In the political comedy "Dave," the president suffers a stroke and is in a vegetative state. Those who the president put into positions of power fear losing that power if the vice president took over. They find a look-a-like to pretend to be him. They make sure that the vice president is sent on good will tours of Africa. The vice president is sent away to get him out of the way. This brings us to Hilary Clinton.
Hilary Clinton appeared to be the heir apparent. She seemed to be the democratic nominee in waiting in 2008. Out of nowhere Barack Obama, capitalizing on those who wanted change from the Clinton years as well as the Bush years. Even though she lost the nomination, she still got a lot of votes. It was one of the closest primaries ever. Many thought that he would have to make her his VP. When he bypassed Hilary for VP, many thought he would have to put her in the cabinet.
When Obama won, many thought she'd be Secretary of State. Many thought that Obama would follow the old adage, "Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer." If she were a US senator, she'd be free to speak her mind and could be a nuisance to the president. As Secretary of State, she would not be free to voice opposition. And if she did, she would be replaced. Why would she take this post? She never wanted to be a US Senator. It was to get more visibility. It would appear she was burying the hatchet with Obama.
Remembering the movie Dave, I predicted that Hilary would be going on a lot of goodwill tours in Africa. I predicted that we would never see her. I could not have predicted how right I was. Hilary has been on several tours all around the world. Special envoys who are usually appointed by the Secretary of State have instead been appointed by the president. Most foreign policy decisions have come from the president. If she did not go on all these visits, she would probably have nothing to do.
There is a danger of this back-firing. In the movie, the look-a-like turned on the power brokers and he reigned in the corruption. Could Hilary challenge Obama for the nomination? Think it can't happen? In Indonesia, the foreign minister ran a against the incumbent and won. Obama's quest for control could be his undoing. I'm not saying she will run. This is a big risk. But her ratings are up. She is more popular than President Obama. She still has a strong support base with democrats and independents. President Obama should think twice about sidelining her too much.
Rating the Talk Show Host
Rush Limbaugh
The man who started it all. Rush never went to college and failed many things before making it big in talk radio. He became the voice of opposition in the Clinton administration. When George W. Bush took over, he found it difficult to be independent and still be liked by the administration and Republicans. He started off criticizing Bush when he disagreed with him but found it threatened his ratings so he stopped. He believes in a free market. He is pro life, but opposes single issue voters. He believes in the war on terror and is a supporter of the government industrial complex.
Savage Name
Hush Bimbo, or the Golfer
My Rating
He started off amazing, but he allowed the Bush machine to crush him and he became a mouth piece. He did start the talk radio trend, however.
Sean Hannity
He started off as a fill-in for Rush. He became a co-anchor of Hannity and Colmes and got his own syndicated talk show in 2002. He is very supportive of the free market and opposes all regulations on businesses. He opposes any changes to lifestyle to protect the environment. He was way too close to president Bush. He reflected many of Bushes talking points during his administration.
Savage Name
Wall Banger, Pawn Vannity
My Rating
Many times, he is not original, but regurgitates topics from Rush's show.
Michale Savage
He is an independent conservative. He has done it all. On his show, he talks about everything from politics to health, nutrition, science, religion, even spaghetti. He has equally criticized Clinton Bush, and Obama. He believes in God but also believes in evolution. He does value the Bible and reads it on air.
My Rating
He is my favorite of all the talk show hosts.
Laura Ingraham
Former clerk for Clarence Thomas, she was a host on MSNBC. In addition to her radio talk show, she is also a Fox News contributor. Like Hannity, she is very close to the Republican establishment. She has criticized Bush, especially on immigration.
My Rating
Pretty average.
Glenn Beck
Host of a radio show and just started a show on Fox News. He is a Mormon, but does not talk about it much. He was a republican, but has left the party. He was disgusted by the massive spending during the Bush administration. He has been known to cry on the air.He is trying to start an independent movement.
Savage Name
Hemorrhoid with Ears
My Rating
At times, he seems almost plastic. Savage accuses him of trying to be him. I do enjoy him however.
Rusty Humphries
Began as a Savage fill-in, he was once an independent conservative, but has become very close to the Republican party. His views have become very close to Hannity.
My Rating
I liked him much better when he was independent. Now he is way too close to the Republican establishment for my comfort.
Mike Gallagher
Gallagher is in the top ten of talk show hosts. He is kind of a run-of-the-mill talk show host. He is a republican and supports the republican party.
My Rating
Not great, not bad.
Niel Bortz
He is a member of the libertarian party. He will not discuss abortion. Once in a while he will, but when he does, he makes it clear that he supports abortion. He believes men who oppose abortion do so because they can't stand the thought of a woman controlling her own reproduction. He has made several disparaging comments about women over the air. He supports the fair tax as an alternative to the income tax.
My Rating
I usually support him, but don't like his libertarian views.
Mark Levin
The talk show host with a thick New York accent, which may or may not be real. He recently wrote the book Freedom and Tyranny, which Rush has called a modern day conservative manifesto. He is good friends with Sean Hannity. He often engages in bathroom humor. His styles and views are almost identical to Hannity.
My Rating
If you listen to Hannity, you don't really need to listen to Levin.
The man who started it all. Rush never went to college and failed many things before making it big in talk radio. He became the voice of opposition in the Clinton administration. When George W. Bush took over, he found it difficult to be independent and still be liked by the administration and Republicans. He started off criticizing Bush when he disagreed with him but found it threatened his ratings so he stopped. He believes in a free market. He is pro life, but opposes single issue voters. He believes in the war on terror and is a supporter of the government industrial complex.
Savage Name
Hush Bimbo, or the Golfer
My Rating
He started off amazing, but he allowed the Bush machine to crush him and he became a mouth piece. He did start the talk radio trend, however.
Sean Hannity
He started off as a fill-in for Rush. He became a co-anchor of Hannity and Colmes and got his own syndicated talk show in 2002. He is very supportive of the free market and opposes all regulations on businesses. He opposes any changes to lifestyle to protect the environment. He was way too close to president Bush. He reflected many of Bushes talking points during his administration.
Savage Name
Wall Banger, Pawn Vannity
My Rating
Many times, he is not original, but regurgitates topics from Rush's show.
Michale Savage
He is an independent conservative. He has done it all. On his show, he talks about everything from politics to health, nutrition, science, religion, even spaghetti. He has equally criticized Clinton Bush, and Obama. He believes in God but also believes in evolution. He does value the Bible and reads it on air.
My Rating
He is my favorite of all the talk show hosts.
Laura Ingraham
Former clerk for Clarence Thomas, she was a host on MSNBC. In addition to her radio talk show, she is also a Fox News contributor. Like Hannity, she is very close to the Republican establishment. She has criticized Bush, especially on immigration.
My Rating
Pretty average.
Glenn Beck
Host of a radio show and just started a show on Fox News. He is a Mormon, but does not talk about it much. He was a republican, but has left the party. He was disgusted by the massive spending during the Bush administration. He has been known to cry on the air.He is trying to start an independent movement.
Savage Name
Hemorrhoid with Ears
My Rating
At times, he seems almost plastic. Savage accuses him of trying to be him. I do enjoy him however.
Rusty Humphries
Began as a Savage fill-in, he was once an independent conservative, but has become very close to the Republican party. His views have become very close to Hannity.
My Rating
I liked him much better when he was independent. Now he is way too close to the Republican establishment for my comfort.
Mike Gallagher
Gallagher is in the top ten of talk show hosts. He is kind of a run-of-the-mill talk show host. He is a republican and supports the republican party.
My Rating
Not great, not bad.
Niel Bortz
He is a member of the libertarian party. He will not discuss abortion. Once in a while he will, but when he does, he makes it clear that he supports abortion. He believes men who oppose abortion do so because they can't stand the thought of a woman controlling her own reproduction. He has made several disparaging comments about women over the air. He supports the fair tax as an alternative to the income tax.
My Rating
I usually support him, but don't like his libertarian views.
Mark Levin
The talk show host with a thick New York accent, which may or may not be real. He recently wrote the book Freedom and Tyranny, which Rush has called a modern day conservative manifesto. He is good friends with Sean Hannity. He often engages in bathroom humor. His styles and views are almost identical to Hannity.
My Rating
If you listen to Hannity, you don't really need to listen to Levin.
Types of Political Parties and Philosophies
Republican Party
The republican party is a center right part. It is an alliance of conservatives (faith, family and constitution), evangelicals (faith voters), fiscal (social moderate), libertarians, neo-conservatives (pro business, pro American imperialism), and moderate to liberal.
A Brief History
They began as an anti-slavery party. From 1861 to 1912, they were the dominant party. They were a pro business party in the 1920s. They were an anti-war party in the 1940's. In the 1960's, they became a conservative party. In the 1980's they became an evangelical conservative party. In the 2000's their big issue was national defense.
Views
Mostly pro gun, pro life, pro family, pro strong defense, pro unfettered freedom for businesses, extreme capitalism, believe in US influence over the world, low taxes.
Democratic Party
Center left (heading towards extreme left), it is an alliance of liberal (government out of the bedroom), progressive (government is the answer to all of life's woes), blue dogs (fiscal conservatives), new democrats (center) and libertarians.
Brief history
This party dates back to Jefferson. The party was started to oppose the federal system. Jackson transformed it into the common man's party. Before the civil war, it was a southern pro slavery party. They were pacifists during the civil war. They were a progressive reform party from the 1800's until Wilson. It was a socialist party under FDR. During the Vietnam war, it morphed into an anti war party. Clinton modernized it as more centrist. Obama appears to be bringing it back to FDR.
Libertarian Party
The libertarian party believes less government is best government. They believe government stifles success. They have a live and let live philosophy. They believe in the Monroe doctrine of not being involved in European affairs. Wars should be authorized by declaration of war, not by use of force declarations by congress. They support legalization of drugs. There is no clear consensus on abortion.
Constitution Party
The third largest party by population, it is a Christian reconstructionist party (they want the ten commandments to rule the land). They believe freedom comes from God. Their views on war are similar to the libertarians.
The Green Party
They are the extreme left wing. They believe that government regulations are the only way to save the planet from global warming. They believe government must regulate consumer products to make sure they're safe. They believe in regulation of work environments as well. They oppose the World Trade Organization and NAFTA.
Philosophy
Conservative
Conservatives believe in following the constitution as the law of the land. They believe in traditional values. They do not believe that separation of church and state means that people of faith cannot participate in the political process. They believe in a strong national defense. They believe that the right to carry weapons guarantees freedom. They believe high taxes stifle prosperity.
Liberal
They believe government should be kept out of the bedroom. They believe anything goes. Morality cannot be legislated, so gays should not be discriminated against.
Progressives
They believe that government is the answer to every problem. They believe governments must right every wrong. Many progressives are anti-war.
Libertarian
They believe that people can do whatever they want unless it hurts someone else. They believe laws should only be passed to keep pother people form being hurt. They believe drugs, homosexuality and prostitution does not hurt others, so they should be decriminalized.
Social Conservative
They believe in faith, family and the constitution. Unlike evangelicals, they tend to be Catholic. Usually, they are united with the evangelicals, but they disagreed over Mike Huckabee.
The republican party is a center right part. It is an alliance of conservatives (faith, family and constitution), evangelicals (faith voters), fiscal (social moderate), libertarians, neo-conservatives (pro business, pro American imperialism), and moderate to liberal.
A Brief History
They began as an anti-slavery party. From 1861 to 1912, they were the dominant party. They were a pro business party in the 1920s. They were an anti-war party in the 1940's. In the 1960's, they became a conservative party. In the 1980's they became an evangelical conservative party. In the 2000's their big issue was national defense.
Views
Mostly pro gun, pro life, pro family, pro strong defense, pro unfettered freedom for businesses, extreme capitalism, believe in US influence over the world, low taxes.
Democratic Party
Center left (heading towards extreme left), it is an alliance of liberal (government out of the bedroom), progressive (government is the answer to all of life's woes), blue dogs (fiscal conservatives), new democrats (center) and libertarians.
Brief history
This party dates back to Jefferson. The party was started to oppose the federal system. Jackson transformed it into the common man's party. Before the civil war, it was a southern pro slavery party. They were pacifists during the civil war. They were a progressive reform party from the 1800's until Wilson. It was a socialist party under FDR. During the Vietnam war, it morphed into an anti war party. Clinton modernized it as more centrist. Obama appears to be bringing it back to FDR.
Libertarian Party
The libertarian party believes less government is best government. They believe government stifles success. They have a live and let live philosophy. They believe in the Monroe doctrine of not being involved in European affairs. Wars should be authorized by declaration of war, not by use of force declarations by congress. They support legalization of drugs. There is no clear consensus on abortion.
Constitution Party
The third largest party by population, it is a Christian reconstructionist party (they want the ten commandments to rule the land). They believe freedom comes from God. Their views on war are similar to the libertarians.
The Green Party
They are the extreme left wing. They believe that government regulations are the only way to save the planet from global warming. They believe government must regulate consumer products to make sure they're safe. They believe in regulation of work environments as well. They oppose the World Trade Organization and NAFTA.
Philosophy
Conservative
Conservatives believe in following the constitution as the law of the land. They believe in traditional values. They do not believe that separation of church and state means that people of faith cannot participate in the political process. They believe in a strong national defense. They believe that the right to carry weapons guarantees freedom. They believe high taxes stifle prosperity.
Liberal
They believe government should be kept out of the bedroom. They believe anything goes. Morality cannot be legislated, so gays should not be discriminated against.
Progressives
They believe that government is the answer to every problem. They believe governments must right every wrong. Many progressives are anti-war.
Libertarian
They believe that people can do whatever they want unless it hurts someone else. They believe laws should only be passed to keep pother people form being hurt. They believe drugs, homosexuality and prostitution does not hurt others, so they should be decriminalized.
Social Conservative
They believe in faith, family and the constitution. Unlike evangelicals, they tend to be Catholic. Usually, they are united with the evangelicals, but they disagreed over Mike Huckabee.
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