Back to Basics

We know that some of you have retreated into protective shells since Tuesday's Transfiguration. And we cannot blame the faithful for averting their eyes from unwholesome things.

The problem with democracy and universal suffrage, when supported by a massive State apparatus, is that it provides a means for the boobs to vote themselves bread and circuses: "... the worship of Jackals by Jackasses," as Mencken put it.

We appear to have reached the State where there is a majority of the timid, the foolish, and the just plain lazy who would prefer to shelter themselves under the great umbrella of Government than to bear the consequences of their jackassary. There is no distinction in this respect between the welfare mother who can't quite figure out where those babies come from, and the investment banker who's mystified at where those losses came from. Both are inclined to attribute their problem to bad luck, and are never shy to petition their Government to set things aright.

Which brings us to the future. The Llama Butchers suggest that "it's time to clean house in the GOP:"

First, get rid of the creepy (Larry Craig) and the corrupt: (e.g., Ted Stevens). Second, ignore calls to dump the religious Right. Attacking the base will fracture the party. Third, compromise works as a strategy as long as it advances the agenda. Compromise for the sake of "bipartisanship" alone is worthless. Fourth, the Democrats are playing hardball, and play to win. They will use Republican moderates to block the agenda in the name of "saving the center" (e.g., the so-called Gang of 14). Now that hard-Lefties are ascendant, they will not give a damn about the center. Fifth, the details matter. The Dems had a hell of a ground game and anyone who ignores it does so at their peril. Sixth, the media will love a Republican as long as he attacks his own party. When given the choice between a "maverick" and a real Lefty, the Lefty wins every time. Finally, ideology matters. The conservative movement is about smaller government, protection of human life from conception to natural death, empowering people to rely on themselves, belief in American exceptionalism, support for capitalism, low taxes, a strong military to defend us in a dangerous world, and a judiciary that will not legislate from the bench. Get back to the basics.