17 February 2008
Bad Sheep
Posted by Roy Bischoff under: Judaeo-Christian Values Under Attack; Presidential Election 2008; Rejecting Herd Mentality .
Guest Blog by Steven Stubbs (SGS)
I want to comment on something that is related to the King transcript as posted by Chuck under “Respect for the Flag” post. For example, CNN’s Larry King said the following: “Are some of those what might be core conservatives — what might be kind of whacko — there is a whacko on both sides of this… They’re over the deep end.” And, “so, therefore, … should [McCain] just not kowtow to them?” 
Those are just a couple of the statements made by Larry. The rest of his guests on that show shared similar viewpoints.
I find it amazing that those people failed to recognize the fundamental truth of the conservatives and evangelicals — they ARE the grassroots movement of the Republican party. Think about it; the independents and moderates are independents and moderates because they want to remain neutral. They want to have the option to look at the picture as it is applicable to themselves, and from there, decide which candidate would be the best fit for what they want. They do not look toward the horizon. They do not have any vision on the direction this country should go. Rather, they see only the picture that matters to them. No, they do not see the big picture at all. They only see what matters to them individually and only at that time. For example, they see the cost of their health care coverage increasing at a faster rate than their salaries. They see that they have less and less cash available and they want someone to do something about it. They want to see the end in the surge of health care cost. They do not care how it is done. They do not know the causes, nor do they care to know. They do not understand the impact of having someone taking over; how it could impact them in the long term. Nor do they care about this impact. They only want something to be done about it, and immediately. This is the only thing they want.
Because they see only what they want to see, and they have no long term vision (how many Americans are actively putting aside some fund in their retirement accounts?), they will not go out knocking on the doors. They will not spend hour after hour calling total strangers. They will not commit their time to any candidate. Nor will they donate any significant amount of their own money to a campaign. It is because they lack the passion. They only care about the comfort of their lives and nothing more. Beyond that, they do not have any passion for anything. They blindly follow along like sheep.
Those pundits on King’s show claim McCain should not “mollify” the wackos. They forgot that those wackos are wackos because they feel strongly about the causes. They have committed themselves to the causes the Republican Party used to represent. The hard reality is that McCain will not survive without this “whackos” base. You need to have a passion to overcome your desire for things of the world. You must have the vision, be it yours or others (including the one God has for us and this country), to extend outside of yourselves. And the conservatives are the passionate and visionary people, which includes the evangelicals. In 2004, we saw a record number of voters in many states because many of those states had a marriage amendment issue on their ballots. Protecting the family, among many causes, matters a great deal to conservative and values oriented voters. So, because of the conservative and values causes, they all are willing to expend their time, money, skill and everything for the causes they feel so strongly about.
This is the very reason why I think McCain will lose the election this fall. He will fail to appeal to a sufficient number within the base of the Republican Party. He won’t be able to get them to donate as much money or as much time to his campaign as in the past. He does not inspire them with his vision, because his and their visions are different. He does not motivate the conservatives, because he does not share the same feelings as they do for their causes. He does not excite the evangelicals because he does not share the same values as they do. He will not get them to go out in force and work for him, because he has nothing to offer to them directly. The only thing McCain could offer to them is the hope that the Obama or Clinton administration won’t happen; that the vision of either of these administrations to use national government to solve every single American problem will never get executed.
19 Comments so far...
Terrie Soberg Says:
17 February 2008 at 8:08 am.
Well said! You said, “You need to have a passion to overcome your desire for things of the world.” Yet for most people, their passion IS the desire for the things of the world. A quick scan of the news will show how out-of-control people are: drugs, sex, money, greed, lust…the list goes on for a very long time. Isaiah must have been sick to his stomach at all of the things he saw of our day. As I am writing this, I see a picture of the rebel fighters in the Star Wars movie flying to destroy the Death Star, hearing “Stay on Target.” Not a bad motto, eh? 
Jesse Says:
17 February 2008 at 9:04 am.
That’s right Terrie. We have to stay on target and not turn tail and run. Even when the crap starts raining down on us from the MSM just like good old Stumpy wrote yesterday. The cunning fellow seems to think a lot of us won’t be able to take the flying labels like “whacko” that Steven writes about. It is hard to keep your eye on the target while taking fire. If we encourage each other here it will be a lot easier. Being disenfranchised sure aint fun.
Chuck C Says:
17 February 2008 at 9:29 am.
Wow, Steven. That was well said! McCain may get many conservative vote, but he won’t get their hearts. Votes for McCain will be more a vote against Clinton or Obama, not a vote for him, and without winning hearts you do not win elections.
Even after all I have written while ruminating on this situation I continue to believe that McCain detests the conservative and religious right, like he said in South Carolina in the last election cycle. Since he hates flip floppers, I doubt he can flip from that belief.
So, as courageous Ron Paul supporters have not considered their votes for him as “throw away”, because they believe their position in the political process is a valid as someone (me) who was committed to vote for a potential winner, so now can I decide to write in Mitt Romney for President with conviction if it comes to that. This race does not end in November.
I am still waiting for responses over the next couple of days from those of you who will comment on the reasons to support or not support McCain. Thanks for all of your help.
Mac Says:
17 February 2008 at 10:41 am.
This blog reminds me of what I always thought came first for a lot of democrats. I am sure some don’t fit this but for the most part I think they really do look at what is right in front of them and their personal wants and desires. That isn’t what government was suppose to be about.
Chuck it sounds like you are trying to be careful not to be a sheep yourself either way. I think in the end you will work it all out just fine. For me it all comes down to preserving our way of life. I don’t trust any of the three candidates to do that. I don’t trust McCain to keep a single conservative value. He is a spiteful man and holds grudges. He will never forgive the conservative base for holding out on him. He will pay back his loyal moderate supporters and get back at us. He is a scary man. Obama has scary positions so we have to work hard to vote in a congress that will keep him in check.
In the end I am sure the media will destroy McCain. He isn’t going to win. So if we sell out to him where does that leave us? With a party already moved left and a democratic president.
Pickles Says:
17 February 2008 at 11:16 am.
I think you are so right Mac. We can already see the press turning on McCain when they were covering up for him before. Nice little trick and pretty simple to. Just like the professor wrote yesterday. They are smart because they have all the scholars helping them think and plan how to destroy Christians. So they get us to give in and compromise and then in the end as a reward they give us a democrat. Kind of reminds me of how the devil works. That is how he pays those that follow him in the end.
Carrie Says:
17 February 2008 at 11:56 am.
Even if we got good judges now, if we didn’t keep conservatives around then in the future they would take away everything anyway.
Chuck C Says:
17 February 2008 at 2:12 pm.
Mac, I like your thinking. Well said. I’m getting closer to a decision…
Cavetrollhead Says:
17 February 2008 at 2:21 pm.
Wow good points all. Carrie, that is full of fore site. You say that eventually all judges will be liberal if conservatives lose there political power. So although McCain would install better Judges, McCain’s wining would ultimately destroy the conservative base and so Judges of the more distant future will all be perpetually more liberal. Is this a correct reiteration? Very, very good point!! That should be a blog all by itself!
That is a conservativism fundamental; Preserving long term success despite short term sacrifice. In a way it is like delayed gratification. Well now I may be diluting your point, but kudos to you for pointing it out.
Carrie Says:
17 February 2008 at 2:51 pm.
Thank you Cave. You said what I was thinking. It seems simple when I think about it but the words don’t always come out as smoothly as I’d like.
T. Fan Says:
17 February 2008 at 6:04 pm.
Good blog, SGS. Interesting observation that conservatives are considered whackos when they committ themselves. We are all supposed to be dozing in front of the TV with pizza on the coffee table. Or were we supposed to be at a circus with bread in our hand?
Saddened Says:
17 February 2008 at 8:07 pm.
I kind of get the sense that conservatives are doing just that, T. Fan and it worries me. We were rejected. Oh well, we lost so we’ll just go numb ourselves while Rome burns. There are three choices for people who are all shaking hands and slapping each other on the back. They may each go about it a different way and with different priorities but each of them will let Rome burn in order to get control of the rebellious colonies…I mean masses. They are so mad at us for standing up to them for so long and they obviously have run out of patience. I don’t want to decide which of these three to pick since it would be based on where they will strike the match. I want to do what Sharon said. I will show God when I go into that voting booth that I will only support someone who represents at least the ball park of my values.
Cavetrollhead Says:
17 February 2008 at 8:33 pm.
well put saddened “where they will strike the match”
E.E. Says:
17 February 2008 at 9:13 pm.
I agree, well put. Do you find it interesting that in our new nanny state, the political leaders and all of their cronies see themselves as the parents of us, their unruly, naughty children? The way it is written in the Constitution, the power stems from us. We are the parents and are to oversee them. They serve the people, not the other way around. Isaiah talked about our day being one where good is bad, etc. Everything is upside down. Like in 1984 (read the book if you haven’t, it is a must) when they keep changing things and the people have to accept the new and opposite labels or they are in big trouble. They are so scared of being outside of correct thinking that they actually come to believe the lie.
As far as McCain goes, the same thing applies. I watched the things he did with Mitt. I listened to his out right lies as everyone called him honorable. I watched him watch Mitt and talk to Mitt with the utmost arrogance. I will not put a man that arrogant in office. He would never listen to anything we wanted. He would laugh in our face if we tried to hold his feet to the fire. He gets off by being a maverick and thumbing his nose at us while he is kissing the left and saying Hillary would make a great president. I won’t be like the people in the book 1984. I don’t hate the man and I leave judgment to God since I don’t know what brought the man to where he is. But I will not forget the things I have seen for without them I can make no judgment as per my vote and that is my right, my privilege and my duty.
T. Fan Says:
18 February 2008 at 12:26 am.
I just watched McCain in an interview and I can’t believe how little he knows about the economy. He thought cutting pork barrel spending was the answer to almost all economic problems. He talked about lowing the interest rates as another part of the answer. He doesn’t know that the more we lower the rates the weaker the dollar is against foreign currency. He doesn’t seem to realize that if OPEC decides to go with the Euro then the dollar could collapse and at the least, it won’t buy what it use to. We don’t want to bring wheelbarrels of money to go shopping like the Germans did in the 30’s.
When thinking about McCain and deciding if he is conservative enough, people like to quote his record of voting which is 82%. Not great but not horrible. The problem is, through the years he has been getting more liberal the deeper in he gets with the establishment. For the last three years his rating is 64% with only four republicans lower than him. I don’t like the direction he is going.
SGS Says:
19 February 2008 at 9:00 pm.
Terrie, perhaps “passion” is not a right word. What I had meant is that you need the energy to go outside of your comfort zone. Yes, many of us would rather not do much beyond our basic desires — like sex, eating and others you mentioned. But to ascend above our basic desires, to extend ourselves beyond our comfort zone, we need to have something more — be it love, willpower, or profound faith and hope. Yeah, we do need the “force” 
SGS Says:
19 February 2008 at 9:08 pm.
Jesse, there is a lot of ways to arrive at the target. We all would like to walk the shortest distance between where we are and our target, but often, we have to take the long way. We may zap-zip like a sailing boat would when it goes in the direction against wind. Even at times, we may have to take two steps back for each step forward. The question, I suppose, like Chuck has asked, is, will we still arrive at the target, whatsoever it may be for each of us, with McCain administration? For some of us, yes. For others, no. For me personally, McCain does not share the same conservative principles — that is, he does not acknowledge that it is the people whose the power belong to, nor does he share many of the values with the values voters. So, he won’t be able to motivate as many of us to go out and work for him, because we do not see us getting closer to the target with him in the White House.
SGS Says:
19 February 2008 at 9:13 pm.
Carrie, even I am questioning what kind of judges McCain will appoint. He claimed he will pick someone like Chief Justice John Roberts. But, the question here is, will he remain firm even when Democrats already know how to work on him? I mean, they have managed to lead him with their ideologies. They have managed to get McCain to step backward two steps for every step forward. How long can we expect McCain to stand up against those he has worked with for many years — Fiengold, Kennedy, and more? They will find a way to get to him and have him picking judges who are more centerists, which still is very bad, since we really need to restore the true meanings of the Constitution.
SGS Says:
19 February 2008 at 9:16 pm.
Chuck, what is your top 2 or 3 issues, again, please?
Carrie Says:
19 February 2008 at 11:17 pm.
SGS,
I might be wrong but from what I have seen of McCain I think he will stand up against the liberals clear until he got elected. Maybe I’m being to judgmental. He might last a couple months longer.
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