Where's "Our" Message?
Found this on the website of Minnesota 2020, the website of Matt Entenza's new think tank.
Well now obviously author John Van Hecke either has not been paying attention to the Republicans campaigning for President or he doesn't care that he is flat out mis-representing the Conservative position. So of course, I feel the need to debunk just a few of these misconceptions.
Let's start with the first misconception...that we are against all taxes! We are not against taxes, we are against the the idea of punishing people for hard work and success by taking away half (or more) of their hard earned income. We are against the taking money from group A and giving it to group B. We are all for paying for the things that government SHOULD be spending money on....things like roads and bridges and national defense. We are all for paying money to cities to plow roads and provide police and fire departments. We are even perfectly fine with paying money to the state to provide a "safety net" for those times when people are "in need". What we are against is taking money from someone who works 50-60 hours a day and giving it to someone who is able to work but refuses to do so. We are against taking money from a single mom with two kids in daycare and giving it to a mom who stays home but expects the government to feed and clothe and house her kids!
The second misrepresentation is that gay marriage is an issue this year. Not one of the candidates running - not even Baptist preacher Mike Huckabee is campaigning on this. They are campaigning on national security and economic policy and yes even the Iraq War. Not one word on gay marriage.
The 3rd misrepresentation is that conservatives are "against immigration". We are not against immigration. We are all for immigration....LEGAL IMMIGRATION where the immigrant files the appropriate paperwork to get the right student or work visa. We are for the fair treatment of those who play by the rules and we don't want to see the cheaters rewarded for cheating the system.
The final misrepresentation is that we are campaigning on abortion. Now I watched every single minute of the last two debates and the only time Roe v. Wade was brought up the candidate who was asked the question rightly responded that it is settled law and until that changes there is not much he can do about it. Now it is true that conservatives are working to change that law, but it is because we want to make sure that the most innocent among us - the unborn children - have the same rights to LIFE, liberty and the pursuit of happiness that the rest of us enjoy. Again - it is only fair....
Now if Minnesota 2020 wants to run a campaign against conservatives that is based on issues that we are not campaigning on, that is their choice. However, they should be aware that we will vigorously continue to push the real issues that we are campaigning on...tax equity, national and economic security and true equal rights for all.
It's pop quiz time, folks. Question #1: what's the progressive message? Question #2: what's the conservative message? Question #3: Was question 1 or 2 easier to answer?Unfortunately, the answer to question 3 is question 2. Everyone knows the conservative message: no taxes, no gay marriage, no immigration, and no abortions. The conservative message isn’t the problem.
Well now obviously author John Van Hecke either has not been paying attention to the Republicans campaigning for President or he doesn't care that he is flat out mis-representing the Conservative position. So of course, I feel the need to debunk just a few of these misconceptions.
Let's start with the first misconception...that we are against all taxes! We are not against taxes, we are against the the idea of punishing people for hard work and success by taking away half (or more) of their hard earned income. We are against the taking money from group A and giving it to group B. We are all for paying for the things that government SHOULD be spending money on....things like roads and bridges and national defense. We are all for paying money to cities to plow roads and provide police and fire departments. We are even perfectly fine with paying money to the state to provide a "safety net" for those times when people are "in need". What we are against is taking money from someone who works 50-60 hours a day and giving it to someone who is able to work but refuses to do so. We are against taking money from a single mom with two kids in daycare and giving it to a mom who stays home but expects the government to feed and clothe and house her kids!
The second misrepresentation is that gay marriage is an issue this year. Not one of the candidates running - not even Baptist preacher Mike Huckabee is campaigning on this. They are campaigning on national security and economic policy and yes even the Iraq War. Not one word on gay marriage.
The 3rd misrepresentation is that conservatives are "against immigration". We are not against immigration. We are all for immigration....LEGAL IMMIGRATION where the immigrant files the appropriate paperwork to get the right student or work visa. We are for the fair treatment of those who play by the rules and we don't want to see the cheaters rewarded for cheating the system.
The final misrepresentation is that we are campaigning on abortion. Now I watched every single minute of the last two debates and the only time Roe v. Wade was brought up the candidate who was asked the question rightly responded that it is settled law and until that changes there is not much he can do about it. Now it is true that conservatives are working to change that law, but it is because we want to make sure that the most innocent among us - the unborn children - have the same rights to LIFE, liberty and the pursuit of happiness that the rest of us enjoy. Again - it is only fair....
Now if Minnesota 2020 wants to run a campaign against conservatives that is based on issues that we are not campaigning on, that is their choice. However, they should be aware that we will vigorously continue to push the real issues that we are campaigning on...tax equity, national and economic security and true equal rights for all.
posted by The Lady Logician at
5:57 PM
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