Romney, Religion Rout Republicans

The aftermath from the Republican election defeat has been swift and stunning. Sean Hannity basically applied for a job at MSNBC, Rush Limbaugh joined Karl Rove in the bunker and Allen West is moments away from succeed from reality. Things look so bad for the GOP, people have, half-jokingly, suggested dropping "Old" from the name. Fairly or not, the Republicans have been branded the party of old white (men) people. Another, undeniable moniker is "God's Own Party". While the former visage is unfortunate, it is the latter that cost the GOP this and future elections.

In reality, yes, Republicans do tend to span the color spectrum from ivory and vanilla (there are notable exceptions). But the notion that they are a monolithic entity and operate with a hive mind is as ludicrous as the belief that all Democrats are gay socialist welfare queens. Yet Republicans have let our party's vocal God Squad dictate our platform. It has been a message of division and apparent callousness. Which is surprising. Earlier Christians learned that you catch more flies with honey than you do with smitings. What else can explain the need for the far more cuddly New Testament?

Faith can be a powerful thing. It can motivate us to endure the unfathomable or achieve the superhuman. Unfortunately, faith is just as divisive as politics. So, why then, does the GOP feel it is smart to further divide the potential pool of voters with fire and brimstone? Some people already understand this.

The faith which permeated the party led to the sideshow of potential candidates, each one slightly more off-puttingly bizarre than the other. Faith ultimately settled on a candidate that not only was the member of a sect labeled as cult, but was seen by many as the poster child of the practices that brought about the financial crisis. Faith certainly defeated several house candidates. Faith led the faithful to believe that numbers, polls and math were skewed. Faith assured a GOP victory.

The problem with faith is that it is unassailable and unquestionable. Conversely logic is built upon answering questions. People like Nate Silver knew the outcome of the election, not because of faith or belief, but because they ran the numbers as they were, not as they believed they should be.

Our party would be well served to cater to those who see the world for what it is, rather than what they wished it was. All is not lost - yet. There are people within the GOP that get reality.

Republicans, this is our come to Jesus moment and it is totally beyond belief.

New Year Looks No Less Dysfunctional Than The Old

Ring out the new, ring in the old. No, hang on, that should be the other way around, shouldn't it?

Not as far as 2011 was concerned. The year began with a tea-powered Republican caucus taking control of the House of Representatives and pledging to rein in spendaholic government. It ended with President Obama making a pro forma request for a mere $1.2 trillion increase in the debt ceiling. This will raise government debt to $16.4 trillion — a new world record! If only until he demands the next debt-ceiling increase in three months' time.

At the end of 2011, America, like much of the rest of the western world, has dug deeper into a cocoon of denial. Tens of millions of Americans remain unaware that this nation is broke — broker than any nation has ever been.

A few days before Christmas, we sailed across the psychological Rubicon and joined the club of nations whose government debt now exceeds their total GDP. It barely raised a murmur — and those who took the trouble to address the issue noted complacently that our 100% debt-to-GDP ratio is a mere two-thirds of Greece's. Mark Steyn - Investors.com - Click To Read More...

Budget Deadlock Is Good News For Republicans

If the super committee fails to agree on a budget plan, the combination of the reduction in spending already made would reduce 2013 spending by $110 billion.

Across-the-board cuts are clearly inferior to rationally setting priorities, but they are not debilitating. While a sequester would not be the end of the world. When Congress passed the Budget Control Act setting up the sequester process, it also repealed the expiration dates in Gramm-Rudman, bringing back to life provisions enabling the president and Congress to propose alternatives after the sequester is ordered.

The resulting empowerment of these actions for a new Republican Congress and president would be profound. Rather than having to first adopt a budget, delaying real action until the summer or fall of 2013, a new Republican Congress could de-fund ObamaCare immediately and begin to reform entitlements for a year during which they could adopt a budget and use reconciliation to make these and other reforms permanent with a simple majority vote.

In his effort to put off the difficult decisions of governing until after the election, President Obama has made it possible for a new Republican Congress and a new Republican president, not tied to the mistakes of the past, to begin the repeal of ObamaCare and restore fiscal sanity the moment the new president's hand comes off the Bible on Jan. 20, 2013.

Landslide Ahead? Gallup Stunner!

The masters of the paywall over at the Wallstreet Journal have published what could be a wild prognostication.

It seems that the alchemists pollsters over at Gallup have whipped up a new poll for the impending midterm elections. It is based on a "low turn out model", which is different from their usual "likely" voter poll.

In this poll, Republicans are seen as having a 56% to 38% advantage over the Democrats, a margin they have never enjoyed in any Gallup survey.

Ruh-Roh....

Congratulations Mr. Simon. The Wire was awesome.

Bashing Bush and Boehner Won’t Work

In Friday’s dreary news conference, Obama acknowledged that economic progress is “painfully slow,” and that voters may blame him for the economy. 

“Millionaires and billionaires” has become Obama’s favorite phrase as he calls for tax hikes on the wealthy and renews his attacks on Bush. In Cleveland last week, Obama actually blamed the Bush tax cuts for the financial meltdown and severe recession. Now that’s a reach. A big reach.  Larry Kudlow - Read Full Article

Obamaonomics is the real problem.  Don't miss Larry Kudlow's "12 Steps to Prosperity" on CNBC. - DSMW

Obama isn't radical. His party is.

Obama has aroused determined GOP opposition not because he seeks to lead the nation in unexplored and perilous new directions, but because he seeks to restore the misguided welfare state priorities that characterized his party, and failed, for decades.

Michael Medved - USAToday

DSMW - "Classical liberalism" defends freedom.  'Social Liberalism" decrees that we must sacrifice freedom and treat certain groups of people differently to achieve social justice. Sound familiar?

Partisan stimulus poisoned the well

 The Republicans were sufficiently appalled by both the substance and the process of the stimulus that they united against it, as did the public. The pork, fake ZIP codes and spending on items never intended to stimulate the economy fueled the migration of independents from Obama and set the tone for his first year.

Once again Jonah Goldberg has it right

Marco's Million-Dollar Mo

By Larry Thornberry

TAMPA -- OK, Charlie doesn't have to declare a mayday yet. But it's probably time for him to start worrying. Mr. Inevitable is beginning to look like just another Senate candidate. A candidate fully capable of blowing a large lead by next August.

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GOP Soul Check

By Larry Thornberry on 9.30.09 
TAMPA -- Conservative Marco Rubio enjoyed a good September in his race against popular, liberal Florida Governor Charlie Crist for the 2010 Republican nomination for the Florida U.S. Senate recently vacated by Mel Martinez.

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Republican Establishment Strikes Again

By Larry Thornberry

This column first appeared in the American Spectator, May 19th, 2009

TAMPA-- Ronald Reagan taught Republicans some priceless lessons on how to succeed politically. Lessons about both ideology and style. The old cowpoke showed us how to solve some of the nation's problems with conservative principles and policies, and did it in a cheery, upbeat way that left voters happy and confident about America.

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