Dead Party Walking

The latest John Kerry silver foot-in-mouth exhibits precisely the arrogance that links today’s Democrats to the Federalist Party of the 1790’s. The Federalists were satisfied with the status quo and were without a vision about how to navigate the new nation further along the path of liberty and freedom. They were caught unaware of the emergence of a new man, the egalitarian. Their own talents, initiative, and relationship to God rather than to man created these new men. They were successful because of liberty and freedom rather than being descendents of a family of privilege or connections to those in power. Sensing the power of these new entrepreneurial men, Thomas Jefferson gathered various grassroots groups into a classical republican campaign that pushed forward the experiment of a government by the people and for the people into new territories of liberty, freedom and equality. By the turn of the century, America had shed itself of the Federalist Party.

The Federalists had unintentionally fallen into the well-worn shoes of their English overlords, believing in the strength of their power simply because they were in power rather than because of the strength of their ideas. And such is the case of today’s Democrat Party: a party with absolutely no new ideas to further the greatness of this nation. They are a party believing that the only problem that faces the nation is their own lack of power. Lack of power is hardly a resounding vote-garnering issue since the only people that want them back in power are their cronies in business, politics and the media. It should be crystal clear to all that John Kerry’s sense of elitism is not an anomaly in the Democratic Party. He speaks as the Democrat’s last Presidential candidate and current voice of the party. It should be noted that this is the way virtually all Democrats view the huddled masses they govern. Just as Kerry’s elitism is viewed distastefully, it was this same sense of elitism, and assumption of political posterity that finished off America’s first political party. Kerry’s complete repudiation of any apology to our troops should be viewed as a ticking time bomb set to go off this election cycle bringing complete destruction of today’s Democrat Party. American liberty and egalitarianism refuses to bow under arrogance. Not Kerry’s snotty remarks about our troops to Bill Clinton wagging his nasty finger in our face. Unwarranted arrogance is not an American virtue.

But elitism alone is not significant enough to warrant political death. It is the complete absence of ideas of vision that is their ultimate foe. Every idea proposed is a re-tread of the same-old same-old. Listen to Texas Congressional District 17 incumbent Chet Edwards (D) and you hear the litany of Democrat blindness. The shtick is that Edwards is some sort of “maverick” conservative in the Democrat Party, but nothing could be further from the truth. He proposes raising taxes on the “rich” – anyone making over $30K – while providing “tax relief” to the “middle class” – those who pay no taxes at all, but would now also receive a check from the munificent government via Chet Edwards. He scares veterans with base-line budgeting carney-ism, threatening their peace of mind because “he cares more” than evil republicans. He scares seniors about the idea of social security reform that wouldn’t affect them but would be of great benefit to their grandchildren. And then Chet has the onions to sign on to AARP’s plan to raise taxes on social security to make their piddlin’ checks even smaller. He wants to tax e-commerce, repeal the Bush tax cuts, tax to bring down the deficit, tax to keep schools in the sorry state they’re in, tax to pay for partial-birth abortions, and yak, yak, yak. It’s just a big “Eminent Front” – a put on – without a new thought in the entire refrain. And all across the nation there is district after district offering one of these also-ran retread incumbents as the “vision” of the American future. It’s just LBJ and the Great Society taxing us into prosperity all over again.

It reminds me of the joke that floated around in those heady days of Democrat opulence and regality via The Great Society.

Moses told the people to pack up their shovels, load up their camels, and saddle up their asses because they were headed for the Promised Land.

LBJ told the people to throw down their shovels, light up their Camels and sit on their asses, because this was the Promised Land.

And such has been the last 40 years of Democrat control. The same group of people speaking down to the same subservient people who bow in fealty while hoping for a scrap of government largesse because the tax man has effectively removed any discretionary cash from the family wallet. Even though it has been shown that tax cuts bring in more government funds to cover not only the current budget but also bring down the deficit, the tax, tax, tax, spend, spend, spend Democrat plan is repeated ad nauseum. Their vision is simply to control every aspect of our lives while rewriting the “broken” Constitution to deny us our own rights and liberties yet extending those rights to every citizen of the world. “We shall willingly oppress ourselves because we are free to do so” is the standard they will impose on us because of their elitist sensibilities and backwards vision.

Those that would say that the Republicans in Congress deserve to lose are only breathing new life in this walking dead monstrosity of political elitism. Instead, let us hasten Democrat political demise by sticking with our own team as riddled with human nature as humans are prone to be. And as far as a new political vision try this one:

Imagine a future with no Democrats serving even locally as dogcatcher. Where a triumphant Republican Party eventually splits into Republicans and Libertarians. Where the order of the day is watching Washington powers begin “The Game” as to which political party can butt out of our lives the fastest. Now, there’s a political vision!

Welcome American Thinker Readers

The jackalope is humbled by your many positive comments for her post on The American Thinker. Just three months ago I started The Jackalope's Voice to support Van Taylor (R) in the Texas District 17 Congressional race against the eight-term incumbent Chet Edwards (D). District 17 is President Bush's personal district and it is considered a real slap in the President's face that Chet Edwards (D) was the only Democrat to survive the DeLay redistricting map.

If any of you dear readers happens to be a national syndicated radio host, it would fill the jackalope's heart to overflowing joy to have this race get national attention. Van Taylor is a Marine and was the leader of the reconnaisance team that rescued Jessica Lynch. He is humble and strong in his convictions. In short, Van Taylor is the kind of man we need to strengthen our Republican majority in Congress. The jackalope believes that a stronger majority is what is needed in Washington. She understands that even though the Democrats are in the minority, their drive-by media friends make them sound like a larger voice.

Chet Edwards (D) is everything the Democrat Party stands for. He uses "bi-partisan" in every sentence, which in demo-speak means Republicans must relent and desist. For a quick overview please check these posts: Play Until You Pay , Trick Rider, Who Needs a Hindrance When It Comes To Oil?, Chet's Tax Irons are in the Fire - Beware, Who's Your Daddy?, It's Not the Money, A Good Shepherd is Not a Demagogue, and finally Why Chet Edwards Should Not Be Reelected.

Also interesting are these posts on a political forum - not a debate - held between Van and Chet: What We Learned and Another Thought About Last Night's Forum. The jackalope was very disturbed by the way the forum was conducted. Many of you may have experienced this new tone forum and have niggling thoughts about them.

Once again, I want to thank new readers of The Jackalope's Voice.

Sincerely,

Nancy Coppock

Another Thought About Last Night's Forum

There was something niggling in the jackalope's brain about the manner in which last night's forum was conducted. Her conclusion: prohibiting confrontation in a political forum makes it as mind-numbingly dull as a weekly inter-office meeting. Not only a complete joke but actually dangerous to democracy. Only someone with something to hide would want this.

To conduct a Political Forum with the silly politically correct rules of decorum, where no one says a thing about their opponent is akin to secret police enforcing peace and tranquility in a totalitarian state! Politics is a blood sport and those that can't handle the fight because they haven't the interest to sort out who is telling the truth should NOT vote. Enforced tranquility so that no one's sensiblities are disturbed is an affront to democracy!

The jackalope has observed that quiet and mannerly doesn't always mean there is learning going on in a classroom and it certainly doesn't mean issues are being explored in a debate. This loathing of true debate is dangerous to our political freedom and is nothing more than politeness enrobed in a civil ascetism that allows elitists to decide for the masses who and what can be said or even thought. Civil Asceticim is a philosophy that leads straight to oppression. The jackalope prefers the raucous rowdiness of democratic freedom to the meek, mild platitudes of a politician lying to her face without her having the freedom to call a snake, a snake. Or even more bluntly - the jackalope is a tough little gal - don't piss on my head and tell me it's raining.

The Party's So Over...

For those confused or disgusted with this current political election I offer these words of explanation. What we are witnessing is the death of a political party. The present Democratic Party is peculiarly the same as when Thomas Jefferson rallied a grassroots republican revolution in opposition to the Federalist during the 1790's. In Jefferson's mind the Federalists had become the same as the English monarchy in their elitist sensibilities of government. To counter this he collected a wide assortment of grassroots groups into a republican coalition and changed the direction of the nation. As Joyce Appleby records:

...the Jeffersonians coalesced around a set of ideas — radical notions about how society should be reorganized. These ideas were propagated less by a class of men — that is, persons tied together by common economic interests — than by a kind of man — men attracted by certain beliefs.Their common vision about the reform of politics and the liberation of the human spirit… Ideas — not interests or old loyalties or institutional identities — supplied the unity for success. (emphasis added)

Today the ideas pushing the political forum are:

• The war against Islamic fascism that threatens freedom throughout the entire earth - for without liberty under our own Constitution the other ideas are moot.

Only then come the ideas for the continuity of the American Dream:

• permanent tax cuts,
• border control,
• reform of the entire method of collecting taxes (e.g. flat tax or national sales tax),
• protection of private property,
• and other such ideas that dismantle the power of the federalist government.

The current Democratic Party has corrupted itself so far in their American self-loathing that they are in every sense at odds with the Constitution they have sworn not only to abide by, but to protect. If they desire to represent our enemy, then they should move to the totalitarian countries they seek to protect while extending upon our enemy the protection of our American Bill of Rights that they seek to deny their own American citizens. Their generation has so railed and rebelled against the "power of America" that they have spiritually joined with those sworn to destroy us. It is much like the conversation in Dostoyevsky's The Idiot. Substitute "American" for "Russian" and the message is clear:

Well, my fact is precisely that Russian liberalism is not an attack on the existing order of things, but an attack on the very essence of things, on the things themselves, not merely on their order, on the established order in Russia, but on Russia herself. My liberal has gone so far as to deny Russia herself; in other words, he hates his own mother and he beats her. Every Russian failure and misfortune stirs him to laughter and virtually delights him. He hates national traditions, Russian history, everything. (emphasis added)

And then,

Not so long ago some of our liberals effectively took this hatred for Russia as sincere love for their country, and congratulated themselves on seeing better than others what that love should be; but now they have become more frank, and even the words 'love for country' have become an embarrassment to them and the whole conception has been banished and dismissed as harmful and trivial.
Both quotes from the Henry and Olga Carlisle translation, ©1969

An astute politico can hear Hillary Clinton screeching that she is patriotic and that she has a right to screech about having the right to question the President of the United States. Or throw up as the media ponders whether it is "proper" to wear a flag pin or come out in support the troops.

How long the current Democratic Party maintains control of the nation depends upon this election. It is true that the world is on a headlong descent into chaos. The Bible tells us so. However, do we go down with an emasculated whimper or do we stand up and fight back the status quo until the bloody end? I say we must be in the world but not of the world and desire to hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

Amongst Our Weaponry are Fear, Surprise, Ruthless Efficiency...

At last we have been apprised of the true horror of an interrogation at Guantanamo. According to The Village Voice:

In the thirteen months I was in Cuba, I was interrogated ten to twelve times. I was interrogated in a separate room and always alone. I would be brought there, and my legs would be shackled to a chair. One or two Americans in plain clothes interviewed me. A typical interrogation consisted of questions about my family, education record, language skills, background …what I intended to do in the future… purpose of my missionary activity… who funded it … what I was doing in Afghanistan … The sessions lasted between one and two hours each and I was asked questions the whole time.

Even more horrifying:

For Afghan detainee Shah Mohammed Alikhil, who does not allege actual or threatened ill-treatment during interrogation, it was the repetition of the interrogations, and the absence of any prospect of resolution thereby, that was stressful:
My first interrogation started at the end of my first month of imprisonment in Cuba. Three Americans with a translator interrogated me. They asked me the same thing [as before, during incarceration in Mazar-i-Sharif and Kandahar prior to transfer to Guantanamo] and did not tell me anything else. There was no torture or mistreatment. The second interrogation started a month after the first interrogation. No new questions were asked this time again. And some months later I was interrogated again, without any sign of progress in my case, and again no new questions were asked. I was exhausted and tired of living like that. I was hearing noises and seeing ghosts [hallucinating].

Sounds like my trip this summer where I helped my brother and sister-in-law in their move from San Diego to Denver. I drove the plush mini-van complete with DVD player so my sister-in-love could sit in back with the 3 kiddos. Hearing again and again those same questions: “When are we going to be there?” and “What town are we in?”, the stress, the strain. Hearing Roadrunner dropping a bomb on the Coyote, over and over and over again…. I was close to hallucinations myself.

But wait, there’s no end to the diabolical devices of torture at Camp Delta when just this past Friday we learned of the most dastardly torture device of all – The Comfy Chair!

Aside from a large metal ring in the floor for securing shackles, and a big red button on the wall labeled Duress, the room looks like a teacher's lounge. It has white cement-block walls and a concrete floor, but a large Persian rug softens the bleak appearance. There's a coffee maker (Starbucks Barista Quattro), a television, and a DVD player. Three black office chairs face a dark wood coffee table and a plush blue La-Z-Boy chair.

Today the detainees who are still interrogated regularly—about 25 percent of the camp's population, say officials—apparently nestle into a recliner.

We have met the enemy and he is us. Have we completely stopped making sense?