tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4585230548913609409.post636628161839164549..comments2024-01-15T12:29:39.850-08:00Comments on Jewish Odysseus: WEIGHED IN THE BALANCESJewish Odysseushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16704379332151214452noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4585230548913609409.post-1792343362233760522008-11-11T07:40:00.000-08:002008-11-11T07:40:00.000-08:00Cassandra, thanks for a thoughtful post. I only m...Cassandra, thanks for a thoughtful post. <BR/><BR/>I only mentioned indirectly McCain's failure to attack BHO's long gun-grabbing record (where I pointed out his mysterious failure to use the "bitter-clingers" comment against him). OTOH, I'd have to say the great bulk of the GOP has been solidly pro-gun since at least 1980, and I'd DISAGREE that they look down on gun-owners. Lee Atwater played a large role in exactly one national campaign (1988), and died in 1990...Surely there are many GOP big-shots who represent far more accurately the pro-gun position of the GOP. Not ALL, but at least 80%.<BR/><BR/>BTW, are you 100% sure on the accuracy of that Atwater "quote"? It does NOT ring true to me...Esp. because the NRA had a huge hand in that one national campaign, in defeating Dukakis.<BR/><BR/>As for the dog that barked, the GOP is the one and only pro-life party, and it is a principled position. If the pro-gun position were unpopular, wd you advise the GOP to dump it? No, because it is A PRINCIPLED POSITION, one that defines our party. The same w/pro-life. The same (I hope) w/defending Israel, and other small, threatened free countries. The same w/low taxes. Etc. <BR/><BR/>These positions represent principles that we believe (or shd believe) are above and beyond daily political passions. We'd rather bitterly cling to them and lose than abandon them and win. Otherwise, WHAT'S THE POINT? Who has the whitest smile, or can buy the most union thugs? We see our duties as citizens as superior to our temporal lusts for power. <BR/><BR/>I do not believe the M/P campaign had a "mania" about abortion, in any event. It was a major issue on which they disagreed w/BHO, and they presented it as such. I'd venture that in the 4 debates, less than 5% of the time was devoted to abortion issues of any type.<BR/><BR/>Speaking of principled positions, I will not tolerate any racial slurs or attacks on this blog, even if they purport to be "supportive." Therefore I have deleted a long, strange diatribe by Anonymous, above. <BR/><BR/>Memo to race-baiters: Don't even bother.Jewish Odysseushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16704379332151214452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4585230548913609409.post-37702442731080673972008-11-11T01:46:00.000-08:002008-11-11T01:46:00.000-08:00The dog that barked versus the red-headed step-chi...The dog that barked versus the red-headed step-child <BR/><BR/><BR/>Something J.O. (& MANY others) overlooked in his analysis is the effect the anti-abortion mania had on the campaign. The subject was one of the main tenets, right up there with taxes & foreign policy, & as such was brought up at every opportunity that presented itself regardless of whether or not it was germane to what was being discussed at the time. P.J. O'Rourke also remarked on this prediliction in his post-mortem. The thing is that such an opinion is tantamount to heresy & treason in what is currently called "the conservative movement" & woe betide anyone who deviates from the "pro-life at any cost" doctrine. Even if such monomaniacal devotion results in recurring & increasing losses to "our side", the attitude among some self-appointed "leaders" of conservatism is "So what?". This is the dog that barks & as such continues to steer the discussion in the conservative herd. <BR/><BR/>The red-headed step-child, on the other hand, is treated with a VERY thinly veiled disdain that would be vigorously condemned if what said child represented was deemed "acceptable" by the intellectuals of the movement. Who is this step-child who's been treated so shabbily, you ask? Gun owners. You know, "those people"? The ones the late Lee Atwater told to "sit down, shut up, & vote Republican because you have nowhere else to go". The "funny" part is that "those people" are also the same ones who are regularly used as examples of people "who work hard, play by the rules, love their families, their country, & God, & are the backbone of America". If such was REALLY the case, then why is the 2d Amendment virtually ignored until election time rolls around? Don't believe it? Then explain why the "gun rights" issue was barely mentioned in the past Presidential election cycle. <BR/><BR/>During the Republican Presidential primary "debates", the topic was brought up ONCE & after the perfunctory expressions of support wasn't heard of again & was conspicuously absent from later Presidential/Vice-Presidential "debates". 'Twas ever thus with the red-headed step-child, be obedient & sit quietly WAAAAAAAAAY over there in the dark (until, that is, your "betters" can use you to advance them politically/financially or if they/their property needs defending) like a good dog, er, child. Sounds a lot like the way the Leftocrats treat blacks, doesn't it. And the sad part is, just like the aforementioned group, we put up with it. The question for our "betters", & it's one that they should seriously ponder, is how long we'll remain loyal to them should the economy go really bad & the prospect of social upheaval increases accordingly. They should take note of the ever growing number of news reports about runs on gun shops in anticipation of that possibility, an Obama administration assault on firearms ownership that would make the Clinton era look like the good old days, &/or another real (not "convenient") terrorist attack that would give the govt a "reason" to go after its opposition. Should such events occur, our "betters" had better hope that the "bitter clingers" they've been looking down upon for 40 odd years will be decent (& forgetful) enough to help them out should things get nasty. <BR/> <BR/>One wonders how important the rights of the unborn will be to them then?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4585230548913609409.post-69022656994458226032008-11-07T12:19:00.000-08:002008-11-07T12:19:00.000-08:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com