Apparently Josh Hawley started a conversation. Then Marco Rubio had a spin with #CommonGoodCapitalism, and then there have been several back and forth discussions from numerous others defending this, that, and the other from a variety of perspectives as they pull out a note or two from each others commentaries.(Note additional reading/viewing suggestions at the end of the posts in the links above.)
Having read numerous articles and tending to side with the concerns of the Libertarian critics of Rubio and Hawley it sounds like the under-50 crowd Republicans are ready to make their move to clean out the over 50-squatters in the GOP and set the tone for a Republican platform that will appeal to the most voters in the coming years, post-Trump.
As someone who has had to endure the lies of the 60’s generation, I feel like I am about to get run over by potentially Misplace Loyalty Millennials now. So go ahead and call me a Boomer, tell me to move over, but do not think for a moment that I won’t fight against all of the up and coming know-it-alls any less than I have been fighting against progressive know-it-alls in both parties with their same old rehashed tales of woe, struggle, and government solutions.
I have spoken with a few politicians who claim they are Fiscally Conservative but…. (yeah, wait for it…)….. they are Socially Moderate.
I wrote in an earlier post about not calling the Capitalist System anything but what it is: Capitalism. It is an amoral system wholly dependent upon those who use it to be filled with integrity. (Sort of like guns don’t kill people. People kill people.)
Cronyism is cronyism and cronyism abuses the Capitalist System. It happens in business and by government intervention.
Miscreants who lie, cheat, steal, and abuse the Capitalist System are not Capitalists. They are what they are, liars, cheaters, thieves and system abusers or basically, anti-capitalists.
So that leads me to Rachel Bovard’s piece, and full disclosure, I am a big fan of hers because she is always willing to #FrameTheDebate and #HaveTheDiscussion.
“But, either intentionally, or through a severe lack of capacity for nuance, [George Will] misses Hawley’s point, which also happens to be a political as well as an economic reality: that even despite broad indicators of wealth, huge swathsof this country still feel economically insecure and displaced, and that a majority of Americans believe a strong economy primarily benefits the rich.”
Huge swaths feel and a majority of Americans believe a strong economy primarily benefits the rich. Well that sounds like they have been raised on the socialist rhetoric of the last 40 years because that is the language of class warfare.
She continues:
“And so visceral is the economic cynicism among millennials (who, by the way, will be the first generation to createless wealththan their parents) that they are turning, in droves, to socialism.”
Are these the same visceral millennial cynics who have been indoctrinated with socialist information for the last 40 years? Are they really turning to socialism or is it merely a core belief system they have embraced under the guise of having been tutored to become Fiscally Conservative but Socially Moderate/Liberals?
And seriously, they are 30 year olds who still have another 20-30 years to create wealth. They are not done yet. How many people have had to work at two or three jobs and go to school to pay their bills into their 40’s in my lifetime? (Boom-boomers.)
Sheesh, I was in my mid-40’s when I could afford my first home, 1245 sq feet and it was a 35 year old home we pretty much gutted and repaired to resell while we lived in it for four years. And we lived on one middle-class income.
Rachel defends Hawley, and I somewhat agree, as:
“doing his best to remind the GOP of what they once prioritized: community bonds, strong families, and an economy that encourages true individual autonomy—not one that just means a bevy of market choices—to flourish.”
But that does not mean I want government to step in and fix things before undoing all they have done to manipulate, regulate, and subjugate people and businesses through various degrees of government control. I do not believe the U.S. Government should establish itself as the new Civil Religion, the top down dispensers of nannyism for life.
So lets flashback to 1998 and see what the problems were then compared to now:
“These three simple questions asked in that order–do you care? are you responsible? and shouldn’t the rich pay their fair share?–have determined political careers for 62 years. These three politically loaded questions have been turning the liberal vision into liberal results for six decades.”
And there you have it. The same questions, now for eight decades. We still have a mess with Medicare/Medicaid, Social Security, and significantly increased tax burdens and those same questions have led us into a socialist/communist movement to control the American People as we have never before seen in my lifetime.
So as the upcoming GOP Millennials hammer out leadership for the coming years, and then within the #CommonGood debates to define issues, I hope discussions will be focused on principles and values that restore family as the fundamental unit of society and end the social programs that keep individuals and businesses from becoming independent while sustaining Government Bureaucrats as middle managers to control the people.
Like Matt Kibbe says:
“When you get past all the acrimony and all the name-calling, the question we are all debating is really quite simple: Do you believe in the freedom of individuals to determine their own futures and solve problems cooperatively working together, or do you believe that a powerful but benevolent government can and should rearrange outcomes and make things better?”― Don’t Hurt People and Don’t Take Their Stuff: A Libertarian Manifesto
In conversing with my Sentinel2Sentinel friends, many of us, Late End Baby Boomers, feel like we have been shafted by the 60’s generation only to now be shafted by the upstart Millennials. They are our bumper generations of #TrophyChildren, the ones who deserve it all at the expense of those around them while they complain about the generations before them, the Fat Cats, for “leaving them behind.”
And they will have their way, after all, they all whine a lot and have a lifetime of experience in demanding they get their wants met.
Look at the who’s who of the generations in Congress. And then really look at the few who truly speak out against the things that run contrary to the 9-12 Principles & Values. Who are the men and women fast tracking themselves up the ranks of the Grand Old Party? Who is behind them? Who is whispering in their ears? What is the philosophy they are peddling?
All this talk about Common Good Capitalism is nothing if it is not founded upon the 9 Principles and 12 Values as defined in the tenants of the 9-12 Project.
So let me suggest you get the book CONSCIOUS CAPITALISM by John Mackey and Raj Sisodia. And let’s start adding to the discussion how the Free Market System, the Capitalist System has equally been abused by Politicians beholden to lobbyists and others who whisper in the Politician’s ear in the guise of “common good.”
Let’s not change the Capitalist System. For it is that system that allows the micro-entrepreneur, who relies on the Free Market Capitalist System to rise up out of poverty, to do so without the heavy hand of bureaucratic opposition. Whether married or single, or divorced, man, woman, or child, it is the Capitalist System that has led many people to pull themselves out of poverty or uplift themselves to a higher earning platform, very often bringing others with them to new levels of personal success.
Let us begin with not calling the Capitalist System anything but what it is: Capitalism.
Cronyism is cronyism and cronyism abuses the Capitalist System.
Common Good is only Common Good if and when it does not abuse the Capitalist System.
Conscious Capitalism, if it is free of government interventions, bailouts, special regulations, and truly operates on the principles of free will without compulsion, and that includes being free of the Cass Sunstein Nudge philosophy, will not abuse the Capitalist System.
When discussing Capitalism, the conversation should be focused on the Principles and Values that define the need for the Capitalist System. After all, the Capitalist System is an amoral system wholly dependant upon those who use it to be filled with integrity. (Sort of like guns don’t kill people. People kill people.)
If Rubio and Hawley really care about the Common Good, then they need to define the problem in terms of those who abuse of the Capitalist System. By exposing the liars, deceivers, and sophists who abuse the Capitalist System they could defy the miscreants by better supporting We, The People in keeping the markets free. Otherwise they are not working at the speed of trust and instead handing out trophies to the who’s who in abusing the Capitalist System.
Please note: It was late last night when I posted Rachel’s piece. I actually fell asleep with my phone in hand prior to finishing posting the thread so did feel a little slighted that Jonathan seemed to unjustly reprimand me. (It is all good. Water off a duck’s back, really. I truly adore him.)
Jonathan talks a lot about free markets, capitalism, and Wall Street. He has an online show about Objective Investing most Saturdays, usually around 10 a.m. Central. There have been a few times when I recall him saying “defend Capitalism” and once, when a viewer pummeled the timeline with contrary opinions, Jonathan responded with, “come on, help me out here [audience].” as he defended his capitalist pig position.
He is right. Defend Capitalism.
In Rachel’s article, I like how she goes through a thought process. Using questions, she addresses the language, the phraseology that is used in the media today. I have heard those terms and phrases used for years but she asks questions and then is clear to state:
Maybe the answer to both these questions is yes, and maybe Hawley’s pursuit of these policy corrections is misguided. But the conversation he is starting is not out of line. Their dismissal of it is.
And it’s to the benefit of everyone on the Right to welcome an honest assessment of the realities in the current marketplace, test whether old assumptions still apply, and either attack or defend them with the intellectual rigor our politics deserve.
The conversation is not out of line. Their dismissal of it is.
I know what Jonathan thinks. He is a follower of Ayn Rand. He promotes Objectivism and as mentioned previously, has his own twist in how he applies her theory to being objective in his investment philosophy, which I find useful as an investment philosophy.
What I love about Jonathan is his expertise in the markets. I love that he generously shares what he has learned, his personal experience with others. He is quick witted. His mind is agile, filled with information and he is, usually, quick on the draw with his encyclopedia-like capitalist pig knowledge.
Like Jonathan and Rachel, I agree that discussions and defense of the free market, true capitalism, must be had to correctly influence those beguiled by the anti-capitalist sophists in American culture today. Influencing the public by answering anti-capitalist questions with better questions and then following up with true, free market principles in the discussion seems a more effective way to educate those within our spheres of influence.
Why not defend Capitalism by acknowledging it is based upon principles that Matt Kibbe so eloquently discusses in Don’t Hurt People and Don’t Take Their Stuff? Could we then better defend Capitalism by acknowledging that Taxpayers are not responsible for corporate or government bailouts? And what would happen if we defend Capitalism by discussing bad practices and correctly labeling criminal behavior as anti-capitalist instead of blaming Wall Street collectively?
Miscreants who lie, cheat, steal, and abuse the Capitalist System are not Capitalists. They are what they are, liars, cheaters, thieves and system abusers or basically, anti-capitalists.
I think in reaching out to the common man and woman, and I include myself in that statement, gentle persuasion, asking questions, and offering suggestions is a more effective way to win friends and influence people. And I say that as a screamer, one who has blood shooting out of her eyes, and my head popping off from having had to listen to the sophistry of socialists and totalitarians and anti-capitalists and watching RINOs for many years.
I have been a fan of Matt Kibbe since he headed up FreedomWorks. In fact I was pleased to attend a fantastic FreedomWorks event in Florida where I got to shake his hand, get a photo, and signed copy of Hostile Takeover. (And I must mention the wonderful Deneen Borrelli from whom I got a signed copy of Blacklash and a photo.)
When FreedomWorks edged out Kibbe I was pretty irritated. He was able to work with Conservative-Libertarians and shake up the alleged conservative establishment to create a movement of the masses that helped reign in government power, only to have the proverbial rug yanked out from under his feet.
So now on to the great news portion of the story. Matt Kibbe moved forward by writing Don’t Hurt People and Don’t Take Their Stuff, another fab book. He has developed his video/podcast program on the BlazeTV titled Kibbe On Liberty. He is a fantastic interviewer of very interesting people sharing ideas.
There is a lot moving on the Not-Yet-Single-PayerProgressive Healthcareagenda this weekend and it seems like the Progressive Republican Leadership (PRL) is full out driving the Sophistry Train.
Speaker Paul Ryan, the new but same as the old John Boehner, claims “the House will stay in session” IF……
So that brings me toTed, Ted, Ted. Don’t make me shake my head. I will give him the benefit of the doubt on this amendment stunt he seems to have pulled BUT…. I remember when Ted said:
Yeah, Ted. Ryan’s claim to stay in session is why, now more than ever, you must press forward on getting what Voters put you into office for in the first place.
And remember the discussion and outcomes from 2013 because McCONnell and Ryan have a history of saying one thing and doing another. Question them with Boldness because…..
Look at the who’s who of the generations in Congress. And then really look at the few who truly speak out against the things that run contrary to the 9-12 Principles & Values. Who are the men and women fast tracking themselves up the ranks of the Grand Old Party? Who is behind them? Who is whispering in their ears? What is the philosophy they are peddling?
Sentinel2Sentinel 