I would like to request, just in the spirit of the fairness doctrine, that you provide pictures of the religion of the divine OBAMA. Hmmm...does this make Rush Limbaugh the ANTI-OBAMA?
All jokes aside, I have to hand it to the Democratic Party and their Karl Roveian style...picking Rush Limbaugh as the face of the Republican party was a sweet move on their part. He's been demonized by the left and the main street media for so long that most Americans don't really know what his values are.
Those are probably the same people who get their political facts from Jon Stewart.
Or you could just watch his CPAC speech. I disagree with Limbaugh on a lot of issues, but one thing I DO agree with him about is the concepts of conservatism: fiscal responsibility, the reduction of the size and scope and interference in government, and the idea of personal responsibility and achievement. Conservatives WANT people to succeed, through their OWN endeavors, not because Barack Obama or Nancy Pelosi gave them the minimum to survive. Equal Beginnings with Unequal Outcomes. That's what Rush Limbaugh believes in. The government provides (as best as possible) equal beginnings.
"Equal Beginnings with Unequal Outcomes. That's what Rush Limbaugh believes in."
So kids with same-sex parents should have the opportunity to be born into a family where their dads/moms are married and have the 1,000+ benefits of federal marriage, right? Not according to Limbaugh or the GOP. Kids should have full access to good healthcare until 18? Not according to Limbaugh and friends. Children should have a right to free schooling in an environment free of religious indoctrination and brainwashing? Certainly not according to Limbaugh and the Republicans.
Your argument fails on so many levels that I swoon considering them all!
One of the worst tendencies in politics is to label. All Republicans believe this...or all Democrats believe that. The truth is much more prosaic, as is the makeup of our country. This Blog is a perfect example of a slightly left centrist position. My own blog is a slightly right centrist position. Take Stan’s political positions as an example. (Yes, yes, I know, Stan…you stay away from most politics!) I agree with Stan on perhaps seventy to eighty percent of the issues he raises. I disagree with a few. But I won’t condemn everything Stan has to say because I disagree with him on a few points of contention.
I did mention that I don't agree with Limbaugh on many issues. Some I can think of off the bat are the death penalty and gay marriage. Education is also an issue I think that throwing money at (a classic response from both Democrats and Republicans) is an "equal beginnings" problem that needs resolution. My solution? Stop with local property taxes and move to state wide funding. Watch rich Republicans go ape at THAT concept!
But like most things, you can pick and choose good ideas, and they come from both sides of the aisle. By all means, discard some or even most of Limbaugh’s values, but please keep in mind that there just may be a nugget of gold in even the most jaundiced view points. As intelligent people, we must be able to disregard the messenger, and glean the truth. We must be radical. And so I say again, Limbaugh believes that the government should be providing a level playing field, where race, gender, blood, education, and yes…even sexual orientation, should not be the DECIDING FACTOR on whether you succeed or fail. It should be up to each individual. What I and Rush Limbaugh oppose is the ultimate economic socialist model of “No Child Left Behind”. Make sure no one gets behind, by making sure no one gets ahead. In layman’s terms it is called redistribution of wealth. Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi aren’t interested in lifting up Americans to new heights. They’re interested in pulling us all down so that everyone is equal.
I don’t need President Obama providing for my health care. I don’t need him to pay my mortgage. I don’t need him to regulate what food I eat, or when I eat it, or how big my house can be. I don’t need a babysitter. I need a level playing field, and a decent referee to make sure no one cheats.
Not someone going around, clubbing people in the knees, because one player can’t run as fast as the rest of us.
lol, if you weren't so sincere I'd think you were a character in an SNL parody.
I'm not going to pick apart everything you say in your post as that could lead us into an endless spiral of pedantry. Given that neither of us is occupying the furthest reach of either end of the spectrum, it's probably safe to say we agree on some things but not on others.
One thing we don't agree on is the idea of healthcare. You clearly have never lived in Europe under a universal healthcare system and you seem to value the ideology of everyone providing for themselves or suffering the consequences. Sadly life doesn't recognise ambition and hard work when it comes to illness and people with bad genes or who grow up with ignorant parents who refuse vaccines or people who learn too late that tobacco causes cancer can do little to prevent bankruptcy if they need very expensive treatment.
No-one surely wants government to "control" their healthcare, but I imagine most people want to be able to access treatment without having to lose their home. All other industrialized nations provide at least basic healthcare through taxation, ensuring that the average yokel can get his testicular cancer removed without also having his credit score plummet. Rich peeps can still go and get their treatment in a private clinic with plush carpets and 5-star food. In the USA unfortunately our healthcare is controlled almost solely by the insurance companies and drug companies, not you or the government. As a physician, I'd much rather be on medicare than my current insurance provider.
Many Americans believe your idea of equal playing fields being about encumbering those who are better or work harder or are more ambitious. Sometimes that is the case. But usually it is a situation where you or I as white men from presumably middle class backgrounds are given a huge boost in life from conception. Republican ideas could maybe work in Norway where there is greater homogeneity of religion, race, culture, etc. but when you have churches in the US who will only give their charity to believers and private schools that select only white students then you have a problem.
Your redistribution of wealth tantrums presume that everything started from a level playing field in the first place. Not true! Originally from Ireland, I can tell you that the 800 years the British kept my country as a plaything meant we suffered on a variety of levels. Thankfully the EU stepped in to make things more even and now we can truly succeed on our own. And here in the US? We have conniptions over affirmative action and ENDA. What a joke.
So spare us the platitudes for Limbaugh's supposed good points - he and the GOP are selling snake oil and they don't even know it.
If we're going to discuss the relative dangers of "losing freedoms" under the Obama administration vs. losing freedoms under the Bush administration, we're going to have a very very long thread...
Republicans have no "values" whatsoever. Their "values" are only what suits the hour. You never here anything about fiscal conservatism when they are in power looting the government.
They are only reminded of what ancient intellectuals said was conservatism, when they need a way to get back in power. Once they achieve that, its back to sucking on the greatest cash cow the planet knows, the US gummint
Stan,
ReplyDeleteI would like to request, just in the spirit of the fairness doctrine, that you provide pictures of the religion of the divine OBAMA. Hmmm...does this make Rush Limbaugh the ANTI-OBAMA?
All jokes aside, I have to hand it to the Democratic Party and their Karl Roveian style...picking Rush Limbaugh as the face of the Republican party was a sweet move on their part. He's been demonized by the left and the main street media for so long that most Americans don't really know what his values are.
Those are probably the same people who get their political facts from Jon Stewart.
Oh well...funny cartoons.
Yep. Republicans haven't anointed him their leader.. it was the democrats who put one over on the mainstream media.
ReplyDeleteBrian Kern said "most Americans don't really know what his values are".
ReplyDeleteWhy don't you tell us Brian what values a fat, drug-addicted, thrice-married bully has?
Or you could just watch his CPAC speech. I disagree with Limbaugh on a lot of issues, but one thing I DO agree with him about is the concepts of conservatism: fiscal responsibility, the reduction of the size and scope and interference in government, and the idea of personal responsibility and achievement. Conservatives WANT people to succeed, through their OWN endeavors, not because Barack Obama or Nancy Pelosi gave them the minimum to survive. Equal Beginnings with Unequal Outcomes. That's what Rush Limbaugh believes in. The government provides (as best as possible) equal beginnings.
ReplyDelete"Equal Beginnings with Unequal Outcomes. That's what Rush Limbaugh believes in."
ReplyDeleteSo kids with same-sex parents should have the opportunity to be born into a family where their dads/moms are married and have the 1,000+ benefits of federal marriage, right? Not according to Limbaugh or the GOP. Kids should have full access to good healthcare until 18? Not according to Limbaugh and friends. Children should have a right to free schooling in an environment free of religious indoctrination and brainwashing? Certainly not according to Limbaugh and the Republicans.
Your argument fails on so many levels that I swoon considering them all!
One of the worst tendencies in politics is to label. All Republicans believe this...or all Democrats believe that. The truth is much more prosaic, as is the makeup of our country. This Blog is a perfect example of a slightly left centrist position. My own blog is a slightly right centrist position. Take Stan’s political positions as an example. (Yes, yes, I know, Stan…you stay away from most politics!) I agree with Stan on perhaps seventy to eighty percent of the issues he raises. I disagree with a few. But I won’t condemn everything Stan has to say because I disagree with him on a few points of contention.
ReplyDeleteI did mention that I don't agree with Limbaugh on many issues. Some I can think of off the bat are the death penalty and gay marriage. Education is also an issue I think that throwing money at (a classic response from both Democrats and Republicans) is an "equal beginnings" problem that needs resolution. My solution? Stop with local property taxes and move to state wide funding. Watch rich Republicans go ape at THAT concept!
But like most things, you can pick and choose good ideas, and they come from both sides of the aisle. By all means, discard some or even most of Limbaugh’s values, but please keep in mind that there just may be a nugget of gold in even the most jaundiced view points. As intelligent people, we must be able to disregard the messenger, and glean the truth. We must be radical. And so I say again, Limbaugh believes that the government should be providing a level playing field, where race, gender, blood, education, and yes…even sexual orientation, should not be the DECIDING FACTOR on whether you succeed or fail. It should be up to each individual. What I and Rush Limbaugh oppose is the ultimate economic socialist model of “No Child Left Behind”. Make sure no one gets behind, by making sure no one gets ahead. In layman’s terms it is called redistribution of wealth. Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi aren’t interested in lifting up Americans to new heights. They’re interested in pulling us all down so that everyone is equal.
I don’t need President Obama providing for my health care. I don’t need him to pay my mortgage. I don’t need him to regulate what food I eat, or when I eat it, or how big my house can be. I don’t need a babysitter. I need a level playing field, and a decent referee to make sure no one cheats.
Not someone going around, clubbing people in the knees, because one player can’t run as fast as the rest of us.
lol, if you weren't so sincere I'd think you were a character in an SNL parody.
ReplyDeleteI'm not going to pick apart everything you say in your post as that could lead us into an endless spiral of pedantry. Given that neither of us is occupying the furthest reach of either end of the spectrum, it's probably safe to say we agree on some things but not on others.
One thing we don't agree on is the idea of healthcare. You clearly have never lived in Europe under a universal healthcare system and you seem to value the ideology of everyone providing for themselves or suffering the consequences. Sadly life doesn't recognise ambition and hard work when it comes to illness and people with bad genes or who grow up with ignorant parents who refuse vaccines or people who learn too late that tobacco causes cancer can do little to prevent bankruptcy if they need very expensive treatment.
No-one surely wants government to "control" their healthcare, but I imagine most people want to be able to access treatment without having to lose their home. All other industrialized nations provide at least basic healthcare through taxation, ensuring that the average yokel can get his testicular cancer removed without also having his credit score plummet. Rich peeps can still go and get their treatment in a private clinic with plush carpets and 5-star food. In the USA unfortunately our healthcare is controlled almost solely by the insurance companies and drug companies, not you or the government. As a physician, I'd much rather be on medicare than my current insurance provider.
Many Americans believe your idea of equal playing fields being about encumbering those who are better or work harder or are more ambitious. Sometimes that is the case. But usually it is a situation where you or I as white men from presumably middle class backgrounds are given a huge boost in life from conception. Republican ideas could maybe work in Norway where there is greater homogeneity of religion, race, culture, etc. but when you have churches in the US who will only give their charity to believers and private schools that select only white students then you have a problem.
Your redistribution of wealth tantrums presume that everything started from a level playing field in the first place. Not true! Originally from Ireland, I can tell you that the 800 years the British kept my country as a plaything meant we suffered on a variety of levels. Thankfully the EU stepped in to make things more even and now we can truly succeed on our own. And here in the US? We have conniptions over affirmative action and ENDA. What a joke.
So spare us the platitudes for Limbaugh's supposed good points - he and the GOP are selling snake oil and they don't even know it.
“Just as war is freedom's cost, disagreement is freedom's privilege.”
ReplyDelete-Bill Clinton
I urge you not to be so eager to give your freedom away.
If we're going to discuss the relative dangers of "losing freedoms" under the Obama administration vs. losing freedoms under the Bush administration, we're going to have a very very long thread...
ReplyDeleteRepublicans have no "values" whatsoever. Their "values" are only what suits the hour. You never here anything about fiscal conservatism when they are in power looting the government.
ReplyDeleteThey are only reminded of what ancient intellectuals said was conservatism, when they need a way to get back in power. Once they achieve that, its back to sucking on the greatest cash cow the planet knows, the US gummint