Missouri and Medicare. The STUPID PARTY rides again
Many years ago, columnist George will coined the phrase “The Stupid Party” to describe the GOP establishment and its stupefying habit of taking a situation — tailor made for the party’s success — and turning it into a disaster.
The Stupid Party is back — and in rare form — this election season. We have a disaster as president who has made mincemeat of our economy, and wants four more years to complete his masterpiece. The GOP has a majority in the US House where it could be pushing free market reforms and presenting an alternative to President Barry’s agenda. But they have squandered the opportunity — jacking up federal spending, raising the federal debt ceiling, and actually OKAYING the initial funding of ObamaCare.
WHY OH WHY does the GOP believe it needs to fight its battles on the leftists’ terms? Why accept the “logic” and arguments put forth by Democrats?
We’ve got a presidential ticket this year that is ACTUALLY running ads talking about how great of a program Medicare is — and chastising President Barry for underfunding it. I have seen Romney-Ryan ads promising to keep the program in place and to “strengthen it for years to come.”
Medicare and other entitlements are choking the life out of our nation and its economy. If we keep going, national landmarks like the Statue of Liberty and Washington Monument will have to be auctioned off in a fire sale to pay our bills. You certainly don’t need to leave folks currently on Medicare hanging in limbo. But you can come up with suitable alternative that at least slows our slide into the abyss of bankruptcy.
The hubbub over the Missouri U.S. Senate race is quite disgusting. Granted, GOP nominee Todd Akin fell into the liberal media’s trap. Akin — a well known pro-lifer and social conservative — appeared on a low-rated local TV talk show and got interrogated on that vital election issue of abortion. After all, abortion IS what has put all of those people out of work and dropped our economy in the toilet.
I am a former print, radio and TV journalist who now advises people on how to handle the media. I know, from experience, that NOT EVERYONE is cut out to talk on television — especially live TV. Akin is apparently one of those people. The nominee tried to defend his no abortion under any circumstances position, and came off sounding terrible.
If I was advising the guy, I would have had SOME idea that he was going to get asked about abortion. I would have prepared him for that, or at least sent a trained surrogate to that show. I would have responded to the abortion cross-examination with something like this:
“Mr. Akin is unapologetically pro-life. Mr. Obama – when he was an Illinois state senator — argued passionately for giving doctors the right to KILL babies who survive abortions and exit the mother’s womb. Who’s the extremist here?
But abortion is not the number one issue this year. We’ve got record numbers of business failures and people losing their jobs. Obama and his sidekick Harry Reid are using their power in the Senate to kill off attempts to put people back to work. We need to replace Obama and Reid lapdogs like Claire McCaskill with people like Todd Akin — who has the right mindset on what it takes to get America working again.”
The outcry from the know-nothings in the DC establishment has been appalling. THIS is a decision for the people of Missouri. Sean Hannity — that wuss, taking a break from brown nosing Charlie Rangel and Al Sharpton — lectured Akin to get out of the race for the ”good of the party.” Screw the “good of the party.” It’s about what’s best for the people of Missouri and the United States.
The RNC and Karl Rove’s PAC have all pledged to cut off funding for Akin’s campaign. Is that what you call acting for “the good of the party”? You’re going to risk keeping that beast McCaskill on board for six more years to support MORE big spending and MORE ObamaCare?
National Review — which used to be a bastion of right wing antiestablishmentarianism — is now wetting itself and whining about the need for Akin to quit. Even our very own Richard Burr — a big ol’ John McCain-hugging, Lindsey Graham-cuddling waste of space in the U.S. Senate — is jumping on the anti-Akin bandwagon.
Radio host Laura Ingraham raised an interesting point about this on Twitter: Will dumping Akin further embolden the left? If the GOP establishment caves and gives the media and the political left what it wants — preservation of Senator McCaskill’s political career — what’s next?
Despite all of this uproar, two recent polls show Akin STILL leading the Democrat incumbent Claire McCaskill.
Look at all of the really stupid things leftists have said. The Dems don’t do to their people what the GOP is trying to do to Akin. Instead of wringing your hands about what the Dems MIGHT say about Todd Akin or Medicare, how about presenting an agenda for righting the American ship of state and throwing Barry overboard?
Some may try to blame Todd Akin if Romney fails to take The White House or if the GOP fails to take the U.S. Senate. If that happens, it will have more to do with the GOP failing to make a clear enough case to the American people that its agenda will change the culture in Washington and turn things around.
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Thank you so much! I just started my own personal blog last week & tried to tackle the mess the GOP has made with the Akin story. You’re articulation is far superior to mine & I hope that by sharing this there are people that can better understand my frustration with the GOP.
Akin is a piece of work. He is a social conservative but on everything else he is a lap puppy for Boehner and the beltway GOP establishment, and would be the same for McConnell who is even more of a surrender monkey than Boehner. Tea Party forces in that primary were behind the other two major candidates, Steelman and Brunner. Sarah Palin endorsed Steelman. Akin was supported by most of the establishment types and endorsed by The Huckster, establishment mouthpiece Mike Huckabee.
Liberal Democrat incumbent McCaskill also spent big bucks in the GOP primary running ads ”attacking” Akin in a way that would make him seem appealing to GOP primary voters. Akin is the one she wanted to run against, and with Huckabee’s help she pulled it off.
The PPP poll is heavily massaged to try to show Akin still ahead by 1% but is a partisan scam. RedState does a good job of demolishing that poll based on its demographics. PPP is a very partisan polling firm, and this is not the first time they have played poltical games with their results.
RedState is also one of the solid conservative voices telling Akin to get out. He was not ready for prime time and now is damaged goods. If he stays in, we probably lose the Senate.
The establishment thought that they could let Akin go his own way on social issues because he was a rubberstamp for the leadership on everything else, so they backed him in the primary. Now it has blown up in their face. We need a Tea Party candidate like Steelman or Brunner and we need the fool Akin to fall on his sword.
They’re only appear stupid if you believe they mean what they say. Old folks LOVE medicare and they’re the most reliable voting for the GOP. Shh! – please don’t tell them it’s a “big government” program.
Also, are you really surprised a wedge issue eventually backfired?
The Dem’s support the verbal misstatements of VP Biden. The Elephants like dumb sheep scatter at the sounds of a Media wolf’s howling. Obviously the TRUE conservatives are not supported by the elite when someone stubs their toe in public.
Romney could have done himself some good had he gathered himself some FACTS about the man, called him, and not rushed to judge Akin so unrighteously.
Obviously Romney is Afraid of a good fight. Not very Presidential. Akin appears to be a good person at the core. Making mistakes and having difficulties does not define a person unless they have no character and give in and give up. He has apologized and faced his mistake.
How can we help him? Boo to Romney.
Not saying Akin isn’t a good person. I AM saying he hurt his party greatly in an act of sheer stupidity, and for that alone, he needs to bow out. He wasn’t ambushed and he wasn’t tricked into saying what he said. I don’t agree that this is another of those times when we need to circle the wagons and failed to do so…Akin is a self-inflicted wound.
Akin gave in to Boehner and Cantor and supported stupid things like the McConnell-Reid-Boehner compromise that increased the debt ceiling and created the silly SuperCommittee and the sequestration problem. The key vote on that bill only passed by one vote. If Akin had voted conservative instead of caving in to the beltway establishment, the debt ceiling bill would have died. It is sellouts like that on many issues other than social issues that led the Tea Party organizations to support the other two candidates.
Outside of social issues, Akin is a pathetic beltway establishment lap puppy, and that is why the establishment supported him over the two Tea Party altenatives. If Akin went to the Senate, he would be a McConnell rubberstamp on leadership issues and on anythings outside social issues. Steelman and Brunner are solid Tea Party.
Akin is damaged goods. The PPP poll was manipulated to keep Akin in the race, which is what the Democrats want. PPP is a very partisan Democrat polling firm and has a history of manipulating polls. The much more reliable Rasmussen poll now has McCaskill 10 points ahead. Akin is a disaster for conservatives in many ways, and his stinking ego may leave the Democrats in control of the Senate.