(07-26-2020 09:17 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(07-26-2020 09:04 AM)Fo Shizzle Wrote:  Classical Liberal for sure.
Evidently you missed my comment on the Left having the more radical moonbats. We are not in disagreement. My point is the the center of both gangs has very little to say in this discussion or are hesitant to do so because of being attacked. We used to have a government that had the ability to find the center and actually get things done. That is thing of the past. We have a horrible lack of statesmanship in Washington today. I blame much of it on entrenched politicians that long ago should have retired..but..Im sure there are other reasons also.

Classical Liberal, otherwise known as Libertarian, here too.

I put a lot of the blame, unfortunately, on the primary process. I say unfortunately because I originally thought it was a good idea--power to the people and all that. But back when the party bosses picked candidates in the proverbial "smoke-filled rooms," their biggest concern was electability so they could keep the spoils coming. Therefore they picked moderate candidates who could attract independent and crossover voters. With the primaries, the power has shifted to the extremists on both sides, who now form the respective "bases."

I pretty much have no use for either base. Moreover, if the result of this process is that we keep whipsawing from one extreme to another, it will become well nigh impossible for anyone to plan for the future. That is going to drive investment--and with it, economic growth--away to the exreme. But the worst part may be what Reagan said, the USA is the last, best hope for freedom and liberty. If we fail, there is nowhere else to go.

I've laid out my approach in detail in prior posts, and have gotten generally favorable responses from different corners of the political spectrum. But I don't see either major party coming close. And that is incredibly frustrating.

You see a lot of far left and far right in Congress because those are the activists in the parties. But in presidential elections where bigger numbers turn out in the primaries, a more centrist candidate generally wins. Goldwater and Reagan are the only true conservatives to win the Republican nomination since WWII, although W. was the relatively more conservative. The leftist sometimes carries the Democratic primaries, but you also get Bidens, Clintons, Gores, Clintons and Carters.

(07-26-2020 11:46 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  If you think about it, the quintessential neocon was probably Harry Truman. Relatively conservative, strong national security democrat. He was good for his time, but maybe not what we need today.

It took Ike to get us out of Korea. Truman fought a war with China without attacking China, the ultimate Vietnamese mistake.

At least Truman was willing to nuke Japan instead of sending a couple hundred thousand GIs to their deaths.