I've noticed that several of us feel like the Republicans have abandoned their political values since the contract with America and are getting more fed up with Democrat Lite that we've been seeing lately. Several people have commented about either voting 3rd party or even re-registering 3rd party. I don't think there are enough Americans available to make a 3rd party effective right now and am seriously rethinking exactly what I want to do to change the Republican party (read give it a hard kick in the posterior) to get it going in the right direction again. What does everybody else think?
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I think the party is going to come back one day, but not with people like Mc Cain, the Huckster and the likes. I think America is going to have to get a good dose of reality first, then they will start screaming for some conservatism. If it's not too late!
I agree with you 100 %. We don't need a third party, we need our party to grow some nutz.
Ithink that the RepublicanParty needs to reverse course and focus more attention onfiscal conservatism as opposed tosocial conservatism. Just about every gainfully employed American can appreciateresponsibility in government, including spending discipline. On the other hand, a sizeable body of constituents resents and opposes conservative social movements, particularly those led or supported by fundamentalist religious groups of any denomination.
What I Think The GOP Needs To Do:
1. Cut federal spending
2. Keep the war on track; update stategies and tactics; get kills
3. Cut taxes
4. Develop a feasible national energy policy calling formore petroleum refineries and more nuclear power stations
5. Get government under control before engaging in any partisan campaigns
6. Leave the Constitution alone!!!
Right now Americans don't see a whole lot of difference between the major players in either party. One party or the other is going toput on theirbest face and charm the hell out of the voting public. Who's got the guts to do it?
Ben Garrett wrote a good post on the republican fractions. I believe the Republicans are split into three basic catagories: Fiscal, Social, and Foriegn Policy conservatives. Some of us older conservatives are Reagan conservatives who are conservative on all three branches. The branches are not easily deciminated either, where-as taxation is consider a fiscal issue, spending tax dollars of embronic stem cell research quickly becomes an issue for the socials. I think the republican party needs to dump this "compassionate conservatism" crap first off. Secondly, the Republicans need to re-establish themselves as the party of small government. Small central government should be the baseline of the republican party, and all that fallows with that. Lower taxes, no support for illegals, cut welfare, approve of private school vouchers, cut corporate welfare, abolish the minumum wage etc. On the social side, we need to separate ourselve from the secular progressives and fast. When big brother takes over the role of the community church, we are in trouble. I submit the plight of blacks in this country as an example. The black population coming out of the civil war and for a century beyond was extremely family oriented. Once upon a time, bleeding heart liberals decided that they needed the governments intervention to achieve economic justice. Soon, the more babies one had, The more they got from us tax payers. The government took over the role of the black man in the house. The result? Blacks have a ridiculous rate of babies born out of wedlock, and there is no room for black dads when the federal surrogate dad is there to pick up the bill. Kids need dads.
Where is the party going? Certainly not the direction that they need to. I think a thrid party is a possibility, but to do so the republican party would need to be squashed. I would like to see the development of the Conservative party, and a slow death to the rebublicans, who had their chance, and flat out blew it.
About25 years ago the Republican party got head over heels with the Christian right. Big boo-boo. Another big-boo was tax cuts at the expense of a crushing national debt. Aboutsix trillion dollars of that national debt was rung up during Republican regimes.The interest in thenine trillion dollar national debt will be nearly 500 billion dollars this year.That 500 billion dollars is nearly what national defense cost uslast year.
The issues of abortion, taxes, religion, flag burning, the Iraq war, prayer in schools, and gun control have factionaliized the Republican party. Bushlied when he madehis "no new taxes" pledge. He alsosigned some putrid executive orders on gun control. Bush I was livid when Republicans stayed away from the polls in droves. For 12 years the Republicans ruled the US congress. The "contract for America" was a total dud.
Now we are faced with a gaggle of lackluster Republication presidential candidates who are all over the planet on issues.Fred Thompson fizzled. Rudy Baby was a flash in the pan. Romeny has disavowed every stance he took on the issues. Huckabee is a shill for the evangelicals. McCain is a nutcase. None of the candidates, Democrat or Republican, are talking about the issues because no one wants to question them on the real issues.The debates are heavily scripted before hand. Instead of having real candidates for POTUS, wehave a bunch of adrenalin junkies who gesture and run their mouths but nothing of substance comes out.
There is a very good chance that one or more of the major Republican factions will stay home on election day in November.
IÂ*think that the RepublicanÂ*Party needs to reverse course and focus more attention onÂ*fiscal conservatism as opposed toÂ*social conservatism. Just about every gainfully employed American can appreciateÂ*responsibility in government, including spending discipline. On the other hand, a sizeable body of constituents resents and opposes conservative social movements, particularly those led or supported by fundamentalist religious groups of any denomination.
What I Think The GOP Needs To Do:
1. Cut federal spending
2. Keep the war on track; update stategies and tactics; get kills
3. Cut taxes
4. Develop a feasible national energy policy calling forÂ*more petroleum refineries and more nuclear power stations
5. Get government under control before engaging in any partisan campaigns
6. Leave the Constitution alone!!!
Right now Americans don't see a whole lot of difference between the major players in either party. One party or the other is going toÂ*put on theirÂ*best face and charm the hell out of the voting public. Who's got the guts to do it?
That would be a good reason for me to dump RepublicanÂ*Party.
At the risk of this topic turning into something Cal probably didn't intend it to (but because I can't resist responding to Aught Six and falcon ):
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Those who discount the importance of the social conservatives in the Republican Party need to remember that it was the social conservatives who played a very big role in the GOP's most recent dynasty (control of Congress for a decade and the White House). There's a big difference, of course, between making social issues an overly dominant part of your agenda and simply keeping it as a not-to-be-overlooked aspect of your agenda.
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I think it's just fine if a Republican candidate is a fiscal conservative but I REQUIRE that he be a social conservative. Is there some reason that a candidate cannot be a fiscal conservative AND a social conservative?
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I heard Jesus He drank wine and I bet we'd get along just fine.
Actually, as far as I'm concerned, this topic is wide open. Republicans need to start talking about what direction we would like to see OUR party take. Just about every Republican I know is refusing to send any money when they get those contribution request "polls" from Republican groups, etc. and most are also feeling disenfranchised. I refuse to send money but have been writing a lot of "comments" on the polls and sending them back. So far I've received no response and am not expecting anybody to do so. In a way, that sums up the problem--To wit, OUR Repuiblican pols simply are not listening to us and they have travelled way off course.
A lot of people (on and off this forum) have mentioned leaving the party and registering Independent or some other 3rd party affiliation. While it's tempting to consider, the reality is that a 3rd party would need close to 50 million members to truly become a political heavyweight. Taking our ball and going home is the political equivalent of acting like a little kid having a tantrum. It may feel good for a moment but after a while you realize you're only punishing yourself and acting like a 2-year-old.
There has to be some way that so many of us Republicans can demand and get our conservative principles back into mainstream Republicanism.
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Jesus Christ--The reason for the season!
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can read this in English, thank a veteran.
If you're certain you know everything, there's little opportunity to learn anything.
Direction for the Republican Party in 2008
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