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Is It Just Me?
This column by Amanda Carpenter is five days old now, an eternity in blog time. So if the rest of you have already reviewed, sliced, and diced it, I apologize for re-visiting old ground. If not: Does anyone else think Human Events is trying just a smidge too hard to find contradictory statements where there are none? Or is it just me?
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11 Responses to “Is It Just Me?”
It is their purpose to keep the base engaged.
Without a base they can’t gain control.
It does fascinate me to see how little effort the GOP is putting into nurturing moderates while the Dems speak often about helping the middle class.
Pete Abel: I totally agree. That’s Human Events for you.
Paul in Austin: Hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!! Riiiiight. Because we know the Republicans never speak about helping the Middle Class, and like the Dems don’t have a base that they play desperately to in order to gain power. Spare us.
I hardly think these are contradictory statements. Yes, certainly they have different spin, but as far as I can tell they show more moderation than dishonesty. Take the quotes on taxes for example.
I don’t think these are contradictory at all. He’s talking about keeping taxes low for ordinary (read: working to middle class) people, not the rich.
Opposing concealed weapons doesn’t mean you want to take away someone’s hunting rifle. It doesn’t make you “anti-gun”. I’m anti-gun, Obama seems to be a moderate in this field.
I dunno, he does give different spin depending on where he is, but show me one single politician that doesn’t. If he decides to run (and he’s being covered as if he was already running) his positions will become more clear. My general feeling is that he’s fairly liberal, but willing to compromise, which suits me just fine.
Sure, both side have their bases to motivate.
I just have been hearing less from the R’s than the D’s on this recently.
Lynx
They know this stuff Lynx, its part of their propaganda. Its clear what the tax statements are saying. Anybody can see that, but confusing the issue has been exactly the right’s methodology for a decade and a half.
If the right dared to lay out, in simple terms, their “political plan for America”, they wouldn’t get ten votes no matter how much of their rich supporter’s money they spend. Why? Because in truth they only represent a very minority of the wealthiest Americans on economic issues and merely patronize the rest of their constituency on the rest of the issues!
Look at taxes and the current war:
The republicans have to win this war or it will mean the utter destruction of their party for many many years to come. Even though we are going bankrupt, the republicans WILL NOT raise taxes on the wealthy to pay for the war we have, much less the escalation they are advocating! Instead they will completely gut every domestic program we have which benefit the poor and middle class.
Mark my words, they will call it a “war sacrifice” while the rich sacrifice nothing and without a draft, the rich kids will not even have to serve even in small of precentages.
Copy this and save, I’m telling you this will be EXACTLY their plan.
“Does anyone else think Human Events is trying just a smidge too hard to find contradictory statements where there are none?”
Yes.
This has been another plagiarism of the popular series ‘simple answers to simple questions’.
Gray62,
You’re right … and I acknowledged as much in my cross-post this afternoon at Central Sanity.
We all deserve a free pass every now and then … no?
“You’re right” Hehehe! The shorter my answer, the more often I’m right. Great!
However, this wasn’t meant as a critic, Paul. I just couldn’t resist answering your rhetorical question, a bit of a cheap joke, I have to admit. But I’m feeling a bit of braindead today myself (must have been something wrong with the burger I had after the four cups of mullet wine and the three beers yesterday night), so you have my full sympathy!
“Paul”!? I’m really braindead! Sry Pete!
It’s a day for brain dead. Misery loves company.
I don’t think it is so much trying to find contradicitons as it is assuming the worst meaning of his statements. It is possible that Obama is an entirely garden-variety liberal who just knows how to smoke and mirror his way to the center, which is what Human Events suspects. BHO’s comments, if not contradictory, are certainly spun violently for different ears.
Certainly, this is the rhetoric we would hear if Obama were trying to fool us. But it would also be the rhetoric we would hear if he genuinely is moderate. I suspect he will turn out to be a vanilla liberal with a gift for inspiring people not to look too closely. But that remains to be seen. Time will tell. In the meantime, I will quote a Kossack earlier this week in rare agreement: can’t we observe how he handles at least one minor emergency before we make him president?