Sunday, November 2, 2014

The Vote Next Tuesday

I have written a lot of harsh things about the GOP (here, here, and here, for example). I remain troubled by the party's weakness when confronting the ever expanding size and reach of federal, state, and municipal government. Republicans too easily let themselves get Mau-Maued by the progressive insult and spin machine, and try to appease it by turning against some of the more gutsy members of the GOP, e.g., Senator Cruz, Governor Palin. All that said, almost any Republican politician is better than almost any Democrat politician when it comes to genuine concern for the country and the future we are creating for our kids and grandkids.

As noted before, I am a libertarian with an asterisk. My default setting on nearly every issue is let the people and the free market handle it. I want our number of laws and regulations radically slashed; whole departments of government eliminated; huge tax cuts; an end to the phony "war on drugs," and so on. I don't get too worked up over some social issues that get Republicans tied up in knots. I, however, want government to do what it is supposed to do: keep the country safe from the multiple threats that exist in what is an increasingly insane planet. I want our military and international alliance structure so powerful that no whacky totalitarian or crazed jihadi would think of attacking us or our friends.

I vote Republican because, whatever the flaws of that party, it is overall a far better choice than its principal alternative. The Democratic party has become destructively insane, and gets crazier by the year. It is a threat to liberty. It believes only in government and in a weird view of America as a place that is endlessly in need of more government.

At a bare minimum, we need to get control of Congress and hold the Republicans we elect accountable for stopping Obama in the remaining two years of his reign of error and terror. Obamacare must be killed off; the IRS seriously overhauled and reduced; the Department of Justice needs a radical redo; illegal immigration must be dealt with as the threat to our future which it is; the misadministration's anti-energy policies must be eradicated, etc. Can a Republican Congress do all that? Probably not, but we will never even get started on saving our country if we don't have a Republican Congress.

Elections have consequences. Yes, I would like to see libertarians elected. That's not going to happen. If we squander our vote on libertarians and other well-meaning folks, we end up with Obama and Reid. For all their flaws, I would much prefer Romney and McConnell.

27 comments:

  1. Already voted, straight GOP - it was the only sane choice.

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  2. The key to your article is "we". We need to send them up there then follow up on holding them accountable and backing them up. We can't just "elect them and forget them" as we have done so often in the past. If the people we send up there do not feel our support, how do we think they'll be able to muster the courage to take on the beast that DC, the Media, and Democrats have become?
    James the Lesser

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  3. I always tell my kids that I support the Republicans because they at least say the right things. Sadly, that is about all they do. Say things. I fondly recall Newt's Contract With America and how the early implementation made Clinton look good. And then the court stepped in and put an end to term limits, line item veto and pretty much everything that could effectively get the country on-track.
    Now, we have Republican leadership that is completely impotent or has no real desire to reign in the idiots across the aisle. They desperately cling to the power still held and the country descends into socialism.
    The so called fear-mongering that came from the right in the 50s has been shown to be prophetic. We are on the slippery slope.
    Vote GOP. They at least say the right things.

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  4. Early voting (which I oppose on the grounds that it predominantly benefits one party over the other) has been going on for three weeks now in NV, and all three of the registered voters in this household have already cast our ballots. I am sorry the dogs, parrot and horses could not vote too, as that would have been five more votes for Republicans, but it really matters little in this end of NV -- Harry Reid is not on the ballot and the "outstanding candidate" he promised to recruit to run against Governor Sandoval never materialized.

    Like you, Diplomad, I am disappointed in many Republicans but recognize that they are a better alternative than the Reids and Pelosis of this world. Which brings to mind another point: shouldn't the people who create our laws and spend our money have to pass a sanity check? Reid and Pelosi would have failed that years ago. I think a fair number of Republicans would have done likewise, starting right at the top with John Boehner.

    So yes, voters, get out there and take the Senate leadership away from Harry Reid! Even you voters in OZ -- it appears now there is no difficulty in non-citizens voting in the USA, so send in some ballots.

    Thanks for another good column, Dip!

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    1. "I am sorry the dogs, parrot and horses could not vote too, as that would have been five more votes for Republicans ..."

      May be too late F, but did you consider sending the dogs, parrot and horses names to the registrar up in Illinois requesting absentee ballots?
      ______________

      But I guess what with the voting machines switching from votes for Republican to Democrat it probably woulda been a waste of stamps.

      Ark

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    2. Ark: Now why didn't I think of that?

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    3. I would like nothing better than to help vote out Obamayomama's buddies, I visited the USA many times in the late 70s-early 80s and then worked full time for @18 months in San Mateo in the very late 90s-early Y2K (no names no pack drill but bosses name was Larry) and enjoyed many a vigorous political debate over a few beers. As in Australia the 'progressives' (read: loony leftoids) in the USA have almost but not quite taken a stranglehold on the 'social services' which as we all know are there (supposedly to serve us, otherwise why TF are we paying taxes?) but are daily becoming more and more intrusive into our lives. As in Australia, what made America great was the will to GO, the will to DO, the will to BUILD, to CREATE and now the pencilnecked bleeding heart sandal wearing granola eating lefties are doing their level best to undo all that Great American Spirit, simply because they themselves don't have the cohones to go out and create, rather than just be a succubus on the hard-done-by taxpayer (that includes the lefty women btw), but then, isn't that so easy to do? Just pass the Civil Service exam and then start applying your miserable agenda against all those American folks who want nothing more than job security, a happy home life, peace and prosperity and maybe a World Series win for the local boys.
      To use a time-worn Australian expresiion - 'hope and change?' My Arse.

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  5. The most perfect summary of my political philosophy that I have ever read, much less composed on my own.

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  6. ...easily et themselves...

    Which saved the Dems the trouble of eating them.

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  7. " Yes, I would like to see libertarians elected. That's not going to happen. If we squander our vote on libertarians and other well-meaning folks .."

    I do hope Diplomad, you'll not be considering me a turncoat for voting for one particular Libertarian? Fortunately the guy would, if elected, not be showing up in DC. Soon at any rate.

    But doggone the name-recognition alone would probably be enough that FOX constantly calling attention to the rest of the nation that, Arkansas bears the brunt of, foisting the Clintons on the rest of y'all - might be quieted some should this guy have to take up residence in Little Rock.

    http://lpar.org/elections/2014-candidates/elvis-d-presley/

    Arkie

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  8. Republicans need to clean house , but for now better a Republican you know than an Independent who professes neutrality yet receives much funding and counsel from the Dems. Bruce Ogden comes to mind.

    And about time to get rid of political dynastic families and politicians who get jobs for life. Might even rethink the Supreme Court as well. But I digress.

    Rebuilding after Obama will be long and painful and slow. If possible.

    pmc

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    1. The Republicans have been cleaning house. 50 mill to kill off Tea Party candidates.

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    2. Yeah. Can't have honesty.

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  9. I am in Australia not America but who to vote for is actually a relatively simple matter. No political party will ever be "all things to all men" so having said that, who would I vote for? The party you consider will do the "least damage". Having seen what left wing parties have done to the West I couldn't in all good conscience vote for any one of them.

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  10. Establishment Republicans have historically been the guys who "shoot the wounded" to keep the Social Democrat's radical programs from collapsing from their all too obvious flaws. This just sets the stage for the next inevitable big tax increase followed by a new round of radical ratchet effect when they leave office. I don't expect anything different this time. A Republican victory will just kick the can down the road another 4 to 8 years while the media will be full of the whining of the radicals. The US needs it's own version of UKIP, and soon.
    = The Late Great United States.

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  11. I've gotten a lot of advertisements for the Libertarian candidate for Representative in our district. They were all put out by the Democrat party. Looks like our incumbent Democrat is worried and trying to split the conservative vote. Hopefully folks don't fall for it.

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  12. Social issues animate conservatives only because for almost fifty years now leftists have used the Federal government to impose their morality on everyone.

    Before that started happening social issues were not election issues; now that they are is not the time for conservatives to unilaterally disarm.

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  13. I went and voted Republican in my deep indigo state of Maryland (and heavily gerrymandered to remain so), Dip. My diplowife says it's useless, but like the calf against the oak in Solzhenitsyn's memoir, I keep butting my head against the system.

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  14. It seems we have a Republican Senate.

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    1. Yes we do. Now, we need to not only "hold their feet to the fire", but support these people in a up front vocal way.

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  15. I visited your site, and have a few serious things to say as another American guy who married overseas (30+ years and counting, first and only marriage for both of us, likely to end when one of us dies, two sons, one daughter-in-law, and one grand-daughter, thank you) and who's lived on both sides of the consular glass. And I'm saying this as someone who takes marriage very, very seriously.

    My marriage and family started when I was a lonely young guy teaching long-term in Taiwan who had a social network full of local folks, and a very good working knowledge of spoken and written Chinese under my belt. I was also willing to acculturate somewhat to the host culture and developed a lot of respect for some of the "common grace" sorts of things I saw in Chinese culture. My wife was an English teacher; and both of us are Christians, and both of us committed to see things work. However, we've also had our rough spots we needed to work through, and for every inter-cultural couple like us, there are dozens that flounder.

    Overseas, there are plenty of women who are "immature, selfish, extremely arrogant and self-centered, mentally unstable, irresponsible, and highly unchaste", too. I also understand that Egypt and one or another Muslim nation lead the world in battered husbands. And what of too many of our American brothers of all demographics? Too many of them are just like the women you describe, only X-chromosonally challenged.

    Maybe I'm being a Nosey Parker, but, marriage and family are too important to be guided chiefly by disgust at the way we Americans are miseducating ourselves and our young.
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  16. "Overseas, there are plenty of women who are "immature, selfish, extremely arrogant and self-centered, mentally unstable, irresponsible, and highly unchaste", too."
    Heck, I found one like that right here in Texas.

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  17. James, my point is that a lot of American men think they're going to find their dream girls overseas, and get stuck with the same sort of lemons they'd be stuck with at home. I saw a lot of such romantics from the Consular window in Guangzhou and Bangkok, especially the latter.

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  18. I know Kepha, it was just me trying to be the comedian. You're right, the border is not some magical dividing line when comes to women (or humanity for that matter).
    James the Lesser

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  19. I think I need to clarify my border comment. As I said it isn't some magical line dividing individual human behavior, but it does demarcate differences in culture, law, and general social behavior.
    James the Lesser

    Ps. And regardless of where you are women are still women.

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