Self Respect vs Being Liked, A Tale of Two Parties

According to Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, 

“If we want people to like us, we have to like them first.”

I’m embarrassed. I must admit…this entire time I thought the goal was to lead responsibly. What a forehead-slapper. I suddenly feel so stupid. Forget balancing the budget or reining in spending. Open up a Twitter account and go on Late Night with David Letterman (sound familiar), and while the world’s problems won’t get solved…or even better…at least people like you.

Ah, that’s better. “They like me. They really, really like me.”

Exactly who is Jindal trying to make like him, and why would that require that he affirm Democratic propaganda that “Republicans are racist and hateful?” Way to go, Bobby, I think I’ll stick with the politically incorrect, yet painfully honest Mitt Romney, thank you. At least with him I can lose telling the truth and standing proud rather than lying (hint, play on words) on my back with no dignity left.

Former Commerce Secretary CarlosGutierrez has a more viable plan: direct appeasement. Since the Libs and their media cohort are going to corner (read as demonize) Republicans on illegal immigration anyway, if Republicans make it seem like acquiescence was voluntary, they might win some votes. Three cheers for “comprehensive immigration failur…reform” which includes amnesty. Hip-hip, hooray! Hip-hip, hooray! (Imagine the third one in Spanish.)

Pardon me if I don’t share Gutierrez’s confidence that all those entitlement-eligible voters are going to flock to the Republican ranks, but at least they will like Republicans

So, I get the making-people-like-you angle. After all, Barack Obama was an utter failure but because folks liked him (thank you mainstream media), they just overlooked his many, many, many shortcomings..for four years…wait, eight years. But why does “liking” people mean we have to lie to them or accept the lies they tell or believe about us? I’m pretty sure that’s a sign of low self-esteem.

While Jindal actually played right into Democratic propaganda (in his defense, it’s kind of hard not to, there’s a lot of it out there), he was actually stating a very basic and unfortunate truth: in our country, the liberal media will turn every Republican word to hatred, so you have to watch everything you say….even if it is the truth.

What’s that? Obama’s platform relies on anger? RACISM!

What’s that? We want to uphold the integrity of our system by verifying voter eligibility? RACISM!

What’s that? We didn’t know about the economy or Benghazi? FOUR MORE YEARS (...of someone else's fault)!

If you’re Barack Obama, the very words from your mouth and their intended meaning can be forgiven or just conveniently overlooked, because the media likes you. If you’re Barack Obama, you can campaign to be given a job, and then hold someone else responsible for failing to do your job…four years later, because the media likes you. If you’re Barack Obama, you can buy votes with divisive vitriol and be called a unifier, you can sell out another nation and be called its ally, you can surrender on two wars and be called commander-in-chief, you can sway in the direction of the wind and be called a leader, and you can have only Liberal accomplishments and causes under your belt and still be called “moderate”… because the media likes you.

Heck if you’re Barack Obam you can be born in another cou….um….let’s just leave that one alone. (For anyone reading, that’s not called conspiracy….it’s called humor…and freedom of speech; and there’s plenty more where that came from, so stick around.)

Seriously, Jindal makes a great point: if the media likes you, the public likes you. Then, nothing else matters. Get liked, and get elected. If the media doesn’t like you…aw crap.

Republicans lost because they weren’t liked by the media, and the media was willing and able to support Obama by steering the vote away from issues, accountability, international policy, and other pesky presidential stuff and make it about who the media…I mean, voters personally liked more…and…who could bring in the largest number of unconcerned voters. “Since you’re not using your vote, can I use it?” (congrats Obama).

So, the real question isn’t how do you get voters to like you; but if you can’t get the media to like you, how do you get voters to step outside the popularity contest, consider the merits of your position, and vote independently on issues regardless of party or media?

Great question, if I don’t say so myself. Romney and Ryan tried it and were doing well at it when Obama and his media supporters made a full court press to inject the emotional social issues and distract from things like the economy, Benghazi, and all four years of Obama’s presidency. And whaddayaknow, it worked. Yay!

…wait….bummer.

If focusing on the issues won’t get the job done, I hear trading vodka or cigarettes for votes works really well…ahem…or Republicans could try loading their policy up with entitlements that the voters won’t immediately have to pay for (at least not the targeted voters). Of course that won’t work unless it’s used in concert with a “they hate you” message, but you’ll need the mainstream media to back you. I think we’re onto something. This could fundamentally change the face of politics in Amer…wait….so true, and so ironically not funny.

Here’s an angle, Bobby. Don’t make popularity your goal; aim for respect…self-respect. Stop apologizing, shoot straight, and sleep soundly knowing you stood your ground and told it how it is. Compromise on opinions not principles, and stand firm until the end if need be.

You don’t have to agree with Romney’s decision to make the statement of fact, but if the only way you can stay in power is if the facts are colored or denied...

...you’re Obama, and the media likes you.

Who needs what change?

In a USA Today article titled "Black vote up for grabs in 2016 if GOP adapts," DeWayne Wickham quotes NAACP President Ben Jealous:

“The status quo, minus Obama, could be a disaster for Democrats in 2016.”

 Well, that’s refreshing.

Wickham goes on to interpret Jealous’s statement:

“In other words, without Obama at the head of the ticket, Republicans will have an opening to get a larger share of the black vote if they commit to a targeted effort to solve the problems that disproportionately afflict blacks.”

Of course, that’s not what Jealous’s statement says. Jealous implies that black voters recognize that the status quo is unsatisfactory, but voted in favor of “unsatisfactory” on behalf of Obama; however, they will allegedly draw the line once Obama is gone.

Furthermore, what problems are Wickham referring to: the rash of single mothers and fatherless children, violence in black communities and black on black crime, lack of proactive effort and reliance on outside forces (Democratic leaders) for internal problems, what? How are Republicans going to solve those issues for the black community?

Jealous has also been quoted saying the Democratic party 

“must quickly figure out how to motivate [black] voters who – if Obama is not at the top of the ticket – simply go away.”

Jim Galloway elaborates on this in the Atlanta Journal-Constituion:

“Republicans…must find a way to appeal to a significant number of black voters…”

“When it comes to issues such as civil rights and equality, 87 percent of African-Americans polled declared that GOP concern was either “just talk,” or simply didn’t exist.”

Mr. Galloway, like Mr. Wickham, attempts to legitimize the position, and he similarly fails to recognize that Jealous is plainly indicating that the black Democrats that mustered to put Obama in the White House voted along racial and party lines, as Obama and his party knew they would, and once Obama is gone those voters are likely to just go home rather than entertain voting again, period.

It is an ugly reality, but reality nonetheless.

Wickham’s re-interpretation, like Galloway’s, reveals the propaganda message used to put black voters beyond Republican reach: only Democrats care and strive on behalf of blacks in the U.S. Of course, black voters don’t ask, and Democratic leaders don't tell how or why the two most revered, iconic political and historical champions of the black community (President Lincoln and Reverend King) were both Republican; or why Malcolm X loathed the Democratic party; or why the values of the Democratic party are wreaking havoc on black communities; or why the Democratic policies have yet to provide promised prosperity and the perception of equality they so vehemently deny their black constituents.

Allow me to reiterate that the President of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People admitted that black voters were solicited and mustered by their leaders to purposefully vote along racial and party lines for a recognized unsatisfactory status quo.

So, recap:

Democratic and black leaders point black voters in the direction of failure. Black voters pursue failure at the behest of Democratic and black leaders. Failure impacts black voters while entrenching Democratic and black leaders. Republicans get blamed for failure, further ingratiating black voters to Democratic and black leaders. Democratic and black leaders continue to “lead” black voters, and black voters continue to follow.

Yet, according to Wickham, Galloway, and black communities across the nation, it’s the Republicans that need to change.

It explains why black Americans voted so heavily for “change we can believe in”…twice (and it wasn't change at all).

Fair & Square?

Commenting about Barack Obama’s illogical upset victory, Paul Ryan said, "He won fair and square."

So, to have the main stream media firmly seated far left of center and campaigning for their preferred left-wing candidate is “fair and square?”

To buy votes through political payment policy is “fair and square?”

To depend on and strive for the masses to be misinformed is “fair and square?”

To undermine and sellout the integrity of the voting process for partisan gain is “fair and square?”

To shuffle hundreds of thousands of uninformed, ill-equipped voters willing to vote shamelessly along racial lines is “fair and square?”

To side-step accountability for four years and then use a biased media cohort to influence a government dependent electorate is “fair and square?”

To have little to no oversight of the impact of your own international policy and skirt the consequences for partisan political reasons is “fair and square?”

To fail in almost every respect and have your mainstream media backers distract voters with smoke and mirrors is “fair and square?”

For millions of people who do not contribute in the slightest to actually steer the ship while those who carry the lion’s share of the load are demonized is “fair and square?”

For the government to institutionally discriminate against a specific demographic of American citizenry on prejudicial grounds is “fair and square?”

To prioritize ideological beliefs above the national interests you swore to pursue is “fair and square?”

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There is no candidate in history so ill-recommended as Barack Obama, and four years of national decline proved it. There is no precedent to explain how such rank and obvious failure could be viewed so favorably as to induce allegedly informed voters to elect for more of the same. While inexplicable in almost every sense, Obama’s victory explains how free societies have been wooed to their own demise.

A professor once told me there are two sides to the political competition, and the media is the playing field, as well as the alleged referees. So, when the media is actually pulling for one candidate over another, who do you think will win?

I agree with Paul Ryan that, "[Obama] got more votes, and that’s the way our system works,” but let’s not kid ourselves.

There was nothing fair or square about it.

Twice Bitten

The most unsettling realization of the 2012 election is that Democratic political leaders knowingly used a complicit, biased media cohort to manipulate an uninformed, government dependent electorate to successfully put an inferior candidate in the highest office in the land as their ideological proxy…

…twice.

Many people will blame Republicans for not coming up with some sort of super candidate whose platform and persona are so commanding that no amount of propaganda can possibly convince any voter to choose another candidate. This is the equivalent of the Democratic voter base believing their elected leaders are serving the masses and will bring prosperity into the peoples’ perceived bleak lives…by simply taxing those greedy rich people. It’s exactly what the Democratic leaders want us to believe, because it will keep us from throwing back the veil and holding them accountable. Hence, after decades of undeterred party loyalty, many Democrats have yet to alter their situation in life, and the ones who have escaped their perceived “station” don’t have the slightest idea how they did it, or how to help others do it.

In case you logically suppose Democratic voters believe electing Democratic leaders is the key to success, I tested that one. I queried several Obama supporters about what they voted for: “Barack Obama.”

“No, that’s who you voted for. What was the central merit of his platform that motivated you to choose him?”

….

On one hand, I am relieved by the fact that many of Obama’s supporters are also unaware of any merits recommending him to the office of the President. It makes me realize I wasn’t blinded by bias, but I have logically and correctly concluded Obama was ineffective and undeserving of the office. On the other hand, it makes me want to pull my hair out in disgust because when Americans aren’t sitting at home too apathetic and complacent to exercise their right to vote, these imbeciles are casting their precious lot in the absence of rational thought or consideration beyond the immediate outcome.

As if they were watching some benign reality show, they emerge to get in on the latest trend, cast their vote based on hair styles, familiar fads, that cool one-liner, or some rumored injustice, simply to turn off their television and recede back into their materially and intellectually impoverished existence; unaffected by things like taxes, financial regulation, international policy, or national security.

(Forgive me, but has anyone ever supposed that this is the reason why so many of these folks have little opportunity or accomplishment in life, and it has nothing to do with Republicans?)

Then, like a bully sharing your lunch with you, drawing smiles from the teacher for his generosity and consideration, Obama graciously pledges to reach across the aisle to “work with both parties.” Oh, you mean like on Obamacare when you had the super majority and stuffed it down our throats? Pardon us, Mr. President (I think I just threw up in my mouth), but we’ve heard this one before, and unlike your constituents we aren’t falling for the same line twice.

Know What You're Voting For

Barack Obama’s entire presidency and ideology can be summed up in the fact that he championed the “right to health insurance.”

That right was translated immediately into an obligation to purchase health insurance. That obligation cannot be met by the lower socioeconomic masses, so the middle-class will inevitably bear that load. Only one group has the means to withstand the coming increases in costs and declines in benefits. I’ll give you a hint, Romney belongs to this elite group of individuals, along with Obama, and Pelosi.

Of course, though Romney, Obama, and Pelosi all have the means to escape the impact of the system, Obama and Pelosi ushered the system in, but only Romney will be held accountable for the system’s inadequacy.

You have a right to an attorney.

Actually the constitution says you have a right to due process and a fair trial, etc; however, the system has become so heavy laden with regulation and procedure that it is impossible for the common man to navigate the judicial arena, as is his right. So, the constitutional right as laid out by our forefathers has been whittled down to a cheap facsimile; you have a right to an attorney.

You have a right to an education.

No one can deny you an education, not even you. In fact, if anyone including yourself inhibits your attendance in school before the age of 18, there will be serious legal consequences. The right to an education has been transformed into a legal obligation. Beyond the age of 18, you are all but obligated to incur tens of thousands of dollars in debt only to end up in an economy growing only fast enough to score political points, or a government job.

So, similar to the right to health insurance, the right to an attorney and the right to an education are less rights, and more realistically legal obligations imposed by the state. Of course, while the state mandates that you spend a decade locked in academic institutions (instead of the work force) and that you use a legal middleman to pursue due process; the state is completely unable to guarantee equity in the mechanisms it has imposed. The result being that the quality of education and legal representation are in constant decline while the costs only increase, and only the wealthiest of Americans are able to cope.

Wow, déjà vu.

So, what do we do? Rather than change course, we simply cast off responsibility and blame, and we keep moving “Forward” toward inevitable failure, blaming the wealthy for being able to weather the inadequacies of our imposed system.

In case anyone thinks this is just a neat coincidence, let’s take one last look at the tax system.

We are obligated to pay our taxes, and the ever expanding government has little choice but to decrease the promised and even necessary benefits (social security, national defense, etc.) while the costs and spending continue to increase. The government absolutely needs more money to sustain the current model. That obligation cannot be met by the lower socioeconomic masses, so the middle-class will bear the load. Only one group has the means to weather the coming increases in costs and declines in benefits.

Sound familiar?

I’m not sure it’s socialism, but it is definitely not “The American Way,”

…and it damn sure ain’t “Forward.”

Real Change

Saturday, while stumping in Milwaukee, once again Obama promised an America where everyone gets a “fair shot.”

Wow, you mean an America where some random unqualified black guy could be President, even if he totally sucks and shouldn’t be President. Wait, isn’t that the country we already live in?

Unless I’m mistaken, Barack Obama is selling America something they already own. Worse yet, Obama is trying to sell America something he already sold them. (What does this tell you about America….and Obama?)

Here’s Obama (pot) calling Romney (kettle) black:

"In this campaign he's trying as hard as he can to repackage the same old ideas that didn't work, and offer them up as change."

One might mistake the above comment for an accusation against Obama, but while Obama is literally using the same old ideas, those ideas have never worked, he’s not repackaging anything, and he’s not offering it up as change. Obama is just saying “FORWARD” (read as Wishful Thinking & Status Quo).

Obama is like a bad GPS device that keeps reporting you’ve reached your destination. When you recalibrate, he just keeps directing you in the same direction, “Forward,” as if you’ll eventually just live with it and be like, “ok, sure…this is my destination.”

Oh wait, it’s not that the destination is bad; he just didn’t communicate it very well.

“FORWARD!”

Oh, that’s better.

I Hope we Change direction, because Forward just isn't getting the job done.