Mr. Elder does a great job summarizing the differences between the two parties, and they are vast. Far from being clones, the two major parties differ not only in policy but in their approach and conclusions about life and how to go about it.
I often dwell on bitterness and complain about how life sucks and is unfair, sometimes even with flare and elegance, but my core beliefs remain conservative.
For me, conservatism answers much of the chaos of life; because its values evolved over centuries of trial and error, it should not be dismissed as readily as liberals wish it to be.
And now, without further Apu: A Democrat or a Republican?
Bio of Larry Elder here.
Tags: Apu, conservatism, Elderados, larry elder, libertarianism, life sucks, townhall.com
meatlights39.wordpress.com 
Friday, 21 August 2009 at 5:24 pm |
http://goldenae.wordpress.com
I think this is an accurate description of Larry Elder.
Friday, 21 August 2009 at 8:38 pm |
From your own piece: I noticed that whenever a Black Republican/Conservative was on a program whether it be television or radio, they sounded the same. All of them seemed to have the same personalities and qualities.
Since 90% of Blacks vote Democratic (to their own detriment) it would seem there’s more conformity of thought on the liberal side, including a blanket condemnation of Black conservatives.
Monday, 24 August 2009 at 10:28 am |
Meatlight:
You confuse ending up in the same place with traveling the same road. You are correct that the vast majority of African Americans are Democrat or vote Democrat;however, you ignore the fact that even though that is where a lot of them end up, the journeys there are often very different. I am not even saying all Black Conservatives have the same M.O., but I am saying that a lot of them, especially the ones promoted by talk radio and other conservatives operate in the same manner.
Monday, 24 August 2009 at 5:23 pm |
Tradition and monumental peer pressure play significant roles in making Black Americans vote for Democrats. Democrat “leaders” and politicos are openly racist in their treatment of Black conservatives.
Black conservatives have a tougher road, and because they are rare, their stories are, IMO, more unique than that of the average Dem (rarer still are former conservatives who move left).
Thomas Sowell is IMO the most brilliant of conservatives of any race yet in his youth he was an adamant Marxist.
The conservative message should sound repetitive, in the same way that 2 + 2 always equals 4.
Number One on the list: never trust government or expect it to take care of you. It can’t “create equality” any more than they can turn lead into gold.
Monday, 24 August 2009 at 9:16 pm
It is a huge copout to act as if there is “peer pressure” in the voting booth. That assertion demonstrates some of that behavior that I describe in my blog. African Americans do not meet up and decide in advance who to support. People have enough common sense to support parties and candidates that they like. I have heard the excuse you have made many times, but it does not hold water. What you have failed to do as I have described that is common with Black Conservatives is that you all thinks no one has enough sense but you(them). Black Conservatives choose a tougher road, partially because they make it that way. Being in the minority or because there is a bigger struggle does not equate to being right. It is not uncommon at all for pendulums to swing from one extreme to the other. A lot of Black Conservates were once ultra-liberals. To me, it kinda demonstrates that they really are not grounded in thought if they can be swayed from one extreme to another. The conservative message SHOULD be productive and not about bashing anything that is thought to be of the African American community. Nobody controls what Black Conservatives’ messages are but them. I would trust the government before I trust corporate America. Inherently, the love of money is the root of ALL evil. Government is not perfect and I do not look for it to do anything but protect people from those who can not protect themselves. Sadly, part of that is dealing with inequalities.
Tuesday, 25 August 2009 at 1:17 am
It is a huge copout to act as if there is “peer pressure” in the voting booth.
There is always pressure to vote in sync with the group. Victicrats want and need Black votes and prey on them from both sides. First, they warn Blacks they’re incapable of making it in (racist!) American society on their own because The Game itself is rigged, then they swoop in from the other side and promise to rig the game in their favor.
(I consider voting for victicrats at any level a mistake, and always a bigger mistake than voting for a Repubican, even one who then acts like a victicrat anyway).
That assertion demonstrates some of that behavior that I describe in my blog. African Americans do not meet up and decide in advance who to support. People have enough common sense to support parties and candidates that they like. I have heard the excuse you have made many times, but it does not hold water.
I need no excuse for pointing out the obvious. A Black person “confessing” to voting Republican or being a conservative would be as bad for their health as striding into the ‘hood playing polka on an accordion.
If people really do ‘have enough common sense to to support parties and candidates that they like,’ then why do Black conservatives get so much grief from the left? For that matter, why do liberals claim they welcome all points of view and then act SHOCKED to discover there really are other points of view?
What you have failed to do as I have described that is common with Black Conservatives is that you all think no one has enough sense but you (them).
I believe the conservative POV is 90% of the time more in alignment with American principles and techniques that bring a maximum amount of reward to all participants. There are plenty of intelligent liberals, but a genius that only has half of the puzzle in front of them still won’t be able to beat a non-genius who has the whole.
I use what works, and even when I don’t, I make sure I’m facing the right direction. Failure is a part of life, and we now live in a corrupt society that demands that no one be allowed to fail.
Black Conservatives choose a tougher road, partially because they make it that way.
OR perhaps the reality of life is that doing anything worthwhile is difficult, and if you wait for the government to step in every time and change the rules in your favor, that “help” will not only come too late, but not be worth a damn when it does.
Being in the minority or because there is a bigger struggle does not equate to being right. It is not uncommon at all for pendulums to swing from one extreme to the other. A lot of Black Conservates were once ultra-liberals. To me, it kinda demonstrates that they really are not grounded in thought if they can be swayed from one extreme to another.
You’ll find that most people that move from left to right do not go back, because they can’t. ‘You learn things that you won’t be able to unlearn.
The conservative message SHOULD be productive and not about bashing anything that is thought to be of the African American community. Nobody controls what Black Conservatives’ messages are but them.
The Black conservatives I regard the most only comment on race when they’re explaining why others are wrongly using race as a weapon to demand unearned rewards. Sowell and Elder are more concerned with issues of freedom and morality.
I would trust the government before I trust corporate America.
I’m the opposite way. As the needless Crash of ’08 proves, corporations can and do FAIL but the Big Government leviathan is incapable of going out of business. They print the money and all the bad laws they write never seem to go away.
Inherently, the love of money is the root of ALL evil.
There was evil before there was money. If you let envy into your heart (and we all do) you’ll find yourself extra-susceptible to the con artists promising to avenge imagined wrongs.
Government is not perfect and I do not look for it to do anything but protect people (who can not) protect themselves. Sadly, part of that is dealing with inequalities.
There are no solutions, only trade-offs. That’s a line from Thomas Sowell and one of the most profound. When you stop believing in permanent solutions to problems that have plagued all civilizations, things become clearer…and more complex.