tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post5053138585367932492..comments2024-03-17T03:42:21.277-05:00Comments on LEARNING CURVE ON THE ECLIPTIC: Pat BuchananTwilighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-73886105420735862092008-05-15T09:58:00.000-05:002008-05-15T09:58:00.000-05:00That's the trillion dollar question, AN!The Democr...That's the trillion dollar question, AN!<BR/><BR/>The Democratic National committee seems to think that, come November, Democrats will (mostly) stick together despite current threats of either not voting, voting for a 3rd party candidate, or voting for McCain if Obama is the nominee. I'm not experienced enough in US politics to know how things might pan out. I don't think anyone knows, this is so different from any previous election, one black candidate and one female candidate - both "firsts". <BR/><BR/>These last Bush years should ensure that next door's dog would win in the GE as Democratic candidate - in normal circumstances - but these are not normal. <BR/><BR/>The thought of 4 more years of conservative rule is daunting, but for me it's becoming increasingly clear that 4 years of Obama might be equally daunting. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's my gut feeling, which will not change no matter what I try to tell myself. <BR/><BR/>Maybe VP coices will be a determining factor for many who are now doubtful about both Obama and McCain.Twilighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-63931686094404995702008-05-15T08:58:00.000-05:002008-05-15T08:58:00.000-05:00Hi Twilight, This is the other thing that worrie...Hi Twilight,<BR/> This is the other thing that worries me. If the Republicans are going 'touchy-feely', and divisions are growing among the Democrats, could that split allow the Republicans in again?anthonynorthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06680944720744601697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-47156115237300103372008-05-15T08:20:00.000-05:002008-05-15T08:20:00.000-05:00Hi ANThat's interesting. Subtle political changes...Hi AN<BR/><BR/>That's interesting. Subtle political changes may be occurring both sides of the Atlantic then. <BR/><BR/>Here in the US there's another Republican, one of the original presidential candidates, who has that touchy-feely approach you mention - Mike Huckabee. I really like him, but not his policies. Same applies to Pat Buchanan. <BR/><BR/>These characters' softer approaches are made more noticeable just now due to the particularly harsh attitudes towards Hillary Clinton of many on the Democratic side - pundits, politicians, bloggers,commenters,& journalists.<BR/><BR/>Clinton supporters like myself are starting to feel alienated and willing to take a stray kind word from whatever source. In the process it's making me see that there may well be a kindly core within the most rabid of conservatives. :-) <BR/><BR/>Perhaps it's all serving some kind of evolutionary purpose purpose.Twilighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-30102266491926952252008-05-15T04:56:00.000-05:002008-05-15T04:56:00.000-05:00I'm not sure a leopard changes its spots so easily...I'm not sure a leopard changes its spots so easily. But I do think the Republicans have realised with McCain that 'touchy-feely' politics wins votes.<BR/> That's what the Conservatives have started doing in the UK, and they're well ahead of Labour in the polls now.<BR/> David Cameron even said he wanted an end to 'Punch and Judy' politics ... before launching attack after attack on Brown.anthonynorthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06680944720744601697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-67112745877315153582008-05-14T21:19:00.000-05:002008-05-14T21:19:00.000-05:00Thanks to y'all, TNPOTUS, WWW and RJ for your comm...Thanks to y'all, TNPOTUS, WWW and RJ for your comments.<BR/><BR/>I can see I shall have to be very wary of Pat and his "common sense".<BR/><BR/>I'll keep everything you've mentioned in mind each time I watch him in future.<BR/><BR/>Maybe I'm turning conservative in my old age! In my very young days (in the UK) I used to think Anthony Eden and Harold MacMillan were the bees' knees, even Alec Douglas-Hulme wasn't so bad, RJ - LOL! Maybe I'm regressing.<BR/><BR/>Gawd help us all!Twilighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-2742550345443595252008-05-14T20:40:00.000-05:002008-05-14T20:40:00.000-05:00Beware the wolf in sheep's clothing. Buchanan is a...Beware the wolf in sheep's clothing. Buchanan is an extreme right-wing Republican by nature, but abhors the neocons who have lately controlled the party. He is all those things one expects of the far right - anti-abortion, anti-gun control, anti-gays, etc.. He was against the Iraq war, seeing it as a neocon plot, but in favor of torturing terrorists. He believes in 'intelligent design' and once wrote that women are <I>"simply not endowed by nature with the same measures of single-minded ambition and the will to succeed in the fiercely competitive world of Western capitalism."</I> Also, that <I>"The real liberators of American women were not the feminist noise-makers; they were the automobile, the supermarket, the shopping center, the dishwasher, the washer-dryer, the freezer."</I><BR/>He once called Hitler, <I>"an individual of great courage"</I>, and Martin Luther King, Jnr <I>"a divisive figure"</I><BR/>In his favor, he is against the Jewish control of Congress and its effects on US policy in the Middle East. He supports the Palestinian cause and has argued that terrorists target America <I>"for what we do, not who we are."</I><BR/>He's a strongly religious idealist (Roman Catholic) and if he supports Clinton it is because he believes she will offer the kind of America more to his taste than Obama. It could also be argued any support of Clinton is based on his right-wing views, and a belief she would be an easier candidate for McCain to beat in November, but I consider that less likely. While I, personally, think McCain would stand more chance against her than Obama, I don't think Buchanan has much empathy with McCain, who while not himself a neocon, would be easily controlled by them. We have to remember George W Bush was no neocon when elected in 2000.<BR/>Buchanan is one of the more complex characters of the US political scene. He could be viewed as something of a 'flip-flopper', though in some matters he's very firm. One thing is for sure: he's no Democrat. His support for one can only stem from ulterior motives.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-75432810853081029162008-05-14T20:32:00.000-05:002008-05-14T20:32:00.000-05:00I also think Pat, correct me if I'm wrong T, was/i...I also think Pat, correct me if I'm wrong T, was/is anti-feminist and fundie Christian, so this new softer Pat is a bit of a revelation.<BR/>I keep waiting for the real Pat to emerge.<BR/>I do hope the stars behave and if something unexpected happens it is in HRC's favour. What a fighter our girl is!!<BR/>XO<BR/>WWWWisewebwomanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15281689872840844191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-89558833702841288572008-05-14T20:01:00.000-05:002008-05-14T20:01:00.000-05:00Ah, you should have been around back in The Day - ...Ah, you should have been around back in The Day - The Day of Pat Buchanan, chief speech writer for Richard Nixon, who was a stringent "law-and-order" guy who wanted all those long-haired hippie freaks burned in the streets or sent off to Vietnam. (Even though Pat never served in the military himself.)<BR/><BR/>Or those wonderful The Days when he went from being kinda of a Goldwater libertarian-style Conservative to a Social Conservative blaming all liberals for the moral decline of America.<BR/><BR/>Or the other The Days of "Crossfire," when he screamed and yelled and made all sorts of asinine pronouncements about limp-wristed, abortion-lovin', homo-enamored, tree-huggin', intellectually-retarded liberal thinkers.<BR/><BR/>Oh, it was such a different Pat back then!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-9571558136637392192008-05-14T16:46:00.000-05:002008-05-14T16:46:00.000-05:00Oh, did he? I can't bear to watch MSNBC for long...Oh, did he? I can't bear to watch MSNBC for long, except on election nights, so haven't seen all his contributions. Whenever I've listened to him he is unfailingly fair, reasonable and evenhanded in his comments. Most of what he says is plain common sense (to me anyway!)<BR/><BR/>Maybe it's the wisdom of age, TNPOTUS. <BR/><BR/>I shall watch with interest the progress of your Gemini Party, by the way. It's about time we could wring a laugh out of these sorry proceedings. ;-)Twilighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-73348112065249356612008-05-14T11:05:00.000-05:002008-05-14T11:05:00.000-05:00Pat has also stood behind Obama's approach during ...Pat has also stood behind Obama's approach during the Rev. Wright flaps.<BR/><BR/>Pat's mellowed so much since the days he was running for president. He almost seems to have accepted the crazy notion that finding common ground is more productive than standing on opposite sides of the fence screaming at each other!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com