When & why I left the Democrat party

Post below excerpted from The Anchoress. See the original for links

My turn from left to right began with the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas debacle, and Captain Ed does a great job of demonstrating in this post exactly how despicable and underhanded was the behavior of the left in that circumstance.

Ed has been writing about Clarence Thomas for several days now, and all of his posts are worth reading, but do read that first one I've linked to, because I remember watching that exchange and becoming more and more frustrated by what I saw members of my party doing. I remember watching this "high-tech lynching" and knowing that Thomas was correct; that was exactly what it was. I remember people testifying on behalf of Thomas and both the press and the congress simply dismissing them (in much the same way Democrats dismissed Gen. David Petraeus, recently) before they'd opened their mouths. I remember the whole sense of bared-teeth salivation coming from my party, and I remember thinking, "wait.this isn't right." It was like a coming of age.

I remember reading my local newspaper and finally canceling it, because the writing had clearly and distinctly moved from "reportage" to "propaganda" in the space of what seemed like a few weeks. When I called to cancel the subscription they asked why and I told them pretty much this: "I'm very interested in these hearings, and I look to the paper for information and instead I'm being served something very different from what my own eyes are seeing, what my own brain is receiving. Instead of unbiased information that allows me to decide for myself, I'm getting something very unbalanced, and I don't want it."

A few hours later a woman from that newspaper actually called me up and asked me if it was true that I had canceled my subscription because of their coverage. I said yes, and she said, "you mean you actually believe him?" I was stunned. "Yes, I do," I said. "And I can't believe you're calling me like this. Your job is supposed to be about informing, not persuading." She sputtered but by then I was hanging up.

The Clarence Thomas hearings were the beginning, for me. They were when I began to open my eyes and see something happening within my party - the Democrat party my entire family had been loyal to for as long as I could remember - that I really did not like.

I didn't leave the left just then. But I started paying more attention to everything, and trusting the press and my own party a bit less.then a bit less.then a bit less. When it got to the point where I felt I was no longer allowed to dissent from the "Democratic position" without being thought of as a "bad person," when it began to feel like I was simply supposed to "fall in line," and parrot the party, when I began to feel completely disrespected by other Democrats for daring to think for myself and form my own opinions, (when I was essentially made to feel that I was not entitled to those opinions or to full respect for them), and when it became clear to me that the word "liberal" no longer meant "open-minded, respectful and broad" but quite the opposite, that's when I finally left the left.

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ELSEWHERE

Giuliani has a chance: "Yes, Giuliani has supported legalized abortion, various policies collectively referred to as gay rights, and gun control measures. And yes, those issues will cause millions of primary voters to pull the lever for someone else. They are important, mainstream issues, not topics cared about only by some unintelligible cult. But polls show a significantly large minority of Christian right voters supporting Giuliani in the primary even after being apprised of his position on the three most prominent social issues. The truth is that even the oft-caricatured voters of the Christian right also care about leadership qualities, taxes, crime, a strong defense, and the war against jihadist terrorists. The Christian right, or at least a very large percentage thereof, feels a particular affinity for Israel. After all, the Bible says that Jews are God's chosen people, and that Israel is their land. Those who vow to wipe Israel off the map, therefore - and who, worse, would attack us in the United States in part because of our diplomatic support for Israel - are seen as particularly dangerous and particularly to be opposed... anybody who can be trusted to support Israel and, most importantly, to battle with effectiveness and competence against those who would destroy Israel, is somebody worthy of at least potential support."

Reagan forgotten: "We've been hearing a lot about Ronald Reagan from the Republican presidential field of late, but there is little trace of him in the position papers issued by the various campaigns thus far. Take energy. Whereas candidate Reagan proposed to solve the energy crisis of the 1970s by abolishing the Department of Energy, deregulating the energy sector, and letting free markets rip, candidates Giuliani, Romney, McCain, and the rest propose to solve today's energy crisis with elaborate national energy plans, lavish subsidies for favored fuels and industries, mandatory renewable-energy consumption orders, and government dictates to manufacturers regarding how energy-related goods and services are made."

Dishonest US farm policy: "Politicians claim to be friends of the small 'family farmer' but most government payments go to large farms. Half of all U.S. farms receive nothing at all because they don't grow corn, wheat, cotton and other major crops that qualify for commodity payments. Because most payments are based on a farm's past production history, they likely have little effect on current commodity prices. But they do cause land prices to be bid up, meaning those who own the most land receive the most benefits. Escalating land prices, in turn, raise the cost of entry into farming, hurting the little guy again."

The myth of U.S. manufacturing decline: "Politicians acting on behalf of particular industries or unions routinely cite the erosion of U.S. manufacturing primacy as justification for trade barriers. But here's the kicker. U.S. manufacturing is not in decline - not by any stretch. Manufacturing is thriving by historic standards and relative to other countries' manufacturing sectors. In 2006, the sector achieved record output, record sales revenue, record profits, record profit rates, record return on investment, and record exports. U.S. factories continued to be the world's most prolific in 2006, accounting for just over 20 percent of the world's manufacturing value-added. By contrast, Chinese factories accounted for just 8 percent. And 2006 was not an aberration. Since the nadir of the manufacturing recession in 2002, all of those indicators have been trending upward. The most recent quarterly Census data show that the trends have continued into 2007, where second quarter sales, profits and output are at all time highs.

Iran supplying Taliban with EFPs: "Iran is supplying the Taliban in Afghanistan with the same bomb-making equipment it provides to insurgents in Iraq, according to British military intelligence officers. US Army General Dan McNeill, the commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan, said that the discovery of more than 50 roadside bombs and timers in lorries crossing the border from Iran last month proves that Iran's Quds Revolutionary Guards are actively supporting the Taliban.... He claimed the vehicles contained materials to make explosively formed penetrators (EFPs), a type of roadside bomb. Britain and America have accused Iran of supplying such bombs to Iraqi insurgents."

For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

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"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialistisch) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party".

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