Pajamas Media

44 Comments

1. Formwiz:

Well put. The problem is not what Republicans believe, it’s all those damned RINOs who can only think of new ways of “reaching across the aisle to our friends in the Democratic Party”.

Jun 20, 2009 - 3:06 am 2. Say what?:

No dice Ms Rubin.

Real Republicans are not going to let the tail wagging RINOS stay inside their new tent so that they can poop all over the floor again.

Take it to the bank.

Jun 20, 2009 - 3:12 am 3. Steve:

Great article Jennifer.

Removing this depicable man from power is the greatest task that our country faces.

Nobody in history has ever posed a greater threat to the United States than Barack Hussein Obama. NOBODY.

He is an anemy of our nation and must go down to defeat.

Jun 20, 2009 - 4:12 am 4. David Thomson:

Not Obama is a winning strategy. Guilt tripped whites are hesitant to directly come out against Barack Obama. They are, however, increasingly rejecting just about all of his policies. Furthermore, Obama’s own personal popularity does little to help the purple and red state Democratic Party politicians seeking reelection. Embracing the president’s agenda is a sure fire way to damage oneself politically.

Jun 20, 2009 - 6:16 am 5. Ellen K:

Rather than perpetuation of the idea that we are simply against Obama personally and not his policies, I prefer to think that those of us who are working to refute his ideas are Pro America. If we allow ourselves to get sucked into personal attacks, we will lose. But liberals, when confronted with facts, dissolve into whiny babies.

Jun 20, 2009 - 6:18 am 6. Войска ПВО:

Ms Rubin, I think I am falling in love with you.

I turn to PJM, absent-mindedly click on a a post with an appealing title, read it, find myself nodding my head in agreement and, when I check the by-line, find your name.

Like many, I will point out that this is a good start for us as conservatives to oppose Obama; one almost imagines the trolls showing up with their insipid retorts about us being hate-mongers, racists, and bald old men clutching our guns and religion.

But if a person embodies all that we stand AGAINST then it is convenient to stand up AGAINST him.

One prays that the rage building in the ordinary people of this country against this man and all that he has wrought (in just the first furlong of his run) is enough to overcome his grasp for power and to consign him and his minions to the scrap heap in four years..

..if not sooner.

Jun 20, 2009 - 7:11 am 7. Reynolds Butler:

What Steve said (comment no. 3). Mega dittos.

And the left-wing media who put the TOTUS into the White House are also enemies of the U.S. and must be defeated, too.

Jun 20, 2009 - 7:34 am 8. Self-hating Boomer:

Yes. This is the solution to the Republican identity crisis. Forget the big tent debates. The truth is, the Republican party never did have a central unifying idea. They always were the undemocrats, going all the way back to Lincoln. The rallying issues changed. The only thing that didn’t was their opposition to the democrats and their oh-so-clever ideas, whether they be slavery, pacifism, make work, racial quotas, or socialized medicine.

The truest Republican was Coolidge. His whole thing was to avoid trying to be clever, and let America be America. We don’t need to be micromanaged. And especially not by such narcissists.

Here’s to the Undemocrats!

Jun 20, 2009 - 8:06 am 9. noreen:

Obama is inadvertantly making the conservative tent bigger and bigger with every atrocity and assault he perpetuates on America. We should all just relax , sit back and watch him work his magic for us. At the outset I found his views and policies repugnant . Now it is personal. I find those setting out to destroy America on purpose repulsive. I depise his policies as well as him personally. Not afraid to say it either. I can’t stand him. He is vile , pernicious, evil and odious. I can’t wait to see the back side of him and his bitch wife flying off into the sunset in 2012.

Jun 20, 2009 - 8:06 am 10. David:

Not Obama is just another way of saying limited government, strong defense, and controlled spending, since these are three things that Obama demonstrably opposes. For those who want ‘positive and creative’ – these themes are definitely positive, and we are rapidly approaching a time where they will be brilliantly creative, since they diverge so far from what is becoming the status quo.

Jun 20, 2009 - 8:16 am 11. pistol pete:

I have always been of the opinion that it is far better to give people a reason the vote For you instead of against the other guy.Kerry offered nothing in 2004 except “I’m not Bush.”Didn’t work out so well.We need to tell people who we are and what we stand for and STICK TO IT!!Republicans had a golden opportunity in 1994 and then forgot their principles.They don’t have the media to protect them the way deomcrats do,and began to be indiscernible from the professional spenders.You don’t compromise your priniples in the name of “bi-partisanship”because that only works one way.If the RNC backed actual conservatives like Toomey in Pa. and Rubio in Florida,the real grassroots of their party might actually donate the time and money needed to ease the grip socialism has on our once-great country.

Jun 20, 2009 - 9:00 am 12. arhooley:

“Never before in our history have Americans been called upon to face three grave threats to our very existence, any one of which could destroy us. We face a disintegrating economy, a weakened defense and an energy policy based on the sharing of scarcity.”

From Reagan’s speech.

Now we’re there again with the anti-Reagan.

Anti-Reagan, meet Not Obama. Law of Symmetry, baby. Get ready to be hounded back down Pennsylvania Avenue with a 49-state wind at your back. (If events should overtake us before January 2013, the helicopter back to whence you came option is available 24/7.)

Jun 20, 2009 - 9:26 am 13. john samford:

Knee jerk anti-Bush worked for the Left and their fevered BDS majority, it won’t work for the right.
Most conservatives will look at an issue and make a decision. Less of a lemming instinct on the right.
The Usurper is bound to get something right every now and then. Down south we say “Even a blind hog finds an acorn every now and then”.
If I’m reading you right, your suggestion that conservative oppose everything the Usurper does is counter-productive in that it will alienate more conservatives then it attracts. It will attract exactly the sort of mindless followers we don’t need.
Take the current brew ha ha in Iran. The USA has no dog in that fight. The Propaganda machine is spewing out the mantra that it’s a fight between good and evil, light and dark, democracy and tyranny. It’s not.
The battles in Iran are being fought to see which Mullahs get to loot the treasury. No matter who wins, the policy toward the USA, nuclear weapons or the Iranian citizens will not change.
So by chance or design, the Usurper has hit upon the correct response.

Read your Machiavelli. Messing around in another nations civil war is only to be done if there is a critical national interest at stake and the nation in disarray is stronger then your nation. That is because no matter which side wins, you lose. If the side you support loses, the winner will blame you for the war. If it wins you won’t gain anything because nations DON’T feel gratitude.

Jun 20, 2009 - 9:41 am 14. Mike Murray:

Product differentiation is always a good idea, and is especially so for the GOP “brand” right now.

Democrats, regardless of their claims to the contrary, will share no credit for anything that goes right. They’re only looking to hedge their bets — by enlisting Republican support for blame-sharing (should things go wrong).

“Bi-partisanship” (read: capitulation) on the part of the GOP contains no upside. If Dem policies fail (as seems likely), better for GOP to be on the record as having opposed them.

Jun 20, 2009 - 10:53 am 15. Sonny:

The momentum is building.

In a recent poll, 40% of Americans identified themselves as Conservative. I can’t remember the last time it was that high.

Most smart Americans are storing up groceries, medical supplies and guns. Those of us in California will know in a matter of days what is going to come out of the Legislature in Sacramento.

From what progress has been made so far, it doesn’t look good. As California goes, so goes the nation.

Jun 20, 2009 - 11:14 am 16. Moogie:

#5 Ellen K: When I say I am against Obama, I do mean the man, and I do mean his policies, and I do mean his entire administration. His name is representative of all three entities. I am taking the assault on our country personally. I don’t like him, never did like him. He is the embodiment of neo-Marxism and every policy he puts in place is just another nail in the Constitutional coffin.

#10 David: In other words: It’s the Constitution, stupid! (Not that you’re stupid… I’m just borrowing that overused phrase to make a point). I have said it in PJ and blogged about it myself: the one thing all conservatives agree on is the need to follow the letter of the law as outlined in the Constitution. Everything Obama does is in opposition to the Constitution. Ergo: “Not Obama” is the same as “Yes Constitution.”

Jun 20, 2009 - 11:16 am 17. joeblough:

I disagree.

“Not Obama” is not enough.

In fact, historically, the constitution of the GOP as the party of “NO” and “NOT” has not worked out well or played well with the public.

More importantly than that it has conflated in the public mind, the principles of the American constitution with a bunch of crusty old codgers who dislike everything that the fashionable progressives promote.

No.

The founding principles of America are still revolutionary and it’s damn well about time — after a century of destructive national takeovers by overgrown national governments — that we start declaring those principles again.

There’s plenty of matter and room within them to unite the sensible people of America into an overwhelming party of individualism, liberty and justice.

Jun 20, 2009 - 11:39 am 18. larry hagedon:

It wil take the same thing in 2012 that it would have taken in 2008. We would have won in 2008 had we run a real conservative instead of RINO McCain. Same in 2012. We will win if we hold faithfully to conservative values. Nominate another RINO the likes of Rudi Giuliani, McCain or Arnie and we will lose again.

It all comes down to values.

Jun 20, 2009 - 12:16 pm 19. David W. Lincoln:

Lets begin with the US Federal stimulus package. The EU, Canada, and other countries that have businesses based in their countries, and those businesses until recently, were part of the US economy. Right now, they are on the outside looking in. Wouldn’t reciprocity be the order of the day so that American based businesses who transact business in the EU, Canada, and elsewhere wind up on the outside looking in, when before they were participants in the EU economy, the Canadian economy, and the economies of other countries which, at this time,
see American products or businesses,

Jun 20, 2009 - 1:33 pm 20. John Schuh:

The purpose of the Opposition is to oppose, and Ms. Rubin’s list ought to provide common ground for Republicans. But old men like Hatch and McCain prefer not to hold that ground but to hold up a white flag as soon as the two sides face up, offering to parley before the first shots are fired. There are too many such pubbies in Congress.

Jun 20, 2009 - 2:00 pm 21. Marc Malone:

As usual, Ms. Rubin misses wide. All these positions were Republican positions during the last campaign. People just couldn’t hear or understand them. How to beat the Dems in the next election? “We told you so!” Show footage of Pub candidates warning of exactly what would happen.

Hannity, of Fox News, was especially prescient, since he bothered to do his research on Obama. He sounded the alarm loudly, and was greatly criticized for it; depicted as some radical, rightwing nutjob. His list of I-told-you-so’s is growing daily.

A candidate needs merely to speak about what we do stand for, like smaller government, while running We-told-you-so ads. We told you so is a message even the simplest child (most voters) can understand.

Jun 20, 2009 - 2:39 pm 22. Kingston53:

I agree with #4. It is the Pro America party against the Obama agenda. The mass of people will soon enough see through this thin skinned narcisist and his anti-American agenda.

Jun 20, 2009 - 2:55 pm 23. Benson:

I expect Republicans to oppose every idea put forward by this Despot and his lackey’s in the Congress and Media. There has not been one good idea from Obama or this Democrat congress worth supporting or adding to. I don’t care how many Rhino’s remain in the party or vote Republican as long as none of them are elected to office and none of them are considered leaders of the Republican party. They are free to vote for and endorse whatever they want but they are not representative of conservative views and should not be in leadership roles or elected to office. You don’t expell them you just don’t listen to or elect them. Anyone who wants to vote Republican can, Independent, Blue dog Democrat or Rhino that doesn’t mean they should lead the party. Why is this so hard to understand. If conservative ideals and ideas appeal to them they will vote conservative. If you don’t let them lead the party and don’t vote for them they’re harmless.

Jun 20, 2009 - 3:05 pm 24. Ed Wallis:

Methinks the remaining element lies in – cough cough – persuading the (R)P*ssies in the House and Senate to re-discover their “raison d’etre.”

It’s a Shakespearean thang…they better understand.

Jun 20, 2009 - 3:18 pm 25. JED:

The Sith Lord’s mind tricks are not working as well with his ever increasing self gratifying exposure.
Sorry to admit this about my fellow Americans, but it seems that hysteria will take precedence over logic and that den of thieves in congress are looking for more stealth tax systems. The kicker comes when those sturdy American folks who will rally to a crisis for a good cause will get the bill for no benefits. Tax and spend became spend and tax, and they never saw it coming past the big toothy grin, the cornucopia of promises, white guilt, and smooth talk. Hopefully, there is still something fundamental about American voters who will reject communist/socialist slavery to the seemingly benign master. Say freedom!

Jun 20, 2009 - 3:27 pm 26. Bill Maron:

#13

There is nothing knee-jerk in opposing Obama’s economic policies. He will spend us into oblivion. Also, his expansion of government would make FDR blush or proud. Ms. Rubin lists many things to oppose him on. If you don’t agree with a different Iran position, there is plenty more to choose from. That’s the point.

Jun 20, 2009 - 5:24 pm 27. Hyphenated American:

How to make anti-Obama claims stick? Very simple…
http://hyphenatedamericans.blogspot.com/2009/06/how-to-make-anti-obama-claims-stick.html

Jun 20, 2009 - 6:07 pm 28. Linguist:

Republicans must stop saying “no” and start acting like they really mean it. Have we so quickly forgotten all the elephant pork in the stimulus bill?

We need true, Conservative public servants, not the wishy-washy pantywaists with eyes only for their next reelection. If the Republicans can manage to get their greedy hands out of American pockets and restore the government bequeathed us by our Founding Fathers, fine. If not, I am more than happy to cast my vote for someone else who will.

Jun 20, 2009 - 7:05 pm 29. Dero:

At best this is stopgap.

Being the party of not obama can maybe work for 2010 (i doubt it). Definitely won’t work for the 2012 primaries when republican dysfunction is on full display again. Not to mention, you’re not going to be able to run against healthcare after it passes. You aren’t going to be able to run against the stimulus/bailouts if the economy recovers. You can’t run on security issues if we are still haven’t been attacked. Most of this is wait and see.

Jun 20, 2009 - 7:39 pm 30. National Patriot:

RINO’s have given conservatism a bad rap. They’re closer to being polar opposites of each other than they are to being similar. 43’s “compassionate conservatism” was code for “closet liberal” and was the beginning of the end of the present day republican party. We need to eradicate the RINO’s and elect true conservatives who stand for fiscal responsibility, not pandering and partnering with the democrats. When that happens, we’ll get real leadership, kick the donkeys back out to pasture and get the country back on the right track. RINO’s can’t and won’t get it done. McCain was proof of that. We ran an amnesty loving, water board hating moderate against BO and what did that get us???

Jun 20, 2009 - 9:02 pm 31. TexKen:

We have spent over 40 years destroying America, since Johnson’s Great Society.
Academia is more to blame than anything where the current state of decay developed in this country. Always convinced by their views of fascist collectivism. History has shown its 100% failure over and over. Tenure for protection and the recruitment of like minded educators allowed them to flourish. Look at the majority of big business and government leaders, almost exclusively educated at incompetent Ivy League schools. They have corrupted young minds for generations. Yet the educated control the country, i.e. government, big business, education and media.
They have created a culture of dependent people with an entitlement mentality, blaming what made this country great as what’s wrong. All the while destorying the foundations of the law. Nourished by progressives, it fed generations pushing the threshold for acceptance of the unacceptable. All done by people who were able to get government to fund them with out money. We have scores of corrupt organizations and unions that operate like the corrupt bureaucracy governing this country. One hand feds the other until we descended to the current state of chaos, run by educated idiots and morons that believe they are smarter than the rest of us. Just doling out money they do not deserve, and is not theirs.
So far they have done a great job of overthrowing the country. But these progressives were helped by Republicans. The last presidential election provided us with a prime example of the big tent failure of the Republican party in their candidate, John McCain.
The Republican Party and GOP are guilty of complicity. They were in power and did nothing except allow what is Amerika today. The country cannot be repaired with the current form of corrupt, greedy, elitist people that are government, media and academia. We have a president that has a political machine unrivaled by none in Chicago or anywhere else.
Changing back to the original republic that respects and enforces the laws of the Constitution will see riots in the streets from the ever increasing entitlement masses. It’s a shame their indoctrinated little minds cannot see their own destruction. Politicians either embrace from the left or fear them from the right because they all want their vote at apparently any cost.
We don’t need a big tent party. We need a party that represents America. Americans that are ethical, productive citizens, willing to make America great again and be proud of it. Not the current crop of whiny, self serving, power hungry buffoons with their tremendous incompetence. We see the resulting failure in everything they do. A party by the people, for the people. So far, there has been not even a glimpse of hope from the Republican Party or anywhere else.

Jun 20, 2009 - 9:34 pm 32. SoCalDem:

Obama wouldn’t be president if more Republicans had voted for McCain instead of sitting out the election. Alot of us saw through Obama right up front. No record of doing anything for anyone but his self. At least you knew where you stood with John McCain, he is a proven patriot, which is more than can be said about Obama. It was obvious to me he didn’t even know our countries history, or even our geography. With his 57 states and “The Great Lakes” in Oregon.

Jun 21, 2009 - 12:18 am 33. rlqretired:

Obama’s Achillies Heal.
For the first time in the history of this country we have an individual who has succeeded in becoming President and Commander in Chief of our military forces who has something so devastating to his presidential eligibility in the authentic records he has deemed it necessary to totally seal his original vault copy birth, passport, foreign citizenship and educational records from public scrutiny and especially the military personnel who have good reason to question his loyalty and allegiance to this country alone. Much evidence exists, due to this secrecy, that very likely he may not have factually been born in the USA and very likely carries citizenship and passport from a foreign country since he traveled to Pakistan and Indonesia before ever obtaining a US passport and at a time when US citizens were not allowed into their countries. Obama and the DNC have deemed the information these documents contain to be so devastating to his constitutional eligibility they have acknowledged spending $1,000,000 of campaign money for legal fees fighting the public in order to keep the devastating authentic information contained in these documents held in secret and hidden from the voters. Obama, his party, campaign and their lawyers know this devastating eligibility information exists. This, in its totality, constitutes election fraud upon the voters. The Republican failure to challenge this secrecy is the primary reason for their continued failure.

Jun 21, 2009 - 3:56 am 34. Fat Man:

My platform of Noes:

No Bailouts
No Stimulus
No Subsidies
No Guarantees
No Earmarks
No Pork
No Deficits
No Tax Hikes
No Nationalizations
No Socialism
No Protectionism
No Public Funding
No Government Motors
No Government Cheese
No Bubbles
No Pirates
No Mullahs
No Bu11$#;+
Nobama

Jun 21, 2009 - 4:29 am 35. scituate_tgr:

While I agree with the NoObama objective, the three tactical areas I see that stand in the way of ANY possibility of a GOP return are:

1) “America Serves”/ACORN
2) Amnesty/ACORN
3) 2010 Census/ACORN

These are the triple-punch death spiral objectives owned by the left that make any GOP strategy for taking back our country – moot – if we let it. We are in for the fight of our lives and I for one am ready to answer the call.

Jun 21, 2009 - 5:41 am 36. Alice L.:

I am glad that Obama went out for icecream while Iranians wre dying. Did he choose pecan? His moral equivocations are disgusting and disheartening as well as deadly. He is also an anti-Semite- without a doubt. His support for the Palestinians over Israel is reprehensible. As for Hillary, her career is finished because of her association with this man. Socialize our medicine? I don’t think so!

Jun 21, 2009 - 6:02 am 37. Paul M Hupf:

It’s time for the NOBAMA campaign to begin in earnest for the sake of the United States of America and its citizens, particularly its youth.

Jun 21, 2009 - 2:25 pm 38. SteveB/Colorado:

#21 Marc Malone: “as usual, Ms. Rubin misses wide……” Wide right, Marc? I agree. Maybe it’s time to appoint Ms. Rubin to be a charter member of the CINOs (conservative in name only). Let’s take a fact based look at just a few of the things conservatives should believe in, according to Ms. Rubin.

“believe in not curtailing missile defense…..” See what the generals think about the cuts in missile defense at this site: http://www.cdi.org . To put it bluntly, missile defense has been tested for 25 years and still doesn’t work. Also, the Pentagon believes it has ample assets already in place to deal with any near or longer term missile threat from N Korea or Iran.

“believe in not forcing the Defense Department to make hard choices….” Actually, those choices are a result of nearly $300 billion in cost overruns; hard earned tax dollars lining the pockets of defense contractors. How is that conservative?

Here’s what the GAO said ( http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-431T ): “Last year, GAO reported that DOD’s portfolio of weapons programs experienced cost growth of $295 billion from first estimates, were delayed by an average of 21 months, and delivered fewer capabilities and quantities to the warfighter than originally planned….”

“not instituting a ‘public option’ for health care…..” So, the current private sector monopoly & oligopoly is OK? American Medical Association study last year of health-insurance markets in 314 cities found 94% are “highly concentrated.” In 56% of cities, one insurer controls more than half of the group health care market; in 19% of cities, one insurer controls 70%; in 11 cities, one insurer controls more than 90%. I’m not in favor of more government involvement in health care. But maybe a ‘public option’ would finally provide some free market competition!

“believe in not politicizing the Justice Department…..” So, Dem politics is why the A.G. dropped the case against former Senator Stevens? Isn’t politicizing the J.D. what Alberto Gonzales was all about?

#30 National Patriot: “RINOS have given conservatism a bad rap….” Actually, I’m more concerned about CINOs that oppose Dem pork, but turn a blind eye to Repub pork. There are also the CINOs who oppose big government except when it can be used to push certain religious based agendas.

If we as Republicans want to be successful in the 2010 and 2012 elections, we need a lot more & better than what Ms. Rubin proposes. We need a rational and fact based platform, not journalistic ramblings.

Jun 21, 2009 - 4:46 pm 39. Maggie:

My biggest concern is some new federal liability for healthcare. How about fixing social security, medicare and medicaid first? Republicans need to bring attention to the emminent failure of these entitlements. Do Americans want the federal government to fail like the California state government? Republicans need to make serious critisms of current policies. No more go along get along.

Jun 22, 2009 - 8:31 am 40. sheesh:

15. Sonny: . . . “In a recent poll, 40% of Americans identified themselves as Conservative. I can’t remember the last time it was that high.”

Well, the last time was 2004. And in fact, that 40 percent is down from the high of 43 percent in 1992. And since 1992, while self-identified conservatives have dropped 3 points, self-identified liberals have gone up 4 points.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/120857/Conservatives-Single-Largest-Ideological-Group.aspx/

“Most smart Americans are storing up groceries, medical supplies, and guns.”

No, the smart ones aren’t the ones buying that stuff, they’re selling that stuff.

You’re right about this much . . . momentum is building . . . against conservatism. Nice try, though.

Jun 23, 2009 - 6:38 am 41. Marc Malone:

#38 SteveB – ‘Sfunny. I never thought you were a Conservative. Good post overall, though. I checked the CDI link. Informative.

One note on health care. The markets are concentrated because of government. For example, in my State of Washington, in the ’90’s, we passed a reg declaring that insurers must cover alternative medicine. Insurers fled the State, leaving only 4!

Health care is a monopoly, though. Insurance is not. The AMA has a monopoly, and has had since 1849, when Congress gave it to them. They drove all their competitors out of business within five years. The village wise woman with her home remedies, the Chinese herbalist, et al, were all out of business. This left us with the most expensive, ineffective options: drugs and surgery.

This is why health care is so expensive, becuase there are no options. It is a monopoly. The problem could be solved by (among other things) taking back the AMA’s authority, thus breaking the monopoly.

Jun 23, 2009 - 2:46 pm 42. Fantom:

“32. SoCalDem:
Obama wouldn’t be president if more Republicans had voted for McCain instead of sitting out the election.”

Sorry, McLaim is the last thing we needed. Better to have Uhboma in, instead of a Rhino. America will come out stronger getting this dose of leftist scum out of us. McLaim would just have extended the cancer for another four years.

Jun 23, 2009 - 5:04 pm 43. Jock:

You guys just don’t get it. What we want is something different. Used to be government attracted the best and brightest. Now it attracts the scum of the earth. What we really need is to do away with is congressional pensions, and special healthcare plans, and all perks. Term limits now! And one term only.

Jul 1, 2009 - 1:53 am 44. Anonymous:

with Ari

Jul 10, 2009 - 11:15 am

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