The only thing we're recycling are the principles the Republicans abandoned quite some time ago.
Posted on 11/09/2008 8:04:44 AM PST by Pondo
As Republicans, we face a choice.
Either we can spend the next several months -- or years -- trying to figure out what just happened, excusing our defeat away as a temporary blip or the result of a poor environment, and waiting for Barack Obama to trip up. Or we can refuse to take this defeat lying down, and start building the future of our party now.
2008 made one thing clear: if allowed to go unchecked, the Democrats' structural advantages, including their use of the Internet, their more than 2-to-1 advantage with young voters, their discovery of a better grassroots model -- will be as big a threat to the future of the GOP as the toxic political environment we have faced the last few years.
The time is now to set in motion the changes needed to rebuild our party from the grassroots up, modernize the way we run campaigns, and attract different, energetic, and younger candidates at all levels.
We must be conservative in philosophy -- but bold in our approach. We don't need a slight tweak here or there. We need transformation. We can't keep fighting a 21st century war with 20th century weapons.
(Excerpt) Read more at rebuildtheparty.com ...
Now is the time to become activist!!
The GOP better do something to get their act together, looks like it is going to have to happen at the grass roots level.
Republicans need to come to a decision now. Either lay down and give up, or start building a party the represents the views of the people and do it now. Get rid of the lifers in office that do nothing. Stop being afraid of saying things that might upset the other party.....tell it like it is and our people will get behind them. Try to fool the people and they will bury them. Time for a major change. Get people together and start throwing out the ones the don’t stand up to the requirements.
The Republicans have let us down for a long, long time. Bush increased the size of the federal government more than LBJ. We need to break the grip of the two party system - it is destroying this country. Libertarian, Constituionalist, we need more political parties.
The GOP is over. It’s time for a Grand New Party, one without RINOs.
Let’s drain the swamp.
This election was a disaster but sometimes tragedies can have positive effects. A gigantic silverlining would come if the party was rebuilt from the groundup. We have a great choice. Return to the conservatism that attracted voters to us in the first place, especially fiscal conservatism, or continue to let the Bush/McCain moderate wing lead us. If we run another McCain we likely see the same result as this time.
“The Republicans have let us down for a long, long time. Bush increased the size of the federal government more than LBJ. We need to break the grip of the two party system - it is destroying this country. Libertarian, Constituionalist, we need more political parties.”
That was disgusting. We had a Republican president and six years of a Republican congress and saw one of the worst orgies of spending in history. One reason we lost is because those who value fiscal conservatism no longer saw the party as a fiscally respoinsible party and for good reason. We acted like Dems when it came to spending.
The only thing we're recycling are the principles the Republicans abandoned quite some time ago.
Please check out the site. It’s a good site, but seems to be taken over by Ron Paul supporters.
The GOP is in need of some major reforms. For one they need a founding document that all GOP candidates need to adhere to or be openly reprimanded. For another they need to completely change their system of selecting candidates, open primaries are a pitfall trap as we have witnessed in several major elections. They also need to be much better organized at the local level between elections so that the base is more coherent. I’m sure that the are other reforms needed but I do know that the time for them is now and not just before the next election.
You DON’T rebuild a crumbling, rotting edifice. You’ll BULLdoze it and start fresh. Hire a NEW architect, devise new building plans, use the best construction materials and methods, and move in!
The GOP is politically inept and lacks direction.
Conservatives, to survive need to place focus on 2010/2012 candidates and directives that can win with a conservative directive NOW.
No more scrambling for a last minute "fill-in"....
The great advantage in working within an existing party is that decades of networks and organization are in place and this is no small thing even in an the modern age with near instant communication lines in place all over the world. It is, I think worth the effort to take control of the GOP, purge RINOs and liberals and make the conservative wing dominant. But this requires LEADERSHIP. Conservatives have to agree on who is to lead and on a platform that is clear, concise and easily communicated. And then they have to be motivated enough to slug it out and take back the party.
When you bulldoze everything you run the risk of ruining what is “right” with the party. I think it might be easier to rebuild rather than starting from scratch. Use the foundation that is already there, and re-model the rooms of the building that don’t work.
I think open primaries should be the first to go. This is how we ended up with McCain.
More than drain the swamp of RINOs in the party, we also need to shed the light on the RINOs here in FR.
I’ve been promoting a litmus matrix for all of us. That way we can see what these RINOs have been trying to hide. We don’t need to ban them, in fact it’s useful to have them around. But we do need to know who they are.
Second, may be to start a Constitutional Party. Who knows.
I think that one of the first things we do is change how we pick our candidate. Ohio was a battleground state but by the time our primary came around our candidate had already been decided.
I went to the website and read it. They do indeed have some good ideas and supporting these people is a good place to start rebuilding the conservative movement in my opinion.
I vote for new party. I am not interested in sharing my new party with socialism-lite.
Sent a email to them. This is what I was talking about the other day.
I do have some questions for them and I did voice them. This is war. I hope they are ready to go to the mat.
Of course, we are always pulling thier butts out of the fire as usual. Yes, they need us bigtime.
The problem is not that the Republicans need to recruit more people - the people would come on their own if the Republicans offered a message that inspired them.
They have gotten away from conservative principles - this is why they lost!
Change that & the people will come, you won’t have to recruit them - they will come on their own.
The problem with changing that is you can’t do it with these same old elitists that are currently in charge - this is not their message, they don’t believe in it.
We either have to get rid of these people (I find that outcome unlikely - they have the money & the power) - OR - we need to have another party as our vehicle of conservative principles. This option won’t be easy, but the sooner we start on it, the quicker it will happen.
I frankly think the GOP is dead.
I just don’t believe in the GOP anymore. The two parties are almost the same. I have the feeling that no matter what we do, the coup has already happened. Seems to me that the trillion+ bailout was the end and it happened under a Republican president. We need some vitality brought to our election process and a whole new system, IMHO.
Interesting website, thanks. Still reading but they have some good ideas - I personally could givt a damn if it’s a new Conservative Party or a Reformed Republican Party, but practically I realize the former will take many years to get organized, years we can’t afford to waste.
In looking at “The Coalition” I couldn’t help wondering why Jim Robinson’s name should not be included. Or a designated representative from FR. Thoughts?
I like the fact that the successful new media are supporting this. I haven’t supported or donated to the RNC the last few years but they still call with the same tired spiel (fear about democrats mostly). I understand and fear Obama and his liberal allies, but I’m not going to waste my money on an ineffective opposition.
#1 Purge the NEOconservatives and bring back true conservatism.
#2 Change the campaign rhetoric. The tactics used in the campaign were horrible, so negative turned off a LOT of voters, me included. I don’t care for Lindsey Graham but he was correct the RNC looks like a party of grumpy old men.
#3 Get new blood and I don’t mean Palin types, too fringe. If the RNC wants to win elections they have to find credible, intelligent, articulate candidates.
“For another they need to completely change their system of selecting candidates, open primaries are a pitfall trap as we have witnessed in several major elections.”
For some time now (ever since the nomination of McCain) I have been suggesting closed primaries and at least in the Republican primaries, the most conservative states vote first.
Better
“I think open primaries should be the first to go. This is how we ended up with McCain.”
And front-load the more conservative states.....day one; Texas, Utah, Idaho, Louisiana.
lol YES!
“I’ve been promoting a litmus matrix for all of us”
I’m interested in checking that out.
And what might that be, I've seen the bail out BS and the building of roads to private developments enough.
Don't forget Dodd.
The GOP had to fail, due to its very construction, due to the fact that it’s an open association.
It was inevitable.
Yup!
Ain’t gonna happen. The Left has firm control of the GOP, and it isn’t going to let go of it again.
The best you can hope for is more lip service and feel-good deception.
The only part Ron Paul had wrong was the war on terror, but he was only 1/2 wrong on Iraq. We need constitutional conservatism across the board. Sound money, clear cut and haul out the stumps of the regulatory/legal system, drain the swamp and kill the lawyers, fiscal conservatism, and get the hell out of the way of hard working enterprising folks trying to do productive things.
Ooooops I meant Dole not Dodd. Dole was the first time I noticed the RAT cross-overs controling the nomination of the GOP.
Vanities Arent The Problem (Time For An FR Cleansing)
The Awesome Mind of VaBthang4 ^ | 11/06/08 | VaBthang4
Posted on Thursday, November 06, 2008 6:27:52 AM by VaBthang4
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2126945/posts?page=119#119
The best way to do this is just to start one ourselves and when we run across RINOs, we challenge them to post their own results. I get the impression JimRob isn’t interested.
We don’t need a new independent party. We have the American Conservative Party and the Libertarians.
Would the adminstrators create a separate link for Activism, apart from news. So we can act, then create the news?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.