Hard Core Republicans Are Fleeing President

The Washington Post ^ | May 11, 2006 | JIm VandeHei and Peter Baker

[Dems_R_Losers]

Disaffection over spending and immigration have caused conservatives to take flight from President Bush and the Republican Congress at a rapid pace in recent weeks, sending Bush's approval ratings to record lows and presenting a new threat to the GOP's 12-year reign on Capitol Hill, according to White House officials, lawmakers and new polling data.

Bush and Congress have suffered a decline in support from almost every part of the conservative coalition over the past year, a trend that has accelerated with alarming implications for Bush's governing strategy.

The Gallup polling organization recorded a 13-percentage-point drop in Republican support for Bush in the past couple weeks. These usually reliable voters are telling pollsters and lawmakers they are fed up with what they see as out-of-control spending by Washington and an abandonment of core conservative principles more generally.

There are also significant pockets of conservatives turning on Bush and Congress over the their failure to tighten immigration laws, restrict gay marriage and to put an end to the Iraq war and the rash of political scandals, according to lawmakers and pollsters.

Bush won two presidential elections by pursuing a political and governing model that was predicated on winning and sustaining the loyal backing of social, economic and foreign policy conservatives. The strategy was based on the belief that conservatives, who are often more politically active than the general public, could be inspired to vote in larger numbers and would serve as a reliable foundation for his presidency. The theory, as explained by Bush strategists, is that the president would enjoy a floor below which his support would never fall.

It is now apparent that this floor has weakened dramatically and collapsed in places.

[KJC1]

OMG, take your meds scooter. That's the most ridiculous thing I've seen. Random threats don't scare me and they obviously don't scare alot of others who are walking off the plantation.

The fact that you see what I posted as a threat is drama queen material. The anti-GOPers who vote for Rats or 3rd party should and will be reminded of it if the Rats win. If you have a prob with the truth, perhaps you don't belong here, lol.

[Peach]

Alan Keyes support reparations but no one in our party will ever appoint him to a position of power. John Conyers supports reparations and you can just bet the leftists will give him a position of power, and announce it BEFORE the election so they get the minority vote.

[CFC__VRWC]

Afraid so.

Check out #15.

[org.whodat]

Let's see I was active duty 1967-1971, at what time did Vietnam become enough.

[maine-iac7]

AmeriBrit posted this site -

http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/immigration/

Why don't you one issue folk try learning some facts -

Sorry - I don't want to disturb you stiff neck bashers with any facts - you might also want to ask yourself "What did Clinton do for 8 years?"

Now, I'm really going to get under your skin. A wall - how many hundreds and hundreds of miles? - is yesterdays methods. There are walls along the border - that they cut holes through, climb over, tunnel under. Walls don't stop them...

We have new detection devices, increased agents, better detention and return - etc...but I don't see that on the MSM. NOTHING Bush is doing to improve what has been going on for DECADES is in the media.

We republicans should be using our energy to get that out to the public, instead of aiding and abetting the libs and the MSM.

If we go down this fall, it's all over.

You one issue bashers who demand the whole pie or none, may get your wish - but you'll wish you didn't.

[Peach]

Iraq isn't Vietnam. Not even close.

[jdm]

Roberts and Alito being on the SC too.

[CedarDave]

Conservatives are mad because of the "Shamnesty", and the solution is the gay marriage amendment and abortion restrictions??

The Compost knows we are frustrated but is completly off base if they think "fixes" to these marginal social issues will cause us to regain our "nice doggy, now go lie down in the corner" demeanor.

[Cringing Negativism Network]

Maybe it's just me. Is this Free Republic? Does EVERY
thread have to be a Bush bash?.

-

Stated another way:

Does EVERY GOP "leader" in Washington DC have to be a spineless wuss?

[ilovew]

Third party is a good way to get the rats elected.

[Peach]

How could I have forgotten the judges? Thanks for the reminder!

[AmeriBrit]

I seem to have a habit of doing that, don't I?

I'm sick and tired of all these 'Doom and Gloomers' who've suddenly come out of the woodwork and believe the first piece of propaganda they read (or most likely just the headlines)are doing their utmost to make sure the WH, House and Senate end up in the hands of Hitlery, Pelosi, Reid, Dean etc., who only have one aim.....that's to ruin what we have left of a free country and life as we now know it.

What happened to "Innocent till proven guilty"? The 'Doom and Gloom' crowd here announce GWB guilty if he puts his right leg in his right pants leg on a morning lately, and do you think any of them when proven wrong would admit their mistake......hell no! They gaily go on their way and read and report the next anti-Bush headline they read.

[Texasforever]

Let's see I was active duty 1967-1971, at what time did Vietnam become enough.

So, you want to lose another one I guess.

[Chena]

Bravo again, mystery-ak. Facts are always appreciated.
chena-ak ;)

[RasterMaster]

If Arizona is serious about border issues, they'd start the trend by sending John McLoon into early LONG OVERDUE retirement!

[WOSG]

If you're ticked about spending, who controls the purse strings? If the RINOs tack on earmarks to a bill (like military pay that they know will be passed) who's really responsible for the pork (bridge to nowhere, anyone)? Purge the party of RINOs in the primaries and send hard-core conservatives to Washington. It's that simple.

You are right in that it would be wrong to punish conservative Republican lawmakers with the bad votes of a few RINOs. So I can safely vote my Congressman (Lamar Smith), he's a conservative.

But what of the poor conservative voter in Ohio, who has a choice between RINO-ish Mike DeWine, who at least votes conservative most of the time, but a waffling RINO on too many issues, and a liberal Democrat?

DeWine was a vote for Alito, Roberts and other Judges ... but isnt he also part of that cabal of 14 that helped 'compromise' the Republicans out of a showdown on Judges?

The RINO incumbents are very hard to dislodge in primaries (see Specter in 2004), and have to supported in November since the alternative is horrifying (another Hillary clone). Yet the result is that the RINOs are the swing vote in the Senate, a key factor in the Senate's high 'wimpout' rate. ugggg

[burzum]

I think it is important for CONSERVATIVES to get behind the idea of instant runoff voting. It is the only way that we can vote for independents while still not ceding power to the 'Rats. And if we are lucky, maybe we will get a couple of decent conservatives in office instead of RINOs and 'Rats. I think a state with IRV would see a drastic change in how RINOs ignore their conservative base.

Right now without IRV you have two options (neither of them is good):
1) Vote against a 'Rat by voting for a RINO.
2) Vote for an independent and cede control to the 'Rat.

[MJY1288]

I've noticed something about a good percentage of them, most of them signed up in Nov of 2004

[mathluv]

That deserves its own thread.

I saw another good list somewhere today, but I don't remeber where or who did it. I copied yours. It was much more comprehensive. ... But a few pictures are worth many words.