Things Heard: e31v3
Thursday, August 28th, 2008 at
9:04 am
- What Joe Carter has been up to.
- The point every liberal misses (iit seems), “Republicans have as much sympathy for people who are sick, poor or troubled as anyone does. Where Republicans and Democrats differ is in their opinions about how best to help such people. Democrats tend to believe in direct government action as a remedy. Republicans tend to believe that government is often part of the problem, and that better remedies are available …”. Amen. [emphasis mine]
- Ayers. Again.
- Why venerate the Mary as Theotokos? A short answer.
- Contra the inner video/dialog.
- Google and geo-thermal energy.
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Regarding Republican sympathies for the marginalized, the Peggy Noonan quote was:
…At Republican conventions they express sympathy for this woman, as they do for those who are entrepreneurial, who start businesses and create jobs and build things. Republicans have, that is, sympathy for taxpayers. But they don’t dwell all that much, or show much expressed sympathy for, the sick mother with the uninsured kids, and the soldier with the shot nerves.
And as such, it is correct. At Republican meetings/conventions, they don’t tend to express sympathy/promote plans to assist the marginalized.
I don’t know that many people genuinely think that Republicans are uncaring monsters. We mostly recognize that Republicans think that private sector approaches are the preferred way of expressing compassion.
Oh, I’m sure that there are some out there who demonize Republicans as the Party that doesn’t care and believe it, just as there are those out there who demonize the Democrats as the Party of Big Spenders or the Party that is Weak on Defense and actually believe those mistruths, too.
But speaking for myself and my community – many of whom have sprung from conservative roots and still in many ways identify with that group – we know that many Republicans are compassionate and support charity work.
But it is true that Republicans tend to distrust and avoid Gov’t solutions for poverty problems. That’s what Noonan said, seems to me.
But, just as Republicans often support BIIIIIG gov’t solutions when it comes to roadways and militaries and corporations, so to, many Dems believe that gov’t has a role in providing for the common welfare. Not blindly, nor endlessly – we don’t trust gov’t that much. But reasonably, within prescribed paramenters that are logical, sure.
If it costs $4x billion to house prisoners and by paying $1x billion for prisoner reform/education programs we can reduce that housing cost to $2x billion, then, yes, we support that sort of gov’t intervention. In truth, both “sides” are trusting in a gov’t solution – those who oppose prisoner reform efforts support the gov’t spending MORE to house prisoners, while those who support prisoner reform efforts support gov’t paying what it costs to ultimately save money.
That to me seems to be the big difference in approaches.