (and their own statements about Saddam & the threat posed by Iraq) to be really tacky, somewhat like the statements of Eric Massa and his follow up attempts to justify them.

‘Gee, Bear, you force me to learn more about this guy.’

I said I was satisfied with his response, that the town hall meetings he’s conducted and that his reading of the bill convinced him not to vote for HR3200. Doesn’t mean I’ll be satisfied with what he ultimately does.

I personally don’t like Massa’s attitude about the war. Like most it’s a holier than thou attitude.

I personally was against it before I was for it. I didn’t believe it was good strategy, but once we were in we were committed…he like most Americans, make a big to-do about being misled, but most were in favor of it, and I argued with many of them. The few that are overly vocal about how they were against it are just pompous idiots. it is what it is (still).

Personally I have a bigger problem with our Afghan strategy. It’s the 1980′s all over again

#95 Paul-Indiana: “we are proposing what’s best for the baby…” Sounds like a version of the nanny state to me. And of course as a man, you absolutely know what’s best for every baby….. And if the mother is poor and carries to term, you fully support all the medical care and schooling that child will need, don’t you? (hint: it’s called welfare).

#109 Donna V.: “an awful lot of people seem to be calling themselves conservative…..” Yes that’s true. Most seem to be CINOS however (CINO= conservative in name only). They weren’t conservative until after inauguration day on January 20. Some of us, on the other hand, were conservative during 2001-09 trying to deal with all that deficit spending and corporate cronyism, despite self-proclaimed “conservatives” like Rush Limbaugh telling us “life is good.”

#116 Marc Malone: “Bush clearly made the right call to stay in Iraq….” Actually, we shouldn’t have been there in the first place. Taking out Saddam could have been handled very cheaply and discreetly. However, Dick Cheney was still in denial about the loss of executive power following Watergate. In its own way, Cheney’s abuse of executive power was as bad as what people are accusing Obama of now.

Thus, Bush clearly made the right call to stay in Iraq. We won… not that the newsies gave him much credit… or even acknowledged the victory, in many cases.

Your Congresscritter, however, has no such responsibility. He is beholden to his district. He is supposed to speak with their voice, not his own, when they have made their will clear. He is to represent them, not himself. That’s why there is an election every two years for him. Another election is always just around the corner.

Do not confuse a Congressman with a President. They are worlds apart.

“It amazes me how lefties will deny reality.”

Whether working to warp the minds of their students with revisionist history or working to destroy the economy with revisionist economics, they cannot deal with reality and therefore either deny or ignore it. Their successes are always based on lying about who they are and what they believe. They are elitists who don’t believe in our system of government and feel that they themselves are the elite that should rule. Not govern, mind you, but rule. Who else could worship and praise a man who has never accomplished a thing other than to walk from one quota based entitlement to the next? Were there no quotas and preferences in place, no one other than corrupt Chicago politicians in need of a corrupt gofer would have ever heard of the man now in the Whitehouse. Lefties are, in fact, nothing but parasites. They never create anything; they attach themselves to something already in existence and drain the life out of it.

Conservatives and Independents, on the other hand, have long ignored reality themselves. They refuse to admit that the left honestly and deeply wants to destroy this country. Which is worse, not admitting your real intentions or not admitting that anyone could possibly intend to do you harm? The parasite by nature tries to remain hidden, but the prey that refuses to admit that there are parasites about is actively denying reality and inviting its own destruction. The American people have no one to blame for this mess, both the economic mess and the fools in charge, but themselves. I hope average citizens finally face the reality that the left is intent on taking away their freedom and entire way of life. Then it wouldn’t matter whether the left admitted what they were or not, anyone proposing or refusing to remove preferences and entitlements would be seen for what they really are, Czarist elitists intent on destroying this country.

Regards

Think about that one, folks. An inpatient hospital visit is no fun, even when you have a private room. Now imagine lying there recovering from your knee operation – in a ward with 29 other patients. In the UK, it seems you have the additional pleasure of watching the elderly woman (or man) in the next bed trying to pull out their catheter or take off their hospital gown. And the 101 close friends and relatives of the lady in the bed to you and the guy across from you are all visiting them at the same time.

Boy, doesn’t that sound fun! And “progressive!” It is, I’m sure – if you’re a time traveler and have just arrived from 1835.