The Difference Between Democrats And Republicans

I am not a Republican but I vote that way more with each passing year. This is not exactly an impartial analysis but it is accurate.

The Democratic Party has grown more self-serving with each passing year. I am not sure when they completed metamorphosis but morph they did. Whereas the leadership of both political parties might have the same objective, the rank and file see things differently.

The Republican rank and file see their party as a vehicle for aiding their country. The Democratic rank and file see their country as a vehicle for aiding their party.

If you want to get a Republican voter's attention, tell him his country is in danger. If you want to get a Democratic voter's attention, tell him his party is in trouble.

I am not trying to be snide or judgmental but the two voting blocs see things differently. Had a Democratic president performed identically to George Bush, the Dems would have proclaimed him to be the greatest leader in the history of the union. He spent recklessly on social welfare programs, expanding Medicare and ushering in No Child Left Behind. Where he came up short was in providing patronage for the Democrats. For that oversight, he was vilified.

Because the two parties see things so differently, they work at cross purposes. I for one, get discouraged at blogging. No matter how strong a case we make against this administration--the financial recklessness, the widespread and recurrent abuses of power, the loss of standing in the world, the lawlessness, the stagnant economy, job loss, ongoing corruption--it doesn't matter if the people who need to hear it don't hear it. For the Dems, it is party first, country later (if at all.)

You can see this party first mentality in the worst places in America. Detroit has been a hellhole for decades. Which party has had an iron grip on that fair city's political offices for half a century? Same with Newark and Chicago. Party first. City later.

You can see a big contrast in the way the two parties celebrate victories. For the Democrats it is the Super Bowl. "We won the ultimate victory." The Republican voters celebrate with a collective sigh. They brace themselves for betrayal and say prayers for the republic. They know that an election is just a battle in a longer war. It is principle first, party later. For the Dems, there are no higher principles or bigger wars. Party first. Party last. Party always!

Here is a classic in vino veritas moment. At :57 Joe Namath informs us that he couldn't care less about his former team struggling. He has other priorities. If you could get every loyal Democrat to answer honestly, they would say the same thing about their country. The Democratic Party is Joe Namath writ large. Party On!

Does The Republican Party Really Exist?

Talk radio loves to bash the GOP. "Rockefeller Republicans," "the donor class," "the political class," "RINO's" "Country Club Republicans."  Beck, Limbaugh and Levin rarely, if ever say anything good about the Republican Party. Even the ever-predictable Sean Hannity loves to point out that he is not a registered Republican.

Supposedly, the Grand Old Party has been infiltrated by unwashed Tea Party types. If the Tea Party is so damn influential why did all the cyber-beggars refuse to return David Brat's phone calls prior to his primary victory over Eric Cantor? What exactly do those Tea Party groups do besides rattle their begging cups?

The question, "Does The Republican Party Really Exist?" is of course a rhetorical one. We know they have a building and Reince Priebus is their chairman. Perhaps a better question is "what do they do?" Do they have phones and desktops at their headquarters? It seems that the most influential Republican is Karl Rove whose Crossroads America has no official ties to the Republican Party (as far as I know.)

The Republican Party seems to have faded away on the national level and they seem to have lost even more influence on the local level. The Massachusetts Republican Party was viable and competitive a decade ago. They are so dysfunctional that carpetbagger Scott Brown fled the state to better advance his career. New Hampshire still hosts a Republican Party but they are woefully disorganized and lose clout every election cycle. 2010 looks like a fluke now.

Of course, Republicans lack vision.  What is needed is ten or so popular ideas the whole party can support. Think Contract With America. They can agree with repealing the ACA but after that it gets murky. What is needed is a unifying purpose promoted by a great unifier.  A leader. Reince Priebus is not that man.

Equal Time For Self-Professed Neo-Cons

Want to hear the articulated viewpoints (as opposed to default setting) of a mainstream Republican who believes the GOP should be the Lite version of the Democratic Party? If you don't want to hear from her, I understand that. But be forewarned that they are out there. The Less Filling Version of The Democratic Party presents a greater obstacle to any sort of genuine hope or change than do the William Ayers proxies.

As with a lot of flame throwers, the pink flamingo is everything she renounces. She is the intolerant bigot who misrepresents anyone who holds an opinion differing from her own. This is the inflammatory column that upset the Neo-Con. http://www.daily-times.com/farmington-columns/ci_22673544/there-once-was-place-called-america Not exactly a bombshell.

I do not worship Cleon Skousen, in part because I have never heard of the guy. I heard of Mark Skousen, the hard money, practical investment adviser. But Cleon has escaped my notice.

I wish the "normal" Republicans would follow their spiritual leader, Charlie Crist, to their promised land of the Democratic Party and revel in their Obama worship now and forever.

Why keep a Neo-Con on my blogroll? We need to remind ourselves what is out there.

We have a serious problem in this country.  No, it is not the deficit, military spending, NRA, guns, lack of guns, or anything of that ilk.  The problem is the growing intolerance for anyone who is of one’s political persuasion.  We’ve become a nation of political bigots, and it is only getting worse.   And, yes, The Pink Flamingo is concentrating on the far right and the tea parties.  


http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2013/03/03/tea-party-realities/

An Open Letter To The Republican National Commitee

An Open Letter To The Republican National Commitee

Take this with a grain of salt. I am not a registered Republican and I don't plan to be one anytime soon. But given the state of affairs in this country, I recognize that your party can lay claim to the "lesser of two evils." With all of your sins, you are downright saintly compared to your corrupt, destructive, Anti-American rivals.

I have four general suggestions that are so obvious that I don't think anyone would disagree with them.

1. Establish a fighter as Chairman of The Republican National Commitee.

2. Establish a fighter as Speaker of the House.

3. Don't just acknowledge voter fraud, fight it.

4. Permanently change your relationship with the national media.

I am going out of order as I am wont to do (I told you I am not a Republican.) Fight voter fraud! If James O'Keefe can find repeated efforts at voter fraud on his ramen noodle budget, why can't an organization with a $50 million operating budget find an act of impropriety when it is right under your nose?

If you stated that henceforth 10% or 20% of your budget would be devoted to fighting voter fraud, your donations would increase sufficiently to offset this new expenditure. Try holding just one anti-fraud money bomb. Ron Paul generated over $10 million in 24 hours in 2007 during the first-ever money bomb. Try it! You might be pleasantly surprised at the outcome.

Your party still controls the House. Why is there not a permanent committee on voter integrity? Cleveland, Ohio had precincts that voted one hundred per cent for Obama. In the real world such things do not happen if for no other reason, people inadvertently fill in the wrong name or scribble in the wrong circle. No human error in Cleveland.

What is frustrating about Cleveland is that Ohio has a Republican governor. He did have the resources at his disposal to prevent voter fraud. Did he deploy the State Police or the Attorney General to disrupt these crimes?

Did Port Saint Lucie County, Florida really have a 141% voter turnout? If yes, the FBI should be descending into the Sunshine State in droves. Maybe that number is wrong. But if the number is only 101%, there needs to be a criminal investigation. If the White House has the DOJ handcuffed, there is still Congress and yes, there is still the State of Florida.

Again, Florida is frustrating because Republicans control the Governor's Office and the Republican AG is all over the national news shows. They were in a position to prevent this from happening. They are now in a position to make sure it never happens again. Voter fraud must be stopped, priority numbers one through one hundred.

Jumping back to the first suggestion. You need a fighter as Chairman of RNC. I don't think Priebus is that guy. If his chairmanship is challenged, maybe it will light a fire under his ass, even if he is not successfully deposed.

What is needed is someone like Newt Gingrich. I say someone like Gingrich because Newt is a loose cannon and he would turn off some donors. But Newt does know how to win elections. He is never afraid to speak the truth and he will call voter fraud, voter fraud. Newt will not be intimidated by a false charge of racism or misogyny. You need his pugnacious spirit if not his physical presence. Newt? Palin? You need a heavyweight in this position.

Now let us focus on The Speaker of The House. We will know real soon if Boehner is the right choice. I think he might be if only because it does not serve his own future to cave on the "fiscal cliff" or Benghazi or Fast and Furious. Oh and if we are making a Christmas list we could add voter fraud investigations, illegal campaign financing investigations, and defunding NPR, PBS and anything related to General Electric to our already long string of requests.

We will know soon if Boehner is our guy. If not, a new candidate should challenge the incumbent.

Lastly, change forever your relationship with the press. Do not talk to the national press. Let it be known that you will not fund any candidate who talks to the national media. If they want to talk to the media from their home district, they should do so at their own discretion.

As long as your candidates talk with the national press, they are putting their seal of legitimacy on the pro-Obama media. Why, oh why, oh why would you allow your candidates to subject themselves to Gregory or Stephanopolos and to pummel them with "do you still wage war on women?" kinds of questions. Furthermore, do not allow the national media to moderate your primary debates! Duhhh.

There was a time when it was essential to converse with the national media. That day has passed. Twitter and Facebook changed the rules forever. You and your candidates and your office holders can communicate with an audience unimpeded by charges of racism, misogyny, fraud or murder. You cannot win with the pro-Obama media. They must be shunned!

Shunning is the first step. With the rise of cable and satellite and Internet delivery, local network affiliates struggle. However, they have benefited nicely from election commercials. The affiliates are now dependent on this revenue stream. Let it be known that the GOP will not spend a penny with NBC affiliates in either 2014 or 2016.

The GOP candidates will not suffer by boycotting NBC affiliates. The GOP will continue to buy air time from ABC and CBS and Fox affiliates as well as independent channels and cable outlets. But NBC is 86. Of course, everything NBC (The Weather Channel, Telemundo, NBC Entertainment, NBC News) will also be cut off. And as previously suggested, if Congress defunded General Electric's lucrative government contracts, I bet we would see a greater respect for truth at every NBC venue.

There you have it. I am no genius but I can point out the obvious, something your brain trust has failed to do. Then again, I am not a Republican.

Why I Am Not Wild About Rick Santorum Or Let The Backlash Begin

Yes, I like Santorum more than Obama. Not much more, but a little more. But if not for Rick Santorum and other Republican big spenders, Obama would never have been elected president. Should he win the nomination, Santorum's campaign slogan should be "Lesser of Two Evils."

Let's review. From 2000 to 2006 The GOP held both houses of Congress as well as the White House. This had not happened in our lifetimes. The Elephants were given the keys and what did they do? They boldly stuck their middle fingers in our faces. They spit in our eyes and twisted cold steel in our backs and giggled like school girls. They betrayed us on a scale unprecedented. Somewhere, Judas Iscariot and Benedict Arnold shared a chuckle.

I have so many grievances with the 2000-2006 Republicans that I cannot list them all. They instituted no significant reforms and spent money like drunken Democrats. Had they instituted interstate health insurance purchases, Obamacare would never have gotten off the launching pad. Had they allowed ANWAR drilling and expanded offshore drilling we would now be a more secure country. If Congress had supported Bush's efforts to reform Social Security, we would not be now kicking that darn can down that well worn road.

There is much to dislike about the 2000 to 2006 Republicans but the most repulsive characteristic is they sent us further into debt. This is bad in and of itself but it also gave the Dems license to spend in a manner of flagrant recklessness when they ultimately took control. I am glad Trent Lott is gone (although I wish he had gone farther than K Street.) I am glad to see Bill Frist treat Haitian babies pro bono. Washington's loss was Haiti's gain. I am glad to see Tom Delay dance with stars and dance with lawyers deep in the heart of Texas. I can't say that I missed Rick Santorum either.

Liambaugh and Hannity et al propped up the traitors every step of the way. Hannity nauseatingly explained that the GOP had "lost its way." I for one, adamantly reject the Hansel and Gretel explanation to describe these traitors. These were rotten apples. Rotten to the core.

But then we hit rock bottom and the Tea Party was launched. No use complaining about the Republicans of yesteryear. They were long gone. Or so we thought. Returning from an 18 point grave, Rick Santorum has come back to haunt us.

Not surprisingly, Santorum has emphasized his inherent moral superiority this time around. Good idea because his record will not hold up to scrutiny. Look at my shiny halo and forget all about my track record. If I were an unscrupulous campaign manager I would direct just such a strategy. This worked well for Huckabee in 2008 when the governor emphasized his deep moral beliefs over his Arkansas unnatural disasters. To paraphrase Peter Townsend, "We all get fooled again."

The Tea Party has no clear cut choices. We can elect Dr. Ron and trust that the Iranians play nice with their nuclear toys. Perry will not recover from his 53 second blackout in this cycle. Bachmann is no longer on the menu. Mitt and Newt are looking better all the time.

A Deceptive Statistic

A lot of observers have made note of the dwindling Democrats. Fewer people are registering D recently. Don't make too much of that stat. This happens when an incumbent is running unopposed. Even if you are an Obama supporter, why turn out in the primary to vote for him? If one registers undeclared or Republican(Republican in those closed primary states)one can actually influence the outcome of a primary. A lot of Republicans temporarily left their party in 2004 to vote for Al Sharpton and Wesley Clark and Dick Gephardt and John Forbes Kerry.

This probably has a lot to do with Ron Paul's strong polling.

Kumbaya Ron Paul, Kumbaya

The independent variable in American politics is Ron Paul. If he goes third party, Obama will be re-elected and America as we knew her and loved her, is dead and gone. Bye bye exceptionalism.

If this happens, Ron Paul supporters will be pummelled and scapegoated but the fingers should be pointed elsewhere. Ron Paul has brought in hundreds of thousands of fiscal conservatives to the Republican Party. It is a strained relationship, but this is politics. You embrace the newbies and co-opt their movement if you have to, but you never alienate them.

Ron Paul was instrumental in restoring fiscal conservatism to the Republican Party. His supporters also played a role in starting the Tea Party movement. Does any sane person believe 2010 would have happened without the Tea Party? Apparently, old line Republicans believe just that. They learned nothing from 2006, 2008, or even 2010.

If the third party run happens, I blame Romney, Gingrich, talk radio, Dick Morris, Karl Rove, Fox News and all of the usual suspects. This can be avoided though. When Gingrich or Bachmann or Santorum is asked about Ron Paul, they should reflexively reply: "Ron Paul is a great man and I think he would make an excellent Federal Reserve Chairman."

I don't think Ron Paul could walk away from a Fed Chairmanship. He could audit to his heart's content and he could torture sacred cows. Not everyone would be happy but mostly bad things would happen to bad people and good things would happen to good people. Hope and change would arrive at last.

Yes we can!