Whitman pushes GOP moderation

Star Ledger ^ | 04.17.06 | DEBORAH HOWLETT

[Coleus]

Former Gov. Christie Whitman believes the Republican Party is in deep trouble. The GOP, she says, is now where the Democrats were a dozen years ago in Washington when they lost control of the House for the first time in 40 years. President Bush's popularity is at a low ebb and several GOP leaders have been snared in ethics scandals.

"We're at a critical point," she said. "We're starting to see polls that look just like the polls looked to Democrats in '94." From a converted hayloft of the barn on her family estate in Oldwick, Whitman works each day on what she believes will be the salvation of her party.

She says Republicans must stop their internal bickering and adopt a broader view that allows a less conservative take on social issues such as abortion, gay marriage and stem cell research. She calls for a "new civility."

"The rhetoric is getting harsher, and we're having more divisive elections," Whitman said. "We can't just agree to disagree anymore without being disagreeable. ... People see their opponents as not just wrong, but evil."

Whitman is spreading her word of "radical moderation" and making campaign contributions to moderate candidates through a political action committee she formed last year after releasing her book, "It's My Party Too: The Battle for the Heart of the GOP and the Future of America."

The book has just been published in paperback, giving new spark for an effort she hopes will pave the way for mavericks like Sen. John McCain of Arizona or former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani to run for president in 2008. Whitman has collected $1 million for moderate Republicans in as many as 120 local elections across the nation.

[cva66snipe]

That hag and many like her have about Liberalized/Moderate'd the GOP to a near death. Wasn't she also part of Doles 1996 Freak Show at the GOP Convention. She and Susan {can't remember her last name} who put the final nails in Doles campaign loss with their Liberal spewage?

[A Balrog of Morgoth]

Why doesn't she just go on and join the rest of the socialists and take Mccain with her.

McCain, as erratic as he is, is several orders of magnitude more conservative then the Whitmans and Chafees of the world.

[AntiGuv]

I totally agree with you and could not have stated it better myself.

[Alberta's Child]

Here's an interesting little tidbit about her book. It was originally scheduled to be released somewhere around late November or December of 2004, but it was delayed for a couple of months for some "last-minute editing" and wasn't released until January of 2005.

The story I heard was that it was originally intended as an "I told you so" diatribe in the wake of a George W. Bush loss to John Kerry, and they had to make some obvious revisions when the American voters didn't cooperate and reality got in the way.

[Liberator]

Instead of opening up her big RINO-to-the-nth-degree yapper, why doesn't Whitman retire to the slopes of Switzerland and tending to her NWO Bilderberger meetings?

[Liberator]

"That hag and many like her have about Liberalized/Moderate'd the GOP to a near death. Wasn't she also part of Doles 1996 Freak Show at the GOP Convention. She and Susan {can't remember her last name} who put the final nails in Doles campaign loss with their Liberal spewage?"

Exactly right, Snipe...

Wasn't that pro-choice RINO Susan Molinari you're referring to?

[Old_Mil]

Former Gov. Christie Whitman believes the Republican Party is in deep trouble. The GOP, she says, is now where the Democrats were a dozen years ago in Washington

For an article that starts out with such a perceptive statement, it sure goes to heck in a hurry.

[OldFriend]

Suddenly the media is giving Whitman a lot of attention because she's bashing the president and the party for being too conservative.

She doesn't see why we can't have gay marriage, partial birth abortion, and a whole host of other social perversions.

She's another Lincoln Chaffee

[OldFriend]

This woman 'donated' a huge portion of her land to a farmland conservation group. She gets full use of the property but has agreed not to develop the land. Those acres are off the tax rolls so she saves many many thousands of dollars.

Nice scam!

This is woman with her bottom line being all that matters.

One of her cabinet cronies worked for the new auto inspection company that screwed up so badly. The company was from California and their excuse for nothing working was that they didn't know it got cold here in NJ

Why she got away with all her corruption is beyond me but I suspect she and the power bosses here are all in bed together.

[cva66snipe]

Wasn't that pro-choice RINO Susan Molinari you're referring to?

Yep that's her. I think Dole likely stood a half a chance at POTUS until those two showed up. It turned off many in the GOP and they stayed home. That was the last time I voted GOP in the POTUS election. Then I started seeking other alternatives with views more closer to what I believe in. BTW I think her husband was one of those behind the RINO takeover of the GOP congress also IIRC just after that election.

[Liberator]

"I think Dole likely stood a half a chance at POTUS until those two showed up. It turned off many in the GOP and they stayed home. That was the last time I voted GOP in the POTUS election. Then I started seeking other alternatives with views more closer to what I believe in. BTW I think her husband was one of those behind the RINO takeover of the GOP congress also IIRC just after that election."

Hmmm...in retrospect that WAS the first time the RINOs were celebrated and given a prominent place at the head of the GOP table, but also a hint of direction of things to come. Turned me off to the GOP as well, although I did vote for Viagra-Man :-).

Gotta disagree with ya pardner about Dole having any chance at beating Clinton. He ran an absolutely abysmal campaign. And IMO, the GOP tried to counter Bubba with moderate "compassionate conservative" with a RINO flavor and predictably got slaughtered. On the other hand also don't believe the GOP really wanted to win in '96, but rather set the table for future RINOs "leadership."

[ElkGroveDan]

She says Republicans must stop their internal bickering and adopt a broader view that allows a less conservative take on social issues such as abortion, gay marriage and stem cell research.

Typical of liberals. "It's time to end the conflict. It's time for you to adopt my views."

[newcthem]

IMHO, RINOs like Whitman are exactly what is going wrong with the Republican party now.

[Antoninus]

This from a woman who almost single-handedly destroyed the Republican party in New Jersey...

Yeah, we'll take what she has to say seriously.

[Steve0113]

Typical of liberals. "It's time to end the conflict. It's time for you to adopt my views."

Exactly. Her call for a "new civility" means "stop opposing my positions on the issues."

Or, "Be reasonable - do it my way."

[cva66snipe]

Gotta disagree with ya pardner about Dole having any chance at beating Clinton. He ran an absolutely abysmal campaign. And IMO, the GOP tried to counter Bubba with moderate "compassionate conservative" with a RINO flavor and predictably got slaughtered. On the other hand also don't believe the GOP really wanted to win in '96, but rather set the table for future RINOs "leadership."

You're probably right. His campaign was painful to watch I do remember that much. How can a nation as great as the USA end up each and every election year with such pathetic choices in two parties? What was the point in not putting up a good challenger to Clinton. Even if they loose you still put up a good candidate to at least present the party platform. As one poster who used to be around likes to say you were waiting for them to get on stage and start singing "We are the world". Right now the GOP has a couple of decent possibilities in the conservative wings. Watch for the media to start offering up their liberal GOP choice any day now. I'm watching the Independents also. 2008 would be the time to really push for it IMO. Especially if the candidate for POTUS is more of the same.

I can't go with Condi though. The State Department isn't a good place to get political balance. I'm disappointed in the State Departments doings anyway. Too much coddling to rouge states and too much restraint and pressure placed on nations terrorist states have it in for such as Israel.

A Tancredo/Sessions ticket might be interesting though :>} Certainly that would be a welcomed opposing platform against the Dems than what we have seen since 1989.

[nmh]

Why doesn't she declare herself a Demoncrat and be done with it?

[JWinNC]

The Republican party is too conservative?

Geez... when did it become conservative? Nobody told me.

jw

[JohnnyZ]

"There may be something to what she says," said Dick Armey..... says the party has become "preoccupied by the Christian conservative agenda," which in turn has frustrated those he refers to as small-government, fiscal conservatives.

You can never trust a libertarian to stand up for conservatism.

[Coleus]

I still can't believe that Archbishop McCarrick allowed her to speak from the pulpit at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Newark.