Sep 15 2006
Don’t Stay Home In November
Every conservative can think of one issue not being dealt with the way they like. For too many this is becoming an excuse to stay home and basically punish those they disagree with. They think a round with Dems in charge will teach people a lesson. Well, I am here to say those thinking this way do not want to learn the true lesson. And that is stomping feet in frustration and staying home will hurt more people who have no say in how well your issues are addressed. That is because the people most likely to be punished are those in harm’s way (or will be in harm’s way under the ‘leadership’ of the left). We Cons keep trying to explain to the left how serious this war on terror is, and how serious defeating Al Qaeda in Iraq is. But then some turn around and say something like “if you do more than a fence on the border I am staying home”. Its time to get real folks. Please don’t throw these elections away like this.
The Warner, Lindsay, McCain misteps are perfect examples of why we cannot runaway from the political battles (and why we must broach compromise at times). We must keep our wayward leaders on the right path and we cannot afford large schisms to develop (which means hard liners need to swallow some compromise – in this case the three wayward senators need to fix the offending language in the Geneva conventions). However we resolve these issues, the results can not be punishment for Reps you disagree with. Why? Because that also means possible death to those we admire or love.
The ones we admire most now are our fighting men and women, and their Iraqi allies, on the front lines sacrficing so our children have the best chance to live in a sustained peace in this world. The Dems will destroy this opportunity in a fit of surrender if they win. All those armchair generals may not like the results to date, but now is not the time to give up, stay home and switch the channel to a fantasy.
The ones we love are right here with us. The Dems want to abolish the Patriot Act and the NSA surveillance program. We cannot let that happen because that means the terrorists will be freer to move about this country and kill our friends and families. This is not the time to obsess about peaceful, long term illegal aliens who have been here for 5-10 years possibly becoming citizens in 2020. This is about Al Qaeda cells free to plant bombs on our public transportation elements or in our schools. The illegal alien who came here in 1994, set down roots with a family and who takes the pledge of citizenship in 2020 is not likely to kill our loved ones. We need to stop looking for personal satisfaction on every issue and learn to focus on the common good, the next available step. We can bicker or we can unite or trade off doing both. Either way, we cannot stay home. A step forward is better than none. And we should never even consider a step backward, even for a short time, to the liberal plans. Plans that include real amnesty and open borders so they can replenish their dwindling voter rolls.
I find it offensive that any person is contemplating staying home and not voting Rep while our men and women are on the battlefield. Sorry, but I have to be open about this. The men and women in battle don’t get to sit on their bunk and not act if things are not perfect. They do not get to throw a fit and say I will not go out and take on these terrorists because you will not do it my way. When someone is laying life and limb down on the battlefield, these ridiculous divisions of ego we see at times on the right pale in worth and value. And please don’t give me the ‘right to dissent’ speech. I know people have a right to dissent. But there are responsibilities as well. Just because we can do something doesn’t mean we should. Protest this upcoming election and people could pay the ultimate price. Protest this election while our military is out there fighting the least optimal enemy in the least optimal conditions, and the calls for perfectly optimal conditions to vote here will be justly weighed and judged.
If we have to hold our nose to vote, so be it. At least we still have the right to vote – for now. Enough with the idea we can stay home in protest. The left perfected that idea when the Texas Legislature ran from the state instead of face the reality of their minority status. I am hoping conservatives are well above such stunts.
This is more or less my reaction to an article posted on RightNation.us this morning: Jonah Goldberg, of all people, wrote a column called “Bring On the Democrat Takeover” (published in the Los Angeles Times). He actually suggests — and I can’t believe that this idea didn’t strike him as LAME even as he wrote it — that if the Dems do take over Congress, the country is sure to be so fed up with the Dems that they’ll rise en masse and throw them out again in 2008. Well, gee, what if a return to power soothes these crazies enough that they can start passing for sane again? What if we pull out of Iraq, but our federal agencies continue to do the hard work of thwarting terrorist actions before they happen? For that matter, what if the economy is humming along nicely in 2008? AFAIK voters don’t tend to be in a mood to “throw the bums out” when that happens. And on top of that, once somebody becomes an incumbent, it becomes relatively difficult to dislodge him — so if the GOP is having trouble now, they’re going to have even more trouble in 2008 if the Dems take over in 2006. I’m supposing that if the Dems manage to claw their way back into power in Congress, they’ll proceed to do things that will enrage us blog-reading righties to the point of ill health, and yet circumstances might still conspire to keep the non-politically-obsessed average American from getting more than a little annoyed with Congress — because they don’t always go around researching what Congress has done and pondering the consequences.
I think Jonah ought to reread that article from Michael Medved, taking his fellow righties to the woodshed about this fantasy they have about how letting the Dems take over will somehow weed the RINOs out of the Republican Party or make the Republicans rethink their stance on immigration or inject some fire into the Republicans’ bellies or something, so that the Republicans can just waltz back into power in a few years, ready to fly right with a real conservative agenda. Or something. :-/
AJ…exactly right. I find myself as angry as I have ever been with politicians and they happen to be Republican politicians. This bunch as managed combine all my hot buttons, consolidate into one and PUSH. I quite literally can not stand these people. They now make me feel ill when I see them…..I resent them having the power to rule for me. (sounds very similar to BDS?)
But even I have enough sense to look at my REAL choices and vote. The very same buttons the buffoons above are pushing represent 99% of the members of the other party. The other party wanting the internationals to decide my laws is EXACTLY my hottest button. The Republicans as a group do not believe in terrorist Rights trumping survival.
The President said today that “International Courts should not determine how we protect ourselves”.
I resent the above mentioned Senators giving the Democrats cover on this issue.
I would appreciate these Senators fighting the terrorists instead of the administration. If they can’t…..sit down and shut up. The exact same message I have been sending the Democrats about the WOT. It should not be handled as a law enforcement.
All said……I am still forced to choose. I have absolutely no chance of getting what I want with Dems. They want to cede American power to the UN and International Courts.
We are already so tied in knots with the internationals and the Democrats will cut the rope. Therefore….I will be standing in line to vote Republican.
Most maddening of all is the fact that self-interested, self-serving RINOs like McCain and Graham know full well that they can get by with the most offensive sort of betrayal and treachery because the alternatives are still so much worse. You’re quite right, conservatives cannot afford to stay home in protest this November. And these shameless frauds know and depend upon just that. The time to do them in will come eventually, but now ain’t it!
It is ridiculous to allow the Democrats to get into office. The American people may perhaps throw them over after a term or two, but the clean up (if there are any survivers) would be enormous. The idea of staying home and not voting because you don’t like one or even two policies of the present administration had better remember when we didn’t like any of the democrat policies. No one can please everyone at any given time. There will always be disagrements about some issue. I think it would even be suspect if , by chance, we all agreed on everything. I would think we lived in La La land.
I am extremely angry about the immigration policy. I do not agree with AJ to let all these people stay in this country and get citizenship. But then I am also against mass deportation of people who have lived here for many years either, especially children who have been brought up in this country. . There has to be a happy medium to resolve this problem. And a fence on the border would stop more aliens from coming here (especially the ones who keep coming back after being deported or are criminals) until we can resolve the problem of what to do with the ones already here. Common sense tells you that of which congress is evidently greatly lacking. I am not so much against Mexicans coming than I am of terrorists. But it is not in the best interests of this country to allow disease, illeratacy and future welfare recipieents to come here, not to mention criminals. However, that said, I will not stay home because of this debacle. I will vote republican because I cannot bear the idea of democrats in power again. They have abused their power for too many years to let them do so again.
I read this on another blog in another country, amazing how it applies here
In the final analysis, as my favourite saying goes, democracy is not a spectator sport. You can have idleness or you can have democracy – you cannot have both. And if we choose the former, we are our own worst enemies.
Yes, reward, particularly, the neocon GOPers for their arrogance,
dishonesty and incompetence to boot–then watch your sons and
daughters exposed to even worse losses in Iran, while Iraq
quicksands on….