Purge the Party – In Praise of Small Tents

grasstopsusa.com ^ | 11/06/2009 | Don Feder

[massmike]

Now we know what the mainstream media mean by “moderate Republican.”

A moderate Republican supports gay marriage, which would savage the family – the foundation of society. This puts him at odds with an overwhelming majority of voters. On Tuesday, Maine became the 31st state to reject marriage substitutes via the ballot. On marriage referenda, the score is 31-0 for the home team.

A moderate Republican is so dogmatically pro-abortion that she gets awards from Planned Parenthood. As a state legislator, a moderate Republican votes to raise taxes more than the average Democrat. A moderate Republican supports Card Check, which would drive millions of workers into the ranks of organized labor.

[Truth is a Weapon]

I don’t want to purge the party of RINOs. I just want them to shut up, vote for conservatives and never, ever run for office.

[tennmountainman]

Until the leadership changes, nothing else will

(With exception to Pence)

Oh, we’ll pick seats in 2010. However, we will not maximize the pick-up with this bunch

[MIchaelTArchangel]

The problem with the large tent argument is that most people are not in one tent or another tent. The largest slice of the electorate is outside the two major and all the minor tents. Those people are looking for a clear, understandable, compelling message that is articulated well and upon which they believe those articulating it will act.

Smaller tents result in clearer messages and stronger leaders.

[cripplecreek]

That’s certainly what they want from us.

[fish hawk]

Don't worry about Democrats. They are gathering rope for their own hanging. Now the Republican Party, I say “surge and purge”. My new motto.

[HiTech RedNeck]

A “moderate Republican” does everything a Democrat would do except wear the pin with the donkey on it.

[fish hawk]

Isn’t “large tents” where the circus is?

[Zeppo]

Yep... Or another much better alternative than 'purging' the ranks (which act has such a vile, Democrat/Communist stench to it), is rather to "educate" the ranks...

A lot of people are simply not tuned in to political thoughts in the same way that us 'political junkies' are, and can not well articulate either the arguments or the benefits to society in favor of a conservative or libertarian approach to fixing the problems that ail the country, let alone articulate the seriously dangerous ramifications to their lives (and to their children's and grandchildren's lives) that will undoubtedly result from following the Socialists along the path to ruin. Yet, so many of them know 'in their guts' that something is wrong with Obama's final solution to the 'problem' of American independence and freedom, even if they can't describe it in so many words.

In fact, education will be vital to increasing the ranks of the GOP among potentially-disaffected groups that have clung to the Democrats either through habit or peer pressure or misplaced fear or misunderstanding of the alternative, whether they be Jews or African Americans or Hispanic Americans, or clueless Ph.D's and other academics...

[uncbob]

Never hear about the demonocrats wanting a big tent

[JSDude1]

They also draw in “moderates-by that I mean independents not liberal Republicans” through decisive leadership.

[fwdude]

I absolutely love Don when he’s in his top form of scathing sarcastic wisdom. Why can’t he run for president?

[Kevmo]

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I’m a big tent republican.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1821435/posts?page=6245#6245

Here’s an analogy to work with. Take a small box and fill it with some rocks. Then add some rice, filling it to the top. Now take all the same stuff, but in a different order. Put in the rice first, then add the rocks. What you’ll find is that if you put in the big stuff first, the small stuff will fit around it. But if you put in the small stuff first, the big stuff won’t have room. The republican tent is the box. The Big issues are the socon issues, to be put in first. The little issues are things that can be accommodated around the bigger stuff. A candidate who tries to focus on the smaller issues first and leave out the bigger issues has no way of getting all of us into the tent. He splits the party. The candidate who gets the big stuff right and as much of the little stuff that will fit, he can fit more into the tent. We’re often amazed at how much rice can keep fitting in. Rudy Giuliani flunks some of the big issues, and on some of the little issues it looks to me like anyone else’s rice would do just as well. All that remains for us to agree on is which are the bedrock principles and which are not. Why would there be so much invective aimed at rudy from the right? Because there are some bedrock principles that he is leaving out. Bad move. I see rudybot postings all the time saying that they would vote for Hunter, and I see socon postings that say they would not vote for rudy. That’s a BIG indicator of a few bedrock principles that are being left outside the tent in order to let in some rice.

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