Thanks
As we sit down to write this post, we can't help but be grateful for the liberals who read this blog. Their responses effectively highlight the difference between Republicans and Democrats--particularly regarding the War on Terror. They are either bored, think terrorism poses no threat, or speak condescendingly of our military--"why else would they fight if they weren't ignorant, dumb, or poor?"
We wholeheartedly reject this liberal mindset. Those who join the military are like everyone else. They evaluate their priorities and make a rational decision. If anything, what differentiates them from those who don't serve is a higher dose of patriotism. But that doesn't make them irrational. They elect to defend the country for the same reason some liberals live in trees--they truly believe in what they are doing.
We thank the men and women of the Armed Forces for their service to our country.
How about a Halloween scare?
Last week the New Jersey Supreme Court ordered their legislature to write legislation defining whether homsexual unions would be called marriages, unions, or whatever. At least they allowed the democratically elected representatives of the people of the state of New Jersey that much. They reserved for themselves the judicially activist position of mandating that the state officially recognize some sort of homosexual union.
We oppose judicial activism--legislating from the bench--in all its forms, and are opposed to homosexual marriage (we've written about it here, here, and here.) Congress exists to write legislation, the courts are to interpret (not broaden) the law--high school civics taught us that much. Unfortunately it has become the main venue for liberal activism largely because a majority of Americans don't agree with their positions and wont allow such liberal ideas to pass democratically. Rather than persuade, liberals file a lawsuit--the environment, abortion and same-sex marriage are all examples.
And we agree with the inevitable liberal chorus who will scream that this isn't the most important issue of this election, we won't, however, agree that it is not an issue at all. Thanks to the liberals on the New Jersey Supreme Court, this has become a current issue for those elements of the Republican party who care about marriage. Seriously, Republicans couldn't have asked for a better rallying cry than the one offered up by the activist New Jersey judges. William F. Buckley Jr. and Stanley Kurtz have both written good articles about this topic.
Off year elections always depend on turnout. Though most prognosticators predict a Democrat takeover of the House and maybe the Senate, all of the races are very close. So close, in fact, that an issue like same-sex marriage might be just enough to mobilize otherwise apathetic Evangelical Christians and tip the balance of the election in Republicans' favor.
We hoped conservatives would vote Republican because they were afraid that if elected, Democrats would appease terrorists from Baghdad to Pyonyang. If that's not enough of a motivator, perhaps the threat of homosexual marriage by judicial fiat is.
4 comments:
Jake, I think you are reading too much into that sarcastic comment I made in jest- so much so that you felt it highlighted the differences between Democrats and Republicans! Ha ha! Let me know how the view is from that black and white box you live in. Or is it a red and blue box?
If I had to pick one of your classifications - 1)bored 2)think terrorism poses no threat or 3) condescending to the military, I think I would have to choose bored, otherwise why would I spend my time writing about a mentally retarded wannabe soldier who reads your blog for voter advice?
No threat? Sure terrorism is a threat. It's just that Republicans have dropped the ball in handling the problem. Our own intelligence estimates conclude that this war is making the world less stable and Americans less safe. Afghanistan is back to pre-war levels of violence and the Taliban is regrouping. Iraq is such a mess and Americans are jumping ship- not because we are weak pussies that lack the will, but because we realized we were being lead by a weak pussy that lacked the competence to manage such a large task. Okay, that was the angry explanation. The real reason is that after so many lies and broken assurances, even the gullible jackass man on the street will get wise. Guess what Jake? America is getting wise, and you can sing the song of the dinosaur as long as you want, but a quick review of your own writings on the justification for war would prove you wrong then, and even more wrong now. Don't try and pass your (and others') ideological failure off onto the "lack of will" of the American public. Have you no shame?
Criticism of the Soldiers- The Cletus character was more to make fun of anyone who might possibly be influenced by your attempt at persuasion, and wasn't meant to be a characterization of the average soldier. (After all, Cletus had been denied entry into the military until they recently started accepting lower test scores.) The irony was supposed to be that Cletus votes against his own self interest because of misleading fear tactics. Cletus is also the type of guy who would give up personal freedoms, accept a weaker constitution, and mindlessly follow rather than deal with the fear of terrorism that causes him to crap his pants. It’s not the soldiers I feel contempt for; it’s the leadership that abused them.
If anything I feel compassion for the members of the military. Many of them are passionate, dedicated and good people who were used incorrectly. The sad thing is that after the deaths, the amputations, the psychological damage and the family strains, these people have the least to gain from the war in Iraq. After all, these aren't men whose parents could send them to an elite school in England. And the man studying in England shouldn't despise his opportunities; he should just realize that his comments about sacrifice and the lack of will to see the war to the end come across as being hollow.
Good job though at throwing the gay marriage bone into the mix. Next episode: Cletus votes for the party that would send him to war, but he feels just fine about it knowing that “them homos” won’t be threatening the sanctity of marriage.
One day I hope my grandchildren laugh at the idiots who ran things for a while during this decade.
Looks like this was a timely discussion- what with John Kerry and George Bush sparing over Kerry's comment about education and getting stuck in Iraq. You should have plenty of articles to cite from conservative pundits who want to characterize liberals as condescending to the troops.
Jake, is this the condescension you're referring to?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLuMWiQ6r2o&mode=related&search=
Yes Jake, give us a fair and balanced assessment of John Kerry's statement. Was he being condescending to the troops, or to Bush?
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