There are traps being placed all over the American landscape.
Political traps.
A politician must tread lightly.
Trap 1-
Get republicans crying about the current President Obama spending bill. Get famous republicans and conservatives (on tape) whining about the earmarks and the spending in Obama’s bill.
Then, in 2010 and 2012: you can show this video, (of the republican crying about Obama’s bill) along with all the earmark spending that republicans signed onto during President Bush’s 8 years in office.
This will showcase the hypocrisy of the republicans, and guaranty a democratic victory in 2010 and 2012. This will be done on a local level with local newspapers and TV commercials. It will knock out conservative Reps. and Senators.
Trap 2-
Make Rush Limbaugh the voice of the republican party. (Rush- A strawman who pours gasoline on himself and hands you the matches, along with directions on how to light the matches.)
Once Rush is firmly the leading voice of the republican party, you can then play radical "things" that Rush has said in the past, (out of context, naturally.)
Trap 2 will also give democrats a clear victory in 2010 and again in 2012.
Most Americans DO NOT like Rush Limbaugh.
Now, if you listen to 3 hours of Glenn Beck, then 3 hours of Rush Limbaugh, followed by 3 hours of Sean Hannity. Then you turn on Fox News to round out your evening...
Well, your not going to understand what I am saying. You have probably began to tune me out. You are tuning me out because I am not saying the things that you want to hear.
Rush has about 20 million listeners each week. (There are 300 million Americans.)
In a resent poll, people: age 40 and under- only 11 percent claim that they like and listen to Rush Limbaugh.
There are those conservatives, (and people who call themselves Libertarians) who will say: "FINE- I am NOT compromising my principals for anyone.."
That is fine, that is great..!! And you will sit in your little world, being ruled by liberal democrats.
Yes, it is very wise for Team Obama to make Rush Limbaugh the ultimate republican strawman.
Then, you must add in the spectacle of the RNC Chairman Michael Steele apologizing to Rush for comments he had made about Rush, which is being broadcast in humiliating fashion via the Internet and making the RNC a 3 ring circus, complete with a grandstanding showman: Rush.
It is a circus..!!
The focus shouldn’t be on us.
We lost.
The focus should be on President Obama who picked another cabinet member who cheated on their taxes.
We should not focus on earmarks in Obama’s bill because republicans spent quite a bit on earmarks when they held power.
I have come to the conclusion that people do not want to hear republicans condemning President Obama when he has only been in office for a few weeks. (Just the same way as we did not care for liberals attacking President Bush early on.)
So, what can I do? If I do not talk about Obama’s spending (because it is a trap..??)
Localism.
A funny thing happened to me during this last election. (My candidate: Mitt Romney didn’t get nominated. Then, my adopted candidate: John McCain, didn’t win.)
And, I happened to re- watch the HBO mini series: John Adams.
This caused me to re-think: national politics.
Don’t get me wrong, on a national level, government is VERY important. The person in the White House does effect our lives. People in the Senate can redefine the Constitution.
But consider this...
Your president and senate could do everything that you ask of them. They could give huge tax cuts, across the board, to everyone.
Then some local or state government VOIDS those tax cuts by raising local taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, and the likes.
This caused me to re-think politics.
I began to be drawn closer to localism.
What is happening in my state.
What the leaders are doing in my city.
Yes, the Internet is helpful in reaching the people in your community. However, your local newspaper is still the best way.
Most of your city officials still read the local newspapers. Through the newsprint, it is the best way to reach out.
You could write a letter to your local politician, and you might get a response back. But many times your issue ends right there.
However, if you write a local column about an issue and it causes your city officials to respond, you have made the whole town aware of the confrontation.
So, I decided to return to writing a newspaper column and editorial cartooning.
(I forgot how much work it takes in putting a political cartoon together..!!)
As a result of this, my web site: "The Angry Republican" has suffered. (Some might say it has been suffering for years.)
My last two editorials have no political pictures that I snag from the media and place dialog boxes with goofy sayings in them. And my posting rate is next to nothing.
But, I feel that localism is an important place to put political efforts.
Doing work for the newspaper doesn’t reap great financial rewards. The pay is very little.
However, there is something more to it..!! Like you are part of this huge machine. A machine that is controlling the direction of local policy.
And for a short period, they let you take the steering wheel of this machine.
One of my last political cartoons poked fun at City Council for wanting to place a new tax on residents under the guise of "safety."
So, my political cartoon happened to be in the newspaper the same day of a scheduled City Council meeting. I tuned into the meeting (on TV) because they would be debating this new "safety" tax.
Low and behold, the City Council each had a copy of my political cartoon and began to debate its merits.
You could have knocked me over with a feather. This was bigger than I expected..!!
One Council member said: "The Times (a competing newspaper) could have done a MUCH BETTER job of making fun of us.." The Council laughed.
This was, of course, an insult on my "cartooning abilities."
However, you cannot insult my cartooning abilities because I am a terrible artist. I know it, and I am not really sure why they pay me to do it..??
Another Council member tried to reassure the City that this "safety tax" was for our own good, and that no money would be left over, after paying for the "costs" of the safety program.
A third member, (who maybe more conservative) said that he was GLAD someone was doing local political cartooning, "because we just do not see it much anymore."
We just do not see it much anymore...
For 100 years, our local newspapers have been our voice.
Your local newspaper has been one sure way that you can get your opinion out to the community. (Via: Letters to the Editor. Advertising, etc.)
These local newspapers are in trouble today.
With the Internet grabbing readers and advertiser, it is getting tough for a newspaper to survive.
I realize that it is foolish to try and save a business that prints "news" on paper. (When an electronic version is ready available.)
Yet, many local newspapers are caught in the middle. Trying to build an electronic version of their paper, while hanging on to the printed- paper form.
Some local papers are giving up entirely. Closing both the printed and electronic versions.
I know that many conservatives would say that we should let these "liberal rags fail," but it is the local voice of our community.
I do not want to see a newspaper bailout by the government..!!
But the only other alternative is for me to support them.
For years I have bitched about a "liberal media."
I have bitched about it on my web site. (And this, of course, achieved nothing.)
Why didn’t I join the newspaper and change it..??
Why don’t more conservatives join the news business and change it..??
Why don’t more conservatives become teachers in our school systems, and change the liberal bias in school..??
So, there you have it...
By answering these questions, you can see why I did what I have done.
It is great!
I can support local newspapers while getting more involved in local politics.
The republican party needs a shakedown and it MUST start at the local level. From bottom to top.
On a national level...
We all agree that the path that President Obama is taking will not work.
We must trust our instincts and let Obama fail on his own.
