SandBoxBlogs: Red State "I Am a Real Democrat, Therefore I Now Vote Republican"

(See previous post and public commentary here)

A must read classic.  Now archived over on Red State.

'colegrayson':
"This I do know.  I know that my whole life I have believed in the power of our people.

I support reasonable safety nets, but personal empowerment.  We can’t allow our country to become a bread line; we must prevent a collapse into complete dependency.  But even at this point, Obama does not truly care about jobs.  In this new bill he proposes more spending on unemployment extensions, but could that spending not go directly to the SBA, or works programs?  No I don’t want these people to starve but blast it I want them to get out of bed.  We have lost our excellence and drive towards excellence.

In order to be a Democrat you have to capitulate to social permissiveness, to political correctness, and nanny stating.  Democrats I grew up with were largely socially conservative, economically populist, and went to Church.  They did not mock God, like many currently do, and they respected our rights to worship.  We now live in a society that publicly respects Ramadan more than Christmas, Muslim more than Christian, and even the Attorney General, while stating tacitly blacks can’t be guilty of a hate crime, used the power of his office to defend a Muslim teacher from being fired for taking time off to worship.  Try getting the teacher’s union to back you up when you miss work for a church bake sale.

But really America, look around.  Who are the givers?  Do you see latte fueled hipster liberals working food banks?  Or is it almost always the good folk from Church, who constantly give of themselves to help their neighbor, as the Bible teaches, and who want only in return the chance to slip a Psalm in your pocket, and to invite you to listen to the Word.

I respect your right to follow a different faith but I require you to respect mine.

I had to detach myself from the rhetoric and see for myself the empty lip service the Democratic Party had become.  With each passing day I feel better about myself, more in tune with God, and am a nicer person.  My Wife has seen this.  My friends have too.  I don’t beat the Bible, and I am surely no Saint.

But when faced with a choice of amoral narcissists, who say one thing then do another, educated to the point of idiocy, confident only the sound of their own words, or good hearted farmers, and mechanics, and churchgoers who I have seen selflessly give of themselves for the benefit of others, what side do you think I should stand by?.....

......I am and will always be a certain type of Democrat. Some call me Southern or Blue Dog, but I will support equality, and defense, and doing right for my country.

I will support fair tax policy, and respect for God, and human decency.

I will work to reduce abortions and provide safe streets and good schools.

I prioritize paychecks before excuses and excellence over mediocrity.

I believe in the brave men and women of our Armed Forces and feel they deserve more respect.

I believe the Government has grown oppressive, and burdensome, and needs to be reduced.

I believe the poor should be fed first through their earnings, so they can someday cease to be poor, and then only if needed through welfare, with some kind of incentive attached, be it labor or educational.

But most of all, I believe in you.  It is for these reasons, that this certain type of Democrat, is now a Republican.  God Bless all....."  (Read more?  Click title)

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBox Comments: Aspen Times/Melanie Sturm "Freedom to choose applies to Komen"

A local favorite, Melanie Sturm.  Up on the Aspen Times.

"...Stumbling and stammering through a 72-hour public-relations debacle, Komen finally waved the white flag by apologizing “for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women's lives.” Later, Nancy Pelosi triumphantly declared, “Women's health has a big victory this morning.”

Pelosi should heed Shakespeare's admonition: “Heat not a furnace for your foe so hot that it do singe yourself.” In truth, this unfortunate dust-up between two significant women's health organizations was less one giant leap for womankind and more one small step for abortion. Now in the line of fire from both sides of the abortion debate, Komen is beaten and bloodied, as is its potential “to end breast cancer forever.” Furthermore, women's health advocates undermined their credibility by accusing Komen of hurting women, even though they knew the redirected funds were meager and would be redeployed well.

Not as obvious is the longer-term damage to Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider and arguably the most politically polarizing social service organization despite delivering vital (non-abortion) health services to millions of lower-income women. Though Planned Parenthood banked $3 million from the crisis, in making them the Roach Motel of charities — you may enter, but never leave — zealous pro-choice supporters of Planned Parenthood frighten would-be funders and affiliates.

Herein lie the rub, hypocrisy and stunning irony: When those who purport to be “pro-choice” tell a private charity like Komen they must pass a litmus test outside its mission's boundaries “or else,” they're not only depriving Komen of choice, they're denying Komen the freedom to act in accordance with its primary interest — to prevent death due to breast cancer. Why can't pro-choice advocates call Komen a blessing and say, Amen?

To those who frame the abortion argument around a woman's right to choose, Think Again. Otherwise, the Komen Foundation and breast cancer victims won't be the last hostages holed up at Hotel California, where “You can checkout any time you like, but you can never leave...!” (Read the article?  Click title)

Melanie Sturm lives in Aspen. Her column runs every other Thursday. She reminds readers to Think Again. You might change your mind.

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBox Comments: Red State/Cole Grayson "I Am a Real Democrat, Therefore I Now Vote Republican"

A must read classic.  By 'colegrayson'.  Off RedState.  We have now tossed this piece up a number of times since it came out on September 8, 2011.

"...I had the distinct pleasure of watching the GOP candidates debate, and I learned something shocking.  They are not, despite the New York Times propaganda, crazy.  They are diverse, intelligent constructs of a party that allows for free thought, unlike dogmatic liberalism I now renounce.  But fair warning, I am Pro God, which by liberal definition means I force Him into the faces of others.  I am against 12 year olds signing off on their own abortions, which means I despise women.  I believe Herman Cain agrees with my beliefs on minority empowerment, so he too must be a racist.  Even the now wilted specter of Michelle Bachmann, successfully castrated by a viciously sexist question in the previous debate, was not any sort of boogeywoman.  What we had was an intelligent thoughtful exchange of ideas.  Some of these ideas may not work, and others have merit.  Cain’s thoughts on taxation I found intriguing but impractical, but hey, at least it was an idea.  A freaking idea.  But wait, other ideas reared their head as well.  Ideas like using military drones to track illegals, (Governor Perry) support of a guest worker program (Speaker Gingrich) and of course there was Mitt.  Poor Mitt.  He would have been a great 60′s Republican.

 Today he would be better off as a Democrat.  But he is a good fella and a smart man, so he has a place.  Just not in the White House.

As many of you know I am an ardent Perry supporter.  He did well.  Not great, but for first time out, pretty well.  He was attacked constantly and held his own, and he never wavered on his beliefs.  We do need straight talk; no it is not realistic to assume today’s youth will have Social Security, by definition a Ponzi Scheme.  Should we reform it?  Sure.  Will Rick destroy it?  Of course not.  And you know that. He just wanted to make a point about unfunded entitlements.  But sometimes the truth is a despised enemy of the power.  He will err on the side of saving lives, his words, and I believe him.  Lil’ Old Ladies won’t starve and children won’t freeze.  But with the Excuse Maker in Chief?  Who knows about the man who would quote the Koran and refer to it as Holy but mock the Bible and accuse Christians of being bitter.  Where lacks Jesus, lacks love and where lacks love, lacks conscience.  The same people who advocate the murder of 8 month old babies are not the same people who will truly fight for health care, or good jobs.

This I do know.  I know that my whole life I have believed in the power of our people...."

(colegrayson diary)

(Read more?  Click title. Comment to discuss)

SandBox Comments: LA Times "Swing county in Michigan isn't sold on batting for Obama"

(Maeve Reston, Reporting from Sterling Heights, Mich.)

"Macomb County's mercurial "Reagan Democrats" have long served as a barometer of the national mood. Their abandonment of their own party to support Ronald Reagan helped usher in GOP rule nationally. Three decades later, Barack Obama pulled them back into the fold, sweeping the county by more than 8 points and winning Michigan by the largest margin for a Democrat since 1964...."

SandBox Nanny is reminded of 'colegrayson' and his "I am a Real Democrat, therefore I now vote Republican" post over on Red State.

(Read more?  Click title.  Comment to start discussion)

"Truth goes through three stages. First it is ridiculed. Then it is violently opposed. Finally, it is accepted as self-evident."