Imus controversy may mean bad news for Democrats
Don Imus’ comments directed at the women’s Rutgers’ basketball team are reprehensible. But they may also be bad news for Democrats. With the loss of Imus’ show liberal politicians will also loose a popular outlet to spread their inane ideas.
According to an article in the LA Times, “Imus gave Democrats a pipeline to a crucial voting block that was perennially hard for them to reach: politically independent white men.” Democrats who have appeared on Imus’ show include Rep. Harold E. Ford, Jr, Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, Sen. John F. Kerry, and Sen. Barack Obama, among others.
African Americas may have unintentionally “shot themselves in the foot” in demanding Imus’ head by eliminating a fellow supporter of Democratic politicians. Imus, of course, lacked the broad appeal and large audiences enjoyed by Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. But any erosion to the Democrats ability to reach a large audience is good news for conservatives.
April 13th, 2007 at 11:30 am
The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary well describes liberalism as “a political philosophy based on belief in progress, the essential goodness of the human race, and the autonomy of the individual and standing for the protection of political and civil liberties.” I suppose those ideas do indeed sound “inane” to followers of Bush/Cheney.
But rest assured that liberals will get along just fine without Imus. Thanks for your concern.
April 13th, 2007 at 12:20 pm
That’s why they are called opinions. What liberals call progress I call government intervention into my business. What liberals call essential goodness of the human race I call a foolish hopefulness that all human beings want to play nice (history shows how utterly ignorant it is to have too much faith in “human goodness.”) What liberals call autonomy of the individual seemingly contradicts all the government intervention into our lives that liberals just love to inflict on the rest of us- like high taxes, Social Security, and so much else that strips from us personal choice. And civil liberties are just fine- when they are not abused – which liberals seem to think is impossible. Again, inane.
April 14th, 2007 at 2:13 am
“What liberals call progress I call government intervention into my business.”
Patriot Act
NSA Wiretaps
’nuff said.
“What liberals call autonomy of the individual seemingly contradicts all the government intervention into our lives that liberals just love to inflict on the rest of us- like high taxes, Social Security, and so much else that strips from us personal choice.”
A nation is only as strong as its poorest citizen. Ask the Romans how eliminating the dole grain (the first social welfare system in the western world) worked out for them (see: fall of the Roman Empire)
“And civil liberties are just fine- when they are not abused – which liberals seem to think is impossible. Again, inane.”
I would love, absolutely LOVE, for you to come up with a single instance where civil liberties is a bad thing. ONE!
April 14th, 2007 at 9:13 am
I’ve never had any trouble of the Patriot Act, NSA wiretaps, etc. Of course, you may be one of the people that did not die because one of these programs saved your life from a terrorist attack- but you would not know that so you huffily disparage them. But the high taxes and the rip off of Social Security do harm me.
As to Rome- what an excellent example. And what a fantastic misunderstanding you have of what really happened. Gibbons notes 8 reasons Rome fell, and one was because of unemployment. The empire was importing grain to feed more than 100,000 people in Rome proper alone who had no jobs. This was not only a huge burden but led to higher crime rates as the unemployed people had little to do but cause trouble. If they had been forced to find employment this would not have been an issue. But, again, liberals see the immediate problem and think nothing about what their quick fix solution will do in the long run.
And sure, 9/11 is a pretty good one. Had we racially profiled Muslims at the time we might have searched the terrorists and found their box cutters. We still don’t racially profile- so yeah, civil liberties can be abused. And if you’ve got nothing to hid what’s the problem? Don’t delude yourself.
April 14th, 2007 at 6:22 pm
Every “thwarted” terrorist attack since 9/11 has been ridiculously silly. Mostly unintelligent college students. “Those who would sacrifice freedom for safety deserve neither.” Listen to your founding fathers.
Quick history lesson that a list of “reasons” cannot teach you:
The Roman Civil War between Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great was initiated by the assassination of Clodius Publius (a Patrician who relinquished his name of Claudius and became a Plebian) by the hands of Titus Annius Milo. Claudius was pro-grain dole, and extremely liberal, one of the few men in Rome who opposed slavery! Milo assassinated Clodius after an altercation on the Appian Way.
Caesar, the most prominent Populist, sought justice for Clodius’s death, while Pompey, as an Equestrian Patrician, backed Milo, defending his reputation in court. Milo was found guilty in the court case, but fled Rome to live in the Greek colony of Massilia in Gaul (modern-day Marseilles in France). Milo would remain a fugitive until his death.
During the Civil War, all trading routes were severely interrupted, and the economy ground to a halt. It was during this time that the grain dole saved Rome. Without it, the population of Rome would have starved to death. Even traditionally wealthy families found themselves freeing their slaves to extort their grain from them.
Now, when a very similar situation arose in the late Empire, the grain dole had been abolished. When civil war again wracked the nation, there was no dole grain to save the population of Rome. Without a welfare system, the local businesses could no longer afford to hire free men and citizens, and instead forced their slaves to reproduce in order to create more slaves to work for them (this long-term solution backfired in the short-term, giving them a mouth to feed with no labor return). The unemployment was a result of the fact that the lower classes had no money to spend on local business. With no money coming into the businesses, they could not hire people. With no jobs, there was no economy.
That is the economic theory behind a welfare system. If the lowest class has no money to spend, there are no jobs for them to get.
Finally, I will be willing to submit to being racially profiled at the airport, if you’re willing to be racially profiled every time an extremely violent or sexual crime is committed in your area. White males are by far the number one perpetrators of extremely violent and sexual crimes in the U.S. Sound fair?
April 15th, 2007 at 9:01 am
Is part of the reason the Roman Empire fell because people did not have to work to feed themselves or because the empire did not give them grain? Wonderful liberal logic- ignore the true cause and pin duty and responsibility not on the individual but on government. If you want and need a nanny, great- you go for it. But I don’t. What I can’t do by myself – and where government actually does have some use, is in protecting people from others (not, as in the point above, protecting them from themselves, their own laziness, or their own ignorance). So sure, I would be happy to suffer some inconveniences to save lives from predators.
And don’t insult me- the Patriot Act, wiretapping, etc. is not giving up my liberties. I fly a lot- and sometimes I’m selected for greater than usual searches. But even when I’m not, I recognize the need to search everybody. If I don’t like it, I can drive. It’s the height of ignorance to believe we can all be total free to do whatever we want, when we want. To suggest otherwise is to claim we don’t need speed limits, or even police or laws at all.
Where government does infringe is in government-enforced retirement planning- or, better known as, Social Security. In just this one example we see what a rip off and what a crock it is. Taking just what they take out of your salary every week and investing in with the stock market average rate of return and you would have half a milling at retirement – and that’s assuming you never, ever make more than minimum wage. Now that’s government taking your liberties away.
April 15th, 2007 at 11:57 am
You forgot to address my last concern. Will you stand in a line-up every time someone is murdered or raped in your area? You agree to do that, and Bijhan Al-Attack, the most Persian f*cker on the west coast, will submit to any airport check of my luggage and person.