Are the Republicans still conservative? (My title)

Citizens for a Sound Economy ^ | 8-14-02 | Citizens for a Sound Economy

[redrock]

Not many.......

..which is sad.

Very sad...since whenever the Republicans CAMPAIGN standing up for conservative issues...they win and win big.

ALA Newt and the boys and Reagan.

redrock

[brat]

"Thou shalt not speak ill of your fellow Republicans"

Heil Hitler! LOL

[brat]

"Thou shalt not speak ill of your fellow Republicans"

Heil Hitler! LOL Koolaid anyone?

[Anotherpundit]

I think this guys' right, but I think there are some bright spots. Look at "non-traditional" republican candidates that are having or may soon have major success, like Mark Sanford in South Carolina, who's campaign platform is half reform party issues when you get right down to it. I've seen more people motivated to help with his campaign than I have with any other republican running around here, and there's a reason -- sanford's got a clear, solid reputation as an honest to god small government conservative. People want that. We aren't getting enough of it from the mainstream Republican Party. I think that there's a real field for "reagan-style" small government conservatives within the republican party, and I think that small-government conservatives who can convince voters they really mean their small-government stances will win primaries against other republican candidates.

That doesn't "knock republicans," it just acknowledges that, while it's usually good to elect republicans, some republicans are better than others. I think that if people want to win Republican primaries, they'd be well served to hearken back to the rock-roots of the party -- small government, the constitution, etc. Voters want that.

[Anotherpundit]

Very sad...since whenever the Republicans CAMPAIGN standing up for conservative issues...they win and win big. ALA Newt and the boys and Reagan.

Aye, precisely my point. Speaking of which, I'd really like to see Newt come back in again. He's served his time, IMHO. We need him working again.

[redrock]

"I'm tired of this sh*t."

Too bad...so sad.

"We have an implacable enemy out there, who spends every waking hour--and a good deal of R.E.M. sleep--plotting just how they can kill as many Americans as possible, and destroy THE most basic freedom, the right to continue living without worrying about being blown to little gobbets."

True..this Nation has enemies. Outside our borders and inside our borders. And the one's inside our borders want to remove our freedom's just as much as the one's outside.

"And all you stupid-*ss single-issue jokesters can think about is...your single issues."

Yep...single issue voter here.

RESTORING and MAINTAINING the ONE vital piece of our Government..the one thing that stands between us and slavery.

The Constitution.

Nothing more...nothing less.

"Tell you what? Instead of acting like the flip-side of the Leftie record (they're spending all THEIR time trying to figure out how to beat down GWB's poll numbers--even if it means they have to ham-string the country in the midst of war to do it), why don't you call a temporary truce, and get behind Pres. Bush?"

Asking questions about what the President does or doesn't do is part of our DUTY as Americans.

...and if he needs an old...slightly beat-up ex combat medic...I'll be there in a flash.

Will you?????

Or all the rest who want everyone to be silent???

"Just STFU and try pulling YOUR oar while it's needed to save this ship of ours."

No....and parting of saving this ship (your words) IS ASKING QUESTIONS of those in Government.

..or perhaps you would prefer someplace like CUBA...where asking questions of those in Government is grounds for prison.

"THEN you can moan and belly-ache about how they just don't make 'em like Jeff Davis any more, to your heart's content (if it's EVEN possible to use a word like "content" with reference to you lot)."

Personally...I never liked Jeff Davis.

...and no one is moaing and belly-aching...just asking that OUR Goverment be honest.

..and stick to the Constitution in ALL things.

redrock

[brat]

No, they are not which is why I re-registered as an Independent. If enough of us do it perhaps they'll get the hint.

[brat]

"..and stick to the Constitution in ALL things."

That bears repeating.

[Major Matt Mason]

"Thou shalt not speak ill of your fellow Republicans"

That rule applies only leading up to elections. After the election, I fully intend to continue bashing the RINOs every chance I get.

[Enough is ENOUGH]

How can an influential grass roots movement toward conservative principles be allowed to germinate and win the hearts and minds of the electorate in a nation held captive by a leftist socialist controlled media and in a world that has embraced the leftist ideology as its creed? How can such a movement take hold if we are not allowed to openly express our dissent over policies that are inconsistent with the principles contained in our Constitution or even with the principles contained in conservative common sense?

The only hope we have to overcome these obstacles rests in the courage of those who dare to speak out against the direction this Country is being taken by their elected representatives. I strongly believe in the concept of government Constitution over party. I think people are perfectly capable of handling the duality of loyalty for the war effort without having to blindly accept leftist socialist dogma.

[Major Matt Mason]

If Republicans could retake the Senate and expand their lead in the House, conservatives would have a stronger bargaining position.

Wrong! (in my best John McLauglin bellow). The conservatives have more of a say in the party when it is the minority. The party needs the base to be motivated, since the spineless RINOs are usually cowering in the corner under the relentless attack of the Dems.

Once the Repubs become a majority, however, the RINOs come out of hiding to take over the policy direction of the party. This is what happened following the '94 victories- the conservatives had their way for 100 days, then the RINOs in the Senate promptly brought things to a screeching halt. It has been downhill ever since.

[Anotherpundit]

Another qualification: they have to actually be Republicans. Is a republican in name only, still a republican? By every test except the name, no, they aren't.

[Texasforever]

Another qualification: they have to actually be Republicans. Is a republican in name only, still a republican? By every test except the name, no, they aren't.

Baloney. Conservatives comprise about 25% of the GOP and that has always been the case. We hold far more leadership positions within the party than our percentages would logically support.

[truth_seeker]

All most Republicans(including a majority on this site it seems) care about is winning.

Candidates from both major parties MUST appeal to and get very many votes from the "center" to get elected (winning).

When either party fails to do this, the LOSE. Goldwater, McGovern, Dukakis.

The only conservatives which pass muster with the hard core conservatives on this board, for the most part fall into the losing type, hence they uphold "principles" and they LOSE.

Reagan appealed to the non-idealogical center, based on personality. He also compromised principle enough to stay popular.

Many times, principled conservatives are weak politicians, and they LOSE. Winning takes personality, political skill, money, and solid positions. Political skill involves compromise, when strategically beneficial.

Get us candidates with those strengths, and conservatives can win.

[Illbay]

You don't have a one track brain do you?!?!?!

Let's see: Should I worry about parsing Laura Bush's words when she addresses the National Garden Club, to see if she might have said something that wasn't sufficiently "pro-life"?

OR should I remain concerned about the fact that a few million radical fanatics want to kill me and my family, and concentrate on what my government is doing to prevent it?

Gee, it's not a tough choice for me. Makes me wonder about you, though. Briefly.

[Illbay]

And the one's inside our borders want to remove our freedom's just as much as the one's outside.

Sorry, this is just asinine.

Worrying about whether you can smoke pot without being hassled by a cop, isn't even in the same universe as worrying about when the bad guys might be detonating a dirty bomb, poisoning an aquifer, or killing a few thousand citizens with a crop duster--or any of the myriad schemes they can come up with.

You people are so pathetic, I'd laugh if it weren't so horrid.

Take a hike.

[exnavy]

I am.

[WFTR]

The conservatives have more of a say in the party when it is the minority. The party needs the base to be motivated, since the spineless RINOs are usually cowering in the corner under the relentless attack of the Dems.

Wrong yourself! (in whatever silly voices you try to use) I'm not interested in what's best for the party. I'm interested in what is best for the country. If the Republicans are in the minority in Congress, it doesn't matter whether the conservatives control the party because the Democrats will control what comes out of Congress. Whoever controls what comes out of Congress will control the country.

What happened following the '94 victories is that we passed some good reforms and became bogged down after the Oklahoma City bombing. Clinton blamed the bombing on conservatives, and the idiot media supported him. Afterwards, the idiot sheeple believed him. Even with that setback, we passed welfare reform. I don't care how many dedicated conservatives were leading the Republican Party, we would not have passed welfare reform if the Democrats had the majority in Congress. We came within a few votes in each house of overriding Clinton's veto and passing a partial birth abortion ban. That ban wouldn't have even come to the floor if the Democrats had held Congress, and no amount of great conservative leadership could have brought it to the floor.

I'm not advocating that we support RINOs in the hope of winning Congress with a left-center position. If a candidate is just wrong on the issues, we shouldn't support him. However, the notion that we are stronger as a minority party is silly. What we need is the combination of conservatives leading the party and the party leading Congress. Until we have both of those things, we are losing. If the Republicans win the Senate and gain in the House, we will be in a better position to advance conservative causes.

A Year Later
Bill

[Constitution Day]

"This lady, mark my words, will make North Carolina proud next January when she marches down that center aisle in the U.S. Senate and takes office as the new conservative Republican senator from North Carolina," Helms said.

The voters have spoken. Time will tell.