And Republicans don’t want in our personal business? Who do you think fought to keep the sodomy laws on the books in over half the states? Please. Republicans are in my business just as much as Democrats. If you want government out of all your business then vote Libertarian because that’s not what Republicans are about. We got smoking banned in nyc under a Republican mayor (who some of you support for president btw) and lots of other nanny state issues. This is a completely bogus argument. And what’s most laughable is that in the years when Republicans had control of all three branches of government virtually none of those issues that you rail about changed. So Republicans TALK about smaller government but they actually increased the size, spending and intrusiveness of government. I call Bullshit on you all.

Same reason evangelicals get googly-eyed over charismatic populist politicians — they’re all dumb.

It ain’t Republicans trying to dictate what kind of car we drive.
It ain’t Republicans trying to dictate what kind of lightbulbs we use.
It ain’t Republicans trying to remotely control the thermostats in our homes.
It ain’t Republicans telling folks to give up their money “for the common good”.
It ain’t Republicans coming up with the absurd notion that you can fuel America with corn with zero adverse effects.

And it ain’t Republicans telling people and businesses that they make too much money (with no definable threshold as to how much is too much). Then, of course, there’s super colossal failures of the “New Deal” and the “war on poverty”.

Well at least as a whole they aren’t doing all this.

I could go on, of course. Hopefully HT would be smart enough to realize that all of the above sucks the chrome off a trailer hitch. My guess is that he can’t see what’s going on, doesn’t want to believe the threat, or believes that he’s immune.

As one reviewer puts it,

[Goldberg] argues that the totalitarian impulse, the philosophy of state control of decisions taking priority over individual freedoms, is the core uniting principle behind these brands of socialism [, communism and fascism]…

And may I add, Goldberg argues thus correctly.

The only real difference between communism and National Socialism (German fascism) was that the latter was explicitly racist and nationalist, while the former pretended to be internationalist. The only real difference between communism and democratic socialism is that the latter pays lip service to democratic methods (while still working for rule-by-socialist-elites). The only real difference between democratic socialism and American left-liberalism is that that latter is deathly afraid of the word “socialism”, and will go to some lengths to avoid being (correctly) tagged with it. But there: I’ve acknowledged that they are DIFFERENT philosophies. DIFFERENT philosophies – same underlying totalitarian impulse, or same underlying view that individuals must be made to live for the community / State.

If Republicans were conservatives instead of neocons and religous fanatics I would vote for them more often.

I am not going to go ballistic on the “religious fanatics” stuff…….but having a religious belief is not a sign of dementia. If you had a religious belief system, you would know that. Being consumed by “religious fanatics” makes sense when they are out to kill you. Calling someone a religious fanatic because he considers your life style immoral is an entirely different matter.

Is there some band of Christian Soldiers surrounding your compound and threatening to burn you out? If so, call Janet Reno, she will save you.

If Republicans were conservatives instead of neocons and religous fanatics I would vote for them more often.

So you don’t like Jews?

I think people call it “Seeing only what you want to”. And I know I’ve seen it from you before.

It’s also odd that so many people here can’t differentiate between communism and socialism or various degrees of socialism.

No matter how much you polish your turd, it’s still a turd.

It’s also odd that so many people here can’t differentiate between communism and socialism or various degrees of socialism.

There is no evidence of that whatsoever. If you are tacking at me on that remark, I call. (But please, let’s not get into a pillow fight over degrees and publications in print.)

Republicans are scared s……s that they could actually be stuck with a candidate who IS a social conservative

Nice try, but you flunk. You mix socialism, communism, and various degrees of socialism (which are economy models) with social conservatism. SOCIAL CONSERVATISM. I can’t wait to hear how you define that mare’s nest.

Pick a point and stick to it. You are not playing dodgeball as a volunteer at the Headstart playground in this venue.

You “progressives” are always a marvel. You have an elastic meaning for every word and a coating of axle grease if the elasticity craps out.

Come back with your brain in gear and we can play.

It’s funny to read all these accusations against Democrats when Republicans are guilty of most of the same things. It’s also odd that so many people here can’t differentiate between communism and socialism or various degrees of socialism. It just shows how far off the charts to the right some Republicans are.

I have no idea why you choose to change socialism to collectivism. While Leninism turned Stalinism equals collectivism, the highly socialist states of Europe (now in economic torpor) have stopped well short of collectivism. The former Eastern Bloc nations are back-pedaling away from collectivism as fast as they can. Even the Chinese are dismantling it in their cities and “free economic zones.”

The “dictatorship of the proletariat” talk today focuses on using the government to establish an egalitarian state. You can not escape this central theme in Obama’s coded rhetoric.

Many Republicans, past and present, have courted the voter with entitlement programs. When any Republican opens the tax coffers to woo votes, he is out of favor with me and any true conservative. That includes most subsidies, tax loopholes, grants-in-aid, entitlements and private bills.

Since nearly all democrats are whores for the tax dollar, they are all out of favor with me.

Clearer?

Anyway, the original question is a bit flawed, naturally, since Obama has plenty of substance to him…..Stories and articles about his work in Illinois as well as DC are all over the place.

Sooo….in other words, you don’t know either. Do you know exactly which issues resonated with Ioway and NH voters that put him on top?

Why are gay Republicans gooey eyed over Romney who abandoned gay rights the moment it wasn’t convenient for him to do so?

Why do gay liberals throw ass loads of cash and votes to liberal candidates when they know they’re going to abandon you as soon as it’s convenient to do so?

As for Oprama, to paraphrase Rush’s McNabb review, guilt ridden white folk just want to see a black man do well. That’s all there is to it.

And no, the question wasn’t in ill-will. A bit tongue-in-cheek, perhaps, but not in ill-will. I was just curious how you would rationalize the use of the same word by both parties.

Dan:
[Conservative intellectuals aren’t getting all googly-eyed over Huckabee as liberal intellectuals are over Obama. –Dan]
That’s probably because Obama has more intellectual weight behind him than “I slept at a Holiday Inn Express last night” Huckabee.
Googly-eyed != unwarranted enthusiasm.

I know that a confirmed republican is supposed to accept the words of the party’s candidates, but my party is responsible for enough socialist programs to make a Swede blush. Only Thompson and Hunter have stayed clear of endorsing creeping socialism. I can not get a bead on Ron Paul. I think he is mostly Ross Perot nuts, so I don’t pay him too much attention. Thompson bothers me because he was hand in glove with campaign finance reform, but I have not heard his present views on it.

I will vote for Giuliani knowing he is soft on the second amendment and his heart is not in sealing the border. I will vote for Romney knowing that some kind of bastardization of socialized health care will be the result. I will vote for McCain knowing that he will flip the bird at conservatives on a regular basis. I will vote for Huckabee as the slightly better alternative to any of the democrats. I will vote for Hunter or Thompson in the proverbial New York minute. I will stay home if Ron Paul is up to bat.

Just playing to the base….

Once you understand that, the allure of his “The government should give you everything, just like your mother and father did” message becomes far more comprehensible.