Posted on 05/21/2004 2:54:58 PM PDT by Jean S
Last week, the Democratic National Committee began distributing several pages of quotes from conservatives critical of President Bush on a variety of fronts and suggesting to the media that the fact that we don't agree with the man on everything all of the time is evidence of real weakness in his base. Some in the media took the bait, and many of us got calls from reporters wondering if the president can really rely on the strong support he's going to need from his conservative base to win in November.
Now, the summer silly season is fast approaching, so perhaps one has to cut these folks a little slack, but their reasoning defies logic and represents little more than a hopeful fantasy among those who go to bed at night hoping the conservative Republican coalition will somehow fracture. It isn't going to happen … at least not this time around.
While the Democrats were circulating their theory, the president himself was addressing the 40th anniversary banquet of the American Conservative Union here in Washington. To say that he was well received by the audience of more than 700 activist conservative leaders would be a gross understatement. Indeed, we welcomed him as one of our own. Those attending agreed, I think, with my observation in introducing him that they, like millions of conservatives around the country, are prepared to do their part to see to it that he is re-elected this fall.
Does this enthusiastic support mean that we agree with his every act as president? Of course not. But he knew when he accepted our invitation and when he took the microphone that he was speaking to friends who believe he's done a remarkable job given the challenges he's faced since taking office in January 2001. He knew, too, that we all consider ourselves part of the same team and that he can count on us both to work for his re-election and to prod him to govern as we hope he will.
Frankly, those hoping for a collapse of the president's base don't seem to be able to grasp the simple fact that conservatives can differ with their friends on matters of policy but rally behind them if they are doing a good job overall, and are quite capable of recognizing the difference between friends, allies and those, like John Kerry, who oppose everything they want. In fact, it is not all that hard to tell when we are really mad enough at those who need our support to take a walk.
When many of us concluded prior to the 1972 elections that President Nixon had forfeited his claim to conservative support, conservatives ran a protest candidate against him in New Hampshire. When his successor did everything he could to infuriate us, we almost denied him his party's nomination in 1976. In 1992, conservatives flocked to Pat Buchanan because they were upset and offended by the current president's father's abandonment of the promises he'd made during his 1988 campaign.
None of those protests succeeded, but each reflected deep discontent within the GOP base. In none of those cases did it take a Democrat with a divining rod and a bunch of handouts to find out we were upset.
There was no talk of a primary protest against the current president this year for the simple reason that, while we might oppose such things as his Medicare prescription drug program and believe he could do far more to cut government spending, few believe he's abandoned us or the principles we like to believe we represent. No president is perfect, but most conservatives believe that this is one who deserves another term.
This doesn't mean that conservatives will agree with everything the president says or does in the future. We'll agree with him when he's right, urge him to change course when we believe he's wrong and work as hard as we have to to make sure he's there to listen to us for another four years.
Moreover, even those few with lingering doubts about whether he will be able to deliver as much as they'd like in his second term know that Kerry is not the answer to anyone's prayers. Ideologically, stylistically and in every other way, the Democratic nominee is just the guy to get conservative juices flowing.
So the president's political coalition is in pretty good shape, and certainly in far better shape than that on which his opponent will have to depend. Ralph Nader, the spoiler out there, is not a conservative but a nutty liberal who thinks the most liberal member of the U.S. Senate should be rejected by Democrats as not liberal enough.
Perhaps someone should be distributing a few pages of what Nader thinks about Kerry.
I mistook the post link containing harbingr's links for the message JR has posted about this year and campaigning..I can't find it right now.
Sitting home is a vote for hanoi john, just as a vote for nader is supposedly a vote for Dubya.
#150 contains Jim's thoughts on this site and this election(deport's post to harbingr to inform him)
Of course the Republicans campaigned agaist FDR but I strongly doubt that any of them were assaulting him for bringing us into a fictious war or for the literally hundreds of thousands of men who had already died by that time. I doubt it was a campaign issue in 1944.
And, BTW, the problem isn't that the Democrats are campaigning against the President, the problem is that much of the country seems to have lost the taste for war after only a few (relatively) people have died and after only a few (relatively) idiotic crimes committed by prison guards.
The guards who participated in the prison scandal are being and will continue to be prosecuted and many, many more soldiers will die; but the number pales in comparison to the number of deaths we will experience if we fail in Iraq.
The need for steadfastness is upon us. It is time for all Americans to stiffen up their backbone and not fall in the face of mounting pressure. 76,000....76,000
This is a political discussion site. You can't have debate and discussion unless you bring forth the issues and go through them. That debate and discussion cannot occur unless other options are brought forth. Yes, I realize this is a two party race. No, I do not desire a Kerry win. There are times when I don't see a difference. And regarding judges, with Republican Presidents we've lost more than we've won with regard to their appointments to the SC and district judges.
But there are many here who simply want to say "move on, nothing to see" when it comes to issues this President brings. I seem to remember that during the last administration. I remember seeing someone note one time that many of the most well known conservative commentators and writers would probably be banned from this site if they posted their commentaries on this site because they dated to be critical of the President in a "time of war". Rush, Hannity, Savage, Joe Farah, George Will and on and on, most likely banned. Isn't that sad.
But now we've become the superpower of the world and there are these pesky gnats in the sand called Iraqi militiamen that for some reason we seem to be unable to tame.
Sure, compared to the loss of life in the Battle of the Bulge, these losses pale in comparison. But we've been conditioned by the media with military complicity that we can just roll in and take over. Or we can surgically launch something from a boat 500 miles away and watch a city fall to our power. Now the war has taken a more personal approach. We aren't fighting a conventional military. We're fighting someone who was a friend 30 minutes ago.
The prision scandal is going to be more than just a handful of people. Now it appears that after strong denials, the wedding in fact may have been attacked. We've lost control. Maybe we did in WWII also, but the media and the military was complicit in a coverup. Or the media now has the ability and technology to get beyond the PR the military dishes out.
...I know you feel deeply...It's a big wide universe, there are many, many discussion forums and I know you will find one that fits your needs.
There are many sites I am sure better suited to satisfactorily discuss your points and share your questions with.
Obviously I and others here could not provide you with the debate, discussion and information you yearn for...Keep seeking!
It was nice talking to you...Happy Hunting!
.......................BUSH/CHENEY...04...................
FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR NATION, FOR THE SAKE OF THE WORLD
I would crawl through broken glass lying atop burning coals,covered over with razor wire,to vote for President Bush! :-)
I would rather lance an infected hemmorhoid with a plastic picnic fork than vote for Kerry!
Sure he is...I was at my grandson's birthday party on Saturday and one of his 23 y/o dimwit relatives (from the other side of the family) stated "It would be so cool to have a President that snowboards!" Unfortunately for us, these people do vote...that is why it is imperative that we support Bush!
I hear you! Sounds like something the other side of this family might say as well except for a few of them! My side -- Republican and Conservative -- same with my kids!
It was all I could do to hold my anger in! He then went on to whine about how he recently got turned down for disability. I wanted so badly to tell him that he just needs get off his fat arse and get a job, but I just rolled my eyes and walked off to keep the peace. He gets it honestly...his mother has had numerous Air Force boyfriends who fathered her 6 kids so she can get the benefits and forced child support. It is really disgusting!
Regardless of whether or not we are fighting pests or standing armies, the goal is to win... at whatever it is that we are trying to accomplish. Turning tail and running is not an option but seems to be what you are advocating (if not turning tail and running then... what, exactly?). When we get in these battles, we must show the Islamo-Fascists that we can take casualties. Tens of Thousands if need be in order to win this war. They are prepared to take as many casualties as need be to spread Fantatical Islam throughout the world. We need to be prepared to take as many casualties as we can to stop it. I'm not sure if we are prepared yet to do this.
You must have counted to 100 several times. When I was around the other side of the family counting to 10 didn't work so I would go higher not to really say what I thought. People like that really bug me!
One time his Mother started praising Ma Richards in our home in Texas and I let her have it -- last trip they made to visit. Been back to NY once in 14 years to visit and that does it for me. I don't do well visiting democRATs especially now!
I'm not advocating cut and run. I'm a tad concerned that we got in without having a clearer picture of what we were up against. And at some point in time IF we aren't making progress, then yes, we leave. Failure is not an option sometime means failure anyway. I've just gone through a business situation (employer) that went out with less than good market data, had unobtainable goals, and we failed miserably. Throughout the last few years, it was stressed failure is not an option. We, the company failed.
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