Why do conservatives come across as angry and brittle?

ROXRAN, if Kerry, Clark and Gore could speak with that much passion, Clark and Kerry wouldn't have been running this year because Gore would be the incumbent. If Gore decided he only wanted one term, Clark might have sealed the nomination. And if Clark hadn't managed that, Kerry would have a double digit lead.

In short, I don't know which candidates you're thinking of... Dean? He's out of the running. Kennedy? He's not running and is, what, about 80 years old now? Besides, if Kennedy worries you, you're beyond any help.

 

Liberals get just as angry as conservatives. With the exception of abortion issues, which group is more apt to protest or picket? Obviously, the Liberals are involved in angry demonstrations more then any other group.

The liberals on the TV talk shows are different though, they have to sell their concepts more than the conservatives. More Americans agree with conservative concepts than liberal concepts hence, liberals become salesmen. Unless you’re buying a motorcycle, it’s rare to see a mean salesman.

Economical arguments will always make a liberal seem nice and a conservative mean. For instance, if I was to walk up to you and ask you for a percentage of you income to support my program, you would answer with an emphatic “Hell No!” However, if you would ask me for a percentage of my income to support your program, you would ask in a polite, sincere way.

 

I'm hooked on this line. I am going to use it in my signature.

 

That's an excellent post, Ref. It's ironic then how politicians were created for the purpose of serving its fellow man, when all the most powerful do is serve themselves and their members.

 

I meant Mad Max. Sorry about that...

 

That's a great observation. I never thought of it that way.

Of course asking for more money isn't always done in a polite way. Its often done with a hefty dose of guilt trip, holier than though righteousness and "won't anyone think about the children!" histrionics.

 

Did Christ have a take on war?

I really don't know...

 

When are people going to learn? 80 percent of both political leanings simply treat their partisan affiliations like they'd treat rooting for the local sports team, 10 percent are reasonable and rational, and the other 10 percent act like glynch and Trader_Jorge.

Do you think one side is more vitriolic, or hypocritical, or evil, than the other? Then you're practicing selective perception and you should get out more.

 

Brian, grouping me with glynch is the height of insult.

 

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

TJ, I actually find your posts pretty amusing, but I needed to name the conservative poster most likely to be considered the ideological mirror image of glynch's demented rantings, therefore it was your turn in the barrel.

 

trader --

grouping you with any americans is an insult to us..


DEPORTED (please!!)

 

It seems that some Republicans are angry at Bush... conservative Republicans. So, if one can believe anything coming from Bob Novak's byline...


Nationally syndicated columnist Robert Novak participates in three of CNN's political public affairs programs- Novak, Hunt & Shields, Crossfire and The Capital Gang

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

Bush's shaky base


WASHINGTON (Creators Syndicate) -- During George W. Bush's keynote address to the 40th anniversary black-tie banquet of the American Conservative Union (ACU) last week, diners rose repeatedly to applaud the president's remarks.

But one man kept his seat through the 40-minute oration. It was no liberal interloper but conservative stalwart Donald Devine.

As ACU vice chairman, Devine was privileged to be part of a pre-dinner head-table reception with President Bush. However, Devine chose not to shake hands with the president. Furthermore, he is one of about 20 percent of Republicans that polls classify as not committed to voting for Bush's re-election.

The conventional wisdom portrays the latest Zogby Poll's 81 percent of Republican voters committed to Bush as reflecting extraordinary loyalty to the president by the GOP base. Actually, when nearly one out of five Republicans cannot flatly say they support Bush, that could spell defeat in a closely contested election. When Don Devine is among those one out of five, it signifies that the president's record does not please all conservatives.

In a time of crisis in Iraq, Bush spent more than an hour at the J.W. Marriott Hotel Thursday night to celebrate the ACU's anniversary and woo his conservative base. His speech was crafted to evoke the maximum response from that audience. There was no mention of either "compassionate conservatism" or "no child left behind "

Why, then, did Devine dismiss a consciously conservative speech as "long and boring"? At age 67, Devine has spent a lifetime as a party regular and faithful conservative. I first encountered him some 30 years ago when, as a University of Maryland political science professor, he was adviser and strategist for conservatives in rules fights at Republican national conventions. Directing President Reagan's Office of Personnel Management, he was one senior administration official who took seriously the Reagan Revolution. He was a political adviser in Bob Dole's presidential campaigns and ran himself for Congress and statewide office in Maryland.

So, the question remains: Why would Devine stay seated at the ACU dinner when everybody else was standing and clapping? To begin with, he shares concern with many Republicans about what the U.S. is doing in Iraq and where it is going. Businessmen I have talked to recently exercise limited patience in how long they will tolerate the bloodshed and confusion.

What most bothers Devine and other conservatives is steady growth of government under this Republican president. If Devine's purpose in devoting his life to politics was to limit government's reach, he feels betrayed that Bush has outstripped his liberal predecessors in domestic spending. A study by Brian Riedl for the conservative Heritage Foundation last December showed government spending had exceeded $20,000 per household for the first time since World War II. Riedl called it a "colossal expansion of the federal government since 1998."

Curbing this expansion surely has not been on the top of Bush's agenda for much of his time in the White House. Until recently, when a presidential political aide heard conservative complaints about runaway spending, he predictably would point to the partial-birth abortion ban and tax cuts rather than address the grievance. In the last few months, the president's men have talked a better game about spending. Nevertheless, it is too late to satisfy Republicans such as Devine who care deeply about governmental growth.

Bush is also under pressure from his conservative base to speak more clearly and more frequently against same-sex marriage. At the ACU dinner, he drew one of his many standing ovations by declaring: "We stand for institutions like marriage and family, which are the foundations of our society." That was all he said on the subject in a speech that went on at length about the war on terrorism and the war in Iraq.

Bush's saving grace for the 2004 election may be John Kerry. In the end, I am sure Don Devine will cast his ballot for George W. Bush, if only because the alternative is noxious. How many of the rest of that 19 percent of non-Bush voting Republicans in the Zogby Poll will fall in line may determine the outcome November 2. That is the importance of Devine's little sit-down strike.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/05/24/bush/index.html

 

What about..

Thou shall not judge?

DD