Quotes To Live By

"The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of Conservatives is to prevent mistakes from being corrected." - G.K. Chesterton

"In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for; as for me, I rejoice that I am not a Republican." - H.L. Mencken

"Government is a contrivance of human wisdom to provide for human wants. People have the right to expect that these wants will be provided for by this wisdom." - Jimmy Carter

"You do not lead by hitting people over the head - that's assault, not leadership." - Dwight D. Eisenhower

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." - John Quincy Adams

"A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be." - Rosalynn Carter

"All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth." - Aristotle

"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe." - Abraham Lincoln

"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn." - Alvin Toffler

"It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows." - Epictetus

"Remember that our nation's first great leaders were also our first great scholars." - John F. Kennedy

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." - Nelson Mandela

"Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government." - Thomas Jefferson

"Common sense is the knack of seeing things as they are, and doing things as they ought to be done." - Harriet Beecher Stowe

"Not doing more than the average is what keeps the average down." - William M Winans

"We have learned that power is a positive force if it is used for positive purposes." - Elizabeth Dole

"No question is so difficult to answer as that to which the answer is obvious." - George Bernard Shaw

"No science is immune to the infection of politics and the corruption of power." - Jacob Bronowski

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace." - Jimi Hendrix

"I hope our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us, that the less we use our power the greater it will be." - Thomas Jefferson

"It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err." - Mohandas K. Gandhi

"The sad duty of politics is to establish justice in a sinful world." - Jimmy Carter

"The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government." - Thomas Jefferson

In the Beginning...

In a world of extremes there are those of us who make up that large amount of space between the poles. In the world of politics the majority of Americans make up this center. We are those who believe that the word compromise is not a synonym for retreat or for failure but instead something which success and advances are built upon.
The funny thing about being this center is that the other sides are so loud and so demanding because they don't compromise that they are the ones who get all the attention and who create the "platform" of whatever party they represent. The Republicans have the hardcore conservatives who believe that the 1950's never ended and the Democrats have the very liberal "hippies" who believe that the 60's never ended. For those of us who are living in the 21st century we are often unable to be heard above the roar of extremes. This is where the title of this blog comes in, we're stuck between an Ass and an Elephant!
In the 2008 election however I believe there will be a difference between years past. Although we are almost assured that a Democrat will get office mainly because G.W. Bush messed everything up so much, the sides and especially the democrats are surprisingly starting to figure out that to win an election you have to court this center. This isn't a new idea but this time I think they have really taken it to heart. If you listen to some of the Democrat candidates you will notice that although they are courting their "base" which is the very liberal "hippies" they are also trying to "convert" some republicans who would be considered "blue dog democrats."
This blog is so I as a blue dog democrat, can voice my ideas and my feelings on issues, events and people who are involved in both.
By the way, a Blue Dog Democrat is generally someone who is fiscally conservative and socially liberal; pro-business and puts emphasis on "individual responsibility". This however is a very loose definition because by definition not all blue dog democrats vote or think the same.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Dog_Democrats