Be Afraid, Democrats. Be VERY Afraid.

No, not afraid of Mitt Romney (although hard-core leftist Michael Moore is now, in the wake of what appears to be a highly successful GOP convention, warning people to "start to practice the words ‘President Romney’"). If I were the Democrats, what I would find FAR more frightening than the prospect of a "President Romney" is what comes afterwards.

More than anything else, what the GOP Convention primarily displayed this past week was the depth of the Republican bench. There is a good possibility that AT LEAST 3 future Presidents may have spoken during the Republican Convention, and a good number of others who very well could find themselves at either the top or the bottom of one or more future presidential tickets. And the Democrats have very little to offer at the moment to match that.

WHO do the Democrats have to put up to rival a Paul Ryan, a Marco Rubio, a Susana Martinez, a Bobby Jindal, a Nikki Haley, and a Rob Portman? And what about the GOP's keynote speaker who very well could've been a contender this go-round if he had wanted - who on the Democrat side of the aisle can match the heft of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (pun only slightly intended)? And then there's Condi Rice (yeah, I know, she has some issues) and that delightful and beautiful mayor from Utah, Mia Love. Shall I mention the Republican's strong farm system that consists of some very outstanding, enterprising, and up-and-coming governors?

In contrast, when you look at the Democrat Party’s scheduled line-up, all you’ll see is a bunch of has-beens and never-wases, wallowing in their “victim” status. I ask you: Who is the “future” of the Democrat Party? The clear-cut answer is Hillary Clinton !!! Talk about “Back to the ‘Future’”. After that, who do they have? Debbie Wassermann Schultz? Sandra Fluke?

Seriously, if the Democrats are smart (yeah, I know), THAT will be their take-away from this Convention. Be afraid of “President Romney” as Moore aptly warns. But be EVEN MORE afraid of what comes after, ’cause you got nothin’ to match it, and, what’s worse, you’re not even aware of it. And your strategy of going back to the so-called “war on women” well yet again (it might’ve worked 20 years ago in 1992, but, again, we’re talking about the future) PROVES that you got nothin’ and that you’re not even trying to build a decent farm system with solid prospects for the future.

That smell you should be smelling would be the smell of Democrats dropping a collective pantload if they had any notion of what the lineup of speakers at the GOP Convention portend for their future.

You've Come a Long Way, Baby! [UPDATED]

How about you show some respect for yourself?

Ed Morrissey has a post today describing the potential for a backlash against the "war on women" meme the Democrat Party has planned for their upcoming national convention:

If they do, I argue in my column today for The Fiscal Times, they may well find themselves hoist with their own petard, after a week of watching accomplished Republican women speaking from the dais in Tampa.  Not only does the emphasis entirely miss the issues about which voters care most in this electoral cycle, the entire argument diminishes women to, well, to exactly what Code Pink reduced them in protests at the GOP convention...

I've made it abundantly clear that I will not be voting for the Republican ticket this year (choosing instead to support my friend, Virgil Goode, on the 100% pro-life-without-exception Constitution Party ticket). Nevertheless, I will acknowledge that, when it comes to "strong women", the GOP beats the Democrats hands down.

When I see the women at the GOP convention, I see a strong, independent, self-made African-American woman who became Secretary of State through her own efforts and merit, and not because her husband used to be President. I see a strong, independent, self-made former Vice Presidential nominee who fought her way to the top against corrupt, entrenched interests in Alaska - a man's state if ever there was one, and yet who manages to be the mother of 5 kids, making her relevant to the millions of working moms who try to balance work life with home life. I see the strong, independent first Hispanic woman governor - of either party - who, after her speech last night, will surely be on most people's short list for a spot on either the top or the bottom of a future GOP presidential ticket. I see a strong, independent woman of East Indian descent who managed to get elected Governor of arguably the most conservative state in the union, South Carolina. I see a strong, independent African-American mayor from Utah who will no doubt be a future star - in her own right - in the GOP.

Meanwhile, from the other side, all I see are women whining because "it's a scary time to be a woman" (as if it's not a scary time to be anyone), and asking for government to take care of them and give them free stuff, or worse, asking the government to force other people to provide them with birth control and other free stuff. On the other side, what we see are so-called "feminists", as in the photo at the top of this post, essentially making women out to be the sum total of what's between their legs. So much for fighting against the "objectification" of women. Which leaves one shaking one's head and responding to what's left of the so-called "feminist" movement as embodied in the modern-day Democrat Party: "You've come a long way, baby!"


UPDATE
It appears these silly people REALLY ARE intent on making this election a referendum on what they see as their own sex's weakness and dependency. (Well, they've spent 4 years not addressing the most pressing concerns of the American people, so I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise that they'd spend the election season doing the same thing.) Not content to wait until their own convention, two of the least substantively important people imaginable have brought the so-called "war on women" meme to Tampa by crashing the GOP convention.

Sort of a breach of protocol, but given what these two individuals are famous for, I think class is probably asking for too much.


UPDATE (31 August 2012)

What an absolutely asinine comment from an absolutely ridiculous and utterly unaccomplished woman. Lady (and I use the term charitably), what you saw on the stage at the GOP Convention were the future leaders of your country - all of whom got where they are through their OWN merit, hard work, and perseverence. Deal with it.

Meanwhile, the Dems will be offering up as a key speaker a similarly unaccomplished 30-year-old perpetual student whose only claim to fame is that she wants the government to force the Catholic Church to pay for her contraception and that Rush Limbaugh called her a nasty name.


Yeah, I'd hold her up as a shining example of a "real" woman, too ... if I were as pathetically tethered to an outdated view of women as government-dependent "victims" as the Democrat Party is.

Romney's Sister: Romney Administration Would Not Work to End Abortion; “Not His Focus.”

From one of the women who knows Romney best, his sister:

Mitt Romney’s eldest sister, who has backed prominent Democrats for office and is in Tampa showing support for her brother, had some reassuring words Wednesday for women concerned about the Republican Party’s hard line on abortion.

Mitt Romney would never make abortions illegal as president, Jane Romney said when National Journal asked her about the subject after a “Women for Mitt” event. "He’s not going to be touching any of that,” she said. “It’s not his focus.”

[...]

But as Jane Romney put it, “Mitt’s much more in the middle” when it comes to abortion.

Mitt Romney has said he supports legal abortion in cases of rape and incest, and when the life of the mother is in danger. As for the fate of abortion rights, “Recognize this is the decision that will be made by the Supreme Court," he said in an interview with CBS News this week. "The Democrats try and make this a political issue every four years, but this is a matter in the courts. It's been settled for some time in the courts."

Jane Romney said she believes “life is sacred” and suggested those seeking abortion should be required to undergo counseling. But she also said that abortion should “absolutely” be safe and legal. “Every woman needs to be left to make her own choice,” she said.

A ban on abortion is “never going to happen” under a Romney administration, Jane Romney said. “Women would take to the streets. Women fought for our choice, we’re not going to go back."

[...]

With the way Romney has backed off in the last few days from the pro-life stance he pretended to hold in order to win the GOP primary, does anyone REALLY doubt that Romney's sister is entirely correct in her assessment of him? She's right about Romney. And what's more, we all KNOW that she's right about him.

And, yet, pro-lifers are falling all over themselves to get this guy elected, even going so far as to say that those of us who will not vote for Romney because of his weak position on life are not authentically "pro-life". [NOTE: It was this piece that caused me to drop LifeNews from my Facebook feed.]

I have been saying for years that Romney is a fraud on the pro-life issue, trying to be all things to all people. But when it comes time to fight for anti-Roe judges, or for defunding Planned Parenthood, or for any other controversial right-to-life initiative, does anyone really believe that Romney will go to the mat in the same way the Dems are willing to fight to the death for abortion? Of course not. It is my heartfelt belief that pro-lifers will come to rue the day they ever supported Mitt Romney's bid for the presidency.

And, yet, the pro-life movement continues to make preposterous claims on Romney's behalf. Just stop. It is one thing to say that Obama is just so much worse that supporting Romney is a necessary evil. But pro-lifers just need to stop claiming that there is otherwise a pro-life argument in Romney's favor. There's just not. And, if he's elected, pro-lifers will eventually ask themselves "What were we thinking in supporting this guy?"

In Memory of "The Big Fella", Michael Collins ( Micheál Ó Coileáin), Who Died 90 Years Ago Today (22 August 1922)

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.  
The Laughing Boy
by Brendan Behan

T'was on an August morning, all in the dawning hours,
I went to take the warming air, all in the Mouth of Flowers,
And there I saw a maiden, and mournful was her cry,
'Ah what will mend my broken heart, I've lost my Laughing Boy.

So strong, so wild and brave he was, I'll mourn his loss too sore,
When thinking that I'll hear the laugh or springing step no more.
Ah, cure the times and sad the loss my heart to crucify,
That an Irish son with a rebel gun shot down my Laughing Boy.

Oh had he died by Pearse's side or in the GPO,
Killed by an English bullet from the rifle of the foe,
Or forcibly fed with Ashe lay dead in the dungeons of Mountjoy,
I'd have cried with pride for the way he died, my own dear Laughing Boy.

My princely love, can ageless love do more than tell to you,
Go raibh maith agat for all you tried to do,
For all you did, and would have done, my enemies to destroy,
I'll mourn your name and praise your fame, forever, my Laughing Boy.



The death of Michael Collins from "Shadow of Béal na mBláth"
(music by Sinead O'Connor from the "Michael Collins" soundtrack)


The bark of a dog breaks the silence like a bitter last hurrah
And a raven spreads it's wings for flight over fields near Beál Na mBláth
With a rifle still clasped to his breast, but hanging low his head
A black August day in the County Cork, Michael Collins is dead

Hang out your brightest colours, his memory now recall
Each one wants a part of him but no-one wants it all

~ "The Ballad of Michael Collins" by Brendan O'Reilly



Tom Barry describes the scene in Kilmainham Jail
where he witnessed hundreds of Republican prisoners
on their knees praying for Michael Collins
after hearing the news he had been killed during the Civil War.


Historical footage of the funeral of Michael Collins
set to "Wrap the Green Flag 'Round Me" by The Wolfe Tones


Oh long will old Ireland be seeking in vain
Ere we find a new leader to match the man slain
A true son of Grainne his name long will shine
O gallant Mick Collins cut off in his prime

~ "Michael Collins" by The Wolfe Tones




“We bend today over the grave of a man not more than thirty years of age, who took to himself the gospel of toil for Ireland, and of sacrifice for their good, and who has made himself a hero and a legend that will stand in the pages of our history with any bright page that was ever written there. Pages have been written by him in the hearts of our people that will never find a place in print. But we lived, some of us with these intimate pages; and those pages that will reach history, meagre though they be, will do good to our country and will inspire us through many a dark hour. Our weaknesses cry out to us, 'Michael Collins was too brave.' Michael Collins was not too brave. Every day and every hour he lived he lived it to the full extent of that bravery which God gave to him, and it is for us to be brave as he was—brave before danger, brave before those who lie, brave even to that very great bravery that our weaknesses complained of in him.”

~ Richard Mulcahy, IRA Chief of Staff (and Collins' superior) during the War of Independence, who succeeded Collins as commander-in-chief of the Free State Irish Army, in his oration at Collins' funeral.


“. . . So tear up your mourning and hang up your brightest colours in his honour; and let us all praise God that he had not to die weakened by age and saddened by the disappointments that would have attended his work had he lived.”

~ Dublin-born playwright George Bernard Shaw in a letter of condolence to Collins' sister




‘‘He was the man whose matchless energy, whose indomitable will, carried Ireland through the terrible crisis; and though I have not now, and never had, an ambition about either political affairs or history, if my name is to go down in history I want it to be associated with the name of Michael Collins.’’

~ Arthur Griffith
Founder and leader of the original Sinn Féin (not its modern Marxist namesake) and President of Dáil Éireann (the Irish parliament), whose work with Collins on negotiating the Treaty to end the Irish War of Independence, and whose untimely death at the age of 50 from either a heart attack or stroke just 10 days prior to Collins' assassination (thus depriving Ireland of yet another key leader in its political infancy) ensured that his name would, indeed, go down in history associated with that of Michael Collins


Michael Collins' brother, Johnny, at the rededication
of the Collins gravesite at Glasnevin Cemetery in 1939.
According to Collins and De Valera biographer, Tim Pat Coogan:
"It is a matter of record that for years Johnny Collins,
a civil servant, and thus very much at de Valera's mercy,
strove unsuccessfully to have a fitting memorial erected
over his brother, who, as the first Commander-in-Chief of
the Irish Army, lay in a military grave... Finally,
de Valera called Johnny in and stipulated that the cost
of the memorial should not exceed £300, and it should be
in limestone, not marble. He prescribed a formula of words
he wanted used on the cross and ordered that there be no
English on the front of it. The cemetery records show, that,
on July 31st, 1939, a few weeks before the world went to war,
Taoiseach de Valera took time out to sign personally the
certificate of authorisation for the design and erection of
the memorial cross over his old adversary... What the
certification does not show is the fact that de Valera forbade
Johnny to allow attendance at the dedication ceremony, either
by the press, the public, or by any member of the Collins family
apart from Johnny himself. Only the officiating priest and an
altar boy were permitted to be present. Had an outraged off-duty
gravedigger, who tended Collins's grave, not accidentally come
across the melancholy little ceremony and hailed a passing tourist
with a camera, there would have been no pictorial record of Johnny
standing alone, apart from the gravedigger, at his famous brother's graveside."

‘‘It is my considered opinion that, in the fullness of time, history will record the greatness of Michael Collins, and it will be recorded at my expense.’’

~ Eamon de Valera


For more on Michael Collins, see

General Michael Collins (website of the Collins 22 Society, of which I am a member)

Michael Collins - The Lost Leader

The Michael Collins Centre

The Michael Collins Web Page

An excellent and very comprehensive Michael Collins Site

A Man Against An Empire - History Net

Michael Collins Irish Leader - Economic Expert

Michael Collins - Military History Online

Michael Collins - University College Cork

The "Michael Collins" Official Movie Site

MICHAEL COLLINS - A Musical Drama

Michael Collins Irish Whiskey

Recommended Reading:

The Path to Freedom by Michael Collins

Michael Collins: The Man Who Made Ireland by Tim Pat Coogan

Michael Collins: A Life by James MacKay

The Big Fellow: Michael Collins & the Irish Revolution by Frank O'Connor

Michael Collins : The Lost Leader by Margery Forester

Illustrated Life of Michael Collins by Colm Connolly

Michael Collins - A Life in Pictures by Chrissy Osborne

Michael Collins and the Troubles: The Struggle for Irish Freedom 1912-1922 by Ulick O'Connor

Michael Collins's Intelligence War: The Struggle Between the British and the IRA 1919-1921 by Michael T. Foy

The Squad: and the intelligence operations of Michael Collins by T. Ryle Dwyer

Michael Collins and the Making of the Irish State by Gabriel Doherty (Author), Dermot Keogh (Editor)

"Michael Collins' Ireland: Following In The Footsteps Of The Big Fellow From Dublin To County Cork", Chicago Tribune, March 7, 1999

Recommended Viewing:

"Michael Collins"
(1996 Neil Jordan film starring Liam Neeson in the title role - can be purchased via Amazon.com)

"The Treaty"
(1991 RTE/BBC production starring Brendan Gleeson as Michael Collins, in a much better portrayal of The Big Fella than that of Neeson - difficult to find, but a DVD copy can be purchased here)

"The Shadow of Béalnabláth"
(1991 documentary on the life and death of Collins by Colm Connolly - used VHS copies available on Amazon.com)

"Hang Up Your Brightest Colours"
(1973 documentary on the life and death of Collins by Kenneth Griffith; banned for many years in both England and Ireland - a DVD copy can be purchased here)

"The Wind That Shakes the Barley"
(2006 Ken Loach film is a fictionalized drama focusing on the War of Independence and the ensuing Irish Civil War in Collins' native Cork - can be purchased via Amazon.com)

Shake Hands with the Devil
(1959 film is a fictionalized drama starring James Cagney, Michael Redgrave, and Don Murray as members of the IRA battling the "Black and Tans" in 1921 during the War of Independence - can be purchased via Amazon.com)

Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:85th Anniversary of the Death of "The Big Fella", Michael Collins