Posted on 11/15/2006 6:40:56 PM PST by La Enchiladita
Like the Berliners of 1945-46 who picked through the rubble to separate still usable bricks for re-building from that which was destroyed beyond repair, the Republicans now start the same lamentable process of finding something of value in the rubble that was their majority. And just as the Berlin of today is physically both similar to and different from the Berlin that stood before it was flattened during WWII, so, too, the new Republican majority that someday will be rebuilt will be similar but not identical to the one that was constructed in the Reagan-Gingrich era.
For both edifices the cornerstone was and again will be conservative principles of governance and society. But even the substance of that cornerstone will be hotly fought over -- to say nothing of how the rest of the building above the cornerstone will be constructed.
Will it exclude "grandiose nation building abroad," which George Will recently insisted was one of the non-conservative apostasies of the Bush administration? Will it also exclude a firm Mexican border policy and any deviance from free trade, as Michael Barone suggested last week? Will it exclude opposition to federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, as many U.S. Chamber of Commerce leaders believe is necessary to keep the business-class conservatives on board with Republican conservatism?
It's all very well for all of us conservatives to repeat -- and believe -- the mantra that we strayed from conservative principles and paid the price. But the inevitable stresses within the conservative Republican governing coalition that had held together for a quarter of a century (more or less) until last week's election will be harder to put back together than they were to keep together.
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
FReeper ideas of how to rebuild are welcome.
Blankley used to work for Gingrich.
here is a tought.
purge the party of slugs who have no loyalty to country, who take bribes and burn the collective house down, sack party hacks who dont defend this country's borders, its future as a free republic.
elect candidates who say the things we do in forums such as these...the kind of unbearable truths that make liberals physically ill.
and apologize to no one. I think that may start to get out the vote for the right wing in this country.
Ya start a real conservative comeback by electing the cheerleader Lott?
Get a grip.
Let me offer just one example of how this coalition construction job will be marginally different from the one Newt Gingrich & Company had in the '80s and '90s.
Sort of saying, that coalition is gone and we need to build a new one...?
That's going to depend on who gets to define "conservative". The terms and tactics they use to define it will determine whether you're going to be able to have a majority of them.
Not pro Lott here, but let's see if he learned a lesson and changed diet to strengthen his cajones.
The country has taken a turn towards the left ... period. The word "Conservative" in this country has taken on a negative connotation.
We here at FR may believe that stonger conservative principles and a purge of the weak kneed RINO's is what is needed, but I feel (based on the majority of people I meet and work with), that people just want the easy way now and will vote with those who will promise to give them things and promise them utopia.
If a conservative majority ever regains power, it won't be in most of our lifetimes. And thats assuming there will be an America where one can cast a vote or be somewhat free or even exist in 30/40 years.
FWI....Conservatives should stop playing the DC-K St game...once you play it you're corrupt. They gotcha. Conservatives need to localize their politics OUTSIDE the beltway...they need a presence in every congressional district and state..They should champion more representation in the house ...1 representative /50,000 people instead of 500,000 as present. Drumming that message home locally...locally...locally. Reagan spent years in the hustings on the GE speech circuit spreading his ideas.
I'll be watching but I wouldn't bet the farm.
Nonsense, it's the word "Republican" that has taken the hit. By allowing RINOs to dominate the agenda, conservatives are wearing some of that taint.
Conservatism doesn't appeal to the majority of Americans. Most have come to accept socialism. It will take a complete collapse to change that. Until then, be entertained, anything else will drive you nuts. You may as well enjoy the easiest existance humans have ever experienced until the inevitable ocurs.
"The word "Conservative" in this country has taken on a negative connotation."
You can thank MSM and a "compassionate" conservative for that.
And there are several large voting blocks who vote democrat ostensibly against their own values--I'm speaking of Blacks and Hispanics.
Get a large portion of them on board...and the dems could become a permanent minority party.
This is true for many people. I would not be so pessimistic though. There still exits the persuadable middle. These people can be motivated by issues such as affirmative action run wild, lunatic judicial activism and higher taxes. There is the wild card of another big terrorist attack which nobody wants, but which has the potential to provide a reality check.
Any rebuilding of a Conservative political organization must counter the World Wide Communist "Globalization". President Bush (and Bill Clinton)started this counter group to world wide communism. It is called NAFTA and CAFTA. Join and help or get out of the way!
The House elected Lott. The Senate elected McConnell.
IMHO, NOT a conservative start. More of the same old stuff.
Learn from our mistakes first. Weed out support for those who have a high probability of back stabbing, like Lincoln Chafee and Jim Jeffords recently. Just to send a message to other RINOs. We only need to go RINO hunting once or twice.
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