The 2014 Democrat Crack-Up

The trouncing Democrats took in November’s elections has opened fissures between their liberal wing, represented by New York Senator Charles Schumer, and their progressive wing, led by President Barack Obama.

Standing uneasily with a foot in each camp is Hillary Clinton. The tiff concerns Obamacare, and 20 years ago, she authored its forerunner, Hillarycare. Having lost both houses of Congress, the party of government (and Hillary) in 2016 may also lose the Presidency if it lacks a compelling message.

The dust-up presents a “teachable moment”, not only about these sects of left-wing statism but also about their inherent flaws and the superiority of limited-government conservatism as offered by some Republicans.
In a major recent speech, Schumer cast the decline of middle-class incomes as the key political issue for this decade. So, he held, Democrats should have focused their strategies on that problem. Instead, they “blew the opportunity the American people gave them. We took their mandate and put all our focus on the wrong problem: health care reform.”

Schumer adheres to the mid-20th-Century liberal notion that politics and policy are about coalitions and mediation by politicians among interest groups. Liberals do not need a principled theory of the role and limits of government. In fact, not being bound by such restraints is better because it leaves politicians free to take many positions and to wheel and deal. For them, the public interest is only a term they deploy promiscuously, not anything real that would ever constrain their politicking.

Instead, for modern liberals, politics and policy are about naming a set of problems and then, via political horse trading, organizing interest groups defined by those problems into coalitions that command a majority of votes in an election or legislature. Naked majoritarianism. A politics of compromise and even bipartisanship for which principle is not only unnecessary but also inconvenient.

Progressives, however, believe that elite bureaucrats, politicos, planners, experts and academics – that is, they, themselves – will do better at running the world than will individual sovereignty, liberty, the rule of law, free markets and the democratic choices of the people. So, all you little people just leave it to your enlightened betters.

From Schumer’s liberal perspective, the progressives’ over-reach in jamming Obamacare through in 2010 without a single Republican vote is not wrong in principle, but merely a failure to recognize that it actually has only a fairly small real political clientele. In Obama’s progressive view, it was a holy cause, despite its many apparent failures and unpopularity. Today’s progressives are so arrogantly certain history will judge them right on everything that they dismiss apparent failures and unpopularity as reflecting only the ignorance and crassness of people who disagree with them.

Some Republicans moderates and RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) are hardly distinguishable from liberal Democrats. They live on coalition politics and mediation by pols among interest groups, mostly unconstrained by limits on government or by the public interest. Wheeling and dealing – being “players” – are what it’s about, so compromise and bipartisanship are their highest values.

Limited-government conservatives, however, understand their duty to the voters, taxpayers and broad public interest -- a duty to maximize economic growth and promote the real fairness of liberty, of property, contract and individual rights, and the rule of law. They know that redistribution and group rights and responsibilities are perversions of the public interest.

The failures of all Democrat sects were so glaring that voters gave Republicans big victories as an opportunity to do better. If the limited-government conservatives prevail over the moderates, the Republicans may pull us out of the mess we’re in and deserve and win more in the future.

Top Stories

... or see all stories

The Carson Aquatic Facility will be closed on Tuesday, November 5, for Election Day to limit any overcrowding and overparking on the west side of Mills Park.

Legendary Ranconteur Ray Bonneville will make a rare northern Nevada appearance for the acclaimed Roots Music Masters Series in Silver City. The Silver City Preservation Society, Evangeline Presents and Yellow Truck Productions are bringing Juno award winning Americana/blues artist Ray Bonneville to town for a show on Friday, November 15.

The Douglas County School Board has made a number of headlines both regionally and nationally since the 2022 election leading to a new majority taking hold.

In celebration of our 25th Anniversary, and with special thanks to ARMAC CONSTRUCTION, Friends To All participated in the 2024 Nevada Day Parade!

View of Carson Day Balloons from C Hill.

View of Carson Day Balloons from C Hill.

Trick or Treat Downtown at participating businesses!

Member businesses in the Downtown Business Association are hosting their annual Candy Crawl on October 31st. This event is FREE and gives families a safe, fun and centrally-located option for Trick or Treating.

Meet Whitney, a one-year-old pit bull/mastiff mix with a heart as big as her curiosity! This sweet girl found her way to us in October after an adventurous stint of jumping her home's four-foot fence and greeting passersby with enthusiasm. Whitney's full of energy and love, and she's on the lookout for a forever home that can offer her the focus and dedication she needs to blossom.

Travel North Tahoe Nevada partnered with Tahoe-based nonprofit Clean Up The Lake for an extensive cleanup of Marlette Lake last week.

A wintry weather system will bring mountain snow and valley rain Wednesday night into Thursday morning but should clear out in time for Halloween trick or treating in the lower valleys. A second system is expected to bring more mountain snow and valley rain or valley snow chances Friday and Saturday, according to the National Weather Service in Reno.

For 18 years, the Nevada State Museum in Carson City has hosted the annual Dia de Los Muertos celebration in recognition of Latin culture and its contributions to the Silver State.

Carson High School Career and Technical Education HOSA – Future Health Professionals – had several students participate in a full-scale drill with the Carson City Fire Department and the Carson City Sheriff’s Office before the Nevada Day Parade last week. The training exercise simulated a vehicle ramming after a driver experienced a medical event, which rendered them unconscious.

The four men who filed a lawsuit against the Douglas County School District and four of its trustees over a lack of fulfilling public records requests they filed are now entitled to recover expenses and attorney's fees. This is according to Judge Thomas Gregory of the Ninth Judicial District Court of Nevada.

Using seldom seen photos and extensive research, local historians David & Gayle Woodruff reflect back on the deep and rich history of the Carson Valley, including the important roles played by the Minden Flour Milling Company and its magnificent buildings, the Virginia and Truckee Railroad, Genoa, the California Trail and more in creating one of the most historic areas in Nevada.

Regional entertainer Darin Talbot, aka "Mr. Tahoe" and "Tahoe’s Jimmy Buffett" brings his unique tribute performance show called, "Becoming Buffet: to Nashville Social Club in Carson City on Saturday, Nov. 16, at 7:30pm.

Three community nonprofit organizations — Eddy House, Rebuilding Together Northern Nevada and Reno Housing Authority have each been awarded $100,000 grants through the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco. Greater Nevada Credit Union sponsored these northern Nevada nonprofits in applying for the grants offered through the FHLBank San Francisco’s Access to Housing and Economic Assistance for Development Program, which provides funding for initiatives that help create a more equitable future for underserved people and communities.

Casinos in Carson City, Carson Valley and south shore Lake Tahoe report gaming revenue decreases in September while Reno saw a double-digit increase, according to the latest figures from the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

Carson High School is proud to spotlight one of its brightest and most accomplished students, Anne Davis. Anne’s presence at CHS has been nothing short of remarkable, as she has consistently demonstrated excellence in academics, leadership and service throughout her high school career.

A man was arrested Monday for suspicion of domestic battery, according to a Carson City Sheriff's Office booking report.

Here are the recent births that occurred at Carson Tahoe Hospital between Oct. 19 - 25, 2024.

Carson City Community Development is bringing back Saturdays with the city planner at the library. Carson City is continuing to seek Community input and feedback on the City’s land use Master Plan update.

Christmas tree permits for National Forest System lands on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest's Bridgeport and Carson Ranger Districts will be available for purchase in person at multiple vendor locations beginning Friday, Nov. 1.

Down by the Carson River off of Fort Churchill in Dayton. Fall colors are starting to bring weather changes. Pics via Pink's Fotos.

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo announced that Monday that in preparation for a safe and smooth Election Day, he will activate a limited contingent of National Guard personnel to be available on Election Day. The activation will be limited to supporting state and local resources on November 5, 2024.

For thousands of years, Lahontan cutthroat trout swam in the expansive waters of Lake Tahoe.

But by 1938, the fish — affected by European settlers’ actions in the Tahoe Basin by such as logging, overfishing, construction of dams and water diversions, and the introduction of non-native species — disappeared.

For tournament information visit: dgscene.com/LetItGlow

This Saturday Nov. 2, will be Carson City's first Disc Golf Glow Round event. The "Let it Glow Fall Fling" will be at the Carson Ridge Disc Golf Complex located at the intersection of Flint Drive and Rifle Range Road beginning at 6p.m.

Join Virginia City in celebrating the 160th anniversary of Nevada the way the state’s founders would have with the annual Nevada Statehood Ball on Saturday, Nov. 2, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Hosted at Piper’s Opera House, this elegant evening honors Nevada’s heritage and invites attendees to celebrate together by enjoying live music by Renegade Orchestra, light hors d’oeuvres and dancing.

Daytime lane reductions will take place on southbound Roop Street in Carson City beginning Monday and continuing until Nov. 7 for roadside retaining wall repairs.

Attention instrumental musicians and singers! The Carson City Symphony, directed by David Bugli, and the Carson Chamber Singers, directed by Gary Schwartz, are beginning rehearsals this week for the 41st annual Holiday Treat Concert. The concert will be on Sunday, Dec. 15, at the Carson City Community Center.

Looking for a place to take your little ones this week? Look no further! Here is a list of family-friendly (and fun!) activities and events happening this week around Carson City.

An 82-year-old California man has been identified in a fatal crash that happened Oct. 14 on State Route 439, USA Parkway in Storey County.