Red v. Blue

What's the difference between Republicans and Democrats? Rudy Giuliani summed it up very nicely in his appearance in our area this week. He recalled that he switched from the Democrat Party to the Republican, but he had an intermission when he called himself an Independent. This was his period of decision, and it was difficult since he admitted he had bought into the propaganda that Republicans do not care about the poor and disadvantaged.
He finally worked out that the Republican ideas of free markets, competition, and personal responsibility are universally good for all people and all institutions. He told the story of a New York Caritable group that made available 2,000 scholarships for private schools for children in the city's public school system. He became a believer in School Choice, that is competition, when 168,000 applications were filed.
The latest example is Medicare Part D. Despite some intiial problems and the issue of the doughnut hole, nearly 80% of seniors are enrolled and about that percentage approve of the program. Seniors have a multitude of choices (Dems said they'd be to dim to figure it all out) and the price has dropped 40% from the predicted cost (Dems want to have the feds set drug prices, which will limit choices and make the program more expensive). It is relevant to ask why they would do this. The answer lies with the issue of who trusts what and whom. Democrats think government and higher taxes are the answer to everything. Republicans think responsibility for solutions lies mainly with the citizens.
Mr. Giuliani is also a neo-con; a former Democrat who has seen the light and who is passionate about national defense. This is a movement that began with the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, and gained a new impetus in the late 1950's that lasts to the present. This is a process that is a thorn for Democrats as there has never been a sustained mass movement in their direction. These are people who are particularly despised by the left, because their life experiences and judgment brought them to different conclusions regarding government and civil society. In a word, Republicans are Right!