The Lesson of Scott Brown’s Win: Never Give an Inch
The lesson of Massachusetts: all politics is local only during times of domestic tranquility, but at truly defining moments, all politics is ideological. Tuesday night, finally, in Massachusetts the battle turned from politics to ideology, a confrontation we had successfully avoided since the Civil War. While politicians dithered over details such as who would or would not pay taxes on Cadillac health plans (have you driven a Cadillac lately?), the people grasped the deeper issue.
The Enlightenment and religious reformations that swept Europe following the Renaissance threw out the old existing orders, and the great debate began between two acutely different variants of what constituted their proper replacement. The Anglo-Saxons concerned themselves with “the rights of men,” and the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and our own magnificent uprising of 1776 affirmed the notion of individual rights derived from a higher power than man. The logical consequence of this was the notion of equity: that the public official might do only that which was explicitly permitted by law while the private citizen was empowered to act in any way that was not explicitly forbidden.
This idea, which dated back to the Magna Carta of 1215, was fine-tuned in the 17th and 18th centuries by insisting the governed had a right to consent to laws that inhibited their freedom.
The Europeans, on the other hand, preferred to think in terms of “the rights of man.” The movement from plural to singular is important for now individual freedoms would be determined by a collective will, a “social compact” that would predetermine what was good and just for everybody. So while Anglo-Saxons depended on “enlightened self-interest,” the Europeans felt the need to legislate virtue.
America was born as the former. But a corrupt academy, a narcissistic underpaid media (all of whom slavishly worshiped the Europeans), and a century-and-a-half of immigration brought the collectivist view into the American mainstream. The health care debate is not really about who should be covered, but about taking decisions that were once the responsibility of the individual and turning them over to the collective.
Although born long after the Civil War, I have lived through this struggle before. In the 1960s, Pierre Trudeau took Canada, then a country of self-reliant, broad-shouldered, rugged individualists, and by sheer force of political magnetism, transformed it into a post-modern society, a European clone of overtaxed politically correct worrywarts subject to heavy taxes designed to redistribute wealth. For a long time, it was a winning formula that even conservatives found seductive. After all, as George Bernard Shaw observed, if you rob Peter to pay Paul you can most certainly count on Paul’s vote. It took almost a half a century for Stephen Harper to reawaken Canadians’ sense of self-respect and begin the first faltering steps toward dismantling the monstrosity that Trudeaupian liberals had created.
It appears the voters of Massachusetts required a mere 11 months and 28 days.
Damn right! Batten down the hatches and hold on to your ass because it’s going to be a helluva ride. “LETS ROLL”
All of my life I have worked with others to achieve common goals and it has worked very well for me…..until I had a lying, cheating business partner and until we have had to deal with the lying liberal left.
When most people disagree strongly on something, they can many times walk away, even as friends…but when a small group of people is dead set on taking power from the majority for their own evil ends and are willling to say anything, do anything to get it…well, that is a different story.
The leftist/statists of the socialist left want to change this country in the image they revere. We are awake..we are motivated and we will not rest until our children have the same open road that was given to us by the Greatest Generation that won WWII. HUZZAH!
by the way, I got rid of the business partner and we’ll get rid of the lying, cheating left too.
This nation needs an honest and fair Democrat party, just as we need the same from the republicans. What we don’t need is a lying minority who plan to co opt either party for their own riches and goals.
Frankly, Peter is tired of paying for Paul. As long as we have more Peters than Pauls, we have have some hope. However, I am still somewhat pessimistic. Unless we get control of our borders, we won’t be able to keep up with Paul or “Pablo” if you will. Motor Voter and the likes will see to that! The liberal power brokers will just have to wait it out and Peter will be absorbed.
I would say it was “Act fast, and never give an inch.” This is the 21st century. Most Repubs campaign like it’s 1999, and they’re playing according to Hoyle (‘Swords or pistols’?). The Dems don’t; the Dems use technology to the fullest, they get the message out, they use the technology creatively. Brown ran a speedy campaign that used the technology to manage the message blow for blow, which is why he’s the first successful Republican of the 21st century. That’s part of the take-away from this victory. Brown acted fast and decisively using modern tools.
Slight correction there,Lionel….Magna Carta was signed at Runnymede in 1215…not 1218
Bravo Lionel, Bravo!!
Now, if only PJM would devote more resources to THIS sort of pro-active content – and the practical application of these ideas as dictated by 21st century sensibilities and our current predicament – rather than the endless whining about media bias, double standards, Democrat demagoguery and what a tool BHO is.
Public media and academia MUST be reclaimed for the Republic to flourish again. PJM could play an enormous role in that reclamation. I hope it will choose to do so.
“Glorious Revolution of 1688″
“Glorious Revolution of 1688″
Glenn Reynolds interviewed Michael Barone yesterday. The latter gentleman wrote a book on the events of 1688 entitled, Our First Revolution: The Remarkable Upheaval That Inspired America’s Founding Fathers. It’s well worth reading.
“…but when a small group of people is dead set on taking power from the majority for their own evil ends and are willing to say anything, do anything to get it…well, that is a different story.”
You misunderstand our present threat. Barack Obama and his ilk have convinced themselves that they are doing us a favor. We are too dumb to know what is good for us. It behooves them therefore to lie and “nudge” us forward to the Promised Land. They desire to be our benevolent dictators. Evil ends? How could you be so distrustful?
Not complicated… as Limbaugh has said for decades now, CONSERVATISM WINS EVERY TIME… when I listen to old Reagan speeches I just sit and wonder why NOBODY TALKS LIKE THAT TODAY, and I know if someone did, he’d get elected by a landslide..
Scott Brown sort of tried to talk like that. He isn’t a great orator, but for his skill level, he wasn’t bad.
Straightforward conservatism. Smaller govt., lower taxes, emphasis on personal freedom, respect for American business and inventiveness and work and good spirits, respect for the CONSTITUTION, and of course an end to———-
statism/fascism/communism/socialism/Marxism/Maoism/Stalinism
etc etc etc
In some darwinian sense, republican party leadership is simply losing the struggle for survival against an enemy, the left, which is ruthless and uncompromising in pursuit of its own objectives. They have embraced liberalism and statism in all matters except abortion and same-sex, and in the end made lousy liberals as well as lousy conservatives. They have abandoned principle in search for power and ended up with neither.
In some respect, the weak and cowardly deserve to perish, but the country pays the price when there is no conservative option in elections.
The question is this: Are the Republicans the party of limited government or not? They can bloviate all day about tax cut, tax cuts, tax cuts, but without spending cuts we end up with distended debt.
Have they earned our respect and regard? No, they haven’t.
They get our vote by virtue of not being the Democrats.
I want to hear about budget cuts. I want to talk about debt reduction.
And remember, when we cut the budget, we cut the ability of the liberal to impose his will on us.
Scott Brown won. The independant eastern establishment has spoken. Brown is now the leader of the Republican party. Now its Sarah who? and T-bag what? Say good bye to the pretenders…
Long term, the pubs would be smart to embrace the independant, socially liberal wing of the party. Its the only way they will ever win again and someday lead the country. The religious zealots and T-Bags offer no future in national politics so this is a wise decision and long overdue. Good Luck to Scott !!
QUITE RIGHT, ROBBINS: THAT WAS A TYPO I THOUGHT WE’D CORRECTED: THE GREAT CHARTER WAS INDEED 1215, THE ISLE OF RUNNYMEDE…MY FACE IS RED…WELL, REDDISH…
10. We shouldn’t be campaigning “Tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts,” but “Fair Tax, Fair Tax, Fair Tax.” Get rid of these insane compliance costs, layoff a great number of tax collectors, and get the tax gap under control. We grow the economy and increase revenue while cutting expenses.
Quite right. You can’t solve a problem if you don’t define it correctly. The military can’t successfully fight an enemy not identified correctly.
I think most of us have our identifications and definitions sorted out, but it never hurts to reassess, because this is too important to be wrong about.
There is considerable discussion about whether or not our ‘rulers’ have gotten the message, and I have been reading leftist forums and blogs to see how they are responding. I think the ‘rulers’ got the message, but intend to proceed however they can. They are obfuscating to pretend they didn’t. Plenty on the leftist sites did NOT get it, they are in denial.
I have for months been considering how far I am willing to go, if it comes down to it. That is another area we each need to be clear about. I’m not rich, not much of a warrior, not powerful or well-connected. But will go to any length to prevent the Constitution from being destroyed and the US from becoming something else. So far we have been law-abiding and peaceful, I hope we can finish the job in the same way. But if we can’t, so be it. No surrender.
11. Poor Citizen:
“Scott Brown won. The independant eastern establishment has spoken. Brown is now the leader of the Republican party. Now its Sarah who? and T-bag what? Say good bye to the pretenders…
Long term, the pubs would be smart to embrace the independant, socially liberal wing of the party. Its the only way they will ever win again and someday lead the country”
So..we should rally around another McCain? If Brown truly believes in free markets, less government, lower taxes and kill the bad guys.. I’m in.
So surely the lesson of the Massachusetts election is not that it is a Republican victory or a “bad” Democratic campaign or spontaneous undirected anger, but rather that in a moment of sudden clarity millions of American voters rediscovered their ideology. You must follow their lead. This is not a time for compromise or patching over differences. It is a historic moment to be grasped by those of us who believe in individual freedoms of the rights of men — both here and overseas. In the words of the Marxist-Leninists, “heighten the contradictions.” The American left is not merely misguided. It is fatally flawed. It is to be resisted.
If the American voter is reminded that all politics is ideology this dreadful mess will soon be behind us.
If only, Lionel…if only.
I’m afraid that it is not only ideology advanced but ideology rebuked that must be accomplished. And we do not own the “perceptions” in our culture.
We can’t. We don’t own the information stream to the masses, the leftists do. We can fight…and bless you and Roger and Gregg and Andrew and Victor…and all of you, who have manned the front lines. You are a national treasure.
But truth does not come easy these days…and “facts” come disguised and masked. “News” is performance art. The leftists have a playing field so tilted in their favor, it takes a Massachusetts “Miracle” to overcome it.
The center…my part of the bleachers…are engaged and ready to battle. Who will issue the clarion call? Behind whom do we mount the charge?
Ideology indeed…but who is behind me…and behind whom do I follow?
We Jacksonian Democrats just don’t like “Robbin’ the ‘Hood” Obama and his merry band of thieves. I gotta agree with Jesse Jackson, I think Robber-Barry has been talking down to (all) folks. Most people need a hand up not a hand out. I am always happy to help someone better themselves but I am not thinking that should be a lifetime subsidy. C’mon, President O, we the people can do more than you give us credit for. Stop spending money we do not have and focus on growing the economy.
This just came into my email:
“You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it”:
An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had once failed an entire class. That class had insisted that Obama’s socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.
The professor then said, “OK, we will have an experiment in this class on Obama’s plan”.
All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A…
After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy. As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little.
The second test average was a D! No one was happy.
When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F.
As the tests proceeded, the scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.
All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.
Could not be any simpler than that. (Please pass this on)
Remember, there is a test coming up. The mid-term election in 2010!
In the Civil War’s battle of Gettysburg the Confederate Army led by General Robert E. Lee brought the war deep into Northern territory and in the process threatened Baltimore and Washington, D.C. The highwater mark of the Confederacy at the battle of Gettysburg was a devastating and suicidal Confederate charge across a broad front into the teeth of waiting Union cannon and musket fire. This was called Pickett’s charge. The Confederates met with defeat and soon retreated back to the safety of northern Virginia. Many more battles were to follow, but the Confederacy never recovered.
In light of the recent Massachusetts election of Senator Brown, and looking in hindsight over the past several months, Christmas Eve was the Democrat’s Pickett’s charge—the highwater mark of the healthcare reform effort by the left.
Now, we conservatives must press our advantage and pursue the left’s defeat in the coming months, and in the fall elections, being ever vigilant of deceptive, smooth, and seemingly persuasive Democratic attempts at extending the olive branch. We must pursue the unconditional surrender of the far left in hopes of returning the Democratic Party to the center so that together we can return governing America to the sensible, peaceable, and prosperous center right.
God save our Republic!
“This is not a time for compromise. It is a historic moment to be grasped by those of us who believe in individual freedoms.” Agreed.
A man (or woman) does not compromise his ideology. Compromise is for purposes of barter. Compromise is what got us to the desperate state we find ourselves. The sooner the so-called “Conservative” politicians start NOT compromising the sooner we will get our country back from this socialist sewer we are in.
These leftists are not “liberals”, they are collectivists or out and out communists. They are looters supreme.
Now is not the time for the problems of court-forced gay marriage and abortion in general to dominate (though not be discarded as issues).
Its about the economy 1st, and a sane foreign policy 2nd. Everything else is a distant 3rd.
My biggest concern is that the establishment Repubs (and Brown too) will declare victory on Obamacare, then turn around and ‘compromise’ and give them 75% of their awful policy.
It is telling that the US can push back against over weening central government: it has an independent judiciary and an elected senate; and the latter is determined not by population but by geography; and the President has his own executive.
Canada, under Trudeau, could be changed forever: political power is centralized within the Cabinet dominated by the Prime Minister. The Parliament, both govt and opposition, are completely dominated by their party leadership. The Senate is appointed (altho Harper wants to change this, but of course Ontario and Quebec will block him every step of the way.) I think this centralized structure was at least in part the result of Canada’s timing: 1867, 3 years after the American Civil War.
Anyway, it is telling that the Bank of Nova Scotia has its headquarters in… Toronto.
Harper may make some small changes. I hope so.
Anyway, the past few American elections are proof that the American constitution is a great one, and your Founders were genius. Americans are so fortunate. Now, get interested in local elections. In your country, that is where the action can be!
I see Scott Brown’s name in the title, but I missed anything about him or his strategy in the article. Maybe HE’S not important.
Mr Chetwynd is right now is not the time for compromise. Somehow we have to re-introduce too many Americans to the true history and heritage that this nation is blessed with before it is destroyed. It has been nibbled at for generations and still it survives. Somehow it is in our DNA and I am not using that term lightly. You have to remember that this country was settled by risk takers and self reliant types. The fittest survived. That and the Great Experiment of our Republic allowed this country to advance to the Great Country it still is today despite attacks from without and within. I have confidence we will prevail and succeed as we have done in the past. It will be a bumpy ride and some will get trampled in the process but the journey will be worth it.
Lionel Chetwynd,
I get what you say.
I just prefer, partly because I sit in the cheaper seats, the comments section , to do so in perhaps
a different way
Sir, if a President is going to talk about transparency; truthfulness; the belief in the free enterprise system; the placing of any major Health Care reform meetings on C-Span, ethical behavior; Americanism; the American Dream; the end of earmarks; no lobbyists in the administration; bipartisanship, the belief in the ideals of our forefathers like self reliance and independence and fair play; the honoring of all the amendments; the oath to preserve, protect and defend the constitution; the need for experienced, knowledgeable staff members and non-communist shoulder near associates (Czars); the honoring of the flag; the belief in and a willingness to say the Pledge of Allegiance; the need to fight terrorism because terrorists want to kill our children; the duty to preserve, protect and defend all enemies of the United States, both foreign and domestic.
If an American President holds these American concepts in their heart and believes them in their mind, then the people, if need be, will follow that President to the gates of hell. Remember when you, Mr. President, said you’d hunt Osama to hell and back? Once, our troops and many of our citizens would have followed you. Once we almost believed you meant it. But no more.
At the same time, though, if the President doesn’t deliver, well, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist or even a Harvard lawyer to figure out the reaction.
In that case, then the only place we’ll follow you is out the doors of the White House where we’ll immediately change the locks, and buy you, so to speak, the first ticket on the noon stage.
Mr. Obama, sir, since I believe you’ve deceived us, discredited yourself, distributed the Saul Alinsky playbook for all to follow and see, while bringing us to the brink of financial bankruptcy, and for many, personal ruin.
Hopefully, sooner rather than later you’ll be relieved of command. In disgrace. Likely, for countless acts of manifest anti-constitutionality and multi-faceted turpitude.
Unfortunately, what we thought was a giant leap forward for all colors of Americans from all colors of states to all walks of life, to come together and revel in unity like never before, instead has resulted in universal suffering; a a huge disappointment.
For, in my view, “you’ve weakened our defense, thrown Poland and the Czech Republic under the Russian hobnail boot. Apologized to our enemies till the cows came home. Added trillions of waste and political payoffs using hard earned taxpayer money to our national debt. Mocked our free enterprise system, attempting to kill it under the guise of national necessity. Thrown our car companies and banks into turmoil with business killing red tape and government interference, not to mention I believe using your position to enrich yourself and your family with million dollar vacations virtually every 45 days and off shore Cayman Island trust accounts worth millions upon millions.”
The harsh fact is virtually irrefutable: If, as President, you lose the trust of the American people, any candidate of your party will likely lose an election. You cannot turn your back on the promises you made before becoming President and expect Americans to give you back a second term. Not even a consolation prize.
You know the saying as well as I. Fool me once, blame me. Fool me twice, well you know the rest.
And in Canada the struggle against progressive ideology is just as difficult as it is in the USA. We also suffer from the four corners of the universe of lies, government, academia, science and the media.(ht/RL)
Right now the four corners is trying to make a big deal of the fact that our brave soldiers in Afghanistan handed over to the Afghans some prisoners who then might have been roughed up by their own countrymen. And of course to them this means that our brave warriors are torturers.
Protests will be held across Canada this weekend to make regular Canadians think that our current minority conservative government is full of murderers and torturers, and of course this will get lots of media coverage here.
The battle against tyranny never ends.
Great article. Smaller/shrinking government will solve almost all the problems we face. Beyond that it’s fine tuning.
The voters of Massachusetts clearly DID put something ahead of traditional party loyalty in electing Scott Brown. Whether or not their responsible act represented an ideological sea change, as Chetwynd contends, remains to be seen. (Certainly, I would like to believe that it does.)
In any case, the Bay State did the nation a great service in rejecting Coakley — and, by extension, the policies and practices of Obama, Pelosi, and Reid. And millions of Americans owe them a debt of gratitude.
See: http://bereapundit.com/thank-you-massachusetts/
Well put, Mr. Chetwynd. The Scott Brown election was only the opening salvo of the big campaign before us. There are tremendous obstacles yet to be overcome. The collectivists will have to be completely discredited, and they will resists tooth and nail, regardless of the ultimate vacuity of their arguments. Hopefully this does not need to be bloody, but we need to be as persistent and courageous as Scott Brown was for his own battle.
May the Tea parties hither and yon produce candidates of a better cloth, and may we shed the absurd self-muzzling of political correctness. Things have to be told as they are and history has to be revealed as it was, and illuminate our blurred vision.
Justice Thomas recently said: “Read the constitution. It’s a lot easier to understand than your cell phone contract, and it’s far more important” (not sure his exact words, but the meaning was inescapable).
By the way, the Cato institute sells a neat copy of the declaration of independence and the constitution together, in a neat booklet, just about the size of a passport. A good way to spend 5 bucks. Who knows, it may just be the passport to a rediscovered America?
Baal said
The question is this: Are the Republicans the party of limited government or not? They can bloviate all day about tax cut, tax cuts, tax cuts, but without spending cuts we end up with distended debt.
Have they earned our respect and regard? No, they haven’t.
Europe works as a top-down model where voters are asked, in fact practically ordred, to vote for the dog food their party has decided all alone they will have to vorte for. In America there are primaries, who are not a perfect system but give far more power to the citizen than European citizens can even dream about. Now you are free to skip them and spend the day drinking beer but if you have then you haven’t earned the right to ask the Republicans to deserve your respect.
Thanks so much for the historical perspective. I am 43 and surely a child of a “dumbed down” educational system in the US. Despite having a college degree, I read the “rare” scholarly articles, such as yours Lionel, like a child fascinated by something I’ve never beheld before. For 2010 and 2012, I implore the conservative candidates to PLEASE do their homework. Are you available to help out with some history? Can Walter Williams host a workshop to re-teach economic principals? I always thought Hillary Clinton’s decision to just speak in sound bites during the campaign, rather than use the language fully, was demeaning to her and us. Palin must learn this lesson. She has to state facts, history, economic laws, the actual outcomes of her governing. NO QUIPS! NO SOUND BITES! NO SLOGANS! Let’s raise the bar of this national conversation and I promise I’ll keep up.
I see that some miseducated individual above(Poor Citizen at 11) has crowned Scott Brown the new leader of the Republican party. Brown ran a brilliant campaign in the commonwealth and has shown himself to be a perceptive candidate who was able to tap into voter frustration and appeal to his Mass electorate. That electorate is not representative of independents and conservatives from other regions of the country.
Scott Brown is a freshman Senator with a potentially bright future ahead. He is a very long way from proving himself worthy of leadership at a national level. The Democrats made a serious mistake recently when they took a silver tongued, handsome, untested, inexperinced, rookie and made him the leader of the party. Republicans would be smart to follow the authors admonition about compromise and avoid Frum/Brooks pleas for adoption of more liberal policies.
Keep it focused on conservative solutions to our financial challenges. The audience is growing by leaps and bounds.
I think the author needs to take a dip into Edmund Burke or Russell Kirk for a refresher on what it means to be conservative. If by ideology the author means a theoretical set of political ideas, then Conservatism is the antithesis of ideology because there are no perfect ideas, there are no perfect governments, and there are no perfect men.
Lional, this is one of the best articles to address the problems in America. We are easily distracted and called into battle over issues while the enemy wins the war. Take care of yourself and keep writing, please.
“Now is not the time for compromise”
Great, then you won’t mind when we pass health care reform through reconciliation. Thanks for your support on that.
32. Samizdat:
I see that some miseducated individual above(Poor Citizen at 11) has crowned Scott Brown the new leader of the Republican party.
He’s not that . . . he’s the NEW MESSIAH . . .THE CHOSEN ONE . . . THE RESURRECTOR . . . THE SAVIOR OF CONSERVATISM . . .THE ANOINTED ONE . . . Sarah who?
Scott Brown is THE WHITE JESUS!
Oh, I think I’m gonna faint . . .Oh, I’ve never seen such a smile . . .Oh, he’s so charismatic . . .Oh, I know he was just a state senator and just got elected to the US Senate but he should run for president . . . Oh, he came along just in time . . . Oh, he’s so historic . . Oh, he’s gonna change everything . . Oh, now I won’t have to worry about paying my taxes.
Sound familiar Sammy’s Date? Get used to it.
Excellent article. I agree with several who say that we need more historical education to put the current day into context. Context is king and will prevent people from being distracted by non-issues. I would love to see this:
A 10-part you-tube series on the roots of individualism, their embodiment in the US, how the US has resisted and succumbed to the collective assault up to the present day. Jonah Goldbert’s Liberal Facism is a great source document. It’s an improbable story. We need a good story teller to get that across.
If someone could get the storyline of events set down in concrete terms, then additional educational components could be created to reach a broader audience. This heritage needs to come alive from the ground up. I for one feel a sense of pride when I realize just how rare the American experiment is and how fragile. But it is only fragile if we let its roots remain unexplored. Individuality may beat within each citizens’ chest, but it needs to be noticed and explored to become a guiding part of daily life.
“This is not a time for compromise.”
Exactly! Cede the middle ground to the Dems and let the GOP become the fringe party it was always destined to be.
This is not a time for compromise. It is a historic moment to be grasped by those of us who believe in individual freedoms.
Absolutely.
In fact, no genuine, lasting compromise (only begrudging temporary and superficial agreement) is even possible with the hard LeftWing Cabal.
It’s like every time Israel is supposed to find “compromise” with the Islamic fanatics who, really, only exist to wipe Israel from the map.
A word to the wise:
“lie down with dogs, get up with fleas”
30. JFM: Thanks for pointing that out. Unfortunatley by the time the primaries get to my state…we’re already stuck with whoever it’s going to be.
I agree with your comments about Trudeau in Canada with the following exception:
“In the 1960s, Pierre Trudeau took Canada, then a country of self-reliant, broad-shouldered, rugged individualists, and by sheer force of political magnetism, ”
It was not political magnetism, it was a fawning media complex that convinced many of Trudeau’s “magnetism”. Remember, Trudeau was a reporter before he was a politician, what a surprise, a reporter liberal? The media loved him, and still do, he’s the one that made it.
At any rate, the analogy to 60′s Canada and current US is quite valid. If Obama succeeds in implementing his agenda, he will have succeeded in becoming the Trudeau of the United States, and for exactly the same reasons.
What brought down the Liberals in Canada was a level of corruption that the media could no longer hide. The Liberal downfall in Canada was not due to introspection on the part of Canadians.
Hey, Lionel; nice to see you venture out from Poliwood.
While politicians dithered over details…the people grasped the deeper issue.
Do you think they (we) “grasped” it instinctively or cognitively?
I am as excited as anyone about what happened in Massachusetts but I am afraid that too many Republicans think that “no compromise” applies also to religion-guided government, the abortion question, the war on drugs and other mainstays of the traditional Republican platform. It doesn’t take too much emphasis on these things to make tens of millions of Independents and on-the-fence Democrats feel that their freedoms are at risk with Republicans – perhaps in a ways that are scarier than those currently on display by the Obamacrats. Let’s stick to limited but well executed government, personal liberty and responsibility, respect for property rights, enforcement of basic laws and contracts and free markets.
Bravo! A revelatory light upon the fundamentally Un-American underpinnings of the leftist project.
Scott Brown election: Massachusetts voters read the tea leaves
Today Robert Gibbs says he is not convinced that Scott Brown won because of the “health care reform” currently in congress!
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/01/24/white-house-weighing-push-health-care-congress/
You have to see the picture that accompanies the article, this man is truly an idiot. You know all he does is get up in front of reporters and lies and tries to twist truth into something totally unrecognizable. He is quite like Baghdad Bob during the first days of the Iraq War~ completely out of touch with reality.
Thank God the voters of Massachusetts showed the rest of the country that there is hope in the upcoming elections. I have not voted since 2000 and that was in the primary for George Bush and then moved out of state at a time where my residency requirement would not allow me to vote in the general, but I fixed that this year and now have my voter registration and will definitely be voting in the upcoming elections, hope all the rest of you do also!
OOps, I hope all the rest of you sane people vote in the upcoming election, but hey Moonbats they are not holding an election this year Independents, Republicans and Conservatives have given up so instead of voting you can just celebrate your victory on what would have been election day!
Can someone get Andie Brownlow to read this?