Betrayed Conservatives

Logic Times ^ | 04-29-06 | Dan Hallagan

[Logic Times]

The Left’s hatred of George W. Bush has no rival...

...or so it once seemed. But not so fast. There is a new breed of GWB hater: the Betrayed Conservative, a creature of surprisingly intense emotions for a member of the rational Right. The Betrayed Conservative is good news and bad news for the conservative movement. The good news is that there are vocal, passionate conservatives out there – large numbers of them – unwilling to accept anything less than sound conservative policy out of Washington. They are angry and active and have imposed some measure of discipline on that exasperating collection of spineless Republicans in the nation’s capital. At the drop of a bad Supreme Court nominee or immigration bill, the Betrayed Conservative explodes with the sort of colorful epithets that would make Al Franken blush. And make no mistake, Bush is their whipping boy, and they rarely stop at forty lashes.

The bad news is that Betrayed Conservatives are a political disaster. Betrayal involves a breach of confidence, but in the history of American conservative politics there has never been any confidence to breach, never been a reliable tradition of conservative policy in Washington implemented by principled public servants. Such animals have rarely walked the halls of the Capitol Building, and when they appear, they are hunted down by both the rabid Left and vacillating Right with the viciousness of ritual murder. Such creatures of principle – Newt Gingrich for example – threaten all pure politicians.

(graphics in the article - follow link)

[TAdams8591]

"Do you think this article in particular is a fair and accurate depiction of conservatives?"

Yes, I do think it's an accurate depiction of "some" conservatives.

[no dems]

About the only thing GW has done that I am pleased with is his two Supreme Court nominees; and he almost screwed that up (ref. Harriet Miers)

[TAdams8591]

"He has helped turn around an inherited recession, a stock market bubble, appointed hundreds of conservative judges, along with two fine SCOTUS justices, he has stood up for "life" as well as any modern day POTUS, he has shown his faith in God and done so proudly (but respectfully) helped get a larger majority in the Senate along with growing numbers in the House.....and yet just as some conservatives and GOP'ers tried to do Ronald Reagan wrong(86)...that is what some on the right are foolishly trying to do to GWB now."

The president's handling of the immigration issue has me outraged and he has made some other mistakes that have bothered me as well. But the President's accomplishments on your list must not and should not be forgotten when considering the totality of his time in office. To do so is intellectually honest and terribly wrong. I agree.

[TAdams8591]

That should be, "intellectually dishonest."

[Recovering_Democrat]

Oh, alarm, I agree when you say "the right needs a bit of adjustment now and then"! Totally. I think the place and time to do that, though, is before the campaign for the general election begins.

Ronald Reagan got beat in 1976; one of my earliest political memories involves watching the Republican National Convention that year and seeing a crying woman on the floor of that convention...she had one of those "barbershop quartet" hats on with a band around it that said "Reagan in '76".

Now Reagan lost that fight, but he didn't abandon the Republican party. Gerald Ford wasn't the conservative Reagan was...but he was a helluva lot better choice than Jimmy Carter.

And Reagan supported Ford--cheerfully and steadfastly.

I am doing what I can to adjust the Republicans: my donations have dried up to the party...instead, I've given to candidates campaigns directly.

I've taken a lot of heat on this thread for my earlier post about "purists". Maybe "extremists" would be a better term, like someone else suggested. At any rate, I do think if we succumb to the "send 'em a message and let the liberals take over" idea, it will only hurt the country, hurt the conservative movement, and embolden the 'rats.

Having once been a 'rat, I can tell you: it will. :)

Thanks,
Recovering_Democrat

[Jezebelle]

Okay, I guess I see your point about the connection, but I don't know that I agree that Republicans will vote Republican for the sake of party unity. I see vastly more important reasons than that.

[Pelham]

There's always an excuse, isn't there?

[Muleteam1]

>>Wake up dude! Our country, the one we think we have, is in peril, and BOTH sides of the aisle are driving us to its destruction.<<

I was not sure you were talking to me because I have never suggested we fall back. I plan to vote in the coming elections for the GOP because I have done so since 1968. And indeed I do know very well how things work in D.C. To think you think you can punish a politician by shooting your own foot off is the sort of thinking that must go through a terrorist's mind as he straps on a dynamite belt. My point was that everything decays and societies and governments are no exception. I have never suggested we back off doing what we must to slow the decay nor do I intend to.

Muleteam1

[Muleteam1]

Aarchaeus, I wish I did know how to make politicians behave but I do not. Booting them out of office certainly will remove them from a leadership role and will undoubtedly have them sadly discussing their political failures in their old age. However for my children's and my grandchildren's sakes, I am less concerned about making a politician sad than I am about making them do their job. It is my belief that conservatives have an increasingly tough battle ahead, but one thing that would probably help the strength of National- and State-level politicians is a good framework of conservatives in local offices. It has been my experience that liberals tend to make local elections a family affair and in doing so have really stacked the local decks with their own.

This is just my two cents from one who claims no formal analytical training in political affairs. As I have seen some wise Freeper's add to their comments, "your mileage may vary."

Muleteam1

[MNJohnnie]

Anyone who spends all their time on Freeper as a supposed "Conservative" whining because the Conservatives Republican glass is only 60% full and actively working to turn over that glass so they can fill it 100% to the brim with Left wing political poison is either a political fool, who is too dumb to realize what they are doing, or a political fraud who is only pretending to be "Conservative". So which is it, fools or frauds?

[William Terrell]

Well, it so happens that the republican glass has a illegal immigration/socialist size hole in it. Only a fool or a fraud can miss it.

[Doe Eyes]

Anyone who spends all their time on Freeper as a supposed "Conservative" whining because the Conservatives Republican glass is only 60% full and actively working to turn over that glass so they can fill it 100% to the brim with Left wing political poison

That pretty much sums up the problem with the Republican Party. Cutting spending and balancing the budget are, to you, Left wing political poison.

Not too long ago, it was the position of the Republican Party.

[rollo tomasi]

Outstanding reply.

[hosepipe]

[ The purists' hatred for Bush could kill the conservative movement...and put 'rats in power for a generation. ]

OR finally a serious caucus or even a third party with impact.. the republican party is moving even further left than they already are... Bush has made that fact imminently overt.. even to many party lemmings..

i.e. many Bushbots last year are no longer Bushbots this year.. importing legal and illegal democrats ON PURPOSE has SLAPPED them upside their heads.. Even many of the hard headed are getting their minds right..

[Recovering_Democrat]

OR finally a serious caucus or even a third party with impact..

Again, I invoke the example of REAGAN. The man did not go third party, he changed the Republican party from the inside.

Bush is NOT a liberal Republican in the mold of Gerald Ford and Nelson Rockefeller. Those men were the liberal Republicans who opposed Ronald Reagan...and Reagan remained a supporter of the leadership of his party and continued to work for change from within.

This third party/not voting nonsense is not in the Reaganite tradition. It is, however, in the Ross Perot tradition--the one that gave us eight years of The Bent One & Hitlery.

[hosepipe]

[ Bush is NOT a liberal Republican in the mold of Gerald Ford and Nelson Rockefeller. ]

True... Bush is a Globalist.. thats why hes for the Importation of multi millions of prospective democrats.. both legal and illegal ones.. And since the democrats have been aborting their next generation for decades.. the Globalists NEED a faux political war between democrats and republicans.. That way the slide toward globalism can be blamed on the democrats by republicans and on the republicans by the democrats.. When George Bush works right out in the open to water down Americas bent toward National Sovereignty by importing millions of people that could care less about national borders..

Its quite simple to non Bushbots.. which are lemmings.. in extreme denial or worse KNOW and approve of what I said above.. YES, here on Free Republic..

[griswold3]

There would be no way to hold off the collectivism agenda they have planned that destroys individual liberty and economic freedom if we give up after only 10 years.
The Republicans were out of power for 40 years. This may be a "glich" we're facing but we can correct from within. It would take 40 years to get back in power and more than a generation to fix it.
Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.
(President Bush tried to fix Social Security, remember but the Democrats were ALLOWED to stop him. WE LET THE PRESIDENT DOWN. We didn't stand up when we needed to. Getting a "conservative troops" to rally is like herding cats.)

[jdm]

You're not very conservative if you believe the President is conservative.

Folks with your views are more closely aligned with Leftists and liberal Republicans like John McCain.

Do you seriously not see how liberal you are? You are promoting "Republicanism" at any cost, no matter what. That's dangerous business, my FRiend.

I have criticized the President for not being far enough to the right, politically, whereas your argument is that conservatives are really hardcore moveon leftist types in disguise.

What you're saying makes absolutely no sense as your argument, itself, makes false assumptions about conservatives from the get-go.

[Recovering_Democrat]

Bush is a Globalist.. thats why hes for the Importation of multi millions of prospective democrats.. both legal and illegal ones.. And since the democrats have been aborting their next generation for decades.. the Globalists NEED a faux political war between democrats and republicans..

How baffling. There is a war between democrats and republicans. A real war--and there are real differences.

Bush, for political reasons (and because he was the governor of a southern border state) is interested in co-opting the Hispanic vote. You might disagree with his methods and strategies, but this talk about him doing this because of "globalist" strategies doesn't seem to fit.

You can nitpick some piece of my earlier post if you want, but taking it out of context won't address my main point: the example of Reagan. Reagan's 11th Commandment is constantly broken here on FR--I'm guilty as well. But when it comes to a general election, the fact is simple: either a Democrat or Republican will win. Whatever their problems are, I know the Republicans will do more to help the Republic than the 'rats.

[griswold3]

I tried to convince voters to support Pierce but he was a little late to the race. And then there's the clout DeWhine has in the judiciary and intelligence committees.
But here in the 4th CD we have a winner in Jim Jordan!!!
and for the Ohio House John Adams.
3 out of 4 ain't bad.