What a Real Opposition Party Would Do

 

This is great stuff. I won’t post the whole article, of course, because you need to give them the clicks. But, this is my favorite bit:

No excuses, no quarter. I don’t care if it’s difficult. It is the business of leaders to lead, not to hide or fiddle or pshaw away existential threats like all these while their cities and country burn. If Republicans can’t do difficult things for the sake of a country in peril, they don’t deserve to be in office.

This article sums up the difference between Never Trump and those of us who supported Trump. The Never Trump wing closet holds most of the elected officials. They don’t want to stop the Democrats at all.

I have long been done with listening to the people who give excuses instead of results when the Democrats do nothing but win.

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  1. BDB Inactive
    BDB
    @BDB

    Yup.  Much caterwauling about Republicans.  If you’re still upset, you must be new here.

    The Republican Party is worse than useless — it takes the place a decent party would occupy.

    • #1
  2. Mark Alexander Inactive
    Mark Alexander
    @MarkAlexander

    You need to make the link active.

    • #2
  3. 9thDistrictNeighbor Member
    9thDistrictNeighbor
    @9thDistrictNeighbor

    Refuse to vote for anything Democrats want, ever, unless Republican voters get something big that they want out of it.

    Fat chance.  Those Georgetown cocktail parties are surely maskless.

    Release a detailed plan for slashing and burning the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, and the rest of the federal Leviathan that Democrats are clearly weaponizing and will never stop at so long as they have any power.

    You mean Drain The Swamp?  Oh, that’s so divisive.

    Stop putting any and all party money behind RINOS. Let them get it themselves from big business and whoever is funding Liz Cheney and The Dispatch. Divert Republican Party resources to people Republican voters don’t hate.

    Will never happen and if it did it wouldn’t work.  Democrats have perfected the smear.  Look at Larry Elder.

    I love Joy Pullman, but the nation is swirling the drain.  I agree with her rant, but rants won’t fix anything.  We need a bull in the China shop…a fearless standard-bearer with an agenda to restore the nation to sanity.  Hmmm…someone to make America great again.  Who could that be?

     

    • #3
  4. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    https://thefederalist.com/2021/09/16/what-a-competent-republican-party-would-be-doing-about-democrats-tyranny/

    Bryan, often listing something in the post will fail to be a link.  Just Control C over it and create a Comment with a Control V.  I’ve had to do that myself often when a link doesn’t take in post, just copy and paste into a comment.  Gary

    • #4
  5. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    9thDistrictNeighbor (View Comment):

    We need a bull in the China shop…a fearless standard-bearer with an agenda to restore the nation to sanity. Hmmm…someone to make America great again. Who could that be?

    Those are good qualities, but it also must be someone who is truthful about reality and who can confront hard fact that they don’t like, namely that Trump, while running strong before the election fell short, and thus they are not one of the 147 Republican Senators or Representatives who voted to contest the election.  There still are a number of people that applies to: Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham, and Utah Senator Mike Lee.  But if someone cannot admit that Trump lost, then they will be unable to rally independents who require that a candidate be smart and honest.

    If asked “Who won the election?” any persons who say “Trump” are disqualified as intellectually not up to the job, while those who say “Biden” or “Unfortunately, Biden” are not be disqualified.  Rush used to say that he [Edit.] was the “Mayor of Realville.” We can’t promote any candidates who don’t live in “Realville” be they running for President, Senate, Congress, Governor, Secretary of State, State Attorney General, State Treasurer, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, State Mine Inspector, State Corporation Commission, State Senate, State House of Representatives, County Superior Court Judge, County Board of Supervisors, County Attorney, County Sheriff, County Recorder, County Assessor, County Treasurer, County Superintendent of Public Instruction, Mayor, City Council, School Board, or Justice of the Peace.

    • #5
  6. DonG (2+2=5. Say it!) Coolidge
    DonG (2+2=5. Say it!)
    @DonG

    9thDistrictNeighbor (View Comment):
    We need a bull in the China shop…a fearless standard-bearer with an agenda to restore the nation to sanity. 

    We need an entire herd of bulls…so many it is like a active political party!

    • #6
  7. BDB Inactive
    BDB
    @BDB

    “Realville”. And he was the Mayor.  

    • #7
  8. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    One of my favorite quotes from the article:

    “Republicans have to earn the majority, not just demand it as a de facto consequence of Democrats’ unfettered evil.”

    For too long, many Republicans got elected because they weren’t Democrats.  While that’s a valid reason to vote for a Republican, it’s not a very satisfying one.

    • #8
  9. JoelB Member
    JoelB
    @JoelB

    When Democrats are in the minority, or have lost the presidency, they are still attacking, probing for weaknesses, presenting proposals that they know will lose, but will keep their base activated. When the Republicans had their chance to deal with Obamacare, as many of them had promised, it seemed all we got was a shrug of the shoulders and an “I got nothing”.

    • #9
  10. Victor Tango Kilo Member
    Victor Tango Kilo
    @VtheK

    I’ve been kicking around some Republican slogans for 2022 and 2024. Tell me if they resonate.

    Vote Republican! Because the relentless drive toward globalist autocracy needs a light tap on the brakes once in a while.

    Vote Republican! The chance that we will impeach the next guy who tries to implement the policies we used to run on are like, 50/50 at best.

    Vote Republican! Because we won’t support the things Democrats support for another, like, maybe, five years.

    Vote Republican because… Pelosi? You guys still hate Pelosi, right?

     

    • #10
  11. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):
    reality

    If you want to stop Socialism and either manage or stop populism this is important.

    • #11
  12. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Victor Tango Kilo (View Comment):

    I’ve been kicking around some Republican slogans for 2022 and 2024. Tell me if they resonate.

    Vote Republican! Because the relentless drive toward globalist autocracy needs a light tap on the brakes once in a while.

    Vote Republican! The chance that we will impeach the next guy who tries to implement the policies we used to run on are like, 50/50 at best.

    Vote Republican! Because we won’t support the things Democrats support for another, like, maybe, five years.

    Vote Republican because… Pelosi? You guys still hate Pelosi, right?

     

    This is dead-on and very funny. 

    • #12
  13. Miffed White Male Member
    Miffed White Male
    @MiffedWhiteMale

    The fundamental problem with our government is we have a Legislature that refuses to Legislate.  They just pass generic bills that say “the executive will…”

    We haven’t even had a real budget since sometime in the Clinton Administration!

     

    • #13
  14. Lawst N. Thawt Inactive
    Lawst N. Thawt
    @LawstNThawt

    I have a dumb question so I’m going to endeavor to read the article and see if the question gains any intelligence. 

    • #14
  15. Lawst N. Thawt Inactive
    Lawst N. Thawt
    @LawstNThawt

    Lawst N. Thawt (View Comment):

    I have a dumb question so I’m going to endeavor to read the article and see if the question gains any intelligence.

    I really wanted to read it, but it exceeded my attention span.  Rather than ask a dumb question, I’ll add an observation that may be applicable. 

    We could use some leaders, but they should not be leading a fight in the legislature.  The fight is on the ground or better stated, at the dinner table and over a bourbon.  By design, legislators are not leaders of the people.  They are representatives.  We’ve gradually lost our representation, I think maybe because we’ve lost that tiny tidbit of info that the people are where the power is except;  a people that do not vote have no power and an uneducated people wield the power they have and use most poorly.   Education in this sense is simply correct knowledge about what makes everything work.  An educated people that wield their power will restore the country and nothing else will.  I could be completely wrong which is exactly why the power should come from the people as a whole, but it needs to be an educated people. 

     

    • #15
  16. Judge Mental Member
    Judge Mental
    @JudgeMental

    Lawst N. Thawt (View Comment):

    Lawst N. Thawt (View Comment):

    I have a dumb question so I’m going to endeavor to read the article and see if the question gains any intelligence.

    I really wanted to read it, but it exceeded my attention span. Rather than ask a dumb question, I’ll add an observation that may be applicable.

    We could use some leaders, but they should not be leading a fight in the legislature. The fight is on the ground or better stated, at the dinner table and over a bourbon. By design, legislators are not leaders of the people. They are representatives. We’ve gradually lost our representation, I think maybe because we’ve lost that tiny tidbit of info that the people are where the power is except; a people that do not vote have no power and an uneducated people wield the power they have and use most poorly. Education in this sense is simply correct knowledge about what makes everything work. An educated people that wield their power will restore the country and nothing else will. I could be completely wrong which is exactly why the power should come from the people as a whole, but it needs to be an educated people.

     

    I would say rather unindoctrinated.  Particularly given what education has come to mean.  Some of the dumbest people in our society are the ‘educated’.

    • #16
  17. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    The fundamental problem with our government is we have a Legislature that refuses to Legislate. They just pass generic bills that say “the executive will…”

    We haven’t even had a real budget since sometime in the Clinton Administration!

     

    Indeed. 

    I have said at POTUS, I would use my power over the Executive to kick that all back to Congress and tell them they must legislate. 

    And I am not signing anything that is not a budget. 

     

    • #17
  18. Mark Alexander Inactive
    Mark Alexander
    @MarkAlexander

    Bryan G. Stephens (View Comment):

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    The fundamental problem with our government is we have a Legislature that refuses to Legislate. They just pass generic bills that say “the executive will…”

    We haven’t even had a real budget since sometime in the Clinton Administration!

     

    Indeed.

    I have said at POTUS, I would use my power over the Executive to kick that all back to Congress and tell them they must legislate.

    And I am not signing anything that is not a budget.

     

    Legislating means taking a stand, which means risking losing the next election. Pres. Trump started kicking some back. But he probably just PO’ed Republicans for doing so. Likely scary for them to see a President not doing their job. 

    • #18
  19. Judge Mental Member
    Judge Mental
    @JudgeMental

    Bryan G. Stephens (View Comment):

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    The fundamental problem with our government is we have a Legislature that refuses to Legislate. They just pass generic bills that say “the executive will…”

    We haven’t even had a real budget since sometime in the Clinton Administration!

     

    Indeed.

    I have said at POTUS, I would use my power over the Executive to kick that all back to Congress and tell them they must legislate.

    And I am not signing anything that is not a budget.

     

    Highlights from my first address to Congress:

    I will veto any continuing resolution
    I will veto any omnibus bill
    I will veto any bill over 50 pages long
    I will veto any bill that covers more than one subject
    If a bill requires any enacting regulations, they had better be stapled to the bill when it gets to me or I will veto it

    You get the idea.  Make them pass the actual laws, make them consider issues one at a time, rather than the gigantic mutual scratchfests, and porkapaloozas.  In other words, do your [CoC] jobs.

    • #19
  20. Bob Thompson Member
    Bob Thompson
    @BobThompson

    Lawst N. Thawt (View Comment):

    Lawst N. Thawt (View Comment):

    I have a dumb question so I’m going to endeavor to read the article and see if the question gains any intelligence.

    I really wanted to read it, but it exceeded my attention span. Rather than ask a dumb question, I’ll add an observation that may be applicable.

    We could use some leaders, but they should not be leading a fight in the legislature. The fight is on the ground or better stated, at the dinner table and over a bourbon. By design, legislators are not leaders of the people. They are representatives. We’ve gradually lost our representation, I think maybe because we’ve lost that tiny tidbit of info that the people are where the power is except; a people that do not vote have no power and an uneducated people wield the power they have and use most poorly. Education in this sense is simply correct knowledge about what makes everything work. An educated people that wield their power will restore the country and nothing else will. I could be completely wrong which is exactly why the power should come from the people as a whole, but it needs to be an educated people.

    Here is the applicable quote from the article:

    “It has been clear since the Obama years that the left has abandoned the rule of law, constitutional norms, even the commitments to objective truth and open inquiry that are required for scientific pursuit and rational discourse.”

     This is part of our standing public education process and we need leaders who recognize this.

     

     

    • #20
  21. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    We are not a nation of laws, we are a nation of political will.  – Steve Deace 

    • #21
  22. DonG (2+2=5. Say it!) Coolidge
    DonG (2+2=5. Say it!)
    @DonG

    RufusRJones (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):
    reality

    If you want to stop Socialism and either manage or stop populism this is important.

    If “populism” is defined as “balancing out corporate fascism”, I’d like more populism, please.  In the real world, corporate fascism is the same thing as socialism. 

    • #22
  23. Bob Thompson Member
    Bob Thompson
    @BobThompson

    DonG (2+2=5. Say it!) (View Comment):

    RufusRJones (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):
    reality

    If you want to stop Socialism and either manage or stop populism this is important.

    If “populism” is defined as “balancing out corporate fascism”, I’d like more populism, please. In the real world, corporate fascism is the same thing as socialism.

    If your political representatives act just like bureaucrats or any other worker it means that, instead of representing the people in a principled way, they have a price at which they can be bought. That is how corporate fascism works. 

    • #23
  24. DonG (2+2=5. Say it!) Coolidge
    DonG (2+2=5. Say it!)
    @DonG

    I’d like the GOP to create its own science clearing house.   All the existing ones (FDA, CDC, WHO, AMA, IPCC,…) are run by commies and members of the GOP are defenseless against their propaganda.  If there was a solid and comprehensive scientific/technology clearing house for information, Members of the GOP could refer to their work and would not look like dumbstruck idiots in hearings and in interviews.  Alternative facts work very well.   Very few politicians can be subject matter experts like Rand Paul and a serious party would provide intellectual support for their members.

    • #24
  25. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    Judge Mental (View Comment):

    Bryan G. Stephens (View Comment):

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    The fundamental problem with our government is we have a Legislature that refuses to Legislate. They just pass generic bills that say “the executive will…”

    We haven’t even had a real budget since sometime in the Clinton Administration!

     

    Indeed.

    I have said at POTUS, I would use my power over the Executive to kick that all back to Congress and tell them they must legislate.

    And I am not signing anything that is not a budget.

     

    Highlights from my first address to Congress:

    I will veto any continuing resolution
    I will veto any omnibus bill
    I will veto any bill over 50 pages long
    I will veto any bill that covers more than one subject
    If a bill requires any enacting regulations, they had better be stapled to the bill when it gets to me or I will veto it

    You get the idea. Make them pass the actual laws, make them consider issues one at a time, rather than the gigantic mutual scratchfests, and porkapaloozas. In other words, do your [CoC] jobs.

    I am with you. 

     

    • #25
  26. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Bob Thompson (View Comment):

    DonG (2+2=5. Say it!) (View Comment):

    RufusRJones (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):
    reality

    If you want to stop Socialism and either manage or stop populism this is important.

    If “populism” is defined as “balancing out corporate fascism”, I’d like more populism, please. In the real world, corporate fascism is the same thing as socialism.

    If your political representatives act just like bureaucrats or any other worker it means that, instead of representing the people in a principled way, they have a price at which they can be bought. That is how corporate fascism works.

    I chose my words carefully. 

    • #26
  27. Bishop Wash Member
    Bishop Wash
    @BishopWash

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    The fundamental problem with our government is we have a Legislature that refuses to Legislate. They just pass generic bills that say “the executive will…”

    We haven’t even had a real budget since sometime in the Clinton Administration!

    It’s especially frustrating because the Legislative Branch holds a bit more power over the other two. My biggest takeaway from the Constitutionally Speaking podcast is their takedown of the co-equal branches line that I’ve heard my entire life.

    • #27
  28. James Salerno Inactive
    James Salerno
    @JamesSalerno

    I think most people do not understand the origins of the Republican party. It’s currently operating exactly how it was designed to. The Republican party was never conservative. There have been periods where conservatives attached themselves to the party, but those are few and far between. It has always been a party of finance capital and corporatism, a revamped version of Henry Clay’s American System. Democrats also do not hold an exclusive claim on progressivism. Some of the biggest unconstitutional abuses of freedom and liberty occurred under Republican administrations. 

    This is why I have problems with the term “RINO.” RINO’s are textbook Republicans. It’s the conservatives and the constitutionalists who support Republicans that are at odds with the party’s agenda.

    • #28
  29. Django Member
    Django
    @Django

    Victor Tango Kilo (View Comment):

    I’ve been kicking around some Republican slogans for 2022 and 2024. Tell me if they resonate.

    Vote Republican! Because the relentless drive toward globalist autocracy needs a light tap on the brakes once in a while.

    Vote Republican! The chance that we will impeach the next guy who tries to implement the policies we used to run on are like, 50/50 at best.

    Vote Republican! Because we won’t support the things Democrats support for another, like, maybe, five years.

    Vote Republican because… Pelosi? You guys still hate Pelosi, right?

     

    Vote Republican because … well … uh … we really like being in office. Just don’t give us a majority. 

    • #29
  30. Bob Thompson Member
    Bob Thompson
    @BobThompson

    Bishop Wash (View Comment):

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    The fundamental problem with our government is we have a Legislature that refuses to Legislate. They just pass generic bills that say “the executive will…”

    We haven’t even had a real budget since sometime in the Clinton Administration!

    It’s especially frustrating because the Legislative Branch holds a bit more power over the other two. My biggest takeaway from the Constitutionally Speaking podcast is their takedown of the co-equal branches line that I’ve heard my entire life.

    Senator Lee (Utah) has tried to address this prolonged congressional weakness with his Article One Project but not much has happened.

    • #30
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