With this from Steve as a backdrop:
“The current New Hampshire Republican Party has devolved away from being any kind of bulwark against creeping progressivism and the ardent promotion of candidates who will man the bulwark or (God help us) take us into battle, to little more than an exclusive party for hand-picked political insiders, partying away in the captain’s quarters of our anchored and sinking fleet. They have been reduced to little more than a scurrilous cadre of ideological brigands fighting over a dwindling chest of booty, backstabbing anyone and everyone who stands in their way.”
I proudly announce
Oh wait, just for grins and giggles (and no small amount of piling on), let me add this, too (reformatted, emphasis mine):
As a candidate for US Senate it does not appear to concern her in the least that the CPP [Clean Power Plan by the EPA -Skip] is an imposition of laws and taxes ON THE ENTIRE NATION without one single member of congress (no legislator, anywhere) having to cast a vote. Ever. No one has to take responsibility for the real-world economic impact of these regulations.
…And she clearly has no time for the separation of powers, where the judiciary has the nerve to halt executive branch action. How dare they allow a lawsuit brought by more than a few of the several states to question the authority of un-elected bureaucrats to impose taxes and fiscal burdens on the people of the nation. It’s very disappointing.
…Now, this could be damning in an election such as this. We have the Governor of a sovereign state honestly abdicating legislative authority to un-elected central planners. Gov. Hassan is expressing dismay that the judicial branch has stepped in, BECAUSE SHE LIKES AND SUPPORTS WHAT THE REGULATORS ARE DOING.
It is a refreshing (if not selective) admission of fealty to the regulatory state, but not damning, not for Hassan, at least not in this race. The Senator she wants to replace, Kelly Ayotte, has already expressed her own approval for abdicating that same authority on the same issue.And yes, I think it disqualifies Sen. Ayotte for the office as well.
And the coup de gras:
…And they wonder why people are bailing on the Republican establishment?
I have been posting up for years about formerly excited folks that took the Party seriously and put a lot of effort, time, and money into supporting the Party – and finally had enough and threw in the towel. They just couldn’t take it any more – they could no longer hide their eyes when they saw the Party apparatchik not just failing to live up to what it said it did, but openly despising those that did. They saw that those in high rank and power refused to recognize any limiting factor in themselves and their actions – so how COULD they act in accordance with that limiting Principle in governing?
The apparatchik made them not to care:
Me: there are Republicans out there they are no longer voting nor donating to the Party. They’ve quit.
She: Well, why ARE they doing that?? Don’t they realize that this will allow Democrats to be elected?
Me: They no longer care
She: WHY don’t they care? Don’t they understand what this means for implemented policy, they are allowing Democrats to win??
Me: They realize that. They don’t care anymore.
She: They HAVE to care – Democrats will win if they just stay home. Don’t they realize that?
Me: You’re not listening to me, and haven’t been for a while. You have made them not care. Why SHOULD they care when Republicans do things at cross-purposes to what they say they stand for? Why should they support candidates that, in the end, don’t support their beliefs? When they don’t see their beliefs being advanced?
She: But Democrats will win?!?!?!
Me: Now you’re making me not care much. Whether you like it or not, whether you want to admit it or not (and I think you are at the point where you don’t want to SEE what they are saying), these people exist. They are dropping out, and you can’t seem face reality even when I put it in your face.
The long and short of it, you Republicans “of note”, the Establishment Republicans (or as I now say “Republican Republicans for the sake of the Party”), aren’t listening. They make it sound like they do, but they aren’t. How to tell? The voting data says the truth – these people have left. Stayed home. Sat on their hands. Kept their wallets shut. You may say what you want, but what the evidence says contradicts you. They are telling YOU their answer to your question of “where else will you go” – and now you aren’t listening to that answer either. Too bad.
You’ve told lots of folks: do it our way or go away. So, they’ve done what you’ve told them and have gone away. And now you don’t believe it. I’m telling you where they are going, and they are all telling you where to go, too.
They. Don’t. Care.
I don’t care anymore either. Seeing the Republican Leadership in the NH House vote for Medicaid Expansion was the last straw. Kelly Ayotte, as Steve brought out, was another last straw. They will be instituting a broadbased tax here in NH soon – math hurts and soon, so will the NH GOP. And they will lie about why they “have” to do it even as they will refuse to admit that they laid the seeds for it themselves by being the Jr Lackeys of the Democrat Welfare State. I could go on and on but to no purpose other than to make my fingers hurt.
I no longer wish to be part of a Party that shows little willingness in deed to be other than “we’ll spend a little less, grow it a little slower, but manage it FAR better than the Democrats” self-important ones who are so self-assured of their own incompetence.
Today at lunchtime, I finally said that holding onto that Republican rock cliff by my bleeding fingertips was too much of a pain in the ass. I joined all those that put the Republican Party as an organization into my rearview mirror so that I can better train my sights on them.
I refuse to allow my name, my character, and my reputation to be further sullied by lending myself to be a part and parcel to a Party whose leadership stands for nothing even as they act like the Pharisees of ancient times beating their chest of their righteous characters and public announcement of their humility even as Jesus showed a Bright Flashlight on their deep dark hearts.
Screw them – I changed my political affiliation to unenrolled. I had been an official member of the Republican Party for 42 years – no more. No longer do I have to listen to their screeds that I HAVE to vote for the Party nominee.
What, like Kelly Ayotte? Hahahahahahaha! Want my vote? Earn it, as it can no longer be assumed (heh! Not that the Rs could assume it for a while – and they didn’t). No more lame attempts at a “voting guilt trip” will come my way. Like the soliloquy above, I just don’t care about THEM – but I will continue to care about PRINCIPLES.
And don’t worry, I’m not going away – my decision was to no longer let them be a pain in my ass but rest assured, I will take much more delight in being a pain in their’s. I realized years ago “What could they do to me?” was the operative phrase. The answer was “very little” – now, the answer is not “nothing” but really is “want my vote? Prove yourselves worthy”.
But will they listen? Not in their current setup. But if more people do what I have done, perhaps. Politicians only learn and pay attention when “The Pain” is brought to them – either cutting off their donors or cutting off their votes. I give little so my alternative is the latter.
They can no longer depend on my vote because I have come to the realization that I cannot depend on them. But they can depend on me for continuing to shine Big Flashlights.
