33 Comments

1. David Levavi:

I havem’t read Glasov. But ex Soviet convict Natan Sharansky’s almost delirious affection for Ronald Reagan tells you that that calling an evil empire an evil empire is important and those counseling appeasement to an evil empire were themselves evil.

Mar 26, 2009 - 6:31 am 2. Pops in Vienna:

“Ex Convict Sharansky”? Yikes! If that’s the case I can forget all that crap he wrote about democracy.

Yep, communism is much, much better. Everybody has a job, food, clothes, education, a modest flat, free health care. I mean, who needs to make a speech on the town square anyway?

As long as I have my remote control, cable TV, beer and enough money to pay my bills, I’m happy. (sarcasm off)

Mar 26, 2009 - 8:13 am 3. David Levavi:

Pops in Vienna (are you really some old fart in Austria?):

I haven’t read Sharansky other than in short newspaper (op-ed)pieces. I only know that his affection for Reagan was heartfelt and reverent. That much jumped off the page and was manifest in their meeting onscreen.

Mar 26, 2009 - 9:13 am 4. Spinoneone:

The neat thing about “Overseas Contingency Operations” is that they can be easily “defunded” from the DoD budget. No money, on OCO, just like that and few the wiser….well, depending, of course, on the size of the OCO. Might not work too well with Iraq, but probably still would work for Afghanistan.

Mar 26, 2009 - 9:32 am 5. shrubnose:

Let’s not talk about the right’s romance with various dictators, like Batista in Cuba, the Shah in Iran, Franco in Spain, etc, etc – these were GOOD guys, right ? Give me a fricken’ ( as Michael Steele would say ) break here . Times have changed, we had an election – The GOP will soon be history. Deal with it .

Mar 26, 2009 - 10:33 am 6. Nancy P.:

I’m confused, shrubnose. Are people here supposed to be supporters of Franco? What exactly is your point? Mr. Simon, whose book you evidently have not read, is very gracious in letting you take up his bandwidth.

Mar 26, 2009 - 10:36 am 7. Lightnin' Hopkins:

So it’s “up against the wall” for us romancers, eh shrub?

Check back after 2010. The “history” you’ll be dealing with then will make ‘66 and ‘94 look like a push by comparison.

Mar 26, 2009 - 11:04 am 8. shrubnose:

In the near future, the GOP ‘may’ offer some competition to the Democratic party. But, unless the GOP can adapt to rapidly changing demographics, it will end up as a minor, regional party. When the GOP went with it’s “southern strategy c.50 years ago, it helped itself at that time by merging with southern “Dixiecrats”. Those redneck “Dixiecrats” form a large portion of the GOP’s base. You figure it out – how can the GOP attract the non-whites ( who will be the MAJORITY by 2050 ) and not offend it’s redneck base ? How do you convince people of colour to vote for those who hate, fear and despise them ? If YOU have the answers – call Michael Steele, he could use some help.I do NOT like the idea of the USA being a one party country, but that IS the future. Don’t think so ? Tell me about it in 2020 !

Mar 26, 2009 - 11:35 am 9. Lightnin' Hopkins:

Wow. Yeah, I “hate, fear and despise” people of color so much I chose a black bluesman from Texas for my blog commenter handle.

There will still be two major parties in America in 2020. It’s funny that nearly every time you hear someone claim otherwise, they’re from the left, often feigning concern over it (”I do NOT like the idea…”) No, of course not.

Mar 26, 2009 - 12:01 pm 10. stumbley:

shrub@11:35 wrote: “I do NOT like the idea of the USA being a one party country, but that IS the future.”

Oh, I think you and the rest of the brownshirts are secretly rejoicing, shrub…

Mar 26, 2009 - 12:01 pm 11. Jungus:

Poor Shrubby,
When you get to be as old as I am, you will see that whenever a political party is on the skids, it will be back and on top in about 2 to 3 years. This has happened to the Republicans, I have also seen it with the Democrats. So, no, the GOP will not shrink to obsolescence.
As for minorities, the only reason they think I or whites in general hate them is because people like you have been telling them that since birth.
I see you have no problem hating people who want to do nothing to you.

Mar 26, 2009 - 12:04 pm 12. Mike_K:

shrubnose:
Let’s not talk about the right’s romance with various dictators, like Batista in Cuba

You mean the black president of Cuba who didn’t kill people by the thousands with a baseball bat ?

the Shah in Iran

You mean the Iran leader who didn’t march 13 year olds through mine fields to clear them ? That Shah?

Franco in Spain

You mean the Spanish leader who didn’t let Hitler take Gibralter, thereby winning the war for the allies ? That Franco ?

etc, etc – these were GOOD guys, right ?

No, not GOOD guys. Just better than the people who replaced them. Or would have replaced them.

Give me a fricken’ ( as Michael Steele would say ) break here .

That’s actually Biden’s line without the Bowdlerization.

Times have changed, we had an election

And there will soon be another one.

– The GOP will soon be history. Deal with it .

As Keynes once said, “In the long run, we are all dead.” Deal with it.

Mar 26, 2009 - 12:58 pm 13. David Levavi:

Shrubnose:

I hate to pile on but I’m Jewish and ethnocentric and your comment offends me.

I remember the Shah of Iran as a proud, modern Persian leader and a friend of the United States under whose traditionally firm rule (recall the ancient laws of Persians and Medes), a very old and traditional Jewish community lived peacefully and prospered.

Trujillo welcomed Jewish refugees from Nazi occupied Europe to the Dominican Republic when most other nations, including, sadly, the US, wouldn’t. Cuban Jews lived peacefully under Batista. His regime, though less fashionable to the dominant liberal taste, was arguably more benign than Castro’s.

Franco, I won’t address. Spain lay under five hundred years excommunication from which it only recently emerged. Few Jews live there.

Mar 26, 2009 - 1:07 pm 14. Jungus:

Good Point Mike_K on the whole, the left leaning dictators were and are much worse for their populations and the world at large than the right leaning ones.
However, Fascism is very anti-free market and pro-welfare (for preferred industries and people only) so even this I would say it is leftist. Were were just lucky Franco wanted land more than Hitler’s friendship.

Mar 26, 2009 - 1:08 pm 15. Lightnin' Hopkins:

This is comforting:

http//tinyurl.com/d9uelv

Reminds me of something, although I can’t quite put my finger on it. Oh well, they *won* – we better just “deal with it.” What could go wrong?

Mar 26, 2009 - 1:35 pm 16. Lightnin' Hopkins:

Missed the colon, sorry:

http://tinyurl.com/d9uelv

Mar 26, 2009 - 1:36 pm 17. Terrye:

shrubnose:

Spare me you little hypocrite. The left sets atop the biggest pile of corpses in human history. Not even Hitler can compete. So spare me the faux moral preening.

As for the GOP and demographics, I would say that if the Democrats succeed in bankrupting America, they might well lose an entire generation. So maybe they should think about their own political future before they lecture Michael Steele.

Mar 26, 2009 - 3:03 pm 18. Terrye:

But then shrub is talking about pandering to groups. Pander to blacks…keep them poor. Pander to hispanics…promise their relatives citizenship….pander to the rich…promise them absolution for their ill gained wealth…pander to the youth..promise them an easy future with no need to work or save or pay their way….yes all that pandering might catch up to the Democrats shrub.

Mar 26, 2009 - 3:06 pm 19. shrubnose:

“In 1970, Kevin Phillips, a GOP strategist, told the New York Times, “From now on, the Republicans are never going to get more than 10-20% of the Negro vote, and they don’t need any more than that.” Referring to passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, he added: “The more Negroes who register as Democrats in the South the sooner the Negrophobe whites will quit the Democrats and become Republicans. That’s where the votes are.” This was the Republican “Southern Strategy of exploiting racism to win white votes. Former President Gerald Ford often reminded people he was a Ford, not a Lincoln. Today’s GOP is not even a Ford. It’s an Edsel. ” To read more on “Beyond the Spin: How the GOP Lost Blacks by George Curry go to: philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20090219_Beyond_the_Spin_How_the_GOP_lost_blacks.html Anyone who THINKS the GOP can survive as a major party with 4% of the Black vote has an unpleasant surprise coming. I am sure Michael Steele knows that the 1st step in the problem solving process is to recognize that a problem exists. I will be interested in watching to see if he and the GOP ever get past that 1st step. As NancyP. @ Post # ^ said: “Mr Simon is very gracious.” He is also not afraid to let others speak, whether he agrees with them or not ( I think he might be still a little liberal in his thinking, if not in his politics). There are interesting times ahead for the GOP. I do not think the GOP will survive as a major party. It is in a deep hole and many GOPers are still digging ! In any case, have a nice day !

Mar 26, 2009 - 3:42 pm 20. Hugh:

Shrubnose….thanks so very much for painting such an X ring on your tinfoil wrapped head.Have you thrown your toys from the pram yet? Two points my man ( puerile thoughts and demonstrated self-absorbtion ) : the “Left” has always been about the emotional content of their “arguments”. The Conservative is essentially promoting self-sufficiency and responsibility…open a real history book – and put that copy of Vanity Fair, down next to your fairtraded cup o’ joe. Yes, you are a hater…that’s the point.Thanks for making it.

Mar 26, 2009 - 3:48 pm 21. Mikey NTH:

What is interesting to me that the dictaorships the left loves seem to turn power over to a relative of the last dictator.

The left loves a King.

Mar 26, 2009 - 5:14 pm 22. Terrye:

shrubnose:

Fine, ignore the recent statistics that state the GOP is pulling even or is ahead in generic balloting. After all people are not individuals they are only parts of various collectives.

A few years ago there were people saying the Democrats were done and over. They obviously were not, and neither is the GOP. That is just wishful thinking on your part.

Mar 26, 2009 - 6:43 pm 23. Terrye:

The left, that would be Lenin, Stalin, the Khmer Rouge, the Viet Cong, Mao, the Sandanistas, the Shining Path, Che, Chavez and Castro. Oh yeah. Those folks were real humanitarians.

Mar 26, 2009 - 6:45 pm 24. Minerva:

Roger: no comment? Are you stuck at LAX again?

p.s. What happens on March 31? No more PJM?

Mar 26, 2009 - 6:59 pm 25. Mike_K:

Shrub, nice of you to remember Kevin Phillips since nobody in the Republican Party does. He has gone over to the enemy, so to speak.

In American Theocracy Phillips has come full circle, becoming a very harsh critic of the Republican Party (GOP). PBS journalist Allen Dwight Callahan[1] describes the GOP “Politics Of Radical Religion, Oil, And Borrowed Money In The 21st Century” the book’s subtitle and theme, as an “Unholy Alliance.”[2] Phillips’ last chapter, in a nod to his first major work, is called “The Erring Republican Majority.” In the book, he “presents a nightmarish vision of ideological extremism, catastrophic fiscal irresponsibility, rampant greed and dangerous shortsightedness.”

Odd you should think of him. Must have come up in your seminar. Sort of like David Brooks.

Mar 26, 2009 - 7:59 pm 26. pst314:

“You mean the Iran leader who didn’t march 13 year olds through mine fields…”

Nice.

I would only add that conservatives have tended to see people like the Shah etc as “bastards, but our bastards” whereas the left has, over and over, fallen in love with mass-murdering thugs. Not just in love, but head-over-heels, put-on-the-presidential-kneepads love.

Mar 26, 2009 - 8:42 pm 27. shrubnose:

Re; Mike_K @ Post # 25 Mr Kevin Phillips is not giving the GOP ( Greedy Ofay Party ) hell, he is just telling the truth and they think it’s hell.Take the time to read some of what he has written. If you do not agree with at least SOME of what he says, you just might be a redneck with a closed mind. The GOP’s “Southern Strategy” is working out great for the Democratic party, isn’t it ? If the GOP keeps doing what it is doing and expects a better result, they have a serious reality deficit problem. Don’t worry, this problem will take care of itself as the GOP fades away ! Buh-bye GOPers ! Woulda. coulda, shoulda does NOT get the job done ! If you GOPers can’t adjust to change and give the majority of voters in the USA ( who will be over 50% non-white by 2050 ) what they want and need the GOP will not survive as a major party. Don’t think so? Wait and see ! IF the GOP adjusted to the demographic shift that is coming at IT like a runaway freight train, it COULD survive. But, then it would not be the GOP it’s redneck base has grown to know and love. So, in any case, the GOP as THEY know it will soon be history . Interesting days ahead for the GOP. What’s that saying? – What goes around comes around ? Or is it – You only get what God thinks you deserve . Me, I think the GOP deserves every little bit of what it is fixin’ to get ! Have a nice day .

Mar 27, 2009 - 9:14 am 28. Lightnin' Hopkins:

Such an angry little troll.

Mar 27, 2009 - 11:30 am 29. Fen:

Moonbat: Let’s not talk about the right’s romance with various dictators, like Batista in Cuba, the Shah in Iran, Franco in Spain, etc, etc – these were GOOD guys, right?

No. America’s “romance” with Stalin duing WW2 didn’t make him a “good guy” either.

But it must be quaint to live in a world where everything is so simplistic…

Mar 27, 2009 - 11:31 am 30. Fen:

shrub: If you do not agree with at least SOME of what he says, you just might be a redneck with a closed mind.

Oh this is priceless.

I just love the irony of Leftists ignorantly using bigotry to slime people as ignorant bigots.

A prime example the the Left doesn’t really beleive in the things they lecture us about

Mar 27, 2009 - 11:36 am 31. old rpm daddy:

@shrubnose: “If you GOPers can’t adjust to change … the GOP will not survive as a major party.”

Maybe so, but the results of that failure should be as disturbing to you as it would be to a conservative. What happens if the GOP ceases to exist? Here are some possibilities (and I’m sure there are many others one could think of):

i. The Democratic Party is left as a more-or-less permanent majority. Without any competition, they cease to listen to the people they claim to represent. In other words, they’re about as customer-sensitive as a government-sponsored monopoly.

ii. Without any competition to unite against, the Democratic Party is beset with internal squabbling and intrigue, which leaves them incapable of responding to the needs of the people, even if they bother listening. That, or they find some new adversary to unite against. I hope it’s not you or me.

iii. The Democratic Pary splits into left and center-left factions, which, given the profligate ways of the Republicans lately, results in things bumbling along more-or-less as they were.

I’m sure there are other possibilities one could think of.

Mar 27, 2009 - 12:08 pm 32. California Dreamer:

I reject the scenario of the GOP’s demise which is easy to do because Shrubby hasn’t even delivered a cogent reason for it to occur. Raw demographics don’t mean a damn thing when it comes to a middle 10% of voters swinging back and forth with the vagaries of the economy during the week of the presidential election or the TV presence of the candidates. (In retrospect, I wonder how Romney would have done against Obama. He’s telegenic, much more fluent in the economy than either nominee, unstained by the Washington insider CV. We’ll be speculating on this for years.)

But, in the spirit of playing along, I choose Old RPM Daddy’s 3rd option. The most intriguing slice of DC to watch these days is the Blue Dogs. With Murphy in NY’s 20th already asserting that he would join the Blue Dogs if elected, you can see scenario iii shaping up already. The Dems’ problem is that if it doesn’t evolve that way, they lose the 50+ seats the Blue Dogs hold now.

So, Shrubby, policy trumps identity politics in the long run and there are plenty of hardworking, religious minorities who will join the long, slow pendulum shift to the right in this country.

Mar 28, 2009 - 7:20 pm 33. The Genocidal Harvest of Leftist Self-Loathing « ACT Northern Virginia/Richmond/DC Metro Chapter. Dedicated to the Defense of our freedom from Islamic Ideology.:

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Apr 10, 2009 - 8:26 am

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