Another reason why Objectivists should not vote for Ted Cruz

Posted by $ jbrenner 7 years, 11 months ago to Politics
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Clearly Cruz does not understand that Objectivists do not respond favorably to either sacrifice or altruism.

From Cruz's fundraiser letter:

I've asked my team to put together these secure links below so you can make an instant and secure sacrificial gift -- it can be done in just five minutes or less:

I CAN SACRIFICE $35 TO RESTORE AMERICA »

I CAN SACRIFICE $100 TO RESTORE AMERICA »

I CAN SACRIFICE $250 TO RESTORE AMERICA »

I CAN SACRIFICE $1000 TO RESTORE AMERICA »
SOURCE URL: https://secure.campaignsolutions.com/tedcruz/list/tp2/sacrifice/?initiativekey=79AHBGHMO8MG


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  • Posted by Herb7734 7 years, 11 months ago
    I'm sure you are aware, JB that sacrifice and altruism is preached from every pulpit. That they are looked upon as virtues. That sacrificing for a cause is the best thing you can do.Of course, in the eyes of Cruz & Co. this is an excellent ploy to raise money. At present, Objectivism is a voice in the wilderness.

    One might ask oneself if there are degrees of evil. We all know that there are. I don't want to use examples, I have enough stomach problems. So, one must ask oneself, what are the degrees of evil among the candidates? So, I've rated them on a scale of 1 to 5. 5 being the worst. Keep in mind, all are evil in one way or another.
    5 -- Sanders
    4 -- Clinton
    3. -- Kasich
    3-- Trump
    2 -- Cruz
    3 -- Not Voting
    Not much of a choice, is it?
    We all must vote or not vote according how we see it.
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    • Posted by $ CBJ 7 years, 11 months ago
      Gary Johnson?
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      • Posted by $ 7 years, 11 months ago
        The Libertarian Party national convention is in Orlando (about an hour from me) on Memorial Day Weekend. If anyone is interested, contact me. I am considering going to their debate on Saturday night of that weekend.
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        • Posted by dwlievert 7 years, 11 months ago
          I previously posted this on this forum.

          Friends:

          This article is directed toward Objectivists in response to a recent post on the "Galts Gulch" site, wherein the author summarily dismisses Ben Carson as worthy of political consideration.

          Several years ago, as Sarah Palin had become thrust onto the national stage, I was asked by a fairly liberal friend, "you wouldn't really vote for her would you?" I stared at him replying, "as opposed to whom?" Caught somewhat off guard he responded, "Well I mean, she is little more than an attractive idiot." I replied, "what if she were running against an ugly moron?"

          Ayn Rand's influence on my values, specifically how they must be derived, leading to what they will therefore become, has been of incalculable benefit. I say this because she taught me the importance of ideas! She did so through rationally forcing me to understand that “non-contradictory identification” and the proper (pro-life as she termed it) embrace of values, leads to consistent actions that produce happiness and fulfillment. In summation - and fundamental to the value of excitedly, joyously, passionately, filling-in the rest of the blanks in the endless crossword puzzle of life, that this was the purpose of philosophy.

          Though her impact on many of us was equally profound, she was, despite the early worship of her by many of her students - myself included, neither a god nor always wise in her actions. She made errors. Her incessant focus on God and religion when wading into politics, rather than maintaining the focus on individual freedom was one such example. (Please choose NOT to remind me of Rand’s epistemological rigor and her ruthlessly logical tracing of the issue to its metaphysical roots. I am dwelling “contextually” in politics, specifically NOT in absolutes.) Nonetheless, she will one day be judged as one of the greatest intellectual minds in history. Meanwhile…….

          One manifestation of said error, not coincidentally, subsequent to her shameful treatment by William F. Buckley and most conservatives, was her vocal criticism of Barry Goldwater. She was adamant in her condemnation and rejection of him.

          Here is a quote of Senator Goldwater’s, circa early 60’s.

          "I have little interest in streamlining government or in making it more efficient, for I mean to reduce its size. I do not undertake to promote welfare, for I propose to extend freedom. My aim is not to pass laws, but to repeal them. It is not to inaugurate new programs, but to cancel old ones that do violence to the Constitution, or that have failed their purpose, or that impose on the people an unwarranted financial burden. I will not attempt to discover whether legislation is "needed" before I have first determined whether it is constitutionally permissible. And if I should later be attacked for neglecting my constituents' "interests," I shall reply that I was informed that their main interest is liberty and that in that cause I am doing the very best I can."

          Rand was certainly correct of course regarding Goldwater, in that as an inconsistent advocate of freedom he would invariably undermine his own arguments. However, will anyone seriously argue that our nation would be similarly down the destructive road it has taken had the electorate instead chosen Goldwater rather than Lyndon “Guns & Butter/Great Society” Johnson? Barring nuclear exchange, it is almost unimaginable we would be.

          Carson will not likely get the nomination. His responses to both the war on drugs, which he indicates he would “intensify,” and his strategy for dealing with political correctness in education (he wishes to appoint some sort of conservative “overseer” within the Department of Education to “correct” current “incorrectness”), have helped assure that he will unceremoniously fade.

          However, if faced with a choice between Hillary and Ben, what would you do?

          I’ll close with two recommendations, specifically directed at Objectivists,.

          1. Lead with your life and not your mouth. As is the case with a picture, an example is worth 10,000 words. When you choose to lead with the latter, skip to number 2.

          2. KNOW your audience! We live in a society that, in significant measure, is dominated by Judeo-Christian philosophy. Therefore there is a tendency for many of us to become pessimistic and caustic. While I do at times lapse into pessimism, I try, though not always successfully, to never become caustic.(Keep in mind, the virtue of pessimism is that most of your surprises tend to be favorable.) Always remain benevolently open to such surprises. Depending on YOUR virtue(s), favorable surprises come more often than you might imagine – as long as, through the exercise of rational virtue(s), you EARN THEM!

          Dave
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      • Posted by Herb7734 7 years, 11 months ago
        Same as a non vote.
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        • Posted by mspalding 7 years, 11 months ago
          You can make a difference. If Gary Johnson got 5 million votes (out of ~120m) this would be only 4% of the vote. But you can bet that every politician would be looking to steal some of his ideas. 4% is huge in an election. I don't care if he gets elected. I want the ideas elected. Every vote gives more weight to these ideas. Don't waste your vote and endorse the status quo - Vote Gary Johnson.
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        • Posted by $ CBJ 7 years, 11 months ago
          So voting for Gary Johnson rates a 3 on your “degrees of evil” list??

          Voting Libertarian is not exactly the same as a non-vote. The establishment parties pay close attention when a significant number of voters break with the two-party system, and they will often modify their stands on certain issues to protect their base and prevent further defections. Non-votes are just chalked up to voter apathy.
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          • Posted by Herb7734 7 years, 11 months ago
            I've read all the information on Johnson and he's a good man. Pretty close to many Objectivist ideals. However, I am of the opinion that if Clinton or Sanders wins, it is the end of the USA. I know that sounds alarmist but if the country is forced to obey the avowed principles already put forth by the both of them, it will create a situation so dire economically and socially that the country will never recover from it. That, in addition to the possibility of a war for which we are totally unprepared may well be the end. With either Trump or Cruz, at the very least there is a glimmer of hope. With Sanders or Clinton, not even a glimmer. I thought I'd never live to see this but, here we are. If things were not so crucial, I'd be pushing for Johnson, but now is not the time.
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        • Posted by freedomforall 7 years, 11 months ago
          No, not the same. 100 million non votes do nothing to change the power structure. 100 million votes for Gary Johnson rip the heart out of the statist monopoly.
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          • Posted by Herb7734 7 years, 11 months ago
            If Mr. Johnson gets 100 million votes I will put him in my will. Are you dreaming? Do you not realize that if Clinton becomes the president, between her non-ideology, dishonesty and incompetence, it will end the USA?
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            • Posted by freedomforall 7 years, 11 months ago
              That is the same old argument that let the statists keep control for the past 100 years.
              Until you act in accordance with your principles it will continue. (Not to single you out Herb, the same reason applies to everyone.)
              You vote for slavery, you must take responsibility for your consent to it.
              Resistance is imperative, regardless of how unlikely the apparent probability.
              Probabilities change with every person who votes for principle instead of in fear.
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            • Posted by $ CBJ 7 years, 11 months ago
              I've been hearing the same argument since my first presidential election (Goldwater vs. Johnson). If the USA can survive Lyndon Johnson, Obama and every democrat (and republican) in between, it can survive most anything.

              I would rather vote my convictions than be pressured by fear into always voting for "more of the same" as the only alternative to Armageddon.
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              • Posted by Herb7734 7 years, 11 months ago
                Go to it. Vote for who you want. Certainly if after looking at what Obama has done in the last 7.5 years, you don't think a vote that counts is crucial, it is certainly your prerogative.
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                • Posted by $ CBJ 7 years, 11 months ago
                  A vote that counts? When is the last time your lone vote, or anyone else's, changed the outcome of a presidential election? A single vote would not have made a difference even in Florida, land of the hanging chad.
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                  • Posted by Herb7734 7 years, 11 months ago
                    Really? By your logic no one should vote. I think you are an intelligent person. You know what I meant. Let's not get entangled in semantics.
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                    • Posted by $ CBJ 7 years, 11 months ago
                      My logic goes as follows:

                      My vote won’t make any difference in the outcome of the presidential election. Therefore, I should vote for the person who best represents my views. (For me, that’s always the Libertarian candidate.) By doing so, I am adding in a small way to his/her vote totals. The more votes the Libertarian candidate receives, the more the Libertarian Party’s reputation and influence will grow.

                      Gary Johnson polled at 11% in a recent survey. Although that’s merely a placeholder vote for now, it indicates that many people are dissatisfied with the two “major” parties and are looking for alternatives. Every vote for a Libertarian raises the legitimacy of the LP in the eyes of the public, while voting for either major party candidate just helps solidify the two-party system’s hold on America.
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                      • Posted by Herb7734 7 years, 11 months ago
                        OK. Point well taken.
                        However, it doesn't change my view that the issues in this election are so crucial, that everything that can be done, even in the smallest way, should be put forth to stop Clinton. If that happens, and the situation in Washington shows a change in the proper direction, I might modify my attitude. But for now, we must stop Clinton or I truly believe it's over - or will be in 8 years.
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    • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 7 years, 11 months ago
      Decent people do not involved themselves in politics. People who get involved in politics are not decent people.

      VITW member #***
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      • Posted by Herb7734 7 years, 11 months ago
        Hmmm.
        You may well be right. That is, in the case of the USA today. It wasn't always that way.
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        • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 7 years, 11 months ago
          True but these leftists were working for that change back then and still more change not for the better. I see no point in giving the left any sort of encouragement in any of their forms. So right now it appears Cruz is the only choice offered if even him and the emphasis is on the senate and representative races where the same thing goes

          Quit enabling the left
          Take control
          then make changes

          same thing they did but without the whining we hear these days....
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  • Posted by $ CBJ 7 years, 11 months ago
    At least he is using the word "sacrifice" properly: giving up a greater value for a lesser one (or none at all). :-)
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  • Posted by $ Susanne 7 years, 11 months ago
    Cruz has been spamming my mailbox now for months - I have blocked him (and he changes his server, unblocking him, and sends his crap out), I have sent requests and spoken people that keep confirming they're the ones sending this crap, and to tell them to stop... and it just keeps on going and going and going.

    Just based on that, he lost my vote long ago. Adding to this his ideals of "begging" for a handout (over and over), his demand we give for his personal greater good, his belief we should be our brother's helper (in this case, the "brother" being his political machine")...

    I am SO grateful Kasich came in second in NY yesterday, and buried this guy.

    Getting to the physical... He looks like "that uncle" you wouldn't want babysitting your kids. Sorry... but yeech. Does anyone else look at him and react similarly? I think Trump's hair has nothing on his smarmy smile...
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    • Posted by starznbarz 7 years, 11 months ago
      All elections float on pools of money, sad, but true. Deciding who to vote for based on looks worked out quite well with Obama, dont you think? Im trying something radical this time around, supporting the one that has a documented, long term history of standing publicly for Constitutional rule of law - if that one turns out to look funny, maybe I`ll just listen to what they say and not look at them...
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    • Posted by $ TomB666 7 years, 11 months ago
      It helps to use the spam filter on your email program. I recently changed to Thunderbird and it does a nice job of sorting this junk out.
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      • Posted by $ Susanne 7 years, 11 months ago
        As I was typing the above message, yet another spam-o-gram from good ol' Trd hit my inbox.

        He must be getting darned desperate, to keep spamming people like this. Maybe he realized he's not a chance in hell of winning? Maybe that the American people are finally fed up... they see the next dolphin (eg Flipper) for what he is.

        Now if they'd only open their eyes to the travesty that comes from Little Rock, er, New York.
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  • Posted by $ allosaur 7 years, 11 months ago
    Why am I thinking of the Aztec sun god who needs some sacrificial human help to rise every morning?
    Why does that in turn cause me to think of sacrificing $$$ against Climate Change?
    I'm also thinking some dude with a conservative group who twice a month snail mails me donation requests for help getting out of deep debt so they can return to spreading their message.
    Also in File 13 are requests from every candidate there is with the exception of Sanders.
    I never hear from Sanders even in email donation requests that I delete, delete, delete, delete, delete ad nauseum.
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  • Posted by term2 7 years, 11 months ago
    This comes from the religious zealotry of Cruz. SAcrifice is good. I rejected Cruz because I dont believe he can separate religion from government, and I am tired of laws that are spawned from verious religious beliefs from one version of "god" or another.
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    • Posted by stargeezer 7 years, 11 months ago
      So you think Hillbillyery will be a much better choice????

      Really now, seeking justification for voting for a moocher because you are a Objectivist is just too lame. Be honest, you are a atheist first and last of all and reject any candidate who holds any christian viewpoint because you are a religious bigot. I'll take a person who is honest about their Christian faith and is asking for funding for their campaign over a lieing moocher who will not make any stand about the subject.
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      • Posted by term2 7 years, 11 months ago
        The LAST one I would want is Hillary. Sanders had no chance ever, so I didnt even consider him.
        Hillary hides the fact she is in the pockets of her contributors. She just tells us what she thinks will get the votes, but its not what she would do anyway.

        I dont believe in the various versions of "god" that are out there. You are right about that. BUT, I have no problem with others believing in whatever they want, so long as they dont try to enforce those beliefs on me through violence- be it direct violence or government sponsored violence.
        I do have a problem with religion being intertwined with government, as it has been so much in past years. I think government should protect everyone's rights, and thats IT. No blue laws, no illegality of prostitution, no illegality of drugs or alcohol. Those are moral questions for each of us to decide, and I respect all persons' decisions on things like that.
        It did bother me that Cruz was big into bible thumping, and it made me uneasy that he could separate how he would use his presidential powers when it came to what his "god" told him to do. Thats all...
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      • Posted by $ CBJ 7 years, 11 months ago
        Cruz's support of his “Christian faith” is manifested in such activities as defending Texas' "10 Commandments" monument on public property, and his support of County Clerk Kim Davis' refusal to issue marriage licenses to gay couples on religious grounds. And yet he pretends to be a strong defender of the Constitution.

        If Cruz thinks that the First Amendment entitles politicians to display the Ten Commandments on public property and deny marriage licenses to couples not approved of by the “Christian Right,” I don’t think much of his ability or willingness to separate his religious beliefs from his Constitutional duties.
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        • Posted by lrshultis 7 years, 11 months ago
          Cruz claims to be a strict follower of the constitution. Would he follow the constitution while being sworn in or would he do the traditional thing and use some holy book and the religious oath rather than the one stated in the constitution?
          The other day I was surprised that he mentioned atheists as though they might actually be worthy Americans. Must be hard up for more votes.
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  • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 7 years, 11 months ago
    No but he does understand lower middle class by those numbers. What he doesn't understand is the few taxpayers stranded in the upper lower class

    Too much thinking in terms of trillions and billions none of them are in touch with reality.
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