Trouble in CPAC Paradise…
There’s never a shortage of drama at the annual conservative CPAC conference. In 2008, John McCain was booed. And if you’ll remember, last year Sarah Palin agreed to speak at the conference to deliver the keynote address. All the Sarah Palin fans at Team Sarah went crazy. They formed a special group on the site, and started saving their pennies. People bought plane tickets, canceled other plans and decided to make the pilgrimage to see their heroine speak.
Even if you don’t remember this particular scenario, I’m sure you can imagine how it turned out. Yes, she canceled at the last minute. Well… not so much “canceled” as denied she had ever agreed to speak. The organizer said she HAD committed. She said she hadn’t. It’s a scenario that has played out more times than I can remember. And this particular time, it left all the Team Sarah folks who had cashed in their penny jars for airline tickets and hotel rooms, in the lurch. Let’s face it, Newt Gingrich just doesn’t have the same charisma.
This year, she decided to save time and just turn down the invitation to speak right when they asked.
There’s no shortage of other CPAC drama either. Apparently, an organization of gay conservatives called GOProud has decided to co-sponsor the event. “Big tent” and all that… Apparently they’ve figured out that sexual orientation and politics are not joined at the hip, or at least they shouldn’t be.
But, The Liberty Counsel under the direction of culture warrior Matt Barber, feels differently. They have threatened to boycott CPAC if GOProud retains its sponsorship.
Many will find it difficult to resist the extra large buttered popcorn, as they sit back and watch the shrinking GOP start to cannibalize itself in front of a live audience. A perceptive blogger played out a few potential “win-win” scenarios HERE.
1: The presence of gay people at a conservative conference could cause the conference to fail, as some people choose not to attend, and others are so distracted by the presence of the gay people that they cannot accomplish anything useful.
2. The presence of gay people at a conservative conference would introduce some of those conservative people to actual, live, gay human beings. Some of them might even realize that those actual human beings are not all so evil, after all.
3. Support for individual rights and freedoms really is a conservative value. Some of the conservatives might begin to see that gay people should have the same rights and freedoms as everyone else.
Meanwhile, a desperate appeal has gone out to those conservatives who have decided that the Republican “live and let live” attitude, and supposed love of the right to privacy and individual liberty should not extend to the bed chamber.
TAKE ACTION: Call or write CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) Chairman David Keene of the American Conservative Union (703-836-8602, ext. 19) and urge him to keep social liberals from corrupting CPAC’s conservative message. E-mail: cpac@conservative.org. Urge Keene to drop GOProud as a CPAC co-sponsor because GOProud supports the same radical homosexualist agenda as other GLBT organizations — which is corrupting children and tearing apart America’s moral fiber.
Meanwhile, Matt “methinks the gentleman doth protest too much” Barber has his own definition of conservatism. I thought about sharing it with you here, but couldn’t bring myself to inflict his rather alarming and graphic description on this forum. However, you may read it HERE if you wish. Just scroll down to the “What is conservatism?” section. Wow.
Those people wear their ignorance like a bloody bandage where their souls were cut out.
Matt Barber is a sissy.
The Republicans can’t ignore who crawls into bed with who until they crawl OUT of bed with the evangelicals.
Maybe Eddie Smurf could give Matt Barber a call to see if he would come on his radio Show..? They seem like ‘ two peas in a pod ‘.
(Reminds me of that Movie about Pod-people years ago… Hmm?)
Matt would have to talk fast though. Eddie ONLY has ” 2 Hours ” on air… between all those Faux news commercials.
Matt, you sure have a purdy mouth
okay – i bravely hit the link to the crazy conservative website…
needless to say, apparently someone doesn’t understand their digestive system very well. holy toledo i didn’t think folks typed that kinda stuff on conservative websites.
i think this particular schism has been elevated to a tater tot spectator sport — popcorn as an appetizer.
He’s a closet gay, for sure.
If you haven’t already please go to Andrew Sullivan’s blog today and under his take on Bible Spice’s appearance on Faux last night is a comment by an AP teacher from Kansas. She is totally confounded by how addled these very bright kids get when the subject is Palin. No link but it’s really worth the read as we all struggle to understand her appeal.
Interesting definition. Matt Barber also seems to be into gay S&M. But I digress.
It’s hypocritical to use religious reasoning to oppose gay rights and at the same time proclaim that Americans deserve individual rights. Apparently, in Matt’s world – you’re only an American with civil rights as long as you are not gay.
Forcing straight soldiers to shower with gay/lesbian soldiers? Since when? Is there an outbreak of straight bashing in the military? Are straight soldiers told to keep quiet about their sexual orientation or risk losing their jobs? Likewise, are straight teachers in danger of losing their livelihood because of their sexual preferences? The answer is NO on all counts. The discrimination is against gays and lesbians, not the other way round.
There are more states in the US where you can legally marry your first cousin than there are states that allow gay marriage. So apparently, even without the gays “corrupting America’s moral fiber” – that said fiber seems to be full of holes already. If the conservatives want to ban gay marriage, then they better also ban legalised incest and make divorce and adultery a crime – because THAT is what the Bible teaches. Wanna use religious rationale to form public policy? Then they better be consistent. Wow – there’s gonna be a lot of Republicans in jail……opps. Maybe the conservatives can ask the Taliban or the mullahs in Iran how to run a authoritarian theocracy.
I am and have always been a bible believing Christian. My views on homosexuality are consistent with what the Bible teaches. HOWEVER – that in no way means that I am ALL FOR discriminating against gays and lesbians because I do not agree with their sexual orientation. Homosexuals should have the same civil rights as I do – done, end of story.
As for hate crimes – Matt’s views are rubbish. When establishing criminal intent in a homicide trial, the prosecution always go into painstaking detail about the thoughts and motives of the alleged killer. Because that is where the murder begins – in the mind, in the heart, with intention to harm or kill. Why do you think Jesus himself taught that if you have “hate in your heart against your brother” then you have committed murder? Likewise – Jesus taught that when we look at another man or woman in a lustful way and with lustful thoughts, we have already commited adultery with them. Why does Matt Barber ignore these Bibical truths? He is the hypocrite.
Lower taxes? Since when is THAT a Christian virtue? Since nowaday, to be a conservative is to be a Christian – then I think conservative “values” should be examined under the lens of Biblical standards. If Matt Barber can cite a biblical reference, in context, that supports the lowering of taxes, I will eat my Bible.
Until then – I would remind Matt Barber that to be a Christian means to sacrifice for the sake of others, to love others more than yourself. I PROUDLY pay my taxes knowing that my tax dollars go towards government programs to help the poor and needy and those less fortunate than I am. Is the government perfect? By no means. But I would rather help others with my money than hoard it all like some greedy, hypocritical, overfed, soul-less excuse for a human being like Matt Barber.
My mistake–I clicked on the link. Ugly and hate-filled does not even begin to describe…
yes…I’m betting he’s in the closet!
#3 LisaB Says @ 11:28 AM
The Republicans can’t ignore who crawls into bed with who until they crawl OUT of bed with the evangelicals.
*********
Very True !
Between their “Republican Litmus Test” and all the rules —
they aren’t going to have to worry about finding a qualified candidate
what do you expect from a group of people which includes Pat Robertson–who stated today that Haiti entered into a deal with the devil and therefore is cursed. In other words, the death and suffering is payback.
but but but they’re gay CONSERVATIVES!
Regarding my post above I can’t find it at Sullivan’s now but a commenter JeffGee has the whole thing over at TPM article on Sarah’s appearance on Faux last night.
CPAC – keep out the gays, but let the birchers in. Also too, I heard that Glenn Beck is now their headliner.
Speaking of Palin bagging CPAC for the teabaggers…..did she lie last night about doing it for free because she was getting flack? She always seems to forget that a lot her lies can be checked out….but that doesn’t stop her.
Inquiring minds want to know.
Wow…I clicked on the link as well; what a moron. So he must believe in all that evangelical stuff like love thy ‘straight’ neighbor, let the poor take care of themselves and let only those who can afford insurance and who do not have a preexisting condition receive blessed health care. What a guy!
Ahhhh perfect. Glen Beck=Mormon=hater of gays.
trisha…I’d like to know what’s up with that too. I read yesterday (wish I could remember where…I thought it was on Politico) that the reporter had seen the contract. If she is now canceling her fee, then her agent at the speaker’s bureau will not get their commission and I can only imagine how happy that will make them. Course she could be lying…who would have guessed that possible?
What a bunch of pathetic, phobic arsehats.
Just pray away the gay and they’ll be OK!
OMG, LOL….no doubt. We couldn’t have seen THAT coming, right?
This guy is a freak.
He DOES protest too damn much. Maybe he’s still in denial.
BTW, what the hell is a ‘Homosexual Agenda’ anyway?
Are they afraid that being homosexual is contagious?
trisha -she didn’t say she was doing it for free, she said she’d give the $ to candidates (ie surely own PAC, which = 99% for her, 1% to some wacknut running for playground guard).
Laura Schlesinger is a US radio personality, who dispenses advice to people who call in to her radio show. She recently said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination, according to Leviticus 18:22, and cannot be condoned under any circumstances. The following response is an open letter to Dr. Laura which was posted on the Internet.
Dear Dr. Laura:
Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God’s Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination… End of debate.
I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God’s Laws and how to follow them.
1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can’t I own Canadians?
2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness – Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.
4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord – Lev.1:9. The problem is, my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?
5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath.Exodus 35:2. clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?
6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination – Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don’t agree. Can you settle this? Are there ‘degrees’ of abomination?
7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle- room here?
8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?
9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?
10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16.
Couldn’t we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)
I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God’s word is eternal and unchanging.
Your adoring fan,
______________________________
And to read more about this ghastly woman and her history, check out Snopes.com, a most invaluable site
http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/drlaura.asp
Funny, but also made me wanna puke, as these wingnuts would actually ask such questions and be seriously awaiting a “rational” reply. Wingnuttery is exhausting!
mary b- Have you not heard reports of the gay army that’s coming to get your young and turn them gay? Of course it’s contagous silly! It’s been contagous since the 80′s when the fruitloops made up the pretend gay army.
oh yuk~ just threw up a little in my mouth…
Re: Palin’s speaking fee for the Tea Party event I had the same question.
From the clip I saw all she said was that she was not personally benefiting, she didn’t say there was no fee. She then went on to say she wanted to push the money back to candidates so my first thought was that the fee was going to her PAC (can that happen?) which we all know goes mostly to those associated with the PAC, not political candidates or causes. Or perhaps it is going to a PR firm…
MOST OF OUR NEIGHBORS ARE GAY! I raised three sons utterly surrounded by what these tools are calling the “radical homosexualist agenda,” and guess what? Big deal! My boys are all straight as dies, not that it would matter to me if they weren’t. My neighbors don’t date teenagers. What a hate-filled pack of idiots these wingnuts be.
The hysterical irony is that ALL these high and mighty have a gay relative or friend… some of them just don’t realize it.
#24 @AlaskaDisasta
That was just brilliant!
Bring on the gay army, maybe then sites like People of Walmart would be devoid of photos (LOVE that site by the way.)
Plus think how fewerabortions will be done to those gay gals, a win win situation for all evangenitals.
Why is that conservatives don’t want government intruding in their lives but they want to intrude in people’s bedrooms? Why is it ok to protest in front of planned parenthood and try to dissude women from getting abortions no matter what but it’s not ok to protest in front of ob/gyn clinics and try to persuade women to get abortions, nobody in their right mind would try to shove their beliefs down others throats the way pro lifers do. Why don’t people mind their own business? Why are there always more men than women holding signs in front of planned parenthood, it has nothing to do with them, they will never be in that situation.
AlaskaDisasta, AWESOME POST!
CPAC sponsors dropping out — TeaParty sponsors dropping out — Teabaggers angry at their corporate overlords — and still the Dems cannot seem to grab the reins and run with it.
Um…..”awkwardly mimicking natural procreative relations?” Just how does this guy think lesbians have sex? Pity his wife, if he has one.
Regarding Palin not accepting a fee for speaking at the Tea Party thing: listen again to what she said. (IM got this wrong, also.) “I will not financially be gaining anything from this… I’m gonna … turn it right back around and contribute to campaigns, candidates and issues that will be good for our country.” O’Reilly confused things with his interjections “take the money” “you have a family.”
But what I heard was she IS taking the fee, and laundering it through her PAC. Listen around 6:09. Snark alert: maybe Bristol gets a cut for her advice to do this
I just read in the Nashville Scene that Palin is getting paid $120,000. to speak at the Baggin Ball.
http://blogs.nashvillescene.com/pitw/2010/01/tempest_in_a_tea_party_activis.php
It’s now open to reporters, also too! I don’t know if it’s in this article but if you go to the Nashville Scene.com, there are a couple different articles about it. Seems as though the progressive bloggers are not too happy as now they’ll have to attend.
Here’s the link about it opening up to reporters.
http://blogs.nashvillescene.com/pitw/2010/01/sarah_palin_speech_open_to_rep.php
Found in the intertubes, for everyone to understand the homosexual agenda….
“I know that many of you have heard Pat Robertson, Jerry Fallwell and others speak of the “Homosexual Agenda,” but no one has ever seen a copy of it.
Well, I have finally obtained a copy directly from the Head Homosexual.”
http://tinyurl.com/y8q4w4b
#24 AlaskaDisasta – that was AWESOME!! High five!
I wish I was smart enough to lay the rhetorical smack down on idiot “Christians” who take the Bible out of context and have no idea of the connection between Old Testament law and New Testament covenant. It infuriates me when Christians quote the bible and have no idea what they are talking about.
I really enjoyed that =)
What I took away from the Bill O’R interview yesterday was that Sarah personally was not going to be paid to speak at the Tea Bag event, but she more than hinted that money was going to go, more importantly, into the coffers of like-minded political candidates. So yes, she all but said “The Tea Party group is paying me a fee but all of it is going into SarahPAC”. I wish she’d just have said “In return for my being the keynote speaker (at least, I THINK I’m the keynote speaker), the Tea Party organizers are paying a sum into SarahPAC which will be used to help other like-minded candidates get into or retain office”.
I mean really, what’s wrong with that statement? If it’s the truth. I’d have more respect for her if she made clear and truthful statements, even if I did not agree with her opinions so much.
As for social issue at the core of this post, that’s really the issue – that it is a social issue rather than a fiscal issue. One can be a fiscal conservative but not necessarily be a social conservative. I grew up in California, the most democratic Republican state I’ve seen. Then I went to school in Texas, the most republican Democratic state I’ve seen. Point being, the social issues are exactly what drives a lot of thinking people away from the Republican party – I was a Republican, but when I started to be labeled a liberal (and by extension therefore a Democrat) because I dared voice that I thought Roe v. Wade was a good thing and absolutely did not want to overturn it, I could not remain in that party.
It’s the same story – if you are for allowing women a legal choice regarding abortion, for equal rights for same-sex couples who are already actually living in a state that is identical to a heterosexual marriage in all but name, or express any opposition to the intrusion of religion (always Christian religion, I might add) into school curriculums, you are instantly labeled … well all kinds of invective, but they tell you you are NOT republican, and that is really insulting if you happen to otherwise agree with the republican platform. That did drive me from the party and I’m sure I am not the only one.
Conservatives can have, as a philosophy, a core of good ideas – I don’t think there would be a Republican Party if they didn’t. But just what those are is less than clear these days, and the Tea Partiers and their ilk are not helping their cause by pulling the money out of a major function just because they personally don’t like (or are scared of) gay people.
Truth is, there’s plenty of gay people, women and men who’d like the option of abortion remaining legal, American Christians and non-Christians, who share the same fiscal ideals of the Tea Party folks. Cutting off your nose to spite your face just leaves you with a bloody mess, no nose, and big doctor bills. It’s a lose-lose situation.
My opinion? The Republican party needs to clarify their stances on issues and solidly proclaim that their platform does not include social issues such as opposition to gay rights, abortion rights, or the promotion of religious ideals into American civic life or public education.
Let the non-nutty republicans take back the party, and heck, I might even rejoin!
Tnx, Ripley! Still grinning…
terpsichore – Great post, I agree entirely. During some conversations with fellow Christian aussies at home over the Christmas holidays, they were mystified by the adamantly partisan stance held by evangelicals with regards to American politics. Hard liners are few and far between amongst Australians. Aussie evangelicals are just as passionate about our faith as American evangelicals but I have never seen as much hatred and vitriol as I have seen from the Americans.
I am pro choice but I also believe the right choice is to keep an unwanted pregnancy. I am for equal marriage rights for all although I struggle with the notion of homosexuality and how it fits with the Bible’s teachings in the new testament. I believe government has a role to play in economic policy but I also believe that stringent controls need to be in place to stop those who want to fleece the system. I believe that DADT is a thoroughly stupid policy and should be repealed. I opposed the war in Iraq, am skeptical about the escalation in Afghanistan but can see where the President is coming from and his overall goal. I believe small businesses should be given reasonable tax breaks and the rich should be taxed progressively – the more you make, the more you should contribute to the common good.
I consider myself an independent moderate, if I really had to classify myself, but to some of my friends and relatives – I am a radical liberal. Their politics is their religion and their religion is their politics.
One view I firmly hew to is that religion has no business in politics and policy formulation. The role of the government is to remain secular and provide for the common good. The role of the church is to uphold moral values according to the Scriptures. Mixing these 2 entities results in the debacle that we see today in the GOP, Tea Party and Religious Right movements. I have no desire to see the US or Australia turn into a theocracy where the church rules with an iron fist.
For individuals, I think that religious beliefs, cultural influences and personal heritage plays a part in their political leanings. Which is natural. But I do not think that means we all need to choose a side – and can NEVER change. For me – each election is about the issues. Maybe 1 party will satisfy my convictions on how the country should be run more than another but I don’t think I will ever see myself as ideologically tied to one party, for better or for worse. How is it a democracy if we are bullied into choosing a side or else risk being ostracised?
I can only hope that the GOP will shed the crazies and be relevant again. However, given what has happened and what is happening right now, that seems unlikely……at least not for a long time.
How long before Sarah solicits donations for SarahPAC on FOX air time?
@24 AlaskaDisata, I’d also ask Dr Larua Schlesinger what the punishment in the bible is for being an adulterer and a slut. According to this article http://www.nndb.com/people/427/000022361/ and other sources she herself had at least two affairs while married. The first resulted in well publicized nude photos of her showing up on the internet. I can attest to the fact that they are very graphic in detail leaving nothing to the imagination. Her second affair was with a married father of three and eventually they both divorced and married each other. Is she going to volunteer for her biblical punishment? Probably not, she’ll stay with her money making gig of throwing stones at others, not taking responsibility for her own actions. Kinda like Sarah Palin. Those biblical punishments were made for others, not those two.
What proof will anyone have that Palin actually used that money for other candidates,etc. and not go directly to her plastic surgeon? By the time she is done laundering that money through her several PAC (give-me-money organizations) and Bristol’s consulting firm, who could ever tell where the money went.
Beck and Palin today! Yikes. I couldn’t help but think in the 10 minutes that I watched…
if this woman really wants to run in the future she will scr—-. There was a wierdness about it. Sorry Palin fans, I don’t think she is the chosen one. This Fox union is going to hurt more than help.
Folks, get this. I know I am being juvenile, but still, it’s just too easy to smirk and say it.
The Nashville TeaBaggers Ball is being held at…..
The Gaylord Opryland Hotel.
Jason Linkins of Huffpo and Ana Marie Cox of Air America LIVEBLOG the Beck-Palin Hour of Crazy!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/13/liveblogging-your-hour-of_n_422244.html
HILARIOUS! Must-read, seriously, I am dying here!
trisha@46 Says:
What proof will anyone have that Palin actually used that money for other candidates,etc. and not go directly to her plastic surgeon? By the time she is done laundering that money through her several PAC (give-me-money organizations) and Bristol’s consulting firm, who could ever tell where the money went.
* ** ** * ** * ** * ** ** ** * *
Ah! The PACs reports are open for public inspection through the FEC!! I’ve looked at the reports for SarahPAC up through the end of June 2009 and they seem to have been reported fairly. Both intakes and expenditures are recored. If SarahPAC donated to some candidate, it will be on their records.
So, in theory, we should see just exactly what the Tea Baggers were willing to pay her (i.e., her PAC) for this year’s speaking gig.
And, we should be able to see how much said organization racked up in travel, administrative, advertising, etc. expenses.
Someone at one of the blogs did a great write-up of the first half-year of SaraahPAC.
It was easy to see that about 50% of the money never went to anything, and another about 49% of the rest went all to expenses.
Only about $10,000 of the over $700,000 SarahPAC collected got distributed to … what did she just say on the Bill O’Reilly FOX fair-and-balanced channel? Something about not taking a fee but the money would go into the campaigns of people working towards her ideals?
We will be able to monitor this. When ya got a PAC, who the money goes to, and when, is a public record.
AND, beck-the-lonesome-loser WILL BE the featured speaker at the CPAC, John Birch Society co-sponsored event !! RRRHHHHHAAAAA…..
Maybe I’ll go have a couple of tums…. sighing in continued amazement…
This guy is probably going to come out or be outed. What is it with people that they can’t live and let live?
Interesting comments on social and fiscal conservatism. What became apparent to me with the health care bill, is that the Democratic party includes both social and fiscal conservatives. There is a balance within the party that the republicans have not permitted in a long time. I used to think that McCain was a moderate. He gets a lot of attention when he breaks with his party. His voting record shows that he almost always votes along the republican party line. As long as their narrow views and group think mentality is rewarded by winning elections, they will continue moving to the extreme.
18 trisha Says: January 13th, 2010 at 12:30 PM
Glen Beck=Mormon=hater of gays.
———
Glenn Beck, Keene, McCain and the rest of those CPAC’ers can kiss my grits but let’s not bash mormons just because we think Beck is an arse. There are plenty of mormons who are Democrats and I know more than a few gays in that denomination. The generalization that being mormon equates to being a hater of gays is a generalization that should not be made.
24 AlaskaDisasta Says: January 13th, 2010 at 12:41 PM
Laura Schlesinger is a US radio personality, who dispenses advice to people who call in to her radio show. She recently said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination, according to Leviticus 18:22, and cannot be condoned under any circumstances.
———
She’s an orthodox jew?? Really? What, she got religion because some of her conservative brethren made fun of her topless shots that flew around the internet nearly a decade ago? Or did she get religion after her premarital boyfriend dumped her in favor of some more robust young lady?
Schlesinger is a “personality” who has long been a psychologist/psychiatrist pretender who was piled higher and deeper at some hotel school. It’s the same with her claim to be an orthodox anything. She’s a phony and a hypocrite.
terpsichore @41 -
Conservatives can have, as a philosophy, a core of good ideas – I don’t think there would be a Republican Party if they didn’t.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In theory, you’re absolutely right. However, it seems over the past 2 decades those core ideals have just become talking points, and the social issues have become the main focus, nearly to the exclusion of all else EXCEPT the protections for big business. Too many conservatives talk about fiscal responsibility while raking in the profits from their businesses, avoiding taxes and supporting all regulations that protect the almighty bottom line. They talk about supporting small businesses but create tax laws that force those same small businesses to pay a much larger piece of the pie while their big corporations find loopholes and enjoy tax breaks for the wealthy put in place by their Republican friends in government.
They talk about smaller government but strongly support increases in government intrusion into people’s private lives ONLY when those lives follow paths they don’t personally agree with.
They preach about how sacred the Constitution is EXCEPT for the part about respecting others’ privacy, religious freedom and freedom of speech. Of course, those rights don’t apply to anyone who isn’t the same race, religion, sexual orientation or economic status.
I guess the best word for what the Republican Party and conservative movement has become is ‘hypocricy’.
R’ipley in CT @39 -
Love that Homosexual Agenda link! I just sent it to a friend of mine who’ll be surprised that she’s got such a busy afternoon planned for tomorrow!
My goodness, Matt certainly has devoted some time and imagination to what gay men do with each other. I notice his description of what lesbians do is much less specific and dramatic. That’s interesting.
@ AlaskaDisasta
Bravo bravo!!! I am still laughing so hard I have tears.. I loved every one but I must say the smiting of the neighbors in response to their displeasure at the bull burning was truly a sight to imagine!
@ leenie: Perhaps I’ll see her at the meeting ! LOL You know, we have meetings all the time… secret meetings. And we wear comfortable shoes.
R’ipley in CT -
Is there a secret handshake too??? Oooohhh, I love the intrigue!
Ya got it in one, leenie17@56: “They talk about smaller government but strongly support increases in government intrusion into people’s private lives ONLY when those lives follow paths they don’t personally agree with.”
To actually make overturning Roe v Wade meaningful would bring on the most massive increase of government bureaucracy imaginable. Every woman who had an abortion, every doctor, every nurse, could become a criminal.
Everyone who murders or injures a pregnant woman would need to be tried twice. Who is going to profit from this? Only lawyers.
Every miscarriage would have to be investigated to make sure “she didn’t try to do it on purpose”. and if she did, well, we’d have to throw that woman in the Pokey. Who pays for this? Yes, you guessed it! Your taxes!
Any woman who smokes or drinks alcohol or takes drugs while pregnant would be guilty of child endangerment. But without Big Government, how are we going to to regulate this?
I know you can think of more scenarios. This is just the tip of that judicial iceberg that overturning Roe v Wage would bring.
All it would do would line lawyers’ pockets, and, if you actually wanted it enforced, it would require larger government – I thought the Republican Party was all about LESS Government in people’s lives?
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I just deleted a whole lot of rambling stuff going into other topics, but rest assured, the connections between America’s lack of universal health care, and Bristol Palin’s early and, by her own admission, unwanted (at this time in her life) pregnancy, are intimately bound up.
I was banned from a far-right-wing site and can no longer contribute to their ‘discussions’; I was thrown out for mistakingly including links in what I was posting so that (if anyone there felt inclined to do so) the info I was sharing could be verified via the (linked) reliable source(s). I am still on their email list, though. Below is the missive “Patriots” were sent today.
I tell you: These guys and gals, these “Patriots”, are just about the baggiest of teabaggers around! They’re ultra-right-right-right-wingers; so much so, they even make the AIP look like child’s play.
They’ve flirted with Sister Sarah ever since she first emerged from Alaskan obscurity; that flirtation has progressed to the point where the “Patriots” are now ‘getting down to business’. It seems as if her plans are right on track: she has planting herself squarely in their minds as the 100% answer to their prayers — as the #1 candidate/leader for the nation. (But then again, what can one expect from these ginormous baggers when Glenn Beck is their ‘touchstone’ and wordsmith of ‘logic’?)
Oh, Sweet Jebus! – beth.
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A message to all members of Constitutional Emergency
Patriots,
I’m behind the power-curve……..sorry for the late information.
I encourage all to read about the First National Tea Party Convention being held in Nashville, TN., Feb 4-6, 2010
http://www.teapartynation.com/
It appears there is a large crowd already registered and hotel sold out…….still time for the banquet.
My sense is that we are on the verge of a national movement and a potential national leader that all patriots that love our constitution, republic principles and honor Founding Father’s vision can gravitate toward.
It’s all about raising political candidates that will adhere to constitutional principles and as Glenn Beck says, “not lose their souls” when arriving in Washington, D.C.
Check out the participants and supporters….this may be the real thing developing.
[Name Removed - b.], COL, USA, Ret
Visit Constitutional Emergency at: http://patriotsforamerica.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network
Hey #24! I’m still laughing at the divine legalism but sadly you left the provisions of Dueteronemy about the proper way to kill your children. Come on now, get with the program.
God and Country are an unbeatable team; they break all records for oppression and bloodshed.
~ Louis Buñuel
“My country, right or wrong” is a thing no patriot would ever think of saying except in a desperate case. It is like saying “My mother, drunk or sober.”
~ G. K. Chesterton
When a whole nation is roaring Patriotism at the top of its voice, I am fain to explore the cleanness of its hands and the purity of its heart.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
A politician will do anything to keep his job, even become a patriot.
~ William Randolph Hearst
Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.
~ Thomas Jefferson
Patriotism is a kind of religion; it is the egg from which wars are hatched.
~ Guy de Maupassant
I can train a monkey to wave an American flag. That does not make the monkey patriotic.
~ Scott Ritter
Patriots always talk of dying for their country and never of killing for their country.
~ Bertrand Russell
Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.
~ George Washington
Patriotism ruins history.
~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
I just have to say… no high brow stuff… no solving of the world problems tonight…
I just have to say – Palin looks absolutely nothing like her official State of Alaska portrait anymore! Funny of AKM to use that picture, the same one that disgraced many piles of dog poo in Juneau.
If I were Palin, I’d want my old face back. She looks really rough and mean now. Like she’s aged a lot more than a year in the last year. Maybe things look good for her, but deep down they really suck. There just aren’t enough Crunch Wrap Supremes to pave her way to public office. On that note, sweet dreams all.
I dare to disagree with this statement (knowing that I haven’t yet clicked on the links and read in full):
“The presence of gay people at a conservative conference would introduce some of those conservative people to actual, live, gay human beings. Some of them might even realize that those actual human beings are not all so evil, after all.”
First of all, many will never ever feel that gay human beings are anything other than evil. Period.
And many more (maybe the rest?) may belong to one of these two crowds:
a) one of my best friends is gay and he/she is quite charming, but…..
b) oh you’re gay? Well, you’re different…
I’ve heard them say this about Jews to my (Jewish) face. Racists, bigots, even just the plain old prejudiced will rarely, if ever, change their opinions.
Would GOProud really agree not only to attend but to co-sponsor CPAC yet not utter one word, have one speaker, or bring up Gay marriage? I find that sad and pathetic. They can have absolutely no self respect.
Interesting photo. I’m sure that he thinks he looks tough, but I think he just looks fearful, like all the nutty right wingers sound every time they open their mouths.
Matt Barber looks like a skeevy extra from the set of “BJ and the Bear”.
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1953520,00.html
“Her foes, including many of the aides who worked for Senator John McCain on his 2008 presidential campaign, also saw a familiar figure — one who, in their estimation, stumbled over syntax, fumbled with the truth and appeared ill informed, incoherent, vindictive and silly during her two months on the national ticket.”
I’m trying to reconcile what we all know is the truth of the Republican party making it self smaller with the uncomfortable possibility that the Republican might win Ted Kennedy’s old seat. Very nervous-making. Hope everybody in Massachusetts is out working hard to elect Martha Coakley. The consequences in terms of what it would mean to the nervous nellies in the Dem Party on a whole lot of issues we care about – is a legitimate concern.
What will be next, blacks, and then women?
Don’t laugh.
It was a little more then a hundred years ago we were “allowed” to vote.
If the old Testament becomes our rule of law, women will not be dealt with nicely. Neither will the fornicators, the divorced and you think the death penalty is bad now…..
These people have started with the gays. Nothing will stop them if they win that fight to go after whomever they want to.
72 lemonfair- it is hard for me to imagine a republican winning Kennedy’s seat.
Romney had to move considerably to the right for his presidential run. (The opposition gave out flip-flops during his presidential campaign). When he ran for governor of Massachusetts he was fairly liberal on social issues. He could not have been elected otherwise. As a candidate for governor of MA, he supported gay rights and promised not to limit access to abortion, etc.
The republicans have moved further to the right since then. Brown has to try to appeal to the tea party voters. He even spoke at one of their rally’s over the summer. I have to believe that this will alienate the socially liberal voters in Massachusetts.
Why are the Talibangelicals so terrified of gays? I think it’s because they know that all of the tight@ass KKKhristian women have absolutely NO fashion sense and these gay men will simply laugh at them for being so friggin’ frumpy. I also think that the Talibangelical men are such sissies who are so insecure in their own manhood that they think there just might be some temptation if they are exposed to those seductive gays.
I am getting REALLY tired of the meme “THE GAYS ARE CORRUPTING OUR CHILDREN!!!!!! AAAAGH!!!!” What a bunch of crap. Show me ANYONE, ANYWHERE who was recruited by gays and then went to the other side. These clowns are simply homophobic bigots whose idea of social conservatism is straight out of about 1620 Salem, MA. These fascist oafs want conformity and control. They will not allow for ANY dissent.
Thankfully, to the rest of the sane world, these troglodytes appear to be the neolithic @sshats that they are. Hopelessly, and vainly deluded into believing that God Hisownself chose them to persecute fellow humans – i.e., children of God.
I don’t give a fat rat’s patootie whether these slobbering goobers have their convention or not. I am just glad that these folks will NOT be driving the election cycles maybe, hopefully, EVER again. Good riddance. I have spit on better stuff than these cretinous cousin lovers.
Gasman Says:
January 14th, 2010 at 11:22 AM
I don’t give a fat rat’s patootie whether these slobbering goobers have their convention or not. I am just glad that these folks will NOT be driving the election cycles maybe, hopefully, EVER again. Good riddance. I have spit on better stuff than these cretinous cousin lovers.
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lol. and i agree.
24
AlaskaDisasta Says:
January 13th, 2010 at 12:41 PM …. Alaska Disaster that is a priceless post from a treasured mudpup. i hope you don’t mind that i sent it on to my family.
i loved it.
#24 @AlaskaDisasta
That was just brilliant!
Can’t we put palins name instead and send it to her