The smug right oblivious to its overrreach

When did conservatives lose their way?

Published on June 9, 2005 By Calor In Politics

Listen to Rush Limbaugh or any prominent "conservative" these days with an open mind and you'll start to notice a change in what they're all about. It's not about principles. It's about winning. Period.

The Republicans control the house, the senate, and the Presidency. They've got everything they want. And what are they doing with it? Squandering it. What ever happened to all the big, principled ideas that the right always claimed they had? Remember the Contract with America? How they doing on that? Line-Item veto? Has Bush ever used it? Did it get passed? Dunno. Term limits for congressman? Nope. Balancing the budget? HA.

Instead what we're witnessing is a feeding frenzy at the trough of government waste. Pork barrel spending has reached record highs according to a study by Heritage foundation, no lefty think-tank there. Most of the energy has been spent trying to shoe horn religious fundamentalist judges in. You would think that the Democrats were blocking all of Bush's judges. But of the hundreds of judges put before the senate, all but a handful have gone through.

Republicans and conservatives bristle when progressive refer to international law and the United Nations as a source of thought and wisdom. Fine. But many people in our country bristle at the bible being the source of widsom and insight used by unelected judges.

When Republicans aren't blowing their opportunities by wasting time on a handful of judges, they're torpedoing their future opportunities by trying to mess around with social security. Social security might have problems in 50 years if we do nothing at all? Woe is us. The current deficit, the one we have TODAY is something we should be more worried about. Worrying about a deficit 50 years from now while ignoring a large one in the present is ludicrous.

Meanwhile, the Republicans are so enthralled by big business that they've ceded much of our industrial base to "Red" China. It's ironic that the Republicans who made such a big fuss about the US doing anything with China when Clinton was President have basically surrendered our economic future to them.

Our imports are increasing while our exports are flat.

http://www.marktaw.com/culture_and_media/TheUSTradeDeficit.html

How bad is our trade deficit these days? You won't hear Rush or any other conservatives talk about it but last year we exported around $30 billion to China while importing nearly $150 billion. Too bad we can't count exported jobs as an export, our balance might not be so bad. We export nearly as much to South Korea as we do to all of China.

The Republicans claim to stand for a lot of things. Talk is cheap. When it comes to action, the Republicans are becomingly transparently the party of greed. Worse, they're getting so smug about winning that they're overreaching. The "in your face" attitude we're seeing from congress is going to cost them. If in 2008 we're electing President Hillary, the Republicans will have no one to blame but themselves.

Comments (Page 1)

bakerstreet

on Jun 09, 2005

"Line-Item veto? Has Bush ever used it? Did it get passed? "

Wasn't that passed, and then overruled by the supreme court, under Clinton? Should Bush try to force something deemed unconstitutional during a previous administration?

The "Contract with America" was a Congressional thing, so Republicans aren't the only ones responsible for what is and isn't held to. They can work toward it, but in the end the whole senate votes. Either way Bush has no power over it, and many names have changed since it was enacted.

Did Bush promise to balance the budget? I don't recall him doing so.

Presidents appoint judges, they don't need to 'shoe horn' them in unless the minority in Congress abuses their procedural rights as they have been doing. "Messing around with social security" is something that has to be done, and only recently did Democrats stop whining that it urgently needed to be fixed. Now, they feel it is more politically sound to stick their heads in the sand.

Bush has been harder on China that Clinton ever was. Most of our current problems stem from trade agreements that occured under Clinton. "ceded much of our industrial base" is a gross joke if not a total lie.

You can do better than this. I'll even give you one. Why hasn't Bush done anything to de-legitimize abortion? Careful about wanting Presidents to keep promises...

ParaTed2k

on Jun 09, 2005

Thanks for the know nothing rant. It was pretty entertaining.

Bakerstreet already pointed out your "line item veto" faux pas.

If you ask me, The Contract with America was the most unconstitutional play ever made by a Republican. I'm glad they've just let the thing fall into the waste heap of history. Housemembers and Senators aren't supposed to have a "contract with America", they are supposed to have a "contract" with their constituents (namely, the peopleof, and the states which they represent. So, you can point out that the Republicans aren't reviving it now that they run things, but I (for one) am just as glad they haven't.

As far as "blocking the nominations of judges" guess what. It is unconstitutional to block nominations. The president is charged with choosing nominees, not the Senate. The Senate is charged with an "advise and consent" vote. To say that they won't run a vote is to say that they refuse to honor the constitution. And dems love it.

What laws do you want passed to stop someone from buying Chinese goods? Would you agree with the same laws telling you what you can and can' t buy? It isn't Chinese companies that we are buying from, it is American originated companies that moved to China. Why? Because that communist country saw fit to make their nation more job friendly than the U.S. Don't you think it's pathetic that there are fewer taxes and expenses in a country like China than a free nation like The U.S?

Don't worry though, the weapons and technology sold to China (brokered, authorized and mandated by the Clinton adminstration) are built in the U.S.

Aren't you glad they "Bought American"!

Daiwa

on Jun 09, 2005

A better title would have been "The ignorant left oblivious to its demise"

Cheers,
Daiwa

ParaTed2k

on Jun 10, 2005

A better title would have been "The ignorant left oblivious to its demise"

Or, why can't the left accept that they lost, or the right accept that they won? ;~D

Dr Guy

on Jun 10, 2005

Among the many faults of this article, is the fact that you have conservatives in your sub heading and then proceed to bash Republicans.

While the 2 may have the same goals many times, they are not interchangeable. If you mean republicans, say republicans. Dont misuse terms.

Dr Guy

on Jun 10, 2005

Double Post

ericseba

on Jun 10, 2005

Republicans supporting big business does not send business to China. Business goes to China because all of the businesses there are state run and they don't tax the crap out of themselves. Business (all business, not just big business) in the US are taxed to death making us unable to compete with foreign state run industries. It is not even about labor. I by plastic bags from China for the business I work for. I do it because I have to in order to be competitive because the guy next door to me is doing it as well. We can do one of two things; tariff the crap out of anything that comes from another country to even the odds, or give tax breaks to businesses so they can compete. And it's not just taxes that the Democrats are killing business with. It's the bleeding heart, ACLU lawyers who make insurance rates sky high. I work for a business that employs a mere 55 people, not exactly BIG business and our worker's comp insurance averages $32,000.00 a year. That's $32,000.00 that I have to put into the price of my products that some business in China does not have to. And is that $32,000.00 really there to protect us from medical bills. No! It's to protect us from $700.00/hr lawyers that will sue our company for $150,000.00 for pain and suffering everytime an employee cuts his hand and requires $500.00 worth of stitches.

Businesses pay taxes on payroll, above and beyond what is taken from your check, there are employer taxes. Last week we witheld $4,102.52 in taxes from our employees and we paid an additional $2,347.90 in payroll tax. that's $122,090.80 annually!! We pay operating fees, income taxes, sales taxes, land and use taxes, building taxes, taxes on water, electricity and gas bills. Annual license fees to the city, county and state.

Simply put, without tax relief and tort reform we will continue to see more business go to countries who do not tax business to death because of their seemingly bottomless pockets.

Please don't come back to me with the slave labor crap because while it may be the case in some industries, plastic bags are a more or less automated, machine driven process. They are by no means made by hand. They are simply made in a country that does not have exhorbantant taxation and rampant lawsuits.

Island Dog

on Jun 10, 2005

If in 2008 we're electing President Hillary, the Republicans will have no one to blame but themselves.

Which Hillary are you electing, the new "centrists" one or the liberal one?

Rightwinger

on Jun 10, 2005

Man o man, do I love seeing the lefties get slammed back into their chairs. Great job guys.

As far as the pork barrel spending issue goes, I lived in WV for most of my life, and Sheets Byrd is one of the worst of the porkers. No conservative there.

stutefish

on Jun 10, 2005

It's a debate about priorities, isn't it? There's nothing in the article about Republicans more interested in winning than in what they stand for. It's all about Republicans setting different priorities from Calor, and choosing to fight battles Calor wishes they wouldn't.

"Those Republicans wouldn't be so bad, if they only did what good Democrats would do."

Of course, if the Republicans had the Democrat agenda, they probably wouldn't be winning elections, would they?

enigmagnetic

on Jun 10, 2005

Careful about wanting Presidents to keep promises...

Whoa now we can't have our cake and eat it too. You're just asking for too much now...

bakerstreet

on Jun 10, 2005

I'm was just pointing out that if Bush HAD done everything he set out to do, you guys would be a lot less happy than you are now, if such a thing is possible.

Moderateman

on Jun 10, 2005

out of respect for the horse that had been beaten to death by some of my compatriots, I will abstain from further harm.

Dr Guy

on Jun 10, 2005

I'm was just pointing out that if Bush HAD done everything he set out to do, you guys would be a lot less happy than you are now, if such a thing is possible.

That gets you an insightful!

Dr Guy

on Jun 10, 2005

Double post Cookie time.

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