No kidding, just look at the discourse here on Free Republic.
I can’t speak for others, but I am not of the Republican party any longer.
I do not care about the GOP or any of its candidates.
I support Mr. Trump and Mr. Cruz, and the rest of them can go to Hell.
I view the GOP as my enemy.
I will not vote for anyone other than those two men under any circumstance.
I hope that helps clear things up.
You just want everybody to collude in the background and portray a united front?
JMO, but our last president was a rank liberal that stabbed conservatives in the back, repeatedly. The last two candidates we had were similarly rank liberals who were as bad as any demoRAT. And now the GOPe wants to give us another liberal in the person of jeb bush.
We won't beat "ourselves", but the GOPe will certainly beat us if it can.
Trump or Cruz. Anybody else and the Repugnant party is finished.
The Republican Party isn’t called the stupid party for nothing. Everyone of the candidates should have circled the wagons around Trump when the MSM started bashing him for a non answer. Other than a few - the rest piled on - and why? Did they think that the MSM or the WH would like them better? Fat chance. They have an R after their name - and regardless of their liberal policies - they are the Democrats enemies.
Such is the nature of political forums - on both sides. This will never change.
In the end though, most people realize that no matter how vitriolic the debate we all agree on more than we disagree. Primary season brings out the biggest internal fights, once we get a candidate and are facing the leftist opposition there will be far more unity.
I don’t, for example, like Donald Trump at all. I criticize him whenever I think it is deserved. Saying that, much as I don’t care for him, if “the Donald” were to win the GOP nomination I would support him for President over the Democrat. Suddenly I’d have common cause with all those I’d argued with over Trump. The Democrat will be worse, and that means most of us will stand together when the time comes.
There is a rank order of those candidates from best to worst. Ideally, the best will win and the worst will drop out. Mitt Romney made no bones about it; he fought the others tooth and nail, trashing them along the way. It’s just a fact.
And you NEVER reveal your cards ahead of time. As far as I’m concerned, I will only settle for one of the top 3 conservatives.
First, you have to define what a Republican is.
Next, you have to define what a Conservative is.
Half those running are formerly of the Democrat Party.
90% of those running claim to be conservatives.
A few even claim to be the real reincarnation of Reagan. [j/k]
Then, you have to prioritize your litmus test issues and weigh them against each candidate.
It is called vetting. That is how you separate the faux from the real. It is easy to claim to be a conservative. Does the record back that up?
“Don’t misunderstand, there’s nothing wrong with criticizing,”
Thanks now STFU.
The ILL-ANNOY “Combine Party” has successfully been transplanted into Washington, DC. Those in power are simply there to make sure they remain in power, and strike mutual deals with the devils to stay in power. Principles are compromised just to make sure there is a warm seat in the Senate or House with their name on it. The Democrat Party continues to maintain a power edge by manipulating the parliamentary parlor games. How else did we get minority-only approval for a non-treaty-treaty with Iran? How else did we get ObamaCare on party lines? Hillary is right to an extent: What difference does it make?
It all depends on who you consider your own. I don’t intend to vote for anyone who isn’t my own. I won’t vote for Carl Rove’s own. Leaves me with two candidates.
I don’t consider liberal democrats posing and running as republicans as “our own”. Actually I don’t respect them because they run as republicans to win elections, when their ideology and policies are left wing. Party label is just that a party label.
Party Loyality is not an option for me. Never again will I vote for the lesser of two evils. I will vote Christian Conservative or I won’t be voting. Period.
To vote because of party loyality is UnChristian and UnAmerican in my opinion.
It all depends on who you consider your own. I don’t intend to vote for anyone who isn’t my own. I won’t vote for Carl Rove’s own. Leaves me with two candidates.
I’m not longer a registered member of the Grand Old Progressive party, so I don’t care whom eats whom amongst that bunch. Pretty much they all deserve to be eaten anyway except Cruz and Trump.
some republicans are for eclecticism and status quo. They are not going to be able to prevent the country from turning into a hellhole.
I wonder how Reagan would be criticized now by our own if today were his time, and not 1980.
In 1980 the ACU and CPAC were extremely vitriolic in their personal attacks on the B movie star union official who was really a Democrat and only recently claiming to be a Republican. Even in 1982 the attacks on Reagan from Republicans and Conservatives were extremely ad hominem.
It was only after Reagan won again in 1984 that he slowly morphed into an icon.
We have a long, long history of eating our own.
Cruz, Santorum and Huckabee compete for the same religious right establishment. Thus Huckabee is extremely un-Christian when Cruz is around. But Cruz can be very Christian when Trump is around as Trump isn’t competing to be the “Christian” candidate.
I’m so tired of this talk of “circling” the wagons around the GOP. Every election cycle we’re told, in essence, to vote for the lesser of two evils and we end up with an establishment candidate for president like McCain, Dole, and Romney who get hammered in the election. Conservatives gave the GOP huge votes in 2010 and 2014 and for what? Nothing. The House and Senate have done nothing to stop the administration and now you’re giving us a lecture about sticking together. Sorry pal. No way. The establishment of the GOP has said FU to conservatives and wants no part of taking on the president and the Democratic Party. Why then vote for a Republican Party that has no principles, and no BACKBONE to fight the left!!!! If the party splinters or crumbles to ash it’s their fault. You want to keep fighting for that Buckeye then that’s your business. The conservatives, who are keeping the Republican Party afloat, have been made to feel unwelcome and won’t vote anymore for a political party that openly despises them and their ideas.
Define “our own”, as most of the candidates running for president so far are not conservative, and thus not “our own”.