Under the Bigtop

Good post. For me, the moral issues ARE important, but they are important only at the state and local level. If I can get the Federal Courts to stop creating new rights to immoral things, I am willing to fight these battles at home.

If San Fransisco wants to make gay marriage, sodomy, stem cell research, infanticide, and euthenasia legal and normal, I will never go there and will never want their ways here, but I will accept it. That is the consitutional model with each state being a test tube to allow us to try various choices. I believe that these things would destroy them in a short time like Europe is being destroyed, but that is the result of a failed experiment.

The issues that I see for the Republicans are the ones I have on my blog in my new "Contract with America". National issues with national implications.

Just my $.02

Smaller government means end NCLB and disband the Dept of Education. Reinstate the freedom to farm bill and close the Dept of Agriculture.

Become the party of alternative energy research & development. Let's have a plan to reduce energy dependence. Let's drill where we know there is oil.

Enforce the border and expand the guest worker program to sensible levels. Make English the official language.

Deregulate the medical care establishment and allow private medical savings plans; turn away from the path of socialized medicine.

Increase our active duty military to adequate levels to meet the threat we face. Recruit intelligence agents that speak Arabic languages.

Sell the idea of taking care of ourselves, taking ownership of our own destiny, weaning ourselves from the inefficient and burdensome government largess and dependency that is undermining our society.

I saw you posting on that "white guilt" thread. I thought you might be interested in a new post on my blog on race and racism. Stop by ***Shameless plug***

The Contract With America was so successful. It focused the party and was something most people could agree with. The Rs need something similar to regain that focus.

Correct me if I'm wrong but my impression is that for the most part the social conservatives also tend to be fiscal/small government convervatives, but there are the other groups you mentioned who are fiscal/small government conservatives that aren't social conservatives.

To me there's a bit of an inconsistency in not being both. It seems to me that the socially progressive stuff, gay rights, multiculturalism, abortion, etc., all of these 'rights' that have generally been discovered by courts, represent an expansion of government. They are also very expensive, because once all of these 'rights' become recognized they all seem to receive money directly from the government or become significant costs of business by both government departments and private industry through regulations and laws, not to mention lawsuits and damages that occur when an organization does not keep in compliance with all of these new entitlements, oops I mean fundamental human rights.

Diversity and equity reporting and corporate plans for the same are an example of something that happens in government departments and is required of many industries through regulations, etc., and is to my mind nothing but a pointless bureaucratic exercise and money drain that have created entire industries that are essentially parasitic.

The key element is to clearly distinguish between issues that are properly federal in nature, and those that are state/local.

If the Reps become simply a party plugging alternate issues to push using the federal power and guns, they're really no different from Dems.

The state/local issues can then be addressed on that level by their own conservatives, who either would or would not be a majority.

The biggest problem right now is this hugely overwhelming and usurpatious federal bureaucracy sticking its unwanted nose into every little aspect of everyone's lives.

.." As much as we point out the fractious nature of the Democrats and all of their competing subgroups..."

This coming from a self-ploclaimed "African"-dad-brother-uncle-employed-breathing-taller than two feet-I encourage labels-American...spare me.

The fact of the matter is that I am of African ancestry, others are of Asian ancestry, and you are probably of European ancestry. So what is your probelm with me acknowledging that in my self description?

You seem to think that anyone that acknowledges their ancestry is somehow ignoring their American identity. I have the wisdom to know that is not the case.

But if you, in your ignorance or arrogance need a primer on why I am willing to identify myself as African-American read closely and maybe you will understand.

I, at 35 years old, am only 3 paternal and maternal generations removed from slavery. The best evidence is that my paternal great grandfather was a slave in South Carolina and may very well have been one of the Africans imported after the United States banned the legal importation of slavery, as South Carolina continued the import of slaves well after the ban. My family has some traditions that are of obvious African extraction, as well as the churches that I have attended all of my life. So you see, O Condescending One, that I have a deep and abiding connection to the Africans that I am descended from.

For me to pretend to ignore my African ancestry would be foolish, as I am obviously of African extraction. Further it would be an insult to my father, his father, and his father before him for me to deny who I am. I am the descendant of African slaves, who were imported into this land , were enslaved here, and whose children made a life for themselves and their heirs here. I am both American and at root African, and I will never deny that in order to placate you or anyone else. Maybe you need to deal with that on your own, but my blog is not the place for it.

Further, I wonder if you run around complaining about those who call themselves Asian-American, Italian-American, or German-American? Are they being in any way disloyal to America by acknowledging their ancestry and preserving their cultural traditions in this land...or is it just African-Americans that you have a problem with? Why are you so afraid and intolerant of people that are willing to honor and acknowledge their ancestry in the way they identify themselves? What exactly is your problem?

And from here on in, if you have nothing to add to the discussion, don't waste space spoutng your juvenile rants. I don't want to read it, and I am sure the others that visit this blog visit in order to see what is going on, what I and others think, and to add their comments. What you did is act like a 5 year old that can't have his way and decided to throw a tantrum. If that's what you want to do, do it at your own blog...that type of behavior is not welcomed here.