269 Comments

1. Barry Dauphin:

Palin has been attacked in vile ways by folks who supposedly support hope and change and a “higher” level of dialogue. She has been subjected to pathetic crap by the likes of the vastly over-rated jerks such as Letterman and Sully. She has evoked a visceral hatred by “open minded” lefties. She evokes incredible loyalty among those who support her.

Having said that, she has to have more to offer than being the target of the left. Many folks among the commenters in the blogosphere that I like and respect support her far more than I can. Why are we left wondering why she resigned? A statement of resignation should be able to answer the questions being asked. I keep reading this is a brilliant move. I am too dumb to discern the brilliance. Reaganesque? When did Reagan resign from electoral office? The lieutenant governor is OK to fill in? How does that show her importance for electoral office?

Many of her supporters are getting close to attacking and mocking people whose votes Palin would need to win. Her supporters are passionate, but they’ll need to convince those less passionate for her to vote for her.

I don’t think the country is as depressed as you feel, Roger (yet). I think it could get that way. The disillusionment with Obama has only begun. It will take many of his strong supporters to have the scales removed from their eyes to get into depression territory. We have to toss aside the tax and spend stuff and gut this difficulty out. Palin inspires a segment of the voters who believe in individual responsibility. Although she has the capacity to inspire, today she has diminished the case that she has the capacity to govern.

Jul 3, 2009 - 8:41 pm 2. Terrye:

Barry:

I agree completely. I like Palin and respect her, but I am concerned about her resignation. I would not blame her for walking away considering the treatment she has received, but I am not exactly sure what is happening here.

I never got the charisma of Obama, I just never saw it. So it is interesting to me to watch other people begin to see him as a mere mortal.

I wonder what the long term effects of Obama disillusionment will be.

It is a long time before 2012, an eternity in politics. It might just be that someone we are not even talking about might end up being the front runner.

Jul 3, 2009 - 9:17 pm 3. john m e:

I think the funk we feel is perhaps a function of despair…despair brought on by the inexplicable degradation of our fellows. There is a
profound sadness when the minorities behave in a bigoted fashion and those we thought loved freedom appear surprisingly willing to toss it overboard for little rewards or facile atonement.when our educators, we so deeply respected seem to have defiled our youth for a bit of silver…despair when we wonder why the defenders of our freedom seem no where to be found. So certain was I that transgressors would rise above their petty ,driven, self absorbtion to rally to the duty of the general good…the welfare of our most needy, and reestablish the moral compass once the hallmark of civility and liberty …USA style.
Our nation, a noble experiment, threatened from within, cries out….

Jul 3, 2009 - 9:22 pm 4. john m e:

Perhaps my fear is that I have lived a long time and cannot bear the
thought of running out of time…the time I feel it might take to right the ship and resume the intended course.

Jul 3, 2009 - 9:32 pm 5. lynndh:

Roger, you certainly nailed it for my wife and I. Depressed – yes we are. And just what can we do about things? Not much except vote, but that does not hold out much hope either, what with canidates we see. I think that Palin will be around and will be much more visable now that she can speak freely without hurting Al. I wear my Don’t Tread On Me hat and my Tea Party tee shirt. And just wait for a negative comment.

Jul 3, 2009 - 9:35 pm 6. chuck:

Why are we left wondering why she resigned?

I thought she was quite clear on that. Do you think she was lying? I don’t think she is going to disappear, I think she is going more involved in politics at the national level. But whether or not she will seek office I don’t know. Much will depend on circumstances that no one can control. Wretchard has a good analysis of that aspect.

Jul 3, 2009 - 9:39 pm 7. Kim:

“We should junk the liberal and conservative orthodoxies that have divided – and blinded – us for so long and go back not to Eighteenth Century America, but Nineteenth, to the days of that most American of philosophies – pragmatism.”

Philosophical pragmatism embraces the irrationality of rejecting principles on principle, and thereby it negates itself, and along with it the validity of all conceptual knowledge as well.

Pragmatism is a German import: it has its roots in Kantian subjectivism, the philosophy responsible for the statist horrors of the 20th century.

What we need is more reason, not less.

Jul 3, 2009 - 9:44 pm 8. Eric J:

Maybe all this “No” is necessary for clearing the decks. We need to bring back the consensus that the Government isn’t the Country, and the Government isn’t the People before we can start generating solutions that aren’t dependent on the Government.

Jul 3, 2009 - 9:57 pm 9. John Moore:

Gee, Rog… don’t let the bastards get you down.

The Republicans are about where they should be after a big loss – in turmoil – sort of like the creative destruction of capitalism, this is the creative destruction of democracy.

So far, a lot of O’s screw-ups are reversible, and he has at least been somewhat pragmatic on foreign policy – enough to really piss off his lefty followers, while not really even close to doing the job right. But it could be worse… he could be kissing the asses of dictators and tyrants and ignoring democratic reformers…

Oh wait..

Oh SH**

Pass the Prozac

Jul 3, 2009 - 9:59 pm 10. Sally:

I don’t know how old you are but I think old enough to have lived through the 70s, yes? Talk about a demoralized and depressed nation! It was a horrible time. We had just lost a war and 58,000 lives in Vietnam, the President was forced to resign, there were gas lines, inflation was through the roof, American hostages were being held in Iran and nobody seemed to have a clue what to do about any of it. I’m sure that there have been other times as well in our history when all was bleak and the future drab and unappealing. And yet we endured. And survived. And better times arrived.

It helps me to remember that right now there are thousands upon thousands of American men and women, most of them much younger than I am, who are serving in war zones and putting themselves in harm’s way and every day when they get up they put on a uniform with an American flag on the shoulder and they go out to face the day, knowing it might be their last. They don’t get to spend a lot of time being depressed and sad. They have to believe there is something worth fighting for. They have to stay the course. And surely a country that was unworthy of the sacrifice would not be this privileged, to have such fine men and women willing to lay down their lives for her.

Maybe we’re just in a dry season right now. The first decade of the new century has been an eventful one for us, from the disputed 2000 Presidential election to 9/11 to the Iraq war and now the financial meltdown with the bad economy and lots of fraud and scandal and failed leadership everywhere. But we’ll fix it. We always do.

Jul 3, 2009 - 10:03 pm 11. Gaffe Prices:

After inauguration, I e-mailed all 100 senators 5 times and told some to repent as 0bama would be your nemesis come election time.

They knew at the time of the huge uproar of their constituencies against the porkulous bill, yet they rubber-stamped the bill for the sake of the despot.

I don’t think they are so secure in overidding the will of the people this time, unless we drop our guard.

They won’t do it this time if we keep up the pressure: they are weaker than we are, and they are way sensitive to the backlash against all things 0bama.

This is not the time to give up the ship because the victory is in sight.

Spend as much time writing the senate as you do with any other activity, especially commenting,: I learned that one must be very repetitive to write all the democrat senator to vote against the cap and traitor pending fiasco. And the Republicans, they are all we have at this moment (have had, for quite some time).

BTW, its impossible to write Reps from House of Representatives: you must reside in the district, which means that I couldn’t e-mail someone from another a district, repub or otherwise, or much less those in another state. they run a tight ship, but its daunting enough to try to write 435 reps as opposed to 100 senators. If you have any problems, say so. I can get you through it.

I agree, 0bama is over so lets put some final nettles in his political- oh well you get the drift.

I find Pragmatism more discredited than others.

From Goldbergs Liberal Fascism:

“Pragmatism is the only philosophy that has an everyday word as its corollary with a generally positive connotation: When we call a leader pragmatic, we tend to mean that he is realistic, practical, and above all non-ideological. But this convention obscures important distinctions. Crudely, Pragmatism is a form of relativism which holds that any belief is that is useful is there is necessarily true. Conversely, any truth that is inconvenient or non-useful is necessarily untrue.

“Georges Sorel’s syndicalism was deeply influenced by the Pragmatism of William James, who pioneered the notion that all one needs is the “will to believe”. It was James benign hope, to make room for religion in a burgeoning age of science, by arguing that any religion that worked for the believer was not only valid, but true.

“Sorel was an irrationalist who took this sort of thinking to its logical extension: any idea that can be successfully imposed–with violence if necessary–becomes good and true. By marrying James will to believe with Nietsche’s will to power, Sorel redesigned left wing revolutionary politics from scientific socialism to a revolutionary religious movement that believed in the utility of the myth of scientific socialism [global warming, anyone? ..."And the Oceans Will Recede"...]

“Enlightened revolutionaries would act as if Marxism were gospel in order to bring the masses under their control for the greater good [for their own (our) good, I say]

“Today we might call these aspects of this impulse “lying for justice”.

“Of course, a lie could not become “true” –that is successful– unless you had good liars. this is where another of Sorel’s major contributions comes in: the need for a “revolutionary elite” to impose its will on the masses.”

So, you can see we are fighting this very obscene variant of James’ original Pragmatism already. (“We’ve Got To Do It Now! Or Else The Economy Will Get Worse! Its Too Big To Fail! Etc!)

I say we answer “Yes We Can” with “Oh, No You Don’t!” and I don’t care how many scrapes, bruises, or inconveniences I must endure to accomplish it. It just takes numbers, and co-ordination towards that achieved end.

And besides, Saturn is leaving its sphere of dominance.

Obama went overboard recently and said “This is the Time! The Stars Have Aligned!!…” so even he knows his gimmick has waned.

Not nice knowin’ ya, O. Goodbye.

Jul 3, 2009 - 10:34 pm 12. spike:

Sarah Palin has shown more courage and character in the past year than most of us could help to muster in a lifetime. But, ole Barry above thinks “she has to have more to offer than being a target of the Left.” Well, Barry, how about you get your doubting butt out in the political limelight and take the beating she (and her decent, honest family members) took and see how long you could last. If you’re going to cast stones….

No one in history has been more vilified without cause than this woman. And, she took it and gave enough back to suit me. By comparsion, do you recall the spanking Obama took in front of Warren and Saddleback last yr? This woman stands far above the jiveass in the WH to my mind.

Jul 3, 2009 - 10:48 pm 13. David Thomson:

“Obama is already over.”

Barack Obama’s administration was likely saved temporarily by Michael Jackson’s death. The public forgot about cap and trade and looked the other way while Nancy Pelosi hammered the remaining fence sitting legislators. The odds seem against this bill getting passed in the U.S. Senate. Obama’s political impotence will become obvious even to his most loyal followers. It will also likely result in his experiencing something of a mental breakdown.

Jul 4, 2009 - 12:00 am 14. Pajamas Media » Storm Clouds on the Fourth of July:

[...] Read the entire piece here. [...]

Jul 4, 2009 - 12:57 am 15. The Skizzerd of Waz:

I think I’m starting to hear the clatter of tendril cages rolling down Main Street, USA?
That’s scary!

Jul 4, 2009 - 2:02 am 16. beerstine:

“Obama is already over.” HARDLY!

George W. Bush in the last two years of his Presidency was the most marginalized and irrelevant figure to hold the Oval Office in my lifetime. Yet even in his weakened state he was able to propagate repeated bailouts and initiate TARP which has given Obama so much leverage over the entire private sector. Even a weak President can do massive damage because of the power of the office.

You cannot count on Congress to check him, they’re writing legislation for him and failing even the most rudimentary oversight of the monies already allocated. The MSM will not counter him, they’ve gambled that inside access with him will maintain their relevance. The Republicans cannot challenge him even as dissatisfaction grows as they have no figure with the charisma and policy depth needed to effectively combat him.

Do not get lulled into a false sense of confidence that things will just fail and he will limp along discredited with over 3 years left to go. There’s a massive industry of well-heeled rent seekers and apologists ready to defend and agitate for continued expansion of his power. When things get tougher, expect them to get more strident.

Jul 4, 2009 - 2:10 am 17. Anne Lieberman:

Sarah Palin is at least courageous, which is more than you can say for… just about anybody these days. And it speaks well of her that the Dims’ heads start exploding every time her name is mentioned.

Palin is not big on whining, so I wouldn’t be surprised if her resignation as governor allows her to come up with a Plan. of Action. If she’s willing to lead, there are millions of people who would follow.

Jul 4, 2009 - 2:31 am 18. Rose from Ohio:

When people asked why I supported Palin in the last election, my answer was that she was the best choice offered in the general election. I didn’t disagree with many of the criticisms of her – just that WITH the negatives there were still more positives than with the choices we got on the other ticket.

Now, 6 months later, even my farthest left, BDS suffering Democratic friend is questioning Obama’s choices and what kind of President he actually is.

A third party is desperately needed. We don’t need to go “back” to anything. We need a party that pragmatically looks at the present and creates a new plan for the future.

Jul 4, 2009 - 3:53 am 19. Freedom is Just Another Word:

Palin signed on for a job to be governor. Some, and I repeat, some political turmoil should be expected. Especially, political turmoil of her own making.

However, Palin’s turmoil was not caused by her own making. Every one of these investigations, she has been CLEARED of. She is being harassed by the Democratic Party; and the legal fees….

As for our Independence. Well, we are not financially or energy independent. We are slaves to Communist countries who we owe to finance our debt. We are slaves to OPEC countries to give us oil. Unfortunately, we dig ourselves deeper into debt; and the green energy, tidal, wind solar, and our own oil are not being used.

The downfall of the economy starts and is caused by the housing crisis and soon to be commercial real estate crisis. All the loans need modified. There needs to be meaningful principal reductions and/or rate reductions. Banks need to start back lending. Who’d lend when the stated principal on most loans is overstated; and the glass ball does not know how far the bottom will drop? Sprinkle Obama’s socialism onto the equation; and a shaky capitalism falls.

Jul 4, 2009 - 4:14 am 20. Libertyship46:

The above suggestion that we use more “pragmatism” is an interesting one. What I never understood about the Obama administration was why they are so hell-bent on copying laws, regulations, and programs that have so utterly failed in other nations? Name me one nation where Government-run healthcare is a stunning and cost-effective success. The people in Britain, France, Canada, and other European nations that have socialized medicine make fun of it and I know for a fact that in Italy if you want a real doctor you have to pay for one on a private clinic. Medicine is sort of like public schools in Europe. You can always send your kids to public school, but if you want a better education you have to send your kid to private school. Same thing with medicine. If you are critically ill and need a real specialist, you have to pay for it in a private clinic. Another example is “cap and trade.” The program has been a dismal failure in all of Europe, especially in Spain and Germany. So why are we trying to copy it? Most of Europe is now trying to get away from cap and trade while we are moving towards it. Does this make sense? Or how about nationalizing the car industry. It has never worked in Europe and their auto corporations only started becoming more profitable when the government withdrew from them. So why do we want to own GM and why are we subsidizing Chrysler? I have no problems copying ideas from other countries IF THEY WORK. But when they don’t, and they’re proven to be a failure, then why do it? That’s what all Americans should be asking themselves on this July 4th.

Jul 4, 2009 - 4:20 am 21. logdon:

Join the club. Only you’re entering and we’re just re-emerging after 12 years of botched socialistic experiment after experiment here in Britain.

Last month’s UE elections left Labour in third place after the Conservatives and UKIP. Unheard of but now the reality of votes on ballot forms.

We had our ‘The One’ in the shape of Blair. He was forced out by an unlikely combination of the powers of populism/marxism and now we have a man for whom tractor statistics
are bedtime reading.

He is now toast, ridiculed and humiliated with no disparaging epithet beyond our scurrilous bloggers.

If any US readers would like an insight try this blog where the savage profanity of dirty low down humour is paramount.

Yes we do possess gonads and wit in equal proportion.

It’s been a long and rough ride, ruled by the freaks of nature but sunny uplands beckon.

http://order-order.com/

Jul 4, 2009 - 4:28 am 22. David:

“Get drunk and boogie. It may be your last opportunity. .”
You may not know how right you are
The KORAN prohibits drinking and dancing
Just give the boy king time ,we will be living like the Iranians

Jul 4, 2009 - 4:42 am 23. Kat in Indiana:

I too am depressed about the future of our country. I have heard several elderly people, including my own father, express relief that their time on earth is not long, so they won’t have to witness what we will become. And Sarah?! My only hope is that she is ditching the sycophantic “Republican” party and will hitch her wagon to a 3rd party, as the GOP has truly proven that there IS no difference between the 2 parties. Otherwise every one of those so-called conservatives would be shouting from the rooftops against this blatant treasonous attack on our country from Sheik Barack.

Think I will find an adult beverage and watch “1776″, our family’s holiday tradition. Now THAT will lift your spirit’s!!

GOD BLESS AMERICA! WE REALLY NEED HIM RIGHT NOW!

Jul 4, 2009 - 4:46 am 24. Tom Perkins:

“Surely we don’t want to rely entirely on ideas honed in the Eighteenth Century, laudatory as many of them are.”

Let us know when you’ve thought of something actually better. There hasn’t been any advancement since then–the more socially broad application of liberty while it is vastly diminished an waning further is a sideways move at best.

Yours, TDP, ml, msl, & pfpp

Jul 4, 2009 - 5:08 am 25. Steve:

I along with most traditional “conservative” Americans have irreconciable differences with the Left. We will NEVER get along. They hate us.

Obama is not just a socialist. He’s a black supremicst and Marxist. Actually by deeds he’s a communist.

I don’t consdider them, Obama, Pelosi, Frank, Franken Olbermann, Couric, Walters and the like to be my fellow countrymen. They are my enemies by their choice.

They hate me and my family and wish to do us harm. I want us to split. Its the only way.

I don’t agree with Roger on one thing, going the 19th Century “pragmatist” route.

Sarah Palin is a right leaning liberal and not even close to what we need as a leader. She’s an ideological lightweight to boot. Mitt Romney just stated that jihad is not part of true Islam. What a kook. Try opening the Islamic texts Mitt. I won’t put up with any more of Bush like PC nonsense from him or the other current crop of Republicans who are nothing more than Democrat Lites.

We haven’t found the right men yet but let’s hope that they are in the mold of our 18th Century Founding Fathers.

Jul 4, 2009 - 5:12 am 26. Neobuzz:

Roger,

Somehow, conservatives have been convinced that Bush Jr. was not a good President. Granted, he came to the presidency a rank amateur with a Texas swagger and a frat boy smirk. But he surrounded himself with good people and rose above his resume. He got the biggest things – the war on terror and the Supreme Court nominations – exactly right. Even Reagan didn’t do that.

Sarah Palin, a novice like Bush, took the ball and ran with it. She was a breath of fresh air in a very long campaign cycle. Considering her limited resume and the vicious personal attacks on her and her family, Palin’s performance was all the more inspiring.

Bush and Palin are two rather ordinary people how have done extraordinary things. They make me proud to be a conservative, a Republican, and an American.

If Obama wants to compete with Jimmy Carter for the title of worst President in modern times, there is nothing we can do to stop him. We survived Carter; we’ll survive Obama. And Obama serves an important purpose. First, he teaches a generation of young Americans who have no memory of Carter just how disastrous the liberal agenda really is. And, second, he reminds us that it is the content of a man’s character and not the color of his skin that really matters.

Yours truly,

Neobuzz

Jul 4, 2009 - 5:23 am 27. John Haeberle:

In a bit of optimism, I offer the thought that though our national leaders are doing a poor job of finding our next president, perhaps somewhere far removed from Washington, like perhaps Kabul, some young GI is realizing his or her destiny … perhaps a future president is now on patrol in Iraq, learning about bureacracy and honor and Americans.

Jul 4, 2009 - 5:23 am 28. John O'Neill:

I think the ubiquitous depression that hangs like a pall over the Americanized society is the result of something more than the filth politics that now reign in Washington D.C.. The overall deterioration of the culture is extremely depressing; just go out to a mall or a ballpark and see how the average American dresses and behaves today; ugliness is the supreme goal of the American people. The proliferation of disgusting tatttoed, pierced bodies along with the mode of dress which was once the realm of the hobo and really poor are everywhere. The bad manners and foul language which is now the norm of the American State can only lead to despair that this country is going anywhere. As a retired public school teacher I saw this trend starting in the last ten years among young people who do not seem to share any of the ethical or moral values of the previous generations. They were taught that it was all about them and self esteem was the operating agenda of the public education establishment. I am afraid that those of us who have beliefs and standards must build monasteries far from the cities of the New American World State and its citizens.

Cato

Jul 4, 2009 - 5:31 am 29. Ozzie:

18.Steve writes…Sarah Palin is a right leaning liberal and not even close to what we need as a leader. She’s an ideological lightweight to boot.

An honest reflection lends weight to this, if not stated in such a crass manner. She is not a Thomas Sowell, a VDH or a ground breaking intellectual. She would not be who she is if she was. THe kind of ceonservative who is a ground breaking intellect, enthusiastic AND motivated is so rare, I can only think of one : Scalia. He’s busy atm.

I would propose that Sarah Palins activities defending the body politic in Alaska versus any who attack it on both sides is also a rare and noteworthy attribute that you rarely see. Her natural feeling for doing the right thing without imposing her morality upon others, hard nad honest living and stable family support is all the references I would need for someone to already be better than 90% of the people who seek high office.

I challenge Roger Simon to clearly state what he meant by …
“but I challenge her most staunch defenders to say that this is really the kind of person to lead us out of our Twenty-First Century malaise.” Be clear, I would hate to think it is unspoken California or LA coastal elitism behind your statement. An elitism that would be unseemly, so it is left unsaid?

I do not think a chair bound intellectual, a narcististic radio host or PC butt kissing shape changer politician would be good choices as leader, yet they occupy those positions currently. There is no Reagen on the horizon. If not a real person of accomplishment, who? It may be moot point already, depending on how it develops, but please remember she was attack so relentlessly, so terribly, just because of her potential. To let the enemies of America achieve victory by knocking her out early is the wrong choice.

Jul 4, 2009 - 5:33 am 30. Barry Dauphin:

Well, ole spike, there are reasons to doubt. Not to doubt her courage or that she has been the subject of vitriol from many, but doubt about whether she’s make a good president. I don’t doubt that some of her supporters view that kind of statement with vitriol of their own, ole spike. There are other sentiments aside from loving or hating a pol. Good luck with having no doubts.

Jul 4, 2009 - 5:37 am 31. sheesh:

18. Steve . . . “We will NEVER get along. They hate us. . . . I don’t consdider them, Obama, Pelosi, Frank, Franken Olbermann, Couric, Walters and the like to be my fellow countrymen. They are my enemies by their choice . . . They hate me and my family and wish to do us harm.”

Something tells me we’re going to see a police sketch artist’s depiction of you sooner than later. Long live the NRA!

Jul 4, 2009 - 5:42 am 32. Tom Perkins:

“The pragmatists rejected all forms of absolutism and insisted that all principles be regarded as working hypotheses that must bear fruit in lived experience.”

“Philosophical pragmatism embraces the irrationality of rejecting principles on principle, and thereby it negates itself, and along with it the validity of all conceptual knowledge as well.”

Lower case pragmatism is not to be meaningfully distinguished prudence, and the Founders were nothing if not prudent. Even when they thankfully got a wild hair up their a$$ and declared independence, they were prudent about securing it. They were prudent in later writing the Constitution.

It is I think certain from his usage of it, that Simon is using pragmatism in the sense of prudence–not an objectionable thing at all–even if he makes reference to the Pragmatism of Pierce.

Unlike what some have said above, Pragmatism demands no rejection of the principles of the Revolution–that is merely what some have improperly extracted from it, a grotesque exaggeration. It means no more than that ideas have consequences, and they are no more justly valid than their consequences.

Yours, TDP, ml, msl, & pfpp

Jul 4, 2009 - 5:59 am 33. Mike2:

Good piece Mr. Simon and I agree with most of what you say. My reaction after the recent election was a very heavy feeling of foreboding of what was coming upon our country. You say Obama is already over. For the sake of my grandchildren I really really hope you are right and I know people who voted for him that now have pretty serious buyers remorse. But, I fear that most people have missed the significance of what Obama said in Berlin last summer, “we are the ones we have been waiting for”. I keep going back to that because, for me, that was the defining moment of Obama’s career. That’s when he revealed the essence of who he is. There is more at work here than most recognize or care to admit. We are about to enter into some very dark days in this country that will be a battle for the very soul of the nation.

As to what those of us who care for the future can do? We can start first by not watching ABC, CBS and NBC. That includes their day time and prime time programming. We can scream about their politics all we want but let’s face facts, what they really care about is the bottom line. Affect that and their politics won’t matter so much. We can scream about Letterman’s sex with minors jokes all we want but if the 40% of us who did not vote for “the one” refused to buy from advertisers that sponsor his program it would make a real difference. Anyway, ’nuff said.

Jul 4, 2009 - 6:04 am 34. "progressive"watch:

I don’t know who will emerge as a leader,but times like these breed strong opposition. A leader will appear.

The so-called stimulus plan was never meant to be a stimulus plan. It was just called so. What was it supposed to be called,what it is? A power-grab plan–a deconstruct America,capitalism and individual liberty plan,or at least one part of such a plan?

As far as Sarah Palin,she has proven more than ever that she might be just the right couragious,honest,smart and daring person to lead us. It is really presumptuous to attack her and judge her action at this momment. First,wait and see. It appears she might have done the right thing for Alaska,saved the state millions. The rest remains to be seen. Let’s don’t be part of the problem.

The 18th century criticism of the teaparties–come on,is this what passes for thinking?

What a bunch of knee-jerk comments. O. over? With 60 Dem-Os in the Senate and worse odds for the opposition in the House and the former msm now O-media?

Roger,my friend,I couldn’t disagree with you more : “the center refuses to hold…the good have lost all conviction…”

Jul 4, 2009 - 6:20 am 35. Wellspring:

After the vicious attacks on Palin and even her children– attacks met with silence and even approval in the MSM– I can’t help but feel sympathy for her decision. Meanwhile, Biden’s daughter is caught on camera snorting cocaine at a party, and the media piously ignores it (and never mind the Edwards drama). However, the resignation feels too abrupt, too forced. Timed on a holiday weekend, announced in time to miss the newscasts, which the public won’t watch anyway, and be old news by Monday, it feels like there’s more to this story. After all the attacks, I for one am happy to give her and her family some space. I’m sure Sullivan will be indulging his obsession with peering in her windows for years to come, politics or not.

Roger, for those of us who follow politics the vicious attacks, the media shills, the rampant, open corruption, and the policy blunders are galling. However, most Americans still haven’t really noticed, I think. They’re worried about their own lives, but “hope and change” still sounds fresh in their ears. The “dissent is the highest form of patriotism” bumper stickers came off overnight, of course, but those were on the cars of the politically active and their wannabees.

I’m extremely worried. Not just that Democrats (and not just the wingnuts, but the office holders and leaders) are willing to say or do anything, no matter how vicious or low. Increasingly, they aren’t even acting through shills. The mechanisms of politics are in deep trouble. I’m not even just worried that the alternative is in tatters as well; I always expected Pournelle’s Iron Law to apply (though maybe not this fast). Given the choice between keeping their jobs and accomplishing something good, of course the RINOs and functionaries chose to stay.

What worries me is that, when the alternative does show up (and it always does, from some unexpected corner), can they actually roll all this back? Will they choose to, before their office corrupts them? Who would run for these kinds of offices, anyway? That’s what scares me, that every inch we lose is gone forever.

All the viciousness and bickering has devolved into a game of who can milk the system the most. The next step is, a fight to see who can loot the system before it collapses. Look at history: there’s some tipping point when everyone says “this can’t last”. Then, suddenly, chaos.

We’ve outlasted Athenian democracy. The Romans Republic wasn’t free in any sense we’d recognize, but we still haven’t exceeded its run. But how much longer can we go?

Jul 4, 2009 - 6:23 am 36. Tom Perkins:

“Sarah Palin is a right leaning liberal* and not even close to what we need as a leader. She’s an ideological lightweight to boot.”

And she’s about as far right as you can get and still be elected, which makes her a leading candidate by far–Scalia isn’t merely busy at the moment, he’d never get elected. You have to be elected to make policy.

If what you want is to preen in your own supposed purity, fine, just don’t pretend you are being prudent or trying to effect the national course.

Yours, TDP, ml, msl, & pfpp

*PS. ROTFLMAO

Jul 4, 2009 - 6:23 am 37. Wellspring:

BTW I don’t mean to say “Obama will become a dictator”. Just that his kleptocratic, scorched-earth politics are dragging us in that direction. I don’t expect Roger to see the endgame in his lifetime. But our kids probably will live to see it.

Every empire has its decline and fall. Our job is to try to push that date as far back as we can.

Jul 4, 2009 - 6:29 am 38. News You Won’t See In The Mainstream Media Saturday, July 4, 2009 — ExposeTheMedia.com:

[...] Storm Clouds On The Fourth of July [...]

Jul 4, 2009 - 6:35 am 39. Lily:

I have threatened to wear a black armband today. We stand to loose a great deal as we move toward this statism (whatever you want to call it). Do the majority in this country really want to live under soft tyranny just for the (false) promise of security from those who seek power?

I am thinking today of the Honduran people and their efforts to protect their constitution. It is sad that America is not standing with them in their efforts. And I hope that we have the energy and determination to protect our constitution as people in our own government work to undermine it.

Jul 4, 2009 - 6:40 am 40. Telly:

We are nowhere near as depressed and downtrodden as we were during the Carter administration, however, I think we will be before Obama finally goes.

Sarah Palin is cool as hell. She’s much better than anyone, both republican and democrat, in Washington today. I like the idea of non-seasoned politicians in Washington. We need more of them, especially in congress. I wish she’d kick the republican party to the curb, though.

Jul 4, 2009 - 6:42 am 41. Peter G:

More and more I find I’m out of step with the Palin supporters (though I was never in step with her harshest critics). They seem to find a link between her and Reagan because Palin, like Reagan, is charismatic, more of a leader than an intellectual, has a fervent base of supporters, and so forth. This ignores the fact that Reagan had been studying and writing about politics for ten years before he was governor of California for two full terms, and continued to engage in political debates up until the time of his presidency. Palin may be intellectually quite sharp; however, she is either uninterested in the world around her, or simply has quite a bit of catching up to do. Instead of a two term governor of a large state, she’s now a less than one term governor of a state large only in land mass.

As for those claiming that it’s a mistake to write her off too soon (and using Reagan again as an example), who was the politician that walked away from a job and managed to revive a political career? I’m not referring coming back from defeat, which people tend to admire, but this sudden abandonment with 18 months to go in a term.

I think conservatives are better off not looking for a hero to save the country. The administration’s current agenda creates it’s own opposition, and events will likely soon take over any plans

Jul 4, 2009 - 6:48 am 42. Peter G:

(The administration’s current agenda creates its own opposition, and events will likely soon take over any plans made by anyone in DC.)

- actual last sentence.

Jul 4, 2009 - 6:50 am 43. sheesh:

Here’s a depressing thought: Conservatives have no candidate. I think it’s time to resurrect Bobby Jindal . . . in print.

Jul 4, 2009 - 7:16 am 44. Fred Beloit:

Roger: “…pragmatism. “The pragmatists rejected all forms of absolutism and insisted that all principles be regarded as working hypotheses that must bear fruit in lived experience.” Now there’s a thought that might brighten even grumpy me on the Fourth of July.”

Pragmatism is just another way of saying “We’ve got to go along to get along”. The Pragmatism of the past has led to the demented leftists of today, and they never compromise…they insist. Look at them. Schumer, Murtha, Frank, Pelosi, Reid, Dodd, Kennedy, Kerry, Gore, Waxman, Obama. There is nothing to negotiate and they will not negotiate. They must be removed from power and sent into an early retirement with our best wishes for a restful and peaceful future. At least most misbehaving Republicans know how to quit when they are caught and exposed, an action unimaginable on the Left.

Jul 4, 2009 - 7:23 am 45. Tom Perkins:

“Pragmatism is just another way of saying “We’ve got to go along to get along”.”

Not even slightly true. In fact, it has nothing to do with it.

You can beat up straw men if you want, just don’t expect me not to laugh at you.

Yours, TDP, ml, msl, & pfpp

Jul 4, 2009 - 7:30 am 46. glenn:

Sorry Roger, You Baby Boomers really screwed the pooch.

Jul 4, 2009 - 7:33 am 47. sodacrackers:

I do think there are some absolutes that can’t be thrown away. God bless America and help us too, please!

Jul 4, 2009 - 7:39 am 48. misanthropicus:

Roger’s views sound, unfortunately, right for me – yes, this is a nation in decline. It hasn’t started yesterday, neither with this economic crisis, neither with the Iraq war, but before that – and most factors which have converged, causing this situation are results of left-wing politics.
Whoever opposed those policies and trends, weren’t too successful – as far as who might be the Moses-like figure, to lead this nation out of the swamps we’ve been taken into, I don’t know -

Jul 4, 2009 - 7:48 am 49. Strawman:

So what’s the difference between pragmatism and realism? Pragmatism is only slightly more concrete than hope and change. Talk about trading the devil you know for the devil you don’t know.

Jul 4, 2009 - 7:53 am 50. flickervertigo:

poor poor pitiful roger…

you might as well have a map of your grief

Jul 4, 2009 - 7:56 am 51. Strawman:

There is a profound sadness when the minorities behave in a bigoted fashion and those we thought loved freedom appear surprisingly willing to toss it overboard for little rewards or facile atonement.

That’s the rude awakening. We were all so blithe in our belief that we were a single people. This whole experiment in “postracialism” has simply shown us how untrue that’s been all along, and how willing various subgroups are to stab and grab. After decades, the duct tape finally came off. This was a little like finding a spouse in bed with an animal.

The economic stuff we can fix. The social stuff maybe not.

Jul 4, 2009 - 8:03 am 52. alex:

its amazing that suddenly people realize the Nation is in trouble….where the hell have you been the last few decades ??

President Obama is as guilty as both Presidents Bush, Clinton, and Reagan, and the self serving special interest groups that support their own candidate to the point of pushing the Nation over the cliff.

The People get the government they deserve, republicans and democrats alike. The country is split, a politicians wet dream playing one side off against the other. For every Governor Palin there is a Senator Clinton, with their own little armies of blind activists ready to do battle to the bitter stalemate. Nobody is interested in the truth, only that their candidate is right and their opponents wrong, regardless the cost to the Nation.

The Nation is in serious trouble since we dont even control our own banking system, it is managed by an offshore syndicate, the Federal Reserve. they cannot be audited, or held responsible for their decisions or actions..this is the real failure of American government, Contracting our bank system to a third party accountable to no one.

Jul 4, 2009 - 8:09 am 53. Jack Okie:

One of the most worthwhile books I ever read was B.H. Liddell Hart’s “Strategy: The Indirect Approach”. It was my introduction to Belisarius; after reading it I understood Patton’s and Guderian’s tactics as well.

Sarah Palin has flummoxed the pundits and hoi polloi alike. She is refusing to play the game by the elites rules. She is eschewing the old set piece, trench warfare. Watch her break out from the bocage and open up a huge can of whup-ass on The One.

There are two related groundswells in this country: The Tea Parties, and the 10th Amendment movement. Read her press release; it seems clear she plans to head in that direction herself. She is the only national politician with credibility among these groups. I predict they will coalesce around her. I predict she will raise money and campaign for not only congressional candidates, but candidates for state legislatures, governors and attorneys general. I predict she will lead the charge to fumigate the GOP and commit it to restoring the balance between the states and Imperial Washington DC.

And I would remind folks like Peter G. that in the early going not that much was really visible about Reagan’s qualities. “Reagan in His Own Hand”, documenting his hand written speeches, didn’t come out until 2001. Here is a link to Steven Hayward’s appreciation of “Reagan’s Path to Victory”.

http://tinyurl.com/ltauy3

How many knew the TV shill for GE and Twenty Mule Team Borax (for cryin’ out loud) was to become one of our greatest presidents? Palin is really embarking on the national stage for the first time; the cluster-f**k that was McCain’s campaign didn’t help to illuminate her virtues.

So cheer up! Roger. When I read her press release, I was overjoyed. If those of us who want our country back commit to working at the local level, an Army of Davids can result which makes the Washington elites irrelevant.

Jul 4, 2009 - 8:12 am 54. misanthropicus:

“This just reinforces her image as bizarre and somewhat unstable.”

This is the early hymn page for liberals to use further in this affair: “This just reinforces her image as bizarre and somewhat unstable.” (Martin Frost/Politico/The Arena/Palin’s slow-day-shocker)

Unfortunately (and admitedly being a rather moderate admirer of hers), Frost’s call will be endlessly echoed by the liberal media establishment, to great effect, as we’ll all see, and bellow is the recent and very convincing precedent of this strategy:

Remember last September’s McCain/Obama debate/ debacle, when McCain took the fateful decision to fly to Washington, then returned, instead of pressing Obama?
Well, the PR costs were immense, since immediatedly media began to paint him with a huge, sympathetic brush: “Well, he’s a great guy, but he’s gotten this ’shoot from the hip’ thing…. he’s an impulsive… often times he’s doing things before thinking… after all he’s a fighter pilot which is great, but this is not what we really need in WH, etc. etc… while Obama is a deliberate person, analytical, cautiously examines situations”.

“This just reinforces her image as bizarre and somewhat unstable…”
We’ll hear ad nuseam variations of this observation from now on – and unfortunately, this incoming choir of appreciations will have a destructive effect upon her future career, if there is any left for her.

Jul 4, 2009 - 8:17 am 55. Jack Okie:

If I might follow up:

There’s a lot of moaning about how we’re in decline, we’re broken, etc., and certainly the brewing calamity in Washington reinforces that view. But we’re reaping the harvest of the federal power grab that’s been going on for decades. We have a perfectly good Constitution. It is an excellent plan for governance. It’s not the Founders’ fault that we’ve ignored it, dicked around with it and in general pretended it doesn’t mean what it says. We don’t need Randy Barnett’s new Amendments, we don’t need a “21st century approach”, all we need is to operate our country according to plan. Take an airplane up and ignore the operating handbook – I’ll guarantee you won’t like the result.

Jul 4, 2009 - 8:26 am 56. personal trainer austin tx:

“And maybe it’s because I love it so much that I am so depressed. Yes, I know it’s always darkest before the dawn and all that.”

Once Cap and Trade takes effect it will get much darker.

Jul 4, 2009 - 8:27 am 57. Peter:

Napoleon Hill said “From every adversity comes with it the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit” Carter produced Regan; Obama, who at first was Carter-Lite but became Carter-Megatron will produce something much greater. Hold on tightly.

Winston Churchill said “Never give in–never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.” Don’t ever give up, never.

Smile, the pendulum moves, velocity was (past tense here) zero at the maximum height, but now it’s accelerating (current time here) to the right. It won’t take long. I am so glad I live in America; we revolt every four years and to the best of my knowledge, no one died. It’s wonderful.

Peter J. Seniuk

Jul 4, 2009 - 8:30 am 58. flickervertigo:

“…we’re reaping the harvest…”

…of the elites recognizing the significance of peak oil in the late 70s.

we’re reaping the harvest of a media and political system dominated by zionists.

we’re reaping the harvest of an education system that’s been geared more towards maintaining “business as usual” and “career above all” than teaching people how to think.

the solution is to exterminate anyone over the age of 60.

how can you win the cold civil war when you’re not willing to kill millions?

Jul 4, 2009 - 8:33 am 59. Eric Allen:

It’s tempting to just say “hey, let’s get rid of liberal and consevative orthodoxies and go with PRAGMATISM”. That is diversion, surrender, and failure for those on the side of freedom. There simply is an eternal war between those who believe in freedom and those who want to rule others. There are principles as immutable as the law of gravity (e.g. excessive taxation that uses government force to steal from the productive and give to the undeserving greedy will eventually destroy all freedom and prosperity). You may as well say Newton’s Law is “orthodoxy”.

I’m sorry you’re depressed. So am I. But there’s nothing to do but fight – gently, and with civility, but we must not any longer let our leftist friends who are sowing such disastrous, catastrophic misery off the hook for their guilt and culpability. We need to talk as firmly to them as we would to a best friend who is injuring people with his drunk driving.

Jul 4, 2009 - 8:34 am 60. Strawman:

Soros pays his trolls on a federal holiday? You guys getting double time? If not, you need to unionize.

Jul 4, 2009 - 8:40 am 61. Steve:

Our big problem is our economic house is not in order. Democrats are worse than Republicans but both have failed. I guess the people who get elected have to be selected irrespective of party. Maybe we need the Tea Party to help select who is fiscally conservative and libertarian.

Jul 4, 2009 - 8:41 am 62. flickervertigo:

“There simply is an eternal war between those who believe in freedom and those who want to rule others.”

uh huh.

and exactly who is it that wants to achieve “benevolent global hegemony”?

and how exactly do those people plan to achieve their “benevolent global hegemony”?

at the point of a gun?

when you’re forced into something at the point of a gun, where’s the freedom?

Jul 4, 2009 - 8:41 am 63. Войска ПВО:

Roger,

Console yourself; remember what this day commemorates. It was only (only?) the publication of the document stating that we Americans “were mad as hell and weren’t going to take it anymore.”

It was a start and in that start there were some very bright moments but, to be sure, there were some dark times ahead. For the Saratogas, Ticonderogas, Trentons to happen, there had to sad events like abandonment of Philadelphia, the despair of Valley Forge, and army that had dwindled to 5,000 with yet more enlistments expiring in thecoming Spring. And only 45-50% of the colonists backed the Revolution while more opposed or were indifferent.

Yet, through all of that, we triumphed and began this marvelous and exceptional experiment that is the Unted States of America. And even when we had thrown the British off our backs,we faced almost a decade of internal wrangling between 13 separate States before the same great visionaries authored the sister to the Declaration: The Constitution.

You think we have it bad today? Read not only the Declaration of Independence today but the history of the struggle that document set in motion.

Ours is a simple and straightforard task: to insist that government (state and federal) adhere to the principles of the documents that arose from the struggle that today commemorates. We do not ave to start this thing from scratch, we just have to remove from power those who wish these dreams and hopes gone.

So, do NOT go out and get drunk and party with mad abandon..

..and do NOT despair.

Begin the struggle anew to renew the dream so many had when this country was so young. And find joy in that task because we WILL persevere.

Jul 4, 2009 - 8:47 am 64. Sherab Zangpo:

ATTENDANT

Mil trescientos…fifteen dollars

American.

As she pays him, distant thunder rolls.

The boy yells something in Spanish as he runs off.

SARAH

What did he say?

ATTENDANT

(accented)

There is a storm coming in.

Sarah gazes at the thunderheads building up out over the

desert. Heat lightning pulses in their depths.

SARAH

(quietly)

I know.

Final scene of Terminator (1)
By James Cameron

Thank you for the opportunity to comment

Jul 4, 2009 - 9:02 am 65. sam adams:

you guys got nothing. you need to win half a dozen big states to get back in ‘12 – obama only needs to hold on to 3. he’s running at 65% approval. you’ll be out for 16 years by the end of which your country will be unrecognizable

Jul 4, 2009 - 9:12 am 66. Stephen Barron:

While I agree with your sentiment regarding staleness of our political leaders, I cringe at advocating a “pragmatic” approach. Obama said he wants a government that “works”.

Pragmatism is fine as far as it goes, but it must be in service of an idea.

Life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness seem to me pretty good ideas to be pragmatic about. If government is not working in service of these ideas, it is a FAIL.

Jul 4, 2009 - 9:23 am 67. Lightnin' Hopkins:

I applaud Jack Okie’s follow-up comment above at #55 and would like to wish everyone a happy Independence Day.

Jul 4, 2009 - 9:31 am 68. The Wide Awake Cafe » “It’s Sickening, Lenny”:

[...] add more tomorrow. But it is the Fourth of July, Independence Day and I choose to celebrate our freedom while I still [...]

Jul 4, 2009 - 9:32 am 69. flickervertigo:

“government is not working in service of these ideas, it is a FAIL.”

there’s always the chance that the idea you’re serving is a bad idea…

“In the course of the past year, a new belief has emerged in the town: the belief in war against Iraq. That ardent faith was disseminated by a small group of 25 or 30 neoconservatives, almost all of them Jewish, almost all of them intellectuals (a partial list: Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz, Douglas Feith, William Kristol, Eliot Abrams, Charles Krauthammer), people who are mutual friends and cultivate one another and are convinced that political ideas are a major driving force of history.”

White man’s burden

*shrug*

Jul 4, 2009 - 9:39 am 70. flickervertigo:

of course, that idea may have been a good idea from an israeli point of view…

Jul 4, 2009 - 9:42 am 71. WhyamInotsurprised?:

#62 Flickervideo – ” … when you’re forced into something at the point of a gun, where’s the freedom?” BINGO!

At that point it is time to fight for your freedom, so Lock & Load Buddy!

However, to the topic at hand, I agree with Roger, I am getting more depressed. It is not just the libs and their relentless efforts. It is the ignorant voters and apathetic non-voters who scare me. Without them, I feel any good leader is still fighting with one hand tied behind his back, blindfolded.

Jul 4, 2009 - 10:32 am 72. Mike_K:

There is a law of gravity, even in politics. Obama’s policies are so absurd that they will never be allowed to continue to the point of ruin. Right now there are Democrats who love this country and have a modicum of common sense. Rahm Emmanuel engineered the takeover of Congress in 2006 by recruiting candidates who were more conservative than the median position of the Democratic Party. Those people are not only beginning to fear their re-election prospects but they are reflecting on where the party is taking them.

The Republicans are still in turmoil but what emerges might be a libertarian party, sort of like the emergence of the Republicans in 1856 from the collapse of the Whigs. What destroyed the Whigs was their inability to resolve the issue of slavery within their party. What may destroy the modern Republicans is the issue of the size and cost of government. They have been unable to resolve the dilemma of spending. A libertarian party may emerge.

Sarah Palin is libertarian in spite of the attempts to paint her as a Christian fundamentalist. She vetoed a bill that would have banned benefits for gay partners. Maybe she sees something like this coming. Maybe it will be someone else. I think the tea parties, just as ridiculed by the left as she was, might be another piece of it. We cannot go on as we are. Something is going to change.

Jul 4, 2009 - 11:17 am 73. The Anchoress — A First Things Blog:

[...] of July Break: Slightly O/T, but may I present one man depressed on this day and one woman who believes left and right can still be inspired. Go, read. 2:20 [...]

Jul 4, 2009 - 11:20 am 74. Instapundit » Blog Archive » ROGER SIMON: Storm Clouds On The Fourth of July. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen my country so d…:

[...] SIMON: Storm Clouds On The Fourth of July. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen my country so divided and depressed on the Fourth of July [...]

Jul 4, 2009 - 11:20 am 75. Old Patriot:

Nothing will change until those in positions of power learn once again that that power carries with it a responsibility to use it wisely. In 1776, it took the United States actually fighting a revolutionary war to establish that principle. If things don’t change, quickly, we’ll probably have to do it again, this time against our own government. It’s either that or end up another socialist Italy or France, or possibly even Venezuela. The only way to keep tyrants from taking total control of our nation is to stand up to them. There are too few Americans today willing to go that far. Sniping around the edges won’t do it.

Jul 4, 2009 - 11:20 am 76. Terrye:

I think Palin decided that she the status quo was not something that she could go on with, it was untenable. I respect that decision.

But I think the idea of creating a third party is a mistake. Just ask Ross Perot.

Jul 4, 2009 - 11:24 am 77. Steve:

Did you ever notice the way you get attacked by the Left when you call them on the carpet?

For instance, I continually point out that Barack and Michelle Obama have belonged to a Marxist, black supremist ideology (Black Liberation Theology) for over twenty years. This can not be disputed by any reasonable person. They joined this ideology because it was what they were seeking and what they believed.

This makes them Marxists and racists. Too crass? Well I’m not calling them names. I’m stating a fact. This is what ocupies the White House.

If anyone sought out the KKK and had their children initiated and indoctrinated by the Grand Dragon, were frequently interviewed and featured in their magazines and publications etc. I would say it would be safe to say that they would be racists as well and not be fit to lead this country also.

However, when you point out that the Obama’s belonged to a Marxist black hate group, organized events and collaborated with the Farakhan’s, befriended and were advised by radical anti-American radicals etc., etc…

What happens then?

The Lefties look at you in disbelief. How dare you!? You’re not allowed to say the truth. YOU are then are accused of being a hater, a racist.

Well sorry, that dog doesn’t hunt any longer.

We no longer have anything left of the Constitution. Granted this did not happen over night. We no longer have a free economy. Obama says we are no longer a Christian nation. Obama says we are held together in this lawless nation “by a set of shared values”.

Yeah right. I share none of the Obama’s values. Never will. That is something that I feel comfortable stating at God’s throne.

This country will not stand much longer in this condition. That I find to be heartbreaking but true.

Jul 4, 2009 - 11:27 am 78. Henry Bowman:

Roger, you’re probably correct that pretty much everyone realizes that Obama’s proposals are absurdly expensive. Unfortunately, a majority of Representatives and Senators really do not seem to give a damn.

Jul 4, 2009 - 11:27 am 79. Kendall:

The tea parties are not about “no to taxes”. They are about “no to large government” – as in “no to taxes, no to spending”.

That is the answer and the way forward.

Jul 4, 2009 - 11:35 am 80. ic:

Henry Bowman, the only damn the politicians give is their own reelections. They earmark our money in the budgets and in the “stimulus” to their friends and cronies, who donate to their campaigns to ensure their reelections for life. How well can a person at his death bed perform his job? Ask Robert Byrd, and Ed Kennedy. Apparently we can’t live without them. They are more nuseating than those octogenarian Chinese in their People’s Congress.

Jul 4, 2009 - 11:42 am 81. Blue:

Roger, right now the fight is not about creating anything…it is merely about stopping the creation of the cap & trade and nationalized medical systems. At this point, nothing else matters. We can inflate away the debt if we have to…but if those two programs begin than the US as we know it is over.

Jul 4, 2009 - 11:49 am 82. Nicholas:

“Illegitimi non carborundum”

(As John Moore already said.. but I kind of like this way of putting it)

Jul 4, 2009 - 11:57 am 83. John T.:

25. Steve: It is good to find somebody who also thinks that we should divide the country. I agree – as long as liberals are a part of our society we will have to constantly fight them to protect our basic freedoms. The best description that I have seen of Obama is that he is an African tribal leader who is determined to convert America into Zimbabwe.

Jul 4, 2009 - 11:58 am 84. TDS:

At Despair.com, their namesake poster is captioned, “It’s always darkest right before it goes pitch black”.

The only way out of this will be cleaning House (and Senate). Vote them ALL out. No more career politicians. Get people that are producers in the seats.

Jul 4, 2009 - 12:01 pm 85. Ralph Woods:

The “Yes We Can” was only part of the bumper sticker slogan. “Yes We Can Really Screw Up” was the actual phrase. Joe Biden told us about this possibiltiy early on.

Jul 4, 2009 - 12:12 pm 86. Brendan:

This has to be read to be believed. Did you know that Americans are in the mood to celebrate today, thanks primarily to the ascendancy of Dear Leader? It’s true!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/5735852/Its-July-Fourth-and-Americans-are-in-the-mood-to-celebrate.html

Jul 4, 2009 - 12:18 pm 87. joel:

Oh well, it was too good to last. And admit it, we, as a nation, got lazy. Even without Obama, the incredible demographic and cultural shifts in this country in the last 40 years have doomed this country. Those shifts could have been prevented. But, not enough people cared. Obama is just a symptom of our malaise, not the cause.

Remember, America didn’t exist at one time. It has been reinvented a number of times. The people who will be calling themselves Americans 50 years from now won’t even remember what all the fuss was about today.

I think that when we collapse financially, we will be about done. Civil wars are hell. Compound that with ethnic hatreds. We might be saved some problems by the fact that there are no nations on our borders who could invade and conquer us. Thank you Manifest Destiny.

So lighten up. I get inspiration from the story of a Greek man who became a slave to a barbarian as the Roman empire fell. After serving him for many years, and becoming used to the barbarian culture, the Greek was finally was given his freedom. The Greek actually lived a full life. But, one day, drinking with his old master, he broke down and cried,just remembering how life had been in Greece before the fall of Rome. His old master commiserated with him.

I hope we are that lucky to live a long life and get to drink to the old days, maybe even have a drink with our new masters.

Jul 4, 2009 - 12:21 pm 88. Russ in NC:

So who says the USA can’t mutate into something else? The Constitution has been of little consequence for many years now. The road we are on takes us to secession. Texas will, I think, remain free.

Jul 4, 2009 - 12:28 pm 89. Will D:

Palin is exactly who we need to lead us out of the disaster the Thug in Chief is creating. She is not an establishment insider despite her VP nomination. She has few ties to DC. She is not an elitist, but definitely identifies with the average citizen, who in return can identify with her. She has common sense with no pretension “knowing it all”.

The GOP is a dead elephant and by 2012 the Dems will be dead asses. Now would be the perfect time for Palin to begin a third party or independent campaign for President. I hope that is her plan, but only God knows.

Jul 4, 2009 - 12:34 pm 90. HatlessHessian:

It’s time for us to quit seeking technocrats to lead us out of the darkness. Each one of us possess a much more comprehensive perspective on reality than these Ivy League puppy mill inbreds will ever attain.

This Independence Day, celebrate the common producing Americans who innovate, work, love their families and constitute what is great about our nation. Make a commitment to yourself and others like us to support and promote our values, out the technocrats, expose the parasites (at every single public opportunity you can!) and educate our children and others on the value of the real backbone of American culture.

Quit waiting for Palins, Obamas and other bringers of change. If change is going to happen and America’s promise restored, it will come from each of us.

Jul 4, 2009 - 12:36 pm 91. Dan Tana:

How bad do the conservatives want to win? How much do they really want change?

Until the gloves come off and the conservatives are willing to turn this into a street fight they will remain the losers.

Jul 4, 2009 - 12:36 pm 92. Gary Gross:

Roger, The real leadership these days is coming from the House GOP conference & my governor, Tim Pawlenty. The House GOP conference has done a great job saying no but they’ve done a better job crafting alternatives on health care, energy policy & in creating jobs.

This session, Tim Pawlenty said no to the DFL’s disastrous policies but he & the GOP legislators proposed one reform after another.

Yes, it’s true that the U.S. Senate GOP hasn’t had a new idea since the Carter administration but that’s to be expected.

What people of the libertarian/conservative bent need to do is recognize that the energy & the ideas come from the House of Representatives & from the governors’ mansions.

Jul 4, 2009 - 12:36 pm 93. Harry:

What a bunch of crybabies!! No wonder the conservative movement is in trouble; most of the commenters here sound like they need Prozac.

Maybe Roger was absent from school when they taught the Civil War or what happened on December 7, 1941. This country has faced far worse situations and pulled through. And it pulled through by getting tough and hardcore, not by whining about how unfair everything is.

I wonder what Ronald Reagan would say about the current state of the conservative movement. I suspect he’d counsel a return to its core principles—-limited government, personal freedom coupled with personal responsibility, etc.—-and say to convey that message with hope and optimism.

The future of the conservative movement does not lie with hacks and mountebanks like Romney, McCain, Huckabee, and Palin. There are some very effective conservative leaders like Gov. Rick Perry of Texas waiting in the wings.

Chin up, people! Stop moping!

Jul 4, 2009 - 12:39 pm 94. Gawain's Ghost:

I’ll take Sarah Palin at her word. The state was wasting too much money and resources defending her from scurrilous and unwarranted attaks, so she resigned to avoid further waste.

I don’t have a problem with that. In fact, I admire that.

The Republican party is in the midst of a massive self-destructive mode. I said that when they nominated McCain, whom I could not and did not vote for. His and his staff’s behavior, comments and leaks concerning Palin, who drew huge crowds, gave the ticket at least 20 points, and damn near won the election but for the incompetence of the staff, only justified my opinion of him as a traitor and a classless jerk.

That’s your Republican party right there. Regardless of what Palin goes on to do from here, and I don’t think resigning her position bodes well for her, the real problem is with and in the Republican party, its infrastructure and mechanics. Why else do you think they keep parading out losers like Gingrich and McCain?

Until or unless the Republican party is restructured from the ground up, there will be no opposition to the Democratic party. As corrupt and incompetent as they are, Democrats know how to win elections. Republicans do not.

I am sick and tired of both parties. I want effective, representative governance. But I’ll never see that as long as either party is in power.

Perhaps a third party is the solution. However, I don’t see one emerging from the TEA party movement. It’s too disorganized and disaffective to be taken seriously. Because it lacks a central, motivating figure.

Jul 4, 2009 - 12:45 pm 95. Lon Prosser:

As I read the comments about being depressed, I was thinking of Churchill’s quote, but #57 beat me to it. #55, I agree with you too. When I watch my son’s volleyball team and they are behind in a game that looks hopeless, I am thinking “Never give up. Focus on what you are supposed to be doing in the next play and do it as well as possible.” I like Mark Levin’s statement that we should not be asking “What are we going to do?” but instead be asking “What am I going to do?”. What I am going to do (at least until a better strategy becomes available) is learn as much as I can about our nation’s founding principles, and improve the way I articulate them to anyone who will listen.

Jul 4, 2009 - 12:47 pm 96. Pops in Vienna:

America has already gone over the cliff. We are in a rapid descent, heading for a brutal impact upon the rocks below. I am afraid there is no saving this country. It’s simply too late.

Even if you managed to get rid of all the incumbent politicos, the dimwits who voted those rascals in will still be around. You can count on them to elect more of the same. The real problem is the American people…or at least a significant number of them. There are more people sitting home on the 4th watching Michael Jackson coverage on CNN than participating in tea parties. That pretty much tells it all.

I’m not so sure Obama is finished. His approval ratings remain high and there is nobody on the horizon who can beat him. I expect the Republicans will run John McCain again, so the idea of a new third party really isn’t such a catastrophe when you consider the Republicans don’t want to win anyway.

I’m not sure what the battle lines of a possible civil war would look like. Our problems aren’t so much state against state as it is big cities vs. rural/suburban America. The blue states usually are made up of numerous red counties.

This would be a good time to emmigrate but unfortunately, there’s no place to go.

Jul 4, 2009 - 12:47 pm 97. Kevin:

2010: 80 seats.

Jul 4, 2009 - 12:48 pm 98. Bent Notes » Blog Archive » The last firecracker:

[...] have Independence Day columns up today in which they wonder the same thing.

Jul 4, 2009 - 12:53 pm 99. Robert:

I think that Sarah P. may have a good future, however, I do not think that she yet has the experience to be presidential candidate. Then again, we have the most inexperienced possible person as president. Could Sarah Palin again run as veep to someone else’s presidential cnandidate? Maybe that isn’t possible. I would vote for her but I think that she may be just a bit over to the right to attract enough support at the presidential level.

Jul 4, 2009 - 1:07 pm 100. Locomotive Breath:

I have a date that was far worse. America’s bicentennial 1976.

Jul 4, 2009 - 1:12 pm 101. Texas Engineer:

I think the deep feeling of malaise is more fundamental than most realize. It is the realization that the country is literally broken and will not come out of this depression for a long time. And that the stimulus made everything much worse.

That feeling is coupled with the realization that no political party will get us out of this because politicians do not know how to solve root cause problems.

Yes – Obama is irrelevant now. But what has really become evident is that the government is irrelevant. We are all on our own and it is scary.

Jul 4, 2009 - 1:20 pm 102. Brooklyn:

I hardly see Mr. Romney as a retread.

I agree with most of Mr. Simon’s offering, but find the obsessive negative view of the Republicans rather old. This is part of the problem, where many Conservative Pundits lost objectivity after 2004 and embraced a sincere cynicism. They lacked the ability to see the positive and the disastrous context of the Democratic Party alternative. Many simply grew weak when undertaking an enormous challenge of the wise policy of bringing liberty to the Iraqi People in the heart of the Middle East.

Conservative Pundits are just as responsible for the state of affairs in the USA, and the sooner they realize it, the better all will be.

To continue to debase the positives provided by the Republican Effort in a generic fashion as a whole, like Mr. Boehner and McConnell in the Congress, is self destructive.

We see positives and if we grow with a grounded strength, we can have some optimism again, with a great deal of work to produce a sound challenge in 2010.

Many have lost sight of the big picture long ago, and having perfection is not the ticket. The misguided DNC is enough to grow a movement to stop the folly, one must not get hung up on distractions. Pushing better policy is wise, undermining political power is foolish.

Celebrity stars are not what is required, it is a sound team, with patience and strength.

Let’s get it together, and stop the weakness.

Jul 4, 2009 - 1:21 pm 103. Moneyrunner:

With he surprise announcement by Sarah Palin of her resignation, the commentariat is alive with people who are giving her advice (from the Right) or denigrating her (from the Left).

One of the best things I have read is by “Daily Pundit” Bill Quick.

1. Start putting her national team together now. Recruit from the best and the brightest of real conservatism.

2. Ignore her enemies, both in the MSM and the Dem party, and in the liberal wing of the GOP. Define herself on her own terms. No more chat-fests with the likes of Katy Couric.

3. Set out to remake the GOP in her image. This means identifying strong conservative candidates for both the House and the Senate, then supporting them with fundraisers, public appearances, the expertise of her team, and clout with the party itself in both the primaries and the general election.

4. In the process, she should define herself by attacking Obama’s policies without ceasing, and offering real conservative solutions. This doesn’t mean “conservative lite,” or “new conservative” or whatever other euphemisms are currently being pushed for a “conservatism” that is actually liberalism in disguise. She should also make clear that she can work with that wing of the party, but doesn’t support, and will not try to advance, the dogmas of the “moderate conservative” hacks.

5. If she does this right, she can turn the election of 2010 into a referendum on the failed policies and agendas of Obama and the Democrats. If successful – that is, if she helps to greatly reduce or eliminate the Democrat majorities in Congress – she will have set herself up as the savior of the GOP, as the only politician to defeat Obama, and will thus foreclose challenges from other GOP figures.

6. Spend the next year after that building a huge war chest, honing her campaign and her own talents, and then take it directly to Obama himself from late 2011 on.

Here’s my suggestion for the key topic she should be focused on: ENERGY.

Outside of glaciers and polar bears, it’s what Alaska is known for. It’s also the area of Palin’s greatest expertise. It also happens to be topic number one for most Americans. Every time they fill their gas tank, every time they pay their electric bills, every time they discuss “cap and trade,” every time they see windmills on the horizon and know – in their hearts – that these ugly machines are not going to be the solution, they will think about Sarah Palin.

She will talk persuasively about the Democrats’ refusal to tap the billions of barrels of oil in Alaska’s wildlife refuge, about denying Americans access to clean coal in Utah, about the refusal of congress to explore for oil and gas off our coasts even as foreign companies are doing exactly that, about congress’ refusal to allow the expansion of clean and proven nuclear power plants, the government’s wrongheaded policies that make us rely more and more on foreign sources of energy even as they claim to be doing exactly the opposite.

She will be doing something that she does best: connecting with the American people in terms that they can understand. And she will be pointing out that the problem is a bipartisan one. She will have the opportunity to take on pandering and corruption on both sides of the aisle, just as she did in Alaska.

If she does that, she will be able to re-create the coalition that Ronald Reagan had, and we’ll see the blue collar crowd who went Democrat in the last election come back to the Republican side.

Jul 4, 2009 - 1:30 pm 104. JohnR223:

Oh, buck up, the sun is shining out and its the 4th of July. Our happiness is not dependent on the sorry state off our politicians. Turn off the computer and go shoot off some fireworks. Yikes.

Jul 4, 2009 - 1:32 pm 105. F. Sessman:

I have felt the same despair expressed by Roger Simon and his readers, but why are they not acting on their feelings? Why are there no petitions circulating in states with recall statutes? If the voters, media and Congress critters understand this fascist regime is doomed, why aren’t they turning on it? The president and his enablers are incompetent; they cannot maintain an effective tyranny. But they can and are destroying a great nation.

Don’t just talk among yourselves of your despair: make these fools fear your wrath.

Jul 4, 2009 - 1:32 pm 106. Left Coast Mike:

I would like to believe Obama is finished, but I have to agree with #96 POPS IN VIENNA that too much damage has been done to ever correct it with the imbecils that vote for all the Liberal freebees.

Liberals (Democrats) have destroyed California, and now it is Americas turn.

Jul 4, 2009 - 1:34 pm 107. BC:

Why so serious? Bad Boy Bush and his gang of ne’re do wells are gone. Although they left a mess that will take a while to clean up, and although they still have a lot to answer for, a smart adult, also surrounded by other smart adults, is finally back in control, so there are a pile of reasons to feel optimistic. You’re acting like it’s the dark days of the fall of 2004, when America really lost its marbles.

Jul 4, 2009 - 1:34 pm 108. Left Coast Mike:

#102 BC:

This clown in the White House now makes Bush look like a genius.

Jul 4, 2009 - 1:39 pm 109. Terrye:

BC:

Really? When the Democrats took control of Congress in 2006, the economy was in pretty good shape. The deficit was $270 billion. Thus far they have done nothing but screw things up. Bush looks better every freaking day.

Jul 4, 2009 - 1:39 pm 110. Outpost in Pelosi's District:

Interesting day here in Pelosi’s district. It being the 4th and all, I put on my bright red/orange USMC sweatshirt and went to do errands, both in the tony confines of Pelosi’s district and down on the flats where the regular folk live. No one — NO ONE — made a single comment or even gave the usual strange looks when I wear a USMC or NRA logo. In fact, it was oddly subdued.

I had the depressing task recently of instructing a young family member which way to go to find shelter with relatives if the city where he live gets attacked, and so I’ll know where to start looking for him.

The only mildly interesting thing I saw today: a bunch of ‘migrants’ (working men by their clothing and demeanor; my grandfather would have fit in with them just fine, only he didn’t speak Spanish) who were being instructed intensely in how to get people to sign up for something, before being dispersed through a street fair in Pelosi’s district. Voter registration, probably. ACORN, likely. Job One for the rest of us: make sure the next election is honest. We gotta start now. Who’s working on this?

Jul 4, 2009 - 1:40 pm 111. Terrye:

Tell me BC for all the years that Barney Frank and Chris Dodd and their ilk were pushing free loans to people without credit, did it ever occur to you to worry? Or is it your opinion that the same rules just do not apply to Democrats?

Jul 4, 2009 - 1:42 pm 112. Terrye:

Typo, the deficit was at $170 billion. I guess all these months of trillion dollar deficit projections from Obama have just sort of rendered 10 billion meaningless.

Jul 4, 2009 - 1:46 pm 113. Ice Nine:

What’s a “tendril cage”?

I don’t know, Onelook Dictionary doesn’t know, Wikipedia doesn’t know, Google doesn’t know…

Jul 4, 2009 - 1:55 pm 114. “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes” « Temple of Mut:

[...] Roger Simon offers this observation (please go and read the full post): I don’t think I’ve ever seen my country so divided and depressed on the Fourth of July in my [...]

Jul 4, 2009 - 1:56 pm 115. David:

How about Gen. Petraeus? He may be retired by then, he know the foreign policy in the Mid-East first hand and is smart enought to get the right people on board for places like China and Russia. He’s a visionary, a hero, and a brilliant man. Why not?

Jul 4, 2009 - 1:57 pm 116. radtop:

obama is folloowing in the foreign policiy foot steps of carter: Appease your enemies and stab your allies in the back. It shouldn’t come as a suprise from a “blame America first”, non-Christian, anti-Zionist, Marxist, surrender monkey.

Jul 4, 2009 - 2:04 pm 117. Dwight:

So far, so good, if you take the long view. (I know; easy for me to say because I have not lost my job or my house, or had a relative die or be maimed in Iraq.) Maybe in the future things will get really bad, but at the moment, we live in the best country under pretty good circumstances. We have extra time on our hands to get worried about things other than the essentials….so some of us do. Lefties, when GWB was Prez; righties now. Onward

Happy 4th of July!!

Jul 4, 2009 - 2:05 pm 118. ldm:

“I have felt the same despair expressed by Roger Simon and his readers, but why are they not acting on their feelings?”

Big Media acts like a drug on this country. Even if it doesn’t win converts to its lies, it paralyzes people.

And if you don’t either fall in line, or act like a zombie, while they’ll do a Sarah Palin on you.

Jul 4, 2009 - 2:05 pm 119. RT:

It is way to early to fret about no formal obvious GOP candidate. Think where the Dems were four years ago.

I see a lot of great leadership in the Congress. Not all, maybe not even most, but to say there in none is just not true.

To say the House GOP is just “no, no, no” is crap. Totally untrue.

I agree on Obama. But this should not be a surprise. Remember the woman in Fort Myers that was all happy about Obama relieving her from “worrying” about the rent and gasoline for her car? She was an idiot and from that day on it clear that no way could Obama live up to expectations.

I do worry that there will be big racial problems from the looming failure of Obama. The true libs will just re-organize. But what happens in the black community when the truth about Obama becomes obvious. There is a serious psychological attachment based on racial identity. If a black-man in the White House is a symbol of black success does his utter failure get translated to the same degree? Lord, I hope not. But who knows.

Jul 4, 2009 - 2:07 pm 120. Brian:

The last part this little essay was the worst part. Pragmatism does not set goals; it advocates “what works,” which can only be determined by a implicitly presuming some goal. And that goal today would be collectivism. What we need today is an explicit and principled advocate of individualism and capitalism.

In that regard, we could do a lot worse than Palin. And I’m not sure we have the luxury of waiting for Palin in 2012 0f 2016. Obama is systematically destroying the institutions meant to safeguard our individual right, and L’il Kim and A’jad are deranged freaks with nukes.

Jul 4, 2009 - 2:08 pm 121. Kipling:

Simon: “We should junk the liberal and conservative orthodoxies that have divided – and blinded – us for so long and go back not to Eighteenth Century America, but Nineteenth, to the days of that most American of philosophies – pragmatism. ‘The pragmatists rejected all forms of absolutism and insisted that all principles be regarded as working hypotheses that must bear fruit in lived experience.’”

Pragmatism!? How is pragmatism the most American of philosophies? It has given us nothing that is American. It is not the philosophy that led to the founding of the nation. Nor, is it hte philosophy that sustained us through the dark days of the Civil War. Did the founders appeal to pragmatism at Valley Forge? Did Thomas Paine and George Washington rally the troops with a discourse on how we should be pragmatic with King George? Was Lincoln pragmatic when he pushed forward with a war that almost everyone thought was lost?

Pragamatism gave us 20th century liberalism. FDR famously said that all he wanted was something that “worked.” Even Mr. Obama claims that his plans “will work” and “bear fruit.” Liberals constantly want to rip up the conservative order that has worked – perhaps not perfectly for centuries – and then replace the order with experimentations. Forgive me, but I don’t want my country to be one big sociological science experiment.

Conservatism works every time it is tried. It is not perfect – nothing is short of heaven – but it is improveable within a conservative tradition. As a country we do not need to go forward blindly groping along a dark path. We need to go back to the princples and virtues of our founding. Only in these ancient paths will we learn again what it means to be a free and virtuous people – the only type of people the founders believed could make a republic work. Reagan inspired the nation – conservative and moderates – because he called us back to greatness and reminded us of our identity as Americans.

The third way beyond politics is a myth. Read Jonah Goldberg’s Liberal Fascism.

Jul 4, 2009 - 2:10 pm 122. Brian:

Correction:

Move up the dates in “I’m not sure we have the luxury of waiting for Palin in 2012 or 2016″ to “2016 or 2020.”

I wasn’t suggesting a military coup installing Sarah as our new leader.

Jul 4, 2009 - 2:14 pm 123. Bill Duffy:

Iagree that the republicans are just as much to blame. It was 7 or 8 republicans that approved Cap & Trade these are traitors and I have seen nothing about them? I have just been reading “Wealth” by Andrew Carnegie and there is a man we should be trying to emulate. If you make your own money you should be able to do what you want with it. Just a plain and simple explanation of how thing used to be. Why have we made our country a much more difficult place to live? We all know the answer it is the politicians and their particular parties seeking to sustain their power at any price even if it is no good for the common good. once elected they do as the powerhouse party wants. That is why they vote for Bills that they never read. We need a clean sweep! Let’s find some Pragmitists.

Jul 4, 2009 - 2:20 pm 124. sherlock:

There is only one scenario in which the seeming contradictions between Palin’s words of intention to go forward, and her actions which seem to be surrender, might make sense.

She is clearing the decks to become the candidate that attacks the unchecked and illegitimate power of media.

For that cause I, for one, will happily march behind her through hell and back.

Jul 4, 2009 - 2:27 pm 125. alan wilbourn:

“The Screwtape Letters” is currently a big stage hit in Chicago. Briefly, it is a stage setting of the C. S. Lewis book of the same title, a book which exposes the instructions of a chief demon to his neophyte nephew on luring a man away from his newfound Christianity. In one of the letters Screwtape addresses the human need for change and the conflicting need for permanence. He calls it the process of “undulation”. Roger, you mention the pragmatism of the 19th century, but we really need the “common sense” of our Constitution which recognizes human nature and its foibles. In response to your consternation regarding a leader and a direction I would like to point out that the Obama crowd knows human nature well and uses it against the people it claims to be serving. The same has been true down through the ages. First of all, it makes perfect sense that the world of which our nation is a part would seek to do one of two things in its actions toward us – either copy our system or try to destroy it. The latter is much easier than the former. Secondly, de Tocqueville predicted that the American Republic would endure until “Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money”. We are seeing these dual attacks on our country and it will take a united public to reverse it just as it did to found our nation. In order to do that we must go back. As the comic strip “Pogo” once said “We have met the enemy and he is us.” Just as the Israelites wanted a king, so have we wanted a government to care for us, but a government is only a reflection of the people it governs. Our founding fathers recognized that and came up with a brilliant document to create our Republic. What worked before will work again but it will take our work, not governments’.

Jul 4, 2009 - 2:28 pm 126. Walt Anshaw:

Someone please remind me some day to set down a world philosophy and master-plan in a blog. In the meanwhile, the devil is in the details.

We need to oppose this filibuster-proof Congress rubber-stamping disastrous new spending, vote by vote, issue by issue.

Jul 4, 2009 - 2:29 pm 127. Roger L Simon:

Well, Rudyard (Kipling), I guess this depends on what your definition of Pragmatism is (of which there are many). In my case, and specifically, I do not consider Obama to be in the slightest pragmatic or a PRagmatist. He is an ideologue who does not measure at all by “lived experience,” only by shopworn ideas. In opposition, I would propose (of all people) Nixon, the supposed conservative who opened China and signed the most significant environmental legislation. Thanks to him we have much cleaner air in our big cities, most especially here in Los Angeles where, back in the sixties, we could barely breath. That was, at least for us Angelenos, clearly a positive and pragmatic act, though not a conservative one in the traditional sense.

Jul 4, 2009 - 2:31 pm 128. Ruth H:

I have been depressed since last summer when it became obvious this socialist/marxist man had the charisma and the corrupt media and Democratic party pushing him so strongly there would be no stopping him. The first presidential candidate I campaigned for was Adlai Stevenson, if I could have voted at my age at that time he would have been my first vote. I am much, much older and realized in 1978 how bad the Democratic Party was for America. I have voted for the other party since Regan’s second term. I was too much of a Demo at the time to vote for his first term, I just didn’t vote. I have seen a lot of history and it is so depressing for me to have seen our country follow all the true believers right off the cliff on election day. I don’t feel my children and grandchildren will ever have the freedom I have had. I just didn’t think Obama could do it this soon. All the elitist want us to be like the Europeans when they have begun to wake up and realize what has happened to them and want to change to be more like we were. We are insane as a country.

Jul 4, 2009 - 2:32 pm 129. stumpyagain:

Sarah’s the only one in the GOP with spunk and fire…..and those are absolute prerequisites. I can be persuaded to support someone else, but if they’re going to enlist me, I’d better start hearing some arguments OTHER than “Palin talks like a Northern Minnesotan” and “Palin never lived on the Rive Gauche.”

–stumpy

Jul 4, 2009 - 2:32 pm 130. F. Sessman:

Some reader comments have degraded into partisan bickering. Please understand, both major parties have betrayed us.

Politicians care only about their incumbency. They are the ultimate “pragmatists” and will alter their actions only if their tenure is threatened. They show loyalty to a party because it is their vehicle to office. They peddle their influence for the same reason.

Many benefit from their graft after leaving office; Bill Clinton is a multi-millionaire. Americans have come to expect this and most do nothing about it. Many of us have stopped voting altogether. We are their enablers. My uncle Walt never voted, saying politicians were a “lot of fools, felons, and *****s.”

The citizen currently has few tools for keeping his liberty, but if he abandons those, I guarantee felons will soon fill our political offices. Or marxist community organizers.

What we should remember is the fact that our nation’s founders weren’t professional politicians. They were farmers, lawyers, publishers, merchants, cobblers.

Our agony seems to grow when we try to choose from a roster of politicians, even good looking ones like Sarah Palin.

So let’s start by electing some merchants and cobblers.

There’s Fred Smith, the founder of Federal Express. Or T. J. Rodgers, founder and CEO of Cypress Semiconductor. Both brilliant guys. There are many others, all in private sector careers, but we will have to convince them to take a short leave for our sake. And not to take their company offshore.

What then? The progressives have succeeded in corrupting both our judiciary and our Constitution. We need to begin fixing that.

Professor Randy Barnett has a partial answer, his Bill of Federalism: check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_of_Federalism

Jul 4, 2009 - 2:41 pm 131. CaesarGreen:

I agree with beerstine: “There’s a massive industry of well-heeled rent seekers and apologists ready to defend and agitate for continued expansion of his power.”

It’s all about the money. I think at this point there are too many non-koolaid-drinkers invested in Obama and his administration to just let his “agenda” drop. I expect them to fight harder to keep their seats at the table than even his liberal friends and believers.

Jul 4, 2009 - 2:51 pm 132. jt:

“We are slaves to OPEC countries to give us oil. Unfortunately, we dig ourselves deeper into debt; and the green energy, tidal, wind solar, and our own oil are not being used.”

I call bullshit on that! You have a friendly neighbor to the NORTH, called Canada, that has enough oil sands to keep the USA in diesel & jet fuel for a long time. Forget wind or solar, there is currently a glut of easily extracted natural gas in both our countries to supply ALL of N. America’s energy needs, for the next two centuries!

Jul 4, 2009 - 2:57 pm 133. BC:

To Terrye (and others): No, the economy was absolutely not in good shape financially whatsoever in 2006 anymore than for someone who had just finished maxing out all his many credit cards on spending sprees just before the bills hit his mailbox. Bush with nothing more than winks and nudges from the Republicans who controlled Congress for 6 of his 8 years badly mismanaged everything as well as lied his butt off about everything and anything involving Iraq.

And besides having to fix the horrendous economic mess that was left for him, Obama also had to ramp up operations in Afghanistan to finally finish up that little business. In case you guys had forgotten, it was bin Laden who was responsible for the 9/11 attacks, and it was the Taliban who protected him afterwards, including refusing to give him up. Hussein was just basically twiddling his thumbs at the time.

Again, it’s a *good* thing that a smart adult is finally back in charge, so cheer up for what should be the first promising July 4th in a long while for this country.

Jul 4, 2009 - 3:03 pm 134. Wolla Dalbo:

The leaders of the American Revolution were gentlemen farmers, lawyers, doctors, country squires, sometimes firebrands. Willing to risk their lives for their cause, they threw caution to the winds, they became and were revolutionaries, often on the run, in hiding, men willing to stand in oppositon, get bloody and risk the fire from their enemies; they were—many of them–much more similar to the General Patton type than to, say, George Will. I am afraid that the Patton type is the kind of leader we will find necessary, or who will arise to combat Obama & Co., who I do not view as failing, but as, indeed, just getting started on their road to an American form of Fascism.

What I am afraid of is that, if we are to have any chance of defeating an ever strengthening, totally unscrupulous Obama & Co., which has at it’s disposal all the powers of the government and is acting “under color of law,” we will need someone leading us who is just as canny, merciless and ruthless as Obama, if not more so; consequently, there will be a lot of breakage and/or bloodshed, and even if we win, I am afraid that the America that emerges on the other side will likely be a far different America than the one we will fondly remember and long for, but which will be irretrievably gone, lost, and for that I hope those who are making a second American Revolution necessary rot in hell forever.

Jul 4, 2009 - 3:05 pm 135. Kipling:

Mr. Simon, the problem as you pointed out is how to define pragmatism. Or, in line with the definition you provided in the original post, the problem would be defining exactly what fruit is wanted. The attempt to answer that question points one back to ideology – liberal or conservative. These ideologies define the goals (ends)that the ways and means of politics are designed to accomplish.

Nixon was a Republican who was conservatve on some issues – namely anti-communism and a strong foreign policy. Conservation and the stewardship of our environment is by definition a conservative issue. The creation of a government bureaucray which can now by executive fiat – no legislation or votes – regulate carbon dioxide emissions was not. Could Nixon have not achieved better air quality without opening the door to government expansion and control without any checks and balances to it?

I agree with you that Mr. Obama is not a pragmatist by your definition but he is by his own. The difference is that you and he have different end states in mind. He and Rahm are in the pursuit of a particular fruit and they will try to put through legislation to insure that it is produced. I think the fruit they are after is more government control because they see themselves as the elites who can run our lives better than we can. The bottom line for every one of their programs is more power to government and less liberty to the citizens. Your end state is cleary different from their end state.

Jul 4, 2009 - 3:08 pm 136. Warren Bonesteel:

Where are the Madisons, Adams’ and Hamiltons?

You, modern conservatives, liberals, Democrats and Republicans, won’t give them the time of day, that’s where they are. In fact, to you, such men are crazy nutjobs, at best.

In any case, Hamilton may not be the guy you want to look to, anyway. He had a thing for Big Government.

Read the full text of Patrick Henry’s “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” speech.

There’s a time to talk and there’s a time for action.

It’s time for action.

There are only two alternatives left to you.

Slavery…or Liberty.

What will you do to be free? Whine and complain because your liberties are lost? …or will you fight, no matter the personal cost?

Jul 4, 2009 - 3:13 pm 137. Lynn Lee:

I agree that things are rather depressing right now. I don’t know if we will even recognize our country in another few years. I do believe that there are good men that can step in and lead us. I believe that Romney is a great choice, He has been very successful in leading people in very difficult situations and in finding good, strong, and creative answers that lead to success. There are others also that would be great leaders. There will be good men and women who will step forward and lead. Steps are being taken now to lay the groundwork, but the Republican party is too full of naysayers and whiners right now. When we are ready for action and ready for leadership, I believe that there will be good people to step forward and lead us in the good fight. First we have to decide what we want to fight for, then we can find our leaders. I think the Republican party had to get this whole “moderate” McCain thing out of their systems. Be of good cheer and have faith.

Jul 4, 2009 - 3:17 pm 138. Jonathan:

Roger, I know exactly how you feel.

Jul 4, 2009 - 3:18 pm 139. Strawman:

Nixon, the supposed conservative who opened China and signed the most significant environmental legislation. Thanks to him we have much cleaner air in our big cities, most especially here in Los Angeles where, back in the sixties, we could barely breath.

And without the federal government, California and/or the cities of the basin wouldn’t have been able to deal with what is clearly an unique local environmental issue? For crying out loud, Roger!

Jul 4, 2009 - 3:23 pm 140. Ben:

While I do not care if the present members of Congress of either party get re-elected and keep their private jet vacations to St. Maarten, I am sure they do, and so I have some hope that they will rein in the fool in the White House before he does too much damage to the country.
The old game worked because their corruption only cost millions and the occasional billion and a robust private economy could carry the cost. Obama opened with a trillion dollar ante, then moved on to universal health care, while proposing to replace private markets with the equivalent of sclerotic state industries. Congressional Democrats knew they had a good thing going and are getting nervous about the new stakes. What Obama is spending now will make it harder for them to spend later — not politically, but financially — and the game that has been so good to them in the past is thrown at risk. Whether Obama is an ideologue or not, I suspect most members of Congress care more for their self interest and keeping the good thing they had.

And always remember, despite a perfect storm filling the sails of the Democrats, 47% still voted for the Old Guy.

Jul 4, 2009 - 3:23 pm 141. JB:

BC: will you cut the crap? Simply repeating “smart adult” isn’t going to convince anybody. Stop insulting people’s intelligence.

Jul 4, 2009 - 3:24 pm 142. JB:

Actually, Obama’s Chicago machine gone national is pretty much inline with Hamiltonian ideas of national governance.

Jul 4, 2009 - 3:26 pm 143. Mike_K:

I think the future is not with a third party but a takeover of the Republicans by libertarians. Sarah governed as a libertarian in Alaska in spite of the huge federal presence. She could bridge the gap between the Christian right and libertarians. Obama will create the conditions with his failure. I don’t know what is in her mind but that is a possibility. I would also remind you of an old quote:

“Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded—here and there, now and then—are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.
This is known as ‘bad luck’.”

– Robert A. Heinlein

Happy Fourth.

Jul 4, 2009 - 3:26 pm 144. Strawman:

Aside from going to China (which was truly outside of the box) I can’t think of a thing that Nixon did that turned out better than if either left to local government or not done altogether.

I don’t get too bent out of shape about Watergate. What I’ll never forgive him for is wage and price controls. He was as economically dopey as Obama.

This kind of “pragmatism”, we don’t need. Coolidge is a better model.

Jul 4, 2009 - 3:27 pm 145. Kim Galloway:

Libertyship46
You question why obama is hell bent on using, proven failed strategies. Rush said it before obama was elected, it will be done purposely, to overwhelm the whole financial system, including welfare, the promised golden egg. this will bring on anarchy and then, gee we can’t have any elections this year the crisis is upon us, and only obama can save us.
Read the Cloward/Piven Strategy. the libs operate in the crisis , crisis mode- Jonah Goldberg and his book Liberal Facism

Jul 4, 2009 - 3:28 pm 146. F. Sessman:

Having read Roger Simon’s reply to Kipling, I must modify my last comment on politicians and incumbency. Obama is an ideological politician and he fully expects to be swept out of office after this term, unless he plans to follow the Iran model for reelection.

No sane voter would vote for him in 2012.

Jul 4, 2009 - 3:33 pm 147. Ben White:

Pragmatism is not a philosophy. Slavery was successful for a while, so pragmatism argued for slavery’s continuation while the idealists argued for abolition.

How is massive government spending financed by inflation not a pragmatic choice? Are you saying the money can’t be used to buy power for the Obamanites? Of course it can. So, since it works as intended, the pragmatic choice is to continue and increase it.

Pragmatism without announcing your actual goals, is just expediency. It can serve good or evil with equal efficiency.

Jul 4, 2009 - 3:34 pm 148. BobK:

So… What are we going to do?

Jul 4, 2009 - 3:41 pm 149. overhere:

As a Brit, I would like to take this opportunity on your day of celebration to wish you all the best. Happy 4th of July.

You have come a long way in your nations’ (relatively) short history but sadly, that progress has brought hatred from without. It would now seem too their is hatred from within for what you have achieved. Jealousy runs deep in so many lesser nations, so you just have to accept for the time being how bitter these less fortunate countries, groups and ‘leaders’ are.

But their inadequacies and failures won’t hold you back.

So stick with it. You may have for now elected a weak, uninformed and uninspiring man to be your president but even the most devoted, blinkered Obama supporters may well not expect him to retain office in 2012. The man may grow into the job, but I suspect that the he who won hasn’t the greatness of spirit and certainly not the expertise to deal with the demands of office.

The next few years may be tough for the US, but never give in. Never stop believing in what you are. There will be a light ahead; you just can’t see it yet.

Jul 4, 2009 - 3:44 pm 150. joel:

There are people who seem to think that things will turn out OK.

I guess they don’t understand the implications of the gigantic debt we face in this country: Local, state, federal, international. Or the embarrassing incompetence of our elected officials. And, their thorough corruption. We are a latinizing debtor nation, a failed democracy. It’s over.

Jul 4, 2009 - 3:52 pm 151. Fatty Bolger:

@ #34 (“progressive”watch):

Your Yeats paraphrase reminded me of another appropriate quote:

“Hard pressed on my right; my left is in retreat. My center is yielding. Impossible to maneuver. Situation excellent. I am attacking.”
- General Ferdinand Foch during Battle of the Marne

That pretty well sums up how I feel right now.

I was feeling pretty bummed just like Roger earlier in the day, and for the same reasons. I had to go out to pick up a few things at the store though, and on my I way I saw house after house with their flags out. It immediately cheered me up. This is still America, and Americans love their country. We might have some sharp lessons to learn (and relearn) before the corner can be turned, but I believe we can, and will.

Jul 4, 2009 - 3:55 pm 152. Strawman:

Pragmatism is to ideology what alchemy is to science. We can debate all day what the right science is, but without science undergirding technology, we’re left with trial-and-error alchemy. This isn’t necessarily the wrong approach; brewing and vinification are examples of very sophisticated alchemy.

The political analog to this is ideology v.s. “pragmatism”. The “pragmatic” (i.e. empirical) approach may be the best fit in a particular situation, but it’s still wandering in the dark. Ideology, like science, gives us some sort of framework in which to place problems so that we can have an idea what happens when we do something.

The objection that I have to the current administration isn’t that they’re ideological per se. It’s that they’re blindly ideological, and refuse to test any of their theories empirically.

The previous administration left quite a bit to be desired in this area also, but their saving grace was that they didn’t attempt radical change based on untested theory. What’s pernicious about this administration is the combination of untestedness and radicalness of their “change”.

Jul 4, 2009 - 3:58 pm 153. F. Sessman:

Most of us were amazed at how easily a lawless President and Congress began the takeover of America. The way had already been prepared for them to do this. Our government (or “public”) schools were designed to turn out ignorant, passive graduates. Too many Americans believe that government provides entitlements, rather than protects rights. And fascists hide under many disguises. They travel under titles such as “activist”, “union leader”, “reverend”, “professor”, “journalist”, etc.

It isn’t just the election of Obama that has all of us depressed, it is the fact that his enablers control our schools, the media, and other vital institutions. They comprise a vast fifth column, and they live and work among us.

Jul 4, 2009 - 4:02 pm 154. eor:

Roger, you are right. With congress giving $4B+ to Acorn to take the census, and then fix the next elections there seems to be no way to ever expect our great country to return to it’s original values. I blame the big city dwellers, as we in the country continue to live them. But thanks to the change Obaaama is delivering, two counties here are now at 14% and 17%. At this point “hope” doesn’t “spring eternal”.

Jul 4, 2009 - 4:07 pm 155. myth buster:

115. Petreus will not be retired by 2012, much less in time for the Primaries. Besides, he doesn’t even vote right now, what makes you think he wants to do something as partisan as run for President? No, Patreus will be promoted to Chairman JCS and remain there until he retires. After that, he may decide he’s had enough of public service and retire to private life, or he may seek an appointment as Secretary of Defense, which few would begrudge him.

Jul 4, 2009 - 4:21 pm 156. Steven_D:

Dear Roger,
Cheer up. If you look are enough, there is some good news.

First, it’s good that the Democrat’s energy bill is so patently terrible: it’s much more likely to be rejected.

Second, though the energy bill passed in the House, arms had to be twisted. Imagine how much more depressing it would be if more of the Democratic representatives had gone along blindly. There may remain Democrats in the House with enough integrity (or instinct for self-preservation) to put the good of the nation (or of their districts) above raw partisanship.

Third, the energy (cap-and-trade) bill is likely to fail in the Senate. If so, it will show that our government’s system of checks and balances still functions. Be thankful for of the brilliance of our nation’s founders on this 4th of July.

Fourth, the idiocy of the stimulus package and the energy bill will open peoples’ eyes and create a much more difficult environment in which to pass the health bill. Reform of health insurance can then await the installation of a competent administration in the White House (3.5 years from now).

Fifth, Obama’s approach to foreign policy is proving ridiculous more quickly than I would have thought possible. He is being given the chance to learn some important lessons early. He has, thankfully, repeatedly proven himself capable of screwing over his supporters of the Move-on.org ilk.

There is reason to hope.

Jul 4, 2009 - 4:29 pm 157. Wolla Dalbo:

I am reminded of what former Democratic Speaker of the House Tip O’Neil once said about America, and about the “programs that made it so great.” That mentality in Congress and in our country is exactly the problem.

Jul 4, 2009 - 4:30 pm 158. jerry:

We drank your milkshake and all you soft,gated community livin,bible thumpin,water boarding cheerleaders can do is cry.You lost,we won now let us try it our way.If it doesn’t work then run a non crazy person(sorry that includes the Mormon guy) and it will be the good old days again,,,,,,happy 4th losers

Jul 4, 2009 - 4:39 pm 159. Lightnin' Hopkins:

You stay classy, jerry.

Jul 4, 2009 - 4:44 pm 160. roseannie:

I also am so depressed. This is the 1st of The Fourth Of July, that I didn’t even want to get out of bed. I am so embarrassed for my country, after 60 years, I am ashamed of my government leaders and the industries (entertainment etal as lead by Leaderman), I just can’t believe that We The Americans have become so devoid of honor. I am just ashamed of America.

Jul 4, 2009 - 4:49 pm 161. Royal:

OK. So, Roger, what are the new ideas? I tend to think that articulating the basic ideas, as Ronald Reagan did so effectively, is not only easier to communicate to a largely lazy public, more important, the basics, limited government, low taxes, free and fair markets, and limited government, oh, I said that, are what we’ve lost focus of as we expect politicians to tell us how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.

Jul 4, 2009 - 4:50 pm 162. Royal:

Oh, and Jerry needs another beer. He’s still awake.

Jul 4, 2009 - 4:52 pm 163. SukieTawdry:

Oh, I dunno, Roger, we were pretty damn well divided during the Viet Nam era. Riots were common-place and cities burned. Communism was on the advance cutting swaths through Asia, Africa and Latin America adding millions more to the already devastating death tolls racked up by Lenin, Stalin and Zedong. There were race wars, generational wars, class wars, wars between the sexes. We wondered which of our leaders would next be struck down by an assassin’s bullet. We regarded our governing class a collection of crooks, liars, fools and reprobates. We suffered more than a decade of inflation, stagflation and an economy that seemed nearly moribund. Many of us on both sides of the ideological divide wondered if America’s glory was fading and our best years finally behind us. But we, you and I, were young and the young are resilient and by nature optimistic. And when all else failed, we had the distractions of sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll, as those were party years that rivaled–if not exceeded–the Roaring 20s.

Then came 1980 and two events that helped set us on a new course: a Miracle on Ice that resurrected our national pride and the election of Ronald Reagan, an eternal optimist determined to prove to us that the city on the hill was, indeed, still shining or, at least, could shine anew.

Well, this time there will be no miracles, on ice or anywhere else, and no RR waiting in the wings. We’re going to have to find a way out of this ourselves. We allowed the radicals of the 60s to take control of higher and lower education, media, entertainment and most of government’s entrenched bureaucracy. Those are the battlegrounds. We’re making some headway in media and entertainment, but education is especially worrisome. I know I would not have a child of mine in the public school system today and I think trying to reform that system is an exercise in futility, so we need to find ways to get as many children as possible out of the system. A question people often kick around for fun is “what would you do if you won the lottery?” Well, I would establish a foundation for the purpose of funding alternatives to government-run education and assisting parents in getting their children into them. I realize Bill and Melinda Gates and Ted Turner probably wouldn’t be interested, but there must be at least one conservative philanthropist out there who could get such a ball rolling. How many among us could assist, say, one child per year? I know I could. And how many among us would be thrilled to have second careers as educators? I mean, real educators, not the cookie cutter drones the system and unions turn out, dedicated to teaching the things that really matter? More than a few, I’ll wager.

Increased pessimism and resistance to change seem to be unpleasant by-products of aging. I had an aunt who near the end of her life said she was very glad to be leaving this world as she did not see a good end for it. And this was a woman who had survived two world wars and a Great Depression living in a time of relative peace and unprecedented economic expansion! I know it’s a cliche, but I do think that many, if not most, older people think the younger generations are going to the dogs and the world to hell in a hand basket. Could it be that this time they’re (we’re) finally right?

If Obama is “over”, and I hope he is, what do we do with him for the next 3.5 years?

Oh, and happy 4th of July, everyone. We are still the last, best hope. Keep hope alive.

Jul 4, 2009 - 4:54 pm 164. Towering Barbarian:

Feh. Roger, when you’re wrong your’re wrong. Things sucked a lot worse under Jimmy “National Malaise” Carter – The 1970s were a time when people who were truly mental midgets walked the Earth (Bella Azbug, William Proxmire and Carl Sagan all come to mind here!). Nor is what the Left did to Sarah Palin’s children new. Leftists have always had the morals of whores and character assassination and cheating were the only talents any of them ever had. But so what? America is still America. We have survived such moral pygmies in the past. We will do so again.

So my best advice? Enjoy the 4th take a while off from politics to enjoy both summer and fall and then be ready to hit the Dummycrats hard and often in 2010. A Republican President will need a Republican Congress and as you yourself have said even Obama’s supporters are already tired of him. ^_~

Sherlock@ 124, your thinking parallels mine. Both a governorship and a candidacy for the Presidency are fulltime jobs that do not really permit time for one another and anyone who merely votes “Present” for the one (as certain irresponsible patronage hounds have been known to do!) disqualify themselves for the latter. If we are correct watching silly libs get on all fours and start howling like the dogs that they are will really be quite fun! ^_^

Jul 4, 2009 - 4:56 pm 165. Joel Weihe:

Yep, yet another blog about what’s wrong with this country with no ideas to make it right. Yaawwwnnnn.
But written so very well.

Jul 4, 2009 - 5:00 pm 166. Blue Eyed Indian:

I have yet to read or hear from anyone the answer to why Sarah resigned as Ak. Governor. Having lived in Ak., I can testify how wicked politics can be there.(Sen.Stevens anyone?) Palin knows full well in the next election critics would throw all and the sink at her. In order to secure the Governorship going forward she resigned in favor of a well liked and likely to be elected Lt. Governor. Wow! What an original idea in dog eat dog politics! Kind of like “win one for the Gipper”.
People on both sides are saying she “quit”(not resigned but “quit”) and that she will be remembered as a quitter. Horsestuff! People will, after election day 2010(and some before),realize she made a decision for the long term good of the state she dearly loves.
If you all would listen closely to her speech(which she,you will notice,executed very well without a teleprompter) you will hear her
refer to other things she would like to do. Make no mistake! This woman is a shrewd politition and a true patriot. Both to her state and the nation. I wish her every success.

Jul 4, 2009 - 5:02 pm 167. Tamara:

#113….possibly tumbrel…cart used to transport French aristocrats to guillotine during French Revolution?

Jul 4, 2009 - 5:03 pm 168. Royal:

Ok. We’ll leave it that Jerry should enjoy another beer.

Jul 4, 2009 - 5:04 pm 169. Beyond Concerned:

Controlled by the destructive personality disorder Grandiose Malignant Narcissism, Obama will every moment of every do only what most inflates his craving ego. Only his words and deeds qualify to impress himself. Obama is truly Sick and Unfit To Serve. America needs Proven Capable Humble Public Servants. It’s time now that We Must Demand… No MORE NARCISSISTS !!!

Jul 4, 2009 - 5:07 pm 170. WillDoMathForFood:

“Obama is already over. In six short months the now-spattered bumper stickers with “Hope and Change” seem like pathetic remnants from the days of “23 Skidoo,” the echoes of “Yes, we can” more nauseating than ever in their cliché-ridden evasiveness. Although they may pretend otherwise, even Obama’s choir in the mainstream media seems to know he’s finished, their defenses of his wildly over-priced medical and cap-and-trade schemes perfunctory at best. Everyone knows we can’t afford them. His stimulus plan – if you could call it his, maybe it’s Geithner’s, maybe it’s someone else’s, maybe it’s not a plan at all – has produced absolutely nothing. In fact, I have met not one person of any ideology who evinces genuine confidence in it.”

Wow, that’s like the most Hopeful thing I’ve read in a year. I’m afraid it’s dead wrong, but if it were true, I’d be celebratin’ Big Time. The only we’d have to worry about then is riding him out. I don’t think it’s even true among the electorate, but it certainly is NOT true for Obama and Congress: they’re still doubling down on the Hope and Change (in fact re-doubling, in a geometric progression, every three months or so), perhaps hoping we can find the spare change in the couch cushions to pay for another $9T or $10T of new Government Waste, um, I mean, spending. I wish you were right, Roger, but the only ones who know that Obama is a disaster and believe that he’s “over” are us rightwing nutjobs. Sorry, can’t buy it.

Jul 4, 2009 - 5:10 pm 171. Bevy:

I think that Palin has resigned b’c of the difficulties of the 15 complaints against her which have ALL BEEN DISMISSED. My sis lives in AK and said it’s been really rough up there. Palin’s staff is spending 80% of their time DEALING with the complaints. This is NOT a good use of State monies … she just wanted state business to be done without so much HINDERANCE! Smart woman I’d say!!!!
I don’t think that throwing out the conservative and liberal philosophies will help anything.
You do know that John Adams and Thomas Jefferson didn’t talk for years b’c of divisions etc.
America has ALWAYS been divided b’c of our freedom of speech.
That some can’t or choose not to be civil is their problem.

Jul 4, 2009 - 5:17 pm 172. Alex Irvine:

New pragmatic ideas beyond Left and Right: I read a TCS column months ago which suggested something along the lines of government by experimentation. Instead of a congress watering down any hypothetical legislation (think socialized health care for the left and school vouchers for the right) it’s time to say, fine… let’s pick 2 states. One will have vouchers written entirely how conservatives want to, the left will get to have completely state run medicine. Give the experiment 10 years and let the public decide what works, and what path states should follow. I know the obvious problems with this, but…

Jul 4, 2009 - 5:24 pm 173. jerry:

162…Thanks I think I’ll have another Pacifico.Living 15 miles from the Mexican border lets you see what a great country we have.105 degrees yesterday and I run across 3 people from Nicaragua staggering through the desert so they can pick Tomatoes in Wilcox.I gave them a ride to town and they spotted my old George Bush village idiot sticker on my Chevy Pickup(The peoples car Baby!).The Girl says in Spanish “George Bush father good man” (I think) So my point is you right wing Knuckleheads are everywhere.You just need to not be so picky.

Jul 4, 2009 - 5:27 pm 174. Karen:

I’m with Johm M E. I think it’s a sort of despair but I would urge everyone to keep hopeful, or at the very least, to pray to God to help us through this because He will hear us if we ask. He tells us that when things feel too hard, to bring those things them to Him and He will hear us. We;ve lost our way, but there is a way back–through God. Ultimately, evil WILL NOT WIN, but in the meantime, we need to pray to God to save us. He is more powerful than all the evil and all the wrong that is going on.

Jul 4, 2009 - 5:51 pm 175. Dave:

Can anyone see that Palin was putting an end to a SPECIFIC tactic by Dems, the Piven whasisname strategy where they overwhelm her with these ethics complaints so she can’t govern anymore? There was one of the suits, one of the 18 she has beaten, that was filed in the name of a NONEXISTENT PERSON, and it was HER lawyer who got it dismissed by pointing out to the judge “no one by that name lives in Alaska”!!!

Why do we have courts that are permitting people to file suits in the name of nonexistent clients? Why don’t the lawyers who file those suits get automatically disbarred? Why does Palin have to pay anything to defeat this crap?

This is the Alinsky/ACORN/Obama strategy of defeating his enemies by overwhelming govt with bureaucratic crap like ethics complaints until governance is impossible. It is obvious, and her resignation puts an end to it. Can’t file ethics complaints against private citizens.

Whatever sarah will or will not do, she cannot do it if she is in an office that is being barraged by ethics complaints. Presto, no more problem.

Jul 4, 2009 - 6:13 pm 176. Amos:

Dude, how can you say ‘Obama is over?” He’s just starting his first term and still has 60% approval and filibuster-proof control of the senate. He’s a long way from over. This post reminds me of the ludicrous wish-fulfillment articles the idiot left wrote during bush’s second term where they desperately proclaimed him a lame duck and his reign finished. But Bush pretty much got his way until the end of his term, despite the stupid hysterics of the World Can’t Wait morons.

I detest Obama and his gang of tax-avoiding, economy-wrecking parasites, but they’re just getting started, and their media whores are only warming up.

Jul 4, 2009 - 6:20 pm 177. Ted:

Happy Birthday, USA!

Jul 4, 2009 - 6:23 pm 178. AST:

For a number of years now, I’ve been thinking about the difference between independence and freedom. You can be free, yet dependent. In what ways were Americans more free after they declared independence than they were before. In some ways they were less free, because they now had to depend on themselves for the benefits they had received in the past from the Crown.

I think that we all must acknowledge our dependence on God if you believe, or nature if you don’t. We give up some freedom when we accept society’s rules. How would we live if we weren’t dependent on grocery stores, cars, and modern economies? The Unabomer was about as independent as one can get, but his lifestyle was unenviable.

Those are just some jumbled thoughts for this date. I feel as dispirited by events as Roger seems to, because I see a majority of my countrymen turning to the federal government, no longer as their servant, but as their savior. They have no idea what the costs of this promised wonderful world will be, but their affection for Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats seems to make them sure they’ll reap more than they sow, after the government rake off.

The genius of America was that it makes personal independence and the resulting freedoms possible. But if we focus more on the freedoms than on being independent, we may find ourselves missing both.

Jul 4, 2009 - 6:43 pm 179. Pontifex:

Roger,
Great article. I work at the University of Chicago Hospitals in Hyde Park – the heart of 0bamaland. The Drs. and PhDs I work with all voted for The One. Now there is a stench of gloom and doom all over the department in which I work. I make negative comments about 0bama all the time, and no one will defend him. To defend him will be to admit that you fell for him, and no one wants to do that. My comments and my jokes make these great thinkers wince in pain. I don’t think I’m exaggerating. The people here are miserable their gloom is palpable.

Jul 4, 2009 - 7:07 pm 180. Polemicscat:

“The Tea Party Movement has some promise, but it too looks backwards. Madison, Adams and Hamilton were clearly great men, but where are their modern equivalents? Surely we don’t want to rely entirely on ideas honed in the Eighteenth Century, laudatory as many of them are.”
It sounds as though you’ve given up on the Constitution. (By the way you neglected to mention Jefferson.) You should have been at the Tea Party I attended today in Asheville, NC.
We had a speaker from the Oath Keepers, an organization which encourages police and military men (retired and active) to refuse to enforce orders that violate the Constitutional rights of citizens. You need to get back to basic principles — those written in the Constitution.

Jul 4, 2009 - 7:19 pm 181. Jerry Magliano:

In 1997, William Strauss and Neil Howe, renowned authorities on the history of generations in America, authored a book titled “The Fourth Turning”. The book prophecies, based on generational history, that just after the millennium (2000), America will enter a new era that will culminate with a crisis comparable to the American Revolution, the Civil War, the Great Depression, and World War II. The survival of the nation will almost certainly be at stake.

Strauss and Howe base this vision on a provocative theory of American history as a series of recurring 80- to 100-year cycles. Each cycle has four “turnings”-a High, an Awakening, an Unraveling, and a Crisis. The authors locate today’s America (in 1997) as midway through an Unraveling, roughly a decade away from the next Crisis (or Fourth Turning).

Are we there yet? The evidence is becoming overwhelming that we have arrived.

Jul 4, 2009 - 7:29 pm 182. Exguru:

When Joe Sixpack ties Obama to $4 and $5 gasoline, it will be the coup de grace. Obama is finished, you’re right. Even people like Warren Buffet are muttering about him.

Jul 4, 2009 - 7:30 pm 183. Batman:

First, I think Sarah Palin needs to stop the frivolous law suits and make some money. She can write her book and give speeches; she may not make $100,000+ like Clinton but I’m sure she will do quite well.

Next, she needs to travel throughout the country and the world.

Third, she will campaign for good candidates in 2010.

Fourth, she needs to have a venue for her voice — 20 Mule Team Borax is no longer available but I’m sure she’ll think of something.

All the above has been said by others.

Personally, I don’t think she can gear up for 2012 fast enough. I don’t think Obama will be able to be defeated in 2012 unless there is a catastrophy in the interim.

Jul 4, 2009 - 7:38 pm 184. Kim:

Kirk: I take it the odds are against us and the situation is grim.

Picard: You could say that.

Kirk: Sounds like fun!

Jul 4, 2009 - 7:39 pm 185. Batman:

Sorry folks; pressed the submit button in error. Comment continued.

We are all deluding ourselves to think that the popularity ratings today mean much for November 2012. Furthermore, with the MSM helping, the momentum for a different view of Obama is unlikely to gain traction.

No, I think we are in for it through 2016. Perhaps the Senate can change. Probably the numbers will revert to the mean in the House. But by then the Supremes will have a 5-4 or even 6-3 edge the other way.

We squandered our chances to have things otherwise and now we will have to wait. Yes, I agree: never give up. But also it is important to have a realistic plan.

Iran will probably not give us a hostage-crisis-like event prior to November 2012. AQ will be clever enough to wait until then before releasing their nuke or dirty bomb. By then our Navy will be much weaker and our technology advantage will have shrunk a bit. After all, Obama declared he will stop most of our new weapons research and development. And why not wait until our economy is in worse shape?

So I doubt there will be an international event prior to the next Presidential election. Where the economy will go is uncertain. Many are expecting inflation soon, but it took many years for inflation to become a serious problem after the New Deal. It is hard to push on a string. Right now the inflationary and deflationary forces are in a fierce wrestling match, with deflation in the lead. I think that the horrible economic sequellae will not emerge until after 2012.

I am expecting another 7 years of what we have now, not to change much for 3 years and then to get much worse. The key will not be politics over the next 7 years. The key will be culture and ideas. That is what gave us Lincoln in 1860 and Reagan in 1980.

Will it be Palin in 2016? Doubtful. But stranger things have happened.

Jul 4, 2009 - 7:53 pm 186. Warren Bonesteel:

There are any number of things to do besides cry in your whine.

You despise the “Birthers,” but don’t examine the evidences, or lack thereof, for yourselves. If followed through, that one issue, alone, takes down the present politically elite and corrupt establishment forever.

In your town, city, county and state there are any number of elected offices and positions which you can work to change, eliminate, or to ensure that some freedom-lovin’ fool actually gets elected to hold that office and to represent you according to the restrictions on government as detailed in The Constitution.

The time for a peaceful resolution is almost at an end. It is nearly too late.

But you want to whine and complain and wallow in despair, and speculate on who the Next Great Republican Leader will be. Should we replace one narcissist with another, or replace one tyrant with another? Should we replace one corrupt administration and Congress with yet another?

And should you find such a Great Leader, will you become disgusted with him or her when they don’t meet your personal expectations and ideologies and beliefs, and who, instead, advocates and promotes freedom and liberty?

It’s time to grow up, people, and to act as if you were men and women of courage and fortitude.

Jul 4, 2009 - 8:02 pm 187. FreeStateYank:

“113. Ice Nine:

What’s a “tendril cage”?

I don’t know, Onelook Dictionary doesn’t know, Wikipedia doesn’t know, Google doesn’t know…”

I think the word is: tumbrel [sometimes tumbril]…you know, dung carts? Delivery vehicle of choice for those going to the guillotine?
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/608785/tumbrel

On this rather depressing 4th, it is oddly cheering to know others have the same viewpoint. Just finished watching the Jefferson DVD. Oh my, that man was indeed a visionary. Quotes scattered throughout the film are quite appropriate today.

Palin, with her clear set of liberty-loving principles could indeed be a voice- a clarion call- for Americans. If you’ve not read the transcript or watched her speech, do so. She clearly states she will support candidates from all parties who are ‘right thinking’; which I do not interpret as political left/right, but the common-sense, self-evident truths upon which this nation was founded, from which this wonderful nation has strayed.

Chin up.

Jul 4, 2009 - 8:19 pm 188. FreeStateYank:

And to our Canadian friends: indeed your tar sands could be just what both nations need, in addition to the gas reserves in AK. Only problem is building infrastructure quickly enough. Now THERE’s a WPA program for ya! ~you betcha

Jul 4, 2009 - 8:24 pm 189. Wolla Dalbo:

Batman—I am not an economist but as I understand it, the Fed under Obama and Geithner has increased our “monetary base” by 12 or 15 fold (http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/BASENS) to accommodate the outpouring of stimulus money and other spending that Congress has voted or is planning; since this devalues the currency i.e. each dollar held before the increase is now worth something like 1/12th or 1/15th of what is was prior to the drastic increase in the monetary base– such a drastic course of action, so I read, is almost always followed by equally severe inflation (think the Weimar Republic before Hitler came to power) and many times by hyperinflation (think today’s Zimbabwe, where just recently it took a billion or so Zimbabwean dollars to buy a loaf of bread).

Then there is the problem of the vast majority of the $787 billion dollars in stimulus money given to the banks, which they parked in interest bearing accounts with the Fed most of which they have not yet given out as loans. But when this tsunami of money hits the economy that is when inflation will take off.

Jul 4, 2009 - 8:44 pm 190. M. Report:

Politics. You think there is a _political_
solution to this mess ? It is to laugh.
Tom Clancy called that one: Replace the entire
political nobility, Congress, Court, and CEO,
and things would not change.

No. We the People got ourselves into this mess,
and after it gets bad enough to attract the
attention of the people, we may have time for
a Circulation of Elites, Foxes to Lions; If the Lions have a really good recovery plan ready
to go, they may turn our manufacturing economy
around in time to avoid an infrastructure crash
that will send the US back in time to 1950 or so,
and leave us at the nonexistent mercy of the
Chinese.

Jul 4, 2009 - 9:10 pm 191. Thomass:

On the 4th sucking… yeah, this year I noticed people calling it Holiday (I mean, doesn’t that mean Christmas?) and the stupid ‘holiday’ fair I went to didn’t have any patriotic music but it had 4 socialists groups + the democrats… NRA was there too (only non lefty group). Lame.

Well, a lot of us said we needed a lefty dem in office to show people what it is like to live under them when their star is rising… well… we are seeing it…

Jul 4, 2009 - 9:19 pm 192. KBK:

Thanks to you all for the great thread, so pertinent on the 4th of July. Especially Ruth H. And I agree with F. Sessman that T. J. Rogers could do a lot for us.

Palin? She did the best thing for Alaska. It will be very interesting to see what she does next. I’d advise her to make a $100 million personally on the talk show slash rubber chicken circuit. At the same time, start a PAC to build a big war chest and a national movement promoting small government, small business, and personal responsibility.

Jul 4, 2009 - 9:20 pm 193. Strawman:

Now there is a stench of gloom and doom all over the department in which I work.

The thrill is gone. Even Chris Tingle is disillusioned. The polls show people taking baby steps away from Teh One, but there’s a palpable – I don’t know what it is – stink? descending on hippy island.

Boeing had a backlog of orders for commercial airplanes a year ago of over five years. They seemed invincible. Then one airline cancels. Then another. And another. The unthinkable is happening. Layoffs are coming. And the plastic messiah can’t save them.

They don’t understand. This was going to be a new golden age of hope and change. It’s like the feeling of getting doped up and drunk as a skunk, and then having a friend die. You’re still high, but there’s a stinking reality that won’t go away, no matter what.

Sobering up may make you see more clearly, but it won’t help the situation at hand. There’s economic dislocation that’s beyond the experience of most people alive today. Suddenly the tingle isn’t so important.

And the stink still won’t go away.

Jul 4, 2009 - 9:23 pm 194. Watcher:

Palin isn’t the right person to run as the GOP candidate. I can tell you what set the left off about her. My daughter is a recent grad from UC Berkeley and I sat and watched her reaction as Palin spoke at the convention last summer. It was the smarmy smart-ass speech she gave. The one where where she said being governor was kinda like being a community organizer only governors have real responsibilities. That was great sarcastic red meat for the true believers at the convention but all it did was piss off every middle of the road voter who was sitting on fence looking for a reason to vote against Obama. My daughter is fully steeped in Berkeley leftist hogwash yet I think in her heart she’s a conservative (I raised her after all) and she was looking for a reason to vote for McCain. That speech along with McCain’s dufus idea to suspend his campaign and go back to DC to help with the bailout sealed the deal for a lot of folks. It’s okay for Letterman, Tina Fey and Bill Maher to smear the right with vile sarcasm but more is expected from a leader on the right. By Republicans AND Democrats.
Republicans need a leader who speaks of high ideals. One who talks about free enterprise and the strength our nation derives from the Constitution. We need someone WITH A PLAN to stimulate the economy, create a health care safety net for the unfortunate, create jobs and guarantee our safety from foreign threats. Right now, the Dems are correct in saying the Republicans are the party of NO. I don’t hear any new ideas coming from Boehner or anyone else for that matter. It doesn’t matter who emerges but someone needs to stand up for the values that made this country great. That person needs to have an impeccable personal life because the least indiscretion is going to be blown up into a two week full-time assault by the MSM. I just don’t think Palin is the one. Maybe Mitt but I don’t think so. America may be past it’s bigotry towards black men but Mormons are still fair game. Newt’s got too much baggage. Crist or Pawlenty? I don’t know. Jindal’s reply to Obama’s speech to Congress was weak. Maybe he can do better. I pray someone with clarity, integrity, big brass balls and skin as thick as a rhinoceros’ breaks loose from the pack.

Jul 4, 2009 - 9:25 pm 195. Jeff Perren:

“No, my suggestion is even more radical. We should junk the liberal and conservative orthodoxies that have divided – and blinded – us for so long and go back not to Eighteenth Century America, but Nineteenth, to the days of that most American of philosophies – pragmatism. “The pragmatists rejected all forms of absolutism and insisted that all principles be regarded as working hypotheses that must bear fruit in lived experience.”

Absolutely, and without any shred of doubt, 100% completely wrong in every respect. Pragmatism was a German philosophy, arrived at as an outgrowth of 19th century Transcendentalism.

It’s no accident that the single philosopher most closely associated with it – John Dewey – was also a Progressive, the American form of Fascism. It’s no accident that Progressive education has killed public schooling. It’s no accident that Progressive taxation is bleeding the country dry of investment dollars. It’s no accident that Progressive ideas in every sphere have led only to disaster.

None of that should be a surprise. Pragmatism is by definition unprincipled and therefore unstable, unworkable, and fundamentally dishonest. Amoral to the core.

The way forward – if you want to get beyond the false alternatives that have stymied real progress in the past 100 years is to embrace the philosophy of Ayn Rand, Objectivism. That’s the only thing that will truly work.

Jul 4, 2009 - 10:06 pm 196. Thomass:

The ‘No’ thing is really about thinking government can fix the problems. I guess conservatives need to go on to explain (after saying No about something) that this leaves it open to the free market to fix. No one size fits all, all the hundreds of thousands of minds actively involved in creating and purchasing interacting via their transactions which of course include feedback loops that government ’solutions’ lack. et cetera. By saying ‘no’ we (I and/or the candidate) are simply being humble and admitting we don’t know better than the market / free people making decisions. Of course, if a policy needs a tweak we will listen to the idea but a government take over is a bad idea…

Jul 4, 2009 - 10:17 pm 197. Thomass:

7. Kim:

“Pragmatism is a German import: it has its roots in Kantian subjectivism, the philosophy responsible for the statist horrors of the 20th century.”

It was also very popular with the early progressives… back before they adopted left wing [Marxist] inspired clichés (and decided they were into ‘reason’, anti religious, at nationalistic, et cetera)… and they read more books (vs. Mike Moore and various screeds)…

But yeah, just because the left claims to be pro reason and such, doesn’t mean they are and/or that we should not push forward for it. I think they’re actually very anti rational and I love quoting which fallacies they’re using during arguments…

Jul 4, 2009 - 10:24 pm 198. Scott E:

Good article right up to the penultimate paragraph. To chose pragmatism as the solution to our current troubles is to advocate the very poison that is destroying us.

“Pragmatism” is NOT a synonym for “practicality”. It means, literally, without principles, content or standards. It always, and everywhere, has been used to justify collectivism and statism. It is no accident that the father of American Pragmatism, John Dewey, is also the father of the modern Progressive movement.

Freedom requires a specific set of values, an uncompromising view of what is right and a willingness to act on those values. Freedom can not be achieved, or maintained, without morality and standards. Pragmatism dispenses with the very concept of morality or any kind of standard, in place of an undefined “that which works”.

It is precisely pragmatism that allows a leftist to claim that their version of socialism will some how “work”, despite the fact that it has led to misery and mass murder every time its been tried. It is precisely pragmatism that allows a statist to claim that, some how, this time government control of the economy will “work”, despite its miserable failures in the past.

The pragmatist has no values, no standards and, often, no idea of what he is losing or why. If you want to know why freedom-lovers keep losing ground to the statists, it is precisely because they insist on being “pragmatic”. If freedom has real-world, practical benefits, then a statist has everything to gain by being “pragmatic” for they gain a share of our successes. Conversely, we have nothing to gain from being “pragmatic” except a share of their failures.

Pragmatism, as a philosophy, is a direct descendant of Hegelian dialectics brought back from Germany by Dewey. It is a philosophy specifically designed to appeal to Americans, to our love of practical, real-world solutions. But pragmatism dispenses with reality, with principles, with standards, with any form of morality at all. It dispenses with all the things that make practical, real-world solutions possible. Pragmatism is the greatest intellectual con job in history. And Americans fell for it hook, line and sinker.

Jul 4, 2009 - 11:27 pm 199. ked5:

I took my four-year old son to watch fireworks tonight. I just wanted to cry. the emporer is destroying this country, I dread what it will be like next July 4th. I’m sure John Adam’s is rollilng in his grave.

Jul 4, 2009 - 11:27 pm 200. Todd:

Don’t worry Rog – to the piping of “Yankee Doodle”, the next Republican president will ride in on a moose wearing the banner “Freedom” – freedom for people to follow their conscience, to keep what they worked hard for and better themselves, and to give to the community in the way they see fit, not as some all-powerful, all-knowing and enlightened government tells them they must. If Sarah Palin will go about the country for the next three years speaking about the advantages of freedom in all its aspects, she could well be elected. If not, someone eventually will. Heck, this is America, ain’t it?

At least, I hope so, anyway.

Jul 5, 2009 - 12:56 am 201. Craig Pelkie:

TX Gov Rick Perry. Now.

Jul 5, 2009 - 1:28 am 202. Scott E:

I must echo Jeff Perren. The way forward is the only uniquely American philosophy, which is of course, Ayn Rand’s Objectivism. To quote her follower, Leonard Peikoff:

“Since the golden age of Greece, there has been only one era of reason in twenty-three centuries of Western philosophy. During the final decades of that era, the United States of America was created as an independent nation. This is the key to the country–to its nature, its development and its uniqueness: the United States is the nation of the Enlightenment.”

Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism is the philosophy of the Enlightenment brought to full fruition. As Rand noted, “our founding fathers were political revolutionaries, but not ethical [or philosophical] revolutionaries”. Rand’s Objectivism completes the Enlightenment promise and provides the only philosophical and ethical system by which the uniquely American culture, economics and system of government can be justified and defended.

Religion can not do it. Christianity can not do it. One can not square the Sermon on the Mount and “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” (George Gilder and George Will notwithstanding). As Rand put it:

“America’s inner contradiction was the altruist-collectivist ethics. Altruism is incompatible with freedom, with capitalism and with individual rights. One cannot combine the pursuit of happiness with the moral status of a sacrificial animal.”

THIS is why conservatives can never win. As long as Christianity is your motivating philosophy, as long as the Sermon on the Mount is your moral ideal, the liberals will triumph for they are more consistent at demanding sacrifices. One cannot advocate altruism and the profit motive without self-delusion. One cannot advocate faith in the Bible and scientific truth without equivocation. One cannot advocate the Sermon on the Mount and the Rights of Man without hypocrisy.

We have reached our current state through a long line of intellectual and moral abdications by the defenders of capitalism and freedom. The confusion, the malaise, the depression on the part of conservatives is their realization that their old delusions, equivocations and hypocrisies will no longer work. They are done.

It is only the “radicals” that can save us. It is only the “radicals for reason”, those who know a rational epistemology and scientific method, who can defeat the pseudo-scientific nonsense known as “global warming”. It is only the “radicals for capitalism” who can defend the profit motive and your right to keep what you earn. It is only the “radicals for selfishness” who can defend the Rights of Man and the Constitution of the United States.

It is only Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism which can lead us forward and roll back the tide of mysticism and collectivism.

Jul 5, 2009 - 1:47 am 203. Magic Dog:

The reason for the division is that the right wing hates this country and every single thing it stands for. Roger Simon included.

Jul 5, 2009 - 2:37 am 204. NorCalBill:

Looking for a combination of Ronald Reagan and Lee Atwater, with a touch of just plain MEAN.
Find such a person and I will vote for them and carry them on my back to D. C., if that is what it takes.

Jul 5, 2009 - 3:10 am 205. dee cee:

It’s hard to stay on track, speak conservatively and wisely with all the liberal freakish issues and deviant demands of those getting publicity. If you are not in tune with those clammoring to change you into a global warming, love the animals, anything can marry, kill the baby and allow drugs, tax anything that can be taxed [except me}elite crowd, they will hit, scratch, bite, accuse and hammer your name with any sort of evil link until they confuse the issues, original argument and make you appear totally guilty., unless you are one of the Chosen’s crowd, then it’s okay.

Jul 5, 2009 - 3:56 am 206. MikeBuz:

I’m not as optimistic as Roger. In fact, I’m just the opposite. Far from thinking Obama has peaked, I think this is the beginning of the liberal century. I fully don’t expect another Republican president (or Congressional majority) again in my lifetime (I’m 51). The reason: the mainstream media has learned how to execute effective character assassination of opponents of the regime. It will be almost impossible to get an impartial national hearing for alternatives to the Obama agenda, and any conservative who threatens to become a popular national figure can expect to be kneecapped.

Obama will never get strong scrutiny, much less rebuke, from the MSM. The questions surrounding his policies will center around how much of it to implement around the margins. The only influential voices will be Democrats and liberals. Republicans will not be part of the discussion and conservative alternatives will be treated like the ravings of the Flat Earth Society (“tax cut nuts,” “angry white males” not to mention “racists”).

There is no longer any pretense that the MSM is objective because the MSM learned over the Clinton and Bush years that that can lead to the electorate actually making informed choices that could result in Republican victories at the polls. Better to ignore or denigrate conservative ideas. Just look at how the Tea Party movement is covered compared to how the anti-war movement was covered under Bush. There isn’t even a pretense that the media takes the Tea Parties seriously. They mock the gatherings openly on the air. Do you ever recall Cindy Sheehan or Code Pink being treated with anything less than respect by the MSM?

As for conservative opposition leaders, you can look for anyone who threatens to become a serious challenger to Obama to get whacked. Palin provides the template (and yes, unfortunately, her national political career is over, and was even before the resignation).

The attack is two-pronged and lethal. On the one hand, the person is subjected to a flurry of “investigative reports” by “serious journalists” “doing their job” into every conceivable aspect of their backgrounds and careers. Anything even remotely smacking of underhandedness or shady dealing is then trumpeted far and wide, no matter the flimsiness of the evidence. The person then has to spend most of his/her time, energy and resources fighting the charges and explaining why he/she is not a crook.

Meanwhile, the entertainment wing of the media does its hatchet job, making sure the individual becomes an object of ridicule. Of course, this is all “satire” and anyone who doesn’t appreciate it has no sense of humor. Even ethnic and religious stereotypes are okay in this context, as Mitt Romney has learned and Bobby Jindal soon will. In the end, the broader electorate is hard pressed to separate the real person from the caricature.

This is what happened with Palin. Her record is about as clean as it can be for someone who has risen as far in statewide politics as she has. Nor has her public position on any issue been anything more than is conventional for a libertarian/conservative Republican. But this has not stopped the MSM from branding her an “extremist” under “a cloud of ethics charges.” Just imagine what would have happened had she had a Tony Rezko, a Bill Ayers or a Rev. Jeremiah in her background.

The denigration of Palin in the entertainment industry is well documented and its lethality can be scored by just how many people actually think she said she could see Russia from her house. Anyone else seeking leadership of the Republican Party and the conservative movement can expect the same treatment. Which is why any Republican or conservative gains at the polls are highly unlikely for the foreseeable future.

Jul 5, 2009 - 4:01 am 207. don L:

#8 eric J. has said more wisdom that all the political pundits in DC or on the net, blogging their hearts out.

There is no leader on a white horse to lead us out of our troubles, that thinking is exactly what brought Obama to power -that, “he’s going to save us,” mentality, really is like, “the government will save us.”

What I think Reagan understood was that we need to save ourselves from this kind of thinking. No democracy can survive with that thinking and we have long ago forgotten that independence and freedom starts with us. If each of us, rejected bad leadership, unconstitutional powergrabs by courts and politicians, it would stop – but instead, we have far too many who still believe that man will save them, too many who seek to be lied to, too many that seek not to carry their own weight, too many that don’t pay attention, too many that don’t read history,too many that don’t want freedom as much as the others wish to take it away from them.

Jul 5, 2009 - 4:05 am 208. don L:

To add to my lettle speech, I believe the cake has already been baked (fifty years of Sixties revolutionary indoctrination and infiltration) and it’s much too late to change or add the proper ingredients.

Jul 5, 2009 - 4:12 am 209. Bob:

(1) The Stimulus – It worked. The purpose of the stimulus was to greatly expand the scope and reach of the federal government; it had nothing to do with economics. It failed to produce any new jobs and the only jobs the politicians are worried about saving are their own. Now that we’ve proven stimulus spending will not improve the rate of unemployment or any other economic indicator, what does The One propose? A Second Stimulus, of course.

(2) Pragmatism – Neither Cap and Trade nor Obama-care are based on what works. The former will allow the government to control every aspect of our lives, from the length of the showers we take to the sale of our less-than-perfectly-”green” homes. This is the purpose, the only purpose of the bill. There has been no so-called Global Warming for over half a decade, so now we’re out to stop Climate Change. Does anyone who isn’t totally insane (sorry Mr. Gore) really think that the US, by reducing by some small percentage our CO2 output, can prevent the climate from changing? How absurd can you get! The climate has continually changed for millions of years and it’s not about to stop now, even if the entire planet got with reduced CO2 emissions program, which it certainly won’t. Likewise, government health care will mean rationing; there is no alternative. There simply is no magic in putting The One, Mrs. Pelosi and Mr. Reid in charge of medical care delivery. Whether it’s new insurance programs or a single-payer system, government control won’t create one new doctor, nurse or hospital bed. Thus, we’ll have 50 million or so newly “insured” patients with the same health care resources, controlled by the government. The feds will literally decide who lives and who dies – although the decisions may be more in terms of how many months a patient has to wait for an MRI or surgical procedure. Like the Stimulus and Cap and Trade, Obama-care is all about who has the control – the government or private individuals.

(3) Outlook – With the Democrats firmly in charge in DC (Senator Franken guarantees a filabuster-proof Senate and the Dems have a 255 to 178 (59%) majority in the House), it’s likely we’ll get all the programs BHO has proposed. When they fail to improve anything (like TARP or the $787 Billion Stimulus), the Dems will simply call for expanded programs – we just aren’t doing enough. One way or the other (inflation or confiscatory taxes or both), this will lead to economic collapse. (Even if we were to stop all new spending immediately, the current unfunded government liabilities will probably lead to the same thing. We can’t support the current SS, Medicare and Medicaid programs much longer.) The only real question is whether we will meet the failure of expanded government with a return to individual rights, responsibilities and control, or whether we will just have more of the same. Roger has every right to be depressed.

Jul 5, 2009 - 4:17 am 210. E.EDWARD:

all of you need to remove your political glasses-which see only political options/choices/action,in the palin decisoin.think and look at options OUTSIDE the political one.i ,for one,beleive sarah palin will go to work for a private or private/public entidy.such as leading the public/private/goverment project to build the gas line through alaska,canada and the upper midwest.the largest construction project since the panama canal .her knowledge in helping create the project combined with her political knowledge,honed on the knife edge of radical marxist liberals ,only makes her more attractive for the job-think ceo of the joint alaska/caanada/us(lover 48) consortium-who better to speak for the massive energy effort.guys, and gals-look beyond politics.she would make vast sums of money and be working towards the one thing that was her hallmark-energy from alaska !!!!

Jul 5, 2009 - 4:36 am 211. ate mely:

No, I am not depress anymore and so are the July 4th celebration last night. Driving through the GSP last every other city and town had fireworks display on the sky. There is a light at the end of this dark tunnel of high taxes, government domination and general depression. And I want to be a part of keeping that light shine constantly. God bless Sarah Palin.

Jul 5, 2009 - 4:42 am 212. Who IS John Galt?:

Kim and Jeff Perren are correct — Pragmatism represents the collapse of philosophy and its disintegration into the belief that no principles of any sort should guide our actions, that “anything goes” and “anything may be tried” regardless of what history or common sense tells us about a proposed course of action.

It is only the influence of Pragmatism that makes it possible for a Barack Obama to promote — with a straight face, mind you — the horrifically-failed twin doctrines of socialism as a domestic policy and pacifism as a foreign policy. Only Pragmatism lets Obama pretened that the events of the 20th century don’t matter — that we can safely ignore a century of history which saw socialism cause the death-by-starvation of literally millions of people and the impoverishment of still millions more and which saw pacifism invite and make possible the mass-murder of still millions more in world-wide wars of aggression.

Only the lunacy of Pragmatism makes it possible to promote the nonsensical beliefs of today — the belief that we can spend our way to prosperity — or that we can escape excessive debt by taking on more debt — or that we can cure the problems caused by labor unions by vastly increasing the power of labor unions — or that we can improve our standard of living by outlawing lightbulbs, outlawing SUV’s, outlawing the exploration and extraction of our natural resources and imposing so many restrictions on energy production that, in Obama’s own words, “electricity costs will soar” and “electricity producers will go bankrupt”.

Ayn Rand’s Objectivism is the answer to the disastrous ideas of both liberalism and conservatism. It rejects the futility and foolishness of Pragmatism by focusing on the facts of reality — the facts of man’s nature as a rational being and the facts about the nature of the reality in which man exists. Rand shows — by a process of logic-governed induction — precisely what those facts imply and require for human beings to survive and prosper here and now, on this earth.

If you feel depressed and hopeless — if it seems you are caught in a nightmare existence where no reason is possible and you are confronted with nothing but no-win scenarios and equally-disastrous alternatives and — read Ayn Rand. You will find Rand a beacon of the most powerful illuminant and disinfectant known to man: REASON.

Rand will explain and show you how to tell BOTH Obama and the conservative mystics that your life and the fruits of your labor belong to YOU, not to the government, not to society, not to the incompetents that live next door and not to superantural ghosts in heaven.

So stand up Americans! Stand up and reclaim the only thing that is, in fact, YOURS BY RIGHT: your own life, and the inalienable right to the pursuit of your own happiness, by means of your own honest effort, with NO duty to sacrifice a dime of your money or a minute of your life to anyone else — no matter how great their “need” — and with you having no right to demand any sort of sacrifice by others for your sake.

Demand the right to exist for your own sake! Reject the claim that you must sacrifice for the sake of every “needy” beggar on the planet. Reject as evil and immoral Obama’s claim that “Man is his brother’s keeper” — reject it by knowing that NO MAN, no matter how great his “need”, can claim the right to be “kept” by his “brothers” because NO MAN can ever claim a right to ANY amount of involuntary servitude on the part of others.

Refuse to be a sacrificial animal who must be bled so that our politicians — conservatives as well as liberals — can practice charity with our lives and our property! Demand liberty and assert your right to your own life and to the fruits of your own labor. Both are YOURS and YOURS ALONE.

Jul 5, 2009 - 4:58 am 213. Marilyn A:

John m e sized it up for me perfectly. At my age, the profound sadness and helplessness I feel is sometimes overwhelming. If someone could tell me what to do to right the horrible wrongs being perpetrated on this country (cap and trade, socialized medicine, spending gone wild) I would do it.

Jul 5, 2009 - 5:09 am 214. kenofkenya:

Why are you people whining? Sixty seven million voters said they wanted this illiterate jackass born in Kenya and who cut his eye teeth in Chicago politics where if you are not a liar and thief, then you are not invited into the inner sanctom to help loot the treasury. Learn to live with it.

Jul 5, 2009 - 5:58 am 215. Brian Grubbs:

Mr. Simon,
I would recommend the first step to cheering yourself up is to stop referring to our Day of Independence as “the Forgh of July”. I could count on one hand those who will call it Independence Day it seems. There is a certain pride and wonder when we call it that.

Jul 5, 2009 - 6:00 am 216. kenofkenya:

The power that the States gave the President during WWII should have been taken back as soon the cold war ended. The states have the power to do that. When will they start acting like Governors and not Bernie Madolf enablers.

Jul 5, 2009 - 6:04 am 217. Pat Martin:

“Pragmatist?” Why that’s just another polemic for “moderate!!”

Jul 5, 2009 - 6:24 am 218. Burke:

This guy badly needs to read Ayn Rand.

Jul 5, 2009 - 6:37 am 219. Chester White:

“…it’s also good to have a plan. I haven’t heard one yet, just a lot of no – no to taxes, no to spending, no to socialized medicine. That’s all fine as far as it goes, but it’s not exactly inspiring.”

The hell it isn’t inspiring. Freedom from tyranny is ALWAYS inspiring.

Those things are right, moral, correct, and have never been implemented in the ways they should be.

I am itching to start and expand a business, but there are not sufficient rewards at present. I cannot take the risk.

Lower taxes (especially eliminate cap gains taxes and do something about the godawful exactions of FICA), and this economy would EXPLODE upward.

Jul 5, 2009 - 6:38 am 220. warlord:

I spent 30 years in the Army as an Infantry Officer and retired as a Colonel. The military analogy I would use is that Obama has already reached his culminating point. Culminating point is when an attacking force (Obama)can no longer continue its advance, because of inherent problems in the his plan. Obama is now open to ridicule (even Helen Thomas mocks him); his policies are listless (Stimulus/Cap and Tax/Obamacare…get your pain pills bill)and a foreign policy that must be ghost-written by Bill Ayers. BOTTOMLINE…Obama has run out of steam because his plans are riddled with holes.

Jul 5, 2009 - 6:51 am 221. DanRampage:

Sarah Palin will be back. I suspect her decision was driven by a desire to rise above her own funk – and what was not working. Populism and pragmatism will drive the 2010 and 2012 elections after this disaster of an agenda is complete.

Jul 5, 2009 - 7:25 am 222. Bryan M:

From the article: “Madison, Adams and Hamilton were clearly great men, but where are their modern equivalents?”

Ron Paul is their modern equivalent. He understands that the principles of Liberty are timeless. He understands that the federal government and its unconstitutional policies have brought us here, and he understands that the solution to our problems is to get the government back within its Constitutional limits, especially with regards to eliminating the Federal Reserve, the main culprit of our economic problems.

Check out the Campaign for Liberty, ad educate yourselves.

Jul 5, 2009 - 7:28 am 223. Roger Godby:

Not that he’d have a chance of winning anyway, but it’s a pity that “Dr. No” might not make it to 2012. He’s got his faults, but he at least pays lip-service to the Constitution.

I’d like to see Palin return, studied up, for a Congressional post. My impression was McCain picked her (to her surprise) out of desperation and stuck her in front of the cameras with little time to prepare. A woman who can draw so much hate from the “peaceful and tolerant” is obviously doing something right.

0bama will soon have us all addicted to government programs we don’t need or want; we’ll be paying for them regardless.

Jul 5, 2009 - 7:38 am 224. scott:

The pubbie party is dead. I began believing and stating this two years ago.

Times of tragedy and exigency are times in which third parties have an opening to survive and prosper.

If Palin and a few true constitutionalists will step up and throw the dirt on the rotting corpse of the pubbie party it demands …. then lead as Reagan did with the same principles … there’s a chance to save America. A chance.

Jul 5, 2009 - 9:44 am 225. daveinga:

what we do know. a good place to start. we need a plan for the future of our land, in these times of crooked lawyers and evil politicians.

big ears will no doubt try to steal any future elections as well.
that is what acorn is for. that is, if he allows any more elections.
if the election looks tight, he will make all the illegals legal. stroke of a pen. most are probably voting now anyway, thanks to the courts, and acorn. $8 billion to count 300 million people. my calclator says $26.67/ person. sounds like a LOT of borrowed money to …..? and no investigation of their crooked ways? crooks protecting crooks? with our $$. he has big plans to steal the next election. mark my words. we can’t let it happen.

what is his power base? minorities, feminists, unions, courts, msm?
know your enemy. not all women meet n.o.w.’s definition of a feminist.
not all minorities are giving him good marks, or really have any reason to support him (Jews?). attack his power base. it will start crumbling shortly, when times get harder and harder, if not already.

what are his weaknesses? arrogance, the Constitution, economy, etc.?
Palin is what they hate. why? because she is a strong woman, who could
divert a very large female vote? maybe because she loves God?
maybe they see something in her they will never understand? either way,
she will no doubt play a major role in all this drama to come.

and we need to have a plan for a way to build up the future after our VICTORY. no more same old same old. get rid of what took us down. no exceptions. they will turn tail and run again. do not doubt that.
not that there will be anything left to spend. get tough. soft times are already “gone with the wind”.

we need a leader. not more yes men and women. maybe Palin is the
choice for America’s future. who knows?
but i do admire a woman hunter who fills her big game tags.
practice practice practice – makes for perfection they say.
especially with hunting season right around the corner.

and be prepared, for anything. strange times are here to stay.
accept it. be ready.
camping tip: it only takes a spark to start a roaring fire.

Jul 5, 2009 - 9:56 am 226. SukieTawdry:

199. Magic Dog: The reason for the division is that the right wing hates this country and every single thing it stands for. Roger Simon included.

Instruct us, wise one, what does this country stand for?

Jul 5, 2009 - 10:21 am 227. fb:

I can understand Gov. Palin’s decision…$500,000 in personal legal bills against ethics claims, to date. And, hostile bloggers in Alaska intending and on the verge of filing more. Were the ethics claims meant to financially destroy the Palins?

Researching some of the vile bloggers filing the majority of the ethics claims who asked for donations to continue the false claims,appearing to gleefully pursue this route…..makes one wonder if they were not surrogates for a higher profile person or group.

$500,000 might not seem like a huge amount of money to some, but look at the majority of American families struggling with day to day expenses, loss of savings, increased cost of living; probably the Palins decided their family was more important to them than to continue on the same path and incur more indebtedness.

She will be a private citizen on July 26, 2009 and slander, libel and defamation could take on a different face at that time.

Jul 5, 2009 - 11:07 am 228. Terrye:

Well BC, the Democrats took control of the Congress in 2006 and if it was not in good shape they sure as hell did not make it any better. And now they want more power.

For a smart guy you sure are good at missing the obvious.

Jul 5, 2009 - 11:12 am 229. Terrye:

scott:

No, the Republicans are not dead. In my life I have heard both parties pronounced dead more than once. They are still here.

A third party now, would work out the same a third party did when Ross Perot ran, it would be a gift to the Democrats.

It makes more sense to work for change within the existing party structure, there is a far greater chance for success.

Jul 5, 2009 - 11:15 am 230. Terrye:

And by the way, BC, it was a Democrat President who passed the Iraqi Liberation Act and a Democratic President who did not bother taking out AlQaida in its infancy. Rewriting and revising history might make you feel better, but it will not change the facts.

The facts are the Democrats screwed up. They screwed with Saddam and AlQaida in the 90s. They screwed up with the whole banking system when they pushed cheap loans for years. And they screwed up when they got power. Blaming Bush is just an excuse and that excuse is getting more lame every damn day.

Jul 5, 2009 - 11:21 am 231. Ted:

And it was a Democrat president who cut and run out of Lebanon when hundreds of our Marines were killed by terrorist bomb, thus showing that we Americans are vulnerable to terrorism… oh wait, that was President Reagan. Sorry, my mistake.

Jul 5, 2009 - 11:26 am 232. Dennis D:

Until we have balance in media or more conservative voices situations like Palin will always exist. Lets take one example although I have dozens
Palins $150K clothing allowance vs
Obama’s 1 Million Dollar Styrofoam Greek Columns?

Who was attacked more?

Jul 5, 2009 - 12:09 pm 233. Dennis D:

Reagan did not CUT and RUN. The US was in Lebanon as part of a UN Peacekeeping mission. Once we were not accepted as neutral there was simply no reason to remain in that capacity. Iran eventually paid dearly when Reagan helped Iran and Iraq fight eachother. I think over 1 Million died. Brilliant.

Jul 5, 2009 - 12:12 pm 234. Robert:

I wish Paul Ryan would run. He is the only guy who had smart questions when Bernanke recently testified, so he can go head to head with Obama. Ryan is the only guy who can make the case that Obama is running us into an economic ditch.

Jul 5, 2009 - 1:35 pm 235. Ron Robinson:

If as you say pragmatism results in “all principles be regarded as working hypotheses that must bear fruit in lived experience”

…then one must postulate or even assume that some working hypotheses may not bear fruit as measured against lived experience and the hypothesis must be adjusted to conform to the reality of lived experience.

In short, we must allow for some mistakes.

Sarah has been given a very rough ride through no fault of her own. I don’t blame her a bit for resigning so she can begin to attend to her $ half million legal bills in earnest. I intend to seek out and contribute to that fund.

She will continue to be influential, and as many continue to point out, she will be able to exert more influence and raise more funds without the burdens of being a public servant.

You can measure her influence by just how very, very crazy the liberals and RINOs have gotten over her pronouncements and behavior.

It’s really fun to watch that many heads explode.

But regardless of what the ‘elites’ on either side say, Sarah will continue to be highly influential, and many of us in flyover country will continue to be entertained and instructed by just how crazy the poison pens go over her increasing influence and power.

Jul 5, 2009 - 1:48 pm 236. Godzilla:

Re: Sarah Palin resigning the governorship. It didn’t surprise me too much. She has a history of quitting posts when she can’t get what she wants done. Before becoming governor, didn’t she quit some oil oversight committee because of corruption and dirty politics? It should be obvious that she does not play that game. Ann Coulter may have the best take on what Palin intends to do … gleaned merely from listening to Palin’s news conference and taking her at her word.

She’ll be much bigger now and can play on the national stage without constantly setting off state ethics investigations by loons, parasites and liberals. None of this applied to McCain or Kerry – both of whom went back to the Senate – because their national campaigns diminished them. Palin’s national campaign made her a major star. As she said, she’s not retreating, she’s advancing in another direction.

One other thing should be obvious: she’s not beholden to the republican party one bit. She owes them nothing. If she runs on a bipartisan small government, populist, low taxes, personal responsibility platform, she will become a force to reckon with.

Jul 5, 2009 - 2:05 pm 237. Noesis Noeseos:

I’ll have to agree with Pops (#96) and add that there are just too many clients-with-the-franchise dependent on the bread and circuses. There will be no restoration of the old America of self-reliant citizens via the polling booth.

The young and valiant may be able to effect some local changes, and learning to do for yourself is always wise; but it’s hard to grow your own crops if you lose your property because of high taxes and inflation, and it will be hard to assert local autonomy when Congress and a Supreme Court debauched by Sotomayer and the Alinskyite’s second appointee eventually decide to hammer that final nail in the coffin of the Tenth Amendment.

Jul 5, 2009 - 3:06 pm 238. Mr Strict:

Rather a lot of letters on this story, but little in the way of what can we do instead of just writing about it. I have said before and nothing has happened to change my mind, I think Mr I WON is what most people would call a sleeper. Everything he wants to do, he wants it done yesterday if not sooner. Why won’t he confirm his nationality or open his college years for inspection so we could get to know him? That would open a trail to follow back to whomever is the puppet master behind him and they certainly don’t want to come out of the shadows! So how do we get out from under this dictator?

1. We need to ALL write a letter to each and every member of Congress and express our opinions. 2. We need to start working on the local level of government – the base of the monster we know as our Federal Government. Be active in city councils and state legislatures to let them know we demand to be heard. 3. Limits – oh how we need limits. ALL elective offices should NOT have a retirement program. You serve at the pleasure of the people, so I say WE THE PEOPLE need to start cutting salaries of elected officials. They need to be paid by the days they work, not the office they hold. Their health care should not be the diamond encrusted luxury they have now. 4. Then term limits. We need turnover in the public offices in order to have fresh insight and ideas to work with. 5. State sovereignty. ALL states should take back the powers they have ceded to the Federal Government so the people can more readily contact their representatives. 6. Any time spent campaigning is not paid for and there should be a limit on how big a war chest they can build. When they leave office at the end of their term, the war chest goes to the National Government for use in Social Security and Medicare and each war chest needs strict ocersight. A President should also not be campaigning. He is President of all the people, not just his party, so he should not be campaigning. He has too much else he should be doing.

I know this is utopia, but one can dream, right?

Jul 5, 2009 - 3:31 pm 239. lanczos:

#236 (and Ann Coulter) – Your words – Straight To God.

In order to “fix” the insane state of government in The Former U.S.A. – if such a thing is even possible at this late date, it will require someone who deals not in platitudes or the moronic party-speak from the Wimpublicans. Palin – CHECK, all the way.

Speaking of “check”, lanczos is ready to donate whenever The Time Comes. (But not another cent to the Wimpublican National reelection committee. YOU WIMPS HAVE NO GUTS FOR A FIGHT, so just have another Chablis with the WaPo reporter, and the nyslime editor. I just don’t wanna support that any more.)

Jul 5, 2009 - 3:51 pm 240. tom:

After 8yrs of Bush disasters, Obama is supposed to fix everything in 6 months?? I dont think even Jebus himself could pull off such miracles.

Jul 5, 2009 - 4:41 pm 241. vic Pongetti:

A NATION IN TURMOIL

We got oil, OPEC’s got oil,
and it’s so vital for our toil,
and to provide our common defense.
Relying on OPEC just makes no sense.

We produce it, creates jobs,
They produce it, they can rob.
Maybe I’m stupid, but I can’t see,
Why put our nation “up a tree.”

We try to treat them
like they’re our friends,
They don’t like us,
some seek our end.

We’re spending our nest egg,
seeking something new,
new types of energy,
better windmills, batteries, too.

To some, France is stupid,
but nuclear they got,
making energy aplenty,
cleaner air a lot.

Yet we spend a fortune
seeking something unknown,
hoping somehow to find it,
led by an inexperienced throne.

Even poor generals,
when facing great harm,
know something better
than “betting the farm.”

And look at this health plan.
Is the idea well reasoned?
to leave for our grandchildren
the debt paying seasons.

We seem intent on spending
all that we can borrow.
More often than not,
this can lead to great sorrow.

Our country was founded
on principals great,
with well meaning leaders
determining our fate.

But look at our congress,
in haste, with great thrill,
they’re changing our course
without reading the bills.

A nation with leaders,
who’re thinking like this,
may be creating a chance
the nation may cease to exist.

So why don’t we do something
that we know will work,
rather than chasing those rainbows
with politicians seeking perks.

Like, drilling for oil that we own,
or even giving nuclear a try,
instead of awaiting hoped for rainbows
to fall from the sky.

Real jobs will be created
that last a long while,
allowing our nation
to once again smile.

Now I have spoken
what I needed to say.
I leave it to you
to determine our way.

Jul 5, 2009 - 4:58 pm 242. Don DeVan:

You want a plan, Roger? Here’s a plan for ya:

THE FREEDOM MANIFESTO

I just read an article in Politico on the agenda of MoveOn.org, which explains their new agenda, now that the most liberal politician in our history has been elected President. Got me thinking of what it would look like if the “right” would – hypothetically speaking, of course – develop a plan to resist MoveOn, Obama and the age of huge (not just big) government. These people at MoveOn did not wait for politicians in Washington to step up to their agenda – they stepped up to the politicians and said “you are going to do this, or else.” We Christians and Conservatives, likewise cannot continue to howl and fuss at Republicans who do not fight for the Founding Principles upon which our nation was founded. If MoveOn and the Daily Kos can do it, so can we. And we must. The attack plan below to restore Constitutional government is just a start but should include: 1.Begin to establish the groundwork for a boycott of the federal income tax. This will require employers to defy a federal mandate to withhold taxes from paychecks. Do they have the courage to do this? What would Patrick Henry do? If you no longer feel the federal government is operating within the confines of the Constitution, you have a moral obligation to become a conscientious objector and simply say NO to the payment of taxes to Washington. Does the Constitution give the Feds the right to bail out labor unions and give non-citizens rights and benefits? If you feel that by doing so, our sovereignty, Constitution and Bill of Rights are null and void then so is any responsibility you may have had for taxes under the 16th Amendment.
2. Begin a vigorous campaign to urge the public to home-school and/or send their children to private schools, with or without vouchers. Then begin a major program to build a private, non-union school system. This is the only way we will crack the huge union dominated government school bureaucracy. 3. Begin to use the legal system to fight big government. If the ACLU can do it, why can’t we? We must begin to bring suit on every issue that threatens our nation’s original freedoms and traditions. We should call our organization the MFMT which stands for Maximum Freedom, Minimum Taxation, which sums up why we fought for independence in the first place. 4. We begin a systematic march on the media, especially television. TV is the medium through which the liberal agenda is being implemented. The left learned long ago that a picture is worth a thousand words and the best example of this is the pictures of bodies of dead soldiers they broadcast every time we are in a war they do not approve of (usually when a Republican is leading it!). Holding pro-America, Republican rallies at local TV stations would be a great start – especially if the liberals re-implement the “Fairness” Doctrine. 5. Boycott employers who advertise on far left liberal media outlets like NBC. No patriotic American should buy a General Electric household product as long as Matthews, Olbermann and their ilk are permitted to spew their anti-Republican, anti-American hatred. 6. Expose the controlling role that unions play in growing a totalitarian media/government complex. 7. Establish an underground network of physicians and health care providers that will fight to preserve private sector medicine. 8. Establish Committees of Correspondence and Safety to provide communications and security – just as our Founding Fathers did. 9. Join the NRA.
These are just a few of the actions that are necessary to first stop and then roll back the liberal juggernaut that threatens our basic freedoms and liberty. Patrick Henry said “give me liberty or give me death.” It is not too late for us to make that same commitment; in fact it is just in time.
“Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined.”
–Patrick Henry, speech in the Virginia Ratifying Convention, 5 June 1778
TALK IS CHEAP. WHEN DO WE MARCH ON THE MEDIA? http://www.teapartyday.com/Locations.aspx http://www.smartgirlpolitics.org/

Jul 5, 2009 - 5:23 pm 243. James Hudnall:

It’s time to go back to basics. It’s time for us to clean house. We need to purge the body politic. A lot of people in Congress and the Administration need to go down in flames. They need to be tried and prosecuted for constitutional crimes and corruption.

Failing that, bring back the Bastille.

Jul 5, 2009 - 5:31 pm 244. crafty:

so, get out and elect new people to EVERY office that you can in 2010

It’s up to us to stop it.

OR one day all you ladies will wake up wearing burkas, and the men will be trying to shoot each other from the back of toyota trucks.

I hope Palin stays high profile and works for our country,

Jul 5, 2009 - 5:58 pm 245. John R:

The man promised everything could be fixed and some utopia would be in place without anyone (except some “big bad rich” people) paying the price. On his watch we may have a new energy tax that cripples us for years to come, a new health structure that fails us miserably — and once these new institutions are in place, they will be considered entitlements which can never be reduced. Obama keeps citing Medicare as a govt plan that everyone loves — well, Medicare is GOING BROKE! So how will doing medical insurance on a larger scale not make us broke even faster???

His lack of executive experience is showing. Yikes!

Jul 5, 2009 - 6:35 pm 246. Godzilla:

Here’s Sarah Palin’s Twitter account. If you scroll all the way down, she left a message yesterday stating that information about why she stepped down is forthcoming. I expect it to be a real airing out of the crap she’s been taking, that she’s mad as hell and isn’t going to take it anymore. Personally, I think she’s done being a republican. She’s a conservative, and that a big difference these days.

Jul 5, 2009 - 6:47 pm 247. Godzilla:

In fact, there’s a lot of conservatives that are done being republicans. I’ll pull the lever on the guy/gal who comes closest, but I sure won’t advocate for them. Someone asks me, hypothetically looking into the future, “Hey, how can you pull the lever on Romney (or Huckabee, or hell, even McCain)?” My standard response will that they’re the least worst.

Jul 5, 2009 - 6:52 pm 248. Fen:

“After 8yrs of Bush disasters, Obama is supposed to fix everything in 6 months??”

Catch a clue – the current disasters are Obama’s. Its his recovery plan and his budget that is failing, not Bush’s. Though its to be expected that the Affirmative Action admit can’t handle Tier 1 course material, and falls back on blaming someone else for his failure. Typcial.

“I dont think even Jebus himself could pull off such miracles”

Ah, but you said The One could walk on water. How silly of you to redirect your spiritual needs to a mere mortal.

Jul 5, 2009 - 8:45 pm 249. John Moore:

My standard response will that they’re the least worst.

Welcome to the two party system, probably the most successful democracy in the world. You never get anyone who meets your standards, so you might as well get used to it.

If McCain had been elected, would we have the Obama porculus? Would he have really been able to put in cap and trade? Would we have Obamacare coming down the pike?

Jul 5, 2009 - 10:40 pm 250. mroberts:

Interesting comments. I would be more than happy to “junk the liberal and conservative orthodoxies that have divided – and blinded – us” as well. If we returned to the form of government we were originally intended to have, it wouldn’t matter whether Republicans or Democrats were in office. For instance, the reason conservatives dreaded the Obama Administration so much was because they knew we could end up with things like cap and trade and universal health care. These things are not even valid under the Constitution, so if the Constitution was just respected as originally written, they wouldn’t even come up as valid policy options. That’s the beauty of the way the system was designed. The federal government was simply meant to protect and secure our unalienable rights – that’s it. If we were going to implement and adopt things like universal health care, it was supposed to be the states that did it, as required by the 10th Amendment. One-size-fits-all government was never what our Founders had in mind for us. If the Constitution would once again be respected as it was originally written, we would all have far less to dread each election cycle.

Jul 5, 2009 - 11:15 pm 251. Tomas:

David Thomson wrote:

“Obama’s political impotence will become obvious even to his most loyal followers. It will also likely result in his experiencing something of a mental breakdown.”

I think you mailed it in the mental breakdown area. Obama is the most narcissistic person I have ever seen. When he sees the public adoration fade, and he sees no answers as to how to reclaim that, (public adoration is, after all the only thing that interests him; hence this never-ending campaign he seems to be on), he WILL lose it.

There is no doubt about that in my mind at all.

-

Jul 5, 2009 - 11:17 pm 252. Jenny:

“…I challenge her most staunch defenders to say that this is really
the kind of person to lead us out of our Twenty-First Century malaise.”

As a staunch Palin supporter I accept your challenge.

1. The type of leader you need to lead you out of your Twenty First Century malaise must be principled and ethical.

Name one other politician that would give up power in order to ensure their state could be governed effectively. It was impossible for Governor Palin to effectively govern Alaska as she spent the majority of her time defending herself against baseless ethics complaints. It was impossible for her do the job for which she was elected since every time she opened her mouth to speak an ethics complaint was lodged. The people of Alaska require their Governor to govern and not play ‘beat the ankle biter’. The people of Alaska need a Governor that is free to devote 100% of their time to Governing. This was impossible under the circumstances. There were two choices available to her. Stay and play or go and let some one else do the job that will not face the same problems. Now the new Governor will be able to Govern and I will bet the farm the ethics complaints will stop and the focus will be on the people of Alaska and not self defence.
This is the kind of person you can be sure will put the needs of the American people ahead of personal needs. You can know this because you have proof.

2. The type of leader you need to lead you out of your Twenty First Century malaise must believe in spending less, energy independence, small government, national security and personal responsibility.

Governor Palin has proven by her record as Alaska Governor that she believes in all of the above. Her state is in the black, she speaks endlessly to energy independence and safe responsible energy production. The Governor has created smaller government in Alaska and cut government spending. She has spoken on the need for national security and waved her son goodbye as he serves his counrty to keep you all free and safe. Governor Palin refunded the state of Alaska money received re her children’s travel. She did so in anticipation of a yet to be created law that would require future governors to pay for such travel. Personal responsibility in spades I would say.

3. The type of leader you need to lead you out of your Twenty First Century malaise must believe in America and it’s people and it’s role as the ’shining light on that hill’ and must ALWAYS be proud to be American.

Do I really need to explain how much Sarah Palin believes in America and Americans? She believes American’s have generous hearts and have been the gatekeepers against those that seek to keep less powerful nations in chains. She knows American’s have, at great cost and loss of life, resolutely sought to defend and protect those countries and people that seek freedom and democracy. She knows and believes absolutely that freedom is never free.

I am sure I could spend more time listing the reasons Sarah Palin is the type of leader you need to lead you out of your Twenty First Century malaise but if you are not yet convinced I am right there really is no point continuing, is there?

Jul 5, 2009 - 11:29 pm 253. Godzilla:

If McCain had been elected, would we have the Obama porculus? Would he have really been able to put in cap and trade? Would we have Obamacare coming down the pike?

If McCain had been elected, we’d probably have a watered down cap-and-trade that might have gotten through congress. The present cap-and-trade will probably die in the senate. I’m not sure what McCain would have done with heathcare. I pulled the lever for McCain, but it was more a vote against Obama than a vote for McCain.

If McCain ran again, I’d vote for him again, unless Palin runs as an Indpendent. I’d vote for her because there is virtually nothing that she stands for that I don’t agree with. I can’t think of a single thing.

Her running as an Independent might be good for republicans on the down ticket, because of turnout. It would be tremendous on the conservative side, whether they go for Palin or the GOP candidate, becasue they’ll vote for the republican down ticket. For example, I’d vote for Palin, and then probably republican down the board.

Jul 5, 2009 - 11:54 pm 254. stuart Williamson:

Roger: I shared your grim depression until the eve of the 4th of July, when a genuine pragmatist and Exceptionalist, announced that she was about to get back into the Anti-Alinsky fray, to hell with the GOP, and in order to give it all she’s got, she was going to free herself from the nightmare burden the Axelrod nimions were dumping on her in order to destroy her nd unable to deliver to those who had elected her.

A clear declaration of purpose, on Independence Day.
The GOP Stalwarts – now there’s an oxymoron -work themselves into a lather. Political Suicide. Running away under pressure. What ridiculous timing:Friday night before a holiday. She’s demonstrating that she lacks the backbone. If we ever needed proof of the total dim-witted, clueless, bumbling stupidity of the conservative commentariat, they’ve just delivered it.

Sarah Baracuda got her nickname because she’s got the chops. Running away is the last thing she’ll ever do. She is one savvy, tough, self-assured, capable woman, with a record of honest achievement. She is highly articulate, with a quick, barbed wit. She doesn’t need, or want, a telprompter. She doesn’t need a writer’s “jokes”, with the smirky pause at the scripted (wait for laugh”

She well recalls the fantastic response to her entry to the bungled McCain campaign, where all the energy she generated was wasted when the Fighter Pilot failed to hit the target and bailed out.

She knows all those fams are still out there, along with the Tea Party movement, and millions of other pragmatic, gut-feeling voters, haters of Big Politics, loathers of chea Chicago hacks who emean their country and whose kiss-ass foreign policy is as contemptible as his rush to force doctrinaire Socialism on us, cast in cement, in his first year. They are looking for an eloquent leader. SHE KNOWS SHE’S IT.

That’s her cause. I’m sure she’s putting her cadre together, sharpening her barackuda teeth. She’s Axelrod’s greatest fear.

As for political suicide: she doesn’t give a damn about the Presidency. After being tossed off the end of the dock, betrayed and deliberately humiliated, and having seen the dirty inside of “high level” politics, I am confident that the last thing she wants is high political office and life in elittist DC. If she can help bring down the sleazy socialist cabal, that’s all te reward se’ll need.

Cheer up. It is going to be a great show, and she can use the help you’ll be able give her. To the barricades!

Jul 6, 2009 - 12:55 am 255. Mike:

Obama is far from finished.

While he still have the MSM doing infomericals for him and control of the 2010 Census and Congress his power will continue to grow.

Only Gov Palin’s leadership can save America from the Obama administration and Congress.

Jul 6, 2009 - 7:46 am 256. Sirius:

Easy enough to understand Sarah Palin’s resignation: 15 ethics violation charges filed by DNC operatives and others resulting in >$500K of attorney fees. It is irrelevant to the opposition that she was cleared on all 15 charges – they were just getting into their stride. Her resignation effectively neutralizes this odious tactic and to some extent the relentless MSM press assaults to include unfunny “comedians”.

she’ll be back.

Jul 6, 2009 - 10:43 am 257. Godzilla:

Here’s my prediction regarding Palin’s short term intentions (inferred from her past history):

1. She will not run for president in 2012 (she has hinted this many times).

2. She will launch an energetic grassroots effort nationwide (she went door-to-door to win the governorship). I expect many many appearances. And she will not need the MSM to promote them. She’s going to go straight to the people in true grassroots style.

3. She is going to fry the media for dinner (think about her quips like the one on Obama’s fake greek columns).

4. She will sue people who make libelous statments against her (such as Huffington Post’s Moore, who has recently backtracked from her libel that Palin was being investigated by the FBI).

5. Numbers 2, 3, and 4 will take place within the context of her hammering away at the need to curtail runaway spending, the importance of energy independence, personal accountability, low taxes, the free market system, and the need to reform congress and get rid of corruption and the dead wood.

She will do all of the above without restraint, with nothing in her way as an obstacle, completely free from all the political double dealings going on in Alaska. She’ll lay low until July 25, when she leaves office, and then the nonstop Sarah Palin show will start running nationwide.

The tea parties that she attends are going to become major events and routinely draw tens of thousands, in larger areas where the population and venue supports it, upwards to 100,000, with or without msm coverage. We’ll know what she’s doing through her website and twitter account.

Jul 6, 2009 - 12:33 pm 258. Godzilla:

She’ll probably have a few words to say in support of the Second Amendment as well.

Jul 6, 2009 - 12:43 pm 259. Seerak:

Conservatism works every time it is tried.

Contrary to Russell Kirk’s laughable formulations, conservatism was solidly on the side of monarchy in 1776. The principle of individual rights — yes, one of those eighteenth century ideas that Simon thinks should be left behind in favor of nineteenth century ones (which ones, Simon? Socialism? Fascism? Marxism? Feh… “pragmatism” is epistemological primitivism wearing the mantle of philosophy, Tom Perkins’ waving aside of Simon’s citation of Pierce notwithstanding) in 1776 was a wildly radical, liberal notion.

Conservatism is a confession of confusion; having no idea where to go (for lack of principles), their “defining” attribute is that wherever we go — towards freedom or towards tyranny — we should go about it prudently and with respect for traditional forms (of tyranny or freedom — who cares? whichever is “tradition”). It was born as a reaction to that Enlightenment from which America came, and as such its roots are at odds with those of America.

Jul 6, 2009 - 1:24 pm 260. Godzilla:

Conservatism is a confession of confusion;

And progressives were solidly on the side of Hitler in the 1930’s.

Conservatism, liberalism, progressivism, moderation, etc., are universtal concepts that, if applied to different times, peoples, regimes, and governments, can of course result in confusing and contradictory patterns.

More succintly, and more generally, and more timelessly and irrespective of location, conservatism is simply a desire of people to maintain the status quo, i.e. the dominant, prevailing traditions currently in vogue where they live. Liberalism is a tendency for people to change the current system into a ‘perceived’ better one.

Jul 6, 2009 - 2:28 pm 261. Ted:

Progressives and lefties were anti-Nazi. They were the core of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade who fought Hitler’s fascist allies in the Spanish Civil war during the 1930’s.

Jul 6, 2009 - 6:58 pm 262. Mambo Bananapatch:

> She’s an ideological lightweight to boot.

I think that’s high praise, though the poster meant it as an insult.

The quality of a person’s wisdom is in direct and inverse proportion to their loyalty to ideology.

If you’re an “ideological lightweight,” that means you can “think.” Mindless devotion to ideology is just another way of saying “stupid”.

Jul 6, 2009 - 7:56 pm 263. Kipling:

Mr. Seerak, I would suggest you read more of the Founding Fathers and less of your liberal textbooks. The original documents make it clear that many of the founders felt they were going to war in 1776 not to start something new but to defend their rights as Englishmen. The Declaration of Independence does not appeal to some new theory of progressivism or marxism or to the French enlightened rationalism but to the Creator and the rights he bestowed upon man. You cannnot get much more conservative than appealing to the creation.

Jul 6, 2009 - 10:23 pm 264. joe:

maybe if we got rid of, or at least audited the Federal Reserve (which is entirely comprised of private banks, most of which are based outside of the US), our government could try to act in our best interest again. Now THERE’S a plan.

Jul 7, 2009 - 3:05 pm 265. sheesh:

The Lamentations of the Damned AKA conservatives . . . it’s like s sun shower. Fresh and crisp and clean and natural and beautiful and reaffirming. Thank you, God. You too, Jesus.

Jul 7, 2009 - 6:59 pm 266. Michael Crosby:

“Depressed on the 4th of July”

Wow, when I read those words, I thought, “Great, I’m not the only one”.

I am so distraught over our country that I wonder if I’m normal. If I’m OK.

I was thinking the other day, maybe I should just not read any more blogs or news.

But folks, we’re in deep deep do-do.

We can look back at our great founding fathers, the great wars we have spilled our blood for and won, and our unprecedented climb to being the greatest country this world has ever seen.

But B. Obama said leading up to the election that he wants “to fundamentally change America” and that is what is happening right before our eyes.

His actions with Honduras, Putin, his speech in Egypt, you get the idea. I actually read today that Putin gave Bush a compliment. And my first thought was that Putin has given more kind words to Bush than our present president. Imagine the irony in that.

I really think we have a man in office that despises America and its principles.

I’m very happy in my personal life. But when I look at the larger picture, I just want to cry. I think I need to read “1984″ again.

Jul 7, 2009 - 11:13 pm 267. Matt:

I share your depression. We live in such a great country and it seems that all the current politicians are trying to do is limit our greatness whil pandering to different special interests. I cam across a website that seems to be looking at the ideas of new leaders and has some interesting thoughts and new ideas. It might be worth your time to check it out. It seems to be pretty limited, but hopefully they’ll get some more stuff up soon. The website is freedomsdoor.org.

Jul 8, 2009 - 5:32 pm 268. Matt:

I share your depression. We live in such a great country and it seems that all the current politicians are trying to do is limit our greatness while pandering to different special interests. I cam across a website that seems to be looking at the ideas of new leaders and has some interesting thoughts and new ideas. It might be worth your time to check it out. It seems to be pretty limited, but hopefully they’ll get some more stuff up soon. The website is freedomsdoor.org.

Jul 8, 2009 - 5:33 pm 269. RULES FOR TEA PARTIERS (with thanks to Mr. Saul Alinsky) « Rosita the Prole:

[...] connections? Where’s the post-racial? Where’s the bipartisanship? Where’s the “unity”? Where’s the “making everything great for ‘working class’ [...]

Jul 26, 2009 - 11:48 am

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