Posted on 01/16/2008 7:59:05 PM PST by pissant
Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council Action in an Update today wrote,
“The lesson that some are drawing from the results of the Republican presidential voting to date is that the race for the party's nomination is wide open. The deeper lesson is that the race for the GOP agenda is anything but wide open...
“The simple truth is that the conservative coalition--a three-legged stool--stands when social, economic and defense conservatives work together on an interlocking agenda. The coalition collapses when any of the legs is missing. (Dick) Armey and others, especially the early enthusiasts for Rudy Giuliani, suggested that the social conservative leg of the stool is dispensable, or at least that it can be appreciably shortened without impact on the greater stability of the coalition. This thesis is not only false in theory; it now has been decisively shown not to represent what the conservative coalition actually believes. The three winners of the contests to date are each emblematic of one of the legs of the stool, and each is attempting to shore up his standing with the other two "legs":
“In Michigan, these three individuals, now leading their party's nomination race, won more than 85% of the vote. The remainder went to Ron Paul (who represents the small, doctrinaire libertarian portion of the coalition), Fred Thompson (who has all three legs but is struggling to interest voters in them when his manner suggests his own lack of passion for them), and Rudy Giuliani (trailing badly now because each leg of the coalition has a much better option than he is). Giuliani's crushing last-place finish in Michigan only underscores the larger point: the GOP coalition is looking for coherence on all three parts of the message and the base constituency of the party is fairly evenly split among those who hold each of these legs highest when forced to choose among them.
"Somehow or other, if the conservative coalition is to re-form, these three legs need their favorites to unite around the strongest themes of each, to wit: 1) the surge worked, and it is no longer business as usual against radical Islamic terrorism - we will take the fight to them and win for our values (McCain); 2) the government is run with all the efficiency of a barroom brawl where the sailors are bad enough but it's actually the drunken captains doing the damage, and someone with business acumen has to clean it up (Romney); and 3) moral values are indispensable to a free nation that hopes to have and keep small government, and we can't get there without some Old-Time Religion, and those old-timers, our nation's almost uniformly Christian founders, knew it (Huckabee).
Perkins adds, “…There is probably nothing they could do that would be more unifying than to rally now around a platform that embodies the coalition in full…”
Perkins summarizes, “The message: the GOP electorate is asking its leaders to reassemble the stool, plant it firmly in the cockpit of the party, and get the plane fast down the runway and off the ground. The message to Rudy? The tailwinds have passed you by, and the party you want to lead is moving on. The race is not wide open. A unified agenda beckons the GOP to a surge of its own.”
I agree with some of what Perkins is saying, there is a Republican candidate who I believe adequately represents all three legs of the stool and that is Congressman Duncan Hunter. He has been ignored by conservative talk radio, though he is the strongest true conservative. I can understand that he is being ignored by the radically biased liberal main stream media because he is an anathema to all that they believe.
Hunter authored the Life at Conception Bill, he did something constructive about the immigration problem in his home district, San Diego, California – he built a 50 mile long fence while the amnesty loving McCain mouths promises about being the best guy to get our borders secured (LOL). He also opposed our Free Trade policy, which is economically sound than globalist Romney who like President Bush would side with Big Business over the American taxpayer and worker.
Hunter is the only true conservative I see among the GOP candidates. Huckabee, Thompson and Paul may have some of the package, but only Duncan Hunter is the complete package. Unfortunately he is being ignored pretty much by everyone. It seems like conservative talk show hosts are predominately shills for the Republican Party pushing Romney, Giuliani and Thompson as those who could win over Rodham-Clinton. To me I principles are more important than pure politics. I am thoroughly disgusted with that President Bush used me to get into office and has largely betrayed conservative principles and that is exactly what we would have or even worse with a nominee in a McCain, a Romney, a Giuliani or maybe even with a Huckabee.
I hope and pray that someone like a Representative Duncan Hunter rises from the ruins of the increasingly unprincipled GOP and gives me someone for whom I can cast a vote.
LOL!
I don’t think jan gets Michael waaaaaay out there in CO by the mountains. ;*)
Your as much of a Fraud as your boy! Fred is nothing but a stalking ‘corpse’ for McCain.
Everytime you say that, you bring a smile to Mike *uckabee’s face.
I think perhaps you’re secretly working for him...
As long as they don’t go to FT, I’m okay with that!!!
Bravo! Very well stated. I should have read the thread before responding to the little kook!
Isn’t past your bedtime?
Try to *gnore the *rolls. *hey’re working for someone’s *amp or are children.
Nite!
*:)
Aw shucks, I was just playing. Haven’t been out to play all day. ;*)
G’night, Gramma.
*o ahead and *play......I was *ust funnin* with you too.
You can relate to the pain we’re going thru, huh? :)
Hey....it’s a good pain.
SAY there! Instead of money, you could come help me clean! :)
Not my words, silly rabbit. It's in italics because it's from the article you should have read.
"It has been men like Sam Walton ..." "This country is great because of capitalism ..."
It's because of the American worker and the American mind working with other Americans to build the businesses and infrastructures that made this country great.
all the things that are being outsourced now, ignoring the American potential in favor of making money.
Not that there's anything wrong with making money, but don't forget the country and it's people.
Show America a little support.
YOU ARE DREAMING!
No I’m for capitalism which means private companies like Wal-mart , Intel, Bellsouth, Google ,IBM, etc.
I’m against government ownership and government planning (socialism).socialism doesn’t work.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1954971/posts?page=32#32
Don't you have better things to do, like touting your candidate instead of running down ours?
Or is there not much to tout?
No, I wasn’t gambling. My proposition was not a risk. To me, anyway.
You're too valuable.....
..he's trying to rile you....don't give him the pleasure.
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