The War of 2012
The Money War
We are now in the era of the super PACs, brought about by the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United. The ruling allows for direct political spending by corporations and unions, thus unleashing a “Wild West” of fundraising. Super PACs do not have to reveal their donors, but are forbidden (wink wink) to coordinate directly with the “official” campaign.
According to USA Today, at last count Obama had already attended 127 fundraisers — more than any of his predecessors — on his way to a campaign goal of $1 billion. As a result, Republican candidates vying to win the GOP nomination and to defeat an incumbent president must spend an inordinate amount of time fundraising.
The MSM vs. New Media
No reasonable person disputes that in 2008 the MSM was in the tank for Obama. Will the media be there for him again? Of course — particularly if the current “frontrunner,” Texas Governor Rick Perry, is the Republican nominee. With Perry, the MSM will project the second coming of George W. Bush: expect Bush Derangement Syndrome 2.0 with Perry’s face attached.
New Media has its work cut out for them.
The Two Parties vs. the New Internet Party
A well-funded group called Americans Elect will be launching a third party nominating process via the internet. The plan is to be on the ballot in all 50 states. Who would be their presidential nominee? One could assume someone like former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman would be the perfect candidate.
If Americans Elect, or another third party, is only partially successful, the winner of the War of 2012 could end up being determined by the House of Representatives — a figurative burning inside the Capitol.
Regarding “class warfare”:
The lamestream leftist media creates an image of class warfare between the eeeeevil rich and the poor, oppressed have-nots.
The REAL class war is between the government-fed and government-protected entitlement classes (especially members of government employee unions) and the rest of us. We have to win this one.
One other problem: the media deliberately concealed just how bizarre Obama and his family truly are. Most of the public still doesn’t know.
“Big Government vs. Small Government vs. Broke Government
This will be the key battle of the War of 2012. But no matter which candidate wins, our nation has already lost because our current levels of spending cannot be sustained.”
Definitely. This is what 2012 will be all about. Do we want a European-style welfare state and end up like Greece in a few years, or do we want a conservative form of government which will bring back a little fiscal sanity into Washington. Even if Republicans do win in 2012, they will have to win everything (House, Senate, and the White House) to implement any real change in Washington, the first of which will be the repeal of Obamacare. It’s going to be a brutal and vicious fight in 2012, because the far-left knows that if Obama goes down, so does the liberal agenda for the next eight to twelve years, if not longer. I don’t think liberals really understand how much damage Obama has done to their cause, so they will probably fight real hard to keep him in power in 2012, regardless of what the polls say about Obama’s base being “disinchanted” with him. After all, where are they going to go to get as good a ride as they have gotten with Obama? Nope, it’s going to be ugly in 2012, but we are ready for them. If the McCain failure in 2012 taught us anything, there is no such thing as “civility” in a national election. Just look at what the Democrats and the main stream media did to Sarah Palin. Nope, in 2012, we come to the fight well armed and ready for action.
R. Buckminster Fuller once wrote that if you paid 1,000 people to just sit around and think, one would make a breakthrough to pay for the other 999. I bet the ratio is now somewhere around a million to one.
I don’t think so, oldguy. Maybe a one in a million chance to think of a breakthrough, but that breakthrough will not pay for the salaries of the remaining 999,999.
There’s a joke that made the rounds awhile back: “It used to be said that an infinite number of monkeys sitting at typewriters would eventually produce the complete works of Shakespeare. Thanks to the Internet, we now know that this is false.”
In 1960, Americans of European ancestry were 88.6% of the population. In 2000, European-Americans were down to 69.1% of the population. In 2010, Americans of European ancestry were down to only 63.7% of the population…and will be a minority by 2041.
In 1980, European-Americans were 88% of the electorate. In 2000, European-Americans were down to 81% of the electorate. In 2008, European-Americans were down to only 74% of the electorate. It is pretty obvious where this is going…
Goodbye, White America
http://rightbias.com/News/misc2.aspx
Your country is desolate; your cities are burned with fire; as for your land — strangers consume its [yield] in your presence; it is desolate as if overturned by foreigners.-ISAIAH 1:7
We are living in the last great days of the Great Republic of the United States of America…
Demographics – Your forecast will come about only if we continue down the Leftist path we have be trodding since FDR. I do not see why, if we can have a merit based system reinstituted, that the country’s best days do not lie ahead.
In 1887 Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinborough , had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years prior:
“A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse over loose fiscal policy, (which is) always followed by a dictatorship.”
That seems very prophetic. You may argue that the US is a democratic republic, but the winner of our elections is still basically selected by getting more than 50% of the vote, in effect, based on democratic elections. Being a republic, it will just take us longer to collapse.
It isn’t about race. Alan West, Marco Rubio, Thomas Sowell, Clarence Thomas, Bobby Jindal, Nikki Haley and many other non-white Americans are every bit as patriotic and wise as any white person.
It’s about a concerted multi-decade effort by marxists to push every button there is to balkanize the country and convince 50%+ that they can get something for nothing. Black Americans are hardly the only group that they seduced.
Suggesting it is about race hurts the struggle of millions against the real culprit. You have used data that appears superficially relevant to support a fallacious argument that is destructive to the change you support.
European Americans brought us European Socialism.
I’d rather have Conservative Latinos for neighbors.
You have obviously not ventured into the teeming third world Latino ghettos of Los Angeles or another major American metropolis. ‘Fraid to say this is our destiny. It’s all about the Bell Curve. Hey, at least we’ll be eating some tasty tacos.
We “won” the War of 1812?
I thought the outcome was inconclusive.
“We are now in the era of the super PACs, brought about by the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United.”
McCain Feingold created the super pac’s. The Supreme Court just approved the existence & operations in Citizens United.
True, but you can’t blame Myra for blaming the Supremes for it.
I mean, otherwise, she’d have to admit that her favorite RINO is to blame, and that’s obviously not acceptable!
Rick Perry IS the second coming of George W. Bush. Why on earth would we possibly consider electing another Republican Texas governor? Didn’t we learn anything from the last one?
Barack Obama’s utter incompetence has made Bush look good. He wasn’t. And neither is Perry.
Creeper – you are so wrong. Perry has governed a state where many jobs have been created, relatively low unemployment rate (once demographic factors are accounted for)a good educational system (agaon, once demographic factors are accounted for) etc., etc. What does O have to show for his years in office. Almost, but not quite, a big goose egg.
Even Elmer Fudd is better than Obama.
Because the alternative is re-electing ObamAA+.
If the choice was between Obama and my pet Dalmatian, we would all go with the dog…
3. oldguy
“R. Buckminster Fuller once wrote that if you paid 1,000 people to just sit around and think, one would make a breakthrough to pay for the other 999. I bet the ratio is now somewhere around a million to one.”
No, in my opinion, one would make a breakthrough and the other 999 would sit around and argue about how that one has to be wrong because they didn’t think of it too and then try to change it so much it really wouldn’t work.
@creeper: Ah, your well thought out, reasoned and cogent arguments against Perry in particular and Republican governors from Texas in general have won the day.
Oh wait, you didn’t have any? I see. I’m not a Perry fanboi, but I’m willing to give the man a fair hearing. You, on the other hand, seem to have already crucified him because of the state he governs. Or something.
Come on, bring something to the table. What you just did was pitiful mewing.
Try these Perry facts on for size:
1. Calls himself a “conservative Christian”, but he endorsed Rudy Giuliani just 5 years ago. The technical term for that is, “LYING TO GET VOTES”.
2. Held a “prayer rally” at which he gave a rousing speech in which he said… nothing. Go listen to what he actually says. Don’t listen to the IMPRESSION his speech creates. Analyze the ACTUAL WORDS. Perry said a lot of nothing, while sounding like he was making profound statements. That should set off many warning bells.
2. Soft on immigration, oh, until he found it more conducive to winning elections to be a border hawk.
3. Mandated an unproven vaccine for a non-problem. This is a man who understands and agrees with limited government? Oh, I guess its okay because he says he’s sorry now. Hmmm. Did he return the campaign donations he got from the vaccine manufacturer?
Perry is a Trojan Horse.
3.
It would really help if we follow the saying “Vote Wisely”. Nation will not suffer if people simply follow that simple word and not be dazzle in money.
India Travel
It’s about liberty and tyranny.
If you want to be forced into serfdom, like 90% Obama’s are already in, vote for him. He’s your guy.
This 3rd party run thing really worries me. A 3-way race might be the only way O-Bummer can get reelected. 3rd party runs are usually really rich guys who can self-finance, at least at the start. Trump is perfect for the role, and the Media will love it. It will boost ratings – and Obama’s prospects. Obama could potentially win reelection with 35% of the vote in a 3-way. Trump takes positions that the major parties won’t, and could easily get 25% of the vote. A 3rd party puts all States in play, and makes it especially vital that the GOP work overtime to secure control of more than the 26 State Congressional Delegations needed to win if the election goes to the House.
I fear the same thing. One only needs to remember Ross Perot handing the 1992 election to Clinton on a silver platter (which was his intent).
Anyone firing up a third party is an idiot, unless they actually favor another four years of Obama.
america lost the war of 1812. it was absurd to attack the british just as they were defeating napoleon, culminating in waterloo.
No, it was a draw.
We lost our chance to take Canada – bad plan poorly excecuted. The British did burn down DC (please come back), but had nowhere near the resources needed to capture and hold a vast country even if they won every battle. As the Battle of New Orleans showed (after the peace treaty had been signed), that wasn’t going to happen.
“Next year marks the bicentennial of the War of 1812, when a fledging nation successfully defeated the British Empire for the second time.”
For your information, the Americans lost the War of 1812. The principal US objective, the annexation of Canada, was attempted several times and each time defeated. The US Navy, whose exploits in the war have always been ludicrously exaggerated (British sources, with different assessments of the naval engagements, were explicitly banned from the library at Annapolis for decades afterwards) ended the war confined to port, unable to put to sea, for fear of being picked off by the superior Royal Navy. The American economy was wrecked and Washington was torched by the Royal Marines. The Americans were forced to sue for peace. I am not quite sure how you define “victory”, but the War of 1812, for the US, was anything but.
In fact, its whole place in American mythology is inappropriate, because the war was started by a squalid administration for the most cynical of motives. The widespread belief, that the US was reacting to high-handed methods of the RN, was only a pretext; the French navy behaved in exactly the same way as the RN, but the Americans never proposed war with France. The reason is simple: unlike Britain, France no longer had anything in North America which the US coveted. Furthermore, the warmongers in Washington spectacularly misjudged the strategic situation in Europe, believing Britain to be bogged down in Spain and France to be on the point of conquering Russia.
All in all, it would be nice if the Americans were finally to recognise the truth about the War of 1812, just in time for the bicentenary.
Not sure what history books you read that made it sound like our Navy was a match for the Brits. The British Navy was the largest and most powerful in the world in 1812, our was mostly plans. We won enough one-on-one sloop and frigate duels to celebrate – despite their relative lack of military importance.
More importantly, our Navy and privateers hurt British trade enough to make us not worth the effort during the middle of the Napoleanic wars. We had no more chance of beating the British on the seas in 1812 than they have of beating us today.
In the 1812 War, no USN ship ever defeated an equivalent RN ship.
You’re absolutely right, however, about the decline of the RN, continuing as we speak. Several ships involved in action against the Gaddafi regime have been diverted into action, when they would otherwise have been decommissioned right away. RAF personnel involved in the Libyan actions have been served with redundancy notices. The same government which inflicts such damage on the UK’s armed forces finds billions, to subsidise wind turbines all over the countryside and the coastline, when all the evidence demonstrates that this is money wasted.
There is a recently published good book about the War of 1812 written by Walter R. Borneman. I’ve read it and feel it gives some good insights.
Re Rick Perry’s Texas accomplishments, The Wall Street Journal hasn’t been all that complementary about his record, as posted in some other PJM threads. The unemployment rate is just a bit lower than the national average; unlike, for example, North Dakota. Many of the created jobs are of the low wage variety.
Some of his “constitutional thinking” is off-beat to say the least. As in, returning election of senators to state legislatures. He also wants constitutional amendments to ban abortion and gay marriage. Maybe he needs to read about the last attempt to legislate “morality” in the Constitution: Prohibition.
Finally, the author makes a significant error by assuming that only Democrats are secular in thinking on the cultural issues. I’m a life long secular conservative Republican. Barry Goldwater observed that abortion was not a conservative issue, but was a matter between a woman and her doctor.
Why would you regard returning to the original Constitutional election of Senators to be “off-beat”?
Simply because you do not understand the reasons for the original construction, which means you do not even understand what America IS.
For the same reason, you make the significant error of assuming (contrary to the writings of our Founders) that it is possible to have liberty without morality.
MOST of our laws regulate morality.
Mark: I think the current way of electing senators; allowing the people a voice in who their senators will be; is far better than the old way of doing so in smoke filled back rooms of state legislatures. And yes, I fully understand what the purpose of the Founders was, and why the change has been good.
You assume mistakenly so that I do not have moral beliefs. The issue I have with Mr. Perry is that he apparently believes that fundamentalist Christian ideology is the only morality. It is highly possible to have liberty without adhering to fundamentalist Christian religious beliefs. It’s interesting that no one has yet called Governor Perry on the seeming conflict between his fundamentalist leanings and the 1st Amendment.
I believe Christian fundamentalism arose for one reason: the fear that some future force would manipulate Christianity and trick Christians into worshiping wrongly or not-at-all. This threat is solved by insisting that we pray directly to Christ and ignore other protocols. The Christian fundamentalists are trying to future-proof a technology that could easily be altered by… let’s just say “Satan”.
Btw: Perry was a Bilderberg attendee, which is fairly “back room” in my opinion.
By the way, the War of 1812 was pretty much a draw. Even today, both sides claim victory.