# Powerful article! - "Goodbye to All That: Reflections of a GOP Operative Who Left the Cult" **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 4, 2011, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powerful-article-goodbye-to-all-that-reflections-of-a-gop-operative-who-left-the-cult/595179 "2011-09-04T19:32:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![strugglingChristian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@strugglingChristian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/strugglingChristian)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powerful-article-goodbye-to-all-that-reflections-of-a-gop-operative-who-left-the-cult/595179/161 "2011-09-06T20:54:50Z")
I’m sorry if someone brought this point earlier, i have not the opportunity to read through all the comments. Someone needs to republish this in language most Americans can understand. in fact, i think the people who NEED to read this article (tea partiers, middle class repubs) would not be able to understand it nor countenance the intellectual verbiage. I’m not trying to be rude or call tp or repubs dumb. The majority of Americans, imho, could not read and understand this article thoroughly with words like dialogue, capitulation, mollify, and pernicious, etc. If the average verbal SAT score is 500, certainly I am right. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powerful-article-goodbye-to-all-that-reflections-of-a-gop-operative-who-left-the-cult/595179/162 "2011-09-06T22:18:41Z")
> [@Enfant Terrible](#): > > My impression is that many on the right seem to bring up the proposition of value-added taxes as an acceptable revenue source . . . [And not they alone.](http://articles.latimes.com/2010/may/24/opinion/la-oe-hinderynew-vat-20100522) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powerful-article-goodbye-to-all-that-reflections-of-a-gop-operative-who-left-the-cult/595179/163 "2011-09-06T22:20:33Z")
> [@strugglingChristian](#): > > Someone needs to republish this in language most Americans can understand. in fact, i think the people who NEED to read this article (tea partiers, middle class repubs) would not be able to understand it nor countenance the intellectual verbiage. > I’m not trying to be rude or call tp or repubs dumb. The majority of Americans, imho, could not read and understand this article thoroughly with words like dialogue, capitulation, mollify, and pernicious, etc. > If the average verbal SAT score is 500, certainly I am right. Hmmm . . . is there a Babelfish function or something that can translate Standard English to Basic English? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powerful-article-goodbye-to-all-that-reflections-of-a-gop-operative-who-left-the-cult/595179/164 "2011-09-06T22:50:01Z")
This is the Dope! Smartass elitists R US! ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powerful-article-goodbye-to-all-that-reflections-of-a-gop-operative-who-left-the-cult/595179/165 "2011-09-06T23:15:20Z")
I am way late to this thread but had to read the article today after hearing so much about it. Color me underwhelmed. Lofgren believes, among many other very doctrinaire liberal talking points, that: "…the effective repeal of Fourth Amendment protections by the Patriot Act, the weakening of habeas corpus and self-incrimination protections in the public hysteria following 9/11 or the unpalatable fact that the United States has the largest incarcerated population of any country on earth… …exporting democracy (albeit at the barrel of a gun) to the Middle East was a signature policy of the Bush administration… …Among the GOP base, there is constant harping about somebody else, some “other,” who is deliberately, assiduously and with malice aforethought subverting the Good, the True and the Beautiful: Subversives. Commies. Socialists. Ragheads. Secular humanists. Blacks. Fags. Feminazis…" It must certainly have been soul-wounding for this man of honor to have worked for such scoundrels for lo these many years. No wonder he bailed out during the GWB Administration…wait a minute, he stuck around for the whole eight ghastly years. Something smells fishy. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powerful-article-goodbye-to-all-that-reflections-of-a-gop-operative-who-left-the-cult/595179/166 "2011-09-06T23:21:59Z")
> [@Hyperelastic](#): > > It must certainly have been soul-wounding for this man of honor to have worked for such scoundrels for lo these many years. No wonder he bailed out during the GWB Administration…wait a minute, he stuck around for the whole eight ghastly years. Something smells fishy. Yeah, he definitely should have quit his job to go work for the Canadian government. Out of principle. ---
**Author:** ![strugglingChristian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@strugglingChristian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/strugglingChristian)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powerful-article-goodbye-to-all-that-reflections-of-a-gop-operative-who-left-the-cult/595179/167 "2011-09-06T23:24:40Z")
maybe he had no problem with a little corruption since as he states both parties have heir nutjobs but now things have gotten a little too crazy for even him to countenance ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powerful-article-goodbye-to-all-that-reflections-of-a-gop-operative-who-left-the-cult/595179/168 "2011-09-06T23:39:30Z")
It has nothing to do with corruption. If his job involves working on defense and budget issues, he has to work with the government we have, and he’s mainly going to have to work with Republicans. He now finds their behavior to be ridiculous. But let’s all talk about estate taxes and a bunch of other crap that has nothing to do with the article. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powerful-article-goodbye-to-all-that-reflections-of-a-gop-operative-who-left-the-cult/595179/169 "2011-09-07T11:39:13Z")
> [@Hyperelastic](#): > > I am way late to this thread but had to read the article today after hearing so much about it. Color me underwhelmed. Lofgren believes, among many other very doctrinaire liberal talking points, that: > > "…the effective repeal of Fourth Amendment protections by the Patriot Act, the weakening of habeas corpus and self-incrimination protections in the public hysteria following 9/11 or the unpalatable fact that the United States has the largest incarcerated population of any country on earth… > > …exporting democracy (albeit at the barrel of a gun) to the Middle East was a signature policy of the Bush administration… > > …Among the GOP base, there is constant harping about somebody else, some “other,” who is deliberately, assiduously and with malice aforethought subverting the Good, the True and the Beautiful: Subversives. Commies. Socialists. Ragheads. Secular humanists. Blacks. Fags. Feminazis…" Well? See you anything there to contradict? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powerful-article-goodbye-to-all-that-reflections-of-a-gop-operative-who-left-the-cult/595179/170 "2011-09-07T18:25:51Z")
[Nothing to see here](http://i.imgur.com/kXD4v.jpg). Move along! Guy is clearly a closet liberal. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powerful-article-goodbye-to-all-that-reflections-of-a-gop-operative-who-left-the-cult/595179/171 "2011-09-07T20:16:56Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > This is what makes it “double taxation,” which is how I rightly referred to it: > > A corporation comes up with a good idea or product. As a result, it generates earnings and its stock appreciates. It pays takes on those earnings and appreciation. > > Then the stockholder is asked to pay taxes reflective of the exact same event (the successful idea or product) that the corporation already paid for when he sells his appreciated stock. Ergo, double taxation. > > You may think it’s a great idea (Hell, triple! Quadruple!), but it’s not not double taxation. Nonsense. Conflating the profits of the company with returns to investors is ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powerful-article-goodbye-to-all-that-reflections-of-a-gop-operative-who-left-the-cult/595179/172 "2011-09-09T14:02:51Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Well? > > See you anything there to contradict? Yes, but that’s a topic for a thousand other threads. The question is, why would someone who professes to hate the Bush Administration so intensely continue to work for them? If Jim eats an egg salad sandwich every day for 20 years, and suddenly goes off ranting about how egg salad is disgusting, I’m going to wonder whether the real problem is Jim and not the egg salad. ---
**Author:** ![Latro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@Latro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Latro)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powerful-article-goodbye-to-all-that-reflections-of-a-gop-operative-who-left-the-cult/595179/173 "2011-09-09T15:35:16Z")
> [@Hyperelastic](#): > > If Jim eats an egg salad sandwich every day for 20 years, and suddenly goes off ranting about how egg salad is disgusting, I’m going to wonder whether the real problem is Jim and not the egg salad. To make the analogy honest, you would have to add that Jim is paid $100 for his sammidge, a day. If he says he doesn’t like it, the pay stops. You can ask yourself how moral it was to keep working in his position, while growing more and more appalled. But at what point would you kill the goose with the golden eggs? Apparently he waited till his retirement. I agree he should have gotten out sooner, still he does have valuable inside information. That doesn’t change. ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powerful-article-goodbye-to-all-that-reflections-of-a-gop-operative-who-left-the-cult/595179/174 "2011-09-09T16:26:02Z")
> [@Latro](#): > > To make the analogy honest, you would have to add that Jim is paid $100 for his sammidge, a day. If he says he doesn’t like it, the pay stops. But Jim probably could have been paid $100 to eat ham and cheese if that was what he really wanted. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powerful-article-goodbye-to-all-that-reflections-of-a-gop-operative-who-left-the-cult/595179/175 "2011-09-09T17:06:01Z")
Yeah, I read this article. I have no stance on its accuracy, but I can say that the goals outlined within it match republican policy (and explain a lot of the more ridiculous, nonsensical, out-of-touch-with-reality goals that they often have) very, _very_ well. Closet liberal? Why does that matter if the fact remains that he’s right? ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powerful-article-goodbye-to-all-that-reflections-of-a-gop-operative-who-left-the-cult/595179/176 "2011-09-09T23:16:04Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > I believe in something significantly closer to that than our current system, but that gets kind of OT. I mentioned the perverse incentives that are created by allowing people who have NO skin in the game to have EXACTLY the same vote as those who have lots of skin, only because he was protesting a little too much about the Republicans pointing out the obvious and fairly shocking fact that half of voters have no skin in the federal game – a statistic that Dems (and I guess RINOs like this guy) apparently feel very defensive about. If you check out this chart [All Credit Types Are Welcome | LendingStore.com](http://www.visualeconomics.com/united-states-federal-tax-dollars/) you will see that the states that the federal government subsidizes are states like Alaska, Mississippi, and New Mexico, while those that subsidize the federal government the most are states like New Jersey, Connecticut and New Mexico. In fact it looks like the entire old Confederacy except for Texas are subsidized by the tax dollars of states like California, Massachuetts and New York. What perverse incentives lead to the well-known propensity for Mississippi to vote for tax increases? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powerful-article-goodbye-to-all-that-reflections-of-a-gop-operative-who-left-the-cult/595179/177 "2011-09-10T01:00:04Z")
> [@Hyperelastic](#): > > Yes, but that’s a topic for a thousand other threads. No, actually that’s a topic for this thread. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powerful-article-goodbye-to-all-that-reflections-of-a-gop-operative-who-left-the-cult/595179/178 "2011-09-10T22:20:57Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > But, to be fair, the Pubbies have always been quick to wave the flag and strike up the band whenever they want to shower thier favorites with our money. And an occassional veiled innuendo about the patriotism of those who question is not beneath them. Don’t forget the Dems, too. Part of the same power structure, just a slightly different faction. Which is why the OP article is kinda funny. He sounds like your typical Daily Kos commentator. Oh those weak kneed Dems! If only they stood up against those mean old crazy Republicans, if only they espoused their true principles, which are…um…what again? No one is really sure. But it’s not pro-war corporatism, no sir. They’ve just been doing that for the last century because they’re so weak willed. What’s the matter with Kansas 'luci? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powerful-article-goodbye-to-all-that-reflections-of-a-gop-operative-who-left-the-cult/595179/179 "2011-09-10T23:26:40Z")
Flat. Wheat infested. No decent bar-b-q. More than enough. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powerful-article-goodbye-to-all-that-reflections-of-a-gop-operative-who-left-the-cult/595179/180 "2011-09-12T22:46:45Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > I also note that in his zeal to refute the damning fact that half of Americans pay no income tax he inadvertently contradicts himself by indignantly saying this is a misleading claim, since many (certainly not all) of them do pay “payroll taxes.” Uh, but when he was earlier damning attempts to rein in Social Security, Medicare, and other entitlement programs, he disputed the use of the word “entitlement” by insisting that these were actually “earned benefits” due to the payroll taxes that fund them (putting aside that well-off people pay in a lot more than they may get out, and vice versa). Well, if we’re to regard entitlement payments as merely paybacks from payroll tax, then the people not paying income taxes don’t become “taxpayers” in a substantial sense – they’re at most enforced savers, and they’re not pulling their weight on the general cost of government after all. That hasn’t been true since the 1980’s. How about you income-tax payers raise the rates on those taxes so you can repay the “forced saving” fund that you’ve been using like a submissive girlfriend with a day job? With interest, of course, to make up for all the opportunity costs from a payroll tax hike that poured working-class income into the general fund for twenty-odd years. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powerful-article-goodbye-to-all-that-reflections-of-a-gop-operative-who-left-the-cult/595179.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powerful-article-goodbye-to-all-that-reflections-of-a-gop-operative-who-left-the-cult/595179.md?page=10)