You drive a very hard bargain but I think we still can be friends.kalm wrote: ↑Tue Sep 13, 2022 6:29 amWell again…I agree with a whole bunch of this. It’s a fair bit of neccessary messenger killing.Winterborn wrote: ↑Mon Sep 12, 2022 10:12 am
So are you (the point not point thing).
It is my opinion that one has to be extremely skeptical of anybody claiming to "speak" for "conservatives" (and I put that in quotes as it is most definitely not a cohesive group and there are many players and wannabe players vying for that title). The players are part old guard who are not really conservative but like the statues quo as they know how it works and got rich off it by peddling their influence. Then there are those who who wish to be like the old guard as the route to power is mapped out. Then you have those that are fringe and are so forefront in peoples minds due to the 24/7 'news" coverage of them making them seem larger than life and amplifying every little belief they hold and painting it as a trend in the Republican Party or among conservatives.
All this is propped up by a network of media that both consumes what the above groups produce and funds it as a way of furthering their influence and bottom line. CNN, Fox, etc. do not care about their content outside of the narrative it pushes. None are interested in finding out what actually happened, just one-upping the others.
If you want to know what conservative voters actually think and believe, one needs to ditch the theatrics and pageantry of our media circus, and talk to voters directly to see where they fall. You are going to get a wide variety of answers but common trends will arise. I have done this over the last decade or so and get a good chuckle out of what the paid "experts" state. It is the only way to give a good foundation to understanding exactly what people are thinking and grants a good basis to weed out the ore from the slag that our media pushes. There is a massive disconnect between what shows up on Twitter and other media sites just due to their publication models. One does not become a "story" unless you stick out. Holding pragmatic or middle of the road views (which is tangentially shown in multiple polls and voting results as the majority has shown to reject the extremes) does not sell stories nor drive clicks.
You and I were discussing skepticism and critical thinking a few days back. Both of these ideas need to be expressed and practiced when viewing any media stories. There are many reasons why information is "published", almost none have to do with the facts. Most people are being controlled/influenced by whatever narrative is being pushed by their respective "side" and they do not realize it. It happens to all of us and it requires us to take a step back and look at something objectively before accepting it.
My above advice goes is the same for the Democrats/"liberals". I do not attribute the entire party by what AOC is blabbing about, but realize that the party and voters is much more complex than that. Granted I will still make fun of her and her little group but there are Republicans/"conservatives" that deserve it just as much.
If one is curious about the reaction to a article, put some thought behind a post and pose a question or two rather than just dropping a tweet with no background on it. I ignore twatter for a reason and it is mainly due to the vapid thought process it encourages.
That said, it’s also just opinion rather than news. To completely disregard the take of a leading conservative mind who’s father founded The National Review and who’s run closely in conservative power circles is similar to not recognizing Trump as the leader of the one major Conservative party in American politics.
I’ve never liked Bill Kristol but I agree with him here and I’m honestly hoping that sane conservatives eventually recognize the ‘you broke it, you fix it” responsibility needed and take back their party.
We’re better as a country when we have a vibrant and rational conservative movement. But it’s broken right now and many prominent conservatives agree. There just needs to be more of them and they need to be even more vocal.
Strip away the political bullshit and most Americans agree on the big issues of limited government, human rights, property rights, and economic stability.
Still friends?
The rust from our hobbies is still binding. 
You are correct it is an opinion (just like mine is) and I do not think I stated that it should be ignored, just that it needs to be considered in light of a bunch of other factors. As for his provenance, the saying "A mill cannot grind with water that is past" applies here, IMHO.
I would say cracked, not broken as many of those "prominent conservatives" do not like seeing their power eroded by what they perceive as outsiders who are not beholden to the old guard (This is happening and has been happening in ND for the past 8 years. The State Supreme Court just unanimously tossed a decision to remove a ballot measure that was rejected improperly by the Secretary of State (who is in bed with some lifer/grifters in the State legislators)). Can it be drastically improved? I would agree that it can. Right now we have a changing in the system and some very vocal people are not happy with the change and the media is happy to pick and choose voices to "legitimize". I have experienced this first hand in dealing with the only media in the state (InForum) and the fact that it only reports the viewpoints that are approved by our Governor (the largest owner of property in Fargo and one of the richest individual in the state).
Interestingly enough our media here (in ND) is a microcosm of what I have experienced and seen in our national media. A media that is not independent is good for nobody that is looking for the facts.
