Thomas Sowell Defends Palin, Rush, and Coulter
The great Thomas Sowell has a new column discussing "The Republican Civil War." Here's an excerpt:
There has long been an element of the Republican Party that has felt a need to distance themselves from people who stand up for conservative principles, whether those with principles have been Ronald Reagan, Rush Limbaugh or whomever.
The latest example is John McCain's daughter, who has said how embarrassed she is by having to explain Ann Coulter to her friends. If it wasn't for articulate conservatives like Ann Coulter, both the Republican Party and the country would be in even worse shape than they are now, for there are extremely few articulate Republican politicians who can make the case for any principle. Certainly Ms. McCain's father is not one of them.
The only time John McCain led Barack Obama in the polls last year was after Governor Sarah Palin joined the ticket. The economic collapse doomed their candidacies but McCain would have had no chance at all with another inconsistent and inarticulate Republican like himself on the ticket.
Yet many in the Republican Party seem to have felt as embarrassed by Governor Palin as they have been by others who articulated principles, instead of trying to be in step with the fashions of the time-- fashions set by liberals.
Maybe those Republicans who put a high value on being accepted in elite circles should be embarrassed by the narrowness of their elite friends, who disdain or demonize people whose principles they disagree with, instead of answering their arguments.
There has even been an undercurrent among some Republicans of a sense that it is time to move away from the image of Ronald Reagan, to update the party and court newer and less embarrassing segments of the voters than their current base.
There is certainly a lot to be said for inviting wider segments of the population to join you, by explaining how your principles benefit the country in general, and those segments in particular. But that is fundamentally different from abandoning your principles in hopes of attracting new votes with opportunism.
Read the rest. It's vintage.
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7 comments:
I love Thomas Sowell!
That part in the excerpt about the proper way to bring in other voters is dead on.
He is one of the Great Conservative thinkers of our time.
"No segment of the population has lost more by the agendas of the liberal constituencies of the Democratic Party than the black population.
The teachers' unions, environmental fanatics and the ACLU are just some of the groups to whose interests blacks have been sacrificed wholesale. Lousy education and high crime rates in the ghettos, and unaffordable housing elsewhere with building restrictions, are devastating prices to pay for liberalism.
Yet the Republicans have never articulated that argument, and their opportunism in trying to get black votes by becoming imitation Democrats has failed miserably for decades on end."
I do hope you American Palinistas will pick up on this....it's the same here in the UK where essentially the left consistently patronises ethnic groups by feeding them the drug of grievance. The Guv is just the sort of person who might just be able to make inroads into that constituency.
This story has been posted to Free Republic as well. So far 1202 views.
A great conservative! Dr. Sowell has great articles. Meghan should start reading his articles. But she thinks she is so upper class and cool like her father. Barf.
I hope Sarah reads some of his books (which I bet she is).
The one thing that has NOT been clarified for many lay people is what a RINO is (Republican in name only philosophy) or what ideas they subscribe to delineates them from Reagan conservatism? So in the interest in clarity and for an impetus for discussion I would like to offer 10 ideas that for me defines what a RINO advocates or favors or how he/she acts:
1)If you observe a Republican indulging in or pandering because of white guilt he/she is a RINO. The prime example is when John McCain basically threw away the 2008 election forever by feeling behooved to 'calling Obama a decent family man and person and that you have no reason to be scared of him as the POTUS.' The remark was completely gratuitous and legitimized Obama to American voter. Obama raised $749m in the 2008 campaign. I think he raised enough money to legitimize himself without McCain's help.
2)And accompanying white guilt, a RINO is one who will not criticize Obama's socialist agenda or Obama for being a socialist out of a fear of being called a racist.
3)a RINO is one who does not believe in the natural rights of man or will not openly declare his support of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in speeches. A RINO very rarely mentions God in his conversation or speeches for fear of being marginalized or being perceived as a religious wacko.
4)a RINO stakes his political reputation and career on the concept of bipartisanship abjuring conservative philosophy or Reagan principles except when running for election or re-election.
5)a RINO seeks to court the favor of the MSM by appearing not taking extreme positions or sounding mild or conciliatory to appeal to MODERATE WHITES; a RINO cares more about his/her public reputation than adhering to a set of core principles that guide his/her political positions or votes in Congress.
6)a RINO believes more in a path of citizenship for illegal immigrants than erecting a fence to keeping illegals out or enforcing the laws that are on the books regarding illegal immigration out of wanting to appear 'compassionate' or pandering to identity politics
7)a RINO is one who, as Rush Limbaugh alluded to in his CPAC talk, is ashamed of some of the people (lowbrows) who vote Republican including Nascar spectators, gun-toting American patriots, and people like Sarah Palin who didn't go to the right schools or demonstrate the proper elitist sense of nuance; ironically it was the epitome of a RINO, John McCain, who gave us Sarah Palin and possibly planted the seed for the resurrection of Reagan conservatism.
8)RINO'S tend to favor big government solutions to economic or social problems. Although they do not totally reject personal initiative and free enterprise they are more likely to highlight the supposed 'evils' of capitalism (predatory Wall Street lenders and corporate greed)than consider it an engine to stimulate widespread economic prosperity and individual happiness. They also see capitalism as strictly in economic terms rather than a foundation for a social system that promotes moral action.
9)RINO'S attempt to one-up the Democrats or fall in line (often called Democrat Lite)with the Left on issues like global warming, cap and trade, restrictive energy development, and strengtening the endangered species act and feel compelled to suck up to what Rush Limbaugh calls environmental wackos.
10)RINO's feel the age of Reagan is over and actually have become antagonistic towards Reagan conservatives like Sarah Palin and will fight tooth and nail to prevent Sarah Palin from being the leader of the GOP. Simply put, amongst their elitist friends and acquaintances and while attending cocktail parties they would feel very uncomfortable defending the virtues of Sarah Palin as the party leader in a discussion. To avoid such discomfort they must destroy her candidacy but are not as ruthless as Obama.
NB: I have not defined RINO's in terms of abortion, gay rights, or the war in Iraq because more often than not RINO's maintain the same political position as conservatives.
I would invite you to comment on my list and provide any other RINO traits.
I think you've identified the typology of the RINO, affectively.
The Republican Party, was and always will be the anti-slavery party, if not out of altruism but self interest. The Democrats seized
the African American vote on economic grounds, while balancing with their oppressors, the Dixie Crats. I think that because had Southern roots, he felt more obligated than most to apologize, but he didn't accrue their support that way. Saah's from fine mid western and before that Yankee stock, she's keenly more aware of the party's liberty legacy, carried forward by her son in Diyala province with the
Wolverines, while this administrations proffers a Saudi mouthpiece as an advisor. I don't think she's a militant on the immigration question, but as with all things, she's pragmatic on the subject; that may ultimately lose her some votes in this corner
RINO's lack courage to stand by conservative convictions of freedom, prudence, equality of opportuinity, the list goes on.
Sarah is the brightest one out on the political horizon because of her
COURAGE
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