What Is The Goal? [CBD]

A long time ago I was assigned a novel to read. Considering that this was a business class I was a little puzzled, but it turned out to be a rather good way of teaching the simple yet almost universally ignored concept that success comes only when the goal of the endeavor is understood. Cleverly, the book was called The Goal.

So what is the goal of the conservative movement? The pat answer is that the goal should be to elect a conservative president whose political philosophy is in line with that of the Founders, so that the vast bureaucratic state can be rolled back and the country can begin its return to one that is governed by a limited, tightly controlled central government, and power returned to the states.

And that's not a criticism. It's what I want and believe, but at least for the medium term it is untenable.

We need to shift our goal from the positive and rather heartening idea of a conservative president to the bare-knuckled and no-holds-barred goal of defeating the Left. The Democrat party has morphed from a left-leaning but essentially patriotic group with a small fringe of hard-core progressives to its current concatenation of Liberation Theology, Globalism, racial and gender politics, committed socialists and rabid anti-free-speech radicals.

And they are ruthless in enforcing their orthodoxy. Just ask Matt Lauer or Juan Williams. The Left was quite willing to destroy their own to encourage the others. And look how easily they cow supposedly principled conservatives. The list is too long and depressing.

We have to take the gloves off and accept that we are in a brawl. Not an elegant Marquess of Queensberry outing on the lawn, but a fight for our lives and the future of our country.

America has survived mediocre presidents, both on the left and on the right. So accepting a milquetoast president who does not possess the conservative bona fides that we all want might be the strategically clever move. The White House isn't the only fight...the Left has opened fronts everywhere (speaking of long and depressing lists). But...we have to fight everywhere else!

Obviously many of us fight the good fight in places like local school boards and town council elections and PTA meetings. That's where the change will occur.

But we should accept a sub-optimal President if we can rock the left back on its heels. And that (I think) requires a change in our perspective. Even when we go on the offensive and win, we rarely protect our gains. The Left fights the Long War, and never accepts defeat. We fight tactical battles then move on, while the Left waits for the next opportunity to refight the last battle. And they eventually win.

Take the gloves off and kick them when they are down*...that's how they fight, and so should we. Andrew Breitbart was a master at this, in part because he attacked the left wherever he saw them, and was unafraid of their response. But there are others who fight and win....maybe not with the panache of Breitbart, but with the same goal.

*Mixed metaphor alert.

[This is sort of mushy and unstructured. Mostly because I am unsure how to describe the difference between trying to win, and trying to defeat the left. Sorry]

Posted by: Open Blogger at 05:15 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Whose balls are those?

Posted by: Cicero -- Profoundly Deplorable But Pretty Dependable at September 30, 2016 05:14 PM (8ZskC)

2 Oh. Boxing gloves. Nevermind then.

Posted by: Cicero -- Profoundly Deplorable But Pretty Dependable at September 30, 2016 05:15 PM (8ZskC)

3 Not first ... but in the top ten.

Posted by: ScoggDog at September 30, 2016 05:16 PM (fiGNd)

4 Top five even ... not too shabby !!!

Posted by: ScoggDog at September 30, 2016 05:16 PM (fiGNd)

5 I thought it was one of those Mapplethorpe pics.

Posted by: Cicero -- Profoundly Deplorable But Pretty Dependable at September 30, 2016 05:16 PM (8ZskC)

6 Other than possibly RR I don't recall a President from the "right" in my lifetime. The only one I would definitely say was on the right and conservative was Silent Cal and he was before my lifetime.

RR was good, but he was too willing to compromise with the Democrats.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at September 30, 2016 05:17 PM (mpXpK)

7 The problem was well stated 200 years ago, to whit: once the American people discover they can vote. themselves money from the treasury, it is over. Until and unless the gravy train stops, there is no solution. Too many people want goodies paid for by others.

Posted by: Vasha Nerada at September 30, 2016 05:18 PM (Yzubb)

8 Good one , CBD!

Totally agree. Win first. Then bitch.

*next set of 5*

Posted by: Mortimer, deplorable at September 30, 2016 05:18 PM (zu88C)

9 to be happy at home

Posted by: Grump928(c) at September 30, 2016 05:18 PM (QQ+il)

10 The problem is the Conservative Class has embraced the globalist movement.

Open borders, immigration on steroids.

Posted by: Max Power at September 30, 2016 05:18 PM (q177U)

11 Roll back of government is impossible.
Limited federal government is impossible.

The goal should be to delay the inevitable collapse long enough until you and your children/grandchildren are secure enough to survive it.

Posted by: wooga at September 30, 2016 05:19 PM (aYLz/)

12 If the Democrats still insist on violating the constitution I say we should stand up and say OK, the constitution is no longer in force. We hereby declare that in all Republican States the Democrat Party will be declared a subversive organization and outlawed.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at September 30, 2016 05:19 PM (mpXpK)

13 The Conservative Class is also beholden to political correctness and the progressive agenda.

Therefore Conservatism is essentially dead.

It's time to pick new teams.

Posted by: Max Power at September 30, 2016 05:20 PM (q177U)

14 Media delenda est.

Posted by: votermom the deplorable @vm at September 30, 2016 05:20 PM (Om16U)

15
Other than possibly RR I don't recall a President from the "right" in my lifetime.

And did he "roll anything back?"

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at September 30, 2016 05:20 PM (IqV8l)

16 posted this video below, I think it's good, he seems like a fighter.

https://youtu.be/rwVxJFF6afA

Posted by: spypeach at September 30, 2016 05:20 PM (nyYhO)

17 Truck nuts or boxing gloves?

Posted by: wooga at September 30, 2016 05:20 PM (aYLz/)

18 Sinistra delenda est

Posted by: votermom the deplorable @vm at September 30, 2016 05:21 PM (Om16U)

19 15 And did he "roll anything back?"

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at September 30, 2016 05:20 PM (IqV8l)

He could not even stop federal funding PBS and NPR.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at September 30, 2016 05:21 PM (mpXpK)

20

we still talking about MeAgain?

Posted by: artisanal 'ette at September 30, 2016 05:21 PM (qCMvj)

21 "Das Ziel" by Elihu Goldratt? Man, I loved that little book. Very big in the manufacturing world (well, over in Europe, at least).

Whoops, after reading the rest of the post, I see that I'm actually Off-Topic.

Posted by: t-bird at September 30, 2016 05:22 PM (w/iDp)

22 Reagan was despised by the left for merely slowing down the growth of the state. They outright lied about him as well.

Posted by: Vasha Nerada at September 30, 2016 05:23 PM (Yzubb)

23 So what is the goal of the conservative movement? The pat answer is that the goal should be to elect a conservative president whose political philosophy is in line with that of the Founders, so that the vast bureaucratic state can be rolled back and the country can begin its return to one that is governed by a limited, tightly controlled central government, and power returned to the states.

And this is why we fail. We have been screaming about this for decades, and there is a reason why it has mostly fallen on deaf ears.

Nobody, but *nobody* is interested in these (admittedly worthy) goals except conservative ideologues like us.

This is just politics.

And a wise man once said, "politics is downstream from culture."

Culture comes first.

As long as the progressive termites are hunkered down in academia, the MSM, churches, educational teaching colleges, etc., none of our politics will do any damn good.

First culture, then politics.

Posted by: OregonMuse at September 30, 2016 05:23 PM (lI0vR)

24 Goooooooooaaaaal!

What, this isn't TeleMuuuundo'h?

Posted by: Anon a mouse... at September 30, 2016 05:23 PM (C9pBZ)

25
Whoops, after reading the rest of the post, I see that I'm actually Off-Topic.
Posted by: t-bird at September 30, 2016 05:22 PM

It's open line Friday.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at September 30, 2016 05:24 PM (IqV8l)

26 We have to take the gloves off and accept that we are in a brawl. Not an elegant Marquess of Queensberry outing on the lawn, but a fight for our lives and the future of our country.

This.

Well done, CBD.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at September 30, 2016 05:24 PM (SRKgf)

27 "So what is the goal of the conservative movement? The pat answer is that the goal should be to elect a conservative president whose political philosophy is in line with that of the Founders, so that the vast bureaucratic state can be rolled back..."
"And look how easily they cow supposedly principled conservatives. The list is too long and depressing."

If the list of small government advocates who have been cowed is long and depressing, you shouldn't have any problems coming up with a few examples.

Instead, I'd bet the people you complain about are not the conservatives you've just defined.

Posted by: Matt_SE at September 30, 2016 05:24 PM (arglH)

28

btw, from the previous thread question

Hannity beats O'Reilly, Kelly in ratings

http://thehill.com/media/298657-hannity-beats-oreilly-kelly-in-ratings

Posted by: artisanal 'ette at September 30, 2016 05:24 PM (qCMvj)

29 I think CBD is saying that you don't go to war with the President you want, you go to war with the President you've got.

Posted by: t-bird at September 30, 2016 05:24 PM (w/iDp)

30 The moose out front was mumbling when I walked in. Something about brawl...Ryan....Roberts...GOPe....streetlamps...rope

I think he was mad about modern day politicians being untrustworthy, but I'm not sure.

Posted by: MTF at September 30, 2016 05:25 PM (/m8T6)

31
First culture, then politics.
Posted by: OregonMuse at September 30, 2016 05:23 PM

How does one go about to roll back culture?

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at September 30, 2016 05:25 PM (IqV8l)

32 340 In the NOOD stands a boxer and a fighter by his trade.

You know that's going to lead to an earworm lasting more than four hours.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 30, 2016 05:25 PM (mgbwf)

33
10 The problem is the Conservative Class has embraced the globalist movement.
-----------------

That's why The Goal is now to defeat the Left, wherever they may be -- including at the top of the Conservative Class.

Posted by: iforgot says God bless Snorky at September 30, 2016 05:25 PM (oGNNA)

34 Reagan was able to turn the debate to a popular referendum on taxes being too high. Fine, we reduced taxes, but spending accelerated.

Posted by: Vasha Nerada at September 30, 2016 05:26 PM (Yzubb)

35 We will never know what kind of a conservative we can elect. The Republican Party does not want or like conservatives. The primaries are rigged to make sure none will ever get the nomination.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at September 30, 2016 05:26 PM (mpXpK)

36 How does one go about to roll back culture?

--

I think Oregon's Sunday Book Thread helps.
So do gun threads.

Posted by: @votermom's phone at September 30, 2016 05:27 PM (Om16U)

37 As long as the progressive termites are hunkered down in academia, the MSM, churches, educational teaching colleges, etc., none of our politics will do any damn good.
First culture, then politics.
Posted by: OregonMuse at September 30, 2016 05:23 PM (lI0vR)

Yep. But be of good cheer. Academia is suffering, and may well suffer more as online education grows. The MSM are already suffering. I dunno about the churches.

In my more sanguine moments, every time I see yet another instance of leftist idiocy, I think the culture may be poised for a major sea change from Peak Leftism.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at September 30, 2016 05:28 PM (SRKgf)

38 We will never know what kind of a conservative we can elect. The Republican Party does not want or like conservatives. The primaries are rigged to make sure none will ever get the nomination.
Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at September 30, 2016 05:26 PM (mpXpK)

Agree 100%

Posted by: spypeach at September 30, 2016 05:28 PM (nyYhO)

39 That's why The Goal is now to defeat the Left, wherever they may be -- including at the top of the Conservative Class.

You are now a part of the resistance. Do them dirt ever chance you can without being caught.

Posted by: Grump928(c) at September 30, 2016 05:28 PM (QQ+il)

40 The second amendment is a good place to make a push, much like taxes were in the eighties.

Posted by: Vasha Nerada at September 30, 2016 05:29 PM (Yzubb)

41 >>>We need to shift our goal from the positive and rather heartening idea of a conservative president to the bare-knuckled and no-holds-barred goal of defeating the Left.
----------

No, we are on the verge of getting knocked out. Necessity dictates that our first goal must be a defensive move.

We need to shut down mass immigration and enforce our laws against the illegal aliens who are in the country.

As immigration flips more states from red to blue, conservatism will become a dead letter.

Trump's strategy of attracting white working class voters and peeling off some black male voters can work this election, but it won't be enough in the future without an immigration pause.

Posted by: Scalia's Ghost at September 30, 2016 05:29 PM (fgOnp)

42 "The Goal" is not elections, one or several.

"The Goal" is restoration of the legacy of the Enlightment, in all its glory.

All smaller goals and objectives must be assessed in this light. Otherwise it's just political wankery at its worst.

Posted by: Brother Cavil, convening Horde Thunderdome at September 30, 2016 05:29 PM (9krrF)

43 The list of GOP Senators who voted against the Ex-Im Bank reauthorization and against the Gang of Eight is 26. If you weed out the Senators with Heritage Action scores below 60%, you have about 10 Senators.

10 Senators.

THAT is the number of conservatives in the Senate.

Posted by: Matt_SE at September 30, 2016 05:29 PM (arglH)

44 First Hillary goes down then I'll move on to the next target

Posted by: Skip at September 30, 2016 05:29 PM (ofpt4)

45 How does one go about to roll back culture?

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at September 30, 2016 05:25 PM (IqV8l)

Making those spouting leftist cant in public look and feel stupid is a good start. Socratic method works well; when they finally resort to allegations of racism, sexism, polar bearism, etc., you know you've scored on them.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at September 30, 2016 05:29 PM (SRKgf)

46 Speaking of metaphors (or, in this case, a simile), government is like fire. It is good, helpful, even necessary in small doses but if it gets out of control it destroys everything.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With More Je Ne Sais Quoi! at September 30, 2016 05:29 PM (Nwg0u)

47 we still talking about MeAgain?
Posted by: artisanal 'ette

Hey, every moment someone's not talking about her, she dies a little inside. Have a heart

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at September 30, 2016 05:30 PM (6FqZa)

48 The goal? Pain.

Posted by: clubber lang at September 30, 2016 05:30 PM (5wSNN)

49 How does one go about to roll back culture?

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at September 30, 2016 05:25 PM (IqV8l)

Amoxycillin?

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at September 30, 2016 05:30 PM (o9m/V)

50 "How does one go about to roll back culture?"

Start by taking every opportunity to laugh at the special snowflakes. Making them objects of ridicule will do more to deflate their power than anything else.

Posted by: Rob Crawford at September 30, 2016 05:31 PM (fVubI)

51 We will never know what kind of a conservative we can elect. The Republican Party does not want or like conservatives. The primaries are rigged to make sure none will ever get the nomination.
Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at September 30, 2016 05:26 PM (mpXpK)

True, but I think at this time a dyed in the wool conservative wouldn't stand much chance electorally. Minorities and the soccer moms would bury him at the polls.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at September 30, 2016 05:31 PM (SRKgf)

52 Very eloquently done, CBD.

Posted by: bluebell at September 30, 2016 05:31 PM (xpSCc)

53
1 Stop buying stuff
2 Do only what the government directly compels you to do. Volunteer nothing.
3 Pay in cash with a winkwink
4 Cheat the government whenever possible
5 Steal all your entertainment
6 If you know of tax cheating, keep your mouth shut
7 If called to jury, refuse to convict
8 Discriminate in all your private dealings, without openly saying so
9 If you see a CoC sticker on a business, go elsewhere
10 Vote against all tax levies, particularly school levies
11 Buy firearms and ammo. It's not simply a just-in-case, it's a good financial investment of small sums when savings are yielding 1/4 of a percent.

Good Citizens are chumps.

Posted by: Grump928(c) at September 30, 2016 05:32 PM (QQ+il)

54 Throughout history, there have been those wishing to exert control (ok, influence. Same thing) over others.
This is the normal state.
Limiting control happens from time to time. We're at the tail end of one such time and place.

Heinlien called it "bad luck". An oversimplification of all of human history, but quite accurate.

Posted by: Anon a mouse... at September 30, 2016 05:32 PM (C9pBZ)

55 Votermom is right. Today, I bought ammo, and will burn up about a quarter of it tomorrow at the range.

We're at that point now - just rehearsals for the next civil war.

Posted by: Your Decidedly Devious Uncle Palpatine, Still Accepting Harem Applicants at September 30, 2016 05:32 PM (YQ3xo)

56 We hereby declare that in all Republican States the Democrat Party will be declared a subversive organization and outlawed.

-
We need rope. Lots and lots of rope.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With More Je Ne Sais Quoi! at September 30, 2016 05:33 PM (Nwg0u)

57 Start by taking every opportunity to laugh at the special snowflakes. Making them objects of ridicule will do more to deflate their power than anything else.

Posted by: Rob Crawford at September 30, 2016 05:31 PM (fVubI)

Exactly. Socratic method in some venues, ridicule in others, as appropriate.

Social signaling and need for approval drive a lot of shows of leftist solidarity. Hitting them in their insecurities is a sound strategy.

Note how leftists always cast their policies and supporters as being "smart." It reassures the cognitively disenfranchised that they're not really stupid, despite what others say, because they have the "right" opinions. I call it the "Fredo effect."

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at September 30, 2016 05:33 PM (SRKgf)

58 And there's my brother in arms, Grump, expanding on my point. Irish Democracy, bitches!

Posted by: Your Decidedly Devious Uncle Palpatine, Still Accepting Harem Applicants at September 30, 2016 05:34 PM (YQ3xo)

59 The reality is that everyone who says thy are "conservative" is not actually interested in small government. They want small government... Except when it offends their morality.

So we need a federal ban on gambling. A federal ban on prostitution. Ban gay marriage. Moar cigarette taxes. Federal speed limits for the children. And on and on.

Posted by: wooga at September 30, 2016 05:34 PM (aYLz/)

60 Hell we can not even agree to what a conservative is. The MFM calls them the "religious right" and that is BS.

Here is the definition I came up with long long ago prior to 2008.

My definition of a conservative was this:

Candidates must support and defend the Constitution as written AND as interpreted in plain English of the 18th century. And if not, then they support my core conservative principles > 75% of time and in all cases for major far sweeping legislation.

So if you can't adhere to my first principle of following the Constitution then you must adhere to most of my other underlying principles:

1. Support for the second amendment, or abandon "incorporation", one or the other.

2. Support a strong military and a big stick foreign policy

3. Support small government and are willing to make a huge effort to roll back Washington. This includes opposition to all forms of socialism, fascism, and communism.

4. Willing to eliminate government departments that are not specifically supported by the Constitution.

Occasional lapses on the above can be tolerated but if you drop below the 75% level of support for the above you become a RINO. Also, on major bills that go against the above policies such as Cap and Trade, the Stimulus, and Medi-scam you must oppose them. Those bills are so far reaching and transformational that a vote for them overwhelms all else and guarantees your place in RINO-dom.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at September 30, 2016 05:35 PM (mpXpK)

61
he reality is that everyone who says thy are "conservative" is not actually interested in small government.

The definition is "living."

Like that constitution thing.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at September 30, 2016 05:36 PM (IqV8l)

62
"How does one go about to roll back culture?"

Western European culture is being rolled back by 6th century savages as we speak.

Posted by: Deplorabe Male Logic at September 30, 2016 05:36 PM (lKyWE)

63 Start by taking every opportunity to laugh at the special snowflakes. Making them objects of ridicule will do more to deflate their power than anything else.

Posted by: Rob Crawford at September 30, 2016 05:31 PM (fVubI)

One I've used is to draw the distinction between liberals and Americans, such as "Is he a liberal? No. He's a loyal American." That sort of thing.

"He's crooked enough to be a Democrat."

I also have referred to the men's room as the "Democrat social center."

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at September 30, 2016 05:37 PM (SRKgf)

64 "First culture, then politics."

Disagree. Just win, baby!

I've made several posts here awhile back relevant to this lede that basically say that "Conservatism" is fractured and no longer a viable political movement.

With the direction we're on, forward-looking Religious Folks should be worried that they (and their values) will get driven from the public square.

The Paul Ryan wing of the R Party no longer give a rat's ass about your typical American as Big Business Chamber of Commerce wants Free Trade / Open Borders, and are now aligned with elements of Big Gov and increasingly with the Cultural Left. Add in MSM and Academia melding into this and you have The Borg.

"Constitutional Conservatism" sounds nice, but other than informing how you pick judges, it does nothing to tell you how to actually run the Federal government we now have.

So we need something new and we need it now.

Building a broader coalition of voters that puts America (and its historic values) first is a necessary first step.

Posted by: Ignoramus at September 30, 2016 05:37 PM (r1fLd)

65 Yes,the left has forced us to fight everwhere.Science fiction novels,comic books,pro sports and college athletics.They dominate all of it,TV shows,movies,music,everything.

Posted by: steevy at September 30, 2016 05:37 PM (fA75F)

66 The Guvnor by Lenny McLean!! "I look what I am, a hard bastard!"
BE HARD BASTARDS!!

Posted by: Banana Splits Guy at September 30, 2016 05:38 PM (GqdlE)

67 We're at that point now - just rehearsals for the next civil war.

If you have ammo, you have rehearsed enough. Time to conserve.

Posted by: AnthonyB at September 30, 2016 05:38 PM (tNPoV)

68 No, we are on the verge of getting knocked out. Necessity dictates that our first goal must be a defensive move.

Posted by: Scalia's Ghost at September 30, 2016 05:29 PM (fgOnp)

Down for the count, actually.

Posted by: artisanal 'ette at September 30, 2016 05:38 PM (qCMvj)

69 The reality is that everyone who says thy are "conservative" is not
actually interested in small government. They want small government...
Except when it offends their morality.

What a crock of shit.

Posted by: That deplorable guy who always says... at September 30, 2016 05:39 PM (Tyii7)

70 Our (your and my) goal is not the same as that of our overlords. Don't never forget that. You will rue the day if you do. Because regret is gonna be what's for dinner. Vinegar and gall are main ingredients of that dish. And blood.

Posted by: Eromero at September 30, 2016 05:39 PM (zLDYs)

71 Western European culture is being rolled back by 6th century savages as we speak.
Posted by: Deplorabe Male Logic at September 30, 2016 05:36 PM (lKyWE)
That's 7th century, in your infidel calendar.

Posted by: Big Mo at September 30, 2016 05:39 PM (EIB5Y)

72 So we need a federal ban on gambling. A federal ban on prostitution. Ban gay marriage. Moar cigarette taxes. Federal speed limits for the children. And on and on.

Posted by: wooga at September 30, 2016 05:34 PM (aYLz/)

But homosexual marriage was imposed on us by the Federal government, and can only be removed at the same level.

All measures to protect marriage at the state level were overturned by fruits in black muu-muus. See, e.g, Prop. 8 in California.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at September 30, 2016 05:39 PM (SRKgf)

73 steevy , yes, Wonder Woman just got outed as a bisexual feminist today.

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at September 30, 2016 05:39 PM (6FqZa)

74 CBD Johnson is right!!

The Prog Left were willing to decimate their own in Congress to get O-Care passed. Pelousy and The Searchlight Strangler were like the Agents Johnson in Die Hard, "We lose 20 - 30% of our guys getting this thing passed." "I can live with that."

They are like the Japanese in WW2, or the North Koreans during that war, or the Zulu at Isandlwana, using human wave frontal assaults on the Constitution, Liberty, and the Rule of Law.

You can't simply pick 'em off singularly as they attack - they are all too willing to accept losses in the advancement of their cause. It's going to take a determined and powerful effort to take back ground that has been lost. We need leadership in the mold of a Sherman, a Patton, a Hal Moore who will take the fight to them and win.

Looking at the Repub party leadership today, I don't see it happening. The leadership is more like the BEF before May 1940 - all for show.

Posted by: Count de Monet at September 30, 2016 05:39 PM (JO9+V)

75 If you're accepting any of the Left's premises, and I mean any of them, you've already lost.

Posted by: Dack Thrombosis at September 30, 2016 05:40 PM (4ErVI)

76 "The reality is that everyone who says thy are "conservative" is not actually interested in small government."

You've talked to all of them? Read their minds?

Posted by: Rob Crawford at September 30, 2016 05:40 PM (fVubI)

77 Yup.
We are in a war. Not a shooting war, but a war over control of society and over what kind of people we are going to be. And so far, we are losing more battles than we're winning.

If we don't want it to be a shooting war, we need to defeat the Left in the schools, in the courts, in the legislatures, in the entertainment world.

Alinsky (and Mao, honestly) provided clarity on how to fight dirty. Time to fight.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards at September 30, 2016 05:40 PM (UHLlC)

78 Watching to see comment 69 incinerated.

Posted by: Dave at Buffalo Roam at September 30, 2016 05:42 PM (UBk+d)

79 "Alinsky (and Mao, honestly) provided clarity on how to fight dirty. Time to fight."

"Alinksy, you magnificent bastard! I read your book!"

D. Trump

Posted by: Ignoramus at September 30, 2016 05:43 PM (r1fLd)

80 Fucking Moby.

Posted by: steevy at September 30, 2016 05:43 PM (fA75F)

81 42
"The Goal" is restoration of the legacy of the Enlightment, in all its glory.

All smaller goals and objectives must be assessed in this light. Otherwise it's just political wankery at its worst.
Posted by: Brother Cavil, convening Horde Thunderdome at September 30, 2016 05:29 PM (9krrF)
-----------------------------
You'll have to be more specific. Rousseau and Marx are the legacy of the Enlightenment, as much as Adam Smith and Thomas Jefferson are.
In fact, more so.

Posted by: Margarita DeVille at September 30, 2016 05:44 PM (Nox3c)

82 Count de Monet has a point. Conservatives are individualists, while liberals have a hive mind. They don't mind making a sacrifice for the collective. This needs to be taken into account. Appeal to the innate individualism of Americans, if it still exists.

Posted by: Vasha Nerada at September 30, 2016 05:44 PM (Yzubb)

83 1 Stop buying stuff

That one was so easy! Of course, my list was started for me way back in 2008 with:

0. Stop earning money.

Thanks, Barack!

Posted by: t-bird at September 30, 2016 05:44 PM (OLNwX)

84 Work within your state to use homeschooling to undermine the public school system. How about college educated stay at home parent can teach up to 3 kids in the neighborhood and receive a state tax incentive? Sure, it's a form of welfare, but it reduces enrollment at the local K-12 schools and puts smart people to work.

Posted by: scrood at September 30, 2016 05:45 PM (3b9U4)

85
liberals have a hive mind. They don't mind making a sacrifice for the collective.
------------------

Actually, they don't mind YOU making a sacrifice for the collective. Take a look at their habits and you'll see secret hoarders, closet wastrels, and hypocrites.

Posted by: iforgot says God bless Snorky at September 30, 2016 05:45 PM (oGNNA)

86 What is best in life? To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women.

Posted by: Bosk at September 30, 2016 05:46 PM (n2K+4)

87
Fucking Moby.
Posted by: steevy

Ye be right, mate.

Posted by: Captain Ahab at September 30, 2016 05:47 PM (IqV8l)

88 Wasn't "The Goal" a manufacturing/QA based book that brought the word "bottleneck" into common vernacular? I lack both the will and desire to finish the easy punchline when connecting it to government and politics.

Posted by: Mulerider at September 30, 2016 05:47 PM (cvQxQ)

89 I will never give in. You saw how it ended for Taylor, right?

Posted by: Dr. Zaius MD at September 30, 2016 05:47 PM (Y/VkU)

90 I think the ext leftist front(already opened) is video games.They already succeeded in adding female characters to everything,that was just a small part.They have injected some gay(The Division had a female Doctor who talks about her "wife").They will pushfurther.

Posted by: steevy at September 30, 2016 05:48 PM (fA75F)

91 We really don't have the luxury of debating ideology anymore- time is short to save the Country - as so many here have already said postpone the inevitable takeover of it by the Left. It's Americans vs Globalist.

Trump is still in the fight because he is neither a conservative or a liberal - he is a Trump. Love him or hate him.

Posted by: T-Squared at September 30, 2016 05:48 PM (VkAIj)

92 "Hillary Clinton's campaign has been reluctant to use her scandal-scarred hubby on the campaign trail due to his multiple rumored affairs, a new report says."

"Rumored affairs"?

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With More Je Ne Sais Quoi! at September 30, 2016 05:48 PM (Nwg0u)

93 Indeed ,current scholarship is probably that Ahab's obsession with the whale was sexual.Repressed homosexuality no doubt.

Posted by: steevy at September 30, 2016 05:49 PM (fA75F)

94 How does one go about to roll back culture?

Running out of funny money ought to do it.
The side-effects are likely to be unpleasant.

Posted by: DaveA at September 30, 2016 05:49 PM (8J/Te)

95 Home schooling benefits the kids who receive it, but it also benefits the collective, who get the property tax money whether the kid attends or not. In fact, the more kids that stay home, the better they like it outside of the missed indoctrination opportunity.

Posted by: Vasha Nerada at September 30, 2016 05:49 PM (Yzubb)

96 What's best in life?

Fast ships, a loyal crew, and green dancing girls!

Posted by: James T. Kirk at September 30, 2016 05:49 PM (JO9+V)

97 Sort of related - Trump's tweet in response to criticisms - For those few people knocking me for tweeting at three o'clock in the
morning, at least you know I will be there, awake, to answer the call!

I LOL'd

Posted by: IC at September 30, 2016 05:50 PM (a0IVu)

98

BREAKING NEWS!

Ace got a nod over at

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/

Let's Talk About Those Very Principled Never Trumpers Ace, Ace of Spades

nice

Posted by: artisanal 'ette at September 30, 2016 05:50 PM (qCMvj)

99 Great post. Dennis Prager has been saying for decades that the Left is taking over social institutions because, for them, their ideology gives meaning to life. Conservatives have lives outside of politics, so they don't fight as hard for leadership positions in, say, the Humane Society.

As far as taking the gloves off is concerned, I try to use lefty language to make conservative points. Especially about "sustainability". I have also been hitting on the extremely coercive nature of today's progressivism. And hypocrisy.

Codevilla's recent statement on the Ruling Class relying on "raw power" rather than law and persuasion was good. Won't change the hard-bitten lefty, but you can tell those from immediate responses and concentrate your efforts on those for whom there is hope.

Posted by: KT at September 30, 2016 05:50 PM (qahv/)

100 96
Home schooling benefits the kids who receive it, but it also benefits
the collective, who get the property tax money whether the kid attends
or not. In fact, the more kids that stay home, the better they like it
outside of the missed indoctrination opportunity.

Posted by: Vasha Nerada at September 30, 2016 05:49 PM (Yzubb)
My girlfriend and I were just talking about this - we both ahve special needs kids and the school nazis here in Cali and driving us towards homeschooling.

Posted by: IC at September 30, 2016 05:51 PM (a0IVu)

101 I once got in a fight in high school. Wendell extinguished a cigarette on my chest. He expected his friends to jump in, they didn't. When he was face down on the ground, curled in a ball and protecting his head with his arms, I found myself lacking targets to hit. I bit a silver dollar sized chunk out of his back. I kicked him in the ribs as they dragged me off. I think this is the needed reaction now.

Posted by: Farmer Bob at September 30, 2016 05:51 PM (sqpGi)

102 For the last century, the Republican party has been content to serve its particular role in the triumph of Progressivism. After a period of left-wing movement under Democrats, Republicans are elected to consolidate these Progressive gains while tinkering at the edges, offering a few minor victories as sops to their voters. Following this period of relative stability, Democrats are placed back in power for another period of leftward movement, and the cycle continues.

Reagan was a glorious exception to this rule, and Newt was a somewhat-less-glorious exception to this rule, but these were the only two national Republican leaders to deviate from their assigned role.

The first step in achieving conservative policies isn't to implement conservative policies but to prepare conditions in which it is possible for conservative policies to be implemented and maintained for the long-run. End the cycle of decline by breaking the mechanisms that enforce the left-ward ratchet.

Posted by: My Ridiculously Circuitous Plan at September 30, 2016 05:51 PM (EIB5Y)

103 For those few people knocking me for tweeting at three o'clock in the morning, at least you know I will be there, awake, to answer the call!

You gotta love that.

Posted by: t-bird at September 30, 2016 05:52 PM (eeTCA)

104 Too many self-described Conservatives have no interest in defeating the Left.
They define themselves against the Left. Making it go away is simply unthinkable, and an indirect assault on their own perception of self. They're willing to embrace any number of rationalizations and double standards to avoid actually winning.

Posted by: Luke at September 30, 2016 05:52 PM (kBkXu)

105 The solution is on Fox Business. A guy wired his Trump yard sign up to his electric fence to zap sign stealers.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at September 30, 2016 05:54 PM (IqV8l)

106 I don't know how you convince the citizens of this country that limited government is the most important concept of our constitution. If the bureaucratic morass and scandals of the IRS, EPA, and the ZeroCare death spiral isn't enough, I'm not sure what would be.

Posted by: Burning Times Low Quality Pizza at September 30, 2016 05:54 PM (2X7pN)

107 Hey ACE!
Have you seen this lady?

Seems like a stone hard Ette.

http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message3305279/pg1

Posted by: TSgt Ciz at September 30, 2016 05:54 PM (CRQ5V)

108 because it's friday and we all need a laugh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-InItYmeHg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9fIjYnPazc

trust me it's funny.

Posted by: spypeach at September 30, 2016 05:54 PM (nyYhO)

109 Rollin' rollin' rollin'
Though the mainstream's swollen
Keep that culture rollin'
Backward!

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With More Je Ne Sais Quoi! at September 30, 2016 05:55 PM (Nwg0u)

110 I fear that we're beyond the point where we can realistically salvage this ship. The left has too many institutional advantages. By the time we realized there was a war happening, the other side had been hard at work for decades. The best we can hope for ( depending on your definition of best) is either to manage the decline as painlessly as possible (which probably means it's going to take a long time), or to ensure that it happens quickly, when we still have enough people who understand why we went wrong. I waffle back and forth on which I prefer.

Posted by: Joe, living mobile at September 30, 2016 05:55 PM (gJnId)

111 We have spent decades telling people they can't fight city hsll, or anything bigger, it has bred a people who accept just about anything.

Posted by: Vasha Nerada at September 30, 2016 05:56 PM (Yzubb)

112 96 Home schooling benefits the kids who receive it, but it also benefits the collective, who get the property tax money whether the kid attends or not. In fact, the more kids that stay home, the better they like it outside of the missed indoctrination opportunity.
Posted by: Vasha Nerada at September 30, 2016 05:49 PM (Yzubb)
--------------------------------
Not entirely true. Federal and (usually) state subsidies are given to schools based on student population, which is reduced for every child opting opt.

Posted by: Margarita DeVille at September 30, 2016 05:56 PM (Nox3c)

113 SSIaQ

Moby on line 69

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at September 30, 2016 05:57 PM (6FqZa)

114 ah, the new comments on that old Ace thread are interesting

I don't suppose we can comment there w/o being auto banned?

one under the assumption Ace et al voted for Trump in the primary. Clueless...

Posted by: artisanal 'ette at September 30, 2016 05:59 PM (qCMvj)

115 Reward homeowners (mortgage owers) that bring their elderly parent into their home. The homeowner gets an additional tax incentive for housing an elderly parent and the old fart gets to keep their Social Security check. Reward good, conservative behavior through the tax code. This makes it easier for a couple with children to afford a house on one paycheck. Liberals would never take care of their parents, so they won't participate in this program.

Posted by: scrood at September 30, 2016 05:59 PM (3b9U4)

116 MDV, you are correct as far as the individual school goes, but your tax dollars just go to the next district in line.

Posted by: Vasha Nerada at September 30, 2016 05:59 PM (Yzubb)

117 Indeed ,current scholarship is probably that Ahab's obsession with the whale was sexual.Repressed homosexuality no doubt.

Scholarship? Sounds like bitchy gossip.

Posted by: Blanco Basura at September 30, 2016 05:59 PM (YEelc)

118 What will the FBI be dumping this Friday evening?

Posted by: deplorable donna at September 30, 2016 06:00 PM (O2RFr)

119 Latest from Obozo: he denies Jerusalem is in Israel. From Drudge.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With More Je Ne Sais Quoi! at September 30, 2016 06:00 PM (Nwg0u)

120 It not be gay if it be at sea, matey!

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at September 30, 2016 06:00 PM (6FqZa)

121 Milton Freidman said it best, to paraphrase, the trick is not to get the right people to do the right thing but to get the wrong people to do the right thing, while in office.

Posted by: navybrat at September 30, 2016 06:01 PM (w7KSn)

122 My immediate goal is to elect Trump President. He is not a conservative. But he is also not Hillary Clinton. No matter who is President there are scant members of the Republican Party left who are "conservatives" and who will join a fight against the Left or the Democrats. Most Congressional Republicans will act in concert with them. A uni party. So, no Congressional allies, let alone leaders.

How to defeat the Republican Party leadership and its base I don't know. We tried voting in conservatives and that did not work.

That leaves us with Trump. We can start with Immigration and Jobs. And even that will have to pass through a reluctant Congress.

The most effective institutional government ally could be the DOJ if a true enforcer of the law is instated. And since DHS reports to DOJ it's a start. Also the return to the rule of law would be helpful. And a strong SCOTUS nominee as well.

Get rid of hate laws.

As for the culture.....a good start would be All Lives Matter.

Posted by: gracepc at September 30, 2016 06:02 PM (OU4q6)

123 Friedman, as advisor to Augusto Pinochet, would know about getting the wrong people to do the right thing.

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at September 30, 2016 06:02 PM (6FqZa)

124 The Goal is for our children to be more free and prosperous than we are.

Posted by: Lauren at September 30, 2016 06:02 PM (ZklN1)

125 What is best in life? To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women.
Posted by: Bosk at September 30, 2016 05:46 PM (n2K+4)

At some point, if/when it comes to that, there will be SOME satisfaction to be had, when the world descends into chaos, there WILL be crushed enemies, there will be driving going on, and there will be female lamentationing.

As of today, September 30, 2016, I don't condone it, but the day WILL come when it won't be a question of condone. One will do, or not. There will be no try.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 30, 2016 06:05 PM (Pz4pT)

126 Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With More Je Ne Sais Quoi! at September 30, 2016 06:00 PM (Nwg0u)

Of course he does. It's what you do after attending the funeral of Shimon Peres.

He also thinks there are 57 states.

Posted by: gracepc at September 30, 2016 06:05 PM (OU4q6)

127 Posted by: navybrat at September 30, 2016 06:01 PM (w7KSn)

In today's day and age, im not convinced that it's possible to do so. At the very least we haven't figured it out. Maybe if the media did their job, but then we need to figure out how to get them to do the right thing without being the right people, and the further I extrapolate that line of thought, it just takes one crack somewhere to poison the whole thing.

Posted by: Joe, living mobile at September 30, 2016 06:06 PM (gJnId)

128 Okay, here's the thing....I agree with everything in this article. We are absolutely in a war with the Left, and they are playing for keeps, as too many of our "leaders" are not. Hence, Trump 2016.

I agree with all that. But I see posts like this in a lot of places, and I keep having the question: So what? We say we're at war, but we rarely act like it. What does our "going to war" look like? Because I keep coming back to the conclusion that the Left is not going to retreat until or unless they are made to bleed, and I mean that literally. Not advocating violence against liberals; don't misunderstand me; but I've seen video after video of these SJW mobs, and it's so obvious what they would do if they had real power, and I think there is going to be a point at which physical force will have to be used against them, or else we surrender completely.

Again, not advocating the use of violence, unless in self-defense or whatever. I just want to know how serious we are about this.

Posted by: T at September 30, 2016 06:06 PM (IKdzI)

129 What will the FBI be dumping this Friday evening?

-
Bite marks on human leg bone of cannibal victim match Hillary's dental records but no reasonable prosecutor would charge her.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With More Je Ne Sais Quoi! at September 30, 2016 06:06 PM (Nwg0u)

130 Speaking of lamentating women, did you see the hilarious story about the real life feminist bookstore that Portlandia uses for their feminist bookstore sketch?

The real bookstore is Very Not Happy and presented a list of (obviously humorless) grievances against the show.

Posted by: Lauren at September 30, 2016 06:07 PM (ZklN1)

131 The Goal is for our children to be more free and prosperous than we are.
Posted by: Lauren at September 30, 2016 06:02 PM (ZklN1)

Somewhere around half your country defines those terms, "free" and "prosperous" differently from the way you do.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 30, 2016 06:07 PM (Pz4pT)

132 My father (RIP, he got PAID to kill commies) said that you have to kill them because they will not change their ways under any circumstance.
I am very glad he never lived to see one in the White House.

Posted by: navybrat at September 30, 2016 06:07 PM (w7KSn)

133
Ahab's obsession with the whale was sexual. Repressed homosexuality...
Posted by: steevy

Repressed? Don't I wish.

Things on the Pequod could get get kinda awkward on Saturday nights.

Posted by: Queequeg

Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at September 30, 2016 06:07 PM (kdS6q)

134 Right now the goal is to elect Trump so save the SCOTUS from being stacked with a majority of liberal judges who will find penumbras to declare leftist goals are constitutional. Its a big fucking deal as Biden might say and a necessity for making progress going forward in my not so humble opinion.

Posted by: Palerider at September 30, 2016 06:07 PM (dkExz)

135 117 MDV, you are correct as far as the individual school goes, but your tax dollars just go to the next district in line.
Posted by: Vasha Nerada at September 30, 2016 05:59 PM (Yzubb)
-----------------------
It differs from state to state, as far as state money is concerned. Federal money, OTOH, is just plain lost.
Either way, the particular school loses some bucks.

In any case, anyone who thinks that Big Education favors home-schooling doesn't have a clue. They hate it with the passion of a thousand suns.
The Left will destroy it in my lifetime for sure.

They will NOT destroy private schools, of course. Where else would the more prosperous rulers send their own kids? But they will have certain rules about ...."hate teach."

Posted by: Margarita DeVille at September 30, 2016 06:08 PM (Nox3c)

136 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EUTzrMZVAAw

Posted by: Andres Cantor at September 30, 2016 06:08 PM (27WlQ)

137 Not an elegant Marquess of Queensberry outing on the lawn, but a fight for our lives and the future of our country.

Our opponent isn't a friend challenging us to a sportsmanlike contest. He's the psychopath from Last House on the Left.

Posted by: Yuimetal at September 30, 2016 06:08 PM (iFgwk)

138 In the future chaos, deh wimminz lamentationing will be sexy.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 30, 2016 06:09 PM (Pz4pT)

139 T : the "SJW List" seems a good place to start.

If proud Twitter warriors are ensuring "racists" and "misogynists" (== us, perhaps especially the nonwhites and women here) can't keep our jobs, then we need to be posting their names and handles somewhere that employees can go look them up, too. Then they can decide if they'd rather hire a rightwinger who gets the job done, or some vindictive cheeto-eating wanker who maybe not so much.

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at September 30, 2016 06:09 PM (6FqZa)

140 I would like to see government boiled down to just a couple of things. I would like to be safe in my own person. I would like the nation to be protected from enemies without and within. I would like my property and the property of others to be protected. I would like a judicial system to dispense punishment for those who harm another's person or property, and a military to dispense hellfire against those who would do us harm. I would like a common currency. I would otherwise like to be left alone.

Laws are necessary because we are sinners. Less sin, less law. That's why culture matters. Behave yourself and take care of your own stuff and the need for government will decrease. Theoretically. It's gone past that now I think.

Posted by: grammie winger's deplorable basket at September 30, 2016 06:10 PM (bpfzP)

141

We have been here before. We know where this path leads, and while some few individuals are able to learn and exploit circumstances, humanity as a whole can't learn, doesn't learn, and continues to repeat the same mistakes of the past.

So I'm just going to sit back and enjoy the spectacle.

And I see nothing good coming out of laminating women.

Posted by: Skandia Recluse at September 30, 2016 06:10 PM (v67Ys)

142 Ahab's obsession with the whale was sexual. Repressed homosexuality...
Posted by: steevy

Repressed? Don't I wish.

Things on the Pequod could get get kinda awkward on Saturday nights.

Posted by: Queequeg

Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix

****

Call me, Ishmael.

(The comma was inadvertently omitted from the original manuscript.)

Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at September 30, 2016 06:11 PM (wPiJc)

143 And I see nothing good coming out of laminating women.

How else can you fit them in a binder?

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at September 30, 2016 06:11 PM (6FqZa)

144
Again, not advocating the use of violence, unless in self-defense or whatever. I just want to know how serious we are about this.

------------------

I always type and delete similar thoughts because (types, deletes). But shall we see what happens in November? Whatever happens, things will be much better or worse.

Posted by: iforgot says God bless Snorky at September 30, 2016 06:12 PM (oGNNA)

145 One thing that needs to stop is friendly fire. Conservatives need to stop ridiculing their own when the "cool kids" mock them. Tea party is a great example. Differences on foreign policy is another. What should not be included are rhinos or republican progressives (of which there are many). We need to accept that not everyone is going to agree on every principle. The most important thing they need to agree on is adherence to the constitution, freedom, and the protection of personal property rights. Heck, even within my house, although both of us are conservatives my spouse believes in keeping drugs illegal - I don't. Now although I rib him about this I would never pretend that he is anything other than a staunch conservative.

Posted by: lightning at September 30, 2016 06:12 PM (pwONV)

146 Susan McGrath, leader of the Stonewall Democrats and head of the Pinellas Democratic Party, said the decision to use Chick-fil-A would be similar to a Democratic supervisor of elections holding the event at Planned Parenthood.

or at a black church.

Posted by: Grump928(C) at September 30, 2016 06:12 PM (rwI+c)

147
New York's famed Carnegie Delicatessen will be closing its doors at the end of 2016.

"We have very sad news," reads a message from the restaurant on its Facebook page. "This is probably one of the most difficult decisions we have had to make. Carnegie Deli New York (845 7th Avenue) will close on December 31, 2016."

The deli first opened in 193. The deli's current owner says she wants to retire from running the restaurant.

Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at September 30, 2016 06:12 PM (kdS6q)

148 dammit

http://bit.ly/2ddQgQb

Posted by: Grump928(C) at September 30, 2016 06:12 PM (rwI+c)

149 One thing that needs to stop is friendly fire.

Seconded.

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at September 30, 2016 06:12 PM (6FqZa)

150 What is best in life?

Dilithium crystals for warp drives, a variety of galactic drinkables anchored by Scotch Whisky, and bonnie young lasses.

Posted by: Montgomery Scott at September 30, 2016 06:13 PM (JO9+V)

151 The deli first opened in 193.

Who knew the local peoples ate kosher that far back?

Posted by: Blanco Basura at September 30, 2016 06:13 PM (YEelc)

152 Bite marks on human leg bone of cannibal victim match Hillary's dental records but no reasonable prosecutor would charge her.

****

They couldn't prove indent.

(At least that was MY impression)

Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at September 30, 2016 06:14 PM (wPiJc)

153 @60

My definition of a conservative, is someone who regards Plato's Republic as a horrifying dystopia.
Very few Republican politicians meet that criteria.

Posted by: Luke at September 30, 2016 06:14 PM (kBkXu)

154 Who knew the local peoples ate kosher that far back?

The Mormons...?

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at September 30, 2016 06:15 PM (6FqZa)

155
The deli first opened in 193. Who knew the local peoples ate kosher that far back?
Posted by: Blanco Basura

Live by the backspace, perish by the backspace.

Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at September 30, 2016 06:15 PM (kdS6q)

156 I would like to see government boiled down to just a couple of things.

That sentence starts off very nicely!

Posted by: t-bird at September 30, 2016 06:15 PM (jO7js)

157 I am having a shitty day, so I would be content with kicking Leftists teeth in on a daily basis.

Take a lesson from Carville and Begala, answer every question with 3 bad things about the other side FIRST.

Posted by: blaster at September 30, 2016 06:15 PM (ACqhm)

158 One thing that needs to stop is friendly fire.
Seconded.
Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at September 30, 2016 06:12 PM (6FqZa)

Thirded....or whatever comes after Seconded.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at September 30, 2016 06:16 PM (ej1L0)

159 Take a lesson from Carville and Begala, answer every question with 3 bad things about the other side FIRST.

I think Trump was trying to do that in the debate.

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at September 30, 2016 06:16 PM (6FqZa)

160 Friendly fire isn't.

Posted by: Grump928(C) at September 30, 2016 06:16 PM (rwI+c)

161 Kids karate teacher is teaching them sone cool street defense: wrist elbow face

Posted by: @votermom's phone at September 30, 2016 06:17 PM (zDKXS)

162 One thing that needs to stop is friendly fire.

How do we know it is friendly fire?

I am a friend of yours, I will always be a friend of yours, and that is why in these troubled times I am shooting at you for your own good.

Posted by: Skandia Recluse at September 30, 2016 06:17 PM (v67Ys)

163 After the Romney debacle, where the GOP gave us Politeness Man, V2, with 100% fewer balls than McCain, it was obvious we needed a bull dog next time around. Someone unafraid to wade into the deepest mud, and slug it out.

So the GOP offered us Jeb. A man with all the manliness, and political views of Nancy Pelosi. This is why there is Trump. He's the bull dog. He's not what I, or anyone else would call a super conservative, but his views on a number of matters mesh rather well with mine...govt overreach, and regulation. Taxation. Immigration. For the next four, and maybe eight years, he can keep the drooling left at bay. And the drooling right in Congress, too, which spends it's time between lavish vacations dreaming up new ways to surrender everything to the left.

So screw it. He's not Reagan. I recognize that...but a Trump presidency is infinitely better than the alternative, and it will give the rank and file a few years to clean out the RINO's in congress.

Posted by: Sticky Wicket at September 30, 2016 06:17 PM (mj73g)

164 Posted by: blaster at September 30, 2016 06:15 PM (ACqhm)

Id be content with them not kicking our teeth in on a daily business.

Posted by: Joe, living mobile at September 30, 2016 06:17 PM (gJnId)

165 @160 then he needs to practice. He spent too much time on the defense.

Offense.

Attack, attack, attack.

L'audace, toujours, l'audace.

Posted by: blaster at September 30, 2016 06:18 PM (ACqhm)

166
147 Susan McGrath, leader of the Stonewall Democrats and head of the Pinellas Democratic Party, said the decision to use Chick-fil-A would be similar to a Democratic supervisor of elections holding the event at Planned Parenthood.

------------------

Since when does Chick-fil-A get government subsidies?

Posted by: iforgot says God bless Snorky at September 30, 2016 06:18 PM (oGNNA)

167 Comics writer reveals 'WONDER WOMAN' bisexual... http://bit.ly/2ddQB5t

Shocker...

Posted by: Grump928(C) at September 30, 2016 06:18 PM (rwI+c)

168 Also teaching them that they need to put their guard up to control where the attacker comes in

Posted by: @votermom's phone at September 30, 2016 06:18 PM (zDKXS)

169 Id be content with them not kicking our teeth in on a daily business.

Posted by: Joe, living mobile at September 30, 2016 06:17 PM (gJnId)

Only one way for that to happen. Kick back. Bullies stop when the get bopped.

Posted by: blaster at September 30, 2016 06:19 PM (ACqhm)

170 125 The Goal is for our children to be more free and prosperous than we are.
Posted by: Lauren at September 30, 2016 06:02 PM
-----------------------------
If my goal had been for my kids to be more prosperous than I am, I would have raised them very differently.

I would have given them my maiden name and signed them up in La Raza and sent them off to Harvard Law.
If I raised them as Christians at all, I would have raised them as Pelosi "Catholics."

(Perhaps I should have done those things. Seriously, I sometimes wonder.)

Would they have been freer than I have been?
Yes --- because if you believe 2+2=5, you don't feel the same constraint as someone who thinks 2+2=4 and must never say so.

Posted by: Margarita DeVille at September 30, 2016 06:19 PM (Nox3c)

171 The left has vicious infighting but they keep it relatively private.And they fall in line when the time comes to vote.

Posted by: steevy at September 30, 2016 06:19 PM (fA75F)

172 I would like to see government boiled down to just a couple of things.

In oil? I approve.

Posted by: Count de Monet at September 30, 2016 06:22 PM (JO9+V)

173 "And they are ruthless in enforcing their orthodoxy."

For me, the breaking point was when the State of Oregon fined a married couple with kids $135,000, because they wouldn't bake a cake for a gay marriage. (Gay marriage was illegal in Oregon when they were asked to bake the cake, BTW).

At this point, crushing a few leftists financially would be fine with me.

Posted by: A Birkenstock Smashing Into A Human Face, Forever at September 30, 2016 06:22 PM (Mrl1e)

174 Nope ... there is no "winning".

People will not change until they suffer. And they will not suffer until we let them. And we will not let them by saving them from their own political bad intentions.

Best we just stock up on shit and leave the to their own devices. In this respect - the election does not matter.

There will be suffering regardless.

Posted by: ScoggDog at September 30, 2016 06:22 PM (fiGNd)

175 172 The left has vicious infighting but they keep it relatively private.And they fall in line when the time comes to vote.
Posted by: steevy at September 30, 2016 06:19 PM (fA75F)

But our guys are too busy trying to curry favor with the left, that they make all their spats public.

Posted by: Iblis at September 30, 2016 06:23 PM (rP2JJ)

176 Before we take the gloves off, we must first put them on. That is the problem. In my life time, Repubs have always fought like little girls. They would rather remain classy and loose. Look at Perino, The Fucken Bushes. Repubs are pathologically a slave to tradition and sentimentalism. If HRC Is elected turn your back on the flag to protest her crimes and the death of the rule of law. Repubs must slaughter their sacred cows or they are done.

Posted by: danny at September 30, 2016 06:23 PM (GQaZZ)

177 The Goal is a great book for manufacturing and business processes in general; Goldratt's narrative writing isn't great but he gets the overall point across.

That being said, most institutions do go awry when they forget their purpose - each piece of the organization may function just fine but the entire entity may be screwed. The GOP and government in general will never align on a singular goal other than "protect our own asses" and amazingly they do pretty good at that. I just wish they could apply that same level of focus and energy on something like "allowing citizens to succeed".

Posted by: Pork Chop Express at September 30, 2016 06:23 PM (WkzpM)

178 I would like to see government boiled down to just a couple of things.
In oil? I approve.

Posted by: Count de Monet at September 30, 2016 06:22 PM

In pure trans fat oils, because fcuk them, that's why!

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at September 30, 2016 06:23 PM (bzd8I)

179 Of course,the fighting on the left is usually only how far left they can push things at any given time.They are in 100% agreement on their goals,only differ on tactics and timing.

Posted by: steevy at September 30, 2016 06:24 PM (fA75F)

180 What's all this, now? Huh? What's going on here?

Break it up. Now! Move along!

Go back to what you were doing. There's nothing here to see, folks.

Go on. Get along. You hear me? Move, now!

Posted by: Paul Ryan & Mitch McConnell at September 30, 2016 06:26 PM (fgOnp)

181 Posted by: steevy at September 30, 2016 06:24 PM (fA75F)

That's not entirely true. We've started to see a bit of the cracks in their hegemony with the discrepancies between the radical feminists and the trans rights groups.

The victim hood hierarchy has to be defined somehow. That means one group gets to be on top, and everyone else has an incentive to try to kick them off the hill.

Posted by: Joe, living mobile at September 30, 2016 06:27 PM (gJnId)

182 So do you guys think conservatives lost because they lost the war of ideas?

Posted by: Make America Great Again at September 30, 2016 06:29 PM (BS8yt)

183 So do you guys think conservatives lost because they lost the war of ideas?

Nah. We're losing because we think this is a debate while the left thinks it's a bar fight.

Posted by: Skandia Recluse at September 30, 2016 06:30 PM (v67Ys)

184 Posted by: Make America Great Again at September 30, 2016 06:29 PM (BS8yt)

Conservatives lost because we didn't realize the war of ideas was being fought in schools, the media, and entertainment as well as politics.

Posted by: Joe, living mobile at September 30, 2016 06:31 PM (gJnId)

185 Posted by: Paul Ryan & Mitch McConnell at September 30, 2016 06:26 PM

Who bitch these is?

Posted by: Puzzled Conservatives at September 30, 2016 06:31 PM (cjVcY)

186 Part of the problem is that conservatism naturally attempts to maintain the status quo to a great extent. What we want is no longer conservation, it's radical change in a different direction.

The best way to get that, and to unify people behind a conservative banner, is proactive change to achieve specific goals.

A few recommendations

Law and Order:
Bring back the whipping post and the stocks. Mass incarceration removes criminals from the streets, but at a significant cost to the public and society. Minor crimes should be punished with pain and public humiliation. In addition to being far more effective at discouraging future misbehavior, they also provide the broader society with a sense that justice has been done, and they don't impose on taxpayers the cost of housing and feeding minor criminals.

Abolish the FBI. The investigation into Hillary's emails has shown that the FBI is compromised by politics. At best it's ineffective, at worst corrupt. And any organization unwilling to investigate the powerful and guilty is an organization that can be used to attack the innocent and powerless.

Taxes:

Shift taxation to the states. When Congress passes a budget, each state is required to raise revenue in proportion to its share of the national population. For example, California has 13% of the population, so it is required to raise funds for 13% of the budget. How each state does so is up to the state itself. This allows states to best adjust their revenue collection to meet their needs and their demographics.

Public Employment

Limit the number of employees from any department who work in Washington DC to 100 people. The rest, including the department headquarters, must be located elsewhere in the country. This not only makes sense from a national defense perspective (preventing a single strike from wiping out the entire government), but it also makes it harder for the revolving door of government employees to lobbyists that we see.

Posted by: Colorado Alex In Exile at September 30, 2016 06:32 PM (FYrz1)

187
183 So do you guys think conservatives lost because they lost the war of ideas?
------------------

Only in part. When their ideas are floated independent of politics or on an individual level (e.g. "Should you or the government pick you kid's school?") they succeed.

Over half the problem is conservatives' godawful communication skills.

Posted by: iforgot says God bless Snorky at September 30, 2016 06:32 PM (oGNNA)

188 off to make Boulder grate again

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at September 30, 2016 06:33 PM (6FqZa)

189 Since Plato's Republic got a shout out

Freedom's Flame

There's people in office been there some time
All they wanna do is own you, yours and mine
FDR, the Bush's and Clinton the screw
That POS commie in there now too

They think they're your betters keep that in mind
But no lower scum in life are yoh going to find
Plato's Republic is where their hs ads are at
Forget about it boys we ain't giving you that
Your new world order's going down it's so lame
We're going to keep alive Freedom's Flame

First verse and chorus
And yeah, I know, Hank Sr, I'm not

Posted by: teej at September 30, 2016 06:33 PM (qjzL4)

190 Palpatine @ 55- Burning up ammo.
This morning went with Mrs E and girlfriend to range. I wanted to shoot Glock 21 and S ampersand W 9MM/. Mrs. E shot her .22/.22mags of various platforms/makers and her carry piece Smith Airweight .38 spec. She got downright moist shooting my KelTec PMR30. Had to pry it from her quivering grip. Girls and guns. Sheesh. We had a big time. Planning on a Project Appleseed outing soon.

Posted by: Eromero at September 30, 2016 06:37 PM (zLDYs)

191 180 Of course,the fighting on the left is usually only how far left they can push things at any given time.They are in 100% agreement on their goals,only differ on tactics and timing.
Posted by: steevy at September 30, 2016 06:24 PM
---------------------
THIS.
Oh, the Left has some minor insider squabbles over the spoils of power, but it is fundamentally, ideologically One.

There is no "Right" to mirror the Left. There are only what I call the Contras, a bunch of groups that hate the Left for a variety of reasons.

To take but one example, Ayn Rand and Alexander Soltzhenitzen were both staunch Contras but their attacks on the Left came from different values and philosophies.

Posted by: Margarita DeVille at September 30, 2016 06:37 PM (Nox3c)

192
And in the Media Wars, almost everybody who works on Star Trek, except for Kirk and Picard, have issued an official Trump Sucks manifesto under the Trek trademark, courtesy of the "looking the other way this time" intellectual property lawyers at CBS:

http://tinyurl.com/hv6rtol

Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at September 30, 2016 06:38 PM (kdS6q)

193 "We need to shift our goal from the positive and rather heartening idea of a conservative president to the bare-knuckled and no-holds-barred goal of defeating the Left."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I;ve been saying this since the early 90s. Over and over and over again.

Posted by: deplorable dagny at September 30, 2016 06:38 PM (09Ay7)

194 Just about every school from elementary to graduate college is a leftist seminariy

Posted by: Skip at September 30, 2016 06:38 PM (ofpt4)

195 Who bitch these is?
Posted by: Puzzled Conservatives at September 30, 2016 06:31 PM (cjVcY)

They be our bitches.

Posted by: US Chamber of Commerce at September 30, 2016 06:38 PM (fgOnp)

196 190---And yeah, I know, Hank Sr, I'm not
Posted by: teej at September 30, 2016 06:33 PM (qjzL4)
------------------------
Maybe not Hank Sr, but still not bad!!!!

Posted by: Margarita DeVille at September 30, 2016 06:40 PM (Nox3c)

197 Half the Russian revolutionaries infighting was over how far how fast.

Posted by: Skip at September 30, 2016 06:40 PM (ofpt4)

198 193 Ha,for anything else their lawyers would get a "cease and desist" out so fast it would seem like they had transporters.

Posted by: steevy at September 30, 2016 06:40 PM (fA75F)

199 Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix

Is that an example of "group" mind meld?

Posted by: T-Squared at September 30, 2016 06:40 PM (VkAIj)

200

That is why this blog is unique, unlike any other.

Come here for the posts and in the comments you get glock and spiel.

Posted by: Skandia Recluse at September 30, 2016 06:40 PM (v67Ys)

201 While pushing that we eed to defeat the left at all costs, I've been called "partisan" (no shit, the other party is progressive), a "hack" actually, I'm quite clear always, and just yesterday, someone who wants to live in a "trump bubble" (no, I see no reason to help the progressives because "wah").

Conservative means to "conserve" the country against the machinations of the damn progs.

Posted by: deplorable dagny at September 30, 2016 06:42 PM (09Ay7)

202 The problem is what do you do when the constitutional, legal, and political machinery that has kept the American system of government alive breaks down?

See the left has so destroyed the American system that it no longer functions properly, and therefore winning via the elections may not be possible, or at the very least large portions of the population feel it no longer works.

Also the problem goes beyond the left, although they have been the biggest winners of the breakdown so far. It is the general lurch toward radical internationalism and loss of American sovereignty. Many Republicans are part of this, and love internationalism at the expense of American liberty.

Being for free trade and capitalism, does not mean you have the right to dump the constitution in the process, or get your fellow citizens killed for cheap labor.

Conservatives are worried about the federal government getting too big and authoritarian, but is the federal government even in charge anymore?

I used to laugh at those lunatics who holed up on some Appalachian mountain top convinced of a UN takeover. I still laugh at them, but the fear of a clique of Wilsonian internationalists handing the country's freedoms over to international committees, banks, and academics is becoming very real.

An International Oligarchy being born before our eyes...and with it the loss of American liberty unless we are willing to resist. Perhaps resisting like our forefathers did a long time ago...before Presidents and Congress.

Posted by: William Eaton at September 30, 2016 06:43 PM (KhJh8)

203 187.....great ideas! Keep them coming.

It is time for us as to rethink Government at every level and make it smaller, leaner and to do the jobs we need done, not worrying about pretend homophobia, non-existent racism and made up climate change.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at September 30, 2016 06:44 PM (ej1L0)

204 he reality is that everyone who says thy are "conservative" is not
actually interested in small government. They want small government...
Except when it offends their morality.

******

Ah yes, the predictable sodomy troll.

Posted by: deplorable dagny at September 30, 2016 06:44 PM (09Ay7)

205 Higher academia is blamed for turning out full blown Alinsky leftists, but I believe these kids have been indoctrinated since early childhood, reinforced at home and are hardened in their beliefs. Just like the fake Pali kids.

Posted by: Ben Had at September 30, 2016 06:45 PM (qIO4W)

206 Did Conservatives lose the war of ideas? I say yes. Since the 90s, when tax cuts became a bad thing.

Once you lose that one, you've lost it all.

Posted by: blaster at September 30, 2016 06:45 PM (ACqhm)

207 They would have planned a voter registration drive at Chipotle too, except no one could stick around long enough to fill out the paperwork. And they were taking the paperwork since the restrooms had run out.

Posted by: Count de Monet at September 30, 2016 06:45 PM (JO9+V)

208 Mark Levin is en fuego today; I'm depressed; seriously thinking of moving to Texas..if they'll have us.

Posted by: IC at September 30, 2016 06:46 PM (Semqu)

209 203--- Well said.

Posted by: Margarita DeVille at September 30, 2016 06:47 PM (Nox3c)

210 Speaking of confronting culture...

The fourth and final volume of my novel, "Wearing the Cat", "The Black Room" was just this moment published on Amazon.

So...Hurray!!!

For those of you reading WTC, here's the link:

https://www.amazon.com/Wearing-Cat-Part-Four-

Black-ebook/dp/B01LX27AIK

(remove extra space)

Those of you not currently reading WTC but open to catching "Wearing the Cat" Fever*

Check it out.

*Warning: "Wearing the Cat" Fever is a particularly low-grade and deplorable infection of the human brain. Not unlike Athlete's Foot of the Parietal Lobe.

Posted by: naturalfake at September 30, 2016 06:47 PM (9q7Dl)

211 The goal of the conservative movement is the same as the GOPe, and that is to lose elections and say 'I told you so'.

Posted by: Dirks Strewn at September 30, 2016 06:48 PM (iWW0H)

212 At Townhall saw Hillary is floating Loretta Lynch'em as a Supreme Being, and just yesterday I said she was one of the people she was going to have to pay back

Posted by: Skip at September 30, 2016 06:48 PM (ofpt4)

213 The story in VA is tip of the iceberg in voter fraud in 2016.

The Dems where caught registering dead people. The next step would be to get absentee ballots and vote in their names.

Posted by: Make America Great Again at September 30, 2016 06:48 PM (BS8yt)

214 nood.

Posted by: Yuimetal at September 30, 2016 06:49 PM (iFgwk)

215 While everybody is standing around scratching their fucking balls, Islam is rolling in and stabbing, shooting, and raping the "culture." They'll not go quietly.

Posted by: Fritz at September 30, 2016 06:49 PM (XOBSF)

216 Eromero - that PMR is a sweet little shooter.

My angel is dead-on with a rifle at all practical ranges - her daddy, the Colonel, made sure all his kids could shoot. He looks askance at me for my fondness for Commie shooting irons, but that's the least if his objections to me.

Posted by: Your Decidedly Devious Uncle Palpatine, Still Accepting Harem Applicants at September 30, 2016 06:49 PM (YQ3xo)

217 Thanks M.D.
Hope I can find what I've written it all out on around here.
Don't write much. Front man so dad gummed good at it. Gets an idea for a song and writes it out over a few days.
Few come to me and when they do it's an entire song all at once then nuthin',,, sometimes for years, so I never started a book.

Another verse pays hommage to the men who've fought in the jungles, the sand and the mud.

Posted by: teej at September 30, 2016 06:49 PM (qjzL4)

218 202---Conservative means to "conserve" the country against the machinations of the damn progs.

Posted by: deplorable dagny at September 30, 2016 06:42 PM (09Ay7)
-----------------------------
Yep.
The Left has been undoing the American Foundation and we want to conserve it.

Posted by: Margarita DeVille at September 30, 2016 06:50 PM (Nox3c)

219 Bloomberg has an article up predicting a Trump Victory-

"This Chart Predicts Trump Will Win, Unless the S&P Rallies in October."

"Take it with a massive grain of salt, but the stock index has a funny way of predicting the presidential victor."

Posted by: T-Squared at September 30, 2016 06:51 PM (VkAIj)

220 The goal of the conservative movement is the same as the GOPe, and that is to lose elections and say 'I told you so'.

---

Dear Sir, I rise in point of order to suggest, ever so humbly that it is the GOP, not conservatives, who wish to particpate in the gentlemanly art of debate and, if it happens, to lose with humble dignity and when the lamentations of the womens begin we say merely that we tried to warn you.

Completely different, as I'm sure you will agree.

Posted by: Skandia Recluse at September 30, 2016 06:52 PM (v67Ys)

221 The left took over the leverage points of society.
The schools, the legal system, and entertainment.
From those places than they force change.

Posted by: Tilikum KAW at September 30, 2016 06:52 PM (0x/TW)

222 I get what you're saying ACE but it occurs to me that the majority of the GOPe is not conservative at all and have lied their asses off to maintain they are.

They will do whatever it takes to stay in DC because to them being out here is untenable to them. And being in the minority with dems in control is far better than legislating as exampled by their refusal to do it.

I am entertaining getting Trump in may break up that fantasy world they have created for themselves. I don't recognize anything Mitch and Paul are striving for as representing my values. Basically sovereignty and fiscal responsibility is what I'm down to and there ain't none of that going on up there at all.

Posted by: DanMan at September 30, 2016 06:53 PM (RusNE)

223 A briliant moron hear stated it perfectly. With a quote from Lenen
: The best way to control the opposition, is to lead it outselves. I think this has happened a long long time ago. This why they opposed Reagan. There is not a dimes worth of difference between the parties. Oh sure one does talk a good game, but when comes to doing...Bubkiss. plenty of talk, but no Action. We, the Base is not incontrol, nor will we be allowed to be.

Posted by: Paladin at September 30, 2016 06:56 PM (xPFGU)

224
209 Mark Levin is en fuego today; I'm depressed

-------------------

Turn him off. Consider this: the left's hair is on fire today. The polls are just as bad for them as they are for us.

Posted by: iforgot says God bless Snorky at September 30, 2016 06:56 PM (oGNNA)

225 It's time to move from conservative for there is little, maybe nothing, to conserve. It's time for radicalism. I'm a radical American, I want to start over at the root. If it means hitting the reset button, I can go for that.

Posted by: Make America Great Again at September 30, 2016 06:57 PM (BS8yt)

226 The only way to defeat the left is the use of two types of Division: The division of land into 2 or more Sovereign nations based on adherence to the Constitution and the use of armed forces land divisions to enforce the freedom of the Constitutional Lands.

In other words, dissolution of the existing Union to allow the Leftist Enemies of Same to exit and use of force to ensure they do not attempt to expand into our Nation.

They are the Enemy, let them leave peacefully before we are forced to nuke them.

Posted by: Inspector Cussword at September 30, 2016 07:01 PM (c1VpD)

227 76 If you're accepting any of the Left's premises, and I mean any of them, you've already lost.
Posted by: Dack Thrombosis at September 30, 2016 05:40 PM (4ErVI)

*cough Red State/Blue State cough*

Posted by: rickl the deplorable at September 30, 2016 07:01 PM (sdi6R)

228 Just had a steak and black eyed peas for dinner. Later some ice cream. Pre-camp life is good!!!

Posted by: Weasel at September 30, 2016 07:02 PM (Sfs6o)

229 152 The deli first opened in 193.

That was 193 BC. They used to provide Jesus and the disciples with a little nosh from time to time. Took a while for the delivery though...

Posted by: Donna&&&&V. deplorably brandishing ampersands&&&&so there at September 30, 2016 07:02 PM (P8951)

230 222 The left took over the leverage points of society.
The schools, the legal system, and entertainment.
From those places than they force change.
Posted by: Tilikum KAW at September 30, 2016 06:52 PM (0x/TW)
-------------
Bingo. And a win in November isn't going to save us.
I intend to go down swinging.

Posted by: Weasel at September 30, 2016 07:06 PM (Sfs6o)

231 Notice how easy it is to spot the moby? That's because leftists are incapable of thinking like us; what the SJW tool who wrote the moby comment above did is project his own hatred and bloodlust onto us.

Sorry, dumbass. You didn't fool anybody.

Posted by: Donna&&&&V. deplorably brandishing ampersands&&&&so there at September 30, 2016 07:07 PM (P8951)

232
"This Chart Predicts Trump Will Win, Unless the S&P Rallies in October."

Just watch the S&P rally in October.

Soros is on it.

Posted by: Donna&&&&V. deplorably brandishing ampersands&&&&so there at September 30, 2016 07:09 PM (P8951)

233 Weasel, you still down here?
If so, know a bunch about AR's?

Posted by: teej at September 30, 2016 07:11 PM (qjzL4)

234 Rollback of government can be made to happen.

Step one is to roll much of what goes on in DC back to the States. Lots of vested interests are not going to allow their ox to be gored, but do they really care if their checks come from the US Treasury, or from the State of Indiana? (This would include Social Security and Medicare, by the way, because why not?)

Step two is to write these agencies and departments out of the Federal Register, thereby defunding them, leaving all those tax dollars in our own hands.

Step three is to let the States deal with it from then on.

There is no reason that all this stuff needs to be laundered through the Feds. Every current agency should be compelled to defend itself on the basis of what does it bring to the table that the States cannot. Every piece of national legislation should carry a preamble as to why this legislation cannot or should not be accomplished by the States. Any legislation that has a geographical carve-out probably doesn't belong at the Federal level in the first place.

Posted by: LCMS Rulz! at September 30, 2016 07:12 PM (o7l6R)

235 234 still here, teej. I know a little bit - what's up?

Posted by: Weasel at September 30, 2016 07:16 PM (Sfs6o)

236 Over half the problem is conservatives' godawful communication skills.
Posted by: iforgot says God bless Snorky at September 30, 2016 06:32 PM (oGNNA)

Once Tom Sowell wrote that the media was masterful at creating sympathy for abolishing the death penalty by showing some dude on death row sitting forlornly with his head in his hands looking remorseful. However, what the public didn't and couldn't see what he looked like when he was gleefully raping and murdering his victims - if they could, they'd volunteer to flip the switch or put the rope around his neck.

I think trying to sell the concept of small government is like that. The Dems promise all sorts of goodies and programs and people can visualize those things. They imagine themselves with no student loans or no medical bills and that's what they focus on. What you can't explain to them is how much cheaper college or medical costs would be if the feds kept their stinking noses out of it. You can't show them 10 new businesses that would pop up on Main Street if taxes were lower and businesses were less regulated. So they don't imagine people thriving under less government; they imagine people starving...

Posted by: Donna&&&&V. deplorably brandishing ampersands&&&&so there at September 30, 2016 07:22 PM (P8951)

237 Posted by: teej at September 30, 2016 07:11 PM (qjzL4)
-------------
For example, the pointy end goes down range!

Posted by: Weasel at September 30, 2016 07:23 PM (Sfs6o)

238 There is not any possible co-governance with Leftists. Their ideas of "fairness" and "reasonableness" are at odds with human nature.

They expect the species to mutate because of speeches and harsh rebukes during kindergarten.

We expect our great great grandchildren to be random people with a sprinkling of idjits and geniuses; numb skulls and great people - because we know people are going to people.
So we build a nation of Laws to constrain and anticipate evil and dip-shittery.

They make a nation of graves and pain and prisons inside everyone's eyes.

We can't share the same nation.

Posted by: Inspector Cussword at September 30, 2016 07:30 PM (c1VpD)

239 Fight to win. This is why I put a sticker on my Ford Expedition:

TRUMP--Make America Great Again!

Posted by: Kevin C at September 30, 2016 07:40 PM (9khZC)

240 Ooo! Ooo! I have a great idea!

Conservatives need to learn how to say "No" and also "Stop" and also "That is stupid", and by that I mean NOT JUST TO OTHER CONSERVATIVES.

I see so many stories, including on THESE VERY COMMENT THREADS, where some liberal says "You should do XXX" Or "You shouldn't do YYY" and then the commenter says something like "Of course I bit my tongue, because I didn't want to disrupt the family gathering" or "I would have said something but I worried about getting in trouble"

So try just once staring at the person and saying "That is a stupid idea" and walking away and let the chips fall where they may.

Posted by: Sweet Lou at September 30, 2016 07:40 PM (Fzaq0)

241 We really need a gold old fashioned civil war where we can all kill each other with no excuses for 3 or 4 years. After that, we might be ready to talk about how to make this mess work again.

Come on, it worked before.

Posted by: Tom Servo at September 30, 2016 07:47 PM (V2Yro)

242 And here is another idea, just a suggestion:

Free your mind from considering the suggestions of lefty thought leaders as to what your behavior and speech should and should not be.

Specifically, instead of saying "Jeez, now so-and-so says we have to do this, or that, or not do the other things" or even worse "Wow, now we have to do XXX", try saying "Who made you the Sheriff anyway" and point out that they are idiots.

Why do you even consider what Sally Kohn or Dan Savage or any of a hundred others have to say? You don't listen to insane homeless people when they tell you what to do. You don't, as an example, take investment advice from the bum on the steam grate, do you?

Posted by: Sweet Lou at September 30, 2016 07:51 PM (Fzaq0)

243 "Of course I bit my tongue, because I didn't want to disrupt the family gathering"

I've disrupted family gatherings many times and didn't change anybody's mind.

Some day, I will be able to say "I told you so" after the f'ing country has fallen apart.

Posted by: Donna&&&&V. deplorably brandishing ampersands&&&&so there at September 30, 2016 07:52 PM (P8951)

244 The aggressor sets the rules in any conflict. Peck portraying Mallory said it this way, "you've got to be as ruthless as the enemy." Conservatives first must decide are they going to continue supporting the republican party or not. If so, then they must persuade the RINOs that they are in a battle with an enemy that wants to destroy all opposition. This is a 24/7 war being fought more often than during election season. The party must be unified in this understanding. Second, conservatives need to retake all institutions throughout America, including, education, media, science, entertainment, business and the pop culture. The so-called progressives must be rooted out. This includes recapturing the language and the terms used to describe issues. Finally the need to win elections and defund the so-called progressives by cutting off all public money to their infrastructure. This includes the money being laundered by union dues and contributions to and from foundations. This is a fight to the death because to so-called progressives all means are legitimate {legal and illegal} in defeating their enemy, much as Islamofascists behave.

Posted by: Locke Common at September 30, 2016 07:53 PM (e9+ZG)

245 Learn how to set the premise instead of accept the premise.

Posted by: danny at September 30, 2016 07:55 PM (GQaZZ)

246 I really hate that conservative schtick that starts off "Well, I guess I we are supposed to do XXX"

Jon Gabriel is a notable example of this.

Are there not enough laws? Is there some sort of confusion on how to behave where we have to go looking for new rules to conform to? I thought we were conservatives, with over six thousand years of tradition and custom to draw on, as well as a modicum of common sense. Is that not enough?

Posted by: Sweet Lou at September 30, 2016 07:56 PM (Fzaq0)

247 I've disrupted family gatherings many times and didn't change anybody's mind.

Some day, I will be able to say "I told you so" after the f'ing country has fallen apart.
Posted by: Donna&&&&V. deplorably brandishing ampersands&&&&so there at September 30, 2016 07:52 PM (P8951)

Well done, Donna, Queen of &&&&&s. It is not so much about changing minds as defending turf. Let them tiptoe around you rather than you tiptoe around them

Posted by: Sweet Lou at September 30, 2016 07:59 PM (Fzaq0)

248 246 Learn how to set the premise instead of accept the premise.

danny at September 30, 2016 07:55 PM (GQaZZ)

This! This! a thousand times, THIS!

Posted by: Sweet Lou at September 30, 2016 08:02 PM (Fzaq0)

249 Conservatives need to offer a positive vision; we know government schools are failing, we know welfare is shacking the future of generations of our poor. It's not enough to say these truths. Instead we must be able to speak to how school choice enables the lower and low-middle class to get the education they deserve. We must be able to talk, in a positive way, about how working for a living improves the human condition and that improvement can be passed on to the next generation.

The problem is that these truths, at least to for my walnut sized brain, are hard to explain in real world terms when the competition can boast eacher union endorsements and offer cash money.

There is a huge fad for paleo-whatever from paleo diets to the paleo chair....the thinking is that humans haven't yet physically evolved out of thier humanity.....behaviorally we haven't evolved out of our humanity either and some smart marketer should start highlighting that fact....leftism fails because it is a non-human endeavor i.e. human nature does not support the universal acceptance of differing tribes.

Posted by: Pork Chop Express at September 30, 2016 08:06 PM (WkzpM)

250 Good post, CBD.

You go to war with the army you have.

I would vote for a rotting piece of roadkill before I ever vote for Hillary.

#JustWinBaby

Posted by: The Deplorable Captain Whitebread at September 30, 2016 08:06 PM (rJUlF)

251 The only way to victory is to NEVER make a deal with the left. Their idea of compromise is total surrender to their side. Cooperation is self-sabotage. No conservative has ever won the left's vote after giving into their demands.

Posted by: Outside Adjitator at September 30, 2016 08:24 PM (hbvkG)

252 I read the goal in the early 90s or late 80s. Good book. Also recommend "One Minute Manager".

Too often the process becomes the product for management. After getting the sales. Shipping shit out the back door is always the goal. Meetings are not the goal.

Posted by: Jukin,The Deplorable at September 30, 2016 09:11 PM (6N+OU)

253 No, we are on the verge of getting knocked out. Necessity dictates that our first goal must be a defensive move.

We need to shut down mass immigration and enforce our laws against the illegal aliens who are in the country.

As immigration flips more states from red to blue, conservatism will become a dead letter.

Trump's strategy of attracting white working class voters and
peeling off some black male voters can work this election, but it won't
be enough in the future without an immigration pause.

_---------------------------------

We need to get pop culture back, Brietbart knew this. And in my opinion was killed for it.

Get the media back. Americans are stupid and will follow what a stupid celebrity or leftist professor says. Until that stops..it's over.

Posted by: Jukin,The Deplorable at September 30, 2016 09:15 PM (6N+OU)

254 "We have to take the gloves off and accept that we are in a brawl. Not an elegant Marquess of Queensberry outing on the lawn, but a fight for our lives and the future of our country."

Take the gloves off, pull the pin, and yell "FRAG OUT!"

Posted by: Darth Cobalt Shiva, Sith Lord at September 30, 2016 11:11 PM (iLR0P)

255 I agree with every single word you said, Ace.

Posted by: Alana at October 01, 2016 12:06 AM (ASfgM)

256 Woops, I meant CBD! I agree with every single word you said, CBD.

Posted by: Alana at October 01, 2016 12:09 AM (ASfgM)

257 RE: "We need to shift our goal from the positive and rather heartening
idea of a conservative president to the bare-knuckled and
no-holds-barred goal of defeating the Left. The Democrat party has
morphed from a left-leaning but essentially patriotic group with a small
fringe of hard-core progressives to its current concatenation of
Liberation Theology, Globalism, racial and gender politics, committed
socialists and rabid anti-free-speech radicals."

Sure that's fine let's defeat the Left -- I'm all for it, if by the Left you mean those people who are opposed to individual liberty, limited government, free markets, private property ownership, and adherence to the Constitution.

Unfortunately the nominees of both parties are a part of the Left and a victory for the guy in the supposedly "conservative" party means that that party moves EVEN FARTHER away from being a conservative party. Which means that we have even less of a conservative opposition party that the country needs.

Sorry, but no -- my primary goal is actually *not* Rush Limbaugh's, which is to defeat Democrats. My primary goal -- and the thing that this country most needs other than mass repentance and revival -- is to have a conservative opposition party that promotes conservative ideas, finds, develops, nominates, and promotes conservative candidates for those ideas, and then builds cadres of different categories of supporters that understand, value, and recognize how conservative ideas will help them and others [and also how they are a moral and beautiful Good] such that the conservative candidates will be elected.

Manifestly . . . *manifestly* . . . we don't have such a party.

I would like one.

I'm certainly not going to help elect another Leftist that the faux party that's supposed to be the conservative opposition party has mistakenly nominated.

Posted by: Igor at October 01, 2016 07:38 AM (FfQXL)

258 In other words, I don't enable the cocaine addict son by giving him more money because he really really really needs it and if he doesn't get it he will have to go to the mob for a loan, which would be Really Really Bad and he -- and even many of his friends and bare acquaintances -- is half-hysterical over the dire consequences of going to the mob for that loan so I should give him that money right away.

No.

Posted by: Igor at October 01, 2016 07:42 AM (FfQXL)

259 Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Group goals. All the other stuff is twaddle for mass consumption. The Constitution of the US has been a document not followed in word or spirit for a long time. At least since Lincoln suspended habeas corpus and debased the dollar (green back). People like to pretend. The bible details the pretensions of the Israelites but it is a universal trait of humans as a group.

Posted by: Late to the party at October 01, 2016 09:44 AM (xZKI4)

260 RE: "The Constitution of the US has
been a document not followed in word or spirit for a long time."

Sure -- exactly right.

RE: "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Group goals. All the other
stuff is twaddle for mass consumption."

Yep -- which is why we'll have to get back to the Constitution because we can have none of those things without our rights being assured. And in order to get back to that Constitution one must at the very least have a political mechanism -- an organization so to speak -- which allows one to pursue those ideals in the sphere of the elected government.

We don't have one. I'm not going to be enabling further the party that is supposed to serve as that mechanism in their feckless, corrupt, incompetent dealings -- to succeed at being further away from such an organization.

Posted by: Igor at October 01, 2016 10:20 AM (FfQXL)

261 I've been saying that the final nail in the coffin of our Constitutional Republic was the re-election of President Obama. This post rekindles hope. Damn it.

Posted by: You Heard Me at October 01, 2016 03:08 PM (DMyvQ)

262 Trump says the things that are necessary to win; he doesn't kow-tow to PC. This has become more important than whether or not he is a conservative. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Though it would still be awesome someday if the Republicans could pull their heads out and nominate a conservative; but it's probably self-defeating to hold one's breath waiting for that.

Posted by: norrin radd, sojourner of the spaceways at October 01, 2016 11:23 PM (C7MZJ)

263 I always get the these parties late, but I must say it's heartening that a few people around here are getting the idea. Finally.

Who knows, as the cultural executioner slips the hangman's knot around our necks maybe we'll finally cry out (albeit into our duct tape gag and underneath the black hood) and we'll flail our arms and legs against the manacles on our wrists and ankles? Admirable, if pitiful.

For the past few decades the left has fought tooth and nail using whatever weapons, tools, and techniques they could reach. We, on the other hand, have placidly complained of unfairness, media bias, and have generally behaved as if this was all some kind of game into which God would eventually intervene to deliver us a victory. The old rationalization ("if we act like them we are just stooping to their level and we become as bad as them") has served our complacence well. After all, it's tough to shut off the cable, turn off the TV, unsubscribe from the NYT/WaPo et al, give up Hollywood entertainment, NFL football, FaceBook/Twitter/lefty social media, and stop sending your children to colleges run by left-wing ideologues.

Those things would make a difference (would have made?). They're the platforms that supported the pathology that infected the country's moral and intellectual health. Good to see the right coming around on this. All it took was eight years of Obama and the prospect of eight years of the Clintons for the alarm clock to awaken us from our slumber. Now that the Internet is going to be run by some pernicious 'international' body, our last redoubt on which to fight against the left is threatened.

But, I guess we didn't stoop to their level and become like them.

Posted by: Lawrence Larson at October 02, 2016 10:40 AM (OWk6L)

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