Posted under Obama & Sovereignty and Secession
Now that the Age of Obama has officially begun, us dissenters (and quite frankly you have to go back to the early Reagan Administration to find us in assent) must not make mistake of becoming Obama-haters in the same fashion of Clinton-haters during the 1990s. Such personal bile only managed to elevate the Clintons into martyr status and as Dan McCarthy pointed out this TAC blog post I agree with, belief in Hilary as the Dowager Empress only eleveated her from mere First Lady to U.S. Senator to now Secretary of State thank you very much!
The best way to deal Obama the Cult is not to get sucked into the arguing the Cult of Personality. Like it or not it will be there for (probably) eight years and is part of the complex of the people who supports him. Fine then. Let them deal with disillusionment. That’s something I and many of us don’t have to worry about.
Instead of dealing with Obama, you have to deal with what he leads. It’s the same thing that Bush II leads. The transition of power is truly that, one emperor to the other. That is the focus, the military-industrial complex, the Federal Reserve, the Welfare-Warfare State, the Corporate State, all these things are the real power behind the throne and that won’t change after today.
For any real opposition to flourish, is has to be against empire and not its emperor. Clinton hatred didn’t stop Clinton. Bush II hatred didn’t benefit the Left, only Bush’s failures did. Let’s avoid that trap that the empire sets for those who wish to attack it. Attacking the emperor personally is like jousting windmills, they’re bigger, sturdier and they can easily brush you aside. One can only undermind it by attacking the sources of its power and to do so one must call for sweeping changes in U.S. political, foreign and economic policy.
So to celebrate this day of National Unity, I give you links to highlights from the Third Annual North American Secession Conference:\”Divided We Stand Toger – Part 1\” and Middlebury Institute Director Kirkpatrick Sale’s speech to the Conference: Kirkpatrick Sale – Part 1
James on 20 Jan 2009 at 8:12 pm #
We face a far more serious problem than four or eight years of an Obama presidency. Conservatives face the enourmously difficult task of self-reflection and reassesment. It needs to happen and if it does not we can kiss the conservative movement goodbye. It begins with a serious look at what has just happened. We will hear conservatives say over and over again that we can’t look at the past. We have to “just get the Democrats out” in the coming years. This simply will not do. Only, and I can’t say that word strongly enough, ONLY when conservatives come to (1) realize that Gorge W. Bush was an utter disaster, (2) realize why he was such an disaster and finally (3) repudiate the legacy of Bush and the neocons will there be any chance for restoration. If, as I am afraid is the case, “conservatism” becomes just the empty phrase blind supporters of whomever the Republican Party has annointed as its leader identify with then its all over. Period. It has clearly, inescapeably become simply about power over principles. For most of the past eight years we had a supposedly conservative president along with a supposedly conservative Congress. What was achieved to advance conservative principles and causes? That is a rhetorical question because we all know the answers was nothing. What’s the point then? Either we stand for principles or we do not. If not, then let us furl the flag and stand in line to shout at the top of of our lungs “I love Big Brother.” Friends, make no mistake. These are dark and dangerous times. Not because of who was inaugurated today as president. But because of were we “conservatives” allowed ourselves to be taken in the name of loyalty and patriotism. Conservatism used to be marked by its intellectual independence and rigor. Who are our intellectual leaders today? Rush Limbaugh? Sean Hannity? Chuck Norris? Sarah Palin? What I saw in the last eight years terrified me and made me ashamed. We must rediscover who we are and what we believe. Either our principles are true or they are not. Either we are right or we are not. If so, then stand by them come what may. If not, then let us abandon them and seek the truth. It is far past time for these questions to be asked of those claming the mantle of conservatism.
Patroon on 20 Jan 2009 at 8:33 pm #
Agreed, James.
Bede on 20 Jan 2009 at 9:01 pm #
I’m afraid this will be the case, and Bobby Jindal will be leading the charge.
Bede on 20 Jan 2009 at 10:03 pm #
I agree that we should not engage in shameless partisan criticism of Democrats. Some of the criticism of First Lady Hillary Clinton amounted to that. Regardless, Bill Clinton was a horrible president and deserved to be criticized.
Regarding criticism of Obama, if the best the Republicans can do is Bill Ayers or “Obama is a socialist” I imagine we’ll see a quiet 4-8 years. It seems that most Republicans are too cowardly to criticize the Great One.
Like the Left, many of the Neocons (is there a difference?) have basically said that criticism of Obama – any serious criticism that is – is off the table. Charles Krauthammer has all but said Obama is divine.
It indeed is ironic that the harshest criticism of Obama has not even come from GOP operatives, but from paleoconservatives like Steve Sailer and Thomas Fleming.
Weaver on 21 Jan 2009 at 8:38 am #
Middle America was fired up under Clinton. Had Bush not won in 2000, it would have really been fired up under Gore.
Obama is perfect for criticising. He’s bound to fail to live up to everyone’s expectations, so it’s ideal that he be loved and hated on each side respectively.
A truly right wing movement could develop along such lines, and Heartland America will never accept him in the majority.
Declining to go after Obama doesn’t make any sense to me.
Right, so who will end up opposing him if opposition does arise?
Weaver on 21 Jan 2009 at 8:40 am #
Imagine Obama-Messiah attacking Iran. War could drop off the GOP list.
Imagine Obama-Messiah struggling to grant amnesty, etc. Immigration could become a litmus test with those who favor it being suspect as Obama-lovers.
Everything he does can be reacted against.
Weaver on 21 Jan 2009 at 5:26 pm #
I’m not saying an attempt should be made for the GOP, but rather that the American heartland voters should be the target audience.
They’re the ones who need to wake up and come to their senses.
Anti-Obama sentiment could be a good opportunity for this. And since no one but paleos and other far right types will criticise Obama, this could bring paleos into popularity.
James on 21 Jan 2009 at 6:18 pm #
Yet, this is exactly what we cannot do! We cannot define ourselves in opposition to Obama. We cannot define ourselves through contrast of who or what we are against. We must affirm and pronounce what we are for and what our movement stands for in a positive sense. We must articulate and defend those principles. Otherwise, we are just playing contingent political games.
The Quadfather on 25 Jan 2009 at 2:13 am #
I think what hurt us in criticizing Clinton, was that we should have stuck to what mattered, not his problems with Lewensky. When he allowed missile technology to be sold to China, now there is an act of treason. When we oppose Obama, we should oppose what harms us. Our candidates go through priimaries in northern liberal states before they come down south. By the time the southern primaries are held, the good ones are gone, winnowed out. I voted for Romney, I wanted to vote for Tancredo. Of course Huckabee would have been better than Mc Cain. But right when it could do the most damage, right after the south had voted, a bunch of Republican leaders stood up and announced support for Mc Cain, right when Huckabee needed that support. Thus, we got stuck with a lemon. I think all state primaries should be held on the same day. Y’all don’t give up hope. Obama’s already pissing off his own followers. I suspect he will continue to do so, just like Bush did to us. We just have to pick the right one to oppose him.