In the 1970’s Daniel Ortega was a Marxist/Leninist freedom fighter and revolutionary backed by Castro in Cuba and Russia. In 1984 he was democratically elected as president of Nicaragua. Today he is the worst kind of political dictator. Everyone who has spoken out against him has been arrested. He has a winning smile and a pleasant disposition in public, just don’t question his authority in any way.
Vladimir Putin has a similar history, a friendly and out-going Russian patriot, turned KGB agent, turned ruthless dictator.
There are others, but you get the picture. Power corrupts! Once they get into power, they will do anything to stay in power!
We just had a failed coup attempt here in America. You can’t take an objective look at the actual events and call it anything else.
It was a failed coup attempt, but it is on-going, a bunch of well-meaning good-old-boys and gals fighting for what they believe in. Once they get into power, they will do anything to stay in power! All they need is a figure head, a tin-god, to give them someone to rally around.
Proposed: Let’s respect the Democratic process, and elect good people who do the same.
Comply and then complain. Don’t throw a fit if you don’t get your way. If you don’t like the way things are going, elect law-abiding citizens to bring about a change. The key words in that last sentence are “law-abiding”.
Next week: Why the Panama Papers matter!
About Ortega’s friendly face–some US citizens sport the face of Che Guevara on shirts and posters. He was a mass murdering socialist. His admirers misname themselves “progressives,” the rising faction of the ever-bigger government power party. Socialist Bernie Sanders scored 43.13% of the 2016 primary vote, diluted to 26.22% in 2020 among several other candidates toward his end of the totalitarian spectrum, and enough Democrat voters remained to focus on winning the general election. This time.
Polls show that at least half of young adults have a favorable view of socialism. All they need now is a charismatic leader. I suppose Vice President Harris is taking acting lessons. With voice lessons too, she could be the next great charismatic hope for those seeking greater subsidies for their factions and retribution on those who are forced to pay for them.
“Power corrupts!” you exclaim. We of the loyal opposition are painfully aware of a moderate version of this: When some are elected to Congress, they pledge to support lower taxes, less spending, regulatory relief, strong defense, and to protect the innocent. After a while they move in the other direction. The big media-government complex calls it “growing in office” while our faction calls it “selling out.”
Joseph Biden, always a party stalwart, has grown in federal office for 41 years. The young senator opposed forcing taxpayers to pay for abortions. He has since “progressed” to endorsement.
The proven solution to corrupting power is to disperse it. Therefore, we favor smaller government. We are trying to conserve self-government, liberty, and personal responsibility.
I try to be objective which is why I quit the much bigger government power party 33 years ago. The Trumpist efforts were not a coup, they responded unsuccessfully to multiple charges of election fraud. It would be nice to have a real investigation of the fraud charges, it would be nice if we could believe CNN-NPR-CBS-NBC-PBS-ABC-Facebook-Twitter-DNC-et al when they simply dismiss the charges as “false.” There are penalties for making false charges. Ah! But the courts rejected! According to Mark Levin, et al, the rejections were on “standing,” not evidence. Let’s see the real evidence. All of it.
The Capitol riot was not an insurrection.
A coup d’é·tat is “a sudden, violent, and unlawful seizure of power from a government.” In 2016 the Democrat Party used the fraudulent Steele Dossier to get FBI agents to knowingly use false information to obtain a FISA court order to spy on Trump and associates. This is unlawful and has an essential component of a coup.
Yes, do comply with government, it has more power than any institution; if you don’t comply you will lose. Then complain but beware of hate speech, triggers, dog whistles, and other stifles brought to us by the aggressives. Self-censor before you complain.
Richard:
You said, “The Capitol riot was not an insurrection.” and “A coup d’é·tat is “a sudden, violent, and unlawful seizure of power from a government.”
WinLoseorDraw stands corrected. Let’s agree then to call it a “failed insurrection”. Otherwise it fits the definition. They were saying they wanted to “arrest” members of Congress. They clearly wanted to seize power. In a very real sense, any riotous action could be considered an attempt at insurrection; but only one recent riotous insurrection attempt stuck directly at the halls of American government, with the rioters talking about arresting members of congress.
You brought up Ex-president Trump. I left Trump out of my original post deliberately and for a couple of reasons:
As I have said before, history will judge ex-president Trump and his policies. His policies while in office, right or wrong, were more about rallying his supporters than promoting the best interests of the country. Illegal Immigration, for instance, is a big problem. It has been for decades by the way, but building an expensive wall is not going to fix that problem. That’s the worst I will say of him.
My point is not about Donald Trump. It is about the rabid wave of populism that he likes so much to whip into a frenzy and ride around on. The angry hysteria that we like to blame on Trump will be a huge factor with or without Trump as it’s figurehead. There are others who would like to be the Big Cheese.
My point is that America does not win if we remain completely and irrevocably divided.
Daily I force myself to read postings that go to every possible length to smear the current administration. Fake facts based on hyperbolic rhetoric abound.
One Partisan Poster (Name and Platform witheld to protect the determinedly knucklehead) wrote an article making my president out to be a bolshevik. Do I think Joe Biden is the greatest president ever? No! But you can’t make him out to be a bolshevik. That’s just not right! It’s the two party system that has gotten us into this predicament. Within his party (not mine) Joe has to make some concessions to the left wing crazies in order to get anything passed through congress. That’s unfortunate!
What we need is a government that remembers how to govern with moderation.
Proposed: Let’s put the AK-47’s aside and get to work on that!
No, I will not agree to call it a “failed insurrection” in spite of what some rioters allegedly said. Roger Kimball got it right. https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/january-6-insurrection-hoax/.
If you think populism is a problem now, just wait until the Electoral College is abolished.
The problem for Moderate Supremacists is that compromise is between the status quo and increasing government’s share of control; there is no representation for shrinking government, it hasn’t happened in the US since 1946. The moderate position is moderately more centralized control on top of growing government power–it still grows aided and abetted by the righteous moderates.
In paragraph 3, Richard said, “The problem for Moderate Supremacists…” Whoa, whoa, whoa! Are you trying to turn the whole debate on it’s ear by slipping in the King of all oxymorons? Moderates are moderates. Supremacists are supremacists, and never the two shall meet.
As for the rest of paragraph 3, you have made comments in favor of “small government” once again. In as much as the topic is whether of not Democracy is in Peril and if so, how, I take it you mean to say that “Big government”
is the biggest problem our democracy has to face. Tentatively, and philosophically, I would agree with you. The ideal and perfect and Utopian Democracy would have no overlords, just well adjusted citizens going about their lives without resorting to senseless destruction and violence. Some day, after I am dead, it may be so. That day is possible, but not in sight. Just look at the actions of some of our citizens on January 6.
In paragraph 2, you said, “If you think populism is a problem now, just wait until the Electoral College is abolished.” The founding Fathers wisely, tried to put a buffer on the sometimes rabid and raucous mob of our humanity, but the Electoral College isn’t living up to their expectations. Either the Electoral College is used to take the election out of the hands of the people on one side of the political spectrum, or it does the same thing on the other side. We need to re-write and revise not abolish. There must be some better way to enhance the voice of the moderates amongst us while still keeping a lid on the knuckleheads running through our streets waving their AK-47’s.
Finally, as to your first paragraph, Come on Man! I have read your article by Roger Kimball, and he did not get it right. Sorry! To paraphrase, your partisan pundit said the people who armed themselves and attacked us were just good people out on a lark, and things just got “a little out of hand”. Some, I guess, were good people. Sound familiar? Some were good people who took part in a knuckleheaded attempt to violently overthrow the legitimate American government. Stay in your lanes America and obey the Laws of the lands! Otherwise you and granny with her gun are rightfully headed for jail.
You get the last word.
Even though you did not comment on the value or persuasiveness of my words, I honor your decision to exit this particular battle field. Just as in Chess, a draw may be offered and accepted at any time.
At first, I thought about turning the title around to Supreme Moderates, but sometimes one need not shy away from strong language that has the potential to provoke the tizzies.
Moderate is superior to extreme. Moderation in all things is supposed to be wise. Partisan is bad, bipartisan is good. Reaching across the aisle is so laudable that politicians from both big government parties publicly congratulate themselves for it. Compromise is great, moderation is supreme.
A supremacist seeks power, supreme power, big dog stuff—power for the supremacist’s self, clan, class, ideals, policies. One who strives for supreme power for moderate positions is a supremacist, hence a Moderate Supremacist.
Moderate politicians recently enacted another giant spend and borrow scheme which further expands the Political Class and enhances Political Supremacy.
Before covid and “infrastructure” spending, the Tax Foundation, a moderate organization, found that sixty percent of households got more in government benefits than they paid in taxes.
Moderate politicians long ago put the two biggest subsidies, Social Security and Medicare, to grow automatically with demography.
Democrats are on the verge of raising taxes and expanding entitlements, another great leap forward in spreading the loot and buying permanent majorities, to enhance the supremacy of the Political Class.
The shrinking minority taxpayer class does not have the votes to nudge the republic toward diffusing political, economic, and cultural power; all they can do is delay and obstruct as best they can, as they recently did in the Virginia election.
I think you will agree with most of the following article. Mr. Greenhut concluded with, “…I’d suggest that the only way to save America is to recommit to its original principles.” Locke would like that.
But that would necessitate a radical tear-down of the size and reach of government, an extreme idea with no voice from our modern representatives, a majority of whom are in the moderate subclass of the Political Class.
Politics Is Rotting Brains and Making Everyone Mad – Reason.com
Check out PBS’s “The Skinny Sky Scraper.”
I will look for it tonight.
Richard, you said, “Moderate is superior to extreme. Moderation in all things is supposed to be wise. Partisan is bad, bipartisan is good. Reaching across the aisle is so laudable that politicians from both big government parties publicly congratulate themselves for it. Compromise is great, moderation is supreme.”
Thank you for supplying meat and substance to my assertion, “Moderate Supremacists” is the king of all oxymorons. That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t work. It just means it’s the best of a series of clever and creatively constructed witticisms designed to reveal the hidden surprises to be found when opposites are joined.
I accept your definition: “A supremacist seeks power, supreme power, big dog stuff—power for the supremacist’s self, clan, class, ideals, policies. One who strives for supreme power for moderate positions is a supremacist, hence a Moderate Supremacist.”
I propose we immediately for a club, not the Moderately Extreme club, but the Extremely Moderate Club, or EMC for short. Sign me up!!
Thanks for the thoughtful and well-written response. I will read the article now.
Richard:
WinLoseorDraw agrees with the sentiments Mr. Greenhut expressed in Reason: Politics is Rotting Brains and Making Everybody Mad
Thank you. I’d like to paraphrase your comments and quote that article in my next post.