Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Good Conservative/Bad Conservative

There are good conservatives and there are bad conservatives.

First, the bad.

Republicans in the House of Representatives are threatening to shutdown the federal government over marginal cuts in a tiny portion of the federal budget. If Republicans succeed in shutting down the government or in getting their desired cuts, it will be because of one thing and one thing only: to garner praise from the base and the talk radio crowd. Their proposed cuts will do NOTHING to deal with our nation's deficit problem. The whole ordeal is a show. Except that this show is dangerous since it will risk some necessary operations of the federal government. Not only that, it is a terrible political move. Barack Obama will win this game. In the 1998 elections, Democrats plastered Newt Gingrich's face in just about every television ad, because they wanted to tie the Republicans to his actions that led to the shutdown. It was terribly effective.

Contrast the children with the adult.

Paul Ryan is set to release his 2012 budget plan that calls for $6.2 trillion in spending cuts over the next ten years. Ryan's plan actually deals with the deficit problem in the United States. The government shutdown threats do not. The reason why Ryan is able to call for so much larger of cuts is because he is looking outside of the politically safe non-defense, discretionary budget (12% of the budget). He wants to reform Medicare and Medicaid. His plan is not perfect as it does not deal with rising health care costs, but it is a bold and courageous attempt to put America's house in order.

We in the conservative grassroots have got to support the good conservatives over the bad. Let's not support the hysterical madness that is taking place over the current fiscal year's budget. Instead, let's support Ryan's plan that actually does deal with the deficit and the national debt. We need smart conservatives, not the crazy, show-boaters.

Cross posted at The Cross Culturalist

26 comments:

OhioJOE said...

Under the current circumstances, anyone who does not threaten to shut the governrment down is NOT a good Conservative.

Pablo said...

OJ,

Do you have any facts/analysis to back up what you just said or are you just repeating what Rush Limbaugh has told you?

Please read my post and try to respond to the actual argument.

You are absolutely insane if you think that the extra $30 billion dollars that Republicans want to cut in the non-defense, discretionary part of the budget is going to do anything to deal with the deficit. You are just emotionally attached to the idea that "our team" is "sticking it to Washington." I would encourage you to actually consider what they are really doing.

Anonymous said...

OJ, you just time and again propose reactive, knee jerk tactics that are sure, complete losers at the ballot box. History doesn't mean anything to you does it? Newt's congress failed miserably with it's attempt at the shutdown, and republicans paid for it at election time. Now you want us to flush our 2010 victories down the toilet with this failed maneuver. If we do have a government shutdown you guarantee Obama another four years, and republicans will lose seats in the House in 2012 that they won this year.

Anonymous said...

Paul Ryan, by contrast, is brilliant. He is certainly overreaching strategically with these massive cuts (ideologically he is right on target). He won't get these massive cuts. But if he plays this right, he can pin the failure to reign in spending on the democrats and pick up seats in 2012.

OhioJOE said...

With respect Dan L, this is not 1994, the current leadership does not have his baggage. If we do not at least treaten and stand up for principle, we will look like a bunch of Sissies and wil not get anywhere. Frankly, a party of Sissies deserves to lose. The GOP Congressmen who won in 2010 did not get there by being sissies.

BTW, Pablo, polls show that the majority of Americans are willing to have the government shut-down if that is what it takes.

Right Wingnut said...

Mike Pence just stated he is willing to fight for the cuts at the risk of a shutdown.

Is he a "good conservative" or a "bad conservative?"

OhioJOE said...

He is a good Conservative. The problem with Bad Conservative (those too cowardly to fight) is that it give the Dems the message that they do not have to negotiate.

Right Wingnut said...

Scott Brown is an example of a "bad conservative" on this issue.

"Reducing and eliminating needless spending and programs are appropriate, but a wholesale reduction in spending, without considering economic, cultural, and social impacts is simply irresponsible"

Pablo, I know you are at odds with Sen. Brown on this issue. Why do you ever criticize him, or others like him?

Right Wingnut said...

typo: I meant, why don't you ever criticize him or others like him.

Right Wingnut said...

It will interesting to see who the "good conservatives" are over the next several days. Of the potential GOP presidential candidates, only one has endorsed Ryan's fiscal policies to date. I suspect she will support this one too.

To date, Governor Palin is the only major Republican considering a run for the 2012 GOP nomination who has endorsed the Ryan framework. The others have offered only bromides about the need for fiscal responsibility which have been as trite as they are vague, but nothing specific for fear of offending those who feed at the federal trough. Why not? This is not leadership. This is nothing more than the age-old CYA political games that establishment Washington has been playing for generations, and which have put this country on the threshold of bankruptcy. We can’t afford to play these games anymore. Washington, like Juneau in 2008, is in need of some adult supervision, and Governor Palin is the only potential 2012 candidate willing to provide it.

Anonymous said...

I don't like Scott Brown's position on these cuts. I could get behind the shutdown if, as OJ suggests, polling shows that a majority of Americans support the shutdown.

OJ, can you link polls that show that a majority of Americans support the shutdown? If you can't I won't lend any credence to your claim. If you can then I stand corrected.

Matt Y. said...

Here is what Palin just posted on Twitter:

There is hope! Serious & necessary leadership rolls out serious & necessary reform proposal. Good start (from Dec. http://on.wsj.com/eP0Kwo)
less than 5 seconds ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®

Her link, as she notes, is to an article from December in which she praises Ryan's Roadmap. She doesn't link to exactly what reform she is talking about right now, but I think it's safe to assume she means Ryan's reform that you're talking about here.

Right Wingnut said...

Matt Y,

Give her time. It's still very early in Alaska.

OhioJOE said...

Dan L, the first link deals with the question directly.


http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/march_2011/57_okay_with_government_shutdown_if_it_leads_to_deeper_budget_cuts

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/april_2011/48_say_their_views_closer_to_tea_party_than_congress


http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/march_2011/53_say_even_gop_spending_cuts_won_t_dent_the_deficit

Anonymous said...

OJ, thanks for posting those. I would like to see more polls from other pollsters too, but that is a start.

OhioJOE said...

BTW, Pablo, I must say that I am very very disappointed in you that you bought the liberal talking points. You either forgot to mention or you failed to mention that we are in this mess because the Democrats failed to pass a budget in the first place. And then you go ahead and claim that 'talk radio' is sloppy. Either we remember we are are different from the Democrat Party or we throw the GOP out the window. The time for middle ground has left the station.

Anonymous said...

GREAT post Pablo. Everyone who does not agree with folks who want the shut down is a RINO! Right?

Anonymous said...

Pablo, I thought it was a very fine blog. But then, you probably know how much I detest talk radio and grandstanding politicians.

OhioJOE said...

"GREAT post Pablo. Everyone who does not agree with folks who want the shut down is a RINO! Right?" Hey, if you do not want the government to shut down, it is very simple. Kindly tell your Democrat friends in the Senate to pass the budget

Ellie said...

OJ. LOL. Some days you crack me up! Palbo hits the nail on the head, and you want us to trash 2012? Yea, that's smart. But then again, you support the queen of quits, so I just consider the source.

OhioJOE said...

Ellie, if you Pablo and Martha were Liberal, how would you act any differently? You are the one who is a crack up. I'll be blunt, by falling for liberal talking points (yet again) Pablo actually made a fool of himself. Thankfully, he is not Speaker of the House. We do not need this.

Anonymous said...

OJ, both of my senators are republican and I voted for both of them. So is my representative. Idaho is considerably more conservative than your state of Ohio. Maybe you should talk to your democrat representatives and senators.

Anonymous said...

Or you could call the offices of Joe Miller, Christine O'Donnell, Sharon Angle, JD Hayworth, and Ken Buck and tell them to vote for shutdown. Oh, dang, I forgot. They lost their elections. The Fruit Cake Caucus in the Senate didn't pick up many seats last time. It must be lonely to be Rand Paul.

OhioJOE said...

"Oh, dang, I forgot. They lost their elections." Yeah thanks to moderate nutbars like Mr. Rove campaigning for the Democrats and voter fraud in the case of Nevada.

BTW, congratulation for being from a Red state. As for my own state, I now have a Republican Congressman (thanks in part to Mrs. Palin) and at a town hall meeting I told him that I was disappointed in him for voting for the CR. More to the point with respect I was address the liberal troll. I was not insulting you or your great state.

Anonymous said...

OJ, that's great that you got rid of your dem congressman.

DanL

BOSMAN said...

I applaud Rep. Paul Ryan for recognizing the looming financial crisis that faces our nation and for the creative and bold thinking that he brings to the debate. He is setting the right tone for finally getting spending and entitlements under control. Anyone who has read my book knows that we are on the same page. >~Mitt Romney