If I had three wishes there is a good chance I would use one of them to get Rush Limbaugh and Nancy Pelosi stuck in an elevator together for 24 hours. They deserve each other.
I didn't listen long to Limbaugh's speech. I didn't have to. After about 1 minute, it was clear that he was either going to knowingly and willfully lie through his teeth or was so out of touch with reality that it didn't matter what he was going to say
This is what Limbaugh said at the beginning.
"Conservatives believe in the individual. They don't lump people together in groups".
Then without even taking a breath, he accused liberals of ruining the country and The Democratic Party of wanting to destroy lives.Presumably he meant everyone in the Democratic Party including its voters, and everyone who can be described as a liberal, the people conservatives don't lump people together in a group.
The farcical nature of his first minute was all I really needed to realize that anything, from cleaning the bathtub to taking out the garbage would be more productive than listening to this buffoon who is the hero of the Republican Right. Of course the crowd of conservatives who believe in this hypocrisy, dishonesty, and buffoonery and probably practice it themselves, cheered and ate it up without noticing that lumping people all Democrats and all liberals together in one lumpy group is the thing that Limbaugh said conservatives never do 30 seconds before he did it. But then conservatives like Limbaugh can rail about drug addicts while scoring illegal Viagra or Oxycontin and then give us excuses as to why it was different for him. In fact the supposed party of Personal Responsibility always seems to have excuses for their own failings whether its Limbaugh and drugs or Senators getting caught in airport restrooms trying to pick up an undercover cop.
There was another telling statement that was prominently displayed (though I didn't hear it for myself) and probably another reason why conservatism is dead as a political force, and that was Limbaugh saying that conservatives should "take back America". That also brought the house down. The problem is,the last time I looked America didn't belong to conservatives or anyone else and never did. Its supposed to belong to everyone which is why there is a Constitution and why this is a Republic and not strictly a Democracy where majority always rules. But the terminally hypocritical like Limbaugh believe America does belong to them.
That's why it was Democratic Conservatives in Alabama in the Sixties blocking the schoolhouse door to prevent blacks from going to the schools they were entitled to, so that the America that belonged to "them" would be preserved.
Limbaugh said he longed for the America he grew up in.Presumably that means an America when the idea of an African American President, or secretary of state, or Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was a joke. But of course if confronted with this he would say that's not what he meant. And he probably isn't. It probably never even occurred to him. Which is just as bad as not meaning it. That's the problem with conservatives like Limbaugh. they are oblivious to the needs of people who aren't like they are.
I'm well aware that there are black Republicans and black conservatives in this country but these are fiscal conservatives not social conservatives. When it comes to Limbaugh;'s kind of conservatism you have what consistently has been a destructive force. This is not to say that conservatives like Lindsay Graham or Richard Lugar aren't good for the country or don't have the country's best interest at heart. They do. And neither is an ideologue. They have principles but not ideology. And there is a difference.
In trying to rally their conservative base which consists of conservative people, not politicians, conservative horn blowers like Limbaugh do the thing that Communists, Nazis, racists and fascists have done forever. Make people who aren't like them the enemy.
When Limbaugh talks about "taking back America", he makes the assumption that conservatives are the true Americans ( never mind that Thomas Jefferson referred to America as a liberal democracy). But what he and other conservatives really want is for their ideology to succeed. Their ideology comes first and foremost.
The only political movements in the last 100 years that put ideology ahead of country and the true well being of its people,were Marxism. Communism, Nazism and fascism.
There is ample proof that conservative ideology doesn't work and hasn't. Limbaugh of course said the opposite in spite of the evidence to the contrary. That's because proof doesn't matter to an ideologue. Its the ideology they want to succeed.
The country is in the shape it is now because of conservatives in the white house and in the congress. And when it came to 911 and Bush's gross negligence and incompetence that allowed the 911 attacks to succeed when they could have been prevented, none of the chest thumping national security drum beating Republicans said a word. They kept their mouths shut and followed Reagan's dictum, "thou shall not criticize another Republican". That is putting a party and ideology first and the country and its people second. And it was the one thing that probably brought down Republicans and conservatism more than anything else.
Had they stood up to Bush's incompetence and gross negligence in the 911 attacks not only would the country not be in the shape it is now, neither would the Republicans.The same was true when Bush totally botched post invasion Iraq which killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and the great majority of our own 4,000 plus soldiers were killed because of their gross mismanagement. And as everyone knows it was conservative ideology that brought us the economic disaster we have today though I'm no fan of the way Pelosi and Obama are trying to get us out of it. Even so, there is no doubt that what they are doing is still going to be an improvement over the Republicans though how you cut the deficit in half when you keep passing bills that add to it is beyond me.
Conservative ideology and incompetence in the last 8 years resulted in 911,the disaster that was post invasion Iraq, the disastrous government response to Katrina and the worst economic disaster since the 1930's. In other words Bush's polices actually killed people -- at least 9,000 who would be alive today if someone other than Bush had been President.
As for the principles upon which the country was founded, we know that many conservatives would change substantial portions of the Constitution in a minute if they could. How many conservatives including Limbaugh really believe that it' better for 10 guilty people to go free rather than have one innocent person go to prison? Anyone who hasn't been in a coma the last 50 years knows most conservatives believe in exactly the opposite. They would gladly send one innocent person to prison if it meant 10 guilty people were convicted. In fact many of them would send 10 innocent people to prison if it meant one guilty person were convicted.
The problem that conservatives have is that the entire system of jurisprudence in America and in the Constitution is predicated on the principle that it is better for 10 guilty people to go free rather than have one innocent person go to prison So when Limbaugh and conservatives try to sell the idea that THEY are the true Americans and THEY are the ones who represent true American values, well lets just say, that Anne Coulter, the Eva Braun of American politics didn't represent American values when she suggested someone should assassinate Justice Stevens..
There are two kinds of conservatives in America. People who are conservative in values, dress, behavior, and beliefs. These people are genuine, have their own core set of beliefs but don't seem to think that the Constitution and being an American means they have to force these ideas down the throats of people who don't believe in them.Then there are the political conservatives who think they have the right and the mission to do just that. These are the people Limbaugh appeals to and they cheer the cheer of the buffoon.
Its true that the Democrats have their buffoons also, led by Pelosi and others, like MSNBC with their buffoons like "Chill Up My Leg" Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann ( it should be noted that the previous time Matthews admitted he had chills happened when he and Mike Barnicle were covering Bush's "Mission Accomplished" dog and pony show and were both swept away and just knocked out by it all and by how good Bush looked in his flight suit.) But anything the Democrats do will be a huge improvement over anything the Republicans and Conservatives did the last 8 years. In fact, if I were advising Obama I would simply tell him to simply reverse every policy instituted by the Republicans in the last eight years and let nature takes it course. That would be enough to improve things just by itself. Instead we are getting the kind of over reaction one would expect from someone like Pelosi who had a lower job approval rating than Bush, and Obama, who truthfully doesn't have a clue as to what he's doing and is relying on listening to everyone around him while he plays President.
But getting back to Limbaugh, no matter what side of the political spectrum someone may be on, there is no getting away from one thing. Limbaugh himself ,two years ago, admitted he is nothing but a shill and a water boy for conservatives. When the Democrats took control of congress Limbaugh said he was glad because, " now I wont have to carry water for the Republicans anymore". Which means he didn't believe in a thing he was saying defending or promoting for eight years. He kept his mouth shut about all the things he thought were wrong in order to support an ideology And that is who the conservatives in the room were cheering. If that doesn't sound like a minister of propaganda for a lost cause I don't know what does.
The Anger Stage
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Episode 2.1, The Anger Stage, is here, for anyone here who is still
interested in such things. I’m waiting for the podcast app to process the
recording. So...
2 days ago
13 comments:
Thanks Marc for re-grounding us, making us remember that we are democrats- weare the people of the principals of the democratic party-
Unfortunately, we were high-jacked about a year ago.
But we remain.
Wee don't support an empty suit but we do SUPPORT the principals and the platforms that embody the democrats.
One day, we will get it back.
That is why real democrats should not support obama blindly just because the party chose him. If nothing else to prove they are not cons
I had the misfortune to hear one of Limbaugh's diatribes many years back, involving ruminations on the thoughts of Spotted Owls. Without going into details, it was farcical endeavor worthy of that of Shakespeare's immortal (immoral?) Falstaff.
That this guy is now spokesperson for the conservative (Republican?) cause, shows just how disparate the ideology has become. One would guess Rush has decided to abandon being their water-boy and will henceforth, single-handedly, and much ado (press), shoulder the whole of the fabric of this pathetic movement on his rotund shoulders. Him and the ONE-of-unending-campaign-speeches will now go head to head for the future of our country.
A lose no matter who wins.
Marc - you are wayyyyyyy out there. I'm glad there are not too many like you around.
"Marc - you are wayyyyyyy out there. I'm glad there are not too many like you around."
Aside from the fact that your name seems to indicate your writing instrument of choice, just in case you've been too busy with your coloring books to notice there are enough like me out there to have reduced the Republican Party and consertvative influence to rubble.
THE FIRST JEW MINISTRY
Where can I find the Larry King joke and Limbaugh AS God posted? If Limbaugh had made a joke about Islam and Mohammad, he would be dead by now. As a Bible Believer. I believe, I saw the REAL antichrist addressing the CPAC in that Limbaugh-joke
SHALOM,
Rush Limbaugh is the Republican Party new leader. No need to bother with Limbaugh and we should leave him alone. If he goes down the path, Republicans will self-destruct.
Well, Marc, I can no longer afford the real writing instruments anymore. Doing my part and making sacrifices. As far as leaving the conservatives in rubble, I think not.
Really, rexcrayola? What do you call the GOP's pounding losses in the presidential and last two congressional elections? A drubbing, a pounding, or a reducing to rubble?
What do you call your great shining star, George W. Bush, leaving office with the lowest approval rating of any president in history?
The problem I see with paying attention to Rush and his ilk is that the American public has already made it clear it ain't buying what the GOP is selling, so these blowhards should be ignored. Left to wallow in their own irrelevance.
I mean, seriously -- conservatives are busy exhuming has-beens like Newt Gingrich, Grover Norquist, and the failed second fiddle to a failed Republican governor (Michael Steele) as their "big guns"? It is to laugh. They are irrelevant and marginal and should be treated as such. Paying all this attention to them only gives them a legitimacy they do not deserve.
"I'm well aware that there are black Republicans and black conservatives in this country but these are fiscal conservatives not social conservatives."
Do you really believe that black Republicans and conservatives are not social conservatives?
"Do you really believe that black Republicans and conservatives are not social conservatives?"
Yes I really believe it because it was conservatives, not Republican because most social progress that was opposed in the Sixties especially that which related to race, were opposed by Democratic conservatives. Conservatives are always trying to preserve the status quo, and back in the Sixties they tried to keep blacks from voting, and fought tooth and nail against intergration. It was liberals who changed it.
I must be misunderstanding your point about black Republicans/conservatives not being socially conservative... Do black Republicans/conservatives support gay marriage, for example? It's a social issue and the black voters were instrumental in Prop 8 passing in CA. Over 70% of blacks who voted for Obama voted to pass Prop 8. How are they not socially conservative?
"Over 70% of blacks who voted for Obama voted to pass Prop 8. How are they not socially conservative?"
Id have to see that to believe it. And polling organizations have been so far off the mark Id have to see the same data from a few of them and also the perecentage of blacks who actually voted for it out of eligible black voters.
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