Bonzai

http://reason.com/blog/2012/02/17/the-dumbest-generation

This dissapoints me. It must be a combination of public schools, which are getting worse, progressive universities, which are getting worse, and baby boomers parents, who can't get any worse.

On Morning Joe this morning, the guests early on were Howard Dean and Richard Haas, then Jeff Greenfield and Tom Colburn came on, then Harold Ford and Rick Stengel, and maybe a few other regulars who are easy to forget. This is probably going to be the most deceitful election year anyone under 60 has ever witnessed, and the election is about all they talk about on Morning Joe.

The Morning Joe crew had more evidence this morning that Obama is gaining in popularity and that Romney is in trouble. Never mind that in past primaries at this point there were no clear winners, and that primaries are contests in which each candidate has a following and the race goes up and down as the candidates go to different parts of the nation. But, remember, this election year is about deceit, so Morning Joe hosts and guests have to act each morning like Romney's campaign is on the verge of collapse, that no one likes Romney, and Santorum (or whoever is popular) is rising like a rocket. Media want so badly to influence this election -- it's comical.

This morning, it was especially comical as Joe and Mika fumbled to deal with the revelation that Santorum had implied in an interview last year that contraception is the business of government, and that sex should be just for procreation. Oh my, it was hilarious watching Mika defend Santorum's right to hold these ideas, and that he's never pushed any legislation to ban contraceptions. Under any other scenario, Joe and Mika would skewer any Republican who said such things about contraception and sex. Yes, it was hilarious, and Howard Dean's reaction was funny as well. Dean was listening to Joe and Mika's defense of Santorum, and you could see the wheels turning as Dean tried to figure out their angle, because Dean knew it was BS. Dean wasn't sure if this was helpful to the Left or not, so he was cautious in his responses, partly agreeing with Mika but then reluctantly admitting though that Santorum has supported some, um, well, socially conservative, uh, pretty extreme, uh, positions.

Who the hell are they kidding? Dean quickly got the picture and stated that he's worried about Santorum -- that Santorum has the ability to connect with people. Dean was acting as if Santorum can be a real challenger against Obama, a dangerous opponent. Come on, man! This is absurd -- absolutely absurd. Santorum is a joke, and he was at 2% before for good reasons. The Republican Party, people like Palin, Scarborough, Kristol in the party, and media, have pumped up anyone they can, even Newt Gingrich, to prevent Romney from taking the nomination. Scarborough wants a brokered convention, as does Palin and any delusional Republican who thinks they will be called on to save the Party. The media want  to put forth the image of a clown show, so they are attempting to spin every fart and burp. In reality, Romney is winning and will likely be the nominee. Santorum is imploding right now because he never had any strong support, only the phony support ginned up by those who want the primary to go on and on, or those who want the primary to look like a freak show, or those social conservatives who will have one last stand before they are pushed back in the crazy closet.

Why is it so hard for Republicans to articulate free market principles? Every day I listen to pundits explain how Obama's approval ratings are high because the public perceives that recovery is on the way. Is it that media itself doesn't give an opportunity to those on the Right who can explain the principles? Is it because the subject is too difficult? Or, is it because the Right, for the most part, don't understand or really embrace the principles?

Surely there are wordsmiths on the Right who can articulate free market principles in a fashion that inspires the public to search even further for understanding. Glenn Beck does a fairly good job, although lately he's lost his mind over Rick Santorum. George Will has the ability to explain the principles, but I don't see Will on any outlets except ABC's This Week, and I don't know how many people actually watch that program. Plus, is Will a free market advocate -- I mean a real advocate?

Marco Rubio has done a fairly good job, but I don't know if he understands the concepts well enough to simplify the subject for public consumption. Newt Gingrich has the skills to make the case, but Gingrich, for some reason, talks in generalities about a free market, never going into a full explanation with examples and contrasts with statism. I'm not sure how much of Hayek and Mises Gingrich has really studied. I don't think any of the Republican candidates, except for Ron Paul, have read the literature on free market philosophy/economics. That's strange seeing as how they use the words economic and freedom quite often. You would think they'd at least have read Thomas E. Woods, but I don't hear any of them quoting him or referring to him.

The only way the Right is going to make progress against progressivism is to debunk the ideology and to explain why statism doesn't work and can't work. Reagan made progress because he could talk about socialism and capitalism, but none of the candidates, aside from Paul, seem to have the ability to articulate what they believe in -- do they believe in a free market? I mean really. This, I think, is the problem. Santorum and Gingrich don't believe in a free market, and I don't know about Romney. What they mean by freeing up our economy and stopping government over-reach is that they would not regulate as much as Obama, and their focus wouldn''t be to redistribute income. But they don't mean that they will fight to roll back regulations on the books to create a truly free market.

Deep down, most in the Republican Party don't believe a truly free market will work -- they think government has to prevent the jungle of a free market from hurting people and creating chaos for large corporations -- they just don't focus on statist plans to create even more government control. There are enough laws and regulations on the book for government to control any area of economic activity it wishes to control, so Republicans can talk big without revealing how they will go about rolling back decades of regulations. Paul has a plan, but this is why Republicans attempt to marginalize Paul -- they are afraid that Paul will gain enough influence to pressure Republicans to walk like they talk.

The reason we don't have anyone standing before audiences and explaining free market principles is because only Ron Paul  believes in the principles -- maybe Gary Johnson, and perhaps a few of the New Republicans -- but Republicans with influence have no intention of creating a free market.

http://hotair.com/archives/2012/02/15/wapo-finds-nearly-4-billion-in-green-tech-stimulus-funds-went-to-wh-connected-firms/

It get s worse and worse. and on top of it all Media Matters and the administration hustlers, Valerie Jarret and her gang, are colluding to destroy Fox. Fox is the only media outlet of any size that attempts to be fair. Statism has not only failed, the system and the players have been corrupted beyond redemption. They all have to go.

I hope the Obama Truth Team doesn't shut down my website. People, we are beyond petty corruption -- this is criminal, and it's very, very dangerous when government has so much power.

http://reason.com/blog/2012/02/15/president-santorum-would-talk-about-the

As Gillespie says, I have no problem if an individual believes sex should only happen on clean sheets in the missionary position for the purpose of procreation, but when that person is running for President and says it's the business of government to legislate on this issue -- how and why we have sex -- then, holy mother of catfish and broccoli, people, this is not what the Republican Party should support. Santorum is a moralistic freak who has no business possessing the power of the Presidency. I don't need President Santorum telling me why and when and how I should be having sex, and whether contraceptions are good or bad. Seriously, this freak is going to destroy the Republican Party. And Glenn Beck is still supporting him -- Beck has suggested it's an act of God that Santorum is leading right now. Beck has lost his mind. That's a shame. Perhaps he just doesn't know enough about Santorum.

Update on Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 11:18AM by M. Farmer

I have come to the conclusion that the Republican Party is too important as an oppositional force to progressivism and a transformational, dynamic force for economic growth to be left to social conservatives and Centrist wimps. Independents, classical liberals, limited government conservatives and libertarians will have to pull the Party together and force representatives to roll back the interventions.