Posted on 01/31/2004 12:41:27 PM PST by jimkress
Had dinner with an old friend last night, a long-time Republican political operative who – in 1981 – talked me into taking a sabbatical from journalism and going to Washington as a press secretary to Congressman Paul Findley.
He’s been a Republican all his life. Grew up in a GOP family. Served more than one term as a county chairman as well as a Republican National Committeeman.
So it surprised me when he opened the dinner table conversation with: “I’m not going to vote for George W. Bush in November. I may vote for John Kerry if he’s the Democratic nominee.”
Strange things can happen in this world. Joe Gibbs can come out of retirement to coach the Washington Redskins one more time. Hell, the Carolina Panthers might even win the Super Bowl. But when a lifelong Republican tells me he might vote for John Kerry, I wait for a voice to start saying “you’re entering another dimension…next stop – The Twilight Zone.”
“I’m a Republican because I believe in less government, of letting states make the decisions that affect our lives,” he said. “I believe in a balanced budget. But my party no longer believes in any of these things. I can’t be a part of what I think is destroying this country.”
His comments echo what I have been hearing after three weeks on the campaign trail. Republicans are fed up with an administration that has created the largest federal bureaucracy ever, with record deficits and with increasing federal power and control over our lives.
But they’re not just fed up with George W. Bush, they’re fed up with a Republican-controlled Congress that passed the largest, most pork-laden transportation bill in history, that abandoned its promise to impose term limits and that broke most of the promises of the 1994 “Contract With America” that gave them control of Capitol Hill in the first place.
My friend’s theory: “You know the old bromide that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely? Well, my party has taken it step further. Absolute power leads to madness. It makes me, a Republican, long for Democrats back in control. That is pure madness but I can’t help it.”
I’ve been around politics as a journalist or an operative for nearly 40 years and the dissension within the GOP is the worst I’ve ever seen. At a Republican caucus earlier this week, California Republican Congressman Chris Cox headed a group of conservative members who told Speaker of the House Denny Hastert that a GOP Congress was being undermined by Bush's actions in the White House. One member reportedly said a GOP Congress could deal more effectively with a Democrat in the White House than they can with Bush.
“At least we know what to expect from a Democratic President,” he said.
Once I had hope the course could be turned back. I no longer do. The will of the people is thwarted on a constant basis. Our own supreme court is looking at international law to base their decisions (or will be). We are importing a huge future electorate from third world countries who will never be required to learn English or ever be taught anything about our political system as it was intended to be.
Whether we get there in five years or 15 really matters not at this point. At least we still have a fighting shot in the short term.
Ahem...WHY is Dubya even proposing Amnesty in the first place??
"Have you seen what the democrats have proposed for addressing the immigration problem? It makes what GWB proposed look like a round up similar to a German one way ticket to Krakow."
Well yeah -- This is another case of the Democrats seeing Dubya's liberalism, and raising the ante in the pot even more.
Look, you can't spin the President's proposal into a premptive "strategery" of supposedly baiting the Rats into giving up detyails on their plan.
Dubya is DEAD SERIOUS about eventually supporting Amnesty/Citizenry program for illegals, and having the GOP co-oping the brand new, fresh off-the-press Mexican vote.
by doing what? voting third party? sitting home? no, that is no fighting chance. that is NO CHANCE at all for anything other than a Dem in the WH. if that is what you are after, then go for it.
Indeed. Not a dime's worth of difference, dontcha know?
You're not, by any chance, saying I'm an airhead poster, are you?
It's a pity that your vocabulary skills are in such abjectly poor straights, that you don't know the meaning of a simple English word, used by many Americans.Instead of assuming that you are " smarft ", go do something to increase your intelligence..........like getting your GED.
Sounds like lawndart has experience doing this .
I've talked to "conservative" Republicans from one coast to the other over the past two weeks on this issue. I have yet to speak to anyone who does not recognize Bush is in major trouble due ot his bid for the Hispanic vote.
Just got off the phone with a loyal supporter in Virginia. Same thing. "Bush may not make it."
Some call it drama, I call it reality.
Does your mommy know you're on the computer, or is the baby sitter nolt paying attention ?
The truth does get old to people with their heads up their rectums, doesn't it?
Does history repeat itself?
1,000 Points of Light just didn't click with American voters.
10 MILLION ILLEGAL MIGRANTS being granted amnesty isn't going over that great either.
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