The Elephant In the Room

As much as I like ripping into Leftists, there are times when I have to take the Right out to the woodshed for being dumbasses. And this is one of those times. Otherwise, you’d just be watching me typing nonsense and wasting your time. I mean, more than usual.

The “Red Wave” most people were expecting turned out to be just a trickle, with Republicans mostly underperforming in races that shouldn’t have even been close. Although there are still some unresolved election issues (namely alleged misconduct affecting Republicans in Arizona, surprise surprise), the fact remains Republicans did not do as well as expected. Electile dysfunction, if you will.

Or even if you won’t, that’s what I’m sticking with.

Although the “Red Trickle” has been analyzed more than Donald Trump eating a salad with Russian dressing, there’s a problem even the smart pundits on the Right seem to have missed. Right now, the Republican Party has a serious identity crisis.

Unlike the Left, who has a loose coalition of voting blocs united by the idea “Republicans Bad, Democrats Good,” the Right has a diverse pool of voters, but doesn’t have a single rallying cry. Under Presidents like Ronald Reagan, that wasn’t the case, but since then it’s been the political version of Whose Line Is It Anyway, the political party where everything is made up and the percentage points don’t matter.

I’ve narrowed down the various factions vying for control of the GOP to these groups.

Evangelicals – These are men and women of faith who want to take America in a positive moral/religious direction and believe politics is the means to that end. To me, that’s like a Luddite computer repair shop, but who am I to begrudge these folks?

Fair Weather Republicans – These are your Mitt Romneys, Mitch McConnells, Susan Collinses, Marco Rubios, and such who talk a good game, but don’t have the track record to back it up. If these folks were a rap album from the early 90s, they would be “As Wishy Washy As We Wanna Be.”

MAGA Republicans – These are the politically-minded voters energized by former President Donald Trump. And when I say “energized,” I mean you could run the Texas power grid if you were to tap into their enthusiasm over all things Trump. Again, not bad people.

The Intelligentsia – These are the former conservative talking heads and consultants who were taken very seriously until Donald Trump came into the picture. Now, they’re too busy trying to “preserve conservatism” to notice their relevance is lower than the trading price of FTX right now.

Old School Conservatives – These are the Republicans who long for the days of Ronald Reagan and want to try to be his second coming. I would put Rand Paul and Ted Cruz in this category, and to be fair I almost voted for Zombie Ronald Reagan in 2020. I guess I would be in this category, too, even though I don’t see myself as a Republican.

Talking Heads – This group runs the gamut from Sean Hannity to Glenn Beck to even Tulsi Gabbard (still not a Republican, but I’m including her here to make a point). They command a lot of attention and viewership/listenership when they speak about what conservatism and Republican values mean.

Big Business Republicans – These are Republicans who are beholden to Corporate America and will do anything to please their corporate masters. Although there is the potential for overlap, usually these Republicans defer to whatever the business world wants, no matter how it betrays the party line.

The Rank and File – This group represents most Republicans, but ironically it has the least amount of power because it lacks the money, insider connections, and media presence of the others. Whether they’re life-long Republicans or Johnny-Come-Lately Republicans doesn’t matter.

Minority Republicans – This group is different from the others in that they’re also part of other groups that may or may not normally associate with the GOP. Gay, black, Hispanic, and so forth.

There may be others I’ve overlooked, but I think you get the idea. With so many voices talking about their version of Republican ideas, it’s hard to find a single unifying idea. Plus, it doesn’t help that some of these groups are less friendly than the reception Nick Fuentes gets at the Apollo. This is a byproduct of the many voices at play here. With so many groups trying to become The One True Voice of Republicans, there will be conflict.

If you doubt me, I have three words for you: The Lincoln Project.

Normally, infighting is par for the course with political parties, but in this case, it’s starting to become counterproductive. You might be able to get a couple of groups to gang up on one of the others, but such coalitions don’t last because Republicans and conservatives deeply care about issues. Leftists may say they do, but they care only as far as it takes to get stupid people to vote for them. Conservatives, on the other hand, tend to have bedrock principles on which they will not bend. For some, it’s defending the Constitution. For others, it’s Christian values. For others, it’s recognition. Whatever the motivation, conservatives will draw a line in the sand at some point.

And if you dare cross that line, you’re an enemy.

Not a great way to win elections, kids.

No matter how bat-shit insane the Left gets (and, believe me, they’re going for the record), expecting people to vote for the Right because they’re not Leftists only works for so long. Eventually, potential voters are going to ask “So, what do you stand for exactly?” And if you don’t have a good answer aside from “the Left is bat-shit insane” you will lose potential voters.

Believe it or not, some of us actually want to be courted. Give us ideas, principles, goals, actual substance for the love of Pete! Just because you’re not as crazy as the Left doesn’t mean you’re not crazy. After all, the Left says the same thing about the Right and you can guess how I think they are.

This is where a unifying theme is essential. The thing many conservatives and Republicans forget about Ronald Reagan is the fact he found a way to bring people together through the unifying theme that America was worthy of being respected and loved by its people. That helped peel off a number of people who might not have normally voted Republican and helped The Gipper win two terms. These days, Republicans might be lucky to win one term in the White House because while each of the groups believes they are carrying on Reagan’s vision, few of them remember the important essence of the vision itself.

Remember Reagan’s Eleventh Commandment. No matter how distasteful you may find one of the other groups, a unified front is what is needed going forward. In 2024, Republicans have a chance to make the argument their Presidential candidate is up to the task. And with Puddin’ Head Joe and Kamala “Word Salad” Harris, you could drool on yourselves and make a better case.

Yet, this should be the starting point, not the only point. If Republicans want to make Puddin’ Head Joe a former President, it has to be done with one voice. Yes, you can have opinions and you don’t need my permission to express them, but keep in mind a split party makes it easier for Biden to win again. Find common ground and hold onto it no matter what.

Otherwise, get used to seeing Puddin’ Head Joe embarrass us on the world stage.


Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week

Life is full of choices. What do you want for dinner? What car should I buy next? Ginger or Mary Ann? Well, thanks to the Left, we now have another choice.

We can have a filibuster in the US Senate, or we can have democracy.

This choice came about due to Leftists attempting to push through voting reforms, but ran into a little snag called Senate rules. To sway public opinion, Leftists are now saying we cannot preserve both democracy and the filibuster in the Senate.

Of course, there’s a bit more to the story. And by a bit, I mean a whole fucking lot.

democracy or the filibuster

What the Left thinks it means – the decision between making it easier for people to vote and retaining a Senate rule that doesn’t make sense

What it really means – a false choice between something we don’t have and something the Left doesn’t like right now

Let’s deal with the elephant in the room first: we are not a democracy and never have been. We are a constitutional republic. Granted, we’ve been using democracy and republic interchangeably, but there are clear differences that prevent the two from being synonyms. First, they’re spelled differently. Second, and probably more important, a democracy doesn’t require electing officials because the people have the power to decide the outcome of matters. A republic does.

Granted, Leftists are going to say this is a semantic difference, but it’s really not. It’s like saying a chihuahua and an elephant are the same because they’re both four-legged animals. But, as anyone who has tried to housebreak an elephant will tell you, they’re not the same. Regardless, the fact remains we don’t have a democracy, thus half of the choice is false on its face. You know, like Nancy Pelosi’s face?

The other half of the decision is a lot less technical, but no less important to understand and appreciate. The best way to describe it is a higher threshold than a simple majority and it’s usually reserved for matters of high importance. That way a crackpot majority can’t ram through self-serving laws merely by having a few more crackpots than the opposition. It’s a useful tool for the minority party in the Senate because the mere threat of one is often enough to take a piece of legislation back to the negotiating table.

Of course, that happening these days is rarer than how Dracula takes his steak. Neither major party has been able to count on having the minimum 60 votes to overcome a filibuster threat for several years now, but instead of trying to craft actual bipartisan legislation, they dig in deeper and get nothing done.

Which is fine by me, by the way.

But it’s not fine by Leftists. They have big plans to turn America into the socialist shithole like they’ve always wanted. Due to the current makeup of the Senate, Democrats have 48 seats and Republicans have 50 seats, with two Independent Senators caucusing with the Democrats. To force a tie, every Democrat and the two Independents have to vote in a bloc, thus allowing the President of the Senate (Vice President Kamala Harris in this case) to cast the deciding vote.

Enter Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, two Democrats who have gotten the ire of Leftists for…not wanting to get rid of the filibuster. Just remember, Leftists are free thinkers. Just ask them. But, as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. In this case, even free is too expensive.

Behind the rhetoric, there is some serious deception going on and the Left hopes you’ll forget all about it and support making the filibuster as obsolete as Ralph Northam’s future with the NAACP. For this next section, we’re going to assume the Left is correct about America being a democracy.

The first Senate filibuster in American history occurred in 1837, which means it has been in existence for 185 years. Also, Senate Democrats used or threatened a filibuster over 300 times under President Donald Trump. And it’s only become a threat to democracy now? Sorry, but I’m throwing the brown bullshit flag on this one. The only reason the Left wants us to think it’s a problem now is because they don’t get to use it like they did when Democrats were in the minority in the Senate.

It’s almost as if the Left aren’t trying to protect democracy so much as they’re trying to protect Democrat-acy.

Now that we’ve entertained the Left’s “America is a democracy” fantasy, we must go back and deal with the real world. One of the reasons the Left is hellbent for leather to get rid of the filibuster is because they claim Republicans will get rid of it when they’re in the majority. Even though…they didn’t. In fact, Mitch “Old Age Mutant Senator Turtle” McConnell bucked President Trump when the latter wanted the Senate to do away with it. And to date, Republicans have not attempted to eliminate the filibuster, although they did render it toothless when it came to judicial nominees. Still, a weakened filibuster under certain conditions isn’t the same as eliminating it altogether, which is what the Left wants now.

But as many a Leftist has yet to fully understand, political power is always in flux. Democrats may control the Senate now, but they may not after Election Day. The very thing they want to eliminate will become another tool to use when they’re out of power. Then, I guarantee Leftists will sing a totally different tune. How can I be so sure?

Because New York Senator Chuck “Amy’s Funnier Relative” Schumer sang that tune a few years ago when he defended the filibuster. If you doubt me, look up Senator Tom Cotton’s recent speech in the Senate where he quoted Sen. Schumer directly. The only thing consistent about the Left is their inconsistency, that’s for sure.

Although I see a need to reform the filibuster, it’s not the existential threat the Left makes it out to be. It’s a safeguard against bad decisions, of which there are plenty in Washington, DC, like the effort to get rid of it. Funny how that works, isn’t it?

There is no choice between democracy and the filibuster to be had. Since we don’t have the former, we can keep the latter with no issues.

Except for Leftists, who don’t have issues so much as subscriptions.