could rush limbaugh be right

[rockyshamrock]

http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/Rush_Limbaugh:_May_Not_Su/2008/01/22/66498.html?s=sp&promo_code=439E-1 dont always agree with him but some times he makes good points. is this one going to be right?

[mudhead1s wife]

I can't say for sure but I for one was dissapointed at the nominee list. There are so many out there this round that are not true conservatives and people have been saying for a long time that we are going to have to pick the candidate that stinks the least. My husband liked Fred Thompson but he has dropped out of the race so he has lost even more hope.

I could see that some wouldn't show up to vote because they just could not bring themselves to put anyones name down. That is the pits about our Government we still have a responsibility as citizens to pick a canidate that is closest to what we want, this year the canidates don't even seem to skim even the bottom of that.

I could also see a lot of conservatives being really upset and going out to vote just despite Hilary and Obama because they are so nausiating.

This is where I see the problem lies... People are not making politicians accountable and we are now approaching super Tuesday and for this election it is allready too late. It drives me insane when I hear about people walking into the polls and checking off names on a ballot and they know nothing about the people they are voting for.

I don't always agree with Rush either I will never agree with anyone 100% but I would rather listen to him than Clinton or Obama and day of the week. Plus I like the sound of his voice, and the fact that he is on the arrogent side just tells me he is comfortable in his own skin. An admirable charactaristic in my book.

[Dangermouse]

I dont know about him being right about candidates. I like Huck's answer when asked about his religion. I guess there is a press agreement not to ask Obombme about his religion. I am a conservative with what Rush says ,I dont know what he is.

[CalHunter]

I think we're already seeing some of what Rush is saying right here on this forum. Some people will not vote for certain Republican candidates even if it means hillary winning.

[Briman]

The only Republican candidates that would have gotten my vote have aleady dropped out of the race.

[SevenMag]

personally, I think rush and the other right wing talkers don't want to admit that conservatism is evolving... as it has over the years... the reagan coalition is gone... hell, JFK would be considered a right wing conservative by today's standards... good or bad, thats what is happening... the christian coalition is losing (or has lost) power in the republican party and the party is now a big govt, big spending party much like the Liberals of old... candidates that represent the republican establishment are losing the republican base voters anymore... Bush is a total F-up, there are a couple thing I agree with him on, but he is a big spending/big govt conservative that has hurt the republican party more than any previous candidate has... the republican establishment better wake up before they are completely cooked...

[bawanajim]

If t weren't for the Hildabeast and the non black guy running election news would be like Iraqis war coverage. Anybodies guess?

[BenGarrett]

Limbaugh is right to a degree.

First of all, SevenMag is exactly right: The Reagan Coalition is long gone. This was a big topic on one of the recent GOP debates, with candidates trying to compare themselves to what Reagan stood for or didn't stand for. But, regardless, the Reagan Coalition is a thing of the past, and the last chance to bring it back this election cycle ended when Fred Thompson bowed out of the race earlier this week. If your idea of conservatism is Reagan conservatism, then there's no doubt that Thompson was your guy. But to say that none of the other candidates are conservative isn't really true. They just don't meet Limbaugh's definition of conservatism.

We have seen a very interesting revolution of the conservative movement over the last 40 years. It began with Barry Goldwater in the '60s. Conservatives until that time had rejected the New Deal and pretty much everything that Roosevelt stood for, but they didn't really have a strong voice until Goldwater started the conservative revolution. After Goldwater's failed bid for the White House, conservatism really maintained a pretty straight course. But even as Reagan was giving the conservative movement its best of times by charging into the White House, a secondary movement within the main conservative movement was springing up, and that was what we now call social conservatives. Today, we really have 2 branches of conservatism, in my opinion: Fiscal conservatives, and social conservatives (I include those staunch proponents of smaller government and free trade and other traditional conservative values in the group with fiscal conservatives). And the 2 overlap to some degree, but they're still very much distinct. It was the social conservative movement that sent Bush to the White House in 2000 and won him re-election in 2004. I think what really caused social conservatism to overshadow fiscal conservative was the distinct leftward shift of the Democratic Party in the '90s. Things like abortion and marriage became hot-button topics. Republicans who tout their stance on those issues are often accused of playing the "family values" card, and that is true in a good many instances. But those are legitimate hot-button topics because a lot of Americans care very deeply about those issues. And those Americans, generally, are members of the Republican Party. It's like a tug-of-war within the Republican Party; to over-simplify it, it's like libertarian vs. evangelicals within the conservative movement. This was exemplified when Goldwater himself became outspoken on the new direction the conservative movement started taking in the '80s. And within the Democratic Party, the same tug-of-war exists, but to a lesser extent.

The conservative movement today is a lot different than the conservative movement in the 1980s. If you're Rush Limbaugh, how can you say that Mike Huckabee isn't conservative? My father and I argue about this all the time: Is Huckabee conservative? I say absolutely. He's not Reagan. He's not conservative on a lot of fiscal issues. But he's very conservative on social issues, and there are a lot of people who care about those social issues. Now, I said a minute ago that those 2 branches of conservatism overlap. I'm not sure you can win the GOP nomination without appealing to both those branches, and that's what Huckabee is finding out right now. He's not going to win the nomination. But you also see how well he has performed, and I'll bet you that 75% of the people voting for Huckabee are voting for Huckabee because of his stance on social issues.

On the other hand, I suspect that Rush Limbaugh might be a supporter of Mitt Romney. I don't know whether he is or not because I don't listen to his show, but I know that Sean Hannity is a Romney supporter and he and Limbaugh seem to think a lot alike. Romney and Reagan would've agreed on a lot of Romney's idealogies. Yet on some social issues, his beliefs in the past have reflected a very un-conservative slant. Granted, he says he's changed, but when he says that he is just asking folks to take him at his word.

Or how about Rudy Giuliani? Limbaugh's going to mention McCain and Huckabee but not Giuliani? Are you telling me that Giuliani is more conservative than Huckabee? In some regards on the fiscal side of the spectrum, he is. But in most regards, far from it. And McCain "” who I agree with Limbaugh is not a conservative "” could be the poster boy of conservatism when compared to Giuliani.

But the general premise of what Limbaugh is saying is right. I don't think a nomination by any one of these candidates would destroy the Republican Party, but it would certainly set it back some, much like the Democratic Party was set back in 2000 when they nominated Al Gore. Depending on who the candidate is, I think you'll see a lot of conservatives stay at home, or vote 3rd party or independent. Do not underestimate the fact that a LOT of conservatives feel disenfranchised by the Republican Party after the past 7 years. Their fear/hatred of Obama and Clinton will persuade a few of them to hold their noses and vote for the GOP candidate, but that can only take you so far.

I've said it before, because I think McCain is going to be the nominee, and I'll say it again: John McCain is not electable for the Republican Party. He will get a lot of the independent vote; probably more than any other candidate on the GOP side. And if Clinton gets the Democratic nomination, there will be a lot of independent votes to rake in; lesser amounts if Obama gets the nomination. But McCain will not unite the conservative base . . . or the Republican Party . . . and the GOP has to have a strong conservative base if they are to win in any election.

At the risk of making a long post longer, I'll say again that I'm one of those conservatives who will not be voting for the Republican candidate if the right candidate isn't nominated. I can vote for Huckabee, I can vote for Romney (and I could've voted for Thompson or Hunter or Tancredo). But I can't vote for McCain, and I can't vote for Giuliani. It isn't that I wouldn't rather see McCain as president than Clinton or Obama; I would (I figure there isn't much difference between Giuliani as president and Clinton or Obama as president, frankly). But I have to vote according to my values and my conscience, and that means I can't support either of those 2 guys. Maybe, as has been accused before, that's a piss-poor attitude to have. But I think you'll find that a lot of other conservatives have the same attitude. In that respect, Rush is right-on.

[kevin1]

Since he spoke in generalizations it's hard to say whether I agree with him or not. At the end of the day he can vote for his own choices like anyone else, I don't base my own preferences on whom a radio meat puppet is voting for.

[bawanajim]

I hate to do it Ben but your career could end soon , might evenget ugly & I feel bad for doing this to you but , I agree with you on this election and I also will not vote for a person that I despise just to prevent some one that is aligned even less with my true beliefs.

George Bush was my last pull & puke candidate. [:'(]