Social Conservatives

The Ultimate Republican Hypocrisy And Double Standard: Highly Moral And Religious Publicly, And Major Attenders Of Strip Clubs And Nude Bars At Political Conventions!

Ronald Leave a comment

The Republican Party loves to portray itself as extremely religious, moral, and ethical, and opposes full fledged sex education in public schools, and also loves to invoke God as punishing sinners by natural events, including tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, droughts and earthquakes.

But now we are faced with the likelihood that the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida, may face the wrath of Hurricane Isaac, an ironic event to say the least, particularly of the “son of Abraham”, the founder of the Jewish people in the Old Testament, “punishing” those who claim to be “good Christians”, promoting a hateful attitude toward those who are not willing to accept their dictates on social and economic matters, but who actually wish to do the good works that Jesus Christ promoted, rather than gaudy materialism, greed, and selfishness!

And also, Tampa is famous for its strip clubs, nude bars, and lap dances, and it is expected that Republican delegates, including highly “religious” delegates, will “let their hair down’, and act contrary to what their stated beliefs are! Of course, they will do everything to cover their tracks, and continue to preach what they do not practice! By the way, statistics show that Republicans go to such venues three times as likely as Democrats do!

This is the height of hypocrisy—do as one says, but not as one does! But what is new about the modern GOP, captive of the social conservatives and Tea Party activists, who are in the process of destroying the historic Republican Party of Lincoln, TR, Ike, and even Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and the Bushes!

Wing Nuts Of 2010, And Now Of 2012–Lost Republican Opportunities In The Senate Then, And Possibly, Now!

Ronald Leave a comment

The Republican Party is infamous for running wing nuts for the Senate, and as a result, lost the chance for control of the US Senate in 2010.

They ran such characters as Christine O’Donnell in Delaware; Ken Buck in Colorado; Sharron Angle in Nevada; and Joe Miller in Alaska.

The first three were so whacky that the Democrats held on to the seats, and kept control of the Senate, with Harry Reid of Nevada remaining Senate Majority Leader. Lisa Murkowski won a miraculous victory in Alaska over Tea Party favored Joe Miller, keeping that seat sane and sensible, while Republican.

At the same time, Rand Paul and Mike Lee won in Kentucky and Utah, respectively, and Marco Rubio was also backed by the Tea Party, and now Paul and Rubio are likely leaders of the party in the near future, no matter how right wing they are!

Now we have in 2012 the following: Ted Cruz in Texas, backed by the Tea Party and likely to win a Senate seat; Debbie Fischer in Nebraska, who faces former Democratic Senator and Presidential seeker Bob Kerrey, who faces a tough battle; Richard Murdock, who defeated respectable conservative Richard Lugar in Indiana; and now, Todd Akin, challenging Senator Claire McCaskell in Missouri.

With the likelihood of Cruz, Fischer, and Murdock victories for the Tea Party and the right wing of the social conservatives, the only thing that may stop GOP control of the US Senate is the Todd Akin controversy, but in theory, Akin could win that race too, and with only three or four seats gain needed to win control of the Senate for the Republicans, the future makeup of the Senate is disturbing!

It should be pointed out that the Texas and Indiana seats coming up for election are already GOP seats, so only Nebraska and maybe Missouri would be gains for the Tea Party element as things stand now! But going from Kay Bailey Hutchison and Richard Lugar to Ted Cruz and Richard Murdock is a major step backward toward further deadlock, confrontation, and paralysis in a Senate already with a terrible reputation

Missouri, Bellwether State, MAY Decide Senate Balance And Presidential Race In 2012

Ronald Leave a comment

Missouri, the “Show Me” state, is also the ultimate bellwether of all states in the past century.

Since 1904, the state has ALWAYS gone to the winner of the Presidency EXCEPT twice. In 1956, it voted for Adlai Stevenson over Dwight D. Eisenhower by about 4,000 votes, and the same vote margin occurred in 2008, with John McCain winning over Barack Obama.

Beyond the history of Missouri, the blunder of Todd Akin, the Tea Party and Republican nominee for the Senate talking about “legitimate rape”, has outraged not only his opponent, Senator Claire McCaskill and women across America, but also the Republican Establishment, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Senator John Cornyn, head of the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, as well as Karl Rove, head of the American Crossroads SuperPAC that is raising hundred of billions of dollars for the Republican Congressional and Presidential campaign.

However, Mitt Romney has not shown the same willingness to demand that Akin withdraw from the Senate race, and that may be because his running mate, Paul Ryan, cosponsored legislation to deny abortion to rape victims, by supporting “personhood” language that would make fetuses defined as “persons’ before birth.

Additionally, social conservatives are backing Akin, demonstrating the split in the GOP between them and the Establishment Republicans who see electoral disaster ahead.

As a result, the Akin controversy could do the following in November:

Throw the state and its ten electoral votes to Barack Obama, possibly replacing Wisconsin’s ten electoral votes, with the assumption that Paul Ryan might be able to carry his home state for the Republican ticket. It would make the path to victory for Barack Obama a lot easier.

Help Claire McCaskill to retain her Senate seat, and in so doing, improve the chances of the Senate staying in control of the Democrats.

Have an effect nationally on the percentage of the women’s vote that would go Democratic in Congressional districts, possibly affecting the balance of seats in the House of Representatives, and assisting the opportunity of the Democrats to regain control of the chamber.

So this mess could be the decisive turning point of the 2012 election cycle, even If Akin ultimately gets out of the Missouri Senate race. The damage may have been done already, and no chance to reverse the damage!

Paul Ryan As Potential Commander In Chief? Very Scary!

Ronald 18 Comments

Wisconsin Republican Congressman Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney’s Vice Presidential running mate, would be a heartbeat away from the Presidency if Romney became President.

That would be totally terrifying in so many ways!

Yes, Ryan is intelligent, unlike Sarah Palin. He is also, personally, very charming, but that is not all that important in a President!

Those are the only two points in his favor, if he is a heartbeat away from being Commander in Chief!

Ryan is arrogant, reckless, cocky, overly ideological, uncompromising, and inflexible, and those are NOT characteristics we need or want in a future President!

He would be the most ideological President in modern American history, and he would be a total disaster for the nation in both economic policy and foreign policy!

The idea that a Congressman, with his record of accomplishment, is qualified to be President is disturbing, and is part of a weird tendency of the Republican Party to select a person who represents one out of 435 Congressional districts to be a national leader.

Ryan follows William E. Miller in 1964, Jack Kemp in 1996, and Dick Cheney in 2000 in being in the Vice Presidential slot, and the one successful case, Cheney, is enough reason to be totally terrified at Ryan becoming Vice President!

Finally, Paul Ryan has very little experience in foreign policy, and would be a total unknown in that regard, but he voted for the Iraq War, and is against getting out of Afghanistan, and by his domestic record, including his proposed budget plan, would likely be a foreign policy “hawk”, going along with the neoconservatives, as he already goes along with the social conservatives on every issue!

Paul Ryan Vice Presidential Pick Creates Most Ideological Election Since 1964!

Ronald Leave a comment

The decision of Mitt Romney to select Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, head of the House Budget Committee, as his Vice Presidential running mate, throws down the gauntlet clearly for all voters!

This election will be the most ideological election since the Lyndon B. Johnson-Barry Goldwater race of 1964!

It is a clear cut attempt of the right wing—-the Tea Party Movement, the social conservatives, and the economic conservatism of Fox News Channel, The Wall Street Journal, The National Review, and The Weekly Standard—to destroy the New Deal and Great Society!

It is a war on senior citizens, minorities, women, the poor, the middle class, in favor of the elite wealthy two percent, the corporations, the privileged, who want to destroy the social safety net of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid!

It is the triumph of Ayn Rand, who promoted selfishness, greed, and lack of concern for our fellow citizens, in the mad dash to only promote one’s own interests!

It is an attempt to bring back the Gospel of Wealth of industrialist Andrew Carnegie in the Gilded Age!

It is the promotion of arrogance, selfishness, greed, a mean spirited nature, and false claims of promoting the so called message of Jesus Christ as not caring about the sick, the poor, the disadvantaged! Catholic nuns and open minded Protestant groups have condemned Ryan’s call for ending food stamps and other assistance to poor children, and his push to privatize Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, while wishing to give more tax cuts to the elite wealthy!

So the battle is on, and the election, which seemed to have no focus, has become very focused, and it is a battle for the middle and lower classes, and it is a battle that cannot afford to be lost, because if President Barack Obama loses, the “American Dream” will be destroyed, as we allow an oligarchy, which already has too much power and concentration of wealth, to seize control of all wealth and property, and make us closer to Fascism than at any time since the defeat of Fascism in World War II!

Mitt Romney: Gutless Wonder And Tool Of The Billionaires!

Ronald 2 Comments

Mitt Romney, the Republican Presidential nominee, is more than ever looking as possibly the worst Republican nominee for President since the Gilded Age and James G. Blaine, who was seen as totally corrupt, and lost the Presidential Election of 1884 to Democrat Grover Cleveland!

Mitt Romney has proved to be a “gutless wonder”! He is unable to stand up to Grover Norquist and his tax fanatics who want not one extra dollar ever to be granted to the US government. He is unable to stand up to neoconservatives, who want to go back to another “Cold War” with Russia, and want to bomb Iran immediately. He is unable to stand up to right wing social conservatives who want to promote a Christian nation. He is unable to stand up to the ultimate bully, Donald Trump, who is a literal nightmare, with Romney realizing that if he were to come out against Trump’s reckless rhetoric about Barack Obama, he would have his campaign destroyed by the vindictive, prima donna, who George Will, the conservative commentator, called an example of how a not very bright rich person could gain attention of the news media.

Romney has no guts or courage, and would become a tool of the billionaires, such as those who financed the campaigns of Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, and kept them going for as long as they did.

Imagine this, a man who is a QUARTER billionaire being controlled by true billionaires, who want us to go back to the corruption and mendacity of the Gilded Age after a century of constant reforms under both Democratic and Republican Presidents, who worked to be in the mainstream!

Romney is a threat to American democracy as we know it, since he has no spine, no backbone, and is willing to sell his soul to the devil, because of his insane need to be President, unhappy with his family, his religion, and his massive wealth! Such an ambition for one so fortunate borders on mental illness, sorry to say!

But at the same time, Romney cannot relate to normal human beings, as his plastic, stiff nature shows through in everything he does and utters!

His campaign is indeed a sad commentary on American politics and the Republican Party!

If Mitt Romney Wins Presidency, A Likely Challenge From Day One By Senator Rand Paul Of Kentucky!

Ronald Leave a comment

If Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney somehow wins the Presidency this November, he should be forewarned that he will not automatically be the GOP nominee for re-election in 2016.

There is great discontent within the Republican Party with Mitt Romney, and what is happening now is a “shotgun marriage”, as Republicans realize he is their only hope to dislodge Barack Obama from the White House.

But with Romney’s history of moderation until recently; with his alliance with neoconservatives on foreign policy; with the evangelical Christian right uncomfortable with a Mormon nominee, and distrustful of his social conservatism being real; with his close alliance with Wall Street big banks and corporations; and with his refutation of the libertarianistic views of Texas Congressman Ron Paul, it is certain that a President Romney would have rivals in 2016, most notably the highly ambitious Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, Ron Paul’s heir.

Paul running would set up a new civil war in the GOP, as the Wall Street Republicans would shun him; the foreign policy neoconservatives would look on him with trepidation; and the question would arise if the social conservatives would be able to accept some of his libertarian views.

Let’s just say that Rand Paul is a nightmare to many in the national political scene, including his fellow Kentucky Senator and Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who will not be able to count on Paul’s support to be Minority Leader or Majority Leader of the Senate in the 113th Congress.

Like it or not, the impact of Ron Paul, and his son Rand Paul, will haunt the Republican Party for a long time to come!

Two Prestigious Scholars Blame The Republican Party For The Stalemate In The 112th Congress

Ronald 5 Comments

Two well known scholars, Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institution and Norman J. Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute, have recently published a book and authored articles criticizing the Republican Party for the stalemate in the 112th Congress.

The Republican Party is blamed for its refusal to hold members of their party in Congress accountable for their wild statements; is seen as totally against compromise; refuses to accept facts, evidence and science; lacks respect for the legitimacy of the opposition party and its members; and is so far outside the mainstream as to be alarming for any hope of accomplishment of any goals or programs!

The two people most responsible for this extremism are former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, and Grover Norquist of the Americans for Tax Reform. But also the filibuster has been abused in the Senate, and prevented many executive branch appointments from being confirmed, both in the government agencies and in the court system.

The reaction to Roe V. Wade after 1973 mobilized social conservatives, while the tax revolt in California in 1978 mobilized anti tax activists. Also, the South turned conservative Republican after the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s; and the rise of conservative talk radio, and the growing impact of Fox News on cable, also had a great impact on what has become a growing stalemate and gridlock.

Health care reform, climate change, economic recovery, deficits, and debt issues have become a chasm between the two major political parties. Polarization has become the norm, and is a dangerous trend which may continue, if the voters again send a confusing message of a divided Congress in the 2012 Congressional elections. The Tea Party movement, if it grows, will further create conflict at a time when we need negotiation and compromise!

This assessment is extremely worrisome, as it means that our national government may be totally paralyzed, when we need true statesmen in both parties dealing with our important national agenda!

Interesting Development: Republican Leadership Evading Gay Marriage Issue, Angering Evangelical Conservatives!

Ronald 1 Comment

A very interesting development is the mild manner that the Republican leadership, from Mitt Romney down to members of Congress and even Fox News Channel, is reacting to Barack Obama’s gay marriage support this past week.

Romney, and just about everyone else, is saying they will not focus on social issues such as gay marriage during the campaign, instead focusing on economic issues.

This is shocking and angering social conservatives, evangelical Christians mostly, who insist that gay marriage should be the cornerstone of the GOP campaign for Congress and the Presidency this year.

Tony Perkins, of the evangelical Family Research Council, and Gary Bauer, of the American Values organization, disagreed strongly with the argument that the gay marriage issue is a distraction.

One has to wonder what will happen IF the Republicans continue to push the gay marriage issue to the sidelines.

Is there a chance of a third party movement promoting the social agenda, if the GOP does not do so? Could it affect Mitt Romney’s Presidential campaign?

Stay tuned!

The Anti Gay Republican Party And Its Religious Allies: A Disgrace To American Values!

Ronald 2 Comments

The Republican Party is making clear that it has an anti gay agenda, with very few Republicans willing to condemn the hate and prejudice that is being espoused by religious Right pastors, and by social conservatives who are doing everything they can to undermine any possibility of fair treatment of gays and lesbians.

Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association and Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council have succeeded in forcing Mitt Romney to fire a gay adviser, and it seems clear that Romney will not stand up to these religious bigots.

Instead, elements of the Catholic Church, and evangelical Christians are acting in a way that Jesus Christ would not approve. So we have Joel Osteen, who seemed inclusive when he first became noticed on the national scene from his mega church in Houston, who shows no open mindedness at all toward gays, disillusioning many who thought he had a more tolerant approach; and we have Pastor Sean Harris of The Berean Baptist Church in Fayetteville, North Carolina, who went on a rant against gays in a sermon last week, and advocated violence against any boy who showed a “limp wrist”, or any girl who acted “butch”. What was even more shocking is how his congregation laughed when he spoke of smacking children, and many seemed to agree with his hateful tirade. Harris apologized, but he lied about what he had said, which was taped. What kind of a religious leader can lie openly and be believed?

Christianity in America is being poisoned and polluted by people who claim to be “good Christians”, but have no problem in advocating violence, hate, prejudice, discrimination, ostracism, and more!

The Republican Party should be ashamed for allowing itself to become captive of these hateful peddlers of a faith that some of them even wish to deny that Jesus was Jewish. Anti semitism, anti black, anti gay, anti immigrant,and anti women views have become common among many elements of Christianity, thankfully not all, but much more prevalent than many want to admit!

Mitt Romney, showing no guts or courage, needs to be walloped on Election Day, or else the dangers of militant, extremist Christianity spreading to national policy are increased, and his party needs to get the message of defeat as well in Congress, that the good people in America are not going to allow their despicable agenda to be advanced, and instead to be clearly repudiated!