Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jerrel Peters who wrote (474539)	10/10/2003 10:42:21 PM
From: Thomas A Watson	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769670

poor poor dwarfocrats in denial. ADVANCE COPY In the new issue of The Weekly Standard: -Noemie Emery on California and the Democrats: Governor Arnold is bad news for the Democrats. Republicans now hold the statehouses in the four largest states. But the really bad news is that the Democrats running for the honor of contesting George W. Bush in the 2004 showdown are being picked by a process and by a primary audience that are so out of sync with the national mainstream that the two of them barely converge. Think of the California recall as a trial run for the national election: Track the primary themes as they played out in the recall, and the picture you see is a field in denial, a party at war with reality. Nothing works up a primary crowd among Democrats so much as tirades against Bush. The trouble is that all the bandying about of fool, fraud, fake, and miserable failure reflects the fever swamps of the liberal psyche much more than the facts on the ground. Bush has hardly succeeded in everything, but he rallied the country after a terrible blow, launched two successful wars, locked up a large chunk of the terrorist network, and has kept the country safe from attack for two years. The economy took a big hit but has since shown resilience. This isn't total success, but it hardly qualifies as failure, and most people know it, among them the voters in California, who were asked to turn their thumbs down on the recall to send a message to Bush. The most aggressive Bush-baiter was Arianna Huffington, who attacked Arnold as being a clone of the president. She expressed this view at great length at their single encounter. After this debate Schwarzenegger soared, while Huffington's share in the polls fell from 2 percent to 0.4, at which point she dropped out and went to work for Gray Davis. And this in one of the most liberal states in the country, which Bush lost to Al Gore by 12 points. Another pet theme on the Democratic primary circuit is the alleged far-reaching right wing plot to destroy democracy. This was said to begin with Bill Clinton's impeachment (an attempt at a "coup" that would have made Al Gore president), then went on through the Florida recount (which Gore "won" and was somehow deprived of), through the redistricting ruckus in Texas, and reached its supposed apex in the recall election. . . . Log on to weeklystandard.com on Saturday, October 11, to read rest, along with the entire new issue! And don't forget to try our NEW PAPERLESS SUBSCRIPTION--48 issues for just $39.96! THE LAST WORD It may be impolite to ask, now that the honeymoon has begun, but don't conservatives care about character? I wasn't shocked last week when the Los Angeles Times published its report on women alleging that Arnold Schwarzenegger had groped and humiliated them. I wasn't surprised when the people who defended Bill Clinton tried to pillory Arnold for what, by any reasonable judgement, were lesser offenses. After all, once you've defended Clinton, you're already corrupted, what's one more perversion of belief? But I was honestly agog at how casually conservatives--especially those in California--dismissed the charges. First things first: Arnold has as much as admitted that the reports are at least half true. (By the way, he deserves quite a bit of credit for that. This alone puts him in a moral strata above Clinton.) And if they're true, none of the circumstances of the origin of the L.A. Times story matter. So if you accept that yes, Arnold has a habit of grabbing and humiliating women and yes, these women are never his social equals, how can you be conservative and support him in an election? Especially when there's another candidate in line with your values? I'm not suggesting that, had he already been governor, these charges would constitute an impeachable offense. I don't think they would be. But they certainly are deserving of some public rebuke, and deciding to support another candidate from the same party would be the mildest of all possible decisions. Yet Republicans didn't just hold their noses--they rushed out to embrace Arnold and defend him against the indefensible. A poll on our website showed that the L.A. Times story made 20 percent of people more likely to vote against him and 32 percent of people more likely to vote for him. Being conservative used to mean putting principle above power. One of the reasons the impeachment of Bill Clinton was such a courageous act was precisely because it was so unpopular. Conservatives thought that presidents shouldn't be allowed to perjure themselves, even if it meant paying an electoral price. Arnold Schwarzenegger may be a fine man and he may turn out to be a good governor. But the free pass he was given by conservatives for his bad behavior sullies them. I always knew it would be hard for Republicans to recapture California. I never imagined it would be so costly. Best, Jonathan V. Last

To: Jerrel Peters who wrote (474539)	10/10/2003 10:46:22 PM
From: American Spirit	Respond to of 769670

How about the poison coming from Rush's mouth? If you're serious about thinking liberals are "evil" then you're part of the problem in this country. Mass delusion and paranoia looking for scapegoats. Hating someone just because they're different than you. That's not good Americanism and it's not Christian. That's what I mean about how the neo-conservatives need to cleanse themselves. Rush Limbaugh's severe drug addiction should be a wake-up call. Reality was not as it seemed to the right-wing. And they have to be very careful they don't tear down some very valuable principles in this country, including honesty, tolerance and free speech.