| Associated Press/AP Online |
Challenges will be met, better days are ahead and the nation's leaders will unite for the common good despite sometimes sharp political disagreements, which are the hallmark of a vibrant democracy, McConnell said in the GOP's weekly radio and Internet address Saturday.
"The new year always brings with it renewed hope and a spirit of optimism - qualities that have exemplified our nation and its people from the very start," said McConnell, R-Ky.
He drew a historical parallel, citing the colonial army of 230 years ago winning a great military victory amid the exhaustion of a war in which the colonists were facing impossible odds against the British.
"Powerful forces may be aligned against us ... but when the challenges are greatest, Americans always join ranks," the senator said.
You don't look very convincing Mr. McConnell. I hope you actually believe what you say and can get the other GOPers to follow suit. Wouldn't it be great to have our elected leaders actually working for the good of the people and not just for themselves? We'll all be watching closely Mr. McConnell for the "uniting of our nations leaders".
55 comments:
Is he trying to convince himself or his voters finally got to him and made him realize that obstructionism was not the way to go...lol
I had to look twice at that. After all his lies and manipulation this year?
"Actions speak louder than words."
This phrase was invented because of guys like Mitch.
Obsfucation. Pure and simple. Monday he'll be back to his old, slimeball obstructionist ways. But when he gets called on it he'll say "Whoa. Remember that nice stuff I said about Americans joining ranks?"
These clowns have no honor. They will say whatever is necessary if it benefits them.
RE; ""Powerful forces may be aligned against us "
This is code speak to his base. more naysaying, more innuendos, more name calling, more birther talk, more tea bagging. These insanos are null and void. I do not know why any one gives them any coverage. They have no credibility. Why do the Dems feel that they have to make deals with them. Compromising with insanity, only leads to more insanity.
This good will will last until the first opportunity to filibuster.
"He was drunk."
"This good will will last until the first opportunity to filibuster."
Like when Chris Dodd filibustered regulating Fannie and Freddie or the democrats filibustered Sam Alito,Alberto Gonzalez,Condaleeza Rice,John Roberts or Clarence Thomas.
hey guys, thanks for commenting! The rethugs have alot to prove this year to convince the country they want to work together and not be known as obstructionists. Time will tell!
Judi welcome! I think this is your first comment, am I right? I remember looking at your non-picture on my followers list and not knowing who you were!
Hope you come by and comment again!
The rhetoric sounds good, but absent an expressed intent to stop doing what they've been doing (standing rock-solid against whatever the elected majority is trying to do -- remember that not one Republican voted for the health bill in either house!), I doubt it means anything. Tom is right -- past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior.
They won't even let the appointed TSA head take office -- and they accuse Obama of not taking the war with jihadism seriously.
Over the next few weeks Congress is supposedly going to be working on a jobs bill. Watch whether the Republicans come to the table of just stonewall again.
You are right Infidel. It's a wait and see I guess. I'll be watching this year, as will the whole country, to see how fair the GOP plays.
Unfortunatly,political affiliation does not matter,the greed and selfservitude on both sides ensures that the middleclass will not be served by our elected officials.
Obstructionism is par for the course, Annette, in Washington.Both parties use it as a way to deflect attention away from their time spent pandering to the lobbyists(behind closed doors)while becoming millionairs at the middleclasses expense.
Bud you are correct and we all believe that, but we also believe dems are the lesser evil. The obstruction and down-right hatred for this president has brought out the most evil party of NO we have seen in a long time in Washington. The GOP has rendered themselves irrelevent and it's their own doing. Will the GOP wake up this year and lend a hand in helping our country get back on her feet??
Sorry sue,I disagree about your beloved democrats,it wasn't that long ago that they were in the same position as the repubs are now.
They aren't going to hold their majority for long though,they have to many loose screws with the likes of Pulosi and Reed.not to mention the likes of dead man walking Kerry,LOL
LOL, don't talk about my beloved Kerry, you know how I feel about him!
Hey guys welcome my brother Bud, he's the one I was talking about in the "relatives" post. He came by yesterday to defend himself, you can see what he said there. I told him he should come be our resident conservative voice and we would be polite to him! lol, Stand your ground dems!!!
I'm really praying that Kerry runs for pres in next election,LOL
Welcome Bud! So nice to meet Sue's brother. I'm praying that Sarah Palin runs. ;)
Hi Nancy,glad to be here,although I have my reservations.I told Sue that I'm not happy about the left to right ratio on here,but i'm always up for a good debate.
You know,I wasn't a big fan of Palin,butshe got my attention when she called out Obama on AGW.I'm not sure if she's just posturing,but I was impressed she did that.
I am very passionate in my disbelief in the whole AGW scam,which it is in my opinion.
I think Mr.Infidel has a "point". Let's see what happen's when the "job's" issue is on the plate .... heh,heh,heh,heh,heh ... they will probably propose some kind of move to invest more of employee's paycheck's into the market's for offshore investment's!
Thank You ......
Yo, Bud. Even though I am left-left-left of the kum-by-ya camp fire here. You will find we have more in common than you might think. I am more of an anarchist, socialist. lol Yes you are completely correct. We do exist under a one party rule. And that is a fascist agenda. I have told your sister to listen to you, when it comes to this. [[[[They select so we may elect]]]]. Many of the sheep are coming out of their slumber.
Hey, Bud. Welcome aboard. I love your sister - she's got it right (not your kind of right). Most of us have one or two conservatives on our blog. They're our mascots.
I don't think we've run any off or killed them yet. One thing for sure, we're not contagious. Now, we may have to have you submit to a physical to be sure you're not carrying anything with you. And then we can see if you get the same kind of HC treatment Limbaugh got. ; )
I am pulling your leg. I am very happy to see you here. And please don't be intimidated by us. We are simply quite crazy.
RZ, I told Bud he needs to check out your blog, he would find you do have alot in common. Sometimes I'm even baffled by you calling yourself a leftie!
Thanks Leslie, you are a hoot!
RC, I wouldn't put it past 'em! We'll soon see!
You see that is the problem. This country can no longer govern. The infighting agenda of the [right] and the [left] has prevailed. Mean time the country is in ruins. Nothing, absolutely nothing will get done as long as this continues.
The so called left of today are nothing but a bunch of compromising, spineless, cave in, self serving politicians. They are complicit, because all they care about is getting re-elected. If we had a true left leaning congress, and a true progressive president, things would be different. Instead all we get is the same old same oil mentality. Shame on the Democratic party for abandoning their principals.
His confidence means a lot to the 19 year old kid with no legs.
Bacon, this country does not talk enough about the returning injured soldiers, those with blown off limbs, horrific burns, not to mention mental issues, its a sad sad time in our history!
McConnell forgot to mention the lowest unemployment rate in several years...came out the same day as his statement...coincidence? Ignorance? A blind eye? Naaah...politics. It's ALLLL politics with these guys. So glad you highlighted this idiot. I will believe he is for hope and optimism when he stops blocking everything that would be of any benefit to my family and the rest of the working folks in this nation!
Thanks for making sure these hypocritical remarks got their fair airing in the daylight!
Bud, your sis ROCKS! One of my favorite voices of reason in the political intertubes! How did the tow of you find such different political philosophies in life? Coming from a family of Yellow Dog Dems, i am curious...welcome, and as long as you don't mind a good debate, you'll have a pretty durn good time around these parts - your sis' blog is much more, well, how to say this...polite? Tactful. Yeah, that's it, far more tactful than mine!
Seriously, I'd love to hear how the two of you wound up at opposing ends of the spectrum. What are your thoughts?
Great post as usual, Girlfriend. And you brought out many terrific comments as well! Nice work!
Filibusters didn't happen in any of the cases as all-knowing Lisa claimed. Not Dodd, Alito, Gonzales, Rice, Roberts or Thomas.
Hm, Lisa, you lost 6 out of 6. That means you scored a big fat zero. There were some threats of filibusters but they didn't happen.
Where'd you go to school? I don't want my grand kids anywhere near the place.
Sue:
Read the 28 comments, and I welcome your brother Bud to the discussion. (Sometimes, it becomes a DEE-SCUSS-SHUN.)
Thanks, Leslie, for pointing out Lisa’s goofy errors.
Bud, although it was published in 2001 and doesn’t include the last decade of politics, I recommend a little book I know you will enjoy: humor columnist Dave Barry’s “Hitting Below the Beltway.” (I got the book on tape as a Christmas gift.) Barry very much agrees with you, I believe, and is equally critical of both parties. You will laugh your butt off at his humor as he reveals that the “government” is a self-fedding monster that cannot be stopped by any well-meaning politician. Hmmm. I believe I learned that in “Public Admininstration” in college.
Mitch is only appealing to those salt-of-the-earth good souls who do exist within the Republican ranks. He does so in the same spirit that the GOP uses when soliciting their votes with the “God, gays and guns” rehetoric. Thw worst sort of hypocrisy!
Finally, I mentioned in an earlier comment that the same political tension exists between my son and me. Don’t let it divide you two siblings!
BJ
MommaP my side of the story is this... We were raised(all 6 kids) in a conservative Bible oriented home. My dad searched for the truth, the right church, but I don't know if he ever found it because he died alone from us in Florida after leaving my mom. He was strict and made sure we had our Bible study, he was also very distant. He started preaching to us about "end times" when I was 11 and I'm 54 and still here! Bud is like my dad in his searching because they had similar childhoods. Bud and dad were always at each others throats, Bud was never good enough. But oddly, even tho my dad was very conservative in how he raised us, my parents were democrats. They were poor working class, struggled terribly to raise 6 kids. I guess I can't explain the difference between Bud and myself except I'm a true blue progressive who believes our party is the party of the people for the people. And Bud wants to devote his time and energy towards God. Bud is the only repub voice in our family even tho my mom shares her deep belief in God and the Bible, she is like me, a true democrat.
I don't think my jumbled writing makde any sense at all, maybe Bud will be by later to give his side!
Thanks for the kind words MommaP, I love being here amongst friends and I appreciate all of you!!
Thanks Leslie and BJ!
Our differences will not come between our love of family. But Bud's new to his "found religion" and hope he lightens up a bit so we can have some fun and laughs! I think he likes it here and who knows, maybe he'll become a blogger from the "other side"!!
Good morning all.Just read Sues oratory on the livingston familys history(We could write a best selling book on it Sue,lol).
Much of what she said is true.My father struggled with his journey with God,but I am soooooo thankfull that he tried.You see,he instilled in me the groundwork for my future.I've always believed in God but it was my sinful nature the guided me through life up until April of last year when my blood pressure went through the roof and I was close to having a stroke!
God has ways of opening our eyes,and he opened mine.I put my life in his hands that week and have since lost 25 lbs.Totally quit drinking and smoking and now have the most blessed life.
I wish all who do not have jesus in their life could experience the TOTAL love,peace,comfort and joy that he provides when we totally commit our lives to him.
I have so much to say and will end this for now,my hope is that we can all be kind to each other and please listen to one another with respect and dignity.And respect others beliefs.
I've always heard it be told that when a person first "finds God" or converts to a different religion (i.e., protestant to R.C.), they tend to go overboard. I urge you to balance things a bit by reading Frank Schaeffer - among many others. This is not an effort to discourage you but to keeps things in perspective.
Bud, I was diagnosed with high blood pressure too, but did not feel the need to abandon my dem president and start watching Glenn Beck! LOL
Thats what I find strange. We do believe in God, our parents raised us to be moral, kind, have empathy, etc. But I feel like I have a normal life, I try to be a good person and believe that I am, so I believe God doesn't want us to stop living just because we "find Him". You trusted Obama, you believed in his agenda, and then suddenly you turn your back and call him a socialist. It's ALL because of your Fox news viewing, admit it! Those idiots are hypnotising you, they are a cult, you are living proof!
Leslie,I have things in perspective,believe me when I tell you this.You see I didn't"convert"from one religion to another.I converted from living for worldly things,not God.I DO NOT need to rely on a book from a Man.I have GODS WORD,and thats what my life is now.The problem with the world is we don't rely on OUR CREATOR but on ourselves.And we can't sustain ourselves without God.
No sue,you don't just accept God and then live how you please.You need to read the bible.it's all there on how we are to live.it's a total commitment.
When your living for Christ your transformed and have his spirit in you,your no longer living for worldly things.
Sue, you might want to check out the comments to 'They Actually Think They’re Entitled!', yesterday's top post at my place. Someone was talking about you.
Lisa, they were all filibustered for good reason. The GOP had more than doubled the previous record for filibiusters, because they are trying to sabotage the Senate.
the Bible also says "eat, drink, and be merry". You don't have to walk around with a Bible in your hand and wear a badge that says "I'm a believer". Those who are true believer don't quote the Bible with every breath they take. Slow down Bud!
Tom, I read it! LOL
Thats not the first time someone has inserted my name into a thread where I wasn't even present! damn I'm popular! lol
Sue,your not hearing what i'm saying.I don't want to debate this on here.i'd rather talk to you personally.
And for goodness sakes,God did not say eat drink and be merry,lol
I have too many fundamentalist relatives to discuss religion. It goes nowhere. Well, since we discuss politics already, maybe we should turn to sex.
Bud: Totally quit drinking and smoking
This is very admirable -- you've accomplished something which is enormously difficult and which many highly capable people find they're unable to do.
But whether you know it or not, you did it yourself. Whatever supernatural forces you believe helped you, they were in your own head. It was all you.
I second Leslie Parsley's recommendation about reading Frank Schaeffer, particularly his book Crazy for God. His father was one of the founders of what is now the Christian Right, and he had an insider's view of the movement and many of its leaders. Schaeffer, by the way, is a Christian, although he has left fundamentalism.
To me, as an atheist, the book was quite enlightening about Christian thinking.
Bud I think the Bible does say eat drink and be merry, LOL. Maybe it wasn't God who said it, maybe it was Adam and Eve :-)
Eat drink and be merry
Origin
From the Bible, Ecclesiastes VIII 15 (King James Version):
To eat, and to drink, and to be merry
thanks Infidel but Bud claims to only read the Bible, nothing else. I find that sad and not very enlightening.
Bud don't you realize God works through man to spread the truth? He works through Drs. to heal the sick so why don't you believe he wants you to listen to man when it comes to expanding your mind?
Hi Bud!
My name is Tom. Click on my name and visit my blog sometime.
It is not at all unusual for siblings to have totally different political, religious, or any other beliefs. I have 7 siblings and the range of beliefs are great, given that we were brought up by the same parents.
My parents were both believers in God, especially my mother. My parents were political opposites.
I do not believe in God. I do not believe it is necessary to believe in God to save oneself, or save humanity.
I do not believe it is necessary to believe in God to lead a moral, good life. The God path is not the only path to better oneself, or humanity.
Your last comment ended with, "And respect others beliefs." I agree 100%.
I find little respect for others beliefs within society, and especially within the beliefs of religion and the Churches.
It is proper to have commitment and follow the beliefs of ones religion, but that automatically forces a religious follower to not respect the beliefs of others, or go against the stated positions of their religion and their Church.
God seems to have more of an open mind, than the Churches and leaders of those Churches. If you are a follower of God, then follow God, not those who appoint themselves as interpreters of God's word.
Jesus did not bother with politics, and using God to direct the politics of a nation free for all, disrespects the citizens who have different religious beliefs, or no religious beliefs at all.
thanks Infidel but Bud claims to only read the Bible, nothing else.
He's reading this blog and its comments. That's a start.
If he can read a blog, he should by the same principle be willing to read a book -- which, like a blog, is an explication of the viewpoint of an individual mind, but in a more coherent and organized way.
Refusal to read anything except what one already agrees with is limiting and suggests a fear of being convinced. I read conservative sites. I've read the Koran, Mein Kampf, and large parts of the Bible. I was not convinced by them, but they enabled me to understand elements of the mentality of people who believe in them. Why constrict one's knowledge?
Bud I really want to talk politics, not religion. Why did we get so deep into religion anyway!? You are here as a conservative voice and I am the liberal voice, lets leave it at that, OK
Unfortunately the fusion of fundamentalist religion with politics is an integral part of what conservatism has become these days. The latter can't be intelligibly discussed without reference to the former.
Actually, I'm a commie, pinko hippie who eats and drinks politics. Yea, let's get back to McConnell. Actually, I think you could fit all Republicans into a boilerplate. I just keep hoping that a group might get together secretly to discuss how they can keep their party from "cratering."
My grandpa once told me that "only inmates and prostitutes need religion and the rest of us should just enjoy life as it comes - correcting our mistakes and loving the shit out of everything else."
He traveled the world three times, ate, drank, smoked and was merry. He died with a smile on his face at the age of 102. True story.
Hi Bud,
welcome.Once I began commenting here the average IQ dropped so maybe you can help raise it !
I don’t know whether I’ve stumbled into a chat room, a family counseling session or a tent revival!
Up front, I’m Christian, so that’s my perspective, but I absolutely love Linda’s comment about her grandpa. He died with a smile on his face, because he got it – life is here to live!
A couple of years ago I had a visit from a nephew who spent his entire time with me talking about God and church. I told him that God did not expect him NOT to enjoy the life given to him. His reply was, “I did the ‘me’ trip; now I’m doing the Jesus trip.” Later, when I happened to mention, in an unrelated discussion, the essay, “How to Detect Propaganda” (linked in my blog sidebar under “brain food”), he showed his royal ass, left in a huff and in the process cost my older sister and me a much-needed visit. I’m just saying …
OK, all my atheist friends here, bear with me while I say to Bud: Jesus came so you might live “life more abundantly.” If you followed in his footsteps you would love the unloved and associate with prostitutes and tax collectors. Further, Jesus was a revolutionary, and his teachings are liberal.
Still, I respect what you think best defines your own life, just as I respect what the atheists here say defines theirs.
I do agree with your sis that perhaps it’s best to stay on point and discuss the current post. I-753 is correct that any political discussion with fundamentalists includes religion. (There’s no distinction there from fundamentalists of any religion!) That’s precisely why one of the cornerstones of this nation is “separation of church and state,” which I wholeheartedly support.
Best, BJ
I love your comment BJ, one clarification tho, Nancy is the friend with the happy grandpa, not Linda. Where is Linda anyway??
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