How To Spot An Asshat

They open their mouths and the funniest stuff falls out.
From Breitbart.tv...

Yea, I ate a carrot today, therefore, I'm Bugs Bunny! Perfect reasoning! Freaking maroon.

Not sure if the embed is going to work, so here is the link to the video on Breitbart.

Tip 'o the hat again to Quigley.

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Conservative Blogger Debate - Third Party Vote Wasted?

This installment of the debates is quite interesting in that the combatants delve into what could be some make or break moments for the Republican party in 2010.

If you need a break from the Health Care debacle and still desire some edification and learned conversation, check out these fine websites to consider with us where the direction of the conservative movement should be going forward, and how best to arrive.

Motor City Times has the moderation.
Present Discontent has the first response and rebuttal.
Makes My Brain Itch replies.

The Classic Liberal is also following the debate and has some points of his own to add.



One more point on Health Care, Russ at That's Right has decided to point fingers again, this time at the good guys and directs our attention to a standout in the recent jousting match. Rep. Paul Ryan. You can read his piece here. I couldn't agree more my friend. Have a good weekend. BTW, nice hat.

Gator Doug steps in with some comic relief. Who couldn't use a little of that right now?

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Quote of the day...

"... doesn’t it seem kinda odd that thousands of American citizens have to organize an emergency rally in the nation’s capital because the powers that be will stop at nothing-no matter how unconstitutional, unethical or downright tyrannical it may be-to force socialized health care on us? Is this really what the Founders had in mind?"

Russ at The Resistance 

Go get 'em tiger. I wish I could be there with all of you.
I'll be praying.

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Conservative Blogger Debate:

 Begun the Debate has...

There is a growing group of conservatives who are against the current prosecution of our war on terrorism and our nations foreign policy direction. Many conservatives are in favor of staying the course. 

Here are the sites where you can follow the action.
This aught to be good.

Debaters:
The CL from The Classic Liberal vs. Russ of That's Right

The Locations:
Motor City Times - Moderator
Makes My Brain Itch- Moderator

Commentary and sundries:
WyBlog
Washington Rebel
Republican Redefined
Present Discontent

HT WyBlog

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A Libertarian Leaning Conservative...

attempts to dance with the two philosophies.

I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism. ~ Ronald Reagan

Cue the music...

I am coming to define my inner Libertarian as meandering to the federal side of things and my inner Conservative leaning to the local in that I see Libertarianism as the absence of moral law and in some points of Conservatism the desire for a certain amount of it.

Put another way, Libertarians wish for no laws restricting their freedoms in any way, a group of Conservatives might decide on a set of standards for their community, and conversely, Liberals, would know capriciously which, what, and wherefore a law should be applied but would refuse to enforce it until a Conservative happens to cross the line. --> Ha! Gotcha! Hypocrite!!!

Therefore, I aim to let the Libertarian side of me vote in State and National elections, the Conservative vote in the local and the Liberal side be subjected to ridicule and scorn for the rest of my days for he has distorted the logic of governance in total. --> Baaaad Liberal. Down boy. Sit. Stay. Play dead.

For instance, in terms of alcohol, smoking, drug use or gambling, one might say that at the federal and state levels they should be legal and only at the local level could they be outlawed. Let each community decide. This, it is becoming clearer to me, was the founders' intention, or nearer to it. The more prohibitive the laws become, the closer to home they should be. That being said, the community stops at my front door. My home is my inner sanctum and shall not be compromised. I hear you knockin' but you can't come in...


On Foreign Policy:
As to the Libertarian side, I still have a problem being too isolationist (as in Ron Paul). I believe it is folly to think that we should leave the middle east to fester, having no influence there when we have allies in that region that need our presence and vice-versa. Russia and China would certainly take advantage of the vacuum were we to leave that portion of the globe alone but for a second. Even as we are there, they openly and secretly aid and abet our enemies. Such activity would just increase if we were to vacate the premises.

There is a quandary though in foreign policy. How do I judge that which cannot be judged? That is to say, how does one wisely decide on issues of conflict and war as a mere citizen when he has no relevant information? My government must, I'm sure, withhold certain matters of strategy and resultant policy from me because of security and intelligence. So, I must trust, to a certain extent, that they know what they are doing. Although in the case of certain politicians I will never be able to grant enough trust and as to the government in general even the most trusted is never fully so.

It suffices to say that when my country goes to war, I pray it is just. When my brothers kill others I pray God had the final say and it was righteous. I pray we are on the side of God and that we are the tools achieving his goals. Faith is needed here, for without it I am despaired.

Let it be known though that if I cannot be on God's side, then I would chose to not be on any side and hope that we as a country would hold that policy.

============

This essay contains some things I have learned and refined about my personal political views in the past few months. My Libertarian friends and Conservative friends might see these things differently than I. That is why we have these little bloggy discussions no? If not you, then definitely me. If my understanding of a political view is mistaken, then by all means let me  know. I'm still in the ebb and flow of my own political discourse after all.

LC

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Woodshed Politics

Tuesday, the Massachusetts Independents and Conservatives ran roughshod over the Democrat machine. To say that I'm ecstatic would be an understatement. OBummer probably needs a couple more TVs in the WH after doing some impromptu, unscripted demolition, but that's OK, he's got the taxpayers' money and a Nobel Prize to pay for them.

But, before we commence breaking our arms patting ourselves on the back, we need to look at what happened in Mass. and consider how to do it better next time.

Senator Scott Brown is a liberal Republican. Granted he's the lesser of two evils and will serve the purposes of the nation by being in that seat for sure. But I think one can easily show that he leans much farther left than most in the Republican party. So here's what I'm really getting at. We've got less than a year before the 2010 elections. We need Real Conservatives in the upcoming elections if we are to keep up the momentum and I'm not just talking on a state or national level.

Get Local and Get Vocal:
Former Speaker of the House Thomas "Tip" O'Neill once said  "All politics is local."

I agree. We need to start from the bottom up. Nominate the best candidates you can find for your local elections. This is where the grass roots will really take hold in the next two or three election cycles. If we can catapult some of these into State offices this year, fine but the point is, most of those running at that level are already entrenched in their campaigns. So let's set about finding the future Conservative leaders this year.

On Term Limits:
To all those people who keep up the "Term Limits" and "Throw Them All Out" mantras. I want to point out just how dangerous those philosophies are. For one, they are rooted in a lazy attitude towards politics. It says that you are too lazy to do your own research. Does the politician you are about to throw out deserve to be thrown out like bad house guest? If so, good. Kick them out but remember, in the end we voters are at fault for letting the freeloader stay in the guestroom for too long.

If you are truly voting your political beliefs then he may be the right person for the job and with the TL or TTAO philosophy, you've just taken a valuable asset off the playing field. Especially in the case of an experienced politician, the newly elected will be slowed by the learning curve and possibly outflanked by the opposition. I would rather we keep the good ones and get rid of the bad.

Another argument against TL would be that a politician who knew he was about to lose his seat would have no accountability, no allegiance to the voter who should grade his performance. That sets up the special interest buying a vote at the last of his term, with no repercussions except for the citizen. The answer to this is not term limits. The answer is a more involved and informed voting base.

Define Your Beliefs:
This is merely a caution not to vote angry. We need to vote for something, not against something else and getting started locally is the only way to set up future elections for that end.

This past Presidential election is a perfect example of a population voting against  a person rather than voting for a set of principles. We all know where that got us. That kind of angry voting lead us to the situation we're in now. With government breathing down our backs and threatening to take over one sixth of the economy.

But it also awakened us and got a lot of people fired up!

Let's stoke that fire with fresh blood from the local woodpile.



HT Villainous Company
The American Conservative

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Lessons From The Losing Side...

 ...of the constitutional debate over 200 years ago. - from Imperfect America

The United States under the Articles of Confederation was a disaster. The federal government was weak and heavily indebted, state governments carried massive debts, printed money like it was newspaper and imposed confiscatory taxes on their citizens. Inflation raged, veterans went unpaid and farmers across the country were being thrown off of their farms and into jails because of debts and taxes. This was the climate in which the Anti-Federalists were decrying the Constitution. They suggested the federal government would become too powerful, that citizens would lose their freedoms and states would become beholden to it. What they didn’t suggest however was a coherent or compelling alternative. When faced with a choice between the Federalist’s imperfect Constitution and the Anti-Federalist’s nothing, the citizens chose the Constitution.

  read the rest here.

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Quote From My Facebook Page This Weekend

From someone I knew when I was a Democrat.

OMG, I've friended another Republican....

I laughed out loud. (There, I wrote it. It wasn't that hard.)
Actually no Dear, but close.  I could be Republican but not conservative. I could also be conservative without being Republican. The two aren't married to each other although I wonder if they should be.

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