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Think' Tanks vs. Doers

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Posted By: Mercedes44, 11/9/2025 4:59:53 AM

I confess to a bias against political think tanks. If candidates can’t figure out what they believe in and why they do, armies of bow-tied college grads aren’t the answer: Better candidates are. I feel the same way about campaign consultants. You need people to keep track of filing requirements, but not how to answer reporters and constituents. You know where you’re going or you don’t belong there, even if grifters are happy to sit in a D.C. office placing ads no one watches to get 15% placement percentages on top of their salaries. It’s a well-funded racket.

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Reply 1 - Posted by: RussZilla 11/9/2025 6:35:08 AM (No. 2027619)
Heritage went the way of Bush/Boehner republicans, giving in to bow tied overpaid intellectuals. Middle America doesn't have the luxury of living in their world or even identifying with what they think is important. We were asking questions, age-old questions, like why do we pay for a war in Ukraine, or Afghanistan. Or, why should OUR money go to pay for people who live here illegally when people born here are barely getting by. They supported go along to get along and leaders who were paid off to be polite to democrats. Now that the dems have caved to the AWFL and Marxist wings, the folks at Heritage are left off to the side. They’ve gone their way, now it’s time for populists like Scott Pressler to take off. Both parties are tending to extremes. It’s time for the real middle to fill the vacuum.
11 people like this.

Reply 2 - Posted by: anniebc 11/9/2025 7:37:33 AM (No. 2027640)
What happened to Jim DeMint?
8 people like this.

Reply 3 - Posted by: Strike3 11/9/2025 8:24:11 AM (No. 2027675)
For those who didn't already know it, Clarice is one wise lady.
21 people like this.

Reply 4 - Posted by: privateer 11/9/2025 8:47:06 AM (No. 2027691)
FTA: 'Trump voters didn't show up on Tuesday because right now Trump voters are -- for the most part -- happy with what the Admin is doing and attempting to do.' Hence the well-deserved tag the Stupid Party. Republicans need to be reminded that they MUST always vote...to protect what they already have. Commiecrat voters ALWAYS vote to destroy what they hate.
12 people like this.

Reply 5 - Posted by: marbles 11/9/2025 11:13:39 AM (No. 2027727)
500,000 imaginary voters showed up on Tuesday in NJ for Sherrill. It set a new record for turnout.
8 people like this.

Reply 6 - Posted by: Hermit_Crab 11/9/2025 12:08:54 PM (No. 2027752)
I used to be kind of a fan of "Think Tanks"... even thought about trying to get a job with one. But given the ideas coming out of 'Think Tanks' the last 40 years, and especially the last 24 years, I'm kinda thinking we would be better off taking advice from the guys in the 'Drunk Tank' of the local Police Departments.
4 people like this.

Reply 7 - Posted by: MickTurn 11/9/2025 12:23:12 PM (No. 2027759)
Sounds more like Stink Tanks runs things.
2 people like this.

Reply 8 - Posted by: dbdiva 11/9/2025 1:25:10 PM (No. 2027782)
I receive multiple pieces of mail every month from the HF. Each one travels from my mailbox to the trash can with no stops in between.
1 person likes this.

Reply 9 - Posted by: Sunhan65 11/9/2025 2:19:52 PM (No. 2027793)
Since Never Trump, I've watched the talkers and think tankers through a different lens. The conservatives I admire most were all accomplished people before they became publicly identified with conservatism: Ronald Reagan, Mark Steyn, Charleton Hesten, Ted Nugent, Andrew Breitbart, and, yes, even Arnold Schwarzenegger. None of these people ever needed conservatism to make a living, and all of them paid price for publicly espousing conservative ideas. Ted Nugent would be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame if he wasn't a libertarian and likely never will be because he is. Even President Trump, who is not in my opinion ideologically conservative, paid a huge price for representing our ideas so fearlessly. His daughter lost her highly-successful clothing brand just for being related to him. The think tankers and talking heads, on the other hand, made their living directly off of conservatism and, thus, indirectly off of us. I stopped buying when they sold us out in 2016 and haven't looked back since.
1 person likes this.

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