Americans Vote for Maturity (By Peggy Noonan)

[Guest areafiftyone]

Wall Street Journal:

Americans Vote for Maturity
Obama gets a rebuke, but so do Republicans who seem unqualified.

The people have spoken, the bastards." That would be how Democrats in the White House and on Capitol Hill are feeling. The last two years of their leadership have been rebuffed. The question for the Democratic Party: Was it worth it? Was it worth following the president and the speaker in their mad pursuit of liberal legislation the country would not, could not, like? And what will you do now? Which path will you take?

The Republicans saw their own establishment firmly, sharply put down. The question for them: What will you do to show yourselves worthy of the bounty?

The Republicans won big, but both parties return to Washington chastened. Good.

Two small points on the election's atmospherics that carry implications for the future. The first is that negative ads became boring, unpersuasive. Forty years ago they were new, exciting in a sort of prurient way. Now voters take for granted that politicians are no good, and such ads are just more polluted water going over the waterfall. The biggest long-term loser: liberalism. If all pols are sleazoid crooks, then why would people want to give them more governmental power to order our lives? The implicit message of two generations of negative ads: Vote conservative, limit the reach of the thieves.

The second, not much noticed, is that all candidates must assume now that they are being taped, wherever they are, including private conversations. Sharron Angle was taped in a private meeting with a potential supporter, who leaked it to the press, to her embarrassment. The taper/leaker was a sleaze and a weasel—a sleazel—but candidates can no longer ever assume they are speaking in confidence; they have to assume even aides and supporters are wired. (Go reread "Game Change" and wonder if some of the conversations reported there were taped.) The zone of privacy just got smaller, and the possibility of blackmail, a perennial unseen force in politics, wider. Prediction: This fact will, at some point in 2012, cause an uproar.

Edited November 5, 2010 by areafiftyone
snipped article

[Guest areafiftyone]

This is the key question the tea party will face in 2012. And it will be hard to answer it, because the tea party doesn't have leaders or conventions, so the answer will have to bubble up from a thousand groups, from 10,000 leaders.

 

Electable doesn't mean not-conservative. Electable means mature, accomplished, stable—and able to persuade.

 

Conservatives talked a lot about Ronald Reagan this year, but they have to take him more to heart, because his example here is a guide. All this seemed lost last week on Sarah Palin, who called him, on Fox, "an actor." She was defending her form of political celebrity—reality show, "Dancing With the Stars," etc. This is how she did it: "Wasn't Ronald Reagan an actor? Wasn't he in 'Bedtime for Bonzo,' Bozo, something? Ronald Reagan was an actor."

 

Excuse me, but this was ignorant even for Mrs. Palin. Reagan people quietly flipped their lids, but I'll voice their consternation to make a larger point. Ronald Reagan was an artist who willed himself into leadership as president of a major American labor union (Screen Actors Guild, seven terms, 1947-59.) He led that union successfully through major upheavals (the Hollywood communist wars, labor-management struggles); discovered and honed his ability to speak persuasively by talking to workers on the line at General Electric for eight years; was elected to and completed two full terms as governor of California; challenged and almost unseated an incumbent president of his own party; and went on to popularize modern conservative political philosophy without the help of a conservative infrastructure. Then he was elected president.

 

The point is not "He was a great man and you are a nincompoop," though that is true. The point is that Reagan's career is a guide, not only for the tea party but for all in politics. He brought his fully mature, fully seasoned self into politics with him. He wasn't in search of a life when he ran for office, and he wasn't in search of fame; he'd already lived a life, he was already well known, he'd accomplished things in the world.

 

Here is an old tradition badly in need of return: You have to earn your way into politics. You should go have a life, build a string of accomplishments, then enter public service. And you need actual talent: You have to be able to bring people in and along. You can't just bully them, you can't just assert and taunt, you have to be able to persuade.

 

Americans don't want, as their representatives, people who seem empty or crazy. They'll vote no on that.

 

It's not just the message, it's the messenger.

 

 

 

OUCH!!!

[SrWoodchuck]

The point is not "He was a great man and you are a nincompoop," though that is true. The point is that Reagan's career is a guide, not only for the tea party but for all in politics. He brought his fully mature, fully seasoned self into politics with him. He wasn't in search of a life when he ran for office, and he wasn't in search of fame; he'd already lived a life, he was already well known, he'd accomplished things in the world.

 

Here is an old tradition badly in need of return: You have to earn your way into politics. You should go have a life, build a string of accomplishments, then enter public service. And you need actual talent....

 

 

 

Area51!

 

Viewed through the prism of the Obama "life" [or as much as we're allowed to know] and campaign; I guess these rules only apply to Conservatives, and more particularly, Republicans.

 

Regarding the continued sniping of Palin: No comment!

[NCTexan]

Yup... even that poor broken clock gets it right a couple times a day.

 

[Stella]

The point is not "He was a great man and you are a nincompoop," though that is true. The point is that Reagan's career is a guide, not only for the tea party but for all in politics. He brought his fully mature, fully seasoned self into politics with him. He wasn't in search of a life when he ran for office, and he wasn't in search of fame; he'd already lived a life, he was already well known, he'd accomplished things in the world.

 

Here is an old tradition badly in need of return: You have to earn your way into politics. You should go have a life, build a string of accomplishments, then enter public service. And you need actual talent....

 

 

 

Area51!

 

Viewed through the prism of the Obama "life" [or as much as we're allowed to know] and campaign; I guess these rules only apply to Conservatives, and more particularly, Republicans.

 

Regarding the continued sniping of Palin: No comment!

 

SrWoodchuck I find the refusal to speak about faults of potential candidates more of a problem than so called sniping. Are you saying that only articles that agree with your POV are acceptable? I don't think so but that's how it came out.

 

I always thought the point of blogs is to be able to discuss things. Palin lovers seem to have a problem with this and btw, I'm not calling you a Palin Lover.

 

It really is too bad that more wasn't brought out about O'Donnell before people poured thousands of dollars into her campaign at the expense of legitimate candidates. I have grave reservations about Palin being able to turn around the country enough to win a general election. Posting articles where other people have the same reservations is not sniping. Everyone is free to say the article is wrong because.......... and go on from there. Everyone is also free to post Palin loving articles but it should never be all one side. JMHO

[Pepper]

My two cents:

 

Here is my comment on the Palin lover comment. It is a label. Although I certainly throw them around, it is at the left, not among ourselves . The Left excels at labels and controlling the message. Labeling is counter productive, restricting communication among us when we should be united.

 

Any continuing stream of articles that portray any conservative in a negative slant is repetitive, and non productive and gives ammo the Left. There are enough sites that do that. TRR is a forum but it's raison d'être is to support conservatism, not knock it down. We should be critiquing with the goal of refining and improving.

 

Anyone who thinks that the Obama/Biden Regime we have is preferable what might have been a McCain/Palin White House is either an SEIU union leader or certified lunatic, excuse the redundancy.

 

And while Palin may not be the candidate for 2012, Sarah Palin she has bigger set of brass ^%%%$ than 90% of the current House or the Senate male or female. Most importantly, Sarah has a firmer grasp on what made this Nation great than anyone in Obama's cabinet.

 

We need to focus on the enemy, find the solution(s) and groom and support the candidate(s) for 2012 who can lead us out of this economic malaise. A reasoned debate on strengths is preferable to labeling and dissing.

[SrWoodchuck]

SrWoodchuck I find the refusal to speak about faults of potential candidates more of a problem than so called sniping. Are you saying that only articles that agree with your POV are acceptable? I don't think so but that's how it came out.

 

I always thought the point of blogs is to be able to discuss things. Palin lovers seem to have a problem with this and btw, I'm not calling you a Palin Lover.

 

It really is too bad that more wasn't brought out about O'Donnell before people poured thousands of dollars into her campaign at the expense of legitimate candidates. I have grave reservations about Palin being able to turn around the country enough to win a general election. Posting articles where other people have the same reservations is not sniping. Everyone is free to say the article is wrong because.......... and go on from there. Everyone is also free to post Palin loving articles but it should never be all one side. JMHO

Stella!

 

Some people have an admitted negative visceral reaction to Sarah Palin. Area51 has repeatedly posted articles that illustrate all that's wrong with O'Donnell & Palin. We all know how she feels.....it's now repetitious & boring. Give it a rest.

 

You can post anything you want to here.

 

I like Palin personally & think she's done a great job of lifting the conservatives to battle; beginning with her run as McCain's VP. Do I want her to be President? No. Do I think she's a capable mother, wife and conservative politician; hell yes! Despite what "polarized" posters, post! Is she running? Who can tell, it's gonna be at least a year before she even is in position to run.

 

What is it about Palin threatens you two so much? For a girl from Wasilla, Alaska, Palin has over-achieved about a thousand percent....with both liberals & her own party "sniping" her every step of the way. I guess I like people that aren't whiners; that are doers. I said "no comment", because I thought a little "subtle" hint might suffice......obviously not.

 

Now you've got my take on Palin & "sniping" both.......so next time I can just ignore the baiting to defend someone; that needs no defense. I'll just reply by referencing THIS post.

[NCTexan]

SrWoodChuck!

 

[SrWoodchuck]

NCTexan!

 

HA! .....and "No Comment"

[Pepper]

NCTexan!

 

HA! .....and "No Comment"

 

 

SrWoodchuck

NCTexan

 

My comment upstairs