“Welcome to the process of exhausting all other possibilities” : Lone Star Times

“Welcome to the process of exhausting all other possibilities”

by LST's WebMonkey · 11/09/2006 6:37 am

Bill Whittle of Eject! Eject! Eject! is an essayist and a thinker and he writes some fantastic stuff.

Below is an excerpt from his essay on how to respond to the election. It’s the best I’ve seen so far (not counting all the excellent commentary here on LST, of course).

We have to accept the fact that the conservatives we sent to Congress in 1994 became the bloated, earmarking, tone-deaf toads of 2006. They thought they could do whatever they wanted, regardless of what their constituents think, and now they have been reminded of just who is working for whom. Remedying that sense of isolation and disconnect and unchecked power is why we have elections in the first place, and as to the consequences of it, we have no one to blame but ourselves. That imperial attitude is not unique to Republicans or Democrats. That is human nature, and correcting the excesses of human nature only becomes more costly and painful the longer it is allowed to go on. Democracy is error-correcting. Ask John Kerry.

I voted straight down the Republican ticket tonight. I am not happy about this, but I’m determined to take it like a man and use this occasion to let the opposition see what it looks like to lose with honor and grace. That they have needed a lesson in this goes without saying, and a lot of us mean to see that they will need additional instruction along these very lines in the near future. But right now that is bluster; a check folded and stuffed in a shirt pocket for cashing at our leisure. This is their night.

The Congress that the Republicans lost they lost because they abandoned the ideals that elected them in the first place. We must learn from our mistakes. We will have two years to do so.

Remember one thing before you go. The most important election we are ever likely to see in our lives was not this evening’s election. Bush’s re-election in 2004 was the one we HAD to have, and we got it. Be grateful for that, acknowledge that this loss is no one’s fault but our own, congratulate the Democrats on their impressive wins and start figuring out how we can make sure this never EVER happens again. =)

I wish to tell my friends to be cheerful and especially to be of good will. Disappointments come and go, but moments of courage and integrity in dark hours will be there when the stars grow cold. We have lost the election, so let us maintain our determination, our dignity and our sense of humor, and let us take this moment to reflect upon how our actions have fallen short of our ideals. And then, finally, let’s act like the Americans we are, roll up our sleeves and start rebuilding. We who have survived Civil War, the Nazis and the Communists can probably manage to find a way to preserve the Republic in the face of Speaker Pelosi.

America is not only much, much stronger than you imagine; it is stronger than you CAN imagine.

To those who have written me in anger over the years, I say sincere congratulations to you on a big win, and I genuinely hope it will remove some of the bitterness in your hearts and restore some belief in a system that was never broken.

As for me, I pledge to re-enter the fight with more energy, not less, and to continue to try to make the case I think needs to be made. I’ll start on that tomorrow.
“Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing…after they have exhausted all other possibilities.” — Winston Churchill

Welcome to the process of exhausting all other possibilities. This is where we separate the men from the boys. Pick a line and stand in it.

Well said.

I also highly recommend you follow that up with another recent essay of his: Seeing the unseen, part I

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Comments

24 Responses to ““Welcome to the process of exhausting all other possibilities””

malcolm on November 9th, 2006 at 7:30 am

I pick my line to stand in and it doesent begin with a D.
BTW Firsties ST!
Dave D on November 9th, 2006 at 7:43 am

You’ve got to read Seeing the unseen, it’s great!
Robert on November 9th, 2006 at 8:15 am

What the Republicans experienced is nothing they haven’t experienced before. The real question is whether they learned from it. I think that what happens in Iraq in the next two years will determine the fate of the Republicans as far as the White House goes. There are other problems, specifically the border issue, that now the Democrats will have to address. I hope they paid attention to the rhetoric during 2006, the majority want the borders closed and no amnesty. Let’s wait and see if the Democrats lead from the middle or the far left.
raiderdav on November 9th, 2006 at 8:31 am

I like that quote “Democracy is error correcting”.
Jaime on November 9th, 2006 at 9:21 am

Looks like Whittle suffers from:

Battered GOPer syndrome

which makes him a

Doormat Republican
LTC on November 9th, 2006 at 10:33 am

Moderates Say GOP’s Conservative Agenda Doomed Party

Moderate Republicans wasted no time blaming the party’s right wing.

“For the last two years centrist GOPers have warned the leadership of our party of the consequences of pushing a legislative agenda kow-towing to the far right in our party,” she said. “Our warnings were ignored, and now our party is paying a devastating price.”
At least eight of the 48 House Republicans who identify themselves as Main Street members were defeated Tuesday, along with Sen. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, one of the Senate’s best-known Republican moderates.

Conservatives took hits as well…Republican Study Committee (RSC), a caucus of more than 100 House conservatives…13 members…also was poised to gain 10 new members, he said.
“The silver lining from last night is that the RSC will remain robust and not fade away into the night, as some had predicted,” Teller said. “The defenders of conservative principles are alive and well, and ready to assertively advance them in the 110th Congress.”

Resnick issued a second statement early Wednesday blasting the Club for Growth, a conservative group that backed Walberg and Chafee’s Republican primary opponent, Steve Laffey: “The Club spent hundreds of thousands of dollars working to convince Rhode Island voters that Lincoln Chafee shouldn’t be representing them in Washington.

Steven C. Clemons, a senior fellow at the centrist New America Foundation who identifies himself as a moderate Republican, said Tuesday’s elections may prompt a shift. “A new competition has broken out for the soul of the Republican Party,” he said.

After then-Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas resigned, moderate Rules Chairman David Dreier of California briefly appeared in line to claim the job. But the GOP caucus instead elected John A. Boehner of Ohio, who embraced the causes of conservatives who had supported him.

She said Main Street members planned to hold a conference call Wednesday to discuss the election and how to regroup.

Resnick agreed that moderate Republicans were weakened.

http://www.cqpolitics.com/2006/11/moderates_say_gops_conservativ.html
dcgirl on November 9th, 2006 at 10:35 am

Read Seeing the Unseen. It was great. Downloaded his other essays for further reading.

Ann Coulter’s column discusses the mid-term elections. She says that it is common for the party switch at the 6 year mark - that it even happened with Reagan, so I guess it is not as surprises as one would think.
Hoover on November 9th, 2006 at 10:50 am

“Seeing the Unseen” was worth the time to read.
SimpleSimon on November 9th, 2006 at 11:05 am

LTC,

Most advice is free and therefore worth the price, but it might be a good idea for the very conservative faction of the Republican Party to listen to moderates.

The very conservative base of the Republican Party does not have enough numbers to prevail if the Democrats can mobilize their base and swing enough independent and moderate voters.

I have heard and read (on this very blog) plenty of disparaging remarks directed at moderates by some conservatives. This is a foolish practice, since politics is one never-ending sales job.

One will never sell anything by first insulting the prospective buyer, hence the eleventh commandment of Ronald Reagan; “Speak no evil of a fellow Republican.”

Think about it….You have two years.

Simple
Neocon on November 9th, 2006 at 11:07 am

Moderate Republicans are WRONG. An excerpt from Chuck Muth’s DC Confidential latest:

* The single, most important lesson here: Democrats didn’t win; Republicans lost. And they didn’t just lose; they were routed. Voters didn’t reward Democrats, they punished Republicans. Badly. This wasn’t the country saying it wanted to go further Left; it was the country saying Republicans had already taken the country too far Left. This wasn’t about taking the country in a new direction; it was about correcting the GOP’s course.

* This wasn’t swing voters swinging over to the Left. This was conservative voters swinging back to the Right. This was “burning the village down to save it.” Conservatives didn’t necessarily stay home, though certainly many did. But they did find other ways to protest the GOP’s leftward tilt. It’ll be interesting to see the “under-vote” in this year’s congressional races. That would be the number of ballots cast where a vote in the congressional race was left blank.

* Yesterday’s election was a repudiation of George W. Bush’s brand of “compassionate conservatism.” It was also a repudiation of waging a politically correct war with one hand self-tied behind your back. No American soldier’s life is worth a mosque. And American generals, not American lawyers should be running the war. You’re either all in…or get out.

* The Democrats, of course, are taking all the wrong lessons out of yesterday’s results, a fact which can’t help but help Republicans regain their bearings and regain their majorities two years from now. Democrats will over-reach, as is their nature. The big question is whether or not the GOP will reposition itself to take advantage of the opportunity sure to come in 2008.
Neocon on November 9th, 2006 at 11:09 am

Opps, sorry, I forgot the blockquotes!
SimpleSimon on November 9th, 2006 at 11:43 am

Neo,

Chuckie forgot to mention:

1. The corruption scandals.

2. The ear-marking do-nothing Republican Congress that went on a drunken sailor styled spending spree. I really can’t blame Bush for this one other than he never picked up his veto pen.

3. As to the Republicans taking us too far to the left……I am still laughing about this one, but I will concede that the ear-marking do-nothing Republican Congress is guilty of not taking us anywhere at all.

4. Over-Reaching Democrats…..kinda like the ear-marking do-nothing Republican Congressmen who were over reaching into our pockets so we could pay for bridges to nowhere and other pork projects.

Simple
Shannon on November 9th, 2006 at 12:01 pm

I haven’t checked in on Bill Whittle in a long time. He was pretty spotty in his posting for the longest, while working on a book or two, I believe.

Thanks, Webmonkey.
asquires on November 9th, 2006 at 12:11 pm

I am getting real tired of all these polititions theorizing about where they have to stand. They should, instead, listen to us and we will tell our representatives where to stand. They are supposed to speak FOR us. Instead they think they are our “leaders”.

It looks like everybody has crawled into the same “we are leaders” boat and it is sinking.
Shannon on November 9th, 2006 at 12:11 pm

I have heard and read (on this very blog) plenty of disparaging remarks directed at moderates by some conservatives.

Maybe some.

But by my reckoning, in the lead-up to the election, it was the conservative base of the party that was repeatedly bludgeoned nearly to death on LST. Including the fearless leader. It was damned ugly.

Go ahead Republicans, move further to the left. Reinforce your credentials as the Stupid Party.
Neocon on November 9th, 2006 at 12:13 pm

Simple

I didn’t post Chuck’s entire article, only 4 paragraphs.
Dave D on November 9th, 2006 at 12:19 pm

#10 Noecon, you’re absolutely right! The Dumbocraps and the drive by media will spin this as proof that the country is headed left. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The Dims motivated their Kook Base very well but if the Republicans had bothered to show up, they couldn’t have pulled this off. The sheer number of seats to win had them against the odds. Now if the Republicans can just figure this out before 2008.
Butch on November 9th, 2006 at 2:46 pm

Neocon…..please send me an email if you see this.
keybutch@ev1.net
Jaime on November 9th, 2006 at 3:05 pm

What caused me to quit the GOP was the fact tht the GOP payed lip service to being constitutionalists. All the issues mentioned above are just symptoms. The real issue is that the GOP does not follow the Constitution any better thatn the Democrats.

That is why I have concluded that they are the right and left wings of the buzzard eating the carcass of what once was a Republic.

The Republicans only follow the Constitution until it stops them from achieving “conservative” goals.

The Democrats only follow the Constitution until it stops them from achieving “liberal” goals.

Remember the swelling debates of doing away with SocSec, Dept. of Education, etc?

Remember the firemen that died fighting a fire, because water could not be scooped from a lake due to some endangered critter?

Remember all the heck being raised about Federal government’s exceeding their Constitutional powers?

The GOP got control of the Feds and all those issues went away.

The GOp is gonna have to do a heck of a lot before it gets any kind of support from me.

And no, I will not vote Democrat. I might remove myself from the voting rolls, though.
Neocon on November 9th, 2006 at 3:26 pm

Butch
#18

You have mail!
tributaries on November 9th, 2006 at 4:06 pm

I disagree with the moderates on this thread - it is time for the Blue Blood Country Clubbers to acknowledge the fact that they FAILED the true blue grass roots conservatives and they had their butts handed to them in this election. I hope it stings for a long long time…and I say that as someone who voted straight-ticket Republican. We grass roots conservatives with our beatup pickup trucks, Walmart fashions and coupon -saving habits are SICK of hanging our hopes on the Country Club Pretty in Pink-ers who mealy-mouthed their way through the last six years. Gang of 14, anyone? Where was the RNC on that?!

Lefties deserve nothing more than a dismissive “whatever” from now on.
Neocon on November 9th, 2006 at 4:27 pm

trib
#21

Couldn’t have said it better!
glynne on November 9th, 2006 at 8:31 pm

#9 SimpleSimon
Ah compromise. Great plan! How does that story go about a man and a bear? They meet up and the bear says, “Let’s compromise.” “You want a coat and I am hungry.” They agree and the bear eats the hunter. Now the hunter has a coat and the bear is full.

No so Simple Simon.

As discussed on another thread yesterday, we need honest debate on the problems our country faces not the usual politics. We could also use some strong believers in our leadership. I don’t remember what founding father said this. But one said something to the effect of, if we don’t elect people of good moral character our system of government will not survive for long. And I think THAT is where the problem really is.

Thanks for your ‘insightful’ comment. I now understand where you stand. Don’t agree with it, but understand it.
glynne on November 9th, 2006 at 8:59 pm

Dang! Almost posted this in the wrong thread (again). Bops self upside head.

Now that I think about my last post some more. I think I started to go on the following trail and got off of it.

I am much more cynical about our country’s future then most on here. As I believe I see the real problem with our country. We often blame the politicians for out problems. But often times they reflect, all too accurately, our society. We also have too many people who what their share of the government pie. Either by entitlement or grant of some kind. Whether it be a poor person or a big corporate fat cat. The poor should be taken care of by the church and the fat cats should take care of themselves.

The real problem is in the heart of the people. I am even more convinced that no matter what the election is or who wins, in the long term if the heart of the American public is not changed we only fix the problem in the short term, if at all.

Basically I’m beginning to strongly believe if we don’t have a revival in this country we will fall. Funny, I think I heard a radio preacher (J. Vernon McGee) say that some 20 years ago and he has passed away since. Actually he said it would either be a revival or a revolution. I’ll add, or a fall. At our current pace will we make it? I doubt it.

Now I think I got that out of my system!