– decimating the Patriot Act
– pillorying the NSA terrorist surveillance program
– eradicating SWIFT terrorist banking surveillance
– etc.

makes us inarguably _less_ safe. Until the Democrats decide that bare-bones, common-sense steps such as these make sense, they deserve all the epithets they’re getting.

A scrapbook of various reactions to the Democratic victories in the midterm Congressional elections…

That would be hard to understand. They Republicans have governed to the left of center except for the fact that they lowered taxes and have treated the GWOT more seriously. How is to the left of center “too conservative”. Drive-by legacy media is so irrelevant.

There were many good posts under this thread (

Then I read that many of the Democrat election victories were due to conservative Democrats running against milk-toast Republicans; which means if the Republicans decide being more liberal is a winning strategy and enough Democrats believe being Blue-Dog (Conservative) Democrats is a winning strategy, then why should we expect the Republicans to regain control?

There were many good posts under this thread (

WW1 Vets. There are a few still around. DriscollThe Jihadists do follow American politics. Heck, they try to cocntrol it. Sister Toldjah. How naive can you be? People who want to kill you, watch you.Dobson says Repubs abandoned "values voters."

- Recover their root principles – A little at least. They’ve been given a shot across the bow by a fed up electorate, but just enough of one to limit any real effectiveness on the Dem side of the aisle. The nutroots are already in meltdown because Carver is citing the shortfall in the “mandate”, opining on how much better they could have done with a real winner like Ford in the driver seat instead of Dean. Kos and Hampsher are declaring open war on the Clintonesta’s, and bad-mouthing Hilldebeast as fast as their fingers can type. But really if/when the Dems can’t overcome the gridlock they now own, the Reps can just play off that, and next time with it fresh in thier minds, they’ll have the incentive, and therefore the initiative and momentum.

- The right candidate – Nobody on the National scene, with the exception of the first term Clinton, when no one knew how much of a diddler/empty suit he really was, has a thimble full of the massive widespreaad likability, and proven leadership that Guiliani exudes from every pore. The Left is so scared witless about his natural, country wide, bipartisan popularity, they won’t even bring up his name. Mate him with a well liked black American running mate, like Condi or Steele, (the Reps/Rove just made sure Steele was appointed RNC chair for a reason), and I’d spectulate on a modern record landslide. the party in power the next time around needs a mandate in both the White House, and the congress in this atmosphere of conflict partisan politics. Of course a great deal rides on what the Dems do with the VietNam Iraq “problem”.

- I’ve felt all along, leading up to the elections, that the best possible outcome, given it was enevitable that the Reps would lose something, would be for the Dems to get just enough rope. It’s a no-brainer now, that that’s exactly what’s happened. The Dems aren’t faking their new found friendliness toward the Right. They, better than anybody, once the initial Yeehaws wore off, have looked at the situation, and realize it’s a DOH’ moment.

- Rove you evil genius!

- Bang

Nope. A timeline won’t embolden the terrorists or be seen as a date for surrender. It’ll be viewed as an opportunity for diplomacy, and a chance for the “international community” to join hands and buoy the fledgling Iraqi democracy!

RUN, CAMBODIANS! KERDS, RUN!

- Bang

They did not die for nothing. Ask one of the hundreds of thousands of people who were executed by the communists after the fall of Saigon what they were fighting for. There are too many people who want to judge the outcome of a war by land, money, or power. I guess saving the lives of thousands is not a good enough reason anymore. Our fighting spirit from the WW II days are long gone.

We are an instant gratification generation, one that wants no sacrifice, no pain, very little personal responsibility, and if keeping our word interferes with any of these goals, then to hell with our word.

Precisely!!! Not only will people be afraid to trust us they will no longer work with us if they fear that we will tuck tail and run when things get tough. We have also given any enemy from this point forward a perfect blueprint on how to defeat the U.S. You cannot do it on the battlefield, but if you can draw it out long enough the American people will wear down and demand a withdrawal, with the help of our one party media, of course.

I.M., thank you for your service as well as the service of your nephew and grandson. GWR thank you as well. I think the Vietnam vets got the worst deal in history. My uncle was in the Marines in Vietnam, he doesn’t talk about it much, and he is one of my heroes as you all are.

You once again have nailed the problem IM. Another excellent post, I agree with you completely. Not many people these days think of honor or keep their word if it becomes inconvenient, and that is going to be the death of our society. Most people and the liberals in particular have the ethics and mentality of children. It’s hard they whine, I don’t wanna, and with the case of Iraq, are we there yet, are we there yet? Look at our educational system, coddle people, don’t mark papers in red, that’s scary, use blue or purple, A’s mean F’s and F’s mean A’s, don’t use letter grades, that will just discourage them and hurt their self esteem (hint, you don’t grow and learn what’s right without getting your precious self esteem hurt when you do wrong). It’s the same thing socialism pushes, no responsibility for yourself, no need to stand on your own feet, no downside to being a bum.

With respect to Rumsfeld, Rummy cost me a job. I was working on a project he canceled, and because of that I was laid off from a great company and a high paying job, and it took me over two years to get employed at that level of pay again. And know what? I applauded Rummy for doing it. The project was a bloated, faulty, FUBAR’d up POS. It’d already cost tens to hundreds of millions, and would have cost far more to fix. To me, keeping my job was not worth having Rumsfeld and the DOD keep a project that was so useless around. Unfortunately, that’s not a common attitude these days.

The congress should not be allowed to escape the Social Insecurity mess with their own pampered retirement plans. If it’s good enough for us, it’s good enough for them. But you’re right, gerrymandered districts and the “employment for life” mentality that seems to go with congress means you have “leaders” and I use that term loosely that have little in common with the people and even less accountability. The original Founders were far more a part of the people, which is why the emphasis on state’s rights, government works better the closer it is to the people.

But how to unravel this Gordian knot now that it’s tied? Without resorting to revolution (the modern equivalent of Alexander’s sword), I can’t really see a way.

Democrats’ victory unnerves Baghdad

Here’s the money quote:

Rasha Tariq, 23, a college student, said she found herself near tears when she awoke Wednesday morning to the news that the Democrats had won the House and were on the cusp of taking the Senate.

Tariq said she worries the Democrats’ victory will mark the beginning of a gradual U.S. pullout from Iraq and the disintegration of what little order is left on the dangerous streets of Baghdad.

“If it was up to the Democrats, we would still be living under Saddam’s tyranny,” Tariq said in an interview Wednesday in the Sadoun Street shopping district. “I’m afraid that this change is going to affect the American presence in Iraq. I don’t want them to leave.”

Right away, you can tell this young woman doesn’t go to one of our loony-left colleges…that kind of talk wouldn’t be tolerated.

But there’s no doubt that she GETS IT. You have to wonder what the hell we need to do to have the American people comprehend the situation as well.

Severian: It seems to me there was a great deal of merit in the citizen legislators of our early days, when holding office was not a career choice. Then the politicians had to be close to the people and compete in the real world to make their way. Now, once a Congressman or Senator, with redistricting, most of them have lifetime jobs, a great retirement plan, and they don’t have to live on social security or have their health care held hostage to Medicare. Plus, most of them make tons of money they would never have made during their retirments, even if they served relatively short terms in office.

Quite frankly, most of us don’t trust our government, why should people in foreign lands? Yes, under Bush the unemployment figures are at all time lows, at a level many consider full employment. The deficit is going down fast, the economy is booming, and then with the Democrats in power and raising taxes and funding a welfare state, trust me, they will screw up the economy big time – so what’s to trust?

We are an instant gratification generation, one that wants no sacrifice, no pain, very little personal responsibility, and if keeping our word interferes with any of these goals, then to hell with our word. While I hate the French government, maybe some of their irritation with us is because we cannot be trusted to keep our word.

Anyway, I agree with virtually everything you said.

Al Qaeda will not be satisfied until they blow up the White House and overtake Jerusalem. When will people realize that it doesn’t matter who is in the White House and who controls Congress – the jihadis will not quit until they’re vanquished or have…

Vietnam wasn’t lost by the military. It was lost in the left-wing newsrooms and in the halls of the DNC. If Iraq is lost, it will not be because you and IM’s grandson and nephew failed. Once again the failure will be political.

At least in Nam, when our political courage failed, the enemy contented itself with butchering and enslaving their own people. This time, if our government again goes weak-kneed, we won’t be as lucky. That’s why it’s so important to keep this danger in front of those we elect, and in front of the American people. This may be the final phase of the battle for Iraq. It’s no time to stand down on the home front.

IM, two things. First, thanks for your nephew’s and grandson’s service. I’m sure you’re rightfully proud of them and I’m sure all our regulars here salute them. Second, there’s no way, even in jest, you’ll ever catch me holding hands with Searchlight’s Dim Bulb and the Wicked Witch of the West and singing. I’d rather slide naked down a razor-blade bannister into a vat of alcohol.

There is no peace in submitting. That is losing.

That is our women wearing burkas and socialism and lack of freedom as our unemployment rates mirror European and Middle Eastern countries….

That won’t be so much better. We need to begin to persuade people why a strong defense matters, why capitalism matters (definition of capitalism is – the people choosing who gets what resources) and why less government matters.