Tag Archives: election

WHAT IS THE EUROPEAN VIEW OF AMERICAN POLITICS?

Before you can answer the question “What is the European perspective of the United States” you need to ask “Which Europeans?”.  Those who lived behind the infamous Iron Curtain have a very different view from those that were never trodden into de facto poverty under the Marxist Socialist Soviet boot.  They see where we are going because they have been that route.  Thanks to the PowerLine here is a sample of a common view from Eastern Europe.

An editorial from the Czech newspaper Prager Zeitungon:

The danger to America is not Barack Obama, but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the Presidency.  It will be far easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to a depraved electorate willing to have such a man for their president.  The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails America.  Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince.  The Republic can survive a Barack Obama, who is, after all, merely a fool.  It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools, such as those who made him their president.

This sentiment is nowhere to be found in countries like Germany, France or Spain.  If you have been there and suffered it, you know it when you see it.  If you haven’t, you don’t.

WHO IS THIS MAN BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA AND WHAT WOULD HIS RE-ELECTION MEAN

The average voter knew very little about Barack Obama when he was campaigning in 2008.  So they listened to the man and judged him by what he said.  The fact that he was black also won him some extra votes.  The fact the public elected a man with such a negative opinion of America could be considered a fluke, a gigantic mistake, but one that could be corrected in the following election.  This time there are many things the voters have come to know about the man.  Powerline blog lists just a few.

Obama came of age, over a period of decades, in an environment that can charitably be described as hard-left. His father and mother were both socialists or worse. His maternal grandfather selected a mentor for young Barry who was a long-time member of the Communist Party USA. The socialist New Party listed him as a member. His friend, colleague and fundraiser Bill Ayers is a terrorist who says he wishes he had set off more bombs. His college professor Edward Said was the leading intellectual voice of those who want Israel destroyed. His law school mentor Roberto Unger was too far left for Brazil’s socialist party, and was sent back to Harvard, where he declined all interviews lest he endanger Obama’s electoral prospects. The minister who converted him to Christianity was Jeremiah “God damn America” Wright. You can go on and on.

Obama’s vision for the country is now readily available for all to see and it is the antithesis of what made this country great.  If a man with these credentials is elected a second time to lead the nation, then the America that was born in 1776 will have chosen death in 2012.  Many conservative writers warn that Obama would turn the United States into some sort of North American Europe.  They needn’t look so far afield.  His vision is more like that of Fidel Castro than Andrea Merkel.

OBAMA IS FARING POORLY IN THE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARIES

It is not news when an unopposed candidate wins an election.  However, it is news when a virtually unopposed incumbent President only wins state primaries by small margins against perennial crank contenders.  But it’s news that goes unreported. Many people don’t even know there are Democratic primaries this year.  Obama may actually lose in Arkansas.  Read more

Obama’s budget proposal was defeated 414 to zero in the house and 99 to zero in the Senate.  Not a single Democrat supported the President in his plan.  Even the New York Times reports these defeats, so the voters are aware of them.

The attempt to paint Republicans as engaging in a war against women is backfiring.  Romney is staying on target with his Debt clock.

The case is building for a possible resounding defeat.  The hurdle remains getting enough electoral votes to overcome the solidly Democratic states.

ELECTION HIGHLIGHTS 2010

Tea Party
The Tea Party accomplished a lot but is responsible for some damage as well. The damage came out of naïveté, political inexperience and uncompromising principle, not from character flaws. The damage is contained and the movement will learn as it grows. We have Sarah Palin and the TP to thank for turning what might have been just a normal mid-term reversal into a rout, a rousing success.

Split results
Charles Krauthammer said winning the House and failing to win the Senate was the perfect result. The Democrats will be unable credibly to blame the next two years on their loss of control of the Legislature to Republicans. It’s a comforting thought but we question its validity. BTW, this will be the first time ever there was a Democratic President and Senate facing a Republican House. The acrimony level will be high. We only hope John Boehner will be up to it.

Ugliest moment
Chris Matthews lost it when interviewing Michele Bachman. Michele stonewalled him (not a practice we approve) and Matthews castigated her ruthlessly. “Are you hypnotized?” he repeated over and over in various catenations. Matthews’ attacks were not limited to Bachman. He was vicious with Sen. Eric Cantor also. Cantor handled it extremely well, much better than Bachman did. Even Rick Santelli came under disparagement by Matthews who wasn’t even sure of his name. Perhaps Olbermann will recognize Matthews for one of his “Worst” awards.

Districting effect
In the Connecticut gubernatorial race more people voted for the Republican than for the Democrat but the Democrat was declared the winner. It wasn’t fraud. Apparently Connecticut has a process similar to the national Electoral College but where districts rather than delegates cast the votes. It is the political reverse of the time Democrats screamed “unfair” when Gore won the raw vote but lost in the electoral process. Periodically, Governors get to reset the boundaries of districts within their state. This is why Obama made seven trips to Ohio to support incumbent Gov. Strickland and why Strickland’s defeat was a significant victory for Republicans.

Harry Reid
Reid’s victory, though not unexpected is the most disturbing. Not because he won, but because of how he won. It was a victory for intimidation, voting irregularities and casino money. There is still a lot of cleaning up to do in Washington.

The cleaning lady
One has to admire Sarah Palin. From the lowly post of small town Mayor she took on her own party and succeeded in cleaning out the Republican rot in Alaska. That’s audacity we can admire. She has integrity, spunk and bravery. We respectfully propose that in 2013, President Marco Rubio appoint Sarah to the post of Washington DC Cleaning Czar reporting directly to Vice President Paul Ryan.

TOMORROW IS TUESDAY, GET OUT THERE AND DRAIN THE SWAMP

This is your opportunity. This time your vote will count, because it’s not just who wins that’s important, it’s also the margin by which they win or lose. The margin secures the message. It’s the strength of the message that will encourage and empower those you elect or diminish the power of those whom your vote failed to elect. It’s the margin in this election that will bring the timid from the closet and sway the undecided for the next election.

This can be your proud moment, more than just the fulfillment of an obligation.

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” …Edmund Burke