According to focus groups, the GOP’s best argument against President Obama has been that he is weak and ineffective and simply not up to the job. I don’t see how you have that argument against the guy who killed bin Laden and many other Al Qaeda leaders abroad and got health reform passed at home.
As I’ve written, I don’t like Obamacare and would have reformed health care differently, but I also recognize that the GOP has had many opportunities since the end of World War II to get rid of the absurd employer-based model, which we got not because it was a brilliant way to deliver health care, but simply as a way to get around wartime wage and price controls.
Also, if you’re going to argue the incumbent president is weak, you must offer a sharp contrast — a bold, decisive leader who takes strong stands. Mitt is not that guy. His lips may be moving, but he’s not saying anything. If he were a statute, he’d be “void for vagueness.” Aside from his inability to connect with average people, he’s a mealy-mouthed milquetoast.
Embattled Farmers 
Wow, EF. You’ve been laying the smack down of late. : )
I wish I could comment and tell you what I think on some of them, but I can’t afford to be boxed into either a liberal or conservative box. Since I own a small weekly newspaper, I can’t have a political opinion that could lead others to think that I’m either left or right. And really, you can’t talk politics without things being inferred or assumed by whoever you’re talking to.
In truth, I’m a moderate right now, but I have to keep my thoughts to myself and avoid the kind of political conversations I used to enjoy so much. It’s like watching football alone, and not talking to friends about the game afterward. Kind of sucks, frankly, but it is what it is.
I’m just calling them as I see them. The GOP is a very different party from when I worked in the 2008 presidential primary. Are you a “moderate right” now or a “moderate” right now? I think it’s wonderful that you are living out your dream by writing fiction and owning a newspaper. I’ve enjoyed doing this blog for the past 11 months, but there’s no money!
No, not “moderate right,” just a moderate. (Thanks for catching that!)
And you should be able to make a little money doing what you love if you just keep it going and growing. Eventually, you can throw up some ads and as your name grows, even put out some books!
I have a novel sitting quietly in the overhead cupboard to my left as I write this. It’s a love story (but not genre romance), with a heroine inspired by my favorite heroines (Scarlett O’Hara, Natasha Rostov, Fleur Forsyte) that takes place in NYC from 1966 to 2001. It needs another draft, if I could find the energy/courage to open the cupboard.
I actually have some books published. I have ghost written for the politician I worked for.
Girlfriend?! What are you waiting for? If you won’t do it for yourself, do it for your family, for your community (to which you can donate), or to your church or favorite civic organization.
I believe if we’re capable of plowing two acres, but only plow one, then we’re falling short. (I’d almost argue sinning, if I’m honest. To whom much is given, much is required…)
Anyway, let’s go! Let’s yank that thing out and just do a little bit today — even ten minutes.
You’re an awesome writer and you need to make this happen. (Not to mention it was probably no accident you felt like writing it to begin with. If you get cranking on it again, your creativity will skyrocket, and so will your energy and drive!)
Thank you for the encouragement. I feel as if I’m getting closer to peering in the cupboard. You’re right about the ten minutes. I need to stop thinking in terms of revising 500 pages by dinnertime. As a Yankee fan, I should know to take it one pitch at a time.
I just bought your book on Amazon. It doesn’t sound like my thing (I’m a very girlie girl), but I believe we should support our friends, and I should read more widely. If you try not to take a stand in your newspaper, what are the editorials like? You have tremendous guts. If I had found myself in my friend’s basement, I would have immediately gone for the first 9-5 job I could find and given up on my dream, said “It’s not meant to be,” as my Nana would have told me.
Oh, thanks. That’s very kind of you! And actually, I think you’ll like it. There have been several “girlie girls” who’ve read it and liked it! What girl doesn’t like a brave hero who helps a damsel in distress?! : )
And we do take strong stands in our paper, but only on local matters. (There’s no Republican or Democratic way to pave a street, right?)
And thanks for the kind words on having guts. It wasn’t just me. I have one of the toughest Dads a man could have (he fell 38 feet and broke his back about 20 years ago and never complains), and I give huge amounts of credit to both God and the Marine Corps. (Plus, I had employees and investors who were counting on me, not to mention at that point, I was incredibly angry at my ex-wife for what she’d done. I wanted to prove her and a bunch of others wrong.)
Nothing like wanting to prove others’ wrong to provide us with motivation. Another example of God’s sense of humor in dealing with us.