Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Why has the Republican Revolution Failed?
Never Yet Melted blog ^ | November 16, 2005 | Administrator

Posted on 11/16/2005 11:23:18 AM PST by Venator

They have not reformed taxes. They have not reduced federal spending. They have not repaired Social Security. And they are starting to crawfish on the War on Terrror. We may soon lose control of Congress, and when we do, will we really care?

Maybe we can get Ronnie Earle to indict a few more of the useless, worthless, and invertebrate members of the Republican Congressional leadership which has frittered away the historic opportunity to produce change afforded by the electoral victories of 2004 through lack of principle and sheer cowardice. What do we need democrats for, when we have the so-called Republicans we have?

It is becoming increasingly obvious that the Conservative Movement has gotten ahead of itself. We have learned how to win elections, but in too many cases we are just electing the same bloviators and opportunists as the democrats. I’m afraid it’s back to drawing-boards again for Conservatism. It’s not just about winning elections, and securing Congressional majorities. It’s about the principles of the person you elect.


TOPICS: Politics
KEYWORDS: congress; invertebrate; useless; worthless

1 posted on 11/16/2005 11:23:19 AM PST by Venator
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Venator

How quick we are to admit defeat.


2 posted on 11/16/2005 11:25:19 AM PST by The_Victor (If all I want is a warm feeling, I should just wet my pants.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Venator

Let's give it another year.


3 posted on 11/16/2005 11:28:00 AM PST by MinorityRepublican
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Venator
The tide is changing.

The pendulum swings back and forth. We had years of liberals, we've had 10 years of conservatism, and now the pendulum is swinging slowly back to liberalism.

It'll swing back to the right in about 10 years.
4 posted on 11/16/2005 11:31:13 AM PST by birbear (Admit it. you clicked on the "I have already previewed" button without actually previewing the post.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Venator

Enemies Within! Can you spell M-e-C-a-i-n.


5 posted on 11/16/2005 11:36:53 AM PST by TexasCajun
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Venator

You have the Republican party mixed up with conservatives. When running for office, almost all Republicans claim to be conservative. When it comes to governing, they govern as they really are - not much different from Democrats. Conservatives are catching on to what the Republicans have been up to and a lot will not vote for them again just because they are the lesser of two evils. Some of us are not even sure if there is a LESSER any more.


6 posted on 11/16/2005 11:39:48 AM PST by penowa
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Venator

We may soon lose control of Congress, and when we do, will we really care?



Like there would be a difference.


7 posted on 11/16/2005 11:42:21 AM PST by trubluolyguy (Allah demands you to send your son to die for him, God sent His son to die for me.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Venator; Mia T; Gipper08
It failed because unlike the 'revolution's' chief advocate far too many pols place prestige and power above doing what's right.

Perfect example: During the first two years of RR's first term we of course were in a recession. Many of RR's closest advisers urged him to delay, and even rescind his tax cuts. He knew this was wrong, and although he knew the country would hurt, it'd only be temporary.
Well, the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 did bring solid, real growth to the country, as RR knew it would.

How many of today's pols, in a similar position would have stuck to the plan? Very few.
Heck, we've seen this from RR's immediate successor when he capitulated, broke his word, and raised taxes.

What do a lot of Republicans insist that we do? Vote 'R' even if that 'R' would be better suited sitting at the 'D' side of the aisle.
This is a strategy of playing not to lose. So when will the circle be broken and turn into a line headed upward? We're supposed to endure the same, year after year, decade after decade, with no tangible results.
In my opinion it's high time the Right plays not to lose, but to do only those things that will enable us to win.
Sure, it make take a while, and the Right could hurt for some time. But if that were to happen, (and there is no reason to think it would), it will be only temporary.
I certainly have the patience for that, because my patience for the 'status quo' Republicans has ran out.

I urge all Conservatives to vote only for those who refuse to deviate, in the name of political expediency, from the principles that made Ronald Reagan our greatest-ever President. (I'll accept a 'tie' with Washington).
Expect to hear the warnings from the Republicans about how this would make us a permanent minority again. Ignore them. They are wrong.
Reagan's two landslide victories, the first and third greatest in POTUS election history, attest to that.

8 posted on 11/16/2005 12:02:13 PM PST by jla (Proud Conservative-Purist)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Venator
Finance Committee conservatives capitulated to the will of centrist Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) yesterday by supporting a package of tax cuts that does not include an extension of the 15 percent rate on income from dividends and capital gains.
9 posted on 11/16/2005 1:37:09 PM PST by jla (Proud Conservative-Purist)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Venator
They have not reformed taxes. They have not reduced federal spending. They have not repaired Social Security. And they are starting to crawfish on the War on Terrror.

They are doing what the majority of their constituents want them to do. "The fault lies not in our [Senators], but in ourselves."

10 posted on 11/16/2005 1:41:35 PM PST by Mr. Jeeves ("When government does too much, nobody else does much of anything." -- Mark Steyn)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Venator
One word: RINO's

But as the saying goes "It aint over til it's over". And Tom Delay is not part of the problem, it's the RINO's and cowards, and would be social butterflies who are causing the problems.

11 posted on 11/16/2005 1:46:24 PM PST by Pajamajan (The Democrat party proudly brings you the new and improved Soviet Union.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Venator
It is not a Republican revolution.

It is a conservative revolution.

We are winning. Communism is dead. Gun control is dead. Government regulation is looked upon with suspicion (and I think that's the real reason why the Pubs are down in the polls, btw) which was not the case 30 years ago.

Feminists are no longer taken seriously.

Dan Rather has left in disgrace. The New York Times in leaving in disgrace.

The Dems are moderating their stance on abortion. We are not and it is becoming intellecutally fashionable to believe in God, once again.

If Roberts & Alito are as good as I think they will be, another big battle would have been won, although we still need one more judge to win the war.

Concerning the war on terror, the Islamofacists are much worse off than they were 10 years ago.

Plans are being made to once again build nuclear power plants.

So, no. I don't think the revolution is over.

12 posted on 11/16/2005 1:53:44 PM PST by Tribune7
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Venator

You won't believe me, but, sometimes we have to give our party some backbone.

I remember back when the election for president and a lot of House and Senate seats was coming up for 2004. The first weeks, months, it seemed to us anxious conservatives that the party was going to be flattened with a steam iron.

A lot of us wrote/emailed the RNC directly and told them some things including how they had been set-up (for real) by the Clintonites and elites and affiliates of the DNC.

The tide turned. Slowly. But it did.


13 posted on 11/16/2005 3:04:30 PM PST by onyx eyes (.... I'd give at least .50 cents to know why ....oh, never mind....)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Venator
This applied when the Republicans were a minority, but the concepts still apply today:

Suppose the Democrats offer a $500,000/year proposal for something. It is clearly a bad idea. Which is better: (1) Republicans argue that it's a bad idea and shouldn't receive one penny. They get outvoted, and the proposal goes through for $500,000/year. (2) Republicans argue the proposal shouldn't receive so much funding, and so suggest a compromise proposal of $250,000/year. Democrats go along with that, and so the $250,000/year proposal is passed.

Which is better?

Well, in the former case, after a year, the Republicans will be able to maintain that the proposal was a bad idea as they've always said. The Democrats overruled the Republicans, but the Republicans were proven right. Republicans, if they continue to maintain that the project is a bad idea, will eventually be able to kill it.

In the latter case, the Republicans can't really argue that the project was always a bad idea, because they supported it (even if only in a weaker version). The Democrats can claim that the project failed due to lack of funding (which is, of course, the Republicans' fault), and thus argue for a bigger budget next year. The Republicans will have no effective counter to such argument, and thus even though they "saved" $250,000 the first year, that savings will be outweighed by the increases in funding over succeeding years.

Why are so many Republicans unable to realize that if something is a bad idea, proposing a 'lite' version is just plain stupid?

14 posted on 11/16/2005 3:43:13 PM PST by supercat (Sony delinda est.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: supercat

It is true that the pendulum swings. But conservatives have won on many issues--the courts, family values, the abstinence movement, the war in Iraq, gun ownership, preserving personal sanctity of home against police intrusions, having faith 'recognized', maintaining a strong military and economy. The Republicans sold out on states rights and fiscal responsibility.

IMHO the extremists who wanted to insert religion in the public schools in the guise of "intelligent design"; the extremists who think the Griswold case was "improperly decided" to allow people to use birth control without interference from a government or religious hierarchy; the extremists who wanted to post 10 Commandments as an "answer to all social ills" as a substitute for thinking; the paranoid extremists who think Christianity is threatened--these have hurt the conservative movement.

The good values of conservatives got hijacked. We will pay the price for this.


15 posted on 11/16/2005 5:53:14 PM PST by thomaswest
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

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.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson