Curtis Dahlgren
Winners, Losers, and SORE Losers (Wisconsin updates)
By Curtis Dahlgren
"Democrats can recover from the disappointments of [the 2010] election and set the stage for success in 2012. But to do so we must learn from Tuesday's results . . . First, we have more than a communication problem — the public heard us but disagreed with our approach . . . Second, don't blame the voters. They aren't stupid or addled by fear. They are skeptical about government efficacy, worried about the deficit, and angry that Democrats placed other [politically "correct"] priorities above their main concern: economic growth . . " — Evan Bayh (retiring Senator, D-Ind) 11/05/10 USA TODAY, quoted from New York Times
"You ain't learnin' nothin' when you're talkin'." — Lyndon Baines Johnson
DEMOCRATS MAY NEVER RECOVER FROM THE "DISAPPOINTMENTS" OF THIS YEAR'S SUPREME COURT RACE IN WISCONSIN* — unless they stop doing so much talking. And stop acting like the voters are stupid (I wonder what it feels like to be a public school teacher in Brookfield, Wisconsin?). Teachers always assume that they are the "smartest person in the room," but the grownups in Brookfield voted 3-to-1 for a veteran Justice and against a ditzy DNR lawyer who had never sat on a bench (unless perhaps for a girls softball team). Nothing like starting at the TOP with on-the-job training, eh? The infamous 14 (state senators) were sure that they would be vindicated by the voters Tuesday, but I guess they're just "stupid"!
Truth be told, for every sign-holding protester at the capitol building there must have been a dozen voters who were turned OFF by the behavior of truant teachers and out-of-state university students (wonder how many of the 40,000 UW students vote in more than one state?). How many out-of-state rent-a-mobbers stayed in town to "register" and vote in Wisconsin Tuesday? The Democrats ought to be glad the GOP doesn't need to find out now. The Dems are so incompetent they can't even steal an election right anymore. Al Franken's supporters were more capable in Minnesota.
Make no mistake, the Dems in Wisconsin are crying bloody murder anyway, but the "extra" 7,000 votes for Prosser didn't come from ballot boxes thrown into Lake Michigan and blown back to shore by a perfect storm. That reminds me, but remember how Richard Nixon quickly conceded in 1960 — the first time he was "elected" President? "Good loser" he was, but he said "we need a President" (unlike Al Gore in 2000).
SPEAKING OF POLITICS, HOW 'BOUT THE REACTION TO PAUL RYAN'S "PATH TO PROSPERITY"?
The editorial of the week was by the USA TODAY, April 6, 2011 ("Democrats bash GOP budget bid, but where's their plan?"). A brief excerpt:
"Democrats have already begun to demonize the Ryan plan, but where is theirs? Two bipartisan deficit panels produced serious, workable proposals last year, which President Obama treated as if they had cooties. Asked Tuesday about Ryan's plan, Obama said merely that he looks forward to having a 'conversation' about the parties' sharply contrasting visions . . .
"It's hard to have a serious debate, though, if one side appears to be in denial about the extent of the problem. Democrats' lack of an alternative suggests that all they really support is the unsustainable status quo. Let the adult conversation begin."
P.S. I'm writing this before the big government "shut down," but whatever.
More to come, but one thing we can say after the Wisconsin election this week: It's not over yet (America, I mean)!
"They expect you to tell your children that the American people no longer have the will to cope with their problems, that the future will be one of sacrifice and few opportunities. My fellow citizens, I utterly reject that view."
- President Ronald Reagan
Reagan also said: "Speech delivery counts for little on the world stage unless you have convictions, and, yes, the vision to see beyond the front row seats."
[Speakers who look down their noses at the audience seldom see beyond the teleprompter!]
*PPS: I hope my readers are aware of the circumstances in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, but I couldn't find the story anywhere in YahooNews this morning. I couldn't even find it in the "Entertainment" or "Odd News" sections.
© Curtis Dahlgren
April 8, 2011
"Democrats can recover from the disappointments of [the 2010] election and set the stage for success in 2012. But to do so we must learn from Tuesday's results . . . First, we have more than a communication problem — the public heard us but disagreed with our approach . . . Second, don't blame the voters. They aren't stupid or addled by fear. They are skeptical about government efficacy, worried about the deficit, and angry that Democrats placed other [politically "correct"] priorities above their main concern: economic growth . . " — Evan Bayh (retiring Senator, D-Ind) 11/05/10 USA TODAY, quoted from New York Times
"You ain't learnin' nothin' when you're talkin'." — Lyndon Baines Johnson
DEMOCRATS MAY NEVER RECOVER FROM THE "DISAPPOINTMENTS" OF THIS YEAR'S SUPREME COURT RACE IN WISCONSIN* — unless they stop doing so much talking. And stop acting like the voters are stupid (I wonder what it feels like to be a public school teacher in Brookfield, Wisconsin?). Teachers always assume that they are the "smartest person in the room," but the grownups in Brookfield voted 3-to-1 for a veteran Justice and against a ditzy DNR lawyer who had never sat on a bench (unless perhaps for a girls softball team). Nothing like starting at the TOP with on-the-job training, eh? The infamous 14 (state senators) were sure that they would be vindicated by the voters Tuesday, but I guess they're just "stupid"!
Truth be told, for every sign-holding protester at the capitol building there must have been a dozen voters who were turned OFF by the behavior of truant teachers and out-of-state university students (wonder how many of the 40,000 UW students vote in more than one state?). How many out-of-state rent-a-mobbers stayed in town to "register" and vote in Wisconsin Tuesday? The Democrats ought to be glad the GOP doesn't need to find out now. The Dems are so incompetent they can't even steal an election right anymore. Al Franken's supporters were more capable in Minnesota.
Make no mistake, the Dems in Wisconsin are crying bloody murder anyway, but the "extra" 7,000 votes for Prosser didn't come from ballot boxes thrown into Lake Michigan and blown back to shore by a perfect storm. That reminds me, but remember how Richard Nixon quickly conceded in 1960 — the first time he was "elected" President? "Good loser" he was, but he said "we need a President" (unlike Al Gore in 2000).
SPEAKING OF POLITICS, HOW 'BOUT THE REACTION TO PAUL RYAN'S "PATH TO PROSPERITY"?
The editorial of the week was by the USA TODAY, April 6, 2011 ("Democrats bash GOP budget bid, but where's their plan?"). A brief excerpt:
"Democrats have already begun to demonize the Ryan plan, but where is theirs? Two bipartisan deficit panels produced serious, workable proposals last year, which President Obama treated as if they had cooties. Asked Tuesday about Ryan's plan, Obama said merely that he looks forward to having a 'conversation' about the parties' sharply contrasting visions . . .
"It's hard to have a serious debate, though, if one side appears to be in denial about the extent of the problem. Democrats' lack of an alternative suggests that all they really support is the unsustainable status quo. Let the adult conversation begin."
P.S. I'm writing this before the big government "shut down," but whatever.
More to come, but one thing we can say after the Wisconsin election this week: It's not over yet (America, I mean)!
"They expect you to tell your children that the American people no longer have the will to cope with their problems, that the future will be one of sacrifice and few opportunities. My fellow citizens, I utterly reject that view."
- President Ronald Reagan
Reagan also said: "Speech delivery counts for little on the world stage unless you have convictions, and, yes, the vision to see beyond the front row seats."
[Speakers who look down their noses at the audience seldom see beyond the teleprompter!]
*PPS: I hope my readers are aware of the circumstances in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, but I couldn't find the story anywhere in YahooNews this morning. I couldn't even find it in the "Entertainment" or "Odd News" sections.
© Curtis Dahlgren
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