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The Unwashed Masses, or No Longer a Political Snob
I’ll admit it. When it came to assessing our citizens’ knowledge of the issues and policies in this country, I secretly believed that most of our population—including Republicans and Democrats—were clueless. I was a political snob. These people would rant and rave on Twitter (where they got most of their “news”), share their politically correct ideas on Facebook, and line up at the ballot box to vote for the party that they had chosen for generations. When politicians (especially Republicans) would say that we had a smart and informed populace, I would snort and roll my eyes. Tell me honestly—didn’t you do the same?
But now I have just a glimmer of hope that our citizens might, just might, be waking up. Not because they have read up on the issues; not because they are reading more than the drivel from the mainstream media; not because they have suddenly become enlightened. But because of one major change: their own direct experience.
It’s like this: I can tell you to stand right in front of me, and I’m going to slug you with a sledgehammer, but it will only hurt for an instant—which technically is true. But it’s the aftereffects—the pain when you crash to the floor and the agony that travels through your jaw and the horror of being taken to the hospital to wire your jaw shut, while you drink through a straw for months on end. But I didn’t bother to tell you that part.
You trusted me. And now you’re learning that all I shared with you was one big lie.
And in real life, you know that I lied because your direct experience is showing up on your credit card. Your direct experience is revealing empty shelves at the grocery store. The gas you need to fill up your truck’s tank is stolen from your vacation road fund. And everything you want to purchase is costing much, much more.
There are a number of questions that arise from the current situation: how bad will it get? Will the damage carry us through the mid-terms? Will Biden make any headway in blaming everyone and everything but the kitchen sink or Vladimir Putin or the oil refineries? Will people get even more curious to discover what else they haven’t been told? (Well, I can dream . . . )
Right now, people are angry at the party in power. They will want to get rid of as many of them as they can. But do they believe there are other Democrats that will serve them well? Or will they become convinced that they have to allow themselves to be completely transformed by a different agenda?
I’m not optimistic.
Republicans may have a chance to make a dent into the Democrat mindset if they can actually show that they are not clones of the Democrats and are prepared to take them in a completely different direction. They will have to convince all of us that the Democrats are not a party of “good faith,” but a party of misdirection and falsehoods. Are you listening John Cornyn?
I think that the time for compromise between Democrats and Republicans on any major issue is over for the foreseeable future. We have to educate our citizens that the Democrats will continue to mislead them and ignore them. The Democrat elite (and some of the Republicans, too) are operating from their own agenda, and we may have to vote for them in November, but they had better show their worthiness after that.
My message for Republicans: Don’t take anything for granted and stop pandering to the elite.
Your time in power may be short.
Published in Politics
You propose to ban the Republican party? (How else could you possibly replace it?)
The Republican party can die like the Democratic party for all I care. Republicans are like most other Conservitvate parties in the West. They are now the Socialist party with a small minority of classic liberals, standing against the communist liberal parties.
What I have found is most Republican voters are not Classic Liberals but traditionalists. They don’t like major changes.
Yes I will vote for them because voting is about picking the lesser of two evils. They are far better Administrators of the massive Burricrate state, and they care about Free Speech, at the state level are mostly Pro-Life and to some extent are pro-self-defense ( gun rights). They are not also anti-Pro School Choice. That is a big enough difference to vote for them. However, almost everything else related to Classic Liberal Idea they are against and are die-hard Socialist.
So, is it your recommendation that we follow Gary’s example and vote for a second term of Biden/Harris? If you are suggesting a Third Party, please remind us just when was the last time that strategy worked. Bull Moose?
I still like my idea of creating a committee/caucus across both parts of Congress and calling the group the New Conservative Caucus (or whatever we want to call it). If the House and Senate formed this kind of group, it could have enormous power and influence, especially if they stick to Conservative values and push back against their leadership. I’m not sure why this proposal isn’t getting more response.
I am suggesting a third party, yes. It’s long past time. We should have done it 10 years ago, but we might as well start now. Entice America-first Republicans to join in. We can build something amazing. Right now the fastest growing political party in America is “Independent.” The citizen class doesn’t want to be associated with either party. Let’s give them an alternative to the two useless parties that currently control the country.
Political Parties are not constitutionally proscribed. They are basically corporations.
I’m good with it. I didn’t respond, but it sounds good to me.
Thanks, Drew. It would just be a first stage to bring Conservatives together, and I think a lot of those Independents would be delighted to sign up at some point.
I like that idea, too. But why not call it the Tea Party caucus?
No euphemisms. Plus we need to start fresh.
Tea Party is a euphemism?
As for starting fresh, the savagery directed against it will be the same old, same old.
Actually, a caucus in each chamber that attracts Conservatives, with a name that can be a party label, is probably the best and easiest way to form a new party. Republican Conservative Caucus members could easily run as Republicans with the additional title of Conservative Party added on, until they can leave the legacy “Republican” off if they corporately choose.
It’s probably not completely fair to claim that GOPe colluded with liberals to harm the TEA party movement…but close enough.
There must be no more backstabbing.
The planks must be honored.
I seem to remember that there was also a Freedom Caucus, and that the GOPe didn’t treat it very well.
You’re right. But the Freedom Caucus couldn’t always get its act together, and their lack of consistency on positions made them an easy target. Mitch won’t like any group, but they have to stop the infighting.
BTW, by euphemism I meant a substitute for their true intention: fighting for Conservative ideas. Probably not my best description of Tea Party.
If Americans know little about the US and nothing about world they can be controlled. Americans get the major media and younger folks read the internet and not places like Ricochet. I did a quick glimpse of the news this morning and nothing anywhere about the yesterday’s communist electoral victory in Colombia, our best ally, and the most capitalist decentralized country in Latin America. Americans know only that drugs come from Colombia, don’t know why or anything else about it. The election was more honest in Colombia than it will be here, but not in the future. It’s over for Colombia. Here the next elections are likely to be stolen and if so it’ll be over for the US as well. Democrat electoral victory will take more stolen votes this time, but look at the last election, even important folks on our side say it wasn’t dishonest. We’re easy in part because we, including most Democrats, don’t understand what will happen should the Democrats win the next two elections.
I’m using your excellent post because you’re well read and I didn’t know where else to raise the Colombian election. It mattes, is relevant about the mood everywhere and we’re oblivious.
Thanks, IWalton. You remind us that our lack of education and information seriously limits our ability to make informed decisions when globalization is such a serious factor.
Yes, if a Trump-like candidate wins in 2024, the Democrats will only manufacture another 10 or 15 million votes, raising the registered voters to 165 or 170 million. How many votes will the American people need to see before they realize that the elections were rigged?
Yeahbut, a hallmark of conservatism is a lack of consistency. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. We’re a diverse group. The Democrats, being wannabe totalitarians, are the party of lockstep conformity, aka consistency.
We need to come up with some means of working with that.
The big failing of the Gingrich Revolution was when he told the other Republican congressmen to keep quiet and let him do the talking.
One thing that would help would be for “conservative” Republicans to stop preening for the media and stop making it their number one priority to find other conservatives to throw under the bus.
We need to start so fresh, that we shouldn’t even use the word “Conservative.” It’s been denuded of meaning by Conservatism, Inc. anyway.
I seem to recall that they helped the IRS target Tea Party groups.
No, we don’t need to start fresh. If we don’t know how to make the current GOP better, we don’t know how to start fresh, either. The Bolsheviks, Maoists and French Revolutionaries showed us all we need to know about starting fresh.
We need to not use “Tea Party” or “Conservative” because those words have baggage.
I pick “American.”
I know we’re just playing with ideas, but keep in mind that this is the kind of argument that could get Republicans sidetracked.
Wait a second. I agree that we Republicans don’t walk in lockstep, but aren’t we supposed to “conserve” unless something needs to be changed? As in Burke? Somehow “lack of consistency” doesn’t fit.
There is no such thing as traveling without baggage, unless, perhaps, you have an unlimited credit card and can buy everything you need anew each day.
Yes, but there will be disagreements about what we need to conserve and what needs to be changed. I would hope that one thing we could agree on is that not everything needs to be centralized and standardized.
I agree. I think it’s learning how to prioritize and keep, not just the immediate future in mind, but the long-term effects. It will mean to some extent putting egos aside. Yeah, Right.
The problem of ego getting in the way of the cause?
I’m hearing the gun legislation is stalling. Hope that is a good sign, and not a simple stall that allows for even worse wording of the legislation to be inserted.