The Other McCain

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

‘Sometimes I Think You Guys Are A Bunch Of Cowards’

Posted on | July 25, 2010 | 13 Comments

by Smitty

Go, Greta. This is a great segment with Paul Ryan, touting his Roadmap Plan.

Ryan puts words in the mouth of unnamed Dems:

“If it wasn’t so political–I love your idea–I’d go for this.”

Ryan points out the stark challenge facing a GOP trying to play bass and drums at the same time. There really is no half measure between the minimal, essentially libertarian Constitution as written, and the nanny state. He remains unconvinced, perhaps rightfully so, that the American people are serious about the elimination of Federal entitlements. Our ruling class continues underestimate Americans. It falls to the Tea Parties to get people elected who will go through this Federal monstrosity with a machete and a blow torch, and set about restoring liberty. Nothing else will do.

Comments

13 Responses to “‘Sometimes I Think You Guys Are A Bunch Of Cowards’”

  1. Thrasymachus
    July 25th, 2010 @ 11:31 am

    The problem with the Constitution is it is filled with abstract phrases that can read to mean anything. Like “interstate commerce”. How much of the federal government’s activity is based on that? The Constitution gives the federal government the right to regulate interstate commerce. Or “equal protection of the law.” We will have universal gay marriage in a year or two because of this seemingly innocuous phrase. Or “due process”, or “substantive due process”, which does not appear in the Constitution but is a well-accepted concept.

    And this is not recent. It all goes back to John Marshall. The judges, not the Constitution, are the law of the land.

  2. Thrasymachus
    July 25th, 2010 @ 11:31 am

    The problem with the Constitution is it is filled with abstract phrases that can read to mean anything. Like “interstate commerce”. How much of the federal government’s activity is based on that? The Constitution gives the federal government the right to regulate interstate commerce. Or “equal protection of the law.” We will have universal gay marriage in a year or two because of this seemingly innocuous phrase. Or “due process”, or “substantive due process”, which does not appear in the Constitution but is a well-accepted concept.

    And this is not recent. It all goes back to John Marshall. The judges, not the Constitution, are the law of the land.

  3. Thrasymachus
    July 25th, 2010 @ 7:31 am

    The problem with the Constitution is it is filled with abstract phrases that can read to mean anything. Like “interstate commerce”. How much of the federal government’s activity is based on that? The Constitution gives the federal government the right to regulate interstate commerce. Or “equal protection of the law.” We will have universal gay marriage in a year or two because of this seemingly innocuous phrase. Or “due process”, or “substantive due process”, which does not appear in the Constitution but is a well-accepted concept.

    And this is not recent. It all goes back to John Marshall. The judges, not the Constitution, are the law of the land.

  4. smitty
    July 25th, 2010 @ 11:38 am

    @Thrasymachus,
    I’m of the opinion that the litmus test for any decision is whether Federal/State/Local chain of command is honored.

    Decisions permitting the Federal government to strip power from the States for the sake of tampering with individual liberty, i.e. the bulk of the Progressive project, must be scrapped.

  5. smitty
    July 25th, 2010 @ 7:38 am

    @Thrasymachus,
    I’m of the opinion that the litmus test for any decision is whether Federal/State/Local chain of command is honored.

    Decisions permitting the Federal government to strip power from the States for the sake of tampering with individual liberty, i.e. the bulk of the Progressive project, must be scrapped.

  6. dad29
    July 25th, 2010 @ 6:25 pm

    Smitty, the next thing you know, you’ll be quoting Roman Catholic social doctrine on the Theory of Subsidiarity.

    By and by, you’ll swim the Tiber…

  7. dad29
    July 25th, 2010 @ 2:25 pm

    Smitty, the next thing you know, you’ll be quoting Roman Catholic social doctrine on the Theory of Subsidiarity.

    By and by, you’ll swim the Tiber…

  8. Greg Toombs
    July 25th, 2010 @ 7:37 pm

    “machete and a blow torch… Nothing else will do”

    Well, there’s also Marsellus Wallace and his call for “a pair of pliers and a blowtorch.”

    I’m good with either.

  9. Greg Toombs
    July 25th, 2010 @ 7:37 pm

    “machete and a blow torch… Nothing else will do”

    Well, there’s also Marsellus Wallace and his call for “a pair of pliers and a blowtorch.”

    I’m good with either.

  10. Greg Toombs
    July 25th, 2010 @ 3:37 pm

    “machete and a blow torch… Nothing else will do”

    Well, there’s also Marsellus Wallace and his call for “a pair of pliers and a blowtorch.”

    I’m good with either.

  11. smitty
    July 25th, 2010 @ 7:44 pm

    @Greg,
    Yeah, I didn’t want to get too Pulp Fiction with it.

  12. smitty
    July 25th, 2010 @ 7:44 pm

    @Greg,
    Yeah, I didn’t want to get too Pulp Fiction with it.

  13. smitty
    July 25th, 2010 @ 3:44 pm

    @Greg,
    Yeah, I didn’t want to get too Pulp Fiction with it.