Posted on 09/01/2006 6:02:55 AM PDT by shortstop
I'm going to vote Republican.
I'll hold my nose to do it, but I'll do it.
That may not be an enthusiastic endorsement, but it's the best I've got. And it's taken me six months to come up with that.
I used to love the Republican Party. I saw it as a dynamic tool for advancing American liberty. I saw it as a common-sense defender of what average people like me stand for and believe in.
But that was a long time ago. And things have changed. Not on my part. I'm the same person with the same priorities and beliefs. It's the Republican Party that's changed. It's turned into the most cynically hypocritical organization I've ever come across. Right now I feel for it what it feels for me -- utter contempt.
I don't mean to say that the party feels contempt for me personally -- though that certainly may be the case in some quarters -- I mean to say that it feels contempt for people like me. Namely, the conservatives who have put it in power. We have been used, abused and shown the door. The things we believe in, the things the Republicans promised us, have been thrown on the ground and trampled under foot.
But I'm going to vote Republican anyway.
For exactly the reason the GOP's amoral bosses knew I would -- because of my distaste for Democrats and their anti-American agenda. I'm going to vote Republican because I know as bad as they are, the Democrats would be worse. I'm voting Republican because of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. I'm voting Republican because of Hillary Clinton and Elliot Spitzer. I'm voting Republican because I can't stomach the hell Democrats would raise if they gained control of part or all of Congress.
I'm voting Republican because the Democrats have managed to make themselves just noxious enough to prevent GOP crossover voting.
Which is too bad.
Because I really wanted to let the Republican Party twist in the wind this year. I wanted to kick the bastards out. I wanted them on the ground writhing with the wind knocked out of them. I wanted the party to remember who put it in power and who could take it out of power.
I was sick of the budget deficit and the trade deficit and the welfare and the illegal aliens and the rape of our economy by free trade and the crazy environmentalism and the political correctness and all the other crap the Republican Party has gone wrong on. I was sick and tired of Republican policies not living up to Republican promises. I was through with Republicans who turned around and bit the hand that fed them, who turned and attacked the very things they promised to defend.
It is a party of incredible ingratitude. There are Republicans I have literally and personally helped get elected and as soon as the election is passed they turn their backs on everything they promised. I have in direct conversation had Republican candidates tell me they would govern like Ronald Reagan and then seen them in office turn into big-government Democrats. I remember one Republican governor who was supported in his first race by the National Rifle Association. The organization sent out bumper stickers that said: "Protect Freedom, Vote Pataki." That was the same George Pataki who, once safely elected, turned on gunowners and proposed and passed the toughest anti-gun laws in the country.
I have seen Republican Party bosses play the party and its members for their own nepotistic enrichment and I have seen instance after instance where party bosses have shown that their word isn't worth anything. Promises made are promises forgotten, personally and publicly. It is little more than a bunch of self-serving hogs at a trough. It is a shameful thing.
And I would tear it down were it not for the fact that the whorish Democrats are even more shameful. The difference being the Democrats are at least more likely to tell you that they support socialist, big-government programs. Republicans will tell you they don't, then they'll put them in anyway.
Mostly, the Republicans are a disgusting lot.
But right now isn't the time to brain them.
Right now we are at a difficult juncture as a country. Right now we can't afford to let the Democrats get a hand on the wheel. It might not be just bad policy, it might be disaster.
Because we are at war. And the president is right. This is a worldwide conflict with fascist Islam, and if we don't fight them there, they will fight us here. I'm afraid that Democrat control of either house of Congress would dramatically weaken the war effort. I don't trust the Democrats to defend America. That is because I listen to them and take them at their word, and what they advocate in terms of fighting Muslim terrorism is little short of surrender.
Further, the notion of putting either Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid in charge of the congressional agenda seems like a recipe for disaster. They are two of the most shrill, venal, partisan, uncouth politicians ever to stalk the halls of the Capitol. In my heart of hearts I sincerely believe they would torpedo the ship of state if it would advance their own personal, political and partisan interests. I cannot personally contribute to the possibility of them making committee appointments and deciding which legislation is or is not heard.
There are other Democrats who wouldn't bother me so much, but these two are simply unacceptable. Both seem egomaniacal, completely cynical and fundamentally dishonest. Astoundingly, I distrust them even more than I distrust the Republicans.
The way I see it, in this election one party will betray conservatives and the other party will bury conservatives. I've been betrayed before, but I've never been buried. And at the end of the day, two more years of fake Republicans will do the country less harm that two years of real Democrats. Giving the Democrats the Congress would be like throwing the Republicans off a bridge, and then jumping off with them. Better this election to keep us all on the bridge, and be watchful for another opportunity to bring the GOP to its knees.
This year is a unique opportunity for conservatives to gut the Republican Party, to show it who's boss and to pay it back for its years of duplicity. If we just stay home, or reach over and vote for the Democrat, the Republican house of cards falls down. Many have argued that killing the GOP, and enduring a season of the Democrats, would be worth it to recreate the Republican Party in a conservative mold. The argument is that it would be worth it to bring the GOP back to its principles.
Well, it would be -- almost. Almost, but not quite.
At the end of the day, we have to stay with the Republicans. We have to stay with the Republicans because the Democrats are so bad. The Democrats have chosen leadership, positions and priorities that are so extreme as to be impossible for disgruntled conservatives to tolerate.
So bide your time and keep your powder dry. That's my advice. We'll teach the Republicans a lesson another day.
Today we have to protect the country.
And the Democrats are a bigger threat than the Republicans are.
So I'm voting Republican. Reluctantly.
The guy is an optimist. I'm a realist. Voting for Bush for his second term was the GOP's second chance for my vote.
The only way I will vote GOP again is for the candidate to address these issues "point blank", and then somehow make it clear that he plans to do the proper thing for each issue.
That may not be an enthusiastic endorsement, but it's the best I've got. And it's taken me six months to come up with that.
But I'm going to vote Republican anyway.
For exactly the reason the GOP's amoral bosses knew I would -- because of my distaste for Democrats and their anti-American agenda.
That pretty mch sums up my view.
I don't agree with the premise. I go on the assumption that politicians, particularly in the Senate, are some of the lowest forms of life on the planet. Their number one guiding principle is self-interest. The rest is BS. There are a few principled politicians here and there, but they are always heavily outnumbered, and THAT is why things are the way they are. It's just that when a party is out of power, they're not accountable. And besides, our system is set up the way it is so that our gubmint will most often be frustrated. The DEMs and their lib friends still have enough power to obstruct. And so it goes. The best thing a person can do re: government is lower their expectations all the way down into the gutter. Then they'll have a realistic view of the situation.
Sounds like he worked on NYS Governor Pataki's elections. Or perhaps NYS Senate majority leaderr Joe Bruno's elections.
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We'd all better VOTE GOP this November, or else.
Just look at what Freedom's Enemy GEORGE SOROS, on behalf of our Enemy Within CLINTONS, have in store for US if the GOP loses control of Congress this time around:
http://www.Freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1692140/posts
http://www.Freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1693011/posts
And we thought the Fall of Saigon was bad enough after the Democrats, sailing on the wings of NIXON's Watergate debacle, won the 1974 Congressonal Elections with a plurality big enough to manage a complete cut-off of U.S. funding for South Vietnam to fight for its own Freedom with.
With a GEORGE SOROS Shadow Party now controlling the Democrat Party,
...we ain't seen nothin' yet..!!!
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Absolutely perfect. Whiners are losers. If you want something different, then do something about it instead of having a pity party for yourself.
Lonsberry is dead-on. I feel the same way.....with clothes pin in hand, I'll pull the Republican lever then use the air-bag I hold in the other. Too bad we don't have a viable 3rd (REAL CONSERVATIVE) party at this time. Maybe I'll be able to vote for one before my time on earth is at an end........I hope.
The fact is, that the general public is split 50/50 and every goat stinkin vote counts...
The polls show that the Republican base is split six ways to Sunday, and the rats have the advantage.
If you want the rats to win..........then continue on with the BS, and it will be a fact.
The 2006 Congressional elections will either be a victory, or a total defeat of our policies. If one policy goes, they all go....
Pretty simple math here.....
Keeping in mind that no large political party can possibly satisfy all it's constituents, the hold your nose thing is automatic and normal. You either do it, or lose. There is no other option available and unless and until we achieve a 2/3 majority (which is not going to happen) we have absolutely no room for voting error by way of protest voting. No room at all.
This is what primaries are for.
This guy is right on - the Republican Party down right stinks, but the Democrat Party is rotten.
I guess voting for the Republican Party in '06 is like going home with the fat girl - it's better (usually) than going home alone.
The boat has a hole in it about the size of a golf-ball. The Democrat is bailing out with a thimble and the Republican is bailing with a coffee can.
What is the moral of this story? The moral is that with the Democrat the boat will sink almost immediately. With the Republican it will sink much slower, but WILL SINK!
It's over. There is no difference between either party that is noticeable except that we will be Socialists (or communists) speaking Spanish and praying to Allah sooner with the Democrats.
The only saving salvation is to create a new party that reflects our original American values, but I sincerely believe that we have become too timid to undertake the necessary actions to do so.
Sometimes you have to lose the battle to win the war. We are in the mindset that we must win every battle to win the war. In reality, that never happens. We simply (and blindly) vote for the Republicans because we are afraid we might lose a current battle. Basically, we can't see the forest because of the trees.
This year be sure to vote "straight line" Republican. They expect you to do so.
I heard someone talking like this on TV. It reminded me of Barry Goldwater's book, Choice not an Echo in 1964. How about you get real and consider something up-to-date instead of recycling the same old same old?
With the election just a little over 2 months from now, it is time for those who are holding their noses and voting republican to stop pointing out that they're holding their noses.
I assume they're voting that way because they don't see a good alternative to the democrats. In that case, making public, negative comments about those they are supporting will only serve to suppress the very voters they are hoping will turn out for a republican victory.
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Thank you for the really scarey SOROS Shadow Party Link.
For...
the Enemy is now within
...and always has been.
AR
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I agree. One of the great Freeper blind spots is that they seem to think most Americans are as conservative as they are. That clearly isn't true. In fact, most Republicans aren't even as conservative as they are. Indeed, most conservatives probably aren't as conservative as they are.
Lots of Americans will say they are for smaller government but when it comes to them and their lives, they like the status quo just fine. I knew a conservative former NYPD cop who was all against welfare and government aid. He had a retarded son and got lots of assist from different levels of government. To him, this wasn't welfare, and when the prospect came of that aid being reduced, he got very defensive and began circling the wagons. He didn't want his government aid to end, just other people's aid to end.
That otherwise intelligent conservatives can't recognize this is astonishing to me. Lamenting the lack of principled leaders isn't helpful: much of the electorate isn't principled. Not even the parts that's on our side.
Dogged one issue types on either side tend to turn off more people than they turn on. Holy Rollers draw some folks in, and alienate others. Liberals love all sorts of dubious social spending, and it sucks. Conservatives love all sorts of military hardware and sign blank checks for it. Both mentalities miss the mark.
The government we have isn't surprising. There is no powerful conservative mandate among the electorate. There is no liberal mandate among the electorate. It's just not a big part of most people's lives. Some things resonate with large portions of the electorate, but when it comes time to policy they would rather maintain the status quo than change things, or take a chance.
We will definitely be voting this November.
So. to sum it all up we live in the greatest nation in the world, warts and all.
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