Author Topic: Sebastian: Big Government is Not a Force of Nature  (Read 1298 times)

MicroBalrog

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Sebastian: Big Government is Not a Force of Nature
« on: March 23, 2010, 03:53:16 AM »
Some folks seem to be skeptical of the notion that the GOP will roll back ObamaCare. I’m skeptical too, because they’ve shown little inclination to dismantle federal leviathan when they were in power. But why does it have to be that way? I don’t think this is like the seasons, the tides, and the waxing and waning of the moon. Big government is not a force of nature. If the people really decide they are sick of it, it can  be changed. It won’t be quick, and it definitely won’t be pretty, but it’s not impossible.

And to be honest, change will come at one point or another. Right now we’re faced with a choice — big government gets rolled back because the people are sick of it and demand it be rolled back or big government gets rolled back because the government finds itself unable to borrow any more money, unable to squeeze any more money out of taxpayers, and unable to meet its obligations. I fear that the latter is the type of change we’ll get, but the former is not out of the realm of possibility. I will work to try to make the former a reality, since the latter will be a disaster for this country. The latter is essentially the United States becoming bankrupt.

I don’t think we can really win this by putting all our eggs in the GOP basket. We have to hold both parties accountable to liberty. But there are positive developments out there that I think could make a big difference. The first is this National Precinct Activist Movement. It’s pretty simple idea:

    MOST PEOPLE ASSUME that they get to choose their party candidate who runs for office by voting in the primaries. Have you ever wondered who chooses the candidates that run in the primaries? And who decides the requirements of those candidates!

      THE CANDIDATES ARE CHOSEN by the special interest groups who in return will do their will for campaign money and then the party bosses dictate to the precinct committeemen who the party is going to support in return for political favors. So, you see before you even get to vote in the primaries the fix is already in and since both parties are corrupt the special interests groups don’t care which party wins.

      EACH OF THE 3141 US COUNTIES have an average of 160 committeemen seats, of those seats one third to one half are vacant, of the occupied seats many are appointed. The appointed committeemen have no vote and most of the remaining voting committeemen are influenced by favors from the party bosses.

      TO BECOME A COMMITTEEMAN you need only to get about 5 to 10 signatures on your petition from the people in your voting district. Because of the many vacancies and appointments most seats will be won unopposed. If you are challenged then your name will appear on the ballot in the primaries and the candidate with the most votes will win. Because we are more highly motivated we should win majority of the challenged seats.

      IF WE SEEK OUT PEOPLE in the tea parties and all the liberty meetup groups we can easily find 160 people to become committeemen in each of the 3141 US counties. And then “We the People” get to decide who the candidates will be and not the corrupt party bosses and special interest groups.

This could have a huge impact if people who love liberty get involved with this. I’m already watching this play out in my district, as the GOP establishment gets behind their favorite squishy son, Mike Fitzpatrick, who’s exactly he kind of maverick you love to hate. The Tea Party groups here, who are organized and understand this game well, are getting behind a fiery new candidate known as Gloria Carlineo. I will back Fitz in the general election if he comes out ahead in the primary, but I’m backing Carlineo for now.

The reason the Republicans have never taken to dismantling the federal leviathan is because the people have not demanded it. There’s a lot of anger out there now, and not just in my district. Anger that wasn’t present when the New Deal and Great Society were passed. In my lifetime I’ve never seen anything like this. Maybe it goes nowhere, and the United States ends up flooring the accelerator off the cliff of bankruptcy, but maybe this anger is more permanent and enduring, and maybe it can be used to avoid a national disaster. It seems to me liberty loving people might finally be to the point where we’ve had enough. Given that, I’m certainly willing to ride this train and see where it takes us.

http://www.snowflakesinhell.com/2010/03/22/its-not-that-i-have-much-faith-in-the-gop/

For once, I actually agree with him.
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charby

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Re: Sebastian: Big Government is Not a Force of Nature
« Reply #1 on: March 23, 2010, 10:58:03 AM »
I'm one of those elected committeemen at my county level party office.

Our hardest thing to do is to get people to run for office.

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RocketMan

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Re: Sebastian: Big Government is Not a Force of Nature
« Reply #2 on: March 23, 2010, 01:03:06 PM »
I'm one of those elected committeemen at my county level party office.

Our hardest thing to do is to get people to run for office.

That's because they know how the sausage is made.
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Headless Thompson Gunner

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Re: Sebastian: Big Government is Not a Force of Nature
« Reply #3 on: March 24, 2010, 07:23:09 PM »
That description of how the party system works is a bit off the mark.  For one thing, each state party does things differently, and most county parties within a given state also do things a bit differently.  So to issue blanket statements on how it all works is a little misleading.  The author could stand to lose the 'tude, too.

The overall sentiment and strategy is sound, though.  The best way to make a difference and improve our government is to get involved in the Republican Party at the local level.  The local party operations do respond to the people that get involved.  They don't bother with the people who withdraw from the process.

That said, walking into your local county party office right off the street and demanding to become a committeeman is probably not going to get you very far.   ;)  Walk in and get to know the people, share your concerns and interests, ask them about theirs.  Learn as much as you can.  Above all, ask them how you can help.  If you prove yourself valuable, you'll gain a reputation.  That's when you have the best opportunity to influence the process.  The more valuable you can be to them, the more eager they'll be to please you.  This is the essence of politics.

If you feel that the Republican Party has moved too far towards the center or the left, the best way to fix it is to get involved and shift it back towards where you want it to be.

mellestad

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Re: Sebastian: Big Government is Not a Force of Nature
« Reply #4 on: March 24, 2010, 07:37:08 PM »
That description of how the party system works is a bit off the mark.  For one thing, each state party does things differently, and most county parties within a given state also do things a bit differently.  So to issue blanket statements on how it all works is a little misleading.  The author could stand to lose the 'tude, too.

The overall sentiment and strategy is sound, though.  The best way to make a difference and improve our government is to get involved in the Republican Party at the local level.  The local party operations do respond to the people that get involved.  They don't bother with the people who withdraw from the process.

That said, walking into your local county party office right off the street and demanding to become a committeeman is probably not going to get you very far.   ;)  Walk in and get to know the people, share your concerns and interests, ask them about theirs.  Learn as much as you can.  Above all, ask them how you can help.  If you prove yourself valuable, you'll gain a reputation.  That's when you have the best opportunity to influence the process.  The more valuable you can be to them, the more eager they'll be to please you.  This is the essence of politics.

If you feel that the Republican Party has moved too far towards the center or the left, the best way to fix it is to get involved and shift it back towards where you want it to be.

Yea, it is an effective way to go about it.  I’ve served in the caucuses for the Republicans in my country before, during my Ron Paul phase, if nothing else it is a very interesting process and you get to meet interesting people and have some discussions with real live humans.