I've been a big supporter of conservative talk radio for the better part of twenty years, finding much to agree with in listening to Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Mark Davis, and others. But lately I find myself more and more getting frustrated, and even angry at times, with some of these broadcasters who seem to defend indefensible positions on key issues. One of those issues is the failure of the Republican party over the last twenty-five years.
Before I continue, let me say that I have been registered as either a Republican or a Conservative since I was 19 years old. Given the choice between the GOP and the Democrat party, I will almost always side with the GOP. Yet I am very angry with the Republican party across the board, as are millions of my conservative brethren, and we believe our anger is quite appropriately aimed at the right people.
Some of the aforementioned conservative talkers question our anger, some even challenging us on the airwaves. Mr. Limbaugh for example, used his program on several occasions during the protracted health care debate to insist that conservative anger at the Republican party was misplaced. He was at times both sarcastic and insulting in his remarks, as though his listeners are too stupid to understand the nuances of politics. With all due respect, we fully understand the nuances and we are sick and tired of it!
If you want to know why conservatives are angry at the Republican party one need look no further than the likes of Mitt Romney, former Republican governor of Massachusetts. He graced the stage of Bill O'Reilly's program on FOX News last night, and was grilled by the host about his position on the health care overhaul. At issue was the fact that while governor, Romney supported and signed into law his state's version of health care reform which incidentally, was the model for the federal legislation. O'Reilly challenged Romney on the fact that he supported it at the state level but opposes it at the federal level. Romney's reasoning was that the feds are prohibited by the Constitution to enact such a sweeping law while the states are not.
I could live with Romney's position IF...the legislation proved to be successful in Massachusetts. Unfortunately, it has proven to be an abysmal failure; to the extent that the three health insurance providers in the state are losing billions each year and have been forced to impose a blackout on any new policies. The legislation, despite all the hype, was not able to bring costs down, quality of care up, and cover 100% of all state residents. In short, it was a bust in Massachusetts and it will be a bust at the federal level.
As O'Reilly continued to grill Mr. Romney, it was apparent that the former governor was very uncomfortable. Finally, he let slip the real reason he signed health care reform into law when he admitted that his state received federal incentives to "encourage" enactment of the reform. Romney more or less said, "Hey, if the feds are gonna offer my state some goodies, as governor you'd better believe I'm going to take it."
That, Mr. Limbaugh, is why so many conservatives are angry at the Republican party. At they end of the day Mitt Romney is just another politician who will sell out his state in order to advance his own agenda. It is the antithesis of conservatism which believes that if something is bad for the general public, like health care reform, you stay away from it no matter how many sweet deals you are offered. Are we now supposed to trust Mitt Romney as the Republican candidate for president? Are we supposed to believe him when he says he'll sign a repeal of the health care reform law? What happens if the Democrats offer him a sweet deal?
The thing is, we expect this dirty behavior from liberal Democrats and RINO Republicans. But for GOP members to go on TV and proclaim the depths of their conservatism, only to turn around and give the enemy what he wants, is a betrayal of the highest order! Think of it in terms of a marriage. If your neighbor's husband cheats on his wife you may be a little ticked at his behavior, but nowhere near the anger you would feel toward your own spouse if he or she cheated on you. Sure, we're angry at Democrats, but we expect betrayal from them - they never promised us loyalty. The Republican party has plunged the knife into our backs time and again with Bush Sr.'s new taxes; Bush Jr.'s prescription drug program and porkulus bill; McCain's gang of fourteen and his now infamous McCain-Feingold bill.
And that brings me to another point of anger - Sarah Palin.
Dear Lord, I hate to have to write this because I was a huge Palin supporter; I still think she might be the strongest Republican to go after the 2012 nomination, but Mrs. Palin turned the knife on us when she went to Arizona to stump for Sen. McCain. I know, all you conservative talk show hosts will scream, "But she had to do that in order to keep peace in the Republican party!"
Bingo!
Once again, this is why so many of us are angry. Conservatives believe in principles; we believe in right and wrong; we believe in sticking to our guns even if it means we go down in defeat. We don't believe in keeping the establishment happy merely because we need their support in the future. To hell with their support!
John McCain is a RINO and will always be a RINO. Why on earth do you think the liberal press wanted so badly for him to be the Republican candidate in '08? They knew he couldn't win among conservatives which would guarantee an Obama victory. They outfoxed us, kids. Yet this very day we are supposed to be okay with Mrs. Palin endorsing and stumping fro the guy who gave us the unconstitutional campaign finance reform, who stabbed his party and nation in the back during the Supreme Court fight a few years back, and who strangely enough, seems to favor amnesty for illegals despite the havoc in his own home state. How on earth can that be justified?
One last point before my eyes shoot out of their sockets and my head explodes...
We now have some yellow-bellied Republicans in the Senate who are saying, "Maybe we don't need to repeal Obamacare. Maybe we can just fix it." Oh really? Talk about Democrat lite!
In one of his anti-anger tirades Mr. Limbaugh asked if Republicans, any of them, would be doing the same things with health care reform as the Democrats were doing. The answer is a resounding YES!!!! Mr. Limbaugh, let me add to your list of undeniable truths of life:
"Unless forced to do otherwise by conservative voters, the Republican Party will continue to offer up "lite" versions of Democrat proposals in order to appear as though they care just as much. The enactment of these proposals will lead us to the same end, it's just that it will take longer."
Case in point: Mitt Romney's position on creating jobs. He told O'Reilly that the government must "create jobs" by enacting tax cuts. He referenced money that employers would be spending on new hires and equipment and gave a scenario in which the federal government would "let" (Romney's word, not mine) businesses take tax credits in order to help create jobs. The problem here is two-fold:
First, the government "letting" business take tax credits is insulting. It isn't their money for crying out loud. Second, the government does not, cannot, and will not ever create a single job in the private sector! Tax credits are an idiotic smokescreen designed to make people think the benevolent federal government can do something good. Instead, they need to get their fat butts out of the way and let business alone to do what it does. All Romney is offering is a band-aid.
Time and again the republican party allows the Democrats to set the table, then they respond with their own version of what's been set before the American people. If the GOP really wants to win back the hearts and minds of conservatives, they need to step up and start setting the table themselves. Start pushing and agenda of rolling back government, cutting spending legitimately, drilling for domestic oil, and so on. They need to push aggressively and force the Democrats to respond instead of the other way around. Until then, we will continue to get the same old garbage from those allegedly on our side.
Still wonder why we're angry?
Before I continue, let me say that I have been registered as either a Republican or a Conservative since I was 19 years old. Given the choice between the GOP and the Democrat party, I will almost always side with the GOP. Yet I am very angry with the Republican party across the board, as are millions of my conservative brethren, and we believe our anger is quite appropriately aimed at the right people.
Some of the aforementioned conservative talkers question our anger, some even challenging us on the airwaves. Mr. Limbaugh for example, used his program on several occasions during the protracted health care debate to insist that conservative anger at the Republican party was misplaced. He was at times both sarcastic and insulting in his remarks, as though his listeners are too stupid to understand the nuances of politics. With all due respect, we fully understand the nuances and we are sick and tired of it!
If you want to know why conservatives are angry at the Republican party one need look no further than the likes of Mitt Romney, former Republican governor of Massachusetts. He graced the stage of Bill O'Reilly's program on FOX News last night, and was grilled by the host about his position on the health care overhaul. At issue was the fact that while governor, Romney supported and signed into law his state's version of health care reform which incidentally, was the model for the federal legislation. O'Reilly challenged Romney on the fact that he supported it at the state level but opposes it at the federal level. Romney's reasoning was that the feds are prohibited by the Constitution to enact such a sweeping law while the states are not.
I could live with Romney's position IF...the legislation proved to be successful in Massachusetts. Unfortunately, it has proven to be an abysmal failure; to the extent that the three health insurance providers in the state are losing billions each year and have been forced to impose a blackout on any new policies. The legislation, despite all the hype, was not able to bring costs down, quality of care up, and cover 100% of all state residents. In short, it was a bust in Massachusetts and it will be a bust at the federal level.
As O'Reilly continued to grill Mr. Romney, it was apparent that the former governor was very uncomfortable. Finally, he let slip the real reason he signed health care reform into law when he admitted that his state received federal incentives to "encourage" enactment of the reform. Romney more or less said, "Hey, if the feds are gonna offer my state some goodies, as governor you'd better believe I'm going to take it."
That, Mr. Limbaugh, is why so many conservatives are angry at the Republican party. At they end of the day Mitt Romney is just another politician who will sell out his state in order to advance his own agenda. It is the antithesis of conservatism which believes that if something is bad for the general public, like health care reform, you stay away from it no matter how many sweet deals you are offered. Are we now supposed to trust Mitt Romney as the Republican candidate for president? Are we supposed to believe him when he says he'll sign a repeal of the health care reform law? What happens if the Democrats offer him a sweet deal?
The thing is, we expect this dirty behavior from liberal Democrats and RINO Republicans. But for GOP members to go on TV and proclaim the depths of their conservatism, only to turn around and give the enemy what he wants, is a betrayal of the highest order! Think of it in terms of a marriage. If your neighbor's husband cheats on his wife you may be a little ticked at his behavior, but nowhere near the anger you would feel toward your own spouse if he or she cheated on you. Sure, we're angry at Democrats, but we expect betrayal from them - they never promised us loyalty. The Republican party has plunged the knife into our backs time and again with Bush Sr.'s new taxes; Bush Jr.'s prescription drug program and porkulus bill; McCain's gang of fourteen and his now infamous McCain-Feingold bill.
And that brings me to another point of anger - Sarah Palin.
Dear Lord, I hate to have to write this because I was a huge Palin supporter; I still think she might be the strongest Republican to go after the 2012 nomination, but Mrs. Palin turned the knife on us when she went to Arizona to stump for Sen. McCain. I know, all you conservative talk show hosts will scream, "But she had to do that in order to keep peace in the Republican party!"
Bingo!
Once again, this is why so many of us are angry. Conservatives believe in principles; we believe in right and wrong; we believe in sticking to our guns even if it means we go down in defeat. We don't believe in keeping the establishment happy merely because we need their support in the future. To hell with their support!
John McCain is a RINO and will always be a RINO. Why on earth do you think the liberal press wanted so badly for him to be the Republican candidate in '08? They knew he couldn't win among conservatives which would guarantee an Obama victory. They outfoxed us, kids. Yet this very day we are supposed to be okay with Mrs. Palin endorsing and stumping fro the guy who gave us the unconstitutional campaign finance reform, who stabbed his party and nation in the back during the Supreme Court fight a few years back, and who strangely enough, seems to favor amnesty for illegals despite the havoc in his own home state. How on earth can that be justified?
One last point before my eyes shoot out of their sockets and my head explodes...
We now have some yellow-bellied Republicans in the Senate who are saying, "Maybe we don't need to repeal Obamacare. Maybe we can just fix it." Oh really? Talk about Democrat lite!
In one of his anti-anger tirades Mr. Limbaugh asked if Republicans, any of them, would be doing the same things with health care reform as the Democrats were doing. The answer is a resounding YES!!!! Mr. Limbaugh, let me add to your list of undeniable truths of life:
"Unless forced to do otherwise by conservative voters, the Republican Party will continue to offer up "lite" versions of Democrat proposals in order to appear as though they care just as much. The enactment of these proposals will lead us to the same end, it's just that it will take longer."
Case in point: Mitt Romney's position on creating jobs. He told O'Reilly that the government must "create jobs" by enacting tax cuts. He referenced money that employers would be spending on new hires and equipment and gave a scenario in which the federal government would "let" (Romney's word, not mine) businesses take tax credits in order to help create jobs. The problem here is two-fold:
First, the government "letting" business take tax credits is insulting. It isn't their money for crying out loud. Second, the government does not, cannot, and will not ever create a single job in the private sector! Tax credits are an idiotic smokescreen designed to make people think the benevolent federal government can do something good. Instead, they need to get their fat butts out of the way and let business alone to do what it does. All Romney is offering is a band-aid.
Time and again the republican party allows the Democrats to set the table, then they respond with their own version of what's been set before the American people. If the GOP really wants to win back the hearts and minds of conservatives, they need to step up and start setting the table themselves. Start pushing and agenda of rolling back government, cutting spending legitimately, drilling for domestic oil, and so on. They need to push aggressively and force the Democrats to respond instead of the other way around. Until then, we will continue to get the same old garbage from those allegedly on our side.
Still wonder why we're angry?
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