Politics

Charlie Crist - RINO extraordinaire

Robb Allen — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:36:12 GMT

Come time, I think I might give old Charlie the boot. I have no need for this:

Crist, Palin Differ On Path For GOP

...
That success, Crist said over and over, came from a new kind of Republicanism he's fighting to put into practice in Florida, and that he says the party should practice nationally.
Virtually every time he spoke, Crist threw in the word "inclusiveness." Unlike other attendees, he didn't look for chances to trash Democrats, or blame the party's problems on the press.
"In my administration," he said in a discussion forum, "I've appointed African-Americans that also happen to be Democrats to head some of our agencies. ... If you show them that you really care by inclusion, it's hard to have a counterargument that you don't."

Pardon my french, Gov'nr, but screw that shit. You don't improve a grade school's record on safety by "including pedophiles". You don't improve a steakhouse's menu by including PETA members. You don't win football games by including members of the other team in your huddle.

You sure as f*(& don't decrease the size of government by "including" those who's desire is to increase it.

Crist is a prime example of why independents such as myself are slowly refusing to vote for Republicans. This is the cancer that is eating away at the GOP. This "need to be loved by all" is the death knell of the Grand Old Party. I've said it before and it bears repeating - You cannot win over lefties by moving left. The Democrats have that area covered all too well.

No, Crist and the other RINOs need to listen to Palin

Palin put forward a harder line: Tough adherence to the party's ideological principles.
Republicans, she said, should start on the road back by dogging the Obama administration and Democratic Congress on taxes, health care and energy, making no concessions.
"Now it is time for us to go our own way ... confident in the knowledge that there will be another day. We'll rise to fight again," Palin said.

You think you're going to get my vote by simply being a Democrat Lite? Sorry Charlie.

Coke and a smile

Robb Allen — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:34:44 GMT

For 8 years, the rabid left has been calling Bush a coke-head for his past usage and that it affected his ability to perform as CiC. Obama has apparently snorted a little happy powder from time to time in his past as well and I wonder how important that is now to the same people?

Watch closely as I don't hold my breath.

Personal view? Couldn't care less about either. A person could have mainlined Ty-D-Bol to induce hallucinations of Merle Haggard and Barry White singing covers of Metallica for all I care so long as it's in the past. I don't want an active drug user with that much power, but as far as doing shit like that in your youth, who cares?

No, I expect not only kid gloves for Obama, but a newfound respect for someone who could break such a horrible habit and how it adds to his character and ability to ~~rule~~ lead the country.

Fear itself

Robb Allen — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 13:52:56 GMT

For a few days, I started thinking this Obama thing might turn out better than I had expected. I watched as the term "President-Elect" became almost holy in nature as his minions (and even himself) started talking about all the miracles he was going to do within minutes of taking the office. I also started watching many people seem to realize he wasn't going to be able to deliver on all his promises. There was talk of "lowering expectations" from the Obama camp, and that put me a little more at ease.

I saw two outcomes from Obama and Congress.

They actually try 1/100th of what they've been talking about and auger the country into the ground, assuring a sound defeat in 2010 and Obama looking for another Community Organizer job in 2012 as people realize what they've been sold
They tack hard middle as they all wish to keep their jobs. Sure, some bad stuff comes through, but nothing that cannot be changed with a little effort.

This morning, I have come to the realization that I am wrong. #1 will happen and the populace will care not one whit about it and vote the bastards right back in.

I have no faith in my fellow Americans any more. Friends of mine who I know are smart, intelligent people are full bore Obama supporters. People are calling for a national holiday celebrating Obama. Politicians' masks slipped and they realized nobody cared. Now we have prominent Democrats openly advocating things like this

We have been guided by a Republican administration who believes in the simplistic notion that people who have wealth are entitled to keep it and they have an antipathy towards redistributing wealth and they may be able to sustain it for a while but it doesn’t work in the long run.

Obama's web site calls for draconian gun control that never worked and has no chance of reducing crime, but does have the effect of reducing legitimate gun ownership. He also calls for "mandatory volunteerism". Of course, half of that changes each day as his team sends those pages down the memory hole. And of course, Obama doesn't seem too keen on letting others make decisions, he's going to start issuing executive orders rather than wait for Congress to approve.

Orwell would have been flabbergasted.

I'm frightened. I'm literally scared of how far we've fallen from what makes America so great. Rugged individualism, personal liberty and responsibility, freedom - these aren't just quaint phrases, they are what made American the most prosperous, generous, and powerful nation this planet has ever seen. However, it's evident that a large swath of the population prefers collectivism, shared 'responsibility', and a false sense of safety over the possibility of succeeding.

I watch England, day by day, fall apart at the seams when it comes to being a Western Democracy and a free society. I hear stories of "reeducation" for preschool children to prevent racist actions like sticking out their tongues. CCTV cameras every 30 feet. Forcing property owners to remove fences lest the thieves hurt themselves trying to cross them. And when you show Americans that this is the fruits of communal labor, most of them just shrug and go back to watching who gets kicked off Dancing with the Stars.

I used to have hope my fellow Americans wouldn't stand for this. Then I watched Joe the Plumber, the quintessential "little guy" speak his mind to a politician and have his life ripped to shreds in an attempt to destroy him not by the politician, but by other Americans. I'm losing hope day by day that we'll get through this.

I used to pooh-pooh the idea that schools were just indoctrinating the kids because I came out fine. My schools never taught that kind of crap and I've noticed that all my friends on Facebook from high school all seem to share my view for freedom (I'm literally shocked to see how many of them self identify as libertarian). But that's Georgia, and it appears we were more the exception than the rule. And without children being taught about our history and what it means to be an American in schools, there's no hope for future generations to roll back the tide.

I'm depressed. Severely, thoroughly, and completely. I long for the days when the Democrats actually stood for the little guy rather than just using them to stand on. I crave the time when the Republicans actually professed for smaller government. But now, they're both the same - statists who simply want to control your life, be it who you can do the Gumby-Pokey with or how you spend your own money.

Bleh. I'd disconnect, but that would be giving up. I just don't know where to fight anymore. It's like the battle is 360° around me and to focus in any one direction means instant death.

What do you think? Is there hope? Am I being overly morose? Up my meds?

It is said a capitalist would sell you the rope to hang him with

Robb Allen — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 18:06:34 GMT

Gays will vote in the Democrats that will more than happily throw them under the bus.

Sucks to have your rights trampled, doesn't it? Maybe if you concentrated on not allowing the government so much power and teaching your fellow man and woman to respect those old fashioned notions of personal property and liberty then you wouldn't have to worry so much about the mind set that makes people think they can simply vote away your rights and the government complying.

Personally, while I didn't vote for the stupid anti-gay amendment here in Florida, I'm not going to argue too hard against it. My rights as a hard working citizen have been violated so many times it's not funny. I pay an ungodly amount in taxes (I literally cannot afford for my wife to work as the tax increase and added child care costs would have me seeing less than what I make now), have to beg for permission to exercise an inalienable right without being hassled, and having to repeatedly prove my innocence rather than the government proving my guilt that I'm completely out of giving a fuck.

Maybe when enough other people start getting their fingers slammed in the door of "the greater good" they'll start coming around to the fact that freedom means a lot more than cheap healthcare and high availability of plasma TV's, but I'm not really going to hold my breath on that one.

The struggle to remain objective

Robb Allen — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 14:20:54 GMT

So, my blog mama discusses the impending implosion of the far-right and how they're already turning into the far-left they so despise

Hey, right wingers? You have become the people you hate. You have become everything you screamed at people for being in 2004. You are running around claiming that Obama cheated, lied and bought his way to the White House. Looking around the blogosphere and its comments I see the words slimy, corrupt, devil, Antichrist, communist, evil, Stalin, Lenin, Hitler.

Now, unlike Michele, I didn't support and still do not support Barack Obama and his policies. I believe them to be detrimental to the United States and what it is that makes the US so strong. However, I also realize that it's not Barack Obama that is the US, it is you and me. And unfortunately more people seem to want nebulous change and handouts than there are who want to be left alone to live the American dream.

The problem is that the nastiest, most hateful portions of our society have come out of the woodwork. For the past few years, that has been primarily the left and their hate of all that is even remotely related to conservatives. The right side has their wastes of oxygen too, and now I see some who are ready to start deploying the same tactics that they derided for so long.

I can understand that reaction. It is human to want someone to suffer what you had to suffer in order for them to see the error of their ways. Alas, I don't think that being nasty to the other side will have that effect and will only entrench them further into their sewer pits.

When I was in the Marines, we were taught something along the lines of "kill with one hand, heal with the other". It was ingrained in us that we would fare better in war if we treated our enemies well. When captured, you fed them, kept them safe, and gave them shelter. They would be more willing to go along with you if they knew this was their fate.

The problem with the wings of any political movement is that at some point, you simply become a true believer. Listen and understand. Those wingnuts are out there. They can't be bargained with, they can't be reasoned with. They don't feel pity, or remorse, or fear, and they absolutely will not stop. Ever. Until your side is crushed. Fighting them with the same malice will have no effect. They will still continue to hate you and everything you stand for. Those are not the people you are trying to reach.

The vast majority of Americans do not fit neatly into left vs. right, conservative vs. liberal. It is those people you try to reach with reason and logic. To go off the deep end, hating everything Obama touches is going to have no effect and instead turn you into the very thing you hate.

I will fight every last thing I can coming from this administration that limits liberty. I would have fought against McCain, I've argued against Bush (although now I realize not hard enough), party be damned. Those of us who love liberty and respect private property will always be at a disadvantage as we are only given the opportunity to vote for different flavors of more government, never less. Let's not squander what little advantages we have by being reactively hateful.

Fight. Fight hard. Do not give up. Talk about liberty and freedom to your friends and family. Do not couch it in terms of left vs. right but freedom vs. slavery. Remind people that the more free people are, the more generous they become which has a benefit for the downtrodden that forced charity cannot compare to. Instill in your children the value of hard work. Volunteer your time to help someone in need. And as much as I hate to steal Obama's motto - be the change you seek.

God bless America, still the greatest country that has ever existed on this planet.

We propose universal civilian service for every young American

Robb Allen — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:52:33 GMT

This should scare you shitless

Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, President-Elect Obama's choice for chief of staff in his incoming administration, is co-author of a book, The Plan, that calls for, among other things, compulsory service for all Americans ages 18 to 25. The following excerpt is from pages 61-62 of the 2006 book:

It's time for a real Patriot Act that brings out the patriot in all of us. We propose universal civilian service for every young American. Under this plan, All Americans between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five will be asked to serve their country by going through three months of basic training, civil defense preparation and community service. ...

This is who the new president is surrounding himself with. We already know Obama is for mandatory service. Why is the draft scare always blamed on Republicans when it's always the Democrats wanting it so badly?

One more thing on the never ending laundry list of things to oppose. *Sigh*

My latest bumper sticker is up

Robb Allen — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 16:58:14 GMT

Liberty cannot survive in anarchy. Government is a necessary evil but one we've grown too accustomed to expanding to fill our needs. The cost of government is more than taxes, it is the very freedoms you enjoy. We must be willing to sacrifice a little to ensure we gain the most. In fact, it's a capitalistic transaction.

However, there comes a point where too much government does nothing for your security and well being and in fact becomes harmful. We are well past that point already.

It's time to start remembering what made America the great nation it is. It's time to try to see past party lines and scale back the behemoth we've created in our federal government.

An open letter to my fellow political travelers

Robb Allen — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:55:49 GMT

Obama is president elect. Congratulations to him on that. While I'm sure there was plenty of voter fraud, I don't think it was enough to swing the election. Obama's nebulous message of hope and change resonated in the American psyche and they voiced their desires at the polls.

Obama will be the next President of the United States. Let us not fall into the nutroots' mode of declaring him "Not my president" or "Don't Blame Me I Voted McCain". Seriously, McCain wouldn't have been much of an improvement.

I disagree with Obama's positions on practically everything. Part of me despairs that America is going to go down hill, but then again part of me remembers that America is more than the people who pretend to rule us. I'm terrified that so many people are acquiescent to the socialistic views Obama promotes because it is not the President that defines us, but the people.

My job now is not to destroy Obama. He was elected fair and square (enough) and it is his right to take the office. My job now is harder than I'd have ever imagined. It is to talk to my fellow Americans and try to instill into them a sense of personal responsibility, of freedom and liberty, and get them to realize that granting the government power to make their decisions for them is not in their best long term interests.

We're going to see another AWB. We'll have to fight it tooth and nail and the chances of us fending it off are grim. But we can't give up. Because if we give up, then that is how America is lost.

Please join me in congratulating Obama and Biden, respecting the office in which they will hold, and not giving up on America.

God bless us all.

An open letter to the GOP

Robb Allen — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:44:00 GMT

Now do you get it?

You will not win by moving left. Sorry, the Democrats and progressives have a monopoly on that segment and you're not going to win them over. Those who support liberty and freedom are not going to be excited about supporting you if you espouse the same garbage your competitor is.

Yes, it is unfortunate that a large swath of Americans are wooed by the thought of government mandated fairness and wealth redistribution. However, I truly believe an even larger swath would be move by messages of greater freedom, something I used to think you guys stood for.

Can we pull back the rising tide of socialism? Possibly, yes. Probably?

That depends on how hard you work at getting back to the core tenets of what it used to mean to be a Republican. Until then, enjoy being the minority.

Bob Smith does not exist at this address

Robb Allen — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 20:59:34 GMT

But he's registered to vote (and just guess his party!)

"Bob Smith does not exist at this address," Taylor said. Bob Smith is a character Taylor made up to get rid of sales calls. "The salesman would say who do we need to talk to and we'll say, well, Bob Smith."
Apartment No. 2 doesn't exist, either.
"There's somebody out there registering phony people who's going to commit voter fraud," Taylor said.
...

Like MacManus, Taylor is concerned enough voter fraud could sway the election in Florida.
"The problem is, how many Bob Smiths are there floating around right now?" Taylor asked. "Is this going to have an effect on the current election?"

How else can the anointed one get elected otherwise?

Heck, I hear Jesus really only had 7 or 8 disciples - the other's were just names he'd picked up in Bethlehem while there for the census.