Posted on 03/23/2013 10:34:37 AM PDT by Dysart
...First, and most important, is focusing on the economic concerns of working-and middle-class Americans, many of whom now regard the Republican Party as beholden to “millionaires and billionaires” and as wholly out of touch with ordinary Americans. This is a durable impression—witness Bill Clinton’s effective deployment of it more than 20 years ago and its continued resonance during the 2012 campaign when Team Obama portrayed Mitt Romney as a plutocrat who delighted in shutting down factories and moving jobs overseas. Sure enough, in November exit polls, 81 percent of voters said that Barack Obama “cared for people like me”; a mere 18 percent said the same of Romney. They also showed that a majority of Americans (53 percent) said Governor Romney’s policies would generally favor the rich, versus only 34 percent who said he would favor the middle class.
In developing a response to these perceptions, Republicans should not downplay their traditional strengths. Given the feeble path of economic growth, reasonable tax rates and a rational tax code are prerequisites for future job creation at sufficient levels. Given the unsustainable path of health-oriented entitlement spending—which threatens to crowd out every other form of federal spending—some party must rise to responsibility. And given the vast potential economic advantage of newly discovered energy sources—both natural gas and shale oil—Republicans should stand for their responsible exploitation...
America’s five largest banks hold assets equal to 60 percent of our economy, a highly dangerous concentration and source of undue political power. These mega-banks—both “too big to fail” and “too complex to manage”—are the unnatural result of government subsidies, not market forces. By supporting the breakup of the big banks, Republicans would encourage competition and create a decentralized system more likely to survive future economic earthquakes...
(Excerpt) Read more at commentarymagazine.com ...
While I agree marriage has been debased largely by heterosexual interests, not homosexuality, I do not agree that gay marriage should be endorsed, even tacitly. That is logically inconsistent to me, not to mention morally reprehensible.
Whomever is running next time best not have had any part of moving jobs overseas. That was one of many nails in the last rinos coffin.
As I see it the problem is so many of them you allude to are true Republicans now. How about vote the CINOS out?
First and foremost, until IDs are required at the polls, election results are a different animal than what "most Americans" support or desire. That fundamental sails above the guy; he buys the "America voted for this!" assumption 100 percent and proceeds to blunder from there. America didn't "vote for this." "This" cheated to get where it is, and it's why we're where we're at. This is what happens when a minority attempts to force its will on a majority.
It's not about "gay rights." It's about respecting the rights of free, moral Americans to refuse to play ball with a governmen-enforced moral code that would force adoption agencies, on moral grounds, to accommodate gay couples seeking to have their own "families." Adoption agencies have the right to say, "I'll pass, go find another agency. This child will go to a heterosexual home." Gay "rights" removes that right in the name of morality! Talk about moral tyranny. If there are adoption agencies that are willing to consider gay men as parents for the kids entrusted to them -- let them find each other, see how far they will get. This is a free and moral America, and "Republicans" are the same as Democrats when it comes to watching the ball sail over their heads with regard to identifying the real situation. It's just one example. Wasn't it Rove who said "demography is destiny"? The truth is that demography is pretense. Totally based on appearances. Demography is pretence. Morality is destiny.
Morality is letting moral people be free to produce their own food and energy and goods. Tyranny -- from Federal guidlines to health and safety regs to labor law to environmental impact to zoning and taxes -- tyranny shackles and hobbles and enslaves Americans under all kinds of pretences, from moral to scientific. This tyranny was "elected" by pretend Americans; most of our countrymen, especially the ones who are truly legit voters in that they work and pay taxes, hate it and reject it.
The reason there is such a demand for stuff made in China, the reason it costs $100 to fill your truck with gas, the reason food will soon go the same way (witness regulating out of business America's 400-year-old East Coast fishing industry). Government has made it illegal for honest, productive Americans to produce their own goods, food, and energy. It's that simple. Regulations from every direction squelch and pinch and prune and destroy enterprise and innovation. Repubicans are as much cogwork in the machinery that kills Americans' private rights to produce food, energy, and whatever else they want, as are the Democrats. Romney envisioned ObamaCare and got its first version enacted in Massachusetts!
The Republican party is on the same team as the Democrats.
Quit reading Commentary after J. Rubin took over and started spewing her crap everywhere.
If a Republican candidate is going to win they have to speak to everyone and not exclude anyone. McCain and Romney both excluded conservatives, that won't work. They did it supposedly to try to get the middle, but what did they offer the middle? Neither reached the middle, the middle thought both McCain and Romney were only for rich old white men.
You just made great points and built a strong case for wholesale fundamental changes in the party. And I agree.
Course the democrat party will USE their humongous voter fraud power(in most places) to elect RINOs..
You know.... to provide cover for what they are already doing...
A couple of people have mentioned that that is what they have been doing for 30 years..
Course the voter fraud has been upgraded and perfected and polished.. GREATLY..
2014 and 2016... will be a wondrous exercise in Voter Fraud.. BREATH-TAKING...
If you find a republican optimist!!!..... SLAPP HIM/her... with an eye-poke..
(if you have any honor left)..
Amen Brother:
The questions is: Is the Republican Party worth saving.
So far my answer is no.
Actually, we aren't the ones with that problem.
Answer: This question assumes it should be saved. (I think it should be saved.)
Comment: I am persuaded by those people on this thread that the party as it exists today has been captured by "Moderates." ("Moderates" in actuality are liberals light. By way of illustration the clown in the White House, and his masters, are directing us to socialism at 150 Miles Per Hour. Moderates would take us to socialism at 100 Miles Per Hour.)The "Moderates" must be controlled or purged. A third party would probably be ruinous to conservatism.
Yeah, when you look at the demographics cited in the article it becomes plain that appealing to a shrinking segment is not exactly a winning strategery. And McCain and Romney both allowed themselves to be defined to the middle by the Left. Foolish- what kind of political advice were they getting? And beyond that they were abysmal candidates.
I suggest people go out and create a new political party and put those ideas into practice.
Let’s call it a “Don’t bend over and spread your cheeks for the opposition” party!
You are obviously more impressed by this than I am. The analysis makes a lot of good points, but the authors’ prescription essentially takes on elements of “Democrat lite” by agreeing that there is really such a thing as “corporate welfare” (no, those “subsidies”, “breaks”, and “loopholes” end up to some large degree or another in regular Joes’ IRAs and pensions) and a “path to citizenship” for the illegal hordes of parasites who want government to pat them on the head and take care of them by confiscating from whitey and handing over the loot in exchange for votes. Those are clearly future Democrats.
I think you nailed it. I no longer recognize my values in the Republican Party either. I gravitated to the GOP during the Reagan years, when both fiscal and social issues got sturdy weight. Balance Budget Ammendments. Family values. The whole works. The Party stood for things. Heck if I know what they stand for now, other than slightly lower taxes than the crazed Dems, and actual antagonism towards its conservative base.
Even today we’re served up this headline: Gay-Marriage Lobbyist in Ohio is appointed head of Party. What in blazes??? And the leadership is fine with it. All while the Tea Party and folks like Sarah Palin get treated like trash. Still gets me how the very words “tea party” were outlawed at the GOP convention. But a gay-marriage lobbyist running the state party is a-ok? Trash the tea-party, but cozy up to deviancy? May they burn in hell!
Each day a new story like this. I’m developing an intense hatred for the GOP... the only Party I’ve ever voted for in my life. The way things are going, they truly may never see another vote from me again.
A third party would probably be ruinous to conservatism.
GOOD.. America does not need conservative CHANGE..
It needs RADICAL CHANGE....
So radical that the Constitution is the Charter AGAIN...
Social Security is PURE SOCIALISM.... its not like socialism IT IS SOCIALISM..
It was the first ATTACK on Capitalism.. an “organic” attack.. like a virus..
Well my purpose was more to spur discussion and maybe challenge some views more than endorsing all assertions and foisting them on any here. What I will say is in this mess is opportunity. I see a lot of hand wringing and little solution seeking. I would say we should take into consideration what is true and likely useful in advancing conservative values and throw out what is not.
Did your copy say something different?
I think a Conservative Party would force the Republicans to veer to the right. The GOP could never get anything passed without forming a coalition with the Conservatives. That would give the conservatives more influence than they have today.
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