The Democrat Party's decisive move to the left in recent years has created a "fierce new anger among many liberal[s]" similar to what is present in "the left-wing blogosphere and MSNBC's evening line-up."
Sadly, this angry, militant, intolerant style, depending upon what happens on November 4, could be "the culture of important political institutions in Washington."
So wrote former Bush speechwriter David Frum in a Washington Post article to be published Sunday (emphasis added, h/t Hot Air, photo courtesy Film Reference):
[T]he political culture of the Democratic Party has changed over the past decade. There's a fierce new anger among many liberal Democrats, a more militant style and an angry intolerance of dissent and criticism. This is the culture of the left-wing blogosphere and MSNBC's evening line-up -- and soon, it will be the culture of important political institutions in Washington.
Unchecked, this angry new wing of the Democratic Party will seek to stifle opposition by changing the rules of the political game. Some will want to silence conservative talk radio by tightening regulation of the airwaves via the misleadingly named "fairness doctrine"; others may seek to police the activities of right-leaning think tanks by a stricter interpretation of what is tax-deductible and what is not.
Scary stuff, yes?
Well, it is almost Halloween.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Eerily Orwellian...
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 18:35 ET by GrymThe left likes to equate a right leaning administration to some
"Orwellian" society. Ironically it will be the left that ushers one in
that is a lot closer...
David Frum saw the
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 18:52 ET by bigtimerDavid Frum saw the light...again.
Wonder how long it will take before others have this shine in their eyes before it is too late.
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
bt
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 19:09 ET by Noel Sheppardbt,
Click on the link and read his entire piece. It's not what you think.
After doing it, tell me your thoughts. Should we have a Chatzy on this? ns
Noel, do you think shifting
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 19:45 ET by motherbeltNoel, do you think shifting the money would be too little, too late?
I've said elsewhere that my only hope is that the one-party rule will so screw things up that in 2010 there will be a backlash and Americans will throw out a bunch of them. I don't know if it will be enough though.
I do agree with Frum though, that the Republicans and McCain need to be
talking constantly about what is in store if Obama wins and has a
supermajority in Congress and a filibuster-proof Senate.
For anyone who didn't catch it the other day, here is the link to the WSJ editorial about what we could be facing with a Liberal Supermajority
I also agree with Frum that the Democratic Party has shifted to the more militant Left. As Eli Pariser of MoveOn said, "It's our party. We bought it, we own it, and now we're going to take it back."
Very scary stuff, indeed.
mb
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 20:03 ET by Noel Sheppardmb,
Well, this is a scary discussion. However, it's Saturday. :-)
One party Democrat rule is responsible for Social Security, welfare, Medicare, Windfall profits taxes, CRA, etc., etc. The only chance for our capitalist democracy if McCain loses is the filibuster. Without it, the socialists will run roughshod in DC, and everything they create will stick with us for decades.
In the end, making sure these socialists don't get to 60 might be more important than winning the White House.
Just consider how FDR, LBJ, and Carter's disgusting policies -- all rubberstamped by a Democrat Congress -- have destroyed our nation for decades. We need to stop this madness now. If that means beginning to divert funds that could go to McCain, maybe it's time. Maybe. ns
I actually, to my surprise,
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 20:06 ET by AuH20girlI actually, to my surprise, heard McCain talk about this today - about a supermajority and Barney Frank's last couple of outbursts.
http://goldwatergirl.wordpress.com
Agirl...Yeah...what is
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 20:16 ET by bigtimerAgirl...
Yeah...what is spooky is they only need to knock off six of our side in the Senate...the dems can count on the RINOs on our side to vote with them...
I am so worried, have been for a long, long time about the Senate...have posted about it here and there over time...
We have an obstacle to climb, with our side in the Senate having what is it, around 22 seats up...compared to the dems...all I can do is hope for the best.
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
Noel... I am glad you
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 19:54 ET by bigtimerNoel...
I am glad you pointed this out to me to read the whole thing...you are so right.
You know if I wasn't in-between doing a lot of things right now I would post more...but what made me the angriest in some ways..is his saying Palin didn't connect with the Independents or the women...
Is he CRAZY!
I do not care what the poll numbers are the msm loves to throw in our face as often as possible...this is just manufactured BS
Btw the Senators he named like Collin, Snowe, Sununu, Smith and yes Coleman are all RINOs in my opinion, Coleman really changed with his votes and floor speeches after the dems took over...
No, I am glad I read the whole thing, Frum makes a few good points though...just can't remember where...lol.
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
TURNCOAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 21:14 ET by cristantiI READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE, ITS DISGUSTING!! THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT CHARLES KRAUTHMMER WROTE ABOUT YESTERDAY IN WP, HE TALKED ABOUT THESE WASHINGTON ELITE LIKE FRUM, NOONAN, BUCKLEY, DAVID BROOKS, WILL, KATHLEEN PARKER THAT HAVE ALL TURNED ON MCCAIN AND PALIN, FRUM IS TELLING EVERYONE TO GIVE UP ON MCCAIN AND IN JUST ONE WEEK TO TELL THE SENATORS FIGHTING FOR THEIR LIFE TO USE THE LINE, " WE KNOW OBAMA IS GOING TO WIN AND DO WE WANT ALL DEMOCRATS CONTROLLING EVERYTHING, IN THE WHITE HOUSE, CONGRESS, SENATE,", JUST GIVE UP, ADMIT MCCAIN HAS LOST!!!! I SAY NO WAY AM I GIVING UP, NEITHER IS SEAN, RUSH, LAURA, HEWITT, ALL RADIO , SEAN WILL BE CAMPAIGNING WITH PALIN AND MCAIN NEXT WEEK, I WISH HUCKABEE ON HIS NEW SHOW ON FOX NEXT SATURDAY WOULD LET MCCAIN HAVE IT THE WHOLE HOUR AND ADVERTISE IT ALL WEEK, I CANNOT STAND FRUM, WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER ONE OF HIS BOOKS AGAIN, DID ALL OF YOU READ CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER'S ARTICLE YESTERDAY IN THE WP??? IT WAS GREAT,, YOU ALL HAVE GOT TO READ IT. NO THIS ARTILCE BY FRUM IS NOT WHAT IT SEEMS LIKE BY THE WAY IT IS PRESENTED HERE, I WENT TO IT THINKING IT WAS A GOOD ARTICLE FOR A CHANGE BY FRUM BASHING THE FAR LEFT BLOGS, WAS SO WRONG!!!!!!
YES !!!!!!!!!!!
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 21:20 ET by MrShyPeople... or.... "My friends".... :p .... We're winning this mo-fo !!!!!
Write that down. We're winning on November 4, and it might not even be by the 2000 or 2004 margin. Yeah, I'm THAT confident.
I'm not buying ANYTHING from the stealth tactics these days of the fierce, determined Obama-pushing machine that is practically the entire media industry around us.
I'm buying the people of this great country!
You're the next contestant on...
THE MESSIAH IS RIGHT !!
I'm with you, Mr. Shy!
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 23:16 ET by Secret ConservativePeople's memories are so short these days. Maybe it's because we have the non-stop media barrage telling us not to believe our lying eyes. But I am old enough to remember that whenever the Dems run a hardcore leftie (think McGovern, Gore, Kerry, that governor from Massachusetts with the stupid helmet in the tank) THEY LOSE!!! Bill Clinton would have lost too - and decisively - if Ross Perot hadn't run in order to bleed votes from Bush 41! Obama knows he can't win without running as a centrist, but I think we all remember the primaries when he was sucking up to the MoveOn.org crowd so hard he made Hillary look reasonable! Plus, there are a LOT of p---ed off Hillary supporters out there who WILL vote for McCain! Remember, they wanted McCain to be Kerry's running mate! They don't dislike McCain. They dislike Sarah Palin because it's Hillary's turn, not hers, and because she didn't abort her children, but I don't think that will stop them from voting for McCain.
So, if the conservative base can hold its collective nose and vote for McCain, combined with the disaffected, anti-Obama Dems, we really CAN win this thing! Remember, the media wanted McGovern, Gore and Kerry too.
The key to winning may be stopping all this vote fraud, if at all possible. I hope some saner heads prevail in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania while there's still time.
cristanti
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 21:37 ET by Noel Sheppardcristanti,
I suggested people read the article to have a civilized discussion. You needn't shout. ns
Amazed and Confused
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 22:37 ET by dboI'm of two minds when I think of the current state of affairs. Sometimes I think that things are not as bleak as they were in the late 70's. One thing to remember about this latest financial mess is that it is following 25 years of positive economic growth. If memory servers me right, In 1980 we were sitting at 10% unemployment, 12% inflation, 20% interest rates and 15 years of growing government control, stagnation, stagflation, growing debt etc. Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't the Dow at the same basic level in 1980 as it was in 1965? On the flip side, I don't think I've read anything that disturbs me more than Joseph Bast's excellent article last week on the capitulation of bank exec's to the federal government and the federal reserve.
http://www.heartland.org/article.html?articleid=23982
To expand on his point, it really speaks to the general psychology of society today. Ask what the government can do for you seems to have won the day. What worries me most is that each generation grows up with a new acceptance of larger state control which did not exist in the generation before them. This really attacks the roots of our democracy. "One person/one vote" does not have the same value when people can vote themselves a better life at the expense of others. If you make $10/hr perhaps it's in your best interest to vote for state run health care etc. Milton Friedman use to say "If it pays well to be poor, society will produce a lot of poor people". The "penalize success/ reward failure" philosophy seems to be winning the day.
So maybe we will lose the battle in 10 days. And maybe there will be permanent damage from which we can not recover. But will we lose the war? I'm think not. One thing I do know. If personal freedom doesn't triumph in America, it's not going to triumph anywhere.
OMG!!
Sun, 10/26/2008 - 01:47 ET by cristantiI SURE DID NOT THINK I WAS SHOUTING, AND DO NOT TH INK I WAS NOT BEING CIVILIZED, AND TO BE HONEST I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR BEEF IS, I THOUGHT YOUR COMMENT WAS JUST SENDING US TO THE ARTICLE TO READ, I RESPONDED TO THE COMMENT WHO SAID TO READ IT ALL THAT IT WAS NOT WHAT IT SEEMED, YOU TOTALLY TOOK IT PERSONAL, I GUESS YOU THOUGHT I WAS SHOUTING BECAUSE I USE CAPITOL LETTERS, HUH??? DID'NT KNOW YOU COULD HEAR MY VOICE IN MY COMMENT, I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT YOU FELT ABOUT FRUM AS MOST OF US DO, BUT MAYBE YOU ARE A FRIEND OF HIS, IF SO, SORRY FOR POINTING OUT WHAT A SELL OUT HE IS, BECAUSE I THINK HE IS, AND LIKE I SAID, WITH FRIENDS LIKE THAT WHO NEEDS ENEMIES.............
cristanti
Sun, 10/26/2008 - 08:48 ET by Noel Sheppardcristanti,
I didn't take anything personally. I asked why you were shouting. And, yes, that's a reference to the all-caps presentation which I'm sure you know in message board parlance means you're shouting...and you still are. Why? ns
Unite under Barak or else?
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 19:15 ET by exLibFor the last 8 years the left his kicked and screamed that Bush and Rove were "dividing" the country by merely trying to advance an agenda they won a clear majority in.
The Democrats with their willing accomplices in the media spent the last 8 years poisoning the well and convincing enough people that all the countries ills were indeed "Bush and 'The Republicans' Fault".
McCain supposedly never talks about those issues "Important to Americans" things that will "unite" us, like "free" healthcare, "guarantees" of jobs and retirement benfits, protectionism, "tax cuts" for "the middle class".
Ironic of course that it always seems that the "issues" important to "most Americans" ALWAYS end up being those of the left. Rarely, if ever, during an election do lower taxes and national security get Headline news. No they always end up at the post mortem, when the Democrat loses, and they need an excuse. Even then, it's usually GOP dirty tricks, voter supression and "The Corporate Media" that's to blame. As we see Dukakis and Kerry will forever be paraded on TV every election year that a Republican holds office as great guys who should have won, except the election was "Stolen" from them.
We are now told Barak will "Unite" us. But under what circumstances? Surely not on common ground. Obama has a record of taking the most far-left positions on many issues "unimportant" to Americas.
If Obama wins, expect any Conservative minority that exists to be marginalized by the media and get hardly any coverage as they continue to white wash Obama. Bagdad Bob will have nothing on Bagdad Bob Shiefer.
Then, when the Conservative minority tries to do anything close to what the Dems have done for the last 8 years, they will get shouted down, will still be called divisive and told to get with the program.
Hopefully, that is when the 2010 mid-terms come and GOP can find some Conservatives with back-bone and retake the congress.
The upside is... they have
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 19:17 ET by Clear thinkerThe upside is... they have pushed us about as far as they can without a fight. The left will not win the war. It's our country and we must defend it from enemies without and within!
Media Coverage Of Palin A Joke
Making Fun of AGW http://giovanniworld.wordpress.com/
Dems WILL fall
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 19:47 ET by TN MomThe Dems will fall. I hope it's sooner rather than later. Their 'angry, militant, intolerant' style will not sit well with the middle class, middle America; or Corporate America for that matter. The DNC nearly came unglued during the nasty Dem Primary when they turned on each other. If Hillary would have balked, and taken her 18million voters with her the DNC might have collasped.
Sure people blame Bush for the economy, but millions of voters know that the Democrat controlled Congress led by Pelosi & Reid have the LOWEST APPROVAL RATING EVER-because they NEVER accomplished anything, IN TWO YEARS!
McCain/Palin
It is my feeling that an
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 19:47 ET by gueinIt is my feeling that an Obama/Peloisi/Reid led government will attempt to silence their critics once taking office. No, they won't use the military to seize control like any number of other dictators have done before them. Instead they will use the courts by filling the bench with like-minded judges that will not stop them. At the same time, a like-minded media will help them hide their true agenda. America is about to get a big dose of radical liberalism. We will see if the geneal populace is apathetic enough to let them get away with this. I'm not too optimistic about that; I hope I am proven wrong.
It is truly frightening.
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 20:04 ET by AuH20girlIt is truly frightening. Even if they are unable to pass laws to silence the opposition, they still have complicit media and - as we have discovered - government employees to do their work for them.
How did these people hijack the term "liberal"?
http://goldwatergirl.wordpress.com
There's a war a comin'
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 20:23 ET by jefflebowskiThere is a war coming between the libs and conservatives. How long will conservatives continue to sit back and watch our country go down the drain? When do we take to the streets? What has to happen for us to fight?
oops, sorry, gotta run to the grocery store and get another load in the wash.
Jeff Lebowski
www.angrywhitedude.com
What will it take?
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 20:50 ET by silentsmithMassive unemployment of about 16 to 24% is what it will take for a real revolution to take place. Hard working Americans don't have the time to take to the streets unless they're unemployed and sitting around with nothing better to do than "smash stuff".
It is a major advantage of the left...they have millions of unemployed persons to protest for one cause or another.
But that's what it's going to take for productive Americans to "REVOLUTE!". Is 16-24%.
I agree but disagree at the
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 23:00 ET by liberal_bug_zapperI agree but disagree at the same time. I believe that a 75% tax rate on people earning over 500 thousand, and a 50% for those earning more than 250 thousand will be enough to cause serious backlash. I think the unemployment rate will be a direct result of draconian tax rates and extreme government regulation.
Imagine this scenario if you will: As the free market starts to drown, black markets will crop up everywhere and it's when the Libs use heavy handed tactics to crack down on black market activity that will spawn a backlash from those doing the black markets which in turn will elicit an even heavier response from the Libs who think of themselves as kings and queens and then, during some altercation, someone we love will die and the whole country will erupt in bloodshed. Huge armies will attack and burn cities to the ground and anyone who is unlucky enough to protect government officials will die alongside them. It won't start out an armed insurrection, but it will end up that way when they think they can strong arm an already desperate (and armed) population.
In the words of Thomas Jefferson as written into our Declaration of Independence;
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
I believe that this Despotism is close at hand, and that all the Democrats need is a supermajority in Congress and the Senate with an Obama Presidency. Once this happens, the definition of despotism will finally be fulfilled and it will be our Duty as Americans beholden to the Constitution and not to any party to stand up in opposition to these despots. They will attack us and begin to jail as many as they can, and harass through countless lawsuits the rest, not only making it impossible for us to keep jobs, but to force those of us in companies to join Unions while those of us who own companies will be forced to accept unions into our companies with no say. If we refuse, we'll lose our companies and if those of us who work for companies refuse to join the unions, we'll be forced out of our jobs.
They will act fast to wrest complete and tyrannical control over the people of this country within the first two years of an Obama Presidency and I would not put it past them to conspire with some country outside the US to attack the US so they can declare martial law and stop all elections in 2010 "In order to provide stability in a time of extreme crisis".
____________________________________________________
"I swear, by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine." ~ Ayn Rand
lbz... I agree. And this
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 23:19 ET by Clear thinkerlbz...
I agree. And this will be the first thing they come for...
Give Your Firearms To Obama - Not A Joke!
Making Fun of AGW http://giovanniworld.wordpress.com/
Translation
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 21:08 ET by LegionOfDorknessHe's not invited to the cable news shows anymore since he spanked Rachel Maddow.
FRUM
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 21:17 ET by cristantiFORGOT TO SAY IN MY PRIOR POST, I DID EMAIL FRUM AND TELL HIM WHAT A BENEDICT ARNOLD HE WAS, A VERY LITTLE MAN, TOLD HIM HE IS EXACTLY WHAT KRAUTHAMMER DISCRIBED IN HIS ARTILCE. I ALSO TOLD HIM HE JUST STABBED MCCAIN AND PALIN IN THE BACK AND WITH FRIENDS LIKE THIS WHO NEEDS ENEMIES. EVERYONE IF YOU CAN EMAIL HIM
We'd better all hope a dem
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 21:18 ET by R D HelmWe'd better all hope a dem super majority does not come out of this election with the Obamessiah in the White House.
Should that happen, our last-ditch line of defense will be our supposedly "conservative" SCOTUS.
That prospect positively scares the ____ out of me.
-Dave
In order for wealth to be spread, it first must be seized.
Dave, if Obama wins and has
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 22:04 ET by motherbeltDave, if Obama wins and has his supermajority, I fully expect two justices, perhaps Ginsburg and Stevens, to retire in the first year.
While that won't really change the balance right now, it will make it impossible to have a more constructionist court for 10-20 years. And in that atmosphere, I worry about Liberals creating cases to bring before them....gay marriage, any number of things, to take more power away from the states, as was done with Roe v Wade.
motherbelt,
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 22:42 ET by R D HelmIf the dems do win big, I seriously hope those are the two that will retire. If the balance of the court does shift to the left, toast we will be. :-O
Damn, what a mess we are in as a nation.
-Dave
In order for wealth to be spread, it first must be seized.
Traditionally, it is the
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 21:21 ET by 10thAmendmentTraditionally, it is the left that sets up the "Reeducation Camps." After all - any disagreement is hate speech and shows an unhealthy mental state.
They will say anything at all to damage the right. The right must say nothing at all or we are racist.
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
These people are getting
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 21:43 ET by Clear thinkerThese people are getting worrisome...
Violence If Obama Loses
Making Fun of AGW http://giovanniworld.wordpress.com/
Yeah, I know how bad it is.
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 22:36 ET by liberal_bug_zapperYeah, I know how bad it is. Out of my whole family who are angry leftists, only my mother will now talk to me. The rest of them only talk with me if they have to and one just recently called me a racist because I won't vote for Barack.
____________________________________________________
"I swear, by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine." ~ Ayn Rand
Have some confidence!
Sun, 10/26/2008 - 02:00 ET by CANCON1I may live in Canada, but I have been able make my argument and we have changed the thinking of the family of 20 from 80% Leftist( They just were not read) to the polar oppisite. There is alot to be said for a strong argument and consitency over a great meal once a week. Liberals have no new ideas, just new packaging. What is happening now is an insult to classical Liberalism.
Well I do have my mother
Sun, 10/26/2008 - 13:48 ET by liberal_bug_zapperWell I do have my mother reading Atlas Shrugged. And we watched the Donahue Interview of 1977 with Ayn Rand and my mother really liked it alot. So I think that there may be hope for my mom. Also, the second oldest and the youngest of my siblings (I'm the oldest) both have leanings towards conservatism and won't argue with me about that in a negative way. But the vast majority of my aunts, uncles and cousins are Obama supporters along with almost 99% of my high school and college friends. Sad they've become so stupid over the years. Of course, I would never tell them to their face they're stupid. And I honestly never thought they were stupid up until they started calling me racist for NOT supporting Obama.
____________________________________________________
"I swear, by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine." ~ Ayn Rand
Fascism is a product of the left.
Sun, 10/26/2008 - 10:14 ET by JWFa more militant style and an angry intolerance of dissent and criticism
People naturally reject socialism and all it's inherent problems. The concentration of power in the hands of a few. The shortages of food and products due to a managed economy that discards the laws of supply and demand. The insane levels of taxation. The inability to work where your talents reside. The spiraling downward of the economy due to government mismanagement and the closing off of the rest of the world. The redistribution of wealth that steals from the productive and gives to the unproductive. The absolute dam up of the flow of information that stops all improvements, enhancements and all things that improve peoples lives.
That is why fascism is needed for the left. The only way to keep people under such a counterproductive society is under the boot.
Sincerely,
a Veteran of a 1000 psychic wars.
There's only one problems
Sun, 10/26/2008 - 13:54 ET by liberal_bug_zapperThere's only one problems with that 'Fascism' approach. A good portion of the American Electorate are armed, and many of my friends are armed to the teeth. Also, most of my buddies in the Military would never stand by a Fascist regiem, and yes, they would recognize it right away. We've actually talked about this and we realize that Despotism is close at hand. All that will be needed is a filibuster proof Senate and a super majority in the House with an Obama Presidency and the US will finally have reached a tipping point.
____________________________________________________
"I swear, by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine." ~ Ayn Rand
Hrm
Sun, 10/26/2008 - 10:21 ET by Josh SNThis from David "Republicans Against the Iraq War (Before It Starts) Are Unpatriotic" Frum?
Forgive me for not being surprised at anything this guy does.
Yet another clueless post.
Sun, 10/26/2008 - 10:29 ET by JWFThe article you linked is an indictment on a FEW clueless conservatives, not Republicans.
Reading, apparently not one of your strengths.
Sincerely,
a Veteran of a 1000 psychic wars.