The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Does Not Caring About The Country Correlate With Thuggery?

Posted on | July 5, 2010 | 30 Comments

by Smitty

If patriotism means caring about your country, then what does this CNSNews story tell us?

Conservatives are more than twice as likely as liberals to express very strong patriotism, according to a new USA Today/Gallup poll in which 48 percent of conservatives said they were “extremely patriotic,” but only 19 percent of liberals made that claim.

The liberal response takes on a more sinister tone when you consider the setup for ransacking that occurred in Congress Friday. Uncoverage points to a Human Events story by Connie Hair that should have all of us writing our Congresscritters. In my case, to scream: “House Democrats ‘Deem’ Faux $1.1 Trillion Budget ‘as Passed’”.

Key points from the House Republican Budget staff on the House Democrats’ deeming resolution:

  • This is not a budget. The measure fails to meet the most basic, commonly understood objectives of any budget. It does not set congressional priorities; it does not align overall spending, tax, deficit, and debt levels; and it does nothing to address the runaway spending of Federal entitlement programs.
  • It is not a ‘congressional budget resolution.’ The measure does not satisfy even the most basic criteria of a budget resolution as set forth in the Congressional Budget Act.
  • It creates a deception of spending ‘restraint.’ While claiming restraint in discretionary spending, the resolution increases non-emergency spending by $30 billion over 2010, and includes a number of gimmicks that give a green light to higher spending.
  • It continues relying on the flawed and over-sold pay-as-you-go [pay-go] procedure. Pay-go – which Democrats have used mainly to raise taxes, and have ignored when it was inconvenient – does nothing to reduce deficits or restrain spending growth in existing law.
  • Outsourcing fiscal responsibilities. The measure is another hand-off by the Democratic Majority of Congress’s power of the purse – this time relying on the Fiscal Commission created by the President to do Congress’s job.

The Human Events link includes a URL for an 11 page .pdf from the Republican Caucus offering further details on the size, shape, color, and aroma of the loaf the Democrats have just delivered.
I don’t know what the policy equivalent of a full-on riot would be, but this seems like a predicate for pure, arbitrary ransacking of the public till. It seems like maybe the Democrats realize something about (a) their longevity or (b) that of the country with which they are less than forthcoming.
Fellow VA-8 residents are encouraged to check out this new Jim Moran on Demand business and see if the chap can stand and deliver on this outrage.

Category: Congress, Democrats

Comments

30 Responses to “Does Not Caring About The Country Correlate With Thuggery?”

  1. Dandapani
    July 5th, 2010 @ 11:52 am

    Ransacking the castle before the peasants take over?

  2. Dandapani
    July 5th, 2010 @ 7:52 am

    Ransacking the castle before the peasants take over?

  3. jfxgillis
    July 5th, 2010 @ 5:18 pm

    Meh. The libs/Dems -2 and -4 changes from 2005 are well within margin of error. Basically you can say about “one fifth regard themselves as extremely patriotic.”

    But what accounts for Repubs/cons statistically significant leap, a huge leap, actually, from 2005 to now?

  4. jfxgillis
    July 5th, 2010 @ 1:18 pm

    Meh. The libs/Dems -2 and -4 changes from 2005 are well within margin of error. Basically you can say about “one fifth regard themselves as extremely patriotic.”

    But what accounts for Repubs/cons statistically significant leap, a huge leap, actually, from 2005 to now?

  5. Bob Belvedere
    July 5th, 2010 @ 6:00 pm

    In answer to your question, Smitty: Why yes, yes it does.

    The Left has no loyality to any country [especially one that is built on freedom, liberty, property, and God], only to an ideology [aka: THE ANSWER]. Therefore, since it operates with none of the traditional resraints, it believes that it’s end may be achieved by any means necessary. Thuggery naturally follows this starting premise.

  6. Bob Belvedere
    July 5th, 2010 @ 2:00 pm

    In answer to your question, Smitty: Why yes, yes it does.

    The Left has no loyality to any country [especially one that is built on freedom, liberty, property, and God], only to an ideology [aka: THE ANSWER]. Therefore, since it operates with none of the traditional resraints, it believes that it’s end may be achieved by any means necessary. Thuggery naturally follows this starting premise.

  7. smitty
    July 5th, 2010 @ 6:01 pm

    @jfxgillis,
    The notion that something precious may be under attack?

  8. smitty
    July 5th, 2010 @ 2:01 pm

    @jfxgillis,
    The notion that something precious may be under attack?

  9. Theodore Sporer
    July 5th, 2010 @ 7:02 pm

    This is just statistical validation of what everyone already knows. Liberals love their country like wife beaters lover their wives.

    The conservative response to McChrystal and Steele are further evidence of the same fundamental fact.

  10. Theodore Sporer
    July 5th, 2010 @ 3:02 pm

    This is just statistical validation of what everyone already knows. Liberals love their country like wife beaters lover their wives.

    The conservative response to McChrystal and Steele are further evidence of the same fundamental fact.

  11. jfxgillis
    July 5th, 2010 @ 7:23 pm

    smitty:

    Something like that, I’m sure. I’d add that anger and patriotism seem to be a complementary pair.

    I just think it’s an absolute riot that Republicans and conservatives are extremely less patriotic when Republicans and conservatives are running the country.

  12. jfxgillis
    July 5th, 2010 @ 3:23 pm

    smitty:

    Something like that, I’m sure. I’d add that anger and patriotism seem to be a complementary pair.

    I just think it’s an absolute riot that Republicans and conservatives are extremely less patriotic when Republicans and conservatives are running the country.

  13. smitty
    July 5th, 2010 @ 7:33 pm

    @jfxgillis,
    I was never less patriotic, but I had much greater confidence under previous administrations, even Clinton (!).
    I never worried that Bubba was actively seeking to worsen things.

  14. smitty
    July 5th, 2010 @ 3:33 pm

    @jfxgillis,
    I was never less patriotic, but I had much greater confidence under previous administrations, even Clinton (!).
    I never worried that Bubba was actively seeking to worsen things.

  15. jfxgillis
    July 5th, 2010 @ 7:46 pm

    smitty:

    I was never less patriotic,

    Well, if I’m doing the math right, about a third of all Republicans and conservatives were. That’s what the numbers show. What’s that, 25 million or so people who moved from “very” to “extremely” in the five years from Bush/Hastert/McConnell to Obama/Pelosi/Reid?

  16. jfxgillis
    July 5th, 2010 @ 3:46 pm

    smitty:

    I was never less patriotic,

    Well, if I’m doing the math right, about a third of all Republicans and conservatives were. That’s what the numbers show. What’s that, 25 million or so people who moved from “very” to “extremely” in the five years from Bush/Hastert/McConnell to Obama/Pelosi/Reid?

  17. smitty
    July 5th, 2010 @ 8:41 pm

    @jfxgillis,
    I’m not pretending to speak beyond myself, but I submit that expressed patriotism may vary inversely to, say, congressional approval ratings.

  18. smitty
    July 5th, 2010 @ 4:41 pm

    @jfxgillis,
    I’m not pretending to speak beyond myself, but I submit that expressed patriotism may vary inversely to, say, congressional approval ratings.

  19. jfxgillis
    July 5th, 2010 @ 11:01 pm

    smitty:

    expressed patriotism may vary inversely to, say, congressional approval ratings

    I don’t disagree with that.

    So you’re saying the more Democrats are in charge, the more Republicans and conservatives wrap themselves in the flag.

    Strikes me as a rather shallow and emphemeral vision of patriotism.

  20. jfxgillis
    July 5th, 2010 @ 7:01 pm

    smitty:

    expressed patriotism may vary inversely to, say, congressional approval ratings

    I don’t disagree with that.

    So you’re saying the more Democrats are in charge, the more Republicans and conservatives wrap themselves in the flag.

    Strikes me as a rather shallow and emphemeral vision of patriotism.

  21. smitty
    July 5th, 2010 @ 11:15 pm

    @jfxgillis,
    I’ll go brief and empirical.
    My patriotism is summed in the founding documents of this country. We have a truly better mousetrap. We have problems where we have deviated from the principles in those founding documents.
    RINOs and Democrats are too busy plooking each other to recall the what this country means, but the lessons are piling up.

  22. smitty
    July 5th, 2010 @ 7:15 pm

    @jfxgillis,
    I’ll go brief and empirical.
    My patriotism is summed in the founding documents of this country. We have a truly better mousetrap. We have problems where we have deviated from the principles in those founding documents.
    RINOs and Democrats are too busy plooking each other to recall the what this country means, but the lessons are piling up.

  23. jfxgillis
    July 5th, 2010 @ 11:41 pm

    smitty:

    No, that’s about as subjective as you can possibly be. And the funny thing is, I agree with your judgement, it’s just not empirical–it’s normative.

  24. jfxgillis
    July 5th, 2010 @ 7:41 pm

    smitty:

    No, that’s about as subjective as you can possibly be. And the funny thing is, I agree with your judgement, it’s just not empirical–it’s normative.

  25. smitty
    July 6th, 2010 @ 11:45 am

    @jfxgillis,
    It may be that Progressivism and unimaginable debt are not correlated, but I think the economic trend of the various developed countries for the last century at least leans in that direction.

  26. smitty
    July 6th, 2010 @ 7:45 am

    @jfxgillis,
    It may be that Progressivism and unimaginable debt are not correlated, but I think the economic trend of the various developed countries for the last century at least leans in that direction.

  27. jfxgillis
    July 7th, 2010 @ 12:49 am

    smitty:

    Please. I’d say perpetual wars of colonization, containment and conquest are a lot more correlated to unimaginable debt than some pissant “Progressivism” in the various developed countries for the last century.

  28. jfxgillis
    July 6th, 2010 @ 8:49 pm

    smitty:

    Please. I’d say perpetual wars of colonization, containment and conquest are a lot more correlated to unimaginable debt than some pissant “Progressivism” in the various developed countries for the last century.

  29. smitty
    July 7th, 2010 @ 1:02 am

    @jfxgillis,
    Go to Perot Charts and disabuse yourself of this convenient myth. Keep in mind that Progressivism feeds the ‘Mandatory’ category, while Defense is ‘Discretionary’.

  30. smitty
    July 6th, 2010 @ 9:02 pm

    @jfxgillis,
    Go to Perot Charts and disabuse yourself of this convenient myth. Keep in mind that Progressivism feeds the ‘Mandatory’ category, while Defense is ‘Discretionary’.