As Disappointed As You Might Be With The GOP, What Is The Alternative?

[mwfsu84]

My major complaints with the GOP are Bush's spending, and the stonewalling RINOs in Congress. And yet, what is the alternative? To vote Democrat? Or to not vote at all - which is just as helpful to Dems.

Every time I think how disappointed I am with Bush, I try to remember how much worse it could be with a legitmate Bush-hater.

The Democrats won't cut spending. They'll raise taxes. We'll see national health care. A Democratic President won't nominate moderate SCOTUS justices - unless you consider Ruth Bader Ginsberg a moderate. We'll cow tow to the UN, probably pull out of Iraq, establish relations with Cuba and Hugo Chavez. They'll be no legitimate challenge to the ban on partial birth abortion. This fall, an upcoming SCOTUS case will be whether a minor has a right to have an abortion without parental consent. If a 15 year old child wins that 'right', do you honestly expect ANY leader from the party of Planned Parenthood to challenge it?

You think gas prices are high now? Wait until you see prices caps imposed, Jimmy Carter-style, so you'll have higher prices and longer lines. We'll have a president that preaches to us the value of sacrifice, which as we all know, worked so well during the Carter years.

As disgusted as we are with George W. Bush, we can't give up on the Republican Party.

[Sometimes A River]

Winner takes all just isn't working.

There are tons of things the FF's would have hated today, being that all 3 branches of Govt totally ignore the Constitution.

[rdb3]

There are millions that do not vote in every election, with untold millions that have never voted, therefore, the whining about not voting elects a democrat is bogus.

Speaking of hearing the same song...

If you want a Google GMail account, FReepmail me.
They're going fast!

[adorno]

But you are only truly being used when you vote 3rd party as it stands today.

Excellent!

Finally, an intelligent and sensible post.

I too sometimes wish that there would be a third party that would represent republican/conservative thought like what we had during the Reagan years. But, the reality is that what we have as a republican party currently is infinitely better than the democrats or any other party.

Most posts so far in this thread demonstrate dissatisfaction with Bush and the current republicans in congress. But, I'm not going to take a chance and allow another Clinton to slide into the presidency. If it hadn't been for H. Ross Perot taking away a lot of republican votes, Clinton would never have been president.

What we need to do is work with what wee have and try to make it better. Either that or risk another Clinton.

I know a few friends of mine who voted for Perot in 1992 and who in later years said they regretted having tossed away their votes, even if they were trying to show their dissatisfaction with Bush Sr at that time.

[investigateworld]

"Third party principled losers or Hillary...take your pick."

Remember '94? When the Republicans see that we are not sheeple, they'll come to our point of view. The Republic will survive.

[nopardons]

Nope!

[jackieaxe]

Instant small government would backfire on Republicans and cost us control of Congress and the Presidency. We have to remain in the game by playing the system that has been handed down to us. Anything more would crazy when we're faced constantly with a hostile press.

Growing the government at 2-3 times the inflation rate is running away from small government. Come on W. Veto a bill. Say no to something.

[nopardons]

That is just plain old crazy and it's been proven meritless already.

You really LOVED the two Clinton terms, didn't you; just fess up to it.

Voting fringe does nothing, except give aid and comfort to the party one MOST doesn't want in power. That's been proven time and again.

[nopardons]

So, you'll be voting for Hillary or whoever is the Dem presidential candidate in '08, I take it. That's patently ridiculous! It's a shame that you can't see that.

[jackieaxe]

Involvement is the key. Hold your representatives accountable. Let them know they have to please you and the other constituents, not the press or the Inside-the-Beltway crowd.

I write Charlie Bass all the time. Last week he voted to extend Hate Crimes Legislation, today, he voted to extent Head Start. Writing does no good. In fact Charlie has stopped writing me back.

[HitmanLV]

People also need to remember that the idea of political leadership is to build consensus and work towards goals. The fact is that the average American (that we can build a consensus on) isn't nearly as conservative as we on FR are.

The truth is that to build consensus, it's we (the most conservative 10%) who have to compromise more with the rest of our constituency (say, 40+% of the electorate) to get influence and move policy in a direction we like (which isn't to say a perfect fit).

Otherwise the other side (most liberal 10%) reaches a consensus with enough of their constituency (40+%) and influences policy more than we do.

[nopardons]

BRAVO !

You tell 'em CT !

[metalurgist]

I never mentioned the word "Democrat

You didn't need to. This is a two party system. You either vote crat, or you vote pubbie. Thats all the people know. No one is going to vote for someone in an obscure party that is currently working as third assistant afternoon frenchfry manager for U.S. Senate, even if he has all the right answers, except as a protest vote.

Maybe if third parties would run candidates at a local level instead of always going for the brass ring they would get some recognition.

[rdb3]

I know a few friends of mine who voted for Perot in 1992 and who in later years said they regretted having tossed away their votes, even if they were trying to show their dissatisfaction with Bush Sr at that time.

That reminds me of people here who say that they want to send the GOP a message at election time. But that begs the question: Who does that actually benefit?

Sending messages like that is what led up to the WTC falling to the ground.

I'm a Pub, and will make no bones about it. The level of spending going on at the moment is sickening, I'll admit. But what do we really have in D.C.? You have a spending party, the Pubs, and an hostile and demonstrably anti-American major party who reveres Karl Marx. The latter is the Democrats. In this light, money becomes fairly meaningless.

The Pubs will definitely defend this nation. The Dems want to give it away to the United Nations.

If one purports loving this nation, how could he or she allow any Dem near the Oval Office as President?

If you want a Google GMail account, FReepmail me.
They're going fast!

[adorno]

If one purports loving this nation, how could he or she allow any Dem near the Oval Office as President?

That should be the bottom line message for this thread.

[rdb3]

That should be the bottom line message for this thread.

Ha! Those words of mine will fall on deaf ears.

If you want a Google GMail account, FReepmail me.
They're going fast!

[metalurgist]

If one purports loving this nation, how could he or she allow any Dem near the Oval Office as President?

Or in any other office where they can wield power.

[logician2u]

A party of Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, and other small government conservatives.

ROTFL.

Newt Gingrich and Dr. Paul have about as much in common as peanut butter and jelly.

[mwfsu84]

"If all I can do is vote for creeping socialism or voting to have it installed all at once, what are my choices?"

Once you give away entitlements, it's awful hard to take them back. I'd vote for creeping socialism, and hope and pray someone like a Newt Gingrich comes along and stops the bleeding...or the creeping, as it were.

[tennmountainman]

"A party of Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, and other small government conservatives. I see from the pork vs hurricane relief conversation that there is a voter constituency for what the Republicans used to be."
___________________________________________________________

The Republican party of today is not Ronald Reagans party.
To those of you who wish to just give your votes to the party just like African Americans give their votes blindly to the democrats, go ahead. However, don't bash me and millions of other conservatives who MIGHT stay home in the next election. For every conservative vote they lose like mine, they will pick up from others who like big spending, never holding any gov official accountable, leaving the borders open, can't get thru any conservative judges, except for a handful, never holding the Clinton's or the Clintoistas accountable. You have to look no further what RINO's will do to a base than the special election in Ohio several months ago. In a solid Republican district where the son of a current senator was expected to win handily, got his teeth kicked in by the base. The general election saw the thepublician candidate win by a small margin. Thats because the base stayed home. If the trend in the Republican party is to move to the middle, they won't have any trouble replacing my conservative vote with a RINO voter. I will not blindly give my vote away. If they want my vote, they will have to earn it. So far, they have done a poor job earning my vote.

[Revolting cat!]