Our Strength. The Sum of the Parts
I think that it has become apparent over the last couple of years that the American people have come to the conclusion that we need Change. In 2006 the leadership and control of Congress has changed hands, the People voted to “Throw the Bums Out”. With the advent of a Pelosi and Reid led Congress it has also become apparent to the People that the Democrats have neither the ideas nor the leaders to bring about Actual Change. They have had their chance and not pulled it off.
The American People are neither stupid nor memory deficient. They know a good common sense idea when they see it. The point I want to make here is that the ideas, the concrete plan the leader or the party has is as important as their leadership. They are two different things. The synergy between them is what creates and defines great leadership. While Obama and Reagan gave uplifting speeches, Reagan had a concrete plan of action and his speeches were a means to that end. To gin up support not just for him but for his programs. When he gave a speech about cutting taxes for example he would state the case how his specific plan for cutting taxes would lead us to the uplifting vision he had for America. So far Obama has offered a pretty vague vision. Not backing it up with the concrete actions we need to take to accomplish it. That will probably work for him if McCain doesn’t offer an alternative. Lately however, McCain’s true strength has been popping out all over. He is defining what he represents, his plan of attack, and it is centered around Change. It is centered around the things that Obama only talks about. Government corruption. Earmarks. All of the perceived and corrupt things in Government. Anti Bigger Government. The speech announcing Governor Palin just brought out the difference between talking and doing something to effect change. About picking a Washington inside tough guy vs. an Outsider. Picking a status quo VP. representing the old Democrats vs. picking an “out of the box” person representing the New Republicans. A "Make Do, Make It Now, Make It Work" kind of Republican.
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http://www.breitbart.tv/html/163813.html
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Getting back to my idea of this being a classic “what not to do” election cycle for the Liberals. They have accomplished next to nothing with Congress in two years. The Democrats point to Bush and the Republicans as the reason for their inability to do nothing. It has become apparent to the People however that they just don’t know what to do to lead other than point fingers. The “Classic” part comes when they try to defend themselves by attacking Bush claiming that he has historic low poll numbers They seem to think the American People are ignorant of the fact that the Congress has even lower poll numbers. They are their own worst enemy. They are the majority they are the ones stopping the President from enacting his legislation. They are the ones who can’t come up with their own and push it through. Then they show for the world to see Bush’s poll numbers. What’s that about the pot calling the kettle black, or when you point your finger at someone else, three are pointing back at you.
This election is becoming a beautiful thing. A classic study in the difference between the two parties. Change is offered by both parties. One party talks of Change as some wonderful all encompassing mystical thing that will cure all our problems. We have seen for two years what that “Revival Tent” rhetoric without direction or leadership leads to. --- A “Do Nothing Congress” that at best tries to blame everything and everyone else for it’s short comings: or at worst, as we are finding out, will if given full reign pull this country apart.
Time after time in the last two years, when solutions to problems have been offered, Congress has showed it’s inability to do anything. The whole Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less effort highlighted the problem the Democrats have. They clamor for change but when it’s offered they pull it apart and say that it won’t work because it’s not theirs. It’s not big enough. It doesn’t solve all our problems. They fail however to put their own plan out there that would actually solve any problems. It is becoming clear what the effects of their lack of action and their blocking of action lead to. Their altruistic efforts have stopped any efforts to create any new answers. Prices are still rising , education is still crumbling, the economy is still crippled. You want a picture of failed Democratic policies. Look to Detroit and to Michigan. People can see this. They aren’t blind.
I’m glad they keep shooting themselves in the foot. The Republicans offer change and they ridicule it as not big enough, yet offer no alternative. When Pelosi shut down the US HOUSE and a committee because she was afraid of having a vote on the issue of energy the people knew what was happening. The Republicans have started to get some backbone and are keeping the issue alive.
McCain by picking Palin has set the Democrat leadership and Obama on it’s ear. This choice of Palin has put the Dems in a Catch-22 position. I am overjoyed by this. We truly have a conservative ticket. Palin highlights McCains conservative strong points. Together they show a unified front. They both have in the past proven they will reach across party lines. Something Obama hasn’t. Together they are larger than the sum of their parts. They have the ability to frame the debate by putting out the real issues and making them stick in the minds of the people by offering from experience a specific plan that can work.
In the Bloggospere the first retorts by the libs to tear her down were the exact things Obama has been hiding from. Lack of experience lack of foreign affairs knowledge. In fact Palin has more of both than Obama. I even heard that they’re saying in a bad way that her husband and a son are not registered Republicans. So much for their argument that the Republicans can’t reach across the isle.
I think you will see the attack on Palin soon steer away from the experience thing. Obama can’t take any more of the scrutiny and is just left with empty rhetoric. The people if allowed to choose will soon see and vote accordingly.
Regards, Live Dangerously Be A Conservative
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Sunday, August 24, 2008
What Can We Do Today ??
Getting it Done.
Every one is familiar with the light bulb and that it signifies a bright new idea. Like turning on the light in a darkened place, it adds perspective to how we see the world. Once that idea is accepted progress can be made more easily.
What I post today is about one of those light bulb ideas. Gee I’ve got a bright idea what about the light bulb and Edison. (I couldn’t resist forgive me).
I imagine that there were hundreds of thousands of people that wished at night that they had more light. Probably hundreds of people worked at doing something about it. Better kerosene then gas lamps etc. Probably fifty or so thought that electricity that mysterious force coming into vogue could somehow be used to create light. After all lightning would light up the sky, why not a little lightning to light up a room.
From there I’m sure that some few came up with the idea of a filament that would only partially short out the circuit and not create a spark but still heat up the wire enough to create light. After that it was only Edison that tried hundreds of different filaments until he found one that worked.
The conclusion I’ve drawn from this is that Edison was not looking for a solution that was perfect in every way, a solution that would solve all our energy needs. He simply wanted something that would work. Well he found it and it worked well for a long time. There were countless improvements along the way also.
The incandescent light bulb we use today has evolved into a more energy efficient and cost effective product. The point is that Edison’s first light bulb wasn’t discarded because it wasn’t the perfect solution. We accepted the inferior solution then let the market place keep coming out with better solutions. As technology grows in part as a result of this competition, better and better products keep emerging, until someone else comes up with a better “light bulb” idea.
I see the example above as a microcosm of how the two parties approach problems and the solutions they offer.
Republicans offer more concrete specific solutions to the problem. They might only be partial solutions but a step in the right direction. Republicans seem to intuitively know that the act of solving part of the problem leads us to better understand the problem and allows us to come up with better solutions than we could come up with if we waited till a perfect solution was found. We gain insight into the problem by diving in and trying to actually make a solution work. I am of the idea that there are really no perfect solutions due to the fact that we are not a perfect people. Looking for perfection only tends to burn out that which is within us that wants to fix things and make things better. If that dies we soon become cynical and perhaps bitter in the effort.
I believe that if one can accept that a perfect solution does not exist then we will be more content by striving to do what we think will help and be happy with the effort. As with Edison a workable solution is found then later better ones come along and all the benefits along the way are utilized and people feel confident by the steady progress. It is precisely that confidence I am saying is what makes the whole thing work.
Without that as we are seeing today things get bogged down, the idea that only big anything from big business to big government has the ability to find that perfect solution. This is robbing the citizens of that feeling of self worth found in feeling that they are part of the solution. That they have added their two cents. That they are indeed invested in the society.
As with the energy problem we face. Let’s start doing all we can in every direction from all sorts of places to find partial solutions. One small success will build and be the rallying cry to win the next, and on and on. Confidence will build. We only need to be able to accept that there will be missteps then do what we can to quickly abandon wrong approaches and adapt to what is available. Soon enough we will be coming up with newer technologies to overcome more parts of the problem, putting thousands to work while we correct these imperfect solutions. I see something noble in this vs. paying people to do nothing, or charging them to do nothing.
Peter F. Drucker wrote the following in his book, “The Effective Executive”. “Effective Executives lead from strength in their own work. They make productive what they can do. ………. Effective executives are of course also concerned with limitations. But it is amazing how many things they find that can be done and are worth doing. While the others complain about threir inability to do anything, the effective executives go ahead and do. As a result, the limitations that weigh so heabily on their brethren often melt away”
This ties into my “What Can I Do Today” philosophy. It is surprising me what I am doing with that simple idea. If we as a country can only start to dwell on not what is wrong but what is right, on what we are good at and not what we are not. This country will prosper and you and I will not only feel better about it, but ourselves too.
Regards, Live Dangerously Be A Conservative
Every one is familiar with the light bulb and that it signifies a bright new idea. Like turning on the light in a darkened place, it adds perspective to how we see the world. Once that idea is accepted progress can be made more easily.
What I post today is about one of those light bulb ideas. Gee I’ve got a bright idea what about the light bulb and Edison. (I couldn’t resist forgive me).
I imagine that there were hundreds of thousands of people that wished at night that they had more light. Probably hundreds of people worked at doing something about it. Better kerosene then gas lamps etc. Probably fifty or so thought that electricity that mysterious force coming into vogue could somehow be used to create light. After all lightning would light up the sky, why not a little lightning to light up a room.
From there I’m sure that some few came up with the idea of a filament that would only partially short out the circuit and not create a spark but still heat up the wire enough to create light. After that it was only Edison that tried hundreds of different filaments until he found one that worked.
The conclusion I’ve drawn from this is that Edison was not looking for a solution that was perfect in every way, a solution that would solve all our energy needs. He simply wanted something that would work. Well he found it and it worked well for a long time. There were countless improvements along the way also.
The incandescent light bulb we use today has evolved into a more energy efficient and cost effective product. The point is that Edison’s first light bulb wasn’t discarded because it wasn’t the perfect solution. We accepted the inferior solution then let the market place keep coming out with better solutions. As technology grows in part as a result of this competition, better and better products keep emerging, until someone else comes up with a better “light bulb” idea.
I see the example above as a microcosm of how the two parties approach problems and the solutions they offer.
Republicans offer more concrete specific solutions to the problem. They might only be partial solutions but a step in the right direction. Republicans seem to intuitively know that the act of solving part of the problem leads us to better understand the problem and allows us to come up with better solutions than we could come up with if we waited till a perfect solution was found. We gain insight into the problem by diving in and trying to actually make a solution work. I am of the idea that there are really no perfect solutions due to the fact that we are not a perfect people. Looking for perfection only tends to burn out that which is within us that wants to fix things and make things better. If that dies we soon become cynical and perhaps bitter in the effort.
I believe that if one can accept that a perfect solution does not exist then we will be more content by striving to do what we think will help and be happy with the effort. As with Edison a workable solution is found then later better ones come along and all the benefits along the way are utilized and people feel confident by the steady progress. It is precisely that confidence I am saying is what makes the whole thing work.
Without that as we are seeing today things get bogged down, the idea that only big anything from big business to big government has the ability to find that perfect solution. This is robbing the citizens of that feeling of self worth found in feeling that they are part of the solution. That they have added their two cents. That they are indeed invested in the society.
As with the energy problem we face. Let’s start doing all we can in every direction from all sorts of places to find partial solutions. One small success will build and be the rallying cry to win the next, and on and on. Confidence will build. We only need to be able to accept that there will be missteps then do what we can to quickly abandon wrong approaches and adapt to what is available. Soon enough we will be coming up with newer technologies to overcome more parts of the problem, putting thousands to work while we correct these imperfect solutions. I see something noble in this vs. paying people to do nothing, or charging them to do nothing.
Peter F. Drucker wrote the following in his book, “The Effective Executive”. “Effective Executives lead from strength in their own work. They make productive what they can do. ………. Effective executives are of course also concerned with limitations. But it is amazing how many things they find that can be done and are worth doing. While the others complain about threir inability to do anything, the effective executives go ahead and do. As a result, the limitations that weigh so heabily on their brethren often melt away”
This ties into my “What Can I Do Today” philosophy. It is surprising me what I am doing with that simple idea. If we as a country can only start to dwell on not what is wrong but what is right, on what we are good at and not what we are not. This country will prosper and you and I will not only feel better about it, but ourselves too.
Regards, Live Dangerously Be A Conservative
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