Now it has unfolded. We know what Obamaism looks like. On the domestic side, it is liberal statism: higher taxes, mammoth bureaucracies, and a vortex of government regulation that sucks up private enterprise and transforms business decisions into political ones. It comes with an ungracious and sneering contempt for opposition. On the international scene, we have the intersection of incompetence and folly, with a strong element of cynicism. The Obami have deployed aggressive and losing gambits (Honduras and the Middle East), betrayed friends (Israel, Poland, the Czech Republic), snubbed allies (the Churchill bust goes home), thrown ourselves at the feet of adversaries (Russia, Iran), jettisoned human rights and the defense of democracy (Burma, Sudan, Iran), projected angst-ridden indecision (Afghanistan-war formulation), damaged our fighting ability (defense cuts and missile-defense withdrawal), and shown deference to debased institutions (the UN). Most alarmingly, Obama and his attorney general have scarred and scared our intelligence community and placed Lefty pie-in-the-sky moralizing above the safety of Americans (trying KSM, closing Guantanamo, and halting enhanced interrogations).
And so what should conservatives be doing? Well now it’s obvious — oppose, obstruct, warn, and cajole. There aren’t many weapons at conservatives’ disposal, but there are some. And the greatest is to be found in the reservoir of common sense and decency of the America people, who, when stirred, have risen up to oppose pernicious legislation and those whom they mistakenly trusted to behave in a responsible fashion. As [William] Kristol points out, three years is a long time, but the congressional elections are approaching and the argument has begun. And now conservatives know precisely what must be done: as best they are able, slow and stop Obamaism until reinforcements arrive and the voters can render their verdict.
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- November 14th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
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Send for the reinforcements!!! Yes, reinforcements are coming.
From the shattered, tattered remains of what used to be Poland,Israel, and the Czech Republic, all now naught but charred, blood-stiffened landscapes, the few and dazed survivors of the vile Obamist betrayals will come and they won’t be long in coming, dragging their mangled yet somehow still-proud frames and clutching whatever flintlocks and sabers they still possess, their hands mangled but fierce, fierce-handed yea, but nothing in hand matching the fierce no-nonsense gleam in their remaining eyes and/or crusted sockets, yet still, and it must not be long, they will come.
They are the reinforcements.
The land will be cleansed. The land must be clean again.
For the children.
They must come.
And we must wait
and hold fast
Keep Hope Alive.
and Kenny Gladney needs a few bucks
for medical expenses.
November 14th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
Hurrah for Jennifer Rubin.
And a dusty gumdrop for the frog.
November 14th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
fly-flavored or double cricket crunch?
November 14th, 2009 at 7:06 pm
I do quibble with the “now.” It was always clear what Obamaism would be. But as usual, JRub combines liveliness and trenchance to make powerful points.
November 15th, 2009 at 11:40 am
Maybe it was clear what Obamaism would be, but it wasn’t necessarily clear how fully realized it would be – real, existing Obamaism vs. theoretical Obamaism. Also there was some question as to how much room Obamaism would make for pragmatism or even mere promise-keeping regarding transparency, bipartisanship, etc. In other words, I don’t think any of us knew, and I think a lot of us on the right actually feared, that he would save the real deal for later after first having built a solid statist coalition. Probably only frogs believe that he ever made a legitimate effort to reach out, and that massive bipartisan majorities for economic stimulus, financial reform, Afghanistan escalation, and even health care wouldn’t have been available for him if he had made an effort to pick off the likes of McCain, Graham, Snowe, Collins, and others. The whole punditariat and most of the electorate were ready to rise to their feet and never sit down if he had set out to govern from just left of center.
Scary thing politically is that they might still be ready to do so.
November 15th, 2009 at 11:52 am