Comments Posted By Doug King
Displaying 21 To 30 Of 44 Comments
DEBATE OVER TEA PARTY PROTEST NUMBERS MASKS THE REAL HISTORY MADE
Mike,
"If we can all tone down the anger we might actually have a good dialog about these super-important issues facting the country." What a radical idea! How about we start by not using hate words to characterize our opposition?
Given differing political visions, I'm convinced America must be governed from somewhere in the middle. We would do well to come down from our holy mountain of principle and explore the middle ground. But the very idea of compromise is repugnant to partisans.
Comment Posted By Doug King On 13.09.2009 @ 21:17
IMPRESSIVE TURNOUT IN DC FOR PROTEST
Vodkapundit at pajamasmedia.com has a photo of a sign from today's protest.
The sign reads:
It doesn't matter
Comment Posted By Doug King On 12.09.2009 @ 16:28
what this sign says.
You will call it racism anyway!
NH said: "We are 100% grassroots, we don’t raise money and have no funding. WE just SHOW UP because we are interested in FREEDOM."
Some on the Left fallaciously assume nobody does anything unless it's directly tied to economic self interest. I think they have a hard time fathoming conservatives can be poor or even value Freedom above money.
Comment Posted By Doug King On 12.09.2009 @ 14:53
Mark:
Help me out. Where do I sign up for my $10,000 to protest against ... (it doesn't matter)?
Comment Posted By Doug King On 12.09.2009 @ 14:29
The Left (and to some extent parts of the Right) have been in denial about the wide appeal and political efficacy of the Tea Party movement. It's as if the Left thinks it has a monopoly on grassroots protests.
Comment Posted By Doug King On 12.09.2009 @ 13:40
THE GREAT COMMUNICATOR OR THE GREAT PREVARICATOR?
I liked it when Obama acknowledged we already pay a $1000 "hidden tax" each year to pay for someone else's care and that any government solution must require everyone (even the young and healthy) to obtain insurance. I also liked it when Obama promised to not to add one dime to the deficit.
I can't believe, however, that Obama can avoid increasing the deficit by spending $90 billion per year on health care, and that this amount will be recouped by reducing waste and fraud. (He also hinted he would shift funds away from Defense for this purpose.)
Obama extolled the virtues of Social Security, as if his health care program would do something wonderfully similar for Americans. If Social Security were financially solvent, he might have a point. But Social Security needs many trillions of dollars to meet future obligations. The tax burden on younger workers is growing unbearable as the population ages. If the government can't get it right on Social Security, how can we trust them on health care?
The President promised the middle class will not see higher taxes, but I don't believe it. There's just no other way to pay for this massive new program. No matter how you cut it, those who are already paying the "hidden tax" will now have to pay just as much (probably more) to the government for this program.
Comment Posted By Doug King On 10.09.2009 @ 22:59
MOVEMENT CONSERVATIVES vs. THE PRAGMATISTS: THE BATTLE IS JOINED
When differences arise, it's easier to lecture than to listen and compromise. If conservatives hope to influence the direction of government, they must somehow reconcile differences and present a positive agenda to the public. My fear is that Republicans would rather focus on regaining control than go through the hard work of finding essential principles worth fighting for. Right now, the two political parties act like the "Spy versus Spy" cartoons in Mad Magazine. They're so preoccupied destroying each other they've lost sight of their political mission, which isn't to govern but to govern well. The purist and pragmatist factions within the GOP may be headed down the same road.
I would love to see more civil discussion and debate within the GOP about the great issues such as health care, immigration, social security, and defense. One reason I value this blog is that I learn things from people who think differently than me. The GOP needs a balance between principle and Realpolitik. It will die if it does not recover that balance. And it has to start with RESPECT for each other.
Comment Posted By Doug King On 6.09.2009 @ 18:04
As a conservative, I will admit to reading and enjoying Buchanan's provocative views on occasion. I credit him as being one of the first to describe in 1992 the "culture war" between the political left and right.
But his view of Hitler and World War II makes no sense whatsoever. (If Hitler only wanted to reunite German speaking peoples, why did he invade Russia?) An ardent nationalist, Buchanan seems to be an isolationist and an admirer of the "America First" movement. That kind of thinking served America well up to about a hundred years ago.
Comment Posted By Doug King On 5.09.2009 @ 19:12
A PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION ON TORTURE WOULD SATISFY NO ONE
"But it [a Presidential commission] would ultimately fail to satisfy either side because its mandate would not be to score political points but to find some elusive 'truth.'"
Sad but true. It reminds me of some advice I once heard given to newly-weds: "You can either be right or you can have peace."
Personally, I think the investigation is a pure political move intended to rally Obama's base. And I think it will backfire in the long run. Time will tell.
Comment Posted By Doug King On 30.08.2009 @ 18:01
YOU COULDN'T PAY ME TO BE A DOCTOR
The sentiment: “Don’t spend my money to prolong or improve the quality of life of your 80-year-old grandma” is similar to, “Don’t spend my money to sustain or improve the quality of life of your able-bodied relatives on welfare.” It’s the same basic idea of withholding scarce public resources from unproductive consumers.
Comment Posted By Doug King On 23.08.2009 @ 15:50
