Ideals continued

I got into a dustup with an idealist today at Redstate. Basically, the original premise of the post was about this guy's attempted electoral blackmail if the the Republicans did not do a laundry list by mid-summer. Some examples:

Cut entire federal budget by 25% (NOT A TYPO)
Flatten tax to one rate for all
Take over Middle East (all of it), wipe out radical Islam, and re-educate people
Withdraw from/expel the UN, establish new global security system
Outlaw: affirmative action, abortion, gay marriage, judicial filibuster (nuclear option)

Sigh.

I responded to several posts before deciding I had been trolled. By the way, I suspect Deputy Mayor in another guise....

The summary of my main response was this:

Senate Majority Leader Reid (you want HIM to schedule floor votes?)
Committees:
Judiciary - Chairman Leahy
Appropriations - Chairman Byrd
Armed Services - Chairman Levin
Foreign Relations - Chairman Biden (especially scary)
Small Business/Entrepreneurship - Chairman Kerry (scary and amusing)
Banking/Housing/Urban Affairs - Chairman Sarbanes
Veterans Affairs - Chairman Akaka
Intelligence - Chairman Rockefeller (absolutely shocking given his leaky past)
Health/Ed/Labor/Pensions - Chairman Kennedy (you want this guy running any of these?)
Rules - Chairman Dodd
Environment/Public Works - Chairman Jeffords (watch the "natural habitat" grabs grow)
UPDATE: A reader at Redstate informed that it would actually be Chairman Sanders, the out-and-out Socialist from Vermont....yipppeeee....
Ag/Nutrition/Forestry - Chairman Harkin

Read through the rest of the posts and responses if you wish -- basically I have learned that ideals are for philosophy classes; politics is about getting policies set in order to get things done, and that frequently involves tempering or suspending ideals.

My first election was 1988 -- I proudly voted Libertarian or "none of the above" for every election from 1988 through 1998. Living where I was at that time, I know that my 3rd-party votes did not cost the Republican candidate the Kansas electoral votes, but in a tipover state it might have. My older brother voted for Perot in 1992 and 1996. Again, being in Kansas it didn't really matter, but it was indicative of a larger problem:

Stay-at-homes and 3rd-party or protest voters gave us 8 years of Bill Clinton and the continuance of many Socialist congressional leaders.

Throwing a tantrum and voting out-of-party in the general election harms only your party, helps only the other party, and satisfies no one besides your own ego.

As I have repeatedly said in other posts, vote your conscience in the primary -- get the best originalist conservative in place at that time. When the primary is over, however, you must get behind the Republican (even John McCain) if that is the winner. To stay at home or vote 3rd-party is to vote for the Dem.

Even if a Republican president is in place, a Dem Senate controls which Supreme Court justices get out of committee and onto the floor. A Dem Senate controls spending for defense and the war on terror. A Dem Senate forces crushing environmental restrictions on businesses. A Dem Senate repeals tax breaks and begins raising taxes. A Dem Senate redistributes wealth in the manner of their intellectual mentors Lenin and Trotsky.

Regardless of your level of disgust with Frist and Specter, remember that it will be Reid and Leahy running things if we do not prevail.

It may be voting out of fear, but I don't care. My principles apply to my personal actions. When it comes to determing whether to be ruled by quasi-Socialists or outright Communists, I'll take the quasi-Socialists EVERY TIME.

Work at the primary level for your principles. After that, do your duty.

Please reference the above list for a refresher as necessary.