Posted on 05/06/2008 10:05:33 AM PDT by MGMSwordsman
Greetings Freepers! This is my first post and I want to say at the outset that this post is not a cheap shot at either President Bush or the GOP. I am just looking for opinions more than anything.
My question is, how much of a negative effect do you think the Bush administration has had on the current standing of the GOP in the minds of voters, and the resulting electability of GOP candidates? Is the current negative perception the fault of the administration, or does it have more to do with the mantra that the media has consistently spewed towards all things Bush related, or is it due in your opinion to a perceived do-nothing congress when the GOP had control?
Based on how you answer these questions, my second question is do you think it was even Bush at all that started the slide, or had the slide already started before Bush was elected in 2000? If so, do you think it started with Daddy Bush, or even earlier with Reagan?
I'll hang up and listen....
once Reagan left office, its been Bush Sr and Bush Jr...if not for the brave House and Senate Republicans during the 90's who thrarted Clinton, things would be worse now...
but this current group of Congresscritters have had no backbone, no resolve....
I am looking for a change come November...for the better as far as the Congress goes....I think this sink hole we've been in has awakened many conservatives...
I know McCain ain't conservative....but I think we can get enough good solid Pubs in there to get things back in order....and McCain is much, much better than the two numbskulls who are currently opposing him.
“My question is, how much of a negative effect do you think the Bush administration has had on the current standing of the GOP in the minds of voters”
I think voters are war weary. This hurts Republicans.
W did the right thing to remove Saddam. The goal of the war was to prevent him from gaining WMD. Saddam will never have weapons of WMD.
There has been several phases to the Iraq War. Sunni insurgency, Al Quada central front, Anbar Awakening and now the Iranian gambit. W has persevered and it is possible that a military win is close at hand.
W has done a good job of preventing another 9/11. He has hurt Al Quada badly. He has not gained a knock out though.
The propaganda and abuse thrown at W has not been answered well. It would take a daily defense of policies to correct the effect of left wing propaganda.
I think W will be regarded well by history.
The best thing the Republican Party has going for it is left wing Democrats. A majority of voters will not consent to become slaves of the state.
“My question is, how much of a negative effect do you think the Bush administration has had on the current standing of the GOP in the minds of voters,”
In general, I think Bush II has been a catastrophe who has adversely impacted the perception of Republicans towards their own party as well as the perception of independent Americans.
“and the resulting electability of GOP candidates?”
Hard to say. A lot of campaigns are based solely on local issues. But the current state of the economy and the perception that the Republican Administration is mainly to blame, instead of Bush and the liberals in Congress together, is probably the view of most unsophisticated voters.
” Is the current negative perception the fault of the administration, or does it have more to do with the mantra that the media has consistently spewed towards all things Bush related,”
Both. They started to team up on Bush as soon as he was elected. But I think he has lost credibility because instead of fighting them, he has gradually come around to their views on many subjects, e.g. global warming. Part of this I believe is Bush's very poor communication skills which demonstrate a lower level of intelligence than most prior Presidents. Both he and Gore flunked several courses in College and both had low cums in the mid 70’s.
No brain children there.
” or is it due in your opinion to a perceived do-nothing congress when the GOP had control? “
Definitely contributed. The Republicans blew it when they had control of Congress. They failed to deliver the Contract for America that Gingrich used to gain control during the Great Stain-Maker’s regime.
“Based on how you answer these questions, my second question is do you think it was even Bush at all that started the slide, or had the slide already started before Bush was elected in 2000? If so, do you think it started with Daddy Bush, or even earlier with Reagan? “
I think it started with Daddy Bush - the VEEP Reagan never wanted. If they had persisted in the philosophies of Reagan and Goldwater, the Republican Party would be a viable, thriving political organism today instead of a rotting carcass that hasn't realized its dead already.
Why would people vote Democrat Light when they can have the real product if they are socialists?
And why would conservative Americans continue to prop up a decaying edifice whose best answer to the Bolsheviks in the Democrat Party is John McCain?
I think the talking points memo says that he was selected, not elected.
There is a difference between conservatism and the GOP. The GOP is the party that claimed conservatism as it’s own. IMO, the move away from conservatism towards the middle started under “read my lips Bush-I, and accelerated off the ramp onto the highway under Bush II.
The current GOP is no longer Conservative. They are just a less liberal than the democrats.
On second thought, you’d better be careful. FR shows up well in google searches and if your professor checks, you’d better have written your tern paper with enough changes so you don’t get nailed.
In before the zot?
that little immigration thing and “see you at the signing” had no little effect.
Frankly, I was APPALLED.
I personally think John McCain, Chuck Hagel, Arlen Specter, to name a few of the loser RINOs in our Senate, have had a far more detrimental effect on the GOP by acting like Democrats .
This person wouldn’t know! This is a jack-ass Democrat trying to get conservatives to Bash Bush.
“A majority of voters will not consent to become slaves of the state.”
I wish you were right, but I don’t think so.
I think Americans are only too willing to give up freedom for more security or a stimulus payment to pay for a softer couch upon which to watch American Idol.
the GOP is strong...it’s the mindless independants and democrats that get their information in 10 second sound bites that have a problem. If you can’t do a little research and find out what is actualy happening then you shouldn’t be allowed to vote!
Bush 41 wanted to be friends with the Dems, so he left the Reagan revolution and joined the Dems in raising taxes and signing gun control, causing a prompt loss of what should have been an easy reelection to an Arkansas grifter.
Bush 43 and Republicans had it all in 2002, they controlled the White House, Senate, House of Representatives, State Governors and State Legislatures, Republicans now only have the White House, with a very good likelihood of losing that as well.
Bush 43 also deeply split the Republican Party when he chose to stand with the Mexican government and their illegals, against fellow Republicans and America.
Yes.
Conservative still listen to the MSM, regardless of how much they say they don't.
You need to find an Obama sticker and place it over your mouth.
I remember that very well, and have often wondered about it. I also remember that the Bushes and the Reagans did not seem to be very close.
"If the Democrats introduced a bill to burn down Washington, DC, the Republicans would counter with a compromise to phase it in over five years."
Prescription Drugs - “I'm from the government and I'm here to help”
Federal Involvement In Education - “I'm from the government and I'm here to help”
Boosting of Foreign Aid - “I'm from the government and I'm here to help”
Bush is a huge part of the problem.
How do approval numbers for the Democrat Congress compare to approval numbers for President Bush? Why so? Did the downward trend start with Tip O’Neill? Discuss.
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