President Food Stamp and Vice President “Trust Me”
Paul Ryan did a fine job last night, and the CNN and other polls show a clear victory over a near-hysterical Joe Biden. Normally I stay at barge-pole length from the diabolical art of political rhetoric. But I couldn’t help wishing that Ryan had closed his argument like this:
Since you bring it up, Mr. Vice President, the 30% I’m talking about is the proportion of Americans getting food stamps and other means-tested help from the federal government. It was just 20% when you took office. They’re getting food stamps and other help instead of earning a paycheck, because your administration failed to create the jobs you promised. They don’t want the food stamps. They want to work. To say that Mitt Romney and I blame these struggling Americans is false, and you should be ashamed of yourself for insinuating that. It sounds to me like you’re saying, “We all know that our administration failed to create jobs, but you can trust us to keep the food stamps coming.” I thank God America is rich enough to make sure that no American need go hungry, and I don’t begrudge help to anyone. But is this the best you can offer the American people? Your campaign slogan comes down to, “Trust me.” Why don’t you put it on a bumper sticker?
What Biden did last night was downright wicked. He said of the American people:
…all they’re looking for is an even shot. When they’ve been given the shot, they’ve done it. They’ve done it. Whenever you level the playing field, they’ve been able to move.
…they want a little bit of peace of mind. And the president and I are not going to rest until that playing field is leveled, they in fact have a clear shot and they have peace of mind, until they can turn to their kid and say with a degree of confidence, honey, it’s going to be OK. It’s going to be OK. That’s what this is all about.
That’s a shameless appeal to resentment and fear, and the best way to take it on is to call it what it is.
It was an appeal to women. Biden’s aggressive debate behavior was a play for dominance, and by most accounts it was successful*. No one wins elections by repeating the numbers, scary numbers. Ryan is significantly handicapped by his intelligence, and even an element of innocence.
*The undecided voters strongly favored Biden over Ryan. They are overwhelmingly female, and value charisma, confidence and swagger. 4 years of Obama has taught them nothing, because you cannot teach nature.
I consider Ann Althouse the be a pretty good example of the “undecided voter” – and no, that’s not a compliment. If I’m correct, Biden didn’t do nearly as well as you think he did, looking at her reaction. Women may like charisma, confidence, and swagger. There’s a fine yet distinct line between that, and being an asshole.
Then again, what do I know? I’ve always though Biden was a dolt!
David –I guess your candidate didn’t do to well last night. Since you are making up dialogue — here is what I would have done.
(1) In the closing minute, when Ryan asked Biden “Do you have a litmus test” (on court appointments)? I would have Biden reply, “You bet our ass we do”?
(2) The question I would have Biden ask is, “Who do do you trust to make health care affordable and a right like public education and clean water?” The Dems who really favor public health care programs or Ryan, who comes out of the Ayn Rand school?
Notice – I did not mention Romney because no one knows really what he would do.
All the best
1) No one ever admits to litmus tests, because that corrupts the judicial process.
2) public education and clean water are not rights. They are services, just like healthcare, and like all services, you have to pay for them. A right is a characteristic bestowed by God/a higher power of your choosing. Haven’t you ever read the Declaration of Independence, among other documents?
According to all the polls, he did better than Biden; but I think he could have swallowed Biden whole and spit out the bones. In all likelihood he was coached to play a loser’s rather than a winner’s game, for several reasons, not least of which is to show that he is a mature, responsible fellow who would be a competent president.
Clean water and health care are not a “right”. Do you claim they are found somewhere in our Constitution? Why stop at clean water and health care then? Why not affordable housing? Why not a car? Why not a good massage every now and then? And these “rights” we have supposedly, you do realize that, unlike free speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion etc., someone must actually pay for them correct? You do realize that the “right” to health care and the right to clean water and the right to housing means you must force either a service provider or another individual to provide that health care. Your “rights” are no more than the “right” of the government to coerce someone to pay or to do. I guess you would be good at that. I am sure there are thousands of would-be commissars – ready to do nothing but coerce and decide. And no, I don’t trust Biden or Obama or you to be the Chief Commissar.
Mr. Abrams.
I am so sorry for you. You are so wrong….it hurts.
ta
Mr. Goldman,
Someone should hire you as a speech writer; where the diabolic arts, as you put it, are concerned, you’ve got both the substance and the verve. And BTW, per your previous exhortation, I’m doing my best with a small number of ex-pats here who will nevertheless still vote.
As for VP Biden’s “downright wicked” message, I agree. But I’d like to amplify your message, mostly for my own satisfaction, but perhaps having it spelled out will be good too. (And please correct my interpretation as necessary!) Specifically, Biden says “…all they’re looking for is an even shot. When they’ve been given the shot, they’ve done it . . . they want a little bit of peace of mind. And the president and I are not going to rest until that playing field is leveled . . . until they can turn to their kid and say with a degree of confidence, honey, it’s going to be OK. It’s going to be OK.”
So, let’s parse Biden’s comments for wickedness, because first of all, at a superficial level, the comments sound plausible, attractive, even moral! Who can disagree with “fairness”, which can be interpreted as the meaning of “given the shot”. And who could be against “peace of mind”, for parents of children? In fact, on review, I suspect that even some readers in this forum will be hard-pressed to immediately come up with a clear statement of wickedness.
So here it is:
1. First of all there is the implicit definition of class, those who “give the shot” and “those who get the shot”. There is not a common moral sense of equality under heaven. This is not surprising given the satisfactions of left-liberal elite culture.
2. Second there is an implied sense of justification for “giving up” — if you “don`t get your shot”, then you “don`t do it”. There`s no sense of `never surrender`or `never, ever give up`, which is the sort of ethos one expects in America. So, now you have two classes, one of which is morally deficient, by definition of Mr. Biden, because, unless they get their shot, they give up. There`s even a sense that if you get your shot, you might now win, which however true mathematically, is a vile proposition for raising kids, and even if you lose today, tomorrow is a new day! I know you are a betting man Mr. Goldman, but it seems to me that this language of gambling used by Mr. Biden is out of place and a corruption of the American ethos — perhaps suitable for the Southern slavers of which you have written about elsewhere.
3. Third, there is the invocation of “peace of mind”. Well, it`s not the job of the government to deliver peace of mind; a government should deliver peace and security, a la Hobbes. But peace of mind in terms of insurance from all calamity, where one no longer has responsibility for moving to where jobs are for example (in which case if you have a guaranteed job, the government is likely to pack you in a cattle car to send you where the jobs are), is a fantasy. Peace of mind is a kind of magical thinking, thinking that mommy or daddy or god will look after me without my own efforts. It`s a kind of childishness which is out of place in the land of adults, namely America. But Obama and Biden and company are hell-bent for infantalizing Americans, the better to sit atop the heap.
4. Fourth, you have pointed out the resentiment that is fostered by the statement, which is that in order to “level the playing field” and “provide peace of mind”, the government will undertake actions necessary to achieve whatever that is defined as. Likely some sort of confiscatory actions. The only justification for this sort of thing of course is a labour theory of value, where all value and capital is traced back to its original source of creation, namely an hour of labour. But of course, that`s Marxism, and even most Marxists will admit that the LTV doesn`t work very well. And thus we are back to confiscation. Well, forget Marx, maybe we should just go back to something simpler, namely, “Property is Theft”.
So, now I`m more determined than ever. The Obama-Biden ticket is the ticket of moral bankruptcy, anti-American communalism, predatory neo-aristocratic condescension, wannabe-Bolshevik commissars-lite and self-delusional magical thinking. This is not how your average Dem thinks of course. As you have pointed out, this election is a tipping point. Let`s not forget even the power of prayer.
Peace of the day,
J.
Correction: “you might NOT win
In line with your previous post, Spengler, we are in deep doo-doo if Obama wins a second term.
Why Mitt Romney will be the Loser?
Because this is God’s Will
yet
We have the right to wrestle with God to make him a winner . We know that the sins of the father are not held against the son but we also know sin is repeated generation after generation by the children and the demon influence takes joy in making the sin resemble almost exactly the sin of the father
That’s why the innocent baby in the womb should not be blamed for the sin of the mother or the father , rape is not an excuse to murder the baby in the womb nor incest but the woman is murders her baby because she does not know it is wrong to do in god’s eyes unless there are people who explain this to her.
The practice of sin makes distance from the True God. False doctrine makes distance from the True God. Yet the son may not be aware waht his father taught him is false doctrine.
So we have the Mormon Bible with the Book called Nephi which i believe came from the fallen angels cast into great Darkness by the True God and rad 2 Nephi 5:21 about the curse of the man born black as if the color of skin is a curse . Yet the 2nd chosen Prophet of the Fallen angel religion believed what the false doctrine taught about the mark of Cain curse put on the “flat nose” black man.
But what Jesus Christ proved that even the children of the fallen angels in which the Mormons were chosen to become can be forgiven for fallen angels sins.
In the next debate if Mitt Romney can show deep respect for our president and be glad he not cursed with Mr spengler’s role we see here and show him he is his brother in the faith then make his issues clear this could go along way defeating the curse of the fallen angels on the poor mormon’s with so amny break away cults to keep the past false doctrines from the demons alive
Remember how the Christian interpret the song of Solomon and remember chapter 1 the woman made black and yet she is the chosen one for the Great Divine Love from God and the proud are rejected
The woman
Kiss me—full on the mouth!
Yes! For your love is better than wine,
headier than your aromatic oils.
The syllables of your name murmur like a meadow brook.
No wonder everyone loves to say your name!
4 Take me away with you! Let’s run off together!
An elopement with my King-Lover!
We’ll celebrate, we’ll sing,
we’ll make great music.
Yes! For your love is better than vintage wine.
Everyone loves you—of course! And why not?
5-6 I am weathered but still elegant,
oh, dear sisters in Jerusalem,
Weather-darkened like Kedar desert tents,
time-softened like Solomon’s Temple hangings.
Don’t look down on me because I’m dark,
darkened by the sun’s harsh rays.
My brothers ridiculed me and sent me to work in the fields.
They made me care for the face of the earth,
but I had no time to care for my own face.
7 Tell me where you’re working
—I love you so much—
Tell me where you’re tending your flocks,
where you let them rest at noontime.
Why should I be the one left out,
outside the orbit of your tender care?
The Man
8 If you can’t find me, loveliest of all women,
it’s all right.
Puting together this Oct. 12th column with the previous one, you get the following:
- Last sentence of Oct. 12th column:
“That’s a shameless appeal to resentment and fear (…)”
- Title of the previous column:
“America Won’t Survive Another Four Years of Obama”
Quite funny, no ?
Do it as I say, not as I do
…
30% on Federal aid? …
Try: the ( electronic ) breadlines have doubled under this maladministration.
————-
The consequence of four more years for 0bama is utter destruction of the US Dollar.
And with it goes the Wan’s ability to dance through the tulips.
What is Mitt Romney?
Why does this guy not connect with me? I want to vote for him but there is a giant hole in him that I can’t explain Dave. He speaks about the American system and it’s glory but he just can’t connect with me on any level other than “God we gotta get rid of Obama!”. I have to ask that if we were to pursue “Who is Barack Obama” then should we also look at “What is Mitt Romney”. Four years ago we got a warning on election eve that was the best piece of verse that you had written in a while. With Mitt we get only facts figures and possible horrible outcomes. Why so little passion for this nominee? If you of all writers can not breath a hint of what lies in the heart of the man who would be president then honestly who can. Is the Sanity Clause preventing you from expounding why we should support a candidate that we honestly just can’t relate to?
“What is Mitt Romney? Why does this guy not connect with me?”
He is running for the job of chief executive, not guidance counselor, charismatic sect leader or father figure. Heads of state who encourage a personality cult following among the populace rarely do well. I’m looking at you Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, Robert Mugabe, etc.
I think you are asking the wrong questions.
Notice in the gallop poll Mitt Romney is up by 7 points over “Saddam ” Obama as he has been presented by people lusting for powers it seems. even Jacob wrestle with an angel of God to get his blessing. But what was the fruit? 10 evil sons who were out to murder little Joseph for the dreams from God he had such as the Sun and the moon and the stars bow down to him. Hate was in the hearts of the 10 brothers and so Mitt Romney the son of the Nephilm are ready to bring his dogma on USA.
When they fail only a Pharaoh from Egypt will have the power to right the wrong in 2016 and yet little Joseph will be 2nd in command and still love his 10 brothers wondering if they make his little brother Benjamin into the evil they had become or did True God save him like he save Joseph?
yikes!
it seem everything osama bin laden wrote will come true and to think this tool that cuts boxes was the weapon that brought the 12 tribes of Israel to their knees before the True God.
perhaps this does not have to be the story with such heartache ? Time will tell
“According to Isaiah, the second exodus is extraordinary for all the reasons we think it ordinary. In the first exodus, the hard-hearted Gentile king has to be beaten to a pulp before he lets Israel go; in the second exodus, the Gentile king is a willing participant in Yahweh’s work. Persia doesn’t have to be plundered because Cyrus is willing to help rebuild Yahweh’s house. The earth never opens to swallow rebels because there are no rebels; Ezra and Nehemiah lead an astonishingly compliant crew of returnees.
Far more than the first, the second exodus fulfills Yahweh’s promise to bless Gentiles through Abraham’s seed. The second exodus fulfills the prophetic hope that the nations will bring their wealth to Zion and that the Lord will inscribe his law on Israel’s heart of flesh. God’s kingdom no longer invades from outside but quietly transforms from within, like leaven in dough.
The apostles announce yet another exodus. ”
Peter J. Leithat
This third exodus has gone on for almost 2000 years . Where are we in this third exodus?