Rush blasts Instapundit

Displeased with conservative apathy

from JoeUser Forums

Recently Glenn Reynolds, webmaster of Instapundit.com, the world's most popular blog site and a conservative made the argument that if Republicans lose, it's because they deserved it.

Rush Limbaugh today struck back with the charge of "Do we deserve to have our taxes raised? Do we deserve a cut and run policy in Iraq? Do we deserve to have endless congressional investigations?"

The argument is strong but I think overlooks one thing -- we do have a Republican President right? Our taxes aren't going to be raised before 2008.

My view is the same as Glenn Reynolds.  The Republicans blew it. They became complacent and ignored their constituents. If they lose, I do think they lost because they deserved to lose.

Does that mean I agree with those who think we should have higher taxes or that we should abandon Iraq? No. But the Republicans losing the house (and even the senate) doesn't mean that's going to happen. It gives Republicans two years to clean up their act and make their case in 2008.

I say, let the Democrats win the house if that is how it's going to be and let them make the case that we need higher taxes, abandon Iraq to terrorists, etc.  Then in 2008, those issues will come up with a vote by the American people and Bush and the Republicans can demonstrate how they were able to block those policies in the Democratically controlled congress.

But right now, I have little excitement for Republicans. I don't feel they've held the principles they were elected on -- balanced budgets, securing our borders, etc.

Update 10/17: Rush talks more on this issue.

Update 10/19: My response to Rush.

Update 10/20: So now I'm a "Cut and Run" conservative?

republican
51,743 views 55 replies
Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top
we do have a Republican President right?


As long as the son is not like the father.
Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top
Rush Limbaugh represents everything that is wrong with the Republican Party. He doesn't ever check his sources, makes insanely stupid claims, and just blasts anyone that doesn't give a completely partial view toward whatever he believes. I have tried to give the man second, third, fourth, etc. chances, but everytime he proved that he is an idiotic blowhard. I can't understand why anyone would ever listen to him.
Sins of a Solar Empire II
Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top
If the Democrats win the House, it will be pretty predictable from a historical standpoint. It was just when Clinton was settling into his second term and he and the Democrats at large were getting ready to implement all of their dream policies (starting with nationalized health care, of course) that the Republicans had a huge win in Congress.

We, the American people, tend to want to keep our government as hamstrung as possible. The only reason I could think of for keeping all power with the Republicans would be if they had handled every single issue flawlessly (and of course, they haven't - hell, that could be the ONLY thing that every American agrees on). Having a Democratic House won't be the atrocity Rush and others seem to think it will be. It'll be the natural reaction of a populace that feels that one party has held power too long and hasn't used it well.

In other words, I agree with the Instapundit!

Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top
I am disgusted with the republican party almost as much as the democratic party. I really  think they are all a bunch of self serving swine.
Reply #5 from JoeUser Forums Top
If Democrates win the house it will be a long string of "investigations" and nothing of any substance for either side or the middle.
You are correct - they didn't stick to their principals.
Reply #6 from JoeUser Forums Top
I agree - it would be nice to get a Democratic House and/or Senate (Senate especially), if only to compare their performance in 2008 with the Republicans.
Reply #7 from JoeUser Forums Top
Yes, the Republicans messed up and didn't delivery everything they promised.

No, its not the end of the world if Democrats take control of Congress.

But a win for the Democrats now would (IMO) hamper their (Hilary's) chances to win the White House. Alternatively a win for Republicans now could hurt them in the 2008 election. So it really comes down to when do you do you want to screw now or later, either way where getting F%*^@#

Seriously though, who knows what going to happen with these next 2 elections, but I'm really enjoying watching all the political back-biting and the October surprises. I can't wait till Bush pulls his trump card and brings OBL out of whatever whole they have him in, and the Democrats out some gay child molesting Republican Congressman....ooops they already did that.. my bad!
Reply #8 from JoeUser Forums Top
I think the main problem with Republicans now is excuses. Instead of really expressing themselves in a forthright manner about why they want to do what they want to do, they get the jingle writers to come up with crab-walking reasons that appeal to people dishonestly.

Iraq is a golden example. I've seen bloggers that can explain why the Iraq war was a good idea, and explain it far, far better than the Bush political camp. When they do, though, they just get shouted down by people saying "BUT THAT ISN'T WHY WE INVADED!!! THERE WERE NO WMDS!!!"

I think that they assume the American people are just to stupid to get it, so they have to put it in the same outrageous form their frothing-at-the-mouth opponents use. Oddly, that's the kind of propaganda they easily defeated in the last two presidential elections. Why would you take on the unpleasant guise of the people you've trounced?
Reply #9 from JoeUser Forums Top
What is with these stupid conspiracy theory posts? Anyways, I really could care less if the democrats win some power back. They will do exactly what Rush said. They will do nothing but try to take revenge on Bush, and it will only help us retain the White House in '08.
Reply #10 from JoeUser Forums Top
If there's anything nuttier than 9/11 conspiracy theories, it's posting your phone number on the internet, lol...
Reply #11 from JoeUser Forums Top
Oh yes, the Bush administration has been able to keep the big 9/11 plot a secret.
Of course they weren't able to keep the surveillance of foreign calls to the US a secret. Nor were they able to keep their program of surveillance of terrorist money movements a secret. They also haven't been able to keep classified intelligence reports secret.

They have, however, been able to make four airplanes and their passengers disappear, implode several buildings, attack the Pentagon with a missile, and there have been NO LEAKS! Wow, it boggles the mind!
Reply #12 from JoeUser Forums Top
If only these 9/11 conspiracy nuts would focus their energies toward marijuana legalization, they might get something done. It'd be a double-whammy, as it would provide them with a cure to their lunacy while also keeping them too stoned to make trouble....
Reply #13 from JoeUser Forums Top
Yikes--I thought I had come to a conservative site. Sorry--wont be back!
Reply #14 from JoeUser Forums Top
There seems to be a surge of "moderates" planning to vote Democrat this election as a "protest" against the fact that the GOP has been acting in very un-Republican ways. For example, Jane Galt of the "Assymetrical Information" blog (www.janegalt.net) has stated her plans to vote Dem. Glenn Reynolds, the Instapundit, has said that the GOP deserves to lose (but he's also said the Dems don't deserve to win).

Folks, if ever there were a time to make a protest vote, this is it. "A plague on BOTH your houses!" Vote Libertarian. I know, the Libs don't deserve to win EITHER, and they WON'T - but the first time that the Libertarian vote count is greater than the DIFFERENCE between the Rs and the Ds, both major parties will begin to court the Lib vote - which can be nothing but good.

Vote Libertarian.
Reply #15 from JoeUser Forums Top
Unfortunately, if the Dems take control of Congress, they can raise taxes and Bush can do nothing about it.
This is because Bush's tax cuts had sunset provisions in them. Thus, by doing nothing, the Dems could raise
our taxes.

Basically, if the Dems win the House we will get:

1. Higher taxes
2. Endless impeachment investigations

If the Dems win the Senate we will get:

1. Higher taxes
2. More Souter's being confirmed as federal and/or supreme court judges.

While I agree with Glenn Reynolds (in that the Republicans will only have themselves to blame),
I still believe that when push comes to shove, Republicans are still the better choice.
It makes me sick to think that Pelosi might be the speaker.
Reply #16 from JoeUser Forums Top
Glenn Reynolds is neither a conservative nor a Republican, and he assumes that the general electorate cares as deeply about boring policy wonkery as he does. I doubt 90% of registered voters could tell you who Harriet Miers was at this point. However, they *do* know that Nancy Pelosi was on Meet the Press promising to raise taxes to above Clinton levels and they *do* know that Murtha is promising to cut and run in Iraq.
Reply #18 from JoeUser Forums Top
The problem with the Dems taking the house or the senate is they are the not-serious party. They aren't really serious about governing they just want the perks of the power.
Reply #19 from JoeUser Forums Top
I'm sorry, I don't see the basis for confidence that if the Democrats take the House, there will be no real-world consequences for us.

First of all, their ability to distract and harrass the President (impeachment, anyone?) won't strengthen the President's negotiating position in dealing with North Korea or Iran. Who knows how that might play out. One possibility, though, is that the other side in a negotiation with these countries or with Russia or China might mistakenly view him as weak or crippled and refuse to negotiate the way they otherwise would have, pushing him to choose a military answer that might otherwise might have been avoided. If that happens, that's a consequence we'll all be stuck with.

As to taxes, again I don't understand why people are so confident that the President can or would singlehandedly prevent them from being raised. If, for example, the Democrats say that the only way they'll approve needed funding for the Iraq effort is if the President agrees to various tax increases, my guess is he'll go for the tax increases. Is that an implausible scenario? I don't think so.

Sorry, guys, I'm with Rush in this discussion, even if he's a blowhard. It's easy to wash our hands of this election, as if we the people have nothing at stake, as if the Republicans somehow "deserve" to lose and the Democrats reciprocally "deserve" to win. The Democrats might indeed take control of the House, but that's nothing for us to be happy, or even neutral, about.
Reply #20 from JoeUser Forums Top
"If the Republicans lose it is because they deserve it." -Instapundit

This is a true statement

"If the Democrats lose it is because they deserve it." -Joel Mackey

This is a true statement

This is the sad state we find America in, a party in power who faces no credible opposition and thus squanders thier opportunity to effect needed changes. An opposition party lost in a losing paradigm.

God please have mercy on us, please.


Rush and republicans in general should focus on primaries to push out the entrenched incumbents, that would be revolutionary and effect real change.
Reply #21 from JoeUser Forums Top
unfortunately every thing the dems would mess up they would blame on the bush admin.
Reply #22 from JoeUser Forums Top
Huh? We have a Republican President and that means taxes can't be raised? I guess you missed what happened to the first President Bush : 'Read my lips..."

It's the legislative branch that controls much of this. The President can do one thing - veto something proposed by the legislature.

The power to raise taxes, to provide sufficient money to provide our soldiers with food, weapons, and everything material, will be voted on by the legislative branch. If they refuse to fund the war, the war will cease and may lead to a scramble to get out, much like we saw in the final days of Vietnam.

Oh, and by the way? That Democrat Congress you so long for will impeach George Bush, probably Cheney, maybe Rumsfeld. I doubt they'll impeach Rice, but they will smear her beyond redemption.

Get off your butts and vote GOP. It's not perfect, but the alternate is stagnation, corruption, and perhaps the end of the American Democracy.
Reply #23 from JoeUser Forums Top
"Glenn Reynolds... made the argument that if Republicans lose, it's because they deserved it. Rush Limbaugh... struck back with "Do we deserve to have our taxes raised? Do we deserve a cut and run policy in Iraq? Do we deserve to have endless congressional investigations?"

As is too often the case, a poorly observed argument. Reynolds was speaking of the Republican PARTY, not Joe Voter. He made a narrowly-focused argument that the Party deserved to lose, not that the public deserved to have the unfortunate fallout Limbaugh SURMISES will occur as a result. If a few more Democrats are elected, does that mean taxes are going up for certain? That we'll pull out of Iraq? That politics as susal will change? Not necessarily. With Liieberman as an example of what happens when a Democrat (Lamont) kowtows to the loud, lunatic left, chances are good that many of the new majority will seek firmer ground. They'll gravitate to the centrist party of -guess who- Hillary. Considering how Limbaugh feels about her, perhaps his real, though unspoken, concern is that a Democratic majority would help Mrs. Clinton's presidential bid. (He's right, they would. This will be the beginning of the party's shif away from the left, which will surprise many benighted political observers.)
Reply #24 from JoeUser Forums Top
People always deserve the government they elect. If people are dumb enough to vote for officials they don't deserve, then they deserve what they get. Duh! Heh.
Reply #25 from JoeUser Forums Top

"Official" 9/11 story On Life support; The Truth is Taking Over

The gutless purveyors of fraud trying to shout down the 9/11 Truth movement are not going to like this news. The "official" story is on life support, and the prognosis is not good.


Talk about a "gutless" purveyor of fraud! Don't look in a mirror! Thanks for the laughs!