Morning Briefing
For October 29, 2013
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1. The Hungry and the Well Fed
In
William F. Buckley’s mission statement for National Review, written in
1955, he did not mention winning elections. That’s not to say it is
unimportant, unneeded, or unwanted. But it was not mentioned. In fact,
Buckley wrote, “We believe that truth is neither arrived at nor
illuminated by monitoring election results, binding though these are for
other purposes, but by other means, including a study of human
experience.”
What
was mentioned was standing athwart history yelling stop. Buckley sought
to build a National Review that provided commentary on the landscape of
American politics and culture, building an intellectual case for
conservatism. Today’s National Review is willing occasionally to yell
Stop. It did so notably on the proliferation of porn in culture. But on
many of the day’s fights, the editorial positions read more like those
of the Republican National Committee than the standard bearer of
American conservatism. . . . please click here for the rest of the post →
2. Conservatives Need More Carrot, Not Just More Stick
Conservatives
are frustrated: why doesn’t the Republican Party deliver better results
for us? Part of the answer, of course, is that the Republican Party
only controls so much of the government, but there remains a lot of
resistance in GOP leadership to fighting for conservative priorities.
Why?
Conservatives
have tended to see this as a problem to be solved my making threats:
We’ll primary you! We’ll stay home! Not One Cent! We’ll go third party!
In terms of asserting the legitimate supremacy of the voters over their
elected representatives, these are healthy impulses. But they can never
be a complete solution, because all these ideas are rule by the stick,
by fear. And anyone who knows anything about managing or motivating
people knows that fear alone has limits.
I
submit that, if we want small-government conservatives and social
conservatives to have real influence in the Republican Party, we need to
go beyond the stick and offer the carrot; go beyond punishment and
offer rewards. . . . please click here for the rest of the post →
3. Liberals Fear the Heritage Foundation and They Should
The
other day on Morning Joe, Eugene Robison was on and lashed out at the
Heritage Foundation for leading the fight against Obamacare. He, like
many other concern trolling liberals, said “Heritage Foundation, for
example, which, you know, you would think ought to be coming out with
those sort of reasonable [health care] policies … now they’re like, one
of the loudest voices thanks to Jim DeMint and Heritage, which used to
be a real think tank, is is now this kind of shrill voice that’s not
helping.”
Oh, good grief. . . . please click here for the rest of the post →
4. Mitch McConnell Ready to Fight GOP Base
Everything you ever thought about Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is wrong. He really is a fighter after all.
At a recent fundraiser with 300 K street donors, as reported by Politico, Mitch McConnell was in a combative mood. According to one attendee, he was “in fighting mode.”
No, he was not in a fighting mode against Obama and the Democrats. As
he spoke at a K street retreat, the relaxation of his comfort zone
kicked in and he rallied the establishment faithful against
conservatives. . . . please click here for the rest of the post →
5. Face Off: Healthcare.gov Girl Replacement Contest (pics!)
The
young lady known variously as the face of healthcare.gov, the Obamacare
girl, or glitch girl, has been replaced in the wake of a massive
internet and cable news effort to uncover her true identity. The
speculation as to the reason behind taking her face off the site has run
rampant, but we here at RedState have the answer. It’s a simple matter
of truth in advertising! And today is your chance to be a part of that
glorious truth. . . . please click here for the rest of the post →
6. Obamacare Horror Stories
Last
week, we asked for your personal Obamacare horror stories, as more and
more middle class families are forced to surrender their dignity and
grovel before government for their health insurance. Here is the latest from Patricia in North Carolina. . . . please click here for the rest of the post →
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