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November 2, 2008 at 06:18:19
Take Heart My Republican Friends by Richmond Shreve Page 1 of 1 page(s) |
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My mind is made up--and so is yours. Nothing has changed for me, though I have listened to Fox and read conservative columnists. Nothing has changed for you, though you have indulged me by reading these essays.Today the odds are better than 40 to 1 favoring Obama, and the survey results are far less scattered than they were just a week ago. You can take heart because conservative McCain supporters have much less of a downside than they probably think. For one thing, Obama’s grass roots campaign owes little to the DNC and congressional Democrats. He has a direct relationship with his constituency and they have demonstrated their commitment to him by contributing and then contributing again. Some on the hill are grumbling that he may feel too independent from the party. That’s a good thing. Old school Democrats have a lot of baggage and years of frustrated agendas. There will be a flood of ill-advised ideas for exploiting the anticipated majority in both houses. Obama won’t need to feel he owes anybody and will force moderation. Your fears of government moving far to the left will not be realized, because such forced change does not get the local Congressman re-elected. To retain voter support they need to be more centrist. Obama has not spared McCain in his criticisms, and for sure not Bush, but he has not criticized the GOP much despite an abundance of possible talking points. This may foretell a desire not to burn bridges—to be a president for both conservative and liberal. 
Fortunately for conservatives, Democratic Party discipline is an oxymoron. On most of the important issues we can expect Obama to seek bipartisan support, rather than trample dissent by whipping the Democrats into line. He will need massive cooperation to fix all the things that are not working. Republicans can expect that he will seek their advice and support, which means they will have influence if they don’t stymie the compromise process that precedes changes destined last. He will be strategizing for eight, not four years.
There will not be vindictive payback or retaliation for the character smears and personal attacks on dissenters that were SOP for the Bush/Rove years.
The GOP will, of course, lose the ability to do administrative favors for their special interests. Bush is initiating a flurry of regrettable paybacks to exploit his last days in office. But after January 20th it is over. Likewise, most of the single-issue splinter groups in the GOP base are out of luck for the next four years. But to the orthodox base, that’s not a real problem because those fringe issues were not core conservative values.
And what about those core conservative values? Spending could hardly be worse than the GOP record during the Bush years, which resulted in a 50% increase (adjusted for inflation) in the national debt. Taxation will shift back to pre-Bush levels, but with breaks for the middle and low income groups. The electioneering hype about disastrous redistributions of wealth won’t become real. Barack Obama will need to stimulate consumer confidence because two-thirds of the GNP is consumer spending, and the only way to attack the national debt is to grow the economy. That means a bigger slice of pie for consumers at the outset, but precludes anything that threatens to shrink the pie. Higher taxes for the rich will be blunted by higher incentives to those who invest to contribute to growth.
The high-stakes gambling that is institutionalized is some forms of Wall Street investment activity can expect much more regulatory constraint globally. Few would dispute such control is needed after the events of recent months.
Using the best available minds Obama will develop policy by employing the same organizational skills that guided his wildly successful campaign. He will delegate (not relegate or abandon) responsibility. It’s likely that he will cross party lines for the best talent. The grave warnings about Obama being inexperienced and untested will evaporate.
Our international policy will be all the more informed and nuanced thanks to his willingness to listen to outspoken voices of dissent. He will use diplomacy before force. His now legendary coolness under fire and his fondness for poker should make him a worthy adversary in the jousting and tilting that characterizes international relations. He will bring forth the best from our Generals, balancing long range interests with short term advantage. He won’t precipitously resort to armed might.
Obama will continue to inspire optimism and unite America in ways that McCain watched with envy through the campaign and he will uses those skills enrolling masses of people in his vision for the future. "We can do it" will replace "I'll fight" as the rallying call. If all goes well Americans will enter the voting booths across this nation and respond to their finer instincts, rejecting the dark imaginings and fears evoked by attack ads. Obama will be elected, and our Nation will promptly embark on the difficult but hopeful road to sustainable prosperity.
God Save America ... God Bless America!
Richmond Shreve
November 1, 2008
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| 10 comments |
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If I were a Republican...
Taxation will shift back to pre-Bush levels, but with breaks for the middle and low income groups. And that includes the Bozo Republicans, who can barely keep home and hearth together, who always vote in their worst interests. If I were a Republican I'd be heartened by your essay. And although I think McCain will move somewhat to the center if elected, there's not a thing you or anyone can say that would make me feel better. I think two words: Supreme Court, followed by McCain won't do a damn thing to reverse any of Bush's Constitution-busting policies. Then there's Sarah Palin... by Sandy Sand (198 articles, 0 quicklinks, 227 diaries, 1548 comments [2 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Sunday, Nov 2, 2008 at 8:03:04 AM  (0+)
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Reply: Sarah Palin
Sandy, Many of the republicans I know are not happy with McCain as a candidate, and are downright unhappy with Palin, but their orthodoxy won't let them come across the line and vote against them. The ticket is acceptable because the same GOP is behind it as has ruled these past years. We make a big mistake in assuming that changing the leader changes the base. What is new on the scene is Obama's new base--it is millions of individuals united by his vision without the intermediary of the Democratic National Committee. In the final days of the campaign, McCain is getting big funding from RNC, because he is barred from getting it directly from the base (assuming he could raise it.) Obama is still raising money on the internet directly. Politically it is a lot cleaner with no secret deals or debts. by Richmond Shreve (30 articles, 70 quicklinks, 17 diaries, 156 comments [5 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Sunday, Nov 2, 2008 at 10:53:37 AM (0+)
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Reply: No expectation of crossover
As you said, many won't crossover, because it's the Republican ticket or die, but it is possible that the disillusioned part of the base could very well just not vote. A couple of Republicans I know of are voting Bob Barr because they simply can't vote McCain/Palin. If Hillary had been the nominee, I would have been among the disillusioned, but I would have voted for her holding my nose. And I wouldn't have taken the chance in not voting figuring that here in California it doesn't matter. Obama or Clinton, the Dems have it here and we've been spared presidential campaign ads only to be bombarded with proposition ads. I pity the people living in toss-up or battleground states. by Sandy Sand (198 articles, 0 quicklinks, 227 diaries, 1548 comments [2 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Sunday, Nov 2, 2008 at 4:53:25 PM (0+)
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I think you present an accurate view of things to come
Despite the motives of the more extreme left agenda (which I am admittedly closer to), I think that you are correct to suggest that Obama's administration will be more centrist than the McCain campaign has suggested. That's not to say that there won't be some drastic shifts in direction on some fronts, but the mentality of the sky falling under a socialist democratic agenda just isn't going to play out. As even amongst the Democratic party legislature, there are clearly those who will hold out for more centrist positions and not immune to the influence of lobbyist dollars. by Kip Anderson (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 10 comments) on Sunday, Nov 2, 2008 at 8:41:36 AM (0+)
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Wealth Transfer Unmasked
One of the hottest concerns of conservatives is Wealth Transfer. Thomas Friedman nailed it in Sunday's column when he said: Never has one generation spent so much of its children’s wealth in such a short period of time with so little to show for it as in the Bush years. Under George W. Bush, America has foisted onto future generations a huge financial burden to finance our current tax cuts, wars and now bailouts. Just paying off those debts will require significant sacrifices. But when you add the destruction of wealth that has taken place in the last two months in the markets, and the need for more bailouts, you understand why this is not going to be a painless recovery." Read the entire article in Today's Times. by Richmond Shreve (30 articles, 70 quicklinks, 17 diaries, 156 comments [5 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Sunday, Nov 2, 2008 at 9:32:40 AM (0+)
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Take Heart My Republican Friends
If Obama had been born Berry O'Brian, a white guy, he wouldn't even be in the senate, let alone a presidential candidate. The democrat party has proven that they are racist once again. Senator Clinton would be the democrat candidate for president if the major news media hadn't been tired of the Clintons. The Barack Obama's statement to 'Joe the plumber' - "I just want to spread the wealth around." is a layman's attempt at Karl Marx's "From each according to their ability, to each according to their need." All people that have lived under Marxism have suffered. by greenpig (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 3 comments) on Sunday, Nov 2, 2008 at 9:12:50 PM (0+)
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Reply: The Dems are racist ?
Let me get this straight: the Democrats are racist because they nominated a black guy for president. You live in a strange world. by Kenneth Anderson (20 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 23 comments) on Monday, Nov 3, 2008 at 1:24:21 AM (0+)
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Reply: K.A.
If you view racism as something distinctly "whites hating blacks" you will be amazed by that posters comment. Racism has more than one head,and political correctness is likely the worst form. by sommers (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 174 comments [38 recommended, 2 rejected]) on Tuesday, Nov 4, 2008 at 12:46:24 PM (0+)
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Reply: Seriously?
How can you seriously argue that with the history of this country? Obama was nominated precisely because he rose above this country's narrative of race. He rose to the ideal of America. That is about as anti-racist as one can get, and if you don't understand that, sorry. by Kenneth Anderson (20 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 23 comments) on Saturday, Nov 8, 2008 at 2:34:11 AM (0+)
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"Take heart my Republican friends" by R. Shreve
For us, we and me in the Arab/Islamic world: "God SAVE America", YES and save all the nations on Earth! Because, it is a supplication to the SAVER and DESTROYER of nations and peoples! "God BLESS America", WHY? Let God bless whoever he wants to but us, we and I would much rather supplicate God to BLESS us, we and I by keeping we, us and I just safe FROM AMERICA. This would be a real blessing, indeed! by syed mahdi (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 92 comments [4 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Monday, Nov 3, 2008 at 10:27:12 AM (0+)
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