Too late. GWB (and the financial crises) already achieved all of that and more (or should i say, less). how could our power and prestige get any lower? maybe by attacking Iran. Thankfully I doubt BHO will do that.

~A~

P.S. No disrespect intended, but you don’t know squeeze about Israel. I lived there for years, speak the lingo, and belive me, they’ll do just fine with President Obama. It’s Grampy McCain who’s the real menace.

“As far as Still Liberal is concerned, “more conservative” means more racism, more tax cuts for the wealthy and more hunger for international disputes.”

Well thanks for thinking for me, Mr. Sivakumar. My request was for you all to think for yourself, not think for me. But thanks anyway. I do not equate conservatism with racism. Living in Kansas means being surrounded by conservatives. My conservative friends and family members are not racist nor is there anything inherently racist about conservative philosophy. Have some conservatives been racist? Yes and so have some liberals. This is better attributed to these people being assholes in general instead of putting it on any political philosophy.

Do I think big business benefits from conservatives in power? Why yes I do. The tax code is not 2 feet thick for any other reason than to provide tax breaks and incentives for the well-to-do, a redistribution of the wealth upward to the faction with more money individually, but no where near as much as the middle class collectively. (We pay a lot more taxes collectively than the rich because we outnumber than many, many times over.) Will this continue with conservatives in power? You betcha!

Lastly, Mr. Nagarajan Sivakumar, the ugly reality that conservatism faces come from decades of conservative philosophy holding sway in America. If you had read my words for content instead of a launching pad for a screed, you may have noticed that I did not say working to be more idelogically conservative was wrong. I said it will lead conservatism to a longer period of being out of power. You can never convince people in general that the reason their shit sandwich didn’t taste good was because there was too much mayo and not enough pure shit.

So many questions, but not enough time to answer all the riffraff here. Right Wing Nut House indeed. I’ll shoot at one lunatic and move along. McCain is in good health.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/10212008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/mccains_cancer__lies_of_the_times_134554.htm

His principled stand was that states were best left to deal with this situation no matter the morality behind the issues. Of course, people may question him for taking such a stand given the incredibly painful and tortuous history of the African American community and how “states rights” was used as the main tactic by white slave owners to deny them freedom or equal treatment later on.

But he was not a racist and a radical as he was wildly distorted out to be. He explains his position in the “Conscience of a Conservative” very honestly. He believed that people would eventually come around to seeing that equal civil rights for blacks was truly representative of American ideas of human liberty.

One can question Goldwater as to how long black people were going to “wait” till southern whites came along. And more importantly why should they wait ??

But let us put Goldwater’s stance on this issue in perspective - he was truly one of those people who stood up for something he believed in - he was no crowd pleaser.

And of course we know that he lost in a landslide in that election.

See comments from Mr.Still liberal

“Wake up, think for yourself! The mantra of Republican failure as the result of not being conservative enough won’t sell to anyone but the far right ideologues. Your time in the wilderness only grows longer as long as you stick to this myth.”

I am stuck by how much distorted people’s view of conservatism is, STILL. This was how bad it was 44 years back.

Still Liberal does not understand that when people say that the GOP is conservative enough, we are talking about fiscal responsibility, limiting the excesses of Government promoting the rule of law, and of course allowing people the freedom to enjoy the fruits of their labor rather than coercively moralizing about redistributive justice.

As far as Still Liberal is concerned, “more conservative” means more racism, more tax cuts for the wealthy and more hunger for international disputes.

And you know what - i bet there are a lot of people like STill Liberal who think that way - i dont agree with them of course. But this is the ugly reality conservatives are facing today.

Minds operate at maximum effeciency when they are open. Those unable to accept constructive criticism remain stuck when events change the world around them. Perhaps your “quislings” may be a better source of information currently for conservatives that Rush and all the little Rushettes of talk radio who are operating from the theory that if you are stuck in the mud, hit the gas and dig deeper! Wake up, think for yourself! The mantra of Republican failure as the result of not being conservative enough won’t sell to anyone but the far right ideologues. Your time in the wilderness only grows longer as long as you stick to this myth.

Here’s wishing you good mental health.

Rick’s own comment that BO has no policy commitments or experience to compare with Johnson or Clinton, nor a taste for bureaucracy. First, I’m not sure the latter is a good thing anyway, and on the former I think the evidence from a long campaign is precisely the opposite. He has a taste and a talent for policy that may exceed the above mentioned as it is wrapped with a calm view of himself and the world. He does not fall into policy histrionics as Clinton did from time to time, nor propose to launch untested policy initiatives on good intentions alone as Johnson did.

I have some hope that the website that seems the good and deep history of the Republican party will recognize that we have turned a corner from the ugliness Gingrich and Rove brought us in their politics of division. GWB has left the political ground littered with small-interest groups focused only on their favorite sign, caring little or nothing for the commonweal, political well-being, or the success of the country.

And not only does McSame not have anything special to qualify him for the presidency, any more than Obama, he’s shown very bad judgement by choosing a silly rightwing radical who doesn’t even read newspapers and hasn’t a clue what is going on in the world. Palin is an ardent member of the New Apostolic Reformation Movement which claims to have gotten her elected in Alaska, wants to take over the government so they can start war with Russia, destroy the world so their Rambo-style Christ can return and really kick some ass. They also claim to have killed Mother Theresa by their prayers because
she was evil, they want to destroy the Catholic and Mormon churches (maybe not such a bad idea if they take all the rest with them) and they are already praying for McCain’s death
shortly after his election so Palin/they can take over. With McCain so old and with a history of cancer already the chance of this looney and her friends gaining the presidency is quite
a good one. Is it worth the chance? No. Oh, and one more thing, Obama is a constitutional law professor too. No small thing. He knows more about the constitution than McCain will ever know (if he even cares since he and his side-kick are bent on keeping gay and lesbian citizens from gaining equal civil and human rights in what is supposed to be a secular society).

The US has already been under the rule of Conservative neo-feudal unregulated, free market capitalism for too many years and it has been a huge failure. Wealth is concentrated in a few hands, like a third world country. 1% of the population owns 60% of the wealth, poverty is growing (1 in 8 USAmericans now live in poverty), 47million working poor have no access to health care, infant mortality is the highest in the developed world, Reporters Without Borders ranks the US 52nd in the world in press freedom, the infrastructure is crumbling etc. The US is in serious decline, but the military-industrial complex and war profiteers are doing great. McCain will continue the same failed policies of concentrating wealth in the hands of a few (he’s already said he is against stopping taxpayers funded corporate welfare to the fat-cat Big Oil companies. He thinks the health care system works just fine as a profit making business. He cares nothing for the ordinary people, only the rich and powerful. Sadly, the lower the educational level of voters the more likely they are to vote GOP. They’re too ignorant to question the hype the GOP always puts out.

And as far as the phoney “values” the GOP always talks about - let them define them. Unfortunately, too many people think they are talking about Christian values, but anyone really looking at their record knows they are the opposite of what Jesus taught. In fact, McCain/Palin charge Obama with being a socialist because he wants to put the values of Jesus into practice - feed the hungry, clothe the poor, love your neighbor (even if he’s gay), love your enemies (at least talk to them before you blow them up to benefit Exxon), judge not, let he who is without sin cast the first stone etc. These are Christian values and all the GOP “values” really come down to are: keep the rich happy, let the corrupt corporations do anything they want to, regulate people’s sex lives, prevent homosexuals from having full civil rights (but take their full taxes though), bully and blackmail the whole world and kill anyone who doesn’t fall into line and let US corporations rape and pillage their resources. No wonder they never want to actually define their “values”. They make Socialism akin to Satanism and sadly the average USAmerican has fallen for it, when, in actuality Socialism is the political movement most akin to true Christian ideals - to create a more just and equitable society, raise up the poor, make education available to all, healthcare to everyone (it is national defense in its purest form), promote democracy - The Rights of Man. It is a noble movement, but opposes the greed of unregulated free market capitalism (and they are now proven right) and sides again with Jesus who very clearly condemned the rich and defended the poor. Just the opposite of Conservative politics. No wonder they are against Socialism. The most advanced countries in the world are based on Christian/Socialist principles - Sweden, Norway, Denmark (the happiest people on earth), Luxemburg (the highest standard of living on earth), Spain, etc. for just about all EU countries. They call it a social contract and it is more important than the USAmerican corporate business, free market capitalist contract - people first as opposed to US business and robber barons first. Having lived on both sides of the Atlantic I’ll take Socialism any day for a more just society, lower crime, better arts, more livable cities, healthcare for all, lower salaries for CEOs, better mass transit, better care for the elderly and disabled, better animal protection rights, and less fear and worry - none of which is available except to the richest in USAmerica. No I’m an Ex-USAmerican and a proud and happy European now. Thank God!!!

And for those who want to equate Socialism with Stalin etc. that argument stands up as well as equating true Christianity with the Spanish Inquisition, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, snake handlers, New Apostolic Reformation (hate) Movement, Southern Baptists and all the others who march under the banner of a perverted “Christianity”.

Grow up!