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Trading Their Birthright For An Obama Phone
Calm isn’t quite the right word. Peace? Yes, I’m at peace. The people were presented with two diametrically opposed philosophies. To employ a sports phrase, our side, “left it all on the field.” We highlighted the plans, failures, illegalities, and abuses of the statist. Where the major media failed, we stepped in. We countered utopian platitudes with facts, and answered entitlements with opportunity. After hundreds of columns, endless hours writing and researching when I should have been resting to meet the demands of life on the road, countless conversations with friends and family, and a multitude of prayers for my country, there was nothing left, save for the people to decide. And they did.
Mitt Romney is a sterling man who loves our country. I have no ill words or thoughts for him, and no Monday morning quarterbacking. He made the best calls he could while in the arena, under the white hot lights of scrutiny from friend and foe alike. He didn’t need the stress, the hassle, or the expense of running for office and could have easily retired and waved at the world as it passed by. But he put a personal stake in the future of America, and for that I am grateful. But he was outnumbered. We all were outnumbered.
My mistake, and the mistake of a great many of us on the right, was to think that a majority of Americans still believed in the country as it was founded. They don’t. The sacrifices of men at Valley Forge, on the beach at Normandy, or landing at Inchon, were all washed away on election day, leaving only the stark warning of Benjamin Franklin that, “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.”
They will get their masters. On the night of the election, a young man wearing a mask walked into a convenience store in Warren, Ohio, pointed a gun at a customer and robbed him before pointing the gun at the clerk and admonishing him to,”Vote for Obama.” These are the people who carried the election. Meanwhile, in Detroit, eight-time convicted felon and lifelong Democrat Brian Banks was elected as State Representative for the 1st District. Good. He’s a credit to the constituency that elected him. May they all enjoy the hell they have created.
As the days and weeks pass, we on the right will examine what happened and be told what should be done next. Some have suggested we change our messaging, on immigration for example, hinting (though not coming out and saying) that an insistence on securing the nation’s borders, or a resistance to rewarding the breaking of our laws, alienates the Hispanic vote. Let them put action to words then, and move to the border towns I travel to, and sleep with the doors as unsecured as the border. For we already have a pretty good idea what happens when we suggest watered down liberal ideas and policies, don’t we?
We suggest amnesty and they offer in-state tuition. We offer in-state tuition and they offer free education. On social issues, it’s the same. It was demanded that we give public approbation to private behaviors, and when we try to accommodate those demands, the demands only increase. Hence, the progression from civil unions to same-sex marriage, which progression will not stop, I suppose, until people start marrying aardvarks. We now have a majority of people who vote their biological plumbing, and on the basis of which party can produce the niftiest incarnation of Santa Claus. We can’t out-liberal the liberals.
So what to do? For me, there are two answers, one intimate and the other public. On an intimate level, to people I know personally who supported this man, my message is simple: good luck. In the words, of Samuel Adams, I will not seek, “… your counsel or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.” May you enjoy your rendezvous with the government functionary who will weigh your age and health against the expense of whatever medical procedure you will need. You earned it. But my children and grandchildren didn’t earn it, yet you’ve foisted that awful and ghastly fate on them as well. For that, you have my undying contempt.
On a public level, recognizing with shame that it is my generation that has consigned a great country to darkness and servitude, I can only continue the fight. At some point, events will run their course. The currency will be devalued into meaninglessness by repeated mass printings, the debt will be called, the loot which the takers now demand will dry up, and the country will implode. Perhaps out of the ashes, a few voices will be heard reminding all that it didn’t have to be like this. It is my hope that Ricochet will be among those voices, and that mine will be among yours.
Though this generation is lost, the fight continues for the next, or the one after that. As long as I have a voice, I will be using it to remind everyone that it didn’t have to be this way. Recalling Winston Churchill’s remark that, “I like a man who grins when he fights,” I look forward to engaging along side the rest of you. And as my friend Alphonse says, “May God bless da hell outta you.”
Published in General
That Sam Adams quote is awesome and he brews some good beer too. :) The mob has gotten big enough and figured it out they can vote freebies for themselves by eating the seed corn. The generations who will suffer don’t care because they get their soma and unlimited sex without consequences.
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Oh there will be consequences (but no acceptance of responsibility).
Thanks again for being with us, Dave. This one had a special grace, I think. And a special thanks to Alphonse, whose words are more needed now than over.
Outstanding post Dave. Couldn’t have said it better. This is the first time I am actually scared and embittered after an election.
You’ve said it about as well as it can be said. Huge Like!
A hearty AMEN from this quarter, Dave.
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Disagree. The generations who will suffer most, aren’t old enough to know that there was anything different. They will hear stories of when you could chose your own healthcare. Tall tales of years gone past when the debt was “only in the trillions.” Those that will suffer most, won’t know that they’re suffering.
This perfectly sums up my feelings, Dave. Sad to say, I agree.
I don’t think there will be enough left of America for future generations to restore, though. Sometimes it’s just too late. Sic transit.
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Disagree. The generations who will suffer most, aren’t old enough to know that there was anything different. They will hear stories of when you could chose your own healthcare. Tall tales of years gone past when the debt was “only in the trillions”. Those that will suffer most, won’t know that they’re suffering. ·0 minutes ago
But at some point, they will rise up. It’s the cycle of things. And when they do, perhaps a few obscure writings and ideas will survive from the era of freedom to guide the way.
Dave, it’s a pleasure and an honor to know you. When the chaos breaks, your integrity, honor, and courage will be worth more than you imagine. Seek out and find others like yourself. Forge relationships with people you can trust. There is always The Remnant to fall back on.
Thank you for being a citizen leader. We’re young folks around here, and appreciate your wisdom. –Joy
“Do not blame Caesar, blame the people of Rome who have so enthusiastically acclaimed and adored him and rejoiced in their loss of freedom and danced in his path and gave him triumphal processions. Blame the people who hail him when he speaks in the Forum of the ‘new, wonderful, good society’ which shall now be Rome’s, interpreted to mean: more money, more ease, more security, more living fatly at the expense of the industrious.” —
Marcus Tullius Cicero
Our fellow Americans may be fools, but they’re our fools and our flock.
I’m glad to hear Alphonse is up for this fight. Not the first time we’ve had to do this, nor is it likely the last.
My mistake, and the mistake of a great many of us on the right, was to think that a majority of Americans still believed in the country as it was founded. They don’t.
Too many good quotes, Dave. Just picked one at random. I think that this is the gist of it, for me at least. Give me liberty vs. give me free stuff. Yes, I know “free stuff” is a dog whistle. Yes, I know that people on the right get free stuff. Yes, I now that Ayn Rand cashed the Social Security checks. Yes, I know that Ronald Reagan and William F. Buckley Jr. had worse odds in their day. I just get the feeling that we have now rounded the corner in a way that is not easily reversed and all of those predictions of Franklin, et al, ad nauseum, have finally really come true. Many others are wondering the same thing today at http://www.ricochet.com and elsewhere.
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Disagree. The generations who will suffer most, aren’t old enough to know that there was anything different. They will hear stories of when you could chose your own healthcare. Tall tales of years gone past when the debt was “only in the trillions”. Those that will suffer most, won’t know that they’re suffering. ·0 minutes ago
But at some point, they will rise up. It’s the cycle of things. And when they do, perhaps a few obscure writings and ideas will survive from the era of freedom to guide the way. ·9 minutes ago
And I owe you a fine dinner, fine scotch, fine cigar and some PG Wodehouse. Let’s make it sooner rather than later. Before they haul us both off to the re-education camps.
Look on the bright side everyone: Gorbachev has a new job behind a new paywall.
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Disagree. The generations who will suffer most, aren’t old enough to know that there was anything different. They will hear stories of when you could chose your own healthcare. Tall tales of years gone past when the debt was “only in the trillions”. Those that will suffer most, won’t know that they’re suffering. ·0 minutes ago
But at some point, they will rise up. It’s the cycle of things. And when they do, perhaps a few obscure writings and ideas will survive from the era of freedom to guide the way. ·9 minutes ago
And I owe you a fine dinner, fine scotch, fine cigar and some PG Wodehouse. Let’s make it sooner rather than later. Before they haul us both off to the re-education camps. ·9 minutes ago
Done. I’ll figure out how to get closer to the border.
You’re a good man, I hope you stay happy and keep writing.
Dave,
Your eloquence is…well, typical. Thank you. I have never before felt such despair about the fate of my country. I also made the mistake of believing that the public just needed more knowledge to make the right decision. How could they possibly choose more of the same? Well, they did. It is beyond comprehension that we have fallen so far.
Thank you, also, for not doing the finger pointing anywhere but where it squarely belongs. I just can’t stand to listen to the attacks on Romney, Ryan, the GOP establishment, the social-conservatives, the right-wing media, et al. At least half of the people of this country have no idea or concept of the ideals upon which it was founded. Fortunately, a good portion–nearly half, perhaps–do. Any many of the most articulate hang out here at Ricochet.
Dave, your writing always has a way of capturing how I feel. Thanks for another great post.
Dave — You leave out the conundrum of the Republicans/Conservatives that failed to show up. You say we left it all on the table, but that does not seem quite right. Some number among us stayed home and pouted, or could not be bothered, or were not sufficiently engaged. Obama voters stayed home this round which is understandable. But McCain voters stayed home as well, and that is harder to explain.
Marcus Tullius Cicero ·0 minutes ago
Great quote, but probably fake.
I’m feeling a bit Menckenish today. – “Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.”
I believe they pushed the numbers in the Member Feed and the drop was explained by the actuarial tables:
Conservatives died of old age, and there was no one coming up the pipe to replace them.
Marcus Tullius Cicero ·0 minutes ago
Great quote, but probably fake. ·3 minutes ago
More than likely, but I covered myself by linking to an outside source. Then, I can throw them under the bus when I go full Benghazi.
Well said, Dave. Safe travels.
Good piece Dave. Sums up my feeling.
To America: Sic trans gloria mundi.
My thoughts exactly, Mr. Carter, and my mistake also. I believed the American people just wanted a safety net. They don’t; they want a big ol’ bouncy house where they can play, play, play all day in the summer sun. They want Mommy standing by with chocolate chip cookies and juice boxes, and band-aids and kisses if they bounce too hard and get a boo-boo.
The infantilization of the people is complete. I have never before felt anything but pride in being an American. Today, I am deeply ashamed.
I’m afraid Brother Rob is wrong: the problem is not in the messaging. Arguing harder and talking longer will not halt this sickening descent into servitude. The people are not interested in the facts. They want what they want, they voted for it, and now they await delivery of their goodies.
I’m with you right up until “the fight continues”. It doesn’t. It’s over. We lost.
Some have suggested we change our messaging, on immigration for example, hinting (though not coming out and saying) that an insistence on securing the nation’s borders, or a resistance to rewarding the breaking of our laws, alienates the Hispanic vote. Let them put action to words then, and move to the border towns I travel to, and sleep with the doors as unsecured as the border.
Or better yet, let them move to a border town like Laredo, Texas, where I was born and raised, and where I have personally experienced the hell of seeing my home – where multiple generations of my family have lived – turned into a war zone.
Somehow, I doubt they’ll be taking me up on that offer.
Mitt Romney is a sterling man who loves our country. I have no ill words or thoughts for him, and no Monday morning quarterbacking. He made the best calls he could while in the arena, under the white hot lights of scrutiny from friend and foe alike. He didn’t need the stress, the hassle, or the expense of running for office and could have easily retired and waved at the world as it passed by. But he put a personal stake in the future of America, and for that I am grateful. But he was outnumbered. We all were outnumbered.
My mistake, and the mistake of a great many of us on the right, was to think that a majority of Americans still believed in the country as it was founded. They don’t.
Dave: Thanks for expressing the arguments I no longer have the energy or enthusiasm to make. I think it’s time to move on and focus entirely upon defending one’s personal interests. Period. Every man for himself.
After all, as you know so well, defense wins games.
More here. The fight is not over: its just beginning.