Monday Morning Rant 132

  
While he gave abundant scriptural support, Bob Clark urged the men in the congregation to not forget the significance of Valentine’s Day. He reminded them they still had time to slip into town on the way home and pick up a little something for the missus. He stressed that the remembrance, no matter how small would eliminate the terrors of forgetfulness. Thanks Bob! Somehow, a 99 cent card from Wal-Mart has the capacity to defray all-out war on the home front. Perhaps the State Department might explore this as an option in confrontations with the Iranians, North Koreans, Cubans, and other would-be world conquerors to deflect hostilities. After all: all we need is love..

With snow ground cover reported in parts of all fifty states we extend our condolences and watch as the last of the little left-over piles melt. With daytime highs in the forties, it’s not so bad here. This winter has been a toughie so far for most of you and you have our sympathy. Cheer up, spring is only 5 weeks away.

David Broder on Sarah Palin

In a piece posted in Commentary Magazine we find these remarks from David Broder. I categorize this as something I would only have believed after I saw pigs fly.

“I gave her high marks for her vice presidential acceptance speech in St. Paul. But then, and always throughout that campaign, she was laboring to do more than establish her own place. She was selling a ticket headed by John McCain against formidable Democratic opposition and burdened by the legacy of the Bush administration.

Blessed with an enthusiastic audience of conservative activists, Palin used the Tea Party gathering and coverage on the cable networks to display the full repertoire she possesses, touching on national security, economics, fiscal and social policy, and every other area where she could draw a contrast with Barack Obama and point up what Republicans see as vulnerabilities in Washington.”

  To verify his well established credentials he could not help but refer to the “legacy of the Bush administration” as a negative to be overcome. I guess keeping the nation safe after 9/11 doesn’t count for much to Broder. Sorry about that, I should be grateful that he sees her as a competent factor in upcoming politics.

On Leftist Prejudice

This comment was posted to “big government” website and puts the lie to the “big tent” concept promoted by the Democrat Party. This guy puts a really negative shine on the attitudes of the progressive left. This anonymous poster, like many others, has some pretty firm views of the laundry list of sins of his right-wing counterparts.

“Man, those leftists are a really prejudiced group; let’s see: they don’t like old people, they don’t like conservative people, they don’t like religious people, they don’t like people who are pro-choice, if they are pro-life also, they don’t like people who enjoy gun ownership, they don’t like people who eat meat, they don’t like people who drive SUV’s (unless it’s them), they don’t like people who don’t like ACORN, they don’t like people who don’t like progressives, they don’t like people who respect the constitution, they don’t like people who criticize Obama, they don’t like people who think a marriage should be between a man and a women, they don’t like people who got their money the old fashion way…by earning it, they don’t like small business people, they don’t like people who went to community college…..wow….they don’t like A LOT OF PEOPLE….no wonder they are having problems selling their ideas!!! Ya wonder!!! (I could go on but I’m tired, I actually worked today!) “

This all comes under the general heading of “you can’t please all of the people, all of the time.”
More on Rasmussen

You well know that I place the utmost of confidence in Rasmussen polls on the basis of their proven performance in the past. It is methodology and not magic which has earned my trust. By polling only “likely voters” they reflect the opinion of those who actually have “hire-fire” jurisdiction over the selection of our leadership. Your well-reasoned opinion, although valuable, is meaningless if you are not prepared to exercise your franchise.

Earlier this month, Obama experienced a reduction in the strongly approve/disapprove difference to the minus low single digits. No doubt, it was in response to the State of the Union address that he had a positive result. As the time gap widens we find him back to the former range of -14 to -17 percentage points and a renewal of his plunging popularity. I think of it as the “slow thinker’s” bounce. After the gloss of the teleprompter enhanced oratory wore off, some renewed their efforts to actually digest what was said and came up empty. As this process proceeds, there is a steady trend back to the normal decline.

I am now experiencing a gathering interest in the more general category of plain approve/disapprove figures without the modifying adverb “strongly.” You may find the history table interesting as the two categories are shown side-by-side. In the more general version we find that the speech resulted in his first logging of a positive (plus 1%) since mid-November. The highest negative (-10%) was noted five days later on the 7th of February. This is viewed as yet more validation of the “slow thinker’s bounce.”

In the final analysis, I am grateful to Rasmussen for keeping their finger on the public pulse and sharing the information. Of the two dozen regular sources I check daily, they are number three and I find my spirits either elevated or depressed according to the outcome.

And finally

In a daily inventory of things for which I am grateful to God for delivering, I find often that the highest on the list is the Constitution of the United States. More specifically, we applaud the men who were responsible for its assembly. It took over a decade and countless meetings fraught with contention and heated debate but they extracted a true miracle as the final result. It currently serves as a bulwark against the usurpation of the government by a cabal of self-serving anarchists intent on its destruction. To not see this clearly is an indication of inattention.

Typical of those who live in a rural setting in the heartland, Granny and I share a different set of priorities in concert with our neighbors and contrary to the ruling elites on the coasts. We only become equal when we go to the ballot box. The richest, most powerful folks in the country have no entitlement to more say there than we do. Unfortunately, they do not see it that way and choose to exert their control by devious means to hold sway over the simple people which comprise the bulk of the nation. Our only defense is to assert our mandate and remove those who would do otherwise.

As the president repeats ad nauseam, “let me be clear.” This generation of citizens holds the fate of the republic in its hands as surely as the men at Lexington and Concord. If the republic is to continue to exist, we must be the ones to assure that outcome. To rise in resistance after the fact is an ineffective device to preserve the union and the noble goals which inhabited the minds of the founders. As a people, we must act, to the best of our ability and resources, to battle the forces which are aligned against those great principles. Get involved! Get active! Do your best! Your country needs you to speak out against the impending tyranny which we face.

In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon