No. 94 – June 25, 2011
THE ARROGANCE OF IGNORANCE IS APPALLING
Last night, on TV, I watched the total ignorance of Karl Rove pour across the screen.
He was almost giddy with anticipation that Barack Obama is going to be a one-term president.
Is he really THAT stupid?
During my 50 years of association with the GOP – from my first riding campaign with my father honking his car horn all over the neighborhood and me yelling, “Sure to Click, with Ike and Dick,” – I have watched the gradual demise of a once proud and principled party into what it has become today: A mishmash of stupid, ignorant, loudmouth cowards who act like they are going to win the whole works come November 2012. And then we have the Evangelical Element to add even more stupidity to the mix.
In the military, I was taught that you NEVER underestimate your enemy. If you do, you will lose.
Then again, I realize that Karl Rove never entered the military when he had the chance to do so, during the Vietnam War. Odd how he, and other draft-dodgers of that era, are such staunch war hawks now. But that is another story.
One of Sun-Tsu’s most famous sayings is, “The first thing a general does is to determine the best route for an organized retreat – in case one is needed.” In other words, don’t let your battleship mouth overload your tugboat ass.
Another of his famous maxims is, “Once on the battlefield, everything changes.”
And everything HAS changed – to the subtle benefit of Barack Obama.
I am appalled at the myopic attitude of the so-called Republican “Leadership” for not getting any of this through their thick skulls.
I am convinced that they are not anywhere close to being in touch with what is actually taking place.
Obama has ALREADY begun his campaign for 2012.
Yes, I know. He has never stopped campaigning. But that is not my point.
If anybody watched his speech in New York, and understood what he REALLY said, you would be shaking in your boots at the actual prospects of him winning again in 2012.
Consider some of the details:
Obama “took out” bin Laden. Of course, it was the US Military – and the Seals in particular – but Obama took all the credit.
Obama has all of the unions on his side – throughout the country. The Democrats have successfully painted the Republicans as “anti-union” and the Republicans have done nothing to counter that image.
Obama now is mulling the prospect of bailing out the US POST OFFICE. How many employees does that count for, in the way of votes?
And speaking of votes – every government employee I have spoken to has vehemently asserted to me that they are going to vote for Obama, “No fucking matter what!”
Ladies and Gentlemen. I live in Sacramento – the Capital of California. Obama has got this State – along with New York – already wrapped up. How blind can the GOP really be?
They just passed a gay rights bill in New York – and the Democrats are licking their chops. They KNOW that the Evangelical Element will jump on this with both feet. This did not happen by chance. This was expertly timed – by the re-election committee of Barack Obama.
Obama will raise one BILLION dollars for his re-election campaign. The cost of his fundraising “dinner” was a paltry $30,000 – per plate.
Obama has let it be known that he is behind the concept of gay marriage. The Republicans will – again – hang themselves by the neck on this issue, and followup with a strong stance against a woman’s right to choose.
Obama has the FULL backing of the MONOPOLY MEDIA behind his campaign. If you refuse to watch anything but FOX News, you are an idiot of the first order.
Another of Sun-Tsu’s teachings is, “Know your enemy.” Pretty simple, but totally lost on the current crop of GOP “Leaders.”
Obama has just downsized the Military presence in Afghanistan, much to the delight of the left flank of his party. It is an absolute idiotic move militarily, but politically speaking it was brilliant.
I could go on, but I hope you are NOW starting to get the picture.
BUT WAIT! IT IS ALL ABOUT THE ECONOMY – STUPID!
If anybody actually believes this, then it is all over but the shouting – for Obama.
So here are a few predictions for the Rueful Right-wing to contemplate.
Obama just ORDERED the release of MILLIONS OF BARRELS of oil from the strategic oil reserve. Where is the emergency for this action?
Well, there is none – but Obama knows that cheaper gas will make a lot of other stupid Americans forget about all the mistakes that his Administration has made in the past.
Americans are concerned with only one thing nowadays – themselves! The Country be damned.
Gimme, gimme, gimme.
So here are my predictions for 2012:
The economy WILL be back on track, if even meagerly so. Yet, it will be portrayed as “rebounding” or even “buoyant” by the Monopoly Media.
Gas will be close to, our UNDER, $3.00 a gallon by November 2012.
Housing will have bottomed out and started to recover and will again be touted in a positive light by the Obama-loving Media.
The Stock Market will be above 14,000 by election day, or close to it.
Whether any of these predictions come true or are the TRUTH – will depend on how the Monopoly Media projects these individual circumstances – but if I am even close with these predictions, the GOP will be dead in the water – and so will America, as we know it today.
Simply put, the GOP will be standing around with their collective thumb up their proverbial ass.
No, this is not a defeatist attitude. It is a REALISTIC assessment of where the GOP, and this Country are headed, if WE THE PEOPLE don’t wake up – and wake up fast.
The Democratic Train has not only left the station – it is now full-steam ahead.
And the Republicans?
They have not even found their way to the platform yet (pun fully intended).
SO, GIVE US SOME IDEAS, INSTEAD OF JUST BITCHING!
OK, but you are not going to like what I have to say.
First off, get up and get involved.
I know. That is difficult to do – but that is exactly what Obama said at his fundraiser in New York. He implored the Democrats to get RE-INVOLVED, go door-to-door, use the Internet, sign up for political action groups, start an Internet blog, talk to friends and relatives, hand out literature – but get RE-INVOLVED.
During my life I have always tried to “do something good.” The Military, University, Living and Working Overseas, Running for Congress, The American Telegraph, and a multitude of activities in between.
When working on my MA Degree at San Jose State University, I was the only student in my graduate class that actually went out into the FIELD and worked with organizations to help establish the concept of “Community Education” with John Hanrahan, in Campbell, California.
The other students decided to do “classwork” instead. Out of the 30 or so participants in the program, only 11 graduated. I was one of them.
As always, it is up to WE THE PEOPLE.
So here are a few questions:
How many of you take the time to write your representatives on a WEEKLY basis? How many of you even KNOW who your representatives are?
When was the last time you actually called your representative? How many of you have taken the time to make an appointment, and go down and speak to your representative – IN PERSON?
How many of you have actually run for NATIONAL OFFICE?
Give me a break, people. It is not the fault of the Democrats for the shape of America.
It is YOUR FAULT. Every one of you who has not done any of the above – shame on you.
During my Congressional campaign, I rebuked the GOP for not having the courage to stand up and get rid of the destructive “right-wing” of the Party. I called them cowards for not doing so.
One woman, who was in “high standing” with the GOP (although a known alcoholic), took “great offense” that I – as a “neophyte, first timer” – had “the gall” to say such a thing. It is this kind of thinking that has helped to degenerate the GOP into what it has become today.
Ben Franklin once responded to a lady, when she asked, “What have you given us?”
His reply was, “A Republic – if you can keep it.”
It is up to WE THE PEOPLE to keep it.
I GOT A LETTER FROM MITT!
Yes, that is right. I got a personal letter from Mitt Romney.
Well, not really. What I actually got was a “mail-out” asking for money.
My heart sank as I opened it up and read – the same shit that he was sending out from his last campaign in 2008.
He has NOT changed his battlefield tactics one iota. It is still the same OLD Mitt.
A political mail-out? In the 21st Century?
My wife mused that his campaign manager should be fired. I went a little further and said that the bastard ought to be shot.
How much time, money and wasted expenditure did that consume? Anyone in his right mind realizes that the best result you can expect from any mass mail-out is a 5% positive response – at the most. That is a Business 101 fact.
And the GOP is still thinking about having this man as their standard-bearer?
This is insane. No, let me restate that. This is Political Suicide.
ANOTHER PREDICTION
I am sorry, folks. But I am getting very pissed off at the GOP – and their continued back-biting, mud-slinging and lack of any CONCRETE PLATFORM – at this late date.
So, here is another prediction.
If the GOP puts up Mitt Romney – and if he campaigns only on the ECONOMY – he will lose BIG TIME.
But that is NOT my prediction.
What I predict will happen – if the GOP loses again in 2012 – is that we will finally have the makings of a viable THIRD PARTY.
Maybe even a NEW REPUBLICAN PARTY.
Or a NEW CONSERVATIVE PARTY.
Or a NEW AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE PARTY.
But the GOP will go the way of the Whigs – and I will be the first one to say good riddance. And take all the nuttos with you.
If this actually comes to pass – then the NEW PARTY – will have to have a stated PLATFORM, void of anti-gay, anti-abortion, anti-anti – if you get my gist.
The New Party must have a platform that is presented in a POSITIVE LIGHT. The Republicans have allowed themselves to be painted into the corner as the “Party of No.” And they are doing absolutely nothing to rectify that picture.
Please bear in mind, PERCEPTION IS REALITY.
“OH, NO! ANYWHERE BUT THE BRIAR PATCH!”
Yes, I still remember my favorite uncle reading to my sister and me out of the “Song of the South” book about Uncle Remus telling how Brer Rabblit tricked Brer Fox into throwing him in the Briar Patch.
And that is exactly what the Democrats are pulling on the moribund GOP. They are permitting the Republican to sink themselves, simply letting them talk.
Karl Rove is a bumbling idiot. A short, little, fat guy who was beaten up by a girl when he was a young boy – and still has not gotten over that traumatic experience.
He, along with the rest of the GOP, are playing right into Brer Rabbit’s plea. The GOP will probably send in a duo, so maligned to the “main-stream” of America, that they will force more people to vote for Obama, rather than go for a “far-right” ticket, presented, yet again, by the GOP.
Anything that reeks of hate, negative campaigning, anti-gay/abortion, yelling “family values” will go down in blazing defeat.
And the Democrats are quietly rubbing their hands together – yet again – waiting for the Evangelical Element to start their well-worn rhetoric that nobody wants to hear anymore.
And PLEASE, bear in mind, the right-wing of the GOP STILL has the power to NOMINATE the candidate of the Republican Party.
But in the General Election, that right-wing group of miscreants only make up a small minority of the Main-stream of America.
It is up to WE THE PEOPLE to make sure that does not happen.
My only underlying HOPE is that there still is a SILENT MAJORITY, lurking in the shadows, that reawakens before all is lost – forever.
LAST PREDICTION
Many of my well-meaning friends have quietly asked me to “quit making predictions” because it does not sound good. Something along the lines that “I think I know it all.” But it seems somewhat amusing to me that they would say such a thing – because most of my predictions have turned out to be correct. Not all, mind you, but most.
I predicted this before – and so far I have been completely wrong. But here I go again.
Hillary Clinton is STILL waiting in the wings. Witness what Bill Clinton just pulled a few days ago on Obama. And if my conversation with Ernesto Patriota last night holds any bearing on reality, my friend just might have a point.
What follows is a brief rehash of our three martini discussion out by our condo pool:
“Hey, Larry, what about Hillary? You said a long time ago that she would run. Looks like you were wrong on that one.”
“I guess so.”
Ernesto took another sip of his extra dry martini, then waxed philosophical. “But what if you were right. What if she was just waiting to see how badly the Republicans blow it this time. What if she was just holding off to see who they nominate? Then jump in and throw the whole works into a real fight. Wouldn’t that be great?”
Ernesto, a recovering liberal, then added, “If that happened, I think I would vote for her.”
Without thinking, I blurted, “Me, too.”
Ernesto gave me a startled look and then said, “Do you really mean that?”
I just grinned.
Until next time. Best wishes and keep thinking positive.
Only 504 more days until November 6, 2012. Hope FOR Change!
Lawrence Klepinger
Editor/Publisher
THE AMERICAN TELEGRAPH
Jacy Says:
I agree, Mitt Romney is another disaster: i.e. Bob Dole and John McAmnesty. The GOP in their infinite wisdom is reporting Mitt ahead in the polls which I serioiusly doubt. I have read many conservative blogs and Romney’s populariry is extremely low as is Newt ( I think his campaign is over) and Pawlenty. Until the GOP recognizes the Tea Party and they get out of the way of candidates insread of telling us who to vote for, you are right – The Republican party will be lost. It is time to take the gloves off and fight and we need a candidate who is a fighter, no holes barred. No more passive crossing the isle or compromises. People seem to be energized over Herman Cain, Allen West (if he decides to run) Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachman.
The GOP, Karl Rove and Dick Morris turned me off when they blantantly say she or he cannot win. Karl Rove killed Christine O’Donnells chance the nighrt of her primaey win; the GOP didn’r help Sharron Angle or Joe Miller and they threw Sarah under the bus during her VP run and still do.
Let us make up our own minds.
You mighr check the e-mail I sent you on the history and current activities of George Soros by Steve Kroff of 60 minutes – it should send everyone out there on the campaign trail – writing and calling congress etc….American will be no more if Obama, a Soros pupper, is re-elected in 2012.
June 25th, 2011 at 11:07 amBarry Stieb II Says:
I really believe they are in it together! The upper “republicans” want Obama as much as the upper “democrats.” What they are doing is keeping the right people in power. It’s not about we the people and it hasn’t been for a LONG time. I will vote for the guy getting to the root of the problem….money. Audit, or better yet ABOLISH, the Federal Reserve!!
June 25th, 2011 at 12:45 pmDavid Klepinger Says:
Yep, Karl Rove is a real putz, that’s for sure! I know for a fact that he single-handedly put the kibosh on the FairTax, simply because too many of us volunteers were trying to tell him and GWB what to do. The very nerve of us telling those whose salary WE pay what to do! At least Dick Morris is starting to come around with regard to Herman Cain, but the fact is that money will play a big role in this election, as it always does, and times are tough, so people will be more reluctant to pony up with funds on their own. The Dems, however, can confiscate dues from union workers in order to fund their campaigns. That and the fact that the fourth branch of government, the mainstream media, will provide plenty of free advertising for their Dem buddies. It’s really quite a conspiracy when you think about it. That said, I’ve pledged to help Herman Cain both financially and voluntarily. It’s the right thing to do.
June 25th, 2011 at 2:03 pmjoe winstead Says:
Hello Larry-
Ho Hum, here we go again. Brand new Saturday – same old SOS (remember our favorite breakfast in basic training?).
I think you have two options to consider the next time you decide to sit around the pool indulging in adult beverages. (BTW, I hope you didn’t forget the sun block- being out in the California Sun too long can make you wacky- this is a proven fact).
1. Take a sabbatical and come up with some new thoughts and material. Or – much better yet:
2. Grow a pair and finally admit that the Republicans are not the answer, have not been since Ronald Regan, and will never again be the answer.
We don’t need a ‘New Republican’ party. We need to get behind a new organization like the Tea Party or the New Whig Party and run a third party presidential candidate.
‘OH MY GOD’ – if we do that and split the vote Osama will win for sure!
I say “So what”.
America will not get off its lazy ass and change until it absolutely hits rock bottom. Four more years of Obama will guarantee that occurring. It actually may be the best thing to happen to America since the Revolution.
If you are serious about effecting change, you have to start somewhere. It’s a slow process. The first ‘new Republican Party’ lost several elections until they elected their first President- Abraham Lincoln.
June 25th, 2011 at 2:56 pmI say we start now.
John Says:
I usually look to see other comments as I finish your article. Yep, the usual, folks just repeating what you talked about and nothing new to say!! That’s the problem as you stated and asked, when will folks get up and do something, print something of their own voice, use the right they were born with…SPEAK….and then use their constitutional right…FREEDOM TO SPEAK….my prediction, not going to happen.
Why? Not because they won’t, just too darn lazy to get out on the street and do something a little different… I’ll be they don’t even know where and what to do.
Our city council wants to ban selling cigarettes at businesses that are within a few miles of schools. What a bunch of idots!! These are not the problem, why not put the parents at fault if their kids are caught smoking or having cigarettes. Kids will get them the same as they do now; Not becuase they can’t get them within a few miles of the school. How dumb! Punish the business when it is legal to sell them, take away their customers that are legal to buy them. DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM RIGHT AT HOME!!
As for National news, if anyone listened to Obama’s speech about pulling out troops, well it should only take about 2 minutes to tell that story. No it didn’t, it turned into a long, about 15 minutes, of telling us what we should be doing and setting the tone. The tone for campaign. I flashed him on the T.V. with the salute….hahaha! But that was about all I could do at the time.
I bet I could run for city council in this town and win!! Why, because I have my name out in the mind of so many from what I’ve been doing that they would vote for me. But I will not do that. I am doing more good working at school every day (that is volunteering) and helping teachers and the many kids have a fun doing what they do. I’ve spent two years as President of the school Booster Club and taught people more about why this group is there and why people should be registered members that the original folks could tell me when I got involved 6 years ago. Why, becuase they did not want to seek the truth and learn how things work. I’ve got more done in 2 years than the last 9 years the group has been operating.
Okay, who is next!!
June 25th, 2011 at 3:09 pmBrian Says:
I find this guys articles interesting but like many politicians is playing fast and lose with the facts just like those he is complaining of. Particularly the assertion that the government will bail out the post office. Since my former company is in the mail order business that issue I have good knowledge of. The government saddled the Post Office with a huge annual bill to prefund all the government retirements of its workers (yes whether they were exmilitary or from another branch of government–all their retirements have to be funded by the Postal Service alone) which has resulted in a HUGE payment to the government every year for all those non postal retirements. The postal service is solvent!!! except for this mandate by congress (yes congress) that it prefund that huge retirement payment. This year the postal service has said it will NOT make the payment (which will result in the postal service being solvent) but will make its normal payment for its employees. Keep in mind that postal retirement fund is 100% + solvent without the extra congressional mandated payment. For someone to say it is insolvent just shows he does not know what he is talking about like all of the other politicians.
June 26th, 2011 at 5:23 pmSteve Topper Says:
Larry, thanks for another great newsletter. Here’s a thought. What if the popular vote doesn’t really matter anymore? We already know that a national election can be narrowed down to one swing state like Florida or Ohio in previous years. And we know that it is very easy to rig the Diebold electronic voting records as the guy who wrote the software told us so. What if all this “get out the vote” is nothing more than a big charade or merely window dressing to brainwash folks into believing their vote still matters? And of course there’s the issue of the electoral college. What if the popular vote is nothing more than a chimera today?
June 27th, 2011 at 9:08 amTom Cox Says:
This was a BRILLIANT issue of The American Telegraph!! It may be the best one you have written to date Larry!! With this edition I think you have established yourself as one of the most important spokesmen for moderately conservative political independents, one of the fastest growing, most important political movements in America today. I only hope that your blog will shock Americans out of their collective political daze and galvinize them into doing something….anything…to save this country from itself before it is too late. As it is politics in America today is completely dominated by political extremists, far left-wing liberals and extreme right-wing Republicans. They have jerked our country back and forth so much between political extremes that our government has sunk to a new low of dysfunction, weakness, lack of accountability and lack of political vision. One really wonders what it will take to convince Americans to return to the vital, moderate political center that made America the great power it was before being torn asunder and polarized by the social movements of the 1960’s and 1970’s. Things have only gotten worse since then. We need more people like you to lead us out of the political darkness.
June 28th, 2011 at 2:24 amdavid hutton Says:
Sun Tzu wrote:”All war is based on deception.A skilled general must be master of the complementary arts of simulation and dissimulation;
June 28th, 2011 at 12:51 pmwhile creating shapes to confuse and delude the enemy,he conceals his true dispositions and ultimate intent.When capable he feigns
incapacity;when near,he makes it appear that he is far away;when far away that he is near.Moving as intangibly as a ghost in the starlight,he is obscure,inaudible.His primary target is the “mind of the opposing commander”;the victorious situation,a product of his creative imagination.
Sun Tzu realized that an indispensable preliminary to battle was to attack the mind of the enemy……………
So,midst the present confusion of the enemy,Barack Hussein Obama appears to be doing quite well?
Buru-chan Says:
One can never underestimate the enemy! The Republicans need to nominate someone who really fires up the conservative base in a positive manner, and who is willing to call Obama out for his economic and military incompetence. They should stand on principle and not be so focused on Rovian perception politics, because most of those perceptions are distorted by the mainstream media, both before and after being promulgated. Better to go down fighting for the right principles than to try and finesse these issues ala Romney. I agree that he is not the one we need, at least not as currently configured, because he does not strike me as passionate about anything. Moreover, in defending his healthcare stand in MA he showed he had learned nothing from this debacle-government run healthcare, just like government run anything anywhere in the world, is inefficient, rationed, and unpopular, contrary to what the media reports. The only exception is access to basic medical care, which can be provided in the US by increasing provider financial incentives to conduct regular wellness visits, and by removing the enormous burden of government reporting procedures and threat (and related insurance costs) of malpractice insurance. Far to few people see the incredible burden medical providers face in terms of government/insurance regulation and paperwork (50% +of total time), nor know that 90% + of all malpractice claims are filed with no basis in fact by attorneys who understand that most insurance companies would rather settle a bogus claim for a few $100,000 (most of which does NOT go to the aggrieved patient) rather than take the risk of a jury trial conviction (remote as it is). Moving to higher reimbursements for visits, tax deductions for seeing patients that cannot pay, and mandatory arbitration for medical malpractice would revolutionize both doctor and patient satisfaction. I would love to see the GOP go down this road, for example!
July 2nd, 2011 at 5:13 amChris DeRosier Says:
What bothers me is that you refer to democrats as the “enemy”. I am a lifelong democrat, and you are the reason this country hates each other, you sir are not my enemy and I am definitely not yours. In my opinion there is too much hate in this world.
July 8th, 2011 at 6:33 amRobert Says:
“The Democrats have successfully painted the Republicans as “anti-union” and the Republicans have done nothing to counter that image.” Please tell me EXACTLY what they could do to counter that image.It is an image they have earned, so other than lie about being “anti-union”, how will they change the image they are? Second your opinion on the gay rights bill I find humorous. “This was expertly timed – by the re-election committee of Barack Obama”. Yes THEY are the ones that passed the bill. Who passed Proposition 8 in California, November 5th 2008? It must have been the GOP to try and win in the 2008 elections! See how ignorant that sounded. Lastly, lets as Americans hope your predictions for 2012 do not come true. I think it would be horrible that gas being under $3, the housing market bouncing back, the stock market being over 14k and I think you forgot one. God forbid that by 2012 the unemployment rate drop below 5% with that no good Obama being in office and not a good ole boy Republican to take all the well deserved glory!
July 25th, 2011 at 3:53 amRobert Says:
Oh yeah and I almost forgot, (said to the old “olvitine” jingle) Don’t forget to watch your Fox! For yeah they are the truth tellers and all others are liers! They are the the only unbiased news source against the Democrats. Murdoch and his tiny (not anything like a Monopoly Media) company, basicly just slightly larger than a sidewalk news stand for the common folk, can do no evil! Unless you watch every other news source not owned by Murdock.
July 25th, 2011 at 4:01 amRobert Says:
You should change the name of this rag from The American Telegragh to the American Tellalie!
July 25th, 2011 at 4:04 am