Trump is the new Shibboleth

What amazes me is how many conservatives there were a year ago, Krauthammer, National Review, ...me...who determined for whatever reasons that Trump is not suited to be president, and without changing any other positions, all of a sudden, we are no longer conservatives, but somehow transmogrified into Republican party hacks, party elites and maybe even libertarians.

I don't impugn the conservatism of Trump supporters. They're wrong, but merely being a conservative does not make one immune to being conned. I do have trouble with the pseudo logic which says "I'm a conservative. I support Trump. You do not support Trump, therefore you cannot be a conservative." Feel free to disagree with me, but if you think somehow I'm no longer a conservative, then you're apt to be wrong about other things as well. (Hint, hint!)

Among some, support of Trump is the sole litmus test for being a conservative. If for some reason the convention denies Trump the nomination, I suspect that their ardent #NeverHillary fervor will evaporate as they take their ball and go home. If Trump is confirmed as nominee, a large portion of conservatives will abandon the Republican party. Either way, Trump destroys the Republican party. Any guesses as to whether or not any of his supporters will blame their flawed candidate for the results?

-originally posted as a comment over at Diogenes Middle Finger

The Bible's Book of Judges (12:4-6) tells the story of the Ephraimites, who, after they were routed by the Gileadite army, tried to retreat by sneaking across a ford of the Jordan River that was held by their enemy. The Gileadites, wary of the ploy, asked every soldier who tried to cross if he was an Ephraimite. When the soldier said "no," he was asked to say "shibboleth" (which means "stream" in Hebrew). Gileadites pronounced the word shibboleth, but Ephramites said "sibboleth." Anyone who left out the initial "sh" was killed on the spot. When English speakers first borrowed "shibboleth," they used it to mean "test phrase," but it has acquired additional meanings since that time.

-Miriam-Webster

Conservative Democrats Find New Home in GOP

Remember back in 2008, when Democrats were predicting the forty year dynasty that BO's election would kick off? They probably bet on the Steelers, too!

For Democrats, Ashley Bell was the kind of comer that a party builds a future on: A young African American lawyer, he served as president of the College Democrats of America, advised presidential candidate John Edwards and spoke at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston.

But after his party's midterm beat-down in November, Bell, a commissioner in northern Georgia's Hall County, jumped ship. He joined the Republicans.

And because our tent is large, we say, "Welcome!"

Bell, 30, said he had serious issues with the healthcare law and believed that conservative "blue dog" Democrats in Congress who shared his values had been bullied into voting for it.

Bell's defection is one of dozens by state and local Democratic officials in the Deep South in recent months that underscore Republicans' continued consolidation of power in the region — a process that started with presidential politics but increasingly affects government down to the level of dogcatcher.

I believe the etymology of the word comes from "yellow dog Democrats", but that's a story for another time!

"I think the midterms showed you really can't be a conservative and be a member of the Democratic Party," Bell said.

Since the midterm election, 24 state senators and representatives have made the switch in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Texas.

In some cases, the ramifications have been profound: In Louisiana, defecting Democrats gave Republicans a majority in the state House for the first time since Reconstruction; in Alabama, they delivered the GOP a House supermajority. Republicans have 65 votes to the Democrats' 39, enough to pass constitutional amendments over Democratic opposition.

The trend continued through late January — when nine officials in Lamar County in northeastern Texas left the Democratic Party — and into last week, when Louisiana Atty. Gen. James D. "Buddy" Caldwell switched parties, leaving the GOP in control of every major state office in Baton Rouge.

Like ships deserting the sinking 'rats! Now if we could just get California to follow suit!

H/T Mememorandum

GOP to Vote on Defunding NPR

About frikken' time!

House Republicans announced Wednesday they plan to force a floor vote on defunding NPR in response to the firing of analyst Juan Williams last month.

House GOP Whip Eric Cantor (Va.) and Rep. Doug Lamborn (Colo.) said that cutting funds to the publicly subsidized news organization was the winner of the conference's weekly "YouCut" contest, in which the public votes online on spending items they want eliminated.

Expect the squealing of stuck pigs decrying how Republicans are "Philistines" who hate the arts!

"When NPR executives made the decision to unfairly terminate Juan Williams and to then disparage him afterwards, the bias of their organization was exposed," the two Republicans said in a statement. "Make no mistake, it is not the role of government to tell news organizations how to operate. What is avoidable, however, is providing taxpayer funds to news organizations that promote a partisan point of view. Eliminating taxpayer funding for NPR is precisely the kind of commonsense cut that we have to begin making if we want to fundamentally alter the way business is conducted in Washington.”

L'affaire Williams is simply the straw that broke the camel's back. From "Morning Sedition" on, NPR has had a very leftward tilt. Let them compete on the marketplace or if they want to remain non-profit, let them rely on like minded contributors, not the taxpayer.

H/T memeorandum

Cross posted at LCR, Say Anything.

Virginia Puts the Lie to Obama's Lameness

Lame. [leym] lam·er, lam·est, verb, lamed, lam·ing, noun
–adjective
1. crippled or physically disabled, esp. in the foot or leg so as to limp or walk with difficulty.
2. impaired or disabled through defect or injury: a lame arm.
3. weak; inadequate; unsatisfactory; clumsy: a lame excuse.
4. Slang . out of touch with modern fads or trends; unsophisticated.

Now that we have thoroughly discussed President Obama's "drove the economy in the ditch" analogy, let's take a look at how Republican "drivers" are making out in states where they are still "behind the wheel". From the Washington Post:

President Obama and other Democrats are going around the country making the same argument as party leaders made in Virginia last year: If you elect Republicans, they'll drive the car right back into the ditch.
Virginians overwhelmingly ignored that advice, and a year later many say they have few regrets and are generally pleased - if not ecstatic - about what Republicans have done.

Excuse me, but did she say "ecstatic"??

Voters are crediting republican Gov. Robert F. McDonnell with coming up with deep budget cuts and even ending the fiscal year with a small surplus, without the tax increase that former Gov. Kaine had recommended.

..."This state hasn't gone backwards," said Steven Herborn, 55, of Chesapeake. He has supported candidates in both parties over the years but wants Republicans to take over Congress next week.

...And more than a dozen independent voters in Virginia who backed Obama in 2008 said in interviews that they didn't think the state had moved backward under McDonnell and Republicans in the past year. A few who didn't vote for him still gave him credit for working hard and focusing on the right priorities.

Sounds like a case of "Who are you going to believe? Me, or your own lying eyes?"
The Democrats' lack of traction with with their message, combined with a disastrous economy and double digit unemployment caused Virginians to look at the results of their politicians and not the rhetoric.

How bad is it for Democrats in Virginia? They're losing retired government workers!

Mary Kay Rieg, 60, a retired federal employee from Alexandria...enthusiastically backed Obama in 2008, hoping he'd bring a new brand of post-partisan politics to Washington.

She's been so disappointed that next week she plans to vote against Rep. James P. Moran Jr., a 10-term incumbent, for the first time and cast her ballot for Republican Patrick Murray instead.

"President Obama came in under very special circumstances, and those circumstances called for restraint," she said. "And Democrats have not shown restraint."

That's not to say that the election will be a cakewalk or that there are no problems to overcome. Yet, these are encouraging signs that Tuesday's election might be like the punchline to a lawyer joke:

What do you call 100 lawyers on the ocean floor?

A start.

H/T 2H9

Cross posted at LCR, Lady Cincinnatus, Say Anything.