Apotropaic

Conflict Resolution
About two-thirds of Americans now believe there are “strong conflicts” between rich and poor in the United States, a survey by the Pew Research Center found, a sign that the message of income inequality brandished by the Occupy Wall Street movement and pressed by Democrats may be seeping into the national consciousness. (NYT, 1/12/2012)


So critics of Obama and the Democrats WERE right. Liberals HAVE been engaging in class warfare. "Seeping into the national consciousness?" Well with the non-stop drumbeat of the state-controlled media, how could it not?


Merit-Based
Santorum's political limitation is that his theme is a cultural one--or, more specifically, a countercultural one. His arguments are not without merit, and there is a considerable amount of rot in America's dominant culture. But that culture would not be dominant without the assent of most Americans. (James Taranto, WSJ, 1/12/2012)


The quote above comes from James Taranto, a WSJ columnist who we very much enjoy reading. RedStateVT does, however, take exception to Taranto's point here that most Americans assent to the cultural rot in America. First, let's define "cultural rot." Simple definition: the Kardashians. More broadly it refers to the rampant depiction, and glorification of immorality including drug use, alcohol abuse, promiscuity, profanity, pornography and illegitimacy in society. Make no mistake, the vast majority of Americans deplore these things. So why does it exist? Why is it dominant? Because those who produce it and/or tolerate and promote it control the avenues through which it is disseminated. And those avenues are the airwaves, the frequencies, the ink and even the schools. Academia and the media are not - Hillsdale College and Fox News being among the few exceptions - run by conservatives or even moderates. Liberals dominate here and so the entire country suffers from their cultural excesses.


You're Fired!
Talking about insurance providers, he (Mitt Romney) said: "I want individuals to have their own insurance. That means the insurance company will have an incentive to keep you healthy. It also means if you don't like what they do, you can fire them. I like being able to fire people who provide services to me. You know, if someone doesn't give me a good service that I need, I want to say I'm going to go get someone else to provide that service to me." (Ann Coulter, 1/11/2012)


RedStateVT tends to ignore it when the Huffington Post and the Liberal media splash some seemingly shocking quote from a conservative across the top of their mastheads.  One hundred per cent of the time it is something taken out of context.  So when Mitt Romney said that he likes to fire people, Liberals cited that as proof positive that he is a heartless capitalist. Turns out he just wants to get what he pays for...like anyone else.