Tag: Political Philosophy

What Happened To The GOP?

It is a question that many people are asking….well not everyone just the sane ones.

They lost the White House and the Senate and the House….you would think that after such defeats that they would take a hard look at their party and do what is needed to make some adjustments…..well you would be mistaken.

I mean the GOP of 1956 was an excellent party that cared about the people and the country….but since then it has slid into worthless jingoism.

And yet they cannot see this failure and do some rebranding….

Typically, after losing a presidential election, a political party will undertake an intense intra-party debate over why it didn’t win and how the party needs to change to take back the White House. Democrats did so after losing in 1988, 2000, 2004 and 2016. In fact, even after winning in 2020 — taking control of the White House and U.S. Senate and maintaining control in the U.S. House — Democrats are having an intra-party debate, trying to figure out why they didn’t win more House seats and struggled with Latino voters. Republicans, too, have had such debates, after losses in 1996, 2008 and 2012. 

But not this time.

Why The Republican Party Isn’t Rebranding After 2020

No rebranding…..just the same obstructionism that has plagued this nation for years…..and the esteemed leader of the Senate GOP will do nothing to change the slide of the GOP…..

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell made clear what he hopes to do this term: obstruct President Joe Biden’s administration in the same way he obstructed then-President Barack Obama’s.

“One hundred percent of my focus is on stopping this new administration,” McConnell said at a press conference. “What we have in the United States Senate is total unity from Susan Collins to Ted Cruz in opposition to what the new Biden administration is trying to do to this country.” McConnell later caveated his comments slightly, noting: “I’m anxious on stopping the Biden agenda — depending on what it is.”

https://www.vox.com/2021/5/12/22421064/mcconnell-poll-bipartisanship

So Mitch is going to destroy the GOP….and no one asked…..why?

But nobody is asking the bigger question: “Why would a professional, lifelong politician and master tactician like Mitch McConnell make such a huge mistake?”

I believe the answer is that McConnell does not think he’s making a mistake. He thinks he’s right. He thinks he’s going to win.

I believe he has completely deluded himself. He has bought his own BS. And it won’t be the first time senior Republican leadership has done this and then destroyed the GOP in the process.

https://www.rawstory.com/mitch-mcconnell-is-about-to-destroy-the-gop/

Personally the sooner the idiots in the GOP destroy the party the better the country will be….then maybe the GOP will return to support of the country…..just like in 1956…..

Image

Now there is policies of a party that cares about this country and not serving as some sort of spoiler to any social progress.

Will the GOP ever find its way out of the fog it has created for itself?

Some say that there is a civil war within the GOP…..and the GOP lost.

House Republicans voted Rep. Liz Cheney out of her leadership position and replaced her with compliant quisling Rep. Elise Stefanik. On the same day, 100 current and former Republican officials wrote a letter threatening to form a third party, a move that The Washington Post described as vowing to begin a “civil war” within the party.

Still on the same day, at a House hearing in which former acting Sec. of Defense Christopher Miller testified to events on Jan. 6, Republican after Republican stepped up to not just ignore the attempted overthrow of democracy, but to embrace it. Republicans described the deadly assault on the Capitol as a “normal tourist visit” in which “peaceful patriots” were “hugging and kissing” the police. It was a description so out of touch with reality that, as CNN reports, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski declared that she was “offended.” 

All of this certainly gives the impression of a party awash with conflict. As one CNN analyst declared, this is what happens “when political parties implode.” But right across the virtual page, a second CNN editorial strikes a different note. There is no civil war within the party, Instead, Republicans are “in near-perfect lockstep with Trump” and “with the politics of Trumpism.”

And honestly, that’s the correct view. The war in the Republican Party is already over. And the Republican Party lost. 

https://m.dailykos.com/stories/2021/5/15/2030616/-The-civil-war-in-the-Republican-Party-is-over-and-the-Republican-Party-lost

I think it can but it will take a hard look at the stupidity that has taken the party by the ‘nads and exorcise its demons (begin with Trump and his sycophants)

But that is years away….this is the new normal in politics…..stupidity over rational thought.

I weep for my country.

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Is This Democracy?

May the Fourth Be With You!

Let me begin for those that cannot tear themselves from the game control long enough to grasp the idea of democracy.

The definition…..a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.

Nowhere is the word “democracy” mentioned in the Declaration of Independence or the U.S. Constitution. How could that be? Our government is a democracy!

The Founders actually feared democratic rule. James Madison expressed this attitude in Federalist #10: “…instability, injustice, and confusion …have in truth been the mortal disease under which popular governments everywhere perished…” In the late 18th-century, rule by the people was thought to lead to disorder and disruption. Yet a democratically-based government was seen as superior to the monarchies of Europe.

If this is true then why do we keep calling this country a democracy?

The GOP has gone down the rabbit hole of fascism and the Dems are so central that it is a party of spineless cowards.

What we have in this country is more like ‘democratic centralism’…..and yes a scary term….but how many know what it is?

“democratic centralism,” a term made famous by Vladimir Ulyinov Lenin. As the leader of the Russian Revolution in 1917, he established a communist government that allowed no private property to exist. All members of society were theoretically equal. However, Lenin considered a small “vanguard of the revolution” necessary to guide the people and establish order. So a small group of leaders make decisions in the name of the people, based on their perceptions of what the people want and need.

A small group of leaders…..sound familiar?

We have a central government that is filled with elected reps and party hacks that decide what is best for the people….sadly none listen to the people after the election….then it becomes party politics and democracy be damn.

Democratic countries cherish individual freedom and generally believe that laws should not be repressive; a little order can be sacrificed in the name of liberty.

Repressive?

Is not a minority forcing their personal beliefs on the population a bit repressive?

I have asked in a past post…..https://gulfsouthfreepress.wordpress.com/2021/04/05/what-happened-to-the-social-contract/

So is this a democracy?

Some will say no it is not….we are a republic….if so then stop using the term ‘democracy’ or ‘democratic’.

PERIOD!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Those Social Conservatives

Just a little something now that a Dem will occupy the White House….an old nemesis will return…..the social conservative.

First what is a “social conservative:”?

While the terms conservative and liberal can have different definitions in different countries, American social conservatism usually refers to a political ideology that involves traditional, historical views on the definition of marriage, life, sexuality, and religion. This ideology is in direct contrast with another known as social liberalism. Individuals who are socially liberal typically embrace and support marriage equality, abortion rights, and government intervention on issues such as pay between men and women.

Voters who are social conservatives often support candidates in the Republican Party, which is known for having traditional views in relation to the definition of marriage, life, sexuality, and religion. According to Gallup’s annual measurement of social views, about one-third of Americans identify as socially conservative. American social conservatives are often members of a Christian or Jewish denomination, but not every social conservative is religious.

https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-social-conservatism-definition-examples.html

For those that have an allergic reaction to actual reading…..I have visuals…..

Since the election of Trump….the traditional beliefs of the social conserv is gone….so can we say that it is a “dead” movement?

I have thrown a lot of info at you about social conservs…..and with good reason…..

Some research is showing that social conservs are less intelligent than others…..

Over the past decade, several studies have shown that people who tend to hold more conservative views score low on measures of intelligence. However, it now appears that while conservatism and intelligence are negatively correlated, the link is not as strong as first thought.

Much of the previous work in this area was based on a psychological definition of conservatism, rather than a political one. The term “conservative syndrome” was coined to describe a person who attaches particular importance to respect for tradition, humility, devoutness and moderation.

Such a person tends to hold conformist values like obedience, self-discipline and politeness, and emphasises the need for social order coupled with concerns for family and national security.

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/09/socially-conservative-people-tend-to-be-less-intelligent-according-to-science/

If social conservs like Reps. Jordan, Nunes, Meadows, Gaetz, McCarthy are examples of the political philosophy then I would say that the research holds up well.

And no better example of stupid than the “anti-maskers”……and the return of the social conservative will once again lead the stupidity in our Congress.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Issues That Divide

Tomorrow is the big day…will it be Trump or will it be Biden?

There are those issues that divide our people….but in reality those issues are not all that ….

Here is a look at some of the more pressing issues and the so-called “divide”…..the site fivethirtyeight.com takes a look at the divisions….

  • A public health insurance option: 45 percent of Republicans supported a government-operated health insurance plan that all Americans could enroll in, while 47 percent opposed this idea, according to the New York Times/Siena poll. This was also a popular idea overall — 67 percent of Americans, including 87 percent of Democrats, supported a public option.
  • State and local government policies to limit the spread of COVID-19, such as requirements to wear masks: 56 percent of Republicans said state and local governments are taking “reasonable steps to protect people,” while 43 percent said those moves are “unreasonable attempts to control people,” per PRRI. These policies were broadly popular — 76 percent of Americans, including 94 percent of Democrats, said state and local governments were taking reasonable steps.
  • A mini-Green New Deal: 46 percent of Republicans opposed a “$2 trillion plan to increase the use of renewable energy and build energy-efficient infrastructure,” and 45 percent of Republicans supported it, according to the New York Times/Siena survey. The question referred neither to Biden nor to the “Green New Deal.” (The former vice president has a $2 trillion proposal that focuses on both improving America’s infrastructure and reducing the nation’s use of fossil fuels. It’s basically a shrunken-down version of the Green New Deal.) It’s quite possible that support for this proposal would be much lower among Republicans if the question cast it as, say, “Joe Biden’s version of the Green New Deal.” But it’s interesting that the concept of a more modest Green New Deal is not that unpopular with Republicans. Sixty-six percent of Americans, including 89 percent of Democrats, supported this idea.
  • Getting a COVID-19 vaccine: 54 percent of Republicans said they would “probably” or “definitely” get a vaccine for COVID-19 if it were approved by the FDA, and 40 percent said they “probably” or “definitely” would not get it, per the New York Times/Siena survey. Sixty-one percent of Americans, including 69 percent of Democrats, said they would “probably” or “definitely” get the vaccine.
  • The levels of discrimination Black and Hispanic Americans face: About half of Republicans (52 percent) said that Black Americans face “a lot” of discrimation, and about half (47 percent) said that they don’t, per PRRI. Forty-five percent of Republicans agreed that Hispanic Americans face a lot of discrimation, compared to 53 percent who disagreed. Most Americans overall (75 percent) and Democrats (92 percent) said that Black Americans face a lot of discrimination. The numbers were similar but slightly lower for discrimination against Hispanic Americans: 69 percent of Americans and 86 percent of Democrats said that they face a lot of discrimination.
  • Immigration policy: Republicans are about equally split on allowing the separation of families at the border (45 percent supported, 53 percent opposed), protecting people who were brought to the U.S. as children but are not citizens from deportation (45 percent supported, 54 percent opposed) and creating a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants (48 percent supported such a pathway, 38 percent said they should be deported, and 14 percent said they should be allowed to become legal residents but not become citizens). A clear majority of Americans overall opposed separating families at the border (76 percent) and supported a pathway to citizenship (64 percent), as well as granting legal resident status to immigrants who would benefit from either the DREAM Act or DACA, commonly referred to as “Dreamers” (66 percent).
  • A universal basic income: 52 percent of Republicans supported guaranteeing all Americans a minimum income, compared to 48 percent who opposed such an idea, per PRRI. Seventy percent of Americans overall, including 88 percent of Democrats, supported a UBI.

Take a closer look….there is more room for compromise than you are lead to believe by the MSM…..

The next question is…..if the two political philosophies are that close together then why is the stupid allowed to continue?

Time for the parties that depend on donors cash and not the people to find their inner decency and start working for the people that they pretend to care about…..if they cannot do that then it is time to send them into retirement…..permanently!

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“lego ergo scribo”

US Needs A Bull!

Not Bullsh*t….but a Progressive Bull Moose Party….and we need it desperately…..our failing country is a prime illustration for change and change will not come if we stick with the two tired old parties.

This country has been driven into the ground by conserv and centrist policies…..it is time for America to once again wake up and do the big ideas that it is famous for in the past.

For years I have been calling for a Progressive Party…..here on IST…….https://lobotero.com/2016/05/24/a-new-national-progressive-movement/

https://lobotero.com/2010/11/12/how-about-a-new-bull-moose-party-2/

The politics of the past decades has killed political thought……Clinton (Bubba not Hil) started down a path of ruination and we continue through the death of real political thought…..https://lobotero.com/2013/01/10/who-killed-political-thought/

There is a chance for this to happen…it is the Progressive Bull Moose Party…..check them out…..http://www.progressivebullmoose.party/

Why do we need a Progressive Party?

Good question and the answer is simple……

There is no room for progressives in the Democratic Party.

No matter how many votes he or she gets, no progressive will be permitted to be the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party.

Progressives who try to work inside of, contribute to and support the Democratic Party have no real chance of moving its candidates or policies to the left.

Remaining inside the Democratic Party achieves nothing; to the contrary, it is insidiously counterproductive. Working for “change from the inside” strengthens centrist politicians who oppose progressivism with every fiber of their being.

If American electoral democracy has a future, and progressives want to be part of that future, there is only one way forward: create and build a new party in which progressivism isn’t merely tolerated or partly accommodated as some fringe or necessary nuisance but is its core mission.

Why We Need a New Progressive Party and How We Can Create It

For too long big ideas have been at the mercy of the “Good Old Boys” of the DNC….time for them to move over or go to a mountain top and wait for the end……this country can NO longer afford to to wait for the slow turning wheels to catch up.

ALL progressives need to embrace a progressive platform……and to do so you need to read another op-ed I wrote awhile back for my opinion blog, Gulf South Free Press…..https://gulfsouthfreepress.wordpress.com/2018/09/26/why-not-elect-progressives/

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“lego ergo scribo”

Dems And Big Ideas

IST Op-Ed

There is an old saying….”Democrats have great ideas but suck at politics”.   2020 is showing this very point…..the candidates all have great wide ranging ideas to solve the problems Americans are having.

We have the Medicare For All, the Green New Deal, Free education, etc etc….all are marvelous ideas that this country needs badly but will never get as long as we continue along the path we have been traveling for 50 years.

Democrats need to stop playing checkers and learn to play chess….short term answers are just not a reality…..they need a plan for long term…the long game is the only way to get and sustain all the changes they say they embrace.

Illustrating this point are a couple of issues that should be set in stone….Voters Rights, Civil Rights and Abortion….all 3 are Federal laws and all 3 are being chipped away to they are a mere shadow of their former selves.

Since they cannot take credit for the economy’s high points then they, Dems, should wrap themselves around health care.  Why?  The other 3 are being destroyed thanks to the concept of state’s rights….the old 10th amendment thing.

While the climate is an extremely important stand the sad thing is that most Americans could care less if their families are hungry….the only hope the climate has is the young for they can see beyond the next meal.

The Dems need to take a step back and start making the state elections more important than the national…..control state legislatures then the national stuff will be easier.

I have always said that the Dems are weak on foreign policy…..and now Trump’s moves in the Middle East is making himself look like he is the anti=war president…..and what does the Dems have in response to this false narrative?

Not A Damn Thing!

I hate to say I told you so, but well … as predicted, in the wake of Trump’s commanded military withdrawal from northeast Syria, the once U.S.-backed Kurds cut a deal with the Assad regime. (And Vice President Mike Pence has now brokered a five-day cease-fire.) Admittedly, Trump the “dealmaker” ought to have brokered something similar before pulling out and before the Turkish Army—and its Sunni Arab Islamist proxies—invaded the region and inflicted significant civilian casualties.

One must admit that a single phone call between Trump and President Erdogan of Turkey has turned the situation in Syria upside down in just over a week. The Kurds have requested protection from Assad’s army, Russian troops are now patrolling between the Kurds and invading Turks, and the U.S. is (for once) watching from the sidelines.

Democrats Have No Answer for Trump’s Anti-War Posture

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“Lego Ergo Scribo”

Antiwar Has Its Supporters

You all know that I am an antiwar person and have been since 1971….in those days we had a movement that did all they could to stop an unjust war….those days are gone….long gone. Americans seem to accept continuous war and the lack of a shared experience with the troops that fight these wars.

But wait!

First what do all these people have in common?

Andy Biggs of Arizona, Mo Brooks of Alabama, Warren Davidson of Ohio, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Louie Gohmert of Texas, Trey Hollingsworth of Indiana, Jim Jordan of Ohio, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Mark Meadows of North Carolina, Alex Mooney of West Virginia, and Bill Posey of Florida.

They are all in the House of Representatives….they are all Republicans….and they are all antiwar (for now)…..and after the antiwar I have very little in common with them.

Believe it or not…the GOP,  at least part of it, has become the voice of antiwar in the Congress.

comparative case study has demonstrated that only one political party has a principled (albeit small) contingent of legislators who care more about ending U.S. intervention overseas than partisan positioning.

In February, the House of Representatives voted in favor of House Joint Resolution 37, which directed “the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities in the Republic of Yemen that have not been authorized by Congress.” This, along with its complementary senate vote, was the first congressional invocation of the War Powers Act in the law’s history.

Then last month, the House voted in favor of House Joint Resolution 77, a resolution condemning “the decision to end certain United States efforts to prevent Turkish military operations against Syrian Kurdish forces in Northeast Syria.” This vote was in opposition to President Donald Trump’s announced withdrawal from the Syrian-Turkish border.

The Small But Brave Cadre of Conservative Anti-War Republicans

I did not believe my eyes but there it is……but I think their antiwar sentiments are just a political game and not some concern for the troops and our station in the world.

If I could would I ever vote for any on the list?

Probably not….for most are Tea Party toadies and I never liked the politics of the Tea Party.

Antiwar is just one issue that I care about and my candidate needs to tick off a couple of boxes before my vote goes down.

So far this election season only has one truly antiwar candidate….but they may not be long for the campaign trail for the MSM is doing all they can to make sure her campaign is killed in the court of public opinion……sadly it is the party that is doing the most damage with the help of the MSM.

I Read, I Wrote, You Know

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

Is Hyper-Capitalism Dead?

Is the “Witch Is Dead”?

Do you know what an “Objectivist” is?

Objectivism holds that there is no greater moral goal than achieving happiness. But one cannot achieve happiness by wish or whim. Fundamentally, it requires rational respect for the facts of reality, including the facts about our human nature and needs. Happiness requires that one live by objective principles, including moral integrity and respect for the rights of others. Politically, Objectivists advocate laissez-faire capitalism. Under capitalism, a strictly limited government protects each person’s rights to life, liberty, and property and forbids that anyone initiate force against anyone else. The heroes of Objectivism are achievers who build businesses, invent technologies, and create art and ideas, depending on their own talents and on trade with other independent people to reach their goals.

Politicians like Rand Paul (that is Rand not Rue) and ex Speaker Ryan were followers of the head honcho of this philosophy Ayn Rand….but in today’s society it looks as if the meth head may be losing her hold on the young…..

Eight rules governed the original Ayn Rand clubs that proliferated across college campuses in the 1960s, as they sought to seed Objectivism—Rand’s philosophical glorification of laissez-faire capitalism and heroic individualism—in the minds of impressionable youth. And of these eight, only two rules could ever be mentioned publicly: 1) Ayn Rand is the greatest human being who has ever lived, and2) her novel Atlas Shrugged is the greatest human achievement in the history of the world.

Objectivism has a serious youth problem, and the conference’s organizers were quite aware of it. They offered a discount rate for those under 30, a talent show, and extracurricular activities like “late night jams.” It made me wonder: Is Rand’s hyper-capitalist philosophy—which has influenced some of the most powerful political and economic giants of recent history, from Ronald Reagan and Alan Greenspan to Mark Cuban and Steve Jobs—running out of juice? There was only one way to find out. I would have to attend the conference’s various panels on the virtue of selfishness, the evils of regulation, and the greatness of capitalism’s dark patron saint, and try to fraternize with the next class of Paul Ryans in the making. So I went into the Objectivist sanctums of Cleveland, sporting an Ayn Rand tote bag outfitted with an “I ❤ fossil fuels” pin, to gauge the reach of Rand’s cult of unbridled capitalism on today’s political scene.

https://newrepublic.com/article/154705/last-ayn-rand-acolytes

The young seem to be leaning Left these days…..and that will not change as long as economic injustice is running rampant…..change that and it is possible that Rand’s (Ayn not Paul) could once again be popular…look at the new popularity of Orwell’s “1984”….any thing is possible.

I Read, I Wrote, You Know

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

What Is Patriotism?

This is one of those nagging questions that needs a answer…

In this nation of tribes within tribes….the term patriot and patriotism have fallen into some sort of funk….once again I try to help my readers look into this phenom…I have my definition….but is it the best one….or is there any other definition that fits the term more properly.

I have asked this question many times for it is a political tool and can be used as an insult to opponents…..I have asked and I have written many times trying to get to the root of the answer to “what is patriotism”?

A few of the more recent writings……

https://lobotero.com/2016/07/07/patriotism-whats-it-good-for/

https://lobotero.com/2016/09/25/who-has-a-lock-on-patriotism/

https://lobotero.com/2017/04/21/what-happened-to-patriotism/

I still do not have a sufficient answer to the question.  I have my feelings on the term but what about others…do they feel the same as I?  It is a term that is batted around too easily to the point of becoming political slogan instead of a way of life.

Those lingering questions…….

What is patriotism?

Is it an ideology?

Is it love of country?

Is it a religion?

Is it values?

What makes it patriotism?

Answer me that.

What makes one a patriot?

Patriotism is not love of country, if by “country” you mean scenery—amber waves of grain, purple mountain majesty, and the like. Almost every country has pretty collections of rocks, water, and stuff that people grow and eat. If that’s what patriotism is all about, then Americans have precious little for which we can claim any special or unique love. And surely, patriotism cannot mean giving one’s life for a river or a mountain range.

Patriotism is not blind trust in anything our leaders tell us or do. That just replaces some lofty concepts with mindless goose-stepping.

https://fee.org/articles/the-true-meaning-of-patriotism/

Is there one overriding characteristic that will define patriotism?

I have questions with few answers.

Anyone that thinks they have the answers then please jump in and enlighten me and my readers.

If there are NO common definitions of patriotism then how can we have a united nation with freedom and justice for ALL?

Just a thought.

Any thoughts you would like to pass on?

I Read, I Wrote, You Know

“Lego ergo Scribo”

What Do Democrats Stand For?

After the disaster of the Congressional Hearing…..the question needs asking and needs a good answer.

Look at the Democrats in Congress….what do they stand for?

There is a serious lack of authority from a committee of the US House of Representatives….they all sat there let some half-wit thug show them the door.  Basically Lewandowsky dropped his pants the wiggling his penis at the Committee and the Nadler let him get away with it.

We know what the candidates have on their minds……there is Medicare For All…..and a Green New Deal……and some vague criminal justice thoughts and financial reforms by the boat load…but in reality there is nothing to their “policies” because NONE of it will ever see the light of day.

We are talking about a full time body that works on a part time schedule….about 3 days a week when in session…..weekends off with Friday and Monday for travel to meet with the high dollar donors.

Democrats of old knew how the game of politics was played…….the Dems of today are willfully unqualified to play the game. 

As the saying goes….”Democrats have great ideas but suck at the game of politics.”

They spend their time on the short term goals and never have formulated a long term plan and it shows…..their inefficiency screams everyday out of the “Idiot Box” as one and then another is interviewed and there is NO unified message….no matter the topic….there is NO unified message.

And this is why the so-called “moderates”….have proven what I suspected for many years…..Dems are cowards and truly SUCK at politics and a doable message.

In January of 2019 I wrote that the Dems would be a major disappointment and my opinion of them has not changed……https://lobotero.com/2019/01/03/democrats-will-be-a-major-disappointment/

If you are a Dem then please tell me what do the Dems running for the presidency stand for?  Then take a look at the Dems in Congress and give me the same answer….do they truly stand for anything other than being re-elected?

Back in May of 2019 I tried to help my reader with this probing question about our Dem candidates……https://lobotero.com/2019/05/13/party-politics-for-2020/

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“Lego Ergo Scribo”