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October 28, 2010
Chickamauga! Chickamauga!
I liked this short history of the Battle of Chattanooga. Reeling from defeat at Chickamauga on September 19-20, 1863, Army of the Cumberland forces under the command of William S. Rosecrans retreated to Chattanooga to regroup. Braxton Bragg's men drove to the summit of Lookout Mountain and retook the peak without a fight. With this advantage on the Rebel side, Old Rosy feared losing the city.After stopping flank attacks by W.T. Sherman and "Fighting Joe" Hooker the rebels faced General George Thomas, "The Rock of Chickamauga" in the center. And something interesting happened. In the center of the rebel line sat Thomas. Over the past 3 weeks his men had been subject to taunts from Hooker's and Sherman's soldiers over the defeat at Chickamauga two months earlier. At 3:30pm, after word reached headquaters of Sherman's inability to reach his objective, Grant ordered Thomas to advance on the first line of defense on Missionary Ridge. The rebel line resisted at first then gave in to the advancing Federals.Some men do not take defeat well. It inspires them to do better. Likewise some do not handle victory well. Yes Mr. Obama, I'm talking about you and your party. And that was not the first time in the Civil War that such chants arose from Union troops. Gettysburg was another such time and place Some of the Rebels in Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863, may have heard the voice of Sgt. Benjamin Hearst before they met the withering Union fire at the stone wall on Cemetery Ridge. Hearst, a veteran with the 14th Connecticut, yelled at the advancing mass, "Now we've got you! Sock it to the Blasted Rebels. Fredericksburg's on the other leg!" And as the doomed men fell, the Federals behind the low stone wall shouted, "Fredericksburg! Fredericksburg!"Well America took a walloping from its own citizens in 2008. Now the shoe is on the other foot. One can only hope the Republicans have some fight in them. Such a hope is by no means a certainty. At least if we have Republican John Boehner (likely majority leader in the next Congress) to go by. "I think the American people want us to find a way to work together to address the concerns that face the American people every day. We're going to drive for a smaller, less costly and more accountable government here in Washington, D.C.," Boehner says. "And to the extent that we can find common ground in that direction, I would welcome it."What kind of common ground is he thinking of? A nominal reduction in the rate of acceleration in spending? I dunno. Maybe that is not what the voters have in mind. It will not be the first time in war that the troops will have to make up for the deficiencies of the generals. I'm not dismayed. Before we can put Boehner's feet to the fire we have to win a battle for him. So what is the battle cry for 2 Nov.? 2008! 2008! Or if you like TEAnami! Let us out vote and overrun the sons O bitches. After that whispering (with a powered megaphone) in the ears of our generals might be in order. Lead, follow, or we will push you out of the way. Cross Posted at Power and Control posted by Simon on 10.28.10 at 12:55 PM
Comments
Not very Xtian to find satisfaction in the suffering of your opponent. Damn, I'm glad I'm not a Xtian. dr kill · October 28, 2010 04:13 PM dr kill, When they are tired of suffering they can join us. In the mean time I intend to enjoy myself. M. Simon · October 28, 2010 05:00 PM Not very Xtian to find satisfaction in the suffering of your opponent. i'm sure the notre dame football team feels the same way newrouter · October 28, 2010 07:31 PM "I think the American people want us to find a way to work together to address the concerns that face the American people every day. We're going to drive for a smaller, less costly and more accountable government here in Washington, D.C.," Boehner says. "And to the extent that we can find common ground in that direction, I would welcome it." What kind of common ground is he thinking of? A nominal reduction in the rate of acceleration in spending? I dunno. What kind of "common ground" is he thinking of? Repealing ObamaCare. Terminating the Spendulus, stopping any of the unspent money from being spent. Cutting wasteful government spending (you know, like NPR). He's calling for "bipartisanship" the way the Democrats usually do: "Come, Democrats, give up your ideas and agree with us." Why in the world are you complaining? You should be keeping track of the Democrats running campaign ads promising "responsibility", and then nailing them next year when they refuse to join in "sensible, bipartisan" spending cuts. Greg Q · October 30, 2010 02:38 PM Buck and Ball! firecapt · October 30, 2010 05:29 PM Post a comment
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Regardless of the outcome of next week's elections, stalemate is the likely outcome during the next congress. Not even inspired (Reaganesque) leadership will accomplish much in the way of rollback. But the Civil War analogy gives us another model with which to find hope, and that is the relentless and dogged march of Sherman's army. The Tea Party must remain persistent and unwavering in its pursuit of smaller government, and if that means ridding ourselves of bad leaders, well then we can start targeting those folks with third party challenges beginning next spring.