Revolution Moves Into The Overton Window

The Overton Window:

The Overton Window, in political theory, describes a “window” in the range of public reactions to ideas in public discourse, in a spectrum of all possible options on a particular issue. It is named after its originator, Joseph P. Overton, former vice president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

At any given moment, the “window” includes a range of policies considered to be politically acceptable in the current climate of public opinion, which a politician can recommend without being considered too “extreme” or outside the mainstream to gain or keep public office. Overton arranged the spectrum on a vertical axis of “more free” and “less free” in regard to government intervention. When the window moves or expands, ideas can accordingly become more or less politically acceptable. The degrees of acceptance of public ideas can be described roughly as:

· Unthinkable

· Radical

· Acceptable

· Sensible

· Popular

· Policy

The Overton Window is a means of visualizing which ideas define that range of acceptance by where they fall in it. Proponents of policies outside the window seek to persuade or educate the public so that the window either “moves” or expands to encompass them. Opponents of current policies, or similar ones currently within the window, likewise seek to convince people that these should be considered unacceptable.

Other formulations of the process created after Overton’s death add the concept of moving the window, such as deliberately promoting ideas even less acceptable than the previous “outer fringe” ideas, with the intention of making the current fringe ideas acceptable by comparison.

I look at the current crop of conservative candidates from which we have to choose and I can’t help but think, is this the best we can do? Really?? The most conservative of the lot that also believes in our military and protecting the US is Rick Santorum. He’s still my candidate and I pray fervently that he will prevail and win the nomination. But the odds are against him. The two front runners are both Progressives and it just makes my stomach ache to think of pulling the lever for one of them, all in the name of saving what is left of America from full-blown Marxism. It’s depressing.

What we would have considered taboo and a fatal nominee flaw a few years ago, is suddenly okay evidently. Sex in the White House? Not a problem… Cheated on your wife and divorced? Not a problem… Buddy around with known radicals and Marxists? Definitely not a problem… And the Overton Window slides inexorably to the left. What has happened to us? We were once the greatest nation on the planet. We had a robust economy, a strong military, a Christian ethic, strong morals, a rich history and leaders of whom we were proud. Now? Well, we have an economy that is close to a Weimar moment. Our leaders have gutted our military. Christianity is being systematically destroyed and vilified. Morals seemed to have been replaced by an entitlement mentality. Our history is being rewritten and erased. Our leaders are corrupt, gutless, spineless, knee scrapers, who only care about themselves and their personal pocketbooks.

And now comes the 2012 election circus and you can already hear the politicians crying that ‘he won’t stop touching me!‘ In a political tantrum, exhibiting brain damage, that is an unfunny parody of a Bill Cosby skit, replete with numerous and vociferous claims of ‘I don’t know!‘

The stupid and the lame give way to the ridiculous and extreme during this dance of the Progressives. And Americans sit there confused, apathetic and depressed while the elites do a jig on the Constitution and rob us blind during intermission between emergencies and elections. As our elected mob haggles over how best to control us, while enslaving us and getting us to behave, the anger among the majority of Americans (who by the way are conservative) is building and building…

Words that you didn’t hear a decade ago are being bandied about, such as treason and revolution. The whispers of unrest are getting stronger and the American boiling pot is about to explode. We all feel it if we are honest with ourselves. Many believe we won’t even make it to the next election, especially since there is an excellent chance the Marxist in Chief won’t be reelected. Any emergency will do and the Progressives have a whole list of possibilities to choose from. None of them good for you or me.

All the while, the establishment RINOs keep telling us that no matter what crappy candidate they choose, we have to vote for them or the world will end. The RINOs are Progressives on the right and gee, they just don’t sound that much different than the left. And I’ve just about had enough of that crap sandwich. But the third party guys aren’t much better and would almost certainly get Obama reelected. A death sentence for the Republic – no doubt about it. But as I said before, I may not like the choices, but I’ll vote for an old shoe before I vote to get Obama reelected. Whatever it takes.

It is in times such as these that revolutions are born. Don’t be fooled by the Occupy movement. They are meant to create strife and chaos to help the current administration. Most of what the left says, they mean the exact opposite.

But as a friend said tonight, you can only push Conservative America so far before they’ve had enough. And baby, we are just about there. America, she’s a-cookin’ and if things don’t change – and soon – there will be a hot time across the land and this is one party we could really do without.

If there is to be a conservative revolution in this country, we need a leader who not only knows how to balance a budget and cut spending, but one who has a spine and is willing to stand toe to toe against our enemies – foreign and domestic. Someone who is not politically correct. Someone who is moral and will do the right thing no matter the cost. America’s waiting – I hope he shows up soon.

From Sultan Knish:

Revolutions begin with an open contempt for and anger at the existing order. The left knows that. It is why it fears talk radio and populism more than it fears the latest set of dapper gatekeepers we send to the Senate. The contempt and anger are here, the more they go public, the more the power of the left is shaken. And the next step is to expand the cultural war to a specific disrespect and hostility for the values and sacred cows of the left. Then to challenge their institutions and regulations. And then real political change can begin with candidates who are revolutionaries because they believe it, or because they are operating under a new paradigm that is outside the left’s manufactured consensus.

Most of the elements are already in place. The consensus establishment is making its last stand, but it is fading. It is now a race between shaping public anger into a vehicle for political change and the speed at which the left is transforming and fragmenting the country to prevent a political revolution of the right from ever coming about. May we be swift for if the left wins the race then it is the end of America.

One way or the other, from the left or the right, we are moving towards revolution. The concept of revolution is now clearly inside the Overton Window. We’ve already gone down the crazy road and now we are heading for the cliffs. May Conservative America fight with all their might to win this struggle for the heart and soul of the Republic.

By: Terresa Monroe-Hamilton  -  The NoisyRoom

The Overton Window by Glenn Beck

The New Healthcare Compromise… Feel Better???

The New Healthcare Compromise… Feel Better???

ObamaCare Speech: A Bust!

Speech Filled With Rhetoric, Untruths, and the usual Obama Smoke and Mirrors; sprinkled with partisanship and disregard for the will of the American people.

President Obama had the chance of his presidency to win the Healthcare Reform battle tonight and be a Uniter. He failed miserably. He was partisan, talked out of both sides of his mouth, attacked and ignored Average America (Town Hallers and Tea Party Attendees) and was both evasive and less than truthful about what was in the bills, all and part of his and the Dems agenda!!!! Not one peep about understanding the feelings of all the people who have poured their hearts out at Congressional TownHall Meetings all summer other than they have been scared by right-wing fear mongers, as if they were all too stupid to think for themselves. (And no peep about the left-wing organized fear mongering by Nancy Pelosi, SEIU and ACORN).

Governor Tim Pawlenty said, “Tonight’s speech was more like “Rhetoric Collides with Reality” than an attempt at bipartisan reconciliation or anything but a move to more government control, which is Obama and liberal Dems (the Progressives) goal. Nobody but people who have ‘not’ read the bill or any reviews and only listen to Obamaganda from the White House through the controlled media outlets (especially NBC, ABC, CBS, the New York Times & the Huffington Post) felt tonight’s speech was a success or an attempt at real reform for the good of the American People.

Bottom-line, you cannot insure an additional 30 to 47 million people, depending on the day and the speech, maintain the level of healthcare and reduce or even maintain the cost(s).

Republican Rebuttal: GOP to Obama: “It’s Time to Start Over”

TRANSCRIPT: GOP Response to Obama's Health Care Address

Related Resources:

• Fearmonger-in-chief: Pass my crappy bill or people will die

• "Uniter or Divider – Congressman Cantor Responds to Obama’s Reform Push

• Video: GOP congressman yells “liar” at Obama; Update: Wilson apologizes – Unfortunately Congressman Wilson was Intimidated into Apologizing Because He Was Right!

• "Luntz Breaks Down Obama’s Health Address

It’s Still Government-Run Health Care If ... Public Option or Trigger is Still Government-Run HealthCare… Or Will Be!!!! And Obama Definitely Left the Public Option or some version on the Table Tonight

Remember: Co-Op or Trigger = Public Option = Government-Run HealthCare (which will equal rationing!) Ask any Canadian or Brit!

And then the Cheap Trick for the night was not only placing Ted Kennedy’s widow Vicki next to Michelle Obama during the speech but then quoting “Teddy” while panning between Vicki and Ted’s Congressman son…

So far Obama has invoked the God Card, the Race Card, “What Would Jesus Do” and now the Ted Card. With this much desperation you’d think there would be a little bipartisanship and acknowledgement of the wants of the American people if helping them were really goal… wouldn’t ya?

Text of Obama’s Speech to Joint Session as given to the Press

Josh Haner/The New York Times President Obama’s first address to a joint session of Congress, on Feb. 24, 2009. Tonight, in his second address, he unsuccessfully pressed his case for major health care legislation

"Healthcare Petition Presented to Lawmakers – Video

We will be breaking down Obama’s speech and posting his stretches and untruths from the speech, with references Please check back.

Posted: Knowledge Creates Power – Cross Posted: Daily Thought Pad

Lieberman: “Without public option, health reform would pass” – Americans: “That will have to mean no co-op or “Trigger” that only means a public optio

Lieberman says major bipartisan reform is still possible. Let us make it does not include a “trigger”

U.S. Senator, Joseph Lieberman answers questions from the public over the internet during a live video interview session which was streamed over the Hearst Connecticut Media Group news sites. (Bob Luckey/Staff photographer)

STAMFORD -- U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman made it clear Wednesday that he would not vote for a health care bill that included a government-run option, but said that without it, he and most of Congress would support comprehensive health care reform.

Discussion on health care dominated an informal question-and-answer session with the fourth-term Connecticut senator, who spoke to the editors of The Advocate and Connecticut Post and answered e-mailed questions from readers.

If the public option "is off the table, we have the opportunity to achieve significant reform with bipartisan support," Lieberman said during the nearly two-hour meeting Wednesday afternoon.

The Stamford native touched on his concerns that in the current recession the country could not afford a complete health care overhaul.

"We're trying to do a lot at once," he said. "We're trying to bend down the increasing cost curve of health care, and at the same time, turn and say to people ... it will cost a trillion or a trillion-and-a-half over the next 10 years."

He said the people know who will foot the bill.

Still, comprehensive reform -- "big steps, not baby steps" -- is possible, Lieberman said, predicting that Congress will compromise and adopt 75 percent of what is in the bill.

Reform should also include malpractice reform and health exchanges, which would offer different plans for varying costs and coverage for individuals or small businesses, he said.

Lieberman added that he supports mandating that no one can be denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions and that everyone be required to have health insurance.

As to how 47 million uninsured will afford coverage, Lieberman said only 12 million don't have insurance because they cannot afford it.

By allowing citizens who are not eligible for Medicare or Medicaid to buy in for a rate below the private market, the government can extend coverage to more of those who are currently uninsured, he said.

To arrive at his position, Lieberman said he reached out to "every conceivable group" in the state, including residents, providers, doctors and hospitals.

"People in Connecticut want to see health care reform," he said, "but (they) have growing apprehension that the proposed reform would leave them with less coverage than they have today."

The Democratic-turned-independent senator said he knows his opposition to the government-run option will probably foil the Democrats' efforts to pass the bill.

"There will be no shot at 60 votes, because I'm not the only one," he said.

But he added: "If we start this out and three years from now a case can be made that the private market is not working effectively, I would support the public option."

Staff Writer Devon Lash can be reached at 964-2242 or devon.lash@scni.com – Connecticut Post

Posted: Daily Thought Pad – Cross-Posted: Knowledge Creates Power

No Public Option

No Co-Op – Another Name for Public Option

No Trigger – Will Lead to Public Option

No – Duty To Die Lectures or Death Panels

No Centralized Database

Pelosi: Bill That Will Pass House "Will Have A Public Option" – Time to Show This Woman (and the Rest) That She Works For Us!!!

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: "I have said over and over again and I commit to this that the bill that will pass the House of Representatives will have a public option in it."

Dem Rep.: "I'm Not Doing Town Hall Meetings; I'm Not Going To Give Those People A Forum"… Rep. Louise Slaughter: "I'm not doing town meetings; I'm not going to give those people a forum. I went through it with the Clinton health care bill, with the John Birch Society, where we had to have police around, and people hysterically crying…"

Rasmussen Report: Most Voters Say Town Hall Meetings Should Be for Congressmen to Listen, Not Speak

Thursday, September 03, 2009

At town hall meetings on the health care issue, most Americans say it’s more important for those in Congress to listen rather than speak.

Fifty-six percent (56%) of voters nationwide say that it’s more important for Congressmen to hear the view of their constituents rather than explain the proposed health care legislation. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 37% hold the opposite view while 7% are not sure.

The desire for Congress to listen may stem from the fact that voters believe they understand the legislation better than Congress.

Forty-nine percent (49%) have a favorable opinion of those opposing the health care reforms at town hall meetings. That’s up eight points from 41% a month ago.Thirty-five percent (35%) have an unfavorable view of the town hall protesters, unchanged from last month.

Fifty-nine percent (59%) now say the town hall protesters are citizens reflecting the concerns of their neighbors. That’s up ten points over the past month.

Thirty percent (30%) believe the protests are phony efforts drummed up by special interest groups and lobbyists.

Stand tall America, “NO PUBLIC OPTION” of any kind!! No on incremental programs that will move us toward a public option. No new Co-op that will ultimately become a public option…!!! No on a Trigger that will be manipulated into a public option!!

There will not be any going back once the Dems get their nose in the door. It is now or never to stop this!!!

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VIDEO: REP. PETE STARK TELLS INTERVIEWER, “GET THE F**K OUT OF HERE OR I’LL THROW YOU OUT THE WINDOW”

Longtime readers of this blog are well aware of California Democrat Rep. Pete Stark (Raving Mad)’s unhingedness.

He has called a Republican opponent a “c**ksucker”, left a profanity-laced message on a constituent’s voicemail, and suggested on the floor of the House that Republicans are sending men and women to Iraq “to get their heads blown off for the president’s amusement.”

He’s an unrepentant basket case — and everything that’s wrong with Washington.

Here’s fresh proof from an independent TV documentarian Jan Helfeld, whose Socratic interviewing techniques cause Stark to engage in another trademark tirade. Helfeld asks Stark about the national debt and the economy. Stark tells him repeatedly to “shut up,” sneers at Helfeld’s lack of an advanced economic degree, and ends the interview by bolting from his chair and telling Helfeld to “Get the f**k out of here or I’ll throw you out the window:”

“A line that will now live forever, thanks to Congressman Stark:

“The more debt we owe, the wealthier we are”. That pretty much sums up political “thought[.]“

***

Update: Apparently, the vid has been around a while — but it’s a wonderful exclamation point on the long, hot Congressional recess and the Democrat reaction to town hall protesters, which has exposed the arrogance virus shared by Stark and his colleagues.

It truly is time for us to remind both Houses of Congress and the White House who they work for!! Politicians are public servents that work for their constituents, the American people, and whose job it is to protect our nation from foreinh aggression, uphold the Constitution (as written) and follow the will of the majority of the people... not do as they please!!

Posted: Daily Thought Pad – Cross-Posted: Knowledge Creates Power

Congratulations! The headline on Drudge earlier today was 'It's official: no public option.'

Under fire, President Obama shifts strategy

The headline on Drudge earlier today was 'It's official: no public option.' Congratulations, America! Because you stood up, the President and the government heard you. The spineless wonders probably only caved because they care about their own hides, BUT if you didn't stand up you can bet Universal Health would have been passed. But don't celebrate yet -- there is still work to be done. Think the progressives will give up that easily?

Aides to President Barack Obama are putting the final touches on a new strategy to help Democrats recover from a brutal August recess by specifying what Obama wants to see in a compromise health care deal and directly confronting other trouble spots, West Wing officials tell POLITICO.

Obama is considering detailing his health-care demands in a major speech as soon as next week, when Congress returns from the August recess. And although House leaders have said their members will demand the inclusion of a public insurance option, Obama has no plans to insist on it himself, the officials said.

“We’re entering a new season,” senior adviser David Axelrod said in a telephone interview. “It’s time to synthesize and harmonize these strands and get this done. We’re confident that we can do that. But obviously it is a different phase. We’re going to approach it in a different way. The president is going to be very active.”

Top officials privately concede the past six weeks have taken their toll on Obama's popularity. But the officials also see the new diminished expectations as an opportunity to prove their critics wrong by signing a health care law, showing progress in Afghanistan, and using this month's anniversary of the fall of Lehman Brothers to push for a crackdown on Wall Street.

On health care, Obama’s willingness to forgo the public option is sure to anger his party’s liberal base. But some administration officials welcome a showdown with liberal lawmakers if they argue they would rather have no health care law than an incremental one. The confrontation would allow Obama to show he is willing to stare down his own party to get things done.

“We have been saying all along that the most important part of this debate is not the public option, but rather ensuring choice and competition,” an aide said. “There are lots of different ways to get there.”

The timing, format, venue and content of Obama's presentation are still being debated in the West Wing. Aides have discussed whether to stick to broad principles, or to send specific legislative language to Capitol Hill. Some hybrid is likely, the officials said.

“I’m not going to put a date on any of this,” Axelrod said. “But I think it’s fairly obvious that we’re not in the second inning. We’re not in the fourth inning. We’re in the eighth or ninth inning here, and so there’s not a lot of time to waste.”

Obama's specifics will include many of the principles he has spelled out before, and aides did not want to telegraph make-or-break demands. But Axelrod and others are making plain that Obama will assert himself more aggressively — a clear sign that the president will start dictating terms to Congress.

"His goal is to create the best possible situation for consumers, create competition and choice," Axelrod said. "We want to bring a measure of security to people who have health insurance today. We want to help those who don't have coverage today, because they can't afford it, get insurance they can afford. And we want to do it in a way that reduces the overall cost of the system as a whole."

Also this fall, Obama wants to slap new regulations on Wall Street firms, a goal that is now considered a higher priority than cap-and-trade energy legislation in the West Wing. White House officials think the legislation will show voters, especially wavering independents, that he is serious about making the culprits of the economic crisis pay. It also helps that it doesn't carry a big price tag, like other Obama priorities.

The president also plans to send Congress a report on Afghanistan by Sept. 24 that is designed to build patience after two months in a row of the highest U.S. casualties since the invasion eight years ago. Aides say they recognize they need to show progress over the next 12 to 18 months, or risk losing the support of key Democrats in Congress, who already have balked at funding Obama’s 20,000-troop buildup.

But health care remains front-and-center in Obama’s fall strategy. “I understand the governing wisdom here in town as to where this is right now,” Axelrod said. “I feel good about where it is right now. I understand that there’s been a lot of controversy. I understand that there’s been a lot of politics. But the truth is, we’re a lot closer to achieving something than many thought possible. People look to the president for leadership on this and other issues. He feels passionately about this, and you can look for him to provide that leadership.”

Obama has been criticized for deciding to cede much of the debate to Capitol Hill -- or, as Axelrod put it, “allow Congress to consider the whole range of ideas.”

“History will judge whether this was right or it was wrong,” Axelrod said. “We feel strongly that it was right. As a result of it, we have broad consensus on over 80 percent of this stuff, and a lot of good ideas about how to achieve the other 20. Now, people are looking to the president and the president is eager to help lead that process of harmonizing these different elements and completing this process so that we can solve what is a big problem in the lives of the American people, for our businesses and our economy.”

White House officials say they are looking forward to "a break from the August break" -- a chance to take back control of the debate after a grim month where news coverage of the issue was dominated by vocal, emotional opponents at lawmakers’ town meetings, railing against the cost and complexity of the plans being debated.

So Obama and Democrats will return from vacation wounded, divided and uncertain of the best way to turn things around. Many Democrats, especially in the House, were spooked over break by the rowdy town hall meetings and flurry of polls showing independent voters skeptical of their leadership and spending plans.

The mood swing is hitting some top leaders hard: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), for instance, is trailing little-known GOP contenders in his re-election race now. The news swing has been no less brutal. There has been saturation coverage of the town halls and rising casualties in Afghanistan -- the latter leading to a big drop in support for the war.

All of this makes for a tumultuous -- and wildly unpredictable -- fall for Obama and his party.

Axelrod said he isn’t worried. “Part of it is born of long experience,” he said. “In Washington, every day is Election Day. I’d be lying to you if I told you I don’t look at polls -- I do. But I’ve also learned that you have to keep your eye on the horizon here and not get bogged down. I am not Polyannish, but I am also not given to the hysteria that's endemic to this town.”

By MIKE ALLEN & JIM VANDEHEI

Source: Politico