Posted on 02/13/2008 4:21:21 PM PST by jdm
**EXCERPT**
The same conservative Christian activist who called a meeting last fall to discuss backing a third-party candidate to counter a possible Rudy Giuliani candidacy is revisiting the idea as Sen. John McCain closes in on the Republican presidential nomination.
Bob Fischer, a South Dakota businessman and anti-abortion activist, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that while he could back the Arizona senator over either Democratic Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton or Barack Obama, he made clear that he and others in the evangelical movement are not content with those choices.
"I'll be working in other ways to see that we have additional choices as conservatives," Fischer said.
He declined to elaborate, but held out hope that Mike Huckabee might mount an improbable comeback, or that another "good conservative, Godly, Christian pro-life" GOP candidate somehow emerge to supplant McCain. The Arizona lawmaker has opposed abortion during his four terms in the Senate.
Fischer also volunteered an alternative scenario: supporting the nominee of the fledgling Constitution Party.
Although some conservative Christian activists are warming to McCain, Huckabee's success with that voting bloc in recent primaries and caucuses shows that much work remains for McCain.
(Excerpt) Read more at kansascity.com ...
Stop the bleeding. Vote Third. No mandates for RINO McCain.
if McVain is the most conservaive, best candidate the GOP can come up with, this is certainly at least worthy of consideration. The Republicans started as a third party.
Maybe there will be a major influx to the Constitution Party. I wonder if they can convince at least a semi-serious candidate to run for President on their line.
And to the professional Republibots around here, I wouldn’t worry about that. The Dimmycraps are going to be drained by Cynthia McKinney on the Green line, Nader on the imaginary party, and maybe Bloomberg.
I second that motion.
I second that motion.
Third Party ping!
A third party would cause conservatism to wander in the wilderness for years to come while liberalism coalesces around whatever trendy bag of hollow-blathered socialism suits their fancy.
Let’s clean up our own party to succeed and leave the tried and true third party failures to the Greens and Independents. -Wb
The options are:
1) Stay home on election day or skip voting for President. - This will be reflected in the exit polling but doesn't really provide a clear message to the Party.The Third Party option would probably sink the Republican candidate but it would force a return to the Conservative roots of the Party in the next election. I don't think it should be dismissed so quickly.2) Vote for the Democrat - This will be interpreted as the country moving much farther to the left.
3) Vote for McCain - This will be seen as proof that Conservatives are not an important part of the formula for a Republican Presidential win.
4) Vote Third Party - Provides an unmistakable message to the Party that Conservatives can't be ignored in the nominating process.
A third party would cause conservatism to wander in the wilderness for years ...Do you think voting for a moderate to liberal Republican Candidate will keep Conservatives from wandering for years as well? A win by McCain changes the electoral formula. This will just make Conservatives wander inside the Republican Party where they are easier to ignore. Think about the Black vote for the Democrats. So reliable that they are easily ignored.
Remember that the Republican Party was formed from the ashes of the Whig Party.
Except in certain cases I have stopped voting Repub altogether. As a party they are wholly repugnant and underserving of my support.
The Third Party option would probably sink the Republican candidate but it would force a return to the Conservative roots of the Party in the next election. I don't think it should be dismissed so quickly.
Exactly! Third Party is definitely the way to go this year.
There is no way any conservative should vote for McCain, Clinton, or Obama.
Only if it causes McCain to lose. If voters stay home and McCain wins, it will set in stone that those voters who sat it out, no matter what they call themselves are irrelevant and not needed.
Indulge your silly side. Vote Third Party.
Let’s clean up our own party to succeed and leave the tried and true third party failures to the Greens and Independents
At first glance it would make sense to clean house by voting out the “leftist bums” but that won’t get the job done.
What you’re overlooking is that the party is not run by elected officials that can be voted out. It’s not just the “inhabitants” of the house but the house itself that is the problem.
Some of us have been feeling that for years. Tell me something new.
Count me out of this suicide.
Then my eyes were opened when I heard their obnoxious radio ads during the 2000 and 2004 elections. They were trying to convice me, and other gullible voters that Bush was more dangerous than Gore or Kerry. They were perfectly content to throw the election to the RATs.
Then I realized that they NEVER intend to win any elections. It is much easier to pretend to be holier than thou, knowing full well, they'll never be called upon to prove anything. The members of the CP are a bunch of cowards. If they really cared about their country they would be Republicans and try to swell the numbers of true conservatives. Then we will be in far better shape and we might actually accomplish something. But don't be fooled.
I’ve heard that both the Libertarian and Constitution Parties have made overtures to Ron Paul. Regardless of what you think of his positions he does bring a large grassroots support base and fund raising machine to the table. I’m hearing that he does not want to run 3rd party because he’s done it once before (in 1988 for the Libertarian Party) and polled badly and he’s more interested in keeping the ‘movement’ going and if he ran 3rd party there would be a backlash as he’d be the Nader in this race to McCain’s Kerry and would catch the heat for losing the race for the Republican Party. Say what you will about Libertarians but the Republican Party needs there votes.
Even if a third party has nearly zero chance of winning in November, all it would take is 10-15% of the vote to show that we are SERIOUSLY tired of the CRAP the GOP is trying to feed us. Either the GOP will shift back to the right, or the new 3rd party will grown. Either is a winning scenario.
Only if it causes McCain to lose. If voters stay home and McCain wins, it will set in stone that those voters who sat it out, no matter what they call themselves are irrelevant and not needed.True, but if he can win without conservative support then there will be years in the wilderness no matter what happens.
5) A brokered convention and the GOP nominates the most qualified candidate for POTUS, Dick Cheney.
5) A brokered convention and the GOP nominates the most qualified candidate for POTUS, Dick Cheney.I was looking past the convention making the assumption that McCain will be the nominee.
It's late in the process to force a brokered convention. McCain has most of the delegates he needs sewn up and few major pockets of resistance ahead.
There are a lot of downsides to a brokered convention as well. With no Candidate until late summer the other party will be able to concentrate fire on our bickering candidates while they're running through a lot of money.
The dark horse candidate would have to be a compromise that the existing candidates with delegates could support. Those with the most delegates would have the most influence. It would involve a lot of back room horse trading to get everyone on board. The process is likely to resemble the West Virginia Caucuses with tactical decisions being made.
Lincoln was a product of a brokered convention and he did ok :) . But there was a reason he had all of his political opponents in his cabinet. Would that formula work in this situation?
The less support McCain has at the convention the less influence he will have on the platform and future party direction so it isn't a bad goal to work for. I just wouldn't bet the farm on it.
If the big govt spendaholic christianists want to leave the GOP then by all means please do so. Those of us who want the Federal govt to stay out of our pocketbooks won’t miss them in the least.
Folks, you’re making it a lot easier for a
President Barack Hussein Obama. Come on
now...THINK! This isn’t what you want...
but it’s what you’ll get.
IU think you misunderstood what was being said. Bush was never a conservative, and the danger in a Bush Administration was what the danger in a McCain Administration is-- that they will pull along enough conservatives in support of their quasi-liberal policies to dilute and undermine what conservatism is.
As Newt said, we did neither ourselves nor President Bush any favors by not being tougher on him when he veered from principles. The constitution Party has been doing that -- being hard on Republicans to try to keep them to principles. With more people in the party and more voter support, it could do so much more effectively.
Liberal Democrats are as dangerous to the country, more so, but in a very different way. Dop not cloe your eyes to the dangers posed by RINOs just because they hve Rs after their names.
Or not. There are likely to be at least two seriosu third-party candidates from teh left: Nader and McKinney. Maye Bloomberg too. So even taking 10-15 percent for a conservative third party wouldn't necessarily sink the Republican candidate.
Of course, if it does, it tells the GOP loud and clear that you can't win without us, so you'd better not abandon and mistreat and insult us again.
A lot more room to wander in the wilderness than in the Tent.
Out of our previous "wandering in the wilderness" came the Reagan Revolution.
Besides, he has his House seat to defend and that is much easier within the framework of the GOP -- for now, at least.
If only the Whigs didn’t have that foolish sounding name I’d sign up right now...
And not to mention that I don’t have the slightest idea of that their ‘animal’ is. I mean other than it’s not the Elephant nor the Donkey.
Maybe the Whigs don’t have an animal. So if we revive them, we can pick our own animal that truly symbolizes what politics is all about.
I vote for the Rat.
If Paul won’t do it, who then? Keyes? The wya he is being utterly ignored and treated like he has no right to run by his own party, he might just be mad enough to make the race.
You know that's not true. Do you know who holds hte balance of power in the Montana Legislature right now? The Constitution Party. It holds one seat, but that one seat is decisive in terms of who controls it. The CP has other officials also, all at local levels, but that is where you start building.
5) Vote for a third party candidate for President but vote for principled Republicans for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, and state offices.
I sure hope they step up to the plate.
To me, I think it is wrong to run away and vote third party. Best way to put the dimocrats in the WhiteHouse.
Not smart in my estimation.
To me, I think it is wrong to run away and vote third party. Best way to put the dimocrats in the WhiteHouse.I guess it depends on how you define yourself, a Republican, an anti-Democrat, or a Conservative.
Go for it. I’ll vote for a conservative in a third party. At some point, it’s time to send a message to the liberals in the GOP. The impudent Illinois GOP is already dead without a conservative party. I think in nationally the GOP in 2008 will be where Illinois is today.
the only thing is that we cannot afford to lose to the democrats while we are at war with radical islam...that would be extremely dangerous. And what about overturning Roe with numerous likey conservative appointees to the supreme court. That will be out the window for a long time with Obama in there.
True conservatives need to realize they will never change the Republican party back to a true conservative party. It has become a Socialist Lite party which has sold its soul to special interest groups and will never revert back to its proud past.
We are going to lose to Democrats right now. A third party Conservative would be an option toward victory.
You just continue to believe the way you want but I saw the light about the CP. I have NO respect for any of them. They’re a bunch of idealistic kooks trying to deceive others into financing their folly. At this point, I have contempt for them. I want my money back.
how? It would just split the republican vote.
But how? Year after year many of us have been working to clean up our own party with our activism, our money and our votes, Yet a combination of the GOP establishment and some GOP voters keep giving us bad, big government, unconservative candidates. Now it's time to try something else.
There is no path to victory in McCain anyway, so any other conservative option is a better option than we have now.
Under any scenario, if McCain wins, the lesson will be that conservatives are irrelevant. As you say if conservatives stay home/vote third party and he wins, we will be considered irrelevant. But if conservatives end up voting for McCain, it will be the ultimate validation of the GOP's belief that conservatives can be taken for granted because we will stay on the plantation no matter what.
At least if we vote third party we have a chance to demonstrate that we have leverage...and that to win the party must groom and promote conservative candidates.
that’s wrong thinking...you don’t know that we cannot win with McCain. And with some concessions from him including a very strong vp pick, we should be ok. Don’t let your anger warp your vision.
Voting for McCain is the worst thing conservatives can do right now.
3rd, doesn’t matter, I don’t vote for people that stab me in the back anyway, so don’t even try...
I believe in reparations as well, but only to living people who were slaves and from living people who owned slaves...
As for the war on terror, it’s going to go on for decades! If we use that as an excuse to keep backing Rinos, we’ll have Rinos for the rest of my life time.
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