Know how Ted Cruz won Utah with 69% of the vote? And won most of the caucuses handily? And most of the Republican-only primaries?
Conservative Review’s Daniel Horowitz has offered a brilliant, near-term, totally doable solution to the problem of a “Dancing With the Stars” electorate, and it doesn’t involve any odious “literacy tests”… except it sort of does.
He offers what we may one day call “The Utah Solution” to stupid people voting and fouling up our Republic. He makes who votes bottom-up+self-selecting rather than top-down+we-know-what’s-best-selecting. He envisions a system 100% open to anyone who cares to participate yet by its very nature, separates the wheat from the chaff.
I offer a few salient paragraphs below, as it’s a long read, but when you have fresh coffee, take some time with it and read the whole thing. It’s great.
…Until 1912, most states still used the convention method during presidential elections, but that changed with the emergence of Teddy Roosevelt as the progressive leader. As Professor Sidney Milkis, a noted scholar on the progressive era, observed, Roosevelt’s “crusade made universal use of the direct primary, a cause célèbre.” Roosevelt went on to win most of the primaries, but conservative Howard Taft won the states that still had conventions and therefore won the party’s nomination at the national convention. However, Roosevelt’s views lived on through the election of Woodrow Wilson. It’s no coincidence that progressives succeeded at changing the nominating process precisely as the “newly emergent mass media” became dominant in our political culture, as Milkis puts it.
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Sound familiar to our time? Mass media and campaign advertisements determining the nominee among “the people?” As one groups of political scientists declared in a 2004 study on the effects of direct primaries, “the direct primary stands as one of the most significant and distinctive political reforms of the Progressive era in America.” While the 17th Amendment is what allowed progressives to ensure half the country would elect senators in line with the views the elites use to manipulate the masses, the institution of direct primaries ensured that even in conservative states only progressive Republicans would be able to survive the money/media/name recognition juggernaut. 100 years later, with a progressive oligarchy in Washington, they can declare mission accomplished.
But Aren’t Conventions Smoked Filled Rooms?
Progressive proponents of direct popular vote primaries complain that conventions allow the party hacks to choose the nominees behind the doors of “smoke filled rooms” without the input of the people. And undoubtedly in some states in the 1800s that is exactly what happened. But the convention model we are speaking of – “the Utah style convention” – achieves the perfect middle ground between the tyranny at both ends of the spectrum from oligarchy to pure democracy.
In Utah, every neighborhood holds a caucus meeting where people who are familiar with each other debate and discuss the races at hand. They select a delegate to represent the precinct at the convention. In the Beehive State, there are 4,000 delegates – all selected by the people in a process that tends to attract high information voters. This is true representative democracy our Founders envisioned, one which would foster an informed patriotism.
The benefits of representative conventions to choose party nominees include the following:
In most states the selection process would be dominated by grassroots activists.
Money and media would play a relatively minimal role in choosing the nominee.
Conservatives could put numerous Senate seats and dozens of House seats in play per cycle in the 25 more conservative states. The threat of numerous senators and House members in the South and Great Plains knowing that a Mike Lee-style conservative could down them at a convention the same way Senator Bob Bennett was defeated in Utah could instantly change their behavior. At present, primary challenges are so unsuccessful they rarely serve as a deterrent in the long-run.
The prospect of winning with a grassroots ground game, without the need for a massive money and media campaign, would attract better conservative talent to run for office.
The requirement to show up for precinct caucuses would automatically end the odious practice of “early voting” in primaries, which not only has a disruptive effect in fluid presidential primaries, but hurts insurgent congressional candidates who tend to surge during the final week – after “voting” has already begun.
Selecting state government officials through conventions would help build up a cadre of state governments that push back against federal tyranny. At present, Republicans control the trifecta of state government in 23 states, yet conservatives cannot count on a single state to consistently fight for conservative values because either the governor or state legislative leaders are part of the GOP establishment black hole.
Our Founders left us a republic – one which was divided between the rights of the individual and the powers of the states and federal government. The federal government itself was divided into three branches, which were supposed to serve as checks and balances against each other. That system has gradually been replaced with a political party system. Conservatives can’t even rely on a conservative party to save us, even as the federalist system has collapsed. …
(The entire article, well worth your time, is here.)
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It is an article of faith among the veddy, veddy, smaht liberal cognoscenti that the 91% top marginal tax rate is what led – directly – to the building of The Greatest Generation and their Greatest Accomplishments and All that is Great in America.
It is therefore, unsurprising, now that The Boy King has been reinstalled, that they are angling for a return to the glory days of earning 9 cents on the dollar. (Yes, liberals, I’m aware it’s the top marginal rate, not the first $200k, okay?… *Sigh*).
Have these veddy, veddy smaht people never heard of the intellectual head-fake – really, a rookie move – known as confusing/conflating corollaries and causation? Why pick the 91% tax rate? Why not pick poodle skirts? Fedoras? Everyone wore them at the time so surely that’s what caused our national prosperity, right?
91% of people who get cancer ate carrots, so surely it’s carrots that cause cancer, right?
Pick one: They’re morons or they are lying to you, because it has to be one. If you take it as an article of faith that the veddy, veddy smaht cognoscenti are at least book-read enough to know the data, then you are left with evil – simple, pure, evil lying.
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Knowing that the founder of Progressive Insurance was one of the handful of money men to meet in the Hamptons in 2007 to bankroll Barack Obama into the White House; knowing what we now know about the naked abuses of our constitutional rights taking place under the guise of ‘helping’ & ‘protecting us’ in the wake of 9/11 and in the name of ‘social justice’ and liberal paternalism; and just knowing what I know by just being a sentient human about the unassailable common sense of being left the hell alone without Nanny-staters second-guessing my every goddamned move…
…Installing a tracking device on my car so literal branded & ideological Progressives can l-i-t-e-r-a-l-l-y follow my every move?
Over my dead body. Seriously.
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Obama’s Organizing for America is using children to teach their parents why Obama-not representative democracy-not our system of checks and balances-not the presidency as an institution–but OBAMA as an individual politicianis great…. Did we become Cuba or Iran overnight? What the hell is going on here?
I saw this live yesterday and now have read it. For the life of me, I can’t see what’s “crazytalk” here. Yeah, yeah… I know it’s Beck. He’s crazy. Blah, blah, blah… I’m so tired of the ad hominem attacks. I’m so tired of saying I’m tired of ad hominem attacks. Blah, blah, blah… But I’m looking at Beck’s assertions here as a wife and mother and dare I say it, a “regular” person. What’s he wrong about here?
Americans have always made a LASER BRIGHT distinction between the OFFICE of the President, and the President HIMSELF. It’s the difference between a Constitutional Republic and American Idol…which, in my humble opinion, is how Obama got elected, by the same mentality that leads people to believe their opinion on American Idol actually matters.
You know what I know about opinions? “Opinions are like a–holes. Everybody’s got one.”
Opinions supported by history or facts, are useful. Opinions supported by… FEELINGS… are USELESS. Every time you hear a liberal talk, if you wait long enough, it INEVITABLY boils down to a FEELING.
Conservatives THINK. Liberals FEEL.
Video and text from the video are below.
Progressives Are Targeting Your Kids
Friday , February 12, 2010 By Glenn Beck
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I feel like I’m becoming my grandfather: You kids today! You just don’t get it. We used to sleep on razor-wire beds and eat nails for breakfast. And we liked it! Maybe I’m getting old and grumpy, but kids are stupid. I mean, we’ve all been there. Come on, think of yourself when you were eighteen. You would have joined the Save Tibet club if you knew it would help score chicks. You didn’t care. You just went along with the group. Lenin had a phrase for people like these: useful idiots. One of those idiots seems to be Meghan McCain. She’s John McCain’s like, totally awesome, like, daughter. And she was, like, so waxing poets about ideas or idealogians or U.S. Americans or something, on “The View.” It was wicked awesome. Here she is talking about the Tea Party movement: (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MEGHAN MCCAIN: It’s innate racism. And I think it’s why young people are turned off by this movement. And I’m sorry revolutions start with young people… not with 65-year-old people talking about literacy tests and people who can’t say the word vote in English. (END VIDEO CLIP) What do those stupid 65-year-olds know, anyway? Megan is kind of right: Revolutions do usually start with the young, but only because they are targeted and used by older radicals. It’s not just Meghan McCain. There is a pattern with progressives and the youth of America. I want to show you something from BarackObama.com — warning: Blood may actually shoot directly out of your eyes: (BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It’s extra important to advocate for your beliefs and your family will still love you even if they don’t always agree with what you say. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico. My family is a traditional Korean family and we’re first generation. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, my family’s not very political at all. It was always up to me and my brother explaining what was going on to my parents. (END VIDEO CLIPS) That should frighten every parent in America. Why in this video from BarackObama.com, do the children have to explain things to the adults? Well, because parents just don’t get it. It’s not enough for the kids to disagree on something and discuss it — oh no. Mom and dad are stupid. They believe in that crazy Constitution and stuff. They’re so old school. But you — in all your 10th grade wisdom — you get it. And the president says you must educate your dopey parents: (BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lots of my friends’ parents probably aren’t going to vote because they are all really busy. So my friends and I all work really hard to get them to vote and register. So when my cousins and I have to talk to them about why we as the future generations really need Obama as the president. We start out easily and just start saying, oh, watch the debate. And then we’ll say, well, we really think that what Obama or Biden said about energy is really important because we need to start fixing that now before it will be too late. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It’s more of like sitting down and having this, it almost feels like a parent-child conversation, except I’m the parent and they are the child. (END VIDEO CLIPS) It’s a parent-child relationship, except the parent is the child and the child is the parent. This is incredible. The message the president sends to families should be one of healing, building the family up; one where the child honors the mother and father. Instead, we have the president of the United States encouraging children to have a sit-down with their stupid parents and teach them a thing or two about the world. And elect Barack Obama. Is it just me? Am I the only one that thinks turning our kids against their parents to get elected is evil? Oh, I can hear the liberal bloggers now: Oh, Glenn. This site has his name, but the president is busy. Robert Gibbs said he has nothing to do with it. Uh-huh. Roll tape: (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Today I’m pleased to announce the creation of Organizing for Amerca. Volunteers, grassroots leaders and ordinary citizens will continue to drive our organization, helping us bring about the changes we proposed during the campaign. (END VIDEO CLIP) What responsible human being does this? And it’s not just him. Here’s former Vice President Al Gore, talking to middle and high schoolers around the inauguration, when he thought the cameras were off: (BEGIN AUDIO CLIP) FORMER VICE PRESIDENT AL GORE: There are some things about our world that you know, that older people don’t know. (END VIDEO CLIP) See the pattern here? Those stupid older people — like mom and dad — they don’t get it. Again, is it just me? Even if you agree with Al Gore, doesn’t this bother you at all? These are our children. They are being used. We are already crippling them by not teaching them the realities of life as they grow up. Instead, everyone gets a trophy. It doesn’t matter if you aren’t very good and never even win. It wasn’t always that way. My papers were graded in red ink, not the politically correct purple that many have turned to now. I turned out fine — well, not entirely. Being allowed to fail is a key aspect to growth. If we never experience failure growing up, how will we succeed? Oh wait, don’t worry: Your kids will probably be too big to fail. But now, we don’t want to hurt our kids’ feelings by having winners and losers. We’ve got all these studies on purple pens and the stresses of our kids. We see these studies and delicately walk them through childhood, careful not to let little Johnny get a boo-boo. People used to use common sense. Until 1838 when some Frenchy French man invented sociology. Then it became institutionalized. Did you know who one of the founding fathers of social sciences are? Surprise: Karl Marx! Isn’t learning from history fun? Especially the history that progressives erase. Hmm, erasing history — I wonder what impact that would have on society? We should ask a social scientist. Maybe we can find one at the home of the first American sociology education department at the University of Chicago. Hey, isn’t that where the president used to teach about Saul Alinsky? Fast forward to today: We have studies telling us to keep all kids equal. Thomas Jefferson believed in a meritocracy: You were awarded positions and jobs based on merit — if you were qualified. If you deserved it. Not because you just showed up. Progressives coddle kids. And when those kids are finally ready to enter the workforce, they aren’t ready to compete, they’re ready to receive. The Wall Street Journal reported on how the trophy kids are entering the workforce: 85 percent of hiring managers said they have a stronger sense of entitlement than older workers. Without having worked a single minute as a professional, they enter the workforce arrogantly demanding higher pay, flexible work schedules, corner offices, promotions and more vacation time. Does that sound like someone you would want to hire? Maybe it’s just me and I’m becoming my grandfather, but if someone came for an interview at my company demanding those things, I’d say get the hell out of my office. In fact, I have. And maybe that’s why my company is successful and why the Post Office sucks. So not only are we crippling our children, we are using them. We have politicians and leaders going behind our backs and telling them: You’re smarter! You know more than them! The world can be a better place; you just have to convince your stupid mom and dad! There’s a villain in this movie and America, it’s you. Progressives are pitting the youth of America against the old. Remember this from Time magazine? The angry 20-something who wrote he is: “Sick and tired of living in an abyss created by our elders’ stupidity. Obama would be smart to focus on college towns. Step aside, grandma. We want health care and we want it now.” We want it now — you can hear the arrogance and the complete distain for the elderly. And you can hear it from Meghan McCain: (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MCCAIN: And I’m sorry, revolutions start with young people… not with 65-year-old people talking about literacy tests and people who can’t say the word vote in English. (END VIDEO CLIP) This is from the daughter of a senator and a former presidential candidate — who is over 65 years old. How do you think her dad feels about that? Sounds like she thinks people like him are stupid. So what’s the big deal? Well, do you remember the Complete Lives system? It’s from Rahm Emanuel’s brother. He’s a doctor who advises the White House. And he was showing what would happen if there were a shortage of medical supplies. Which, that would never happen under universal health care — no, no. Anyway, there would have to be some tough decisions to make. Not enough medicine to go around. So who gets it? Is it that much of a stretch that in a time of crisis — when money and benefits are hard to come by — that someone like Meghan McCain would make the case that, like, you had your shot. You were 25 once. It’s my turn for health care. Remember, this isn’t just some professor saying it. Now we have the president of the United States in full-fledged campaign mode and the Nobel Peace Prize-winning former vice president teaching that your children are superior to you. This isn’t going to work out so well. Crazy? Remember the reaction of the college crowd when former Obama adviser Robert Reich brought up a similar subject? Here’s how our selfless kids responded: (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ROBERT REICH: We are going to have to, if you are very old, we’re not going to give you all that technology and all those drugs for the last couple of years of your life to keep you, maybe, going for another couple of months. It’s too expensive. So, we’re going to let you die. (APPLAUSE) (END VIDEO CLIP) Maybe I am just turning into my grandfather, maybe Iam the grumpy old man. But I think Meghan McCain is right: Revolutions are started by the youth. And I think some aging ’60s radical hippies know that. — Watch“Glenn Beck”weekdays at 5 p.m. ET on Fox News Channel
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I’m reading American Progressivism in an effort to understand what Hillary Clinton proclaimed that she, and so many others are: “early twentieth century progressive.” They can’t mean it, really, because if they read what I have read so far, their beliefs are wholly incompatible with the Constitution. The authors have done what all people with the facts on their side and courage of their convictions do: let ’em talk and hang themselves. I’ll post more details later.
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