Moral Side

Which Political Party in the House of Representatives Is Dominated by Extremists?

Many political commentators from various media sources have advanced the notion that based on the vote on the "Final Debt Deal," the Republican Party in the House of Representatives is fractured and dominated by extremists.

The repetition of this opinion in the media by commentators ignores the actual vote and is intellectually lazy.  Let us look at the vote and then draw some conclusions.

The 112th House of Representatives has 242 Republicans and 195 Democrats.  It is safe to assert that since Representatives stand for election every two years by a specific district, then the House of Representatives more acurately reflects the mood and direction of the people than does the Senate.

Because of the party affiliation of each Representative it is safe to say that the center of the 112th House of Representatives is within the Republican Party.  I think we can agree that the political "extremes" can be located within each party.  The "exteme right" is within the Republican Party in the House, and the "extreme left" is within the Democratic Party in the House.

The "Final Debt Deal" passed in the House of Representatives with vote of 269 in the affirmative and 161 in the negative.  Three Representatives did not vote, and no judgment is made about those positions.

Republican Representatives supported the "Final Debt Deal" by a vote of 174 - 66.  Democratic Representatives were split on the "Deal" by a vote of 95 - 95.  Three Democrats did not vote.  Speaker of the House Boehner, Majority Leader Cantor, and Minority Leader Pelosi voted in the affirmative.

The broad, bipartisan center for the "Final Debt Deal" - 62.6% - spanned both parties.  The bill would not have passed unless it had the support of both parties' leadaership and the bipartisan support of the majority of Representatives.

If we assume that the "extreme" on both ends of the spectrum voted in the minority opposition, and that the "extreme right" is found among the Republican Representatives and the "Extreme Left" is found among the Democratic Representatives, then what conclusions can we draw from this very important vote?

1. The center of the 112th House of Representatives is within the Republican Party.
2. The Republican Party in the 112th House is not dominated by the "Extreme Right."  Based on this particular vote the "Extreme Right" is 27.3% of the Republican Party - an important, but not dominant minority.
3. The Democratic Party in the 112th House is split by those in the broad center and those on the "Extreme Left."  Based on this particular vote the "Extreme Left" is exactly 50.0% of the Democratic Party - making neither the center, nor extreme the majority or minority.
4. The Democratic Party in the 112th House is the party that is fractured and dominated by "Extremists."

Before making rash and lazy statements based on their own wishful thinking, commentators should look at the facts.

Liberal Intolerance

On January 30, 2011 a person who uses the name "John Johns" on FaceBook responded to a broadcast of "The Moral Side of the News" on WHAS-TV.  These broadcasts on WHAS-TV begin at 5:30am on Sunday morning and conclude at 6:00pm.  "John Johns" sent me a message and a friend request at 6:17am on the same day.  I have duplicated the message below.

The message examples of the intolerance of those who preach toleration.  It has been a rare experience for me to encounter a liberal who actually wants to engage in a meaningful discussion of issues with me.  The exceptions are my fellow panelists and friends on "The Moral Side" panel, parishioners, friends on FaceBook, and a few others who know me.

When Liberals stitmatize Conservatives as intellectually, emotionally, and morally inferior

I thought it very telling that this message on FaceBook came to me about two weeks after our President encouraged civility in our discussions.  I guess some did not get the message.

You may know "John Johns." He is from Louisville.  He seems to hold strong liberal political opinions and is an avid news watcher.  He has also sent messages on FaceBook to WLKY-TV news in repsonse to a news report.  He claims to have served in the military, and the majority of his FaceBook friends appear to be African-American.  He is probably a young adult because of his usage of "internet spelling."  His profile picture at the time of his message was an anti-TEA party cartoon.  I have also posted the list of his FaceBook activities and interests below. 

If you know him, please invite him to contact me through WHAS-TV Crusade for Children or at 893.9000.  I would enjoy having a conversation with him in person.

Here is the message that "John Johns" sent to me:

John Johns January 30 at 6:17am

I thought i would try to friend u and tell u that ur nothing more than a fox channel parrot & a RACIST to boot..u & [third party]..but there's no need to tell u that ..im sure ur aware...JUST LOOKING AT Ur pic..he have that classic 50's bigot look....But our creator knows what u r & u'll be exposed & dealt with like all the rest....ur kind are dying off in this time of the end ....and hopefully u'll be alive to experience ALL RACES COMING TOGETHER TO DEFEAT UR KIND !!..and u'll shiver like the COWARD u truly are !! & i served in the INTEGRATED service !!!...u INSECURE ..BALD ....FRIGHTENED...SHRIMP BIGOT!!!

Here is the list of "John Johns'" activities and interests:

The Ed Schultz Show, Your Black World, Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr., Katie Couric, Joe Scarborough, Sheryl Underwood's Fan Page, Reverend Al Sharpton, Conservative Republican Hypocrisy, Eugene Robinson, Chris Matthews, Jack Conway for Kentucky, Mike Papantonio, Thom Hartmann, Ed Koch, Organizing for America - California, The White House, Van Jones, I bet Jon Stewart can reach a million fans before Bill O'Reilly!, Anthony Weiner, Anderson Cooper 360, Bill Maher, Telling Dick Cheney to Shut the Hell Up (by Leftake.com), Tyler Perry, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Roland Martin, Joe Madison - "The Black Eagle", Warren Ballentine, Martin Lawrence, Michael Eric Dyson, Donna Brazile, Tom Joyner, "Mr. Boehner, Where Are The Jobs?", The Red Hat, Clarence Dupnik is my Hero, MoveOn.org, ColorOfChange.org, Stem Cell Research, Bernie Sanders, Women for Harry Reid, Truth Be Told Radio, Nancy Pelosi, OpenSecrets.org: Tracking Money In Politics, MN Political Roundtable, Divorce Court, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), Howard Dean, Democracy Now!, Bristol Palin, Employee Free Choice Act, I will buy an American made product this week and post here!, Votesane PAC, Robert Jordan WGN, Mediaite, Bill Press (The Bill Press Show), The Raw Story, National Organization for Women, National Women's Law Center, CommonDreams.org, Kentuckians Against Rand Paul, AlterNet, Dick Gregory, NAACP, Barack Obama, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., TURF FEINZ, Matt McCutcheon WAVE 3 News, Steve Harvey, Ricky Smiley Prank Calls, Dr. Cornel West, WAVE 3 Troubleshooter, Brightspot, America is Now a One Party Government: Republicans Refuse to Work, Tim Kaine, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), Politics Daily Investigations, The Cram, Politics Daily, Coffee, Tea, and a Conversation with Dorothy Wright Tillman, WAVE 3, Hate on Parade - How the Conservatives Intimidate to Win Elections, WHAS 11, JET 24/7, Ed Schultz, Tim Wise, Media Matters for America, Conservatives Are Full of Hate, Get to Know Your Conservative Enemy, Don't Forget How America Got Screwed Up..., Tactics from Bush Administration or Third Reich?, We won't eat at Restaurants that have Fox News on the TV!, The Other 98%, Maxine Waters, The Urban Journal with Keith Murphy, Talking Points Memo, Benjamin Todd Jealous, Alex Jones, Reggios Pizza, Lawrence O'Donnell is a BABE!, Clarence Page, TV One, Cenk Uygur, Alan Colmes

How to Raise Your Own Taxes

Before any of us support raising taxes on others, should we not raise our own taxes first?  Would not those who seek to raise the taxes on the top 5% of Americans taxpayers who pay more taxes than the other 95% of us or the top 1% of the taxpayers who support 40% of our collective federal budget have more credibility if they raised their own taxes?  Here are some suggestions:

1. Encourage everyone to be a stakeholder in our federal budget.  Encourage a minimum tax of $1 per week for every adult regardless of income.
2. Stop claiming your own income tax deductions.  Fewer deduction would raise your own income tax.
3. Donate to the US government general fund.  Go to the Financial Management Service to donate to the general fund.
4. Donate to a specific Federal Agency.  Go to Treasury Direct for more information.
5. Donate to reduce the national debt.  Go to Treasury Direct for more information.

The Moral Side of the News for October 31, 2010 - President Obama and Jon Stewart, Officer Messer and the New Albany Police

Liberal and Conservative Political Philosophies - What's the Difference?

What is the difference in political philosophies between Liberals and Conservatives?  An easy way to characterize these differences is by looking a a coin!

What are the three "slogans" that you find on a coin?

• "Liberty" - Conservatives tend to be on the side of individual liberty.  Liberals tend to accept limitations on liberty in order to have a equality of outcomes.  Which is more important to you - Liberty, or Equality?  (Please note equality of access is not the same as equality of outcomes.)
• "E Pluribus Unum" - This slogan is Latin and is translated "Out of many, one."  Conservatives tend to see America as a nation united - where persons of different backgrounds and circumstances can form one nation.  Conservatives tend to focus on unity instead of diversity.  Liberals, on the other hand tend to stress the differences between groups and to place individuals in groups.  Liberals encourage diversity and celebrate differences above unity.
• "In God We Trust" - Conservatives tend to recognize the primary formative value of America has been religious faith.  Conservatives see the connection between religious faith and the health of the nation.  Liberals tend to downplay faith and seek to marginalize religion by removing it from the public sphere.

Money has value!  Money talks!

"Liberal" Compassion or Shame? - Learning to Laugh at Someone Else's Suffering

When you stigmatize another, it becomes easy to laugh at the other's suffering.  When you see conservatives as evil or stupid - or whatever liberals use to stigmatize conservatives - you laugh at and celebrate their suffering.  I suppose that the only sad thing for those who hate Vice President Cheney is that he did not die.

(A friend of mine - a liberal Christian pastor - once said on air with the "Moral Side of the News", "Cheney is evil." 

Conservatives have learned something:  "The more they hate you, the more effective you are."

Watch the video below and see the compassion and tolerance of two liberals - Joy Behar and Bill Maher of CNN - as they laugh, joke, and celebrate the former Vice President's illness.  These are two comedians whom the Left views as insightful political commentators.

There is no one less compassionate or tolerance than a person who thinks that he or she have a monopoly on compassion and tolerance.

Also, notice the group think that Ms. Behar reveals when she says: "The most reasonable people ... don't really care. ...At least he doesn't get any sympathy from ... people around me anyway."

Ms. Behar should get out or read more, or at least widen her circle of acquaintances.

The Mount Vernon Statement

 
The Mount Vernon Statement

Constitutional Conservatism: A Statement for the 21st Century

We recommit ourselves to the ideas of the American Founding.  Through the Constitution, the Founders created an enduring framework of limited government based on the rule of law. They sought to secure national independence, provide for economic opportunity, establish true religious liberty and maintain a flourishing society of republican self-government.

These principles define us as a country and inspire us as a people. They are responsible for a prosperous, just nation unlike any other in the world. They are our highest achievements, serving not only as powerful beacons to all who strive for freedom and seek self-government, but as warnings to tyrants and despots everywhere.

Each one of these founding ideas is presently under sustained attack. In recent decades, America’s principles have been undermined and redefined in our culture, our universities and our politics. The selfevident truths of 1776 have been supplanted by the notion that no such truths exist. The federal government today ignores the limits of the Constitution, which is increasingly dismissed as obsolete and irrelevant.

Some insist that America must change, cast off the old and put on the new. But where would this lead — forward or backward, up or down? Isn’t this idea of change an empty promise or even a dangerous deception?

The change we urgently need, a change consistent with the American ideal, is not movement away from but toward our founding principles. At this important time, we need a restatement of Constitutional conservatism grounded in the priceless principle of ordered liberty articulated in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

The conservatism of the Declaration asserts self-evident truths based on the laws of nature and nature’s God. It defends life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It traces authority to the consent of the governed. It recognizes man’s self-interest but also his capacity for virtue.

The conservatism of the Constitution limits government’s powers but ensures that government performs its proper job effectively. It refines popular will through the filter of representation. It provides checks and balances through the several branches of government and a federal republic.

A Constitutional conservatism unites all conservatives through the natural fusion provided by American principles. It reminds economic conservatives that morality is essential to limited government, social conservatives that unlimited government is a threat to moral self-government, and national security conservatives that energetic but responsible government is the key to America’s safety and leadership role in the world.

A Constitutional conservatism based on first principles provides the framework for a consistent and meaningful policy agenda.

• It applies the principle of limited government based on the rule of law to every proposal.
• It honors the central place of individual liberty in American politics and life.
• It encourages free enterprise, the individual entrepreneur, and economic reforms grounded in market solutions.
• It supports America’s national interest in advancing freedom and opposing tyranny in the world and prudently considers what we can and should do to that
  end.
• It informs conservatism’s firm defense of family, neighborhood, community, and faith.

If we are to succeed in the critical political and policy battles ahead, we must be certain of our purpose.

We must begin by retaking and resolutely defending the high ground of America’s founding principles.

February 17, 2010

You are invited to sign the Mount Vernon Statement.