Rush Limbaugh's Morning Update: For the Ages?
Over the weekend, AP-Obama ran a story calling this year's election "a campaign for the ages." Anticipating victory for their candidate, the article amounts to nothing more than a pre-election Happy Dance. It's based on AP-Obama's view that today -- at long last -- Republicans will be demolished, squashed.
In addition to a presidential triumph, they gleefully anticipate a veto-proof Democrat majority in the Senate, as well as a 35-seat Democrat pickup in the House. But the icing on the cake for the Drive-Bys is projected victories in statewide contests, which would allow Democrats to redraw election districts after the 2010 census. Of course, to their minds, this would ensure one-party rule for decades, leaving the Republican Party, as they put it, "in tatters."
Now, allow me to cut in on this Happy Dance with a few observations. Even in the best of times, it isn't wise to underestimate the American people -- especially before they actually cast their votes. The graveyard of politics is filled with those who failed to learn this lesson. Another equally important lesson is that "a campaign for the ages" can lead to utter disaster in short order when the victor fails to meet expectations, regardless of party. (Hello, Jimmy Carter!)
And permit me this final observation. No matter who wins this election, tomorrow the work of rebuilding the conservative movement begins. That is a promise -- from me to you -- for the ages, for however long it takes. Count on it.
Read the Background Material on the Morning Update...
• AP: A Campaign for the Ages, Tilting Toward Democrats
In addition to a presidential triumph, they gleefully anticipate a veto-proof Democrat majority in the Senate, as well as a 35-seat Democrat pickup in the House. But the icing on the cake for the Drive-Bys is projected victories in statewide contests, which would allow Democrats to redraw election districts after the 2010 census. Of course, to their minds, this would ensure one-party rule for decades, leaving the Republican Party, as they put it, "in tatters."
Now, allow me to cut in on this Happy Dance with a few observations. Even in the best of times, it isn't wise to underestimate the American people -- especially before they actually cast their votes. The graveyard of politics is filled with those who failed to learn this lesson. Another equally important lesson is that "a campaign for the ages" can lead to utter disaster in short order when the victor fails to meet expectations, regardless of party. (Hello, Jimmy Carter!)
And permit me this final observation. No matter who wins this election, tomorrow the work of rebuilding the conservative movement begins. That is a promise -- from me to you -- for the ages, for however long it takes. Count on it.
Read the Background Material on the Morning Update...
• AP: A Campaign for the Ages, Tilting Toward Democrats
posted by Andy W. Rogers | 7:31 AM
8 Comments:
And permit me this final observation. No matter who wins this election, tomorrow the work of rebuilding the conservative movement begins. That is a promise -- from me to you -- for the ages, for however long it takes. Count on it.
That's very soothing, Rush, but you've got some pretty insurmountable barriers in front of you. First and foremost is that you can't even think about rebuilding the conservative movement without the libertarians. After you pragmatic "conservatives" embraced Bush along with the Christian Right, the libertarians lost all respect and trust for you. I can't see them ever trusting the GOP again in my lifetime, and even if the conservative movement finds a new home in another party, the libertarians will always be mistrustful of the Christian Right. They showed their colors, first with the Terry Schiavo debacle and then with the Huckabee nomination. Libertarians were given a first-hand demonstration of the fact that the Christian Right will abandon freedom in favor of a socially authoritarian government.
If you want to begin rebuilding the conservative movement, Rush, you can start tomorrow by being openly critical of John McCain, win or lose. It's time to start telling the emperor he has no clothes, Rush. And if you're going to do that, you better attend to your own nudity first.
But the Christian Right has always been a major part of the conservative movement since the Reagan days. I have some Libertarian friends and they tell me the reason they don't trust Republicans is because Republicans spent money like drunken sailors for the past 8 years. I haven't heard anybody this election cycle mention Terry Schiavo, and I don't know what you mean by the Huckabee nomination.
The Christian Right will continue to be a part of the conservative movement. Unfortunately, their behavior will keep the libertarians at bay.
There was a considerable amount of discussion in online and print libertarian circles about the Schiavo mess while it was going on. I remember a couple of articles on the Cato Institute's site that blasted Republicans for their actions.
It is true that libertarians don't trust the Republicans because of their tendency to be Democrat-lite, but that's only part of the equation. Very few people, other than the remaining GOP True Believers, equate Republicans with conservative any more. If you are a Republican and you support their goals and actions, you are a liberal, simple as that. I seriously doubt that libertarians will ever come back to the GOP.
I should have said the Huckabee nomination campaign. Until Huckabee exposed himself as just another socialist, the Christian Right was all agog with him. There was considerable consternation among online libertarians during the time that he was the darling of the Christian Right.
The thing that concerns libertarians about Christian Right-wingers is their gullibility first, and their fecklessness second. They will toss over their economic and political convictions in a heartbeat for the first con-man who comes along spouting the right platitudes. If nothing else, their continued love affair with Bush makes them highly suspect with respect to any claims of conservatism.
I remember the discussion when the Schiavo situation was happening. You're right, Cato had some good articles during that time.
Personally, I believe the GOP sealed their fate this election cycle with that bailout bill that was passed. That's one thing I saluted Virginia Foxx on because she voted against it both times that it came up for a vote.
Maybe the conservative movement is dead because like you, the conservative movement was its most successful when it was allied with Libertarians. With that said, the Christian Right also made a huge chunk of that coalition too.
The conservative movement was most successful when the Christian Right put aside its demands for government enforcement of their morality, and the libertarians put aside their demands for open borders and unregulated abortion. The conservative movement derailed and eventually demolished itself when it failed to adequately vet those who called themselves conservative.
Before anything successful will happen with regard to rebuilding the movement, the so-called conservative press will need to be purged of all of the neo-cons and liberals hiding within its ranks. Conservatives also need to understand that they are homeless. The GOP has decided to pursue its inheritance and go the way of the Whigs. It's time for the two parties that represent the two major factions of the movement, Constitution and Libertarian, to form an alliance and make a home for the movement.
But with the conservative movement in minority status, won't the Christian Right put aside their demands & libertarians put aside their demands and come together as one to battle the liberals? One of the reasons that the conservative movement fell apart was because once they became the majority, both sides wanted to push forward with their own agendas. When the liberals fell into the minority, all their factions came together and worked toward taking back the reigns of power, which happened last night. Now they are in the majority, I see them crashing & burning like the conservative movement has done because now all the liberal factions will battle each other wanting a larger share of the pie.
One of the reasons that the conservative movement fell apart was because once they became the majority, both sides wanted to push forward with their own agendas.
Not even close.
The Christian Right saw Bush as an ally and he threw them a few bones in his first term. They reacted as they always have, with undying loyalty, even well after he started screwing them over. There's loyalty, and then there is just plain gullible stupidity. The libertarians never even came close to being able to push their agenda because Bush is the diametric opposite of a libertarian. The coalition fell apart because the Christian Right aligned itself with the pragmatists and the neo-cons and turned a blind eye while Bush competed with Wilson and Roosevelt to be the most left-leaning executive in history.
And lest you be tempted to pin the immigration fiasco on the libertarians, think again. That was about cheap labor, not freedom. That was about Bush and his cronies in the oligarchy being able to keep their pool boys and maids and sub-minimum wage waitresses and warehouse handlers.
I'm not tempted to pin the blame of the immigration issue on the libertarians. With that said, weren't the libertarians & Bush allies on that issue, even though it was for different reasons?
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