Posted on 05/12/2006 2:05:38 PM PDT by Impeach98
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The GOP is blowing it
Posted: May 12, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern
There's a lot of talk going around about how bad the November elections are going to be for the Republican Party.
I ought to know – I'm doing a lot of that talking with grassroots conservatives every day on our four-hour radio show. The GOP has only itself to blame for its problems, and I say this as a proud conservative Republican who twice voted for George Bush and wants very badly to see him regain his political footing.
The Republican Party, which for 25 years had proudly embraced its role as the home of the conservative movement, now seems proudly defiant on an array of issues. Pick a week and you can name a different betrayal of conservative principles.
Betrayal on immigration policies
This week it's news from the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin that the Bush administration instructed the U.S. Border Patrol to share information with the Mexican government on where the Minutemen's anti-illegal immigration patrols are operating.
When I read this shocking story, I literally felt sick. Is this administration so intent on it's policy of ignoring the borders that it would turn against its own people? Would they actually put in jeopardy the lives of heroic men and women who are only doing the job that their government is refusing to do?
Instead of tattling on the Minutemen to the Mexican government, the Bush administration should take some advice that will help stop their plummeting poll numbers.
New Communications Director Tony Snow should arrange for President Bush to travel to a border town in Arizona or California and give Minutemen co-founders Chris Simcox and Jim Gilchrist a pat on the back for a job well done. In the background should be backhoes moving large piles of dirt as a concrete wall begins to rise.
While they're at it, they should have our military men and women present with guns at their side and at the ready. And as long as I'm dreaming, I'd love to see House Speaker Denny Hastert, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, and other Republican leaders down there at the border thanking the Minutemen for their efforts.
This might be a fantasy on my part, but I can guarantee a nightmare scenario for the GOP if things don't change. Can you say House Speaker Nancy Pelosi? Judiciary Chairman Carl Levin? Can you say "impeachment"?
I just don't understand how the Republican leadership can be so dumb on the politics of this issue on top of their betrayal of principle.
But I should have known better.
After the Sept. 11 attacks I naively thought that Bush and the Republican leadership would get serious on the immigration issue. I suspected that the "squishy" stand Bush and his counterparts espoused was purely based on political calculations – they wanted to hold their own among Latino voters.
But when 9-11 occurred, it seemed like a no-brainer to me that every politician should demand immediate action to secure the border at once. Wasn't that the politically smart thing to do?
We were making 85-year-old airline passengers take off their shoes and belts and wedding rings at airports in the interests of national security. Surely we wouldn't allow Islamic terrorists the opportunity to have hundreds of miles of an unprotected border for them to smuggle terrorist operatives and weapons of mass destruction through, right?
Wrong!
Blowing the War on Terrorism
Now that I mention it, the Bush administration and the GOP seem increasingly out of touch on the war against terrorism as well.
As the chairman of Move America Forward – the nation's largest grassroots pro-troop organization – I've been an unwavering supporter of President Bush's policies to combat Islamic terrorism.
Yet, despite my willingness to be a cheerleader for the GOP on the issue of the War on Terror, I have become increasingly appalled at the incompetence displayed by Bush and the GOP when it comes to communicating with the public.
In recent congressional testimony, new information emerged about Saddam's "Blessed July" program, which was described by Foreign Affairs magazine as "a regime-directed wave of 'martyrdom' operations against targets in the West."
Apparently the Pentagon has been well aware of this evidence of Saddam Hussein's history of planning terrorist attacks against the United States and our allies.
So why has the GOP and the Bush administration been silent on this?
It's similar to an incident that happened in October 2004. CNS News reporter Scott Wheeler broke a world exclusive story on newly discovered Iraqi Intelligence Service documents that documented Iraq's possession of WMD's such as anthrax and mustard gas, as well as Iraq's collaboration with Islamic terrorist organizations including al-Qaida.
What did the Bush administration do with this information? Nothing.
They made the political calculation that they could end the questioning of their motives for going to war in Iraq if they just agreed with the anti-war Left that Saddam Hussein didn't have any WMD programs or ties to terrorist groups after all.
Instead Bush and his GOP colleagues said they were victims of "bad intelligence."
That strategy only furthered the cries of "Bush lied" – despite the fact that he didn't. Bush was right about the threat posed by Iraq as a nation-state that would provide financing, training and WMDs to Islamic terrorist groups to use against American citizens.
Yet Bush and other Republican leaders chose to embrace a strategy of "surrender" to their political enemies in the hopes it would silence them.
That insanely stupid strategy has backfired. Big time.
How can the administration expect to rally support for the War on Terror if it cannot defend its own actions, especially when the facts to support it are right in front of their face?
Here come the Democrats
As poll numbers for Bush and congressional Republicans continue to plunge, it's clear that the GOP has alienated many conservatives who once supported Bush's policies in the war on terror.
Combine that with the GOP's betrayal of conservatives on the illegal immigration issue and you have the elements in place that could cause millions of conservatives to stay at home on Election Day this November.
The tragedy is that the Republican Party's failures on two of the most important issues of our time could mean a return to power for the Democrat Party. And that's ironic since the Democrats are even more out of touch with the American people on these two issues than Republican leaders are.
Hopefully, someone in the Bush administration or at the Republican National Committee who is reading this column will understand that conservatives would like nothing more than to see the Republican Party come home, and once more embrace the policies of the conservative base.
Some advice to our party elders: Most of us are conservatives first, Republicans second.
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Melanie Morgan is chairman of the conservative, pro-troop non-profit organization Move America Forward and is co-host of the "Lee Rodgers & Melanie Morgan Show" on KSFO 560 AM in San Francisco.
"Wouldn't that be nice if that is what he'll be saying on Monday night?"
Please, every freeper send him an email suggesting the above ... comments@whitehouse.gov
at least pombo will lose his chair, some good comes from bad
I beg to differ. I'm from Ohio and am a Republican. I can't stand Voinovich or DeWine (voted against them in every primary HOPING they will get tossed for the General Election and disappointed every time).
'I notice some people here had a knee-jerk reaction that Melanie was attacking the GOP and instead somehow hoping the Democrats win."
Sad to say, Impeach98, but you will soon find that it is NO knee-jerk reaction. Welcome to what has become the IMPEACHMENT WAR here at FR where anyone who has dared to post articles or speak out against illegal immigration/amnesty/borders have found that ANY criticism of President Bush's position, (as you can see from your very first reply on this thread) immediately strips from you any "Bush supporter" role you think you may have had in the past, regardless of what you might have done in the past to support him, how long you've supported him or what you've supported him through. Instead, and I kid you not, we've been deemed oh, any number of things from a liar, troll, instigators, trouble makers, a DU'er in disguise, a drunk, or even someone who has fallen prey to "The Beast" because WE are, with careless disregard, ruining our chances of retaining the majority in November. Surprisingly, I have found the deepest blows coming from those here who I have come to respect the most.
In any event, what I really want to say is thank you for posting the article and if you speak with Ms. Morgan again, please let her know I sincerely thank her for making clear exactly how I feel. I am extremely disappointed and let down in Bush's position on this issue and I certainly hope, as she does, that our GOP leadership in D.C. is listening. She said it well.
Crybaby of course being a reference to Voinovich's crying fit over John Bolton being named US Ambassador to the UN.
Most conservative women would appreciate if you don't mention that ugly bag of bones on a Melanie thread.
AC does not flatter womanhood acting like a man and looking like a dried up malnourished......
Well, you get the picture.
You got it! Not only is Melanie a regular reader of Free Republic, I also had emailed this thread to her before and just now sent your post in particular to her.
Looking back at what I wrote, please forgive me....I stated that there was an "impeachment" war going on, when I meant to say IMMIGRATION war! Gawd, I would hope that wouldn't be the case!!! LOL..... My disability sometimes gets in the way in the evenings. I hope that you realized my mistake when reading the post!
I understood - and will make sure Melanie does too. My handle is "Impeach 98" so I did do a double take at first :)
Point taken.
Nevertheless, there was no particular reason for illegal immigration to show up on most peoples radar screens until Uno de Mayo.
It used to be that Bush defenders said that he was only acting like a Democrat to steal their thunder, once he had everyone in love with him or something, he was going to turn sharp right. I haven't heard that defense in a little while.
I like and support President Bush, but don't believe he is a conservative on every issue by any means.
I think we have been doing just that.
President Bush has lost an enormous amount of the support he had after 9/11---by both RATS and Republicans. If I recall correctly, he was at 90% or more.
President Bush has been faced with more severe natural and manmade attacks to our country than any other president in the history of this country. Thankfully, he has has handled most very well. Unfortunately, he is 100% wrong on the illegal alien issue!
Think of it this way: President Bush is like the President of the "corporation" of the United States of America. Senators and Representatives are like the Directors of the "corporation." Those who are eligible to vote are the "stockholders" (e.g. U.S. citizens who registered). Those who are not eligible to vote (e.g. illegal aliens, permanent residents and foreign Presidents), are not "stockholders" and they are not supposed to have any say over how the "corporation" is run. Indeed, it would be irresponsible for a corporate President and its Directors to totally ignore the "stockholders" and the corporation's By-Laws.
The majority of "stockholders" who chose to exercise their right to vote (for Presidential Electors), spoke. They wanted someone who means what he says and says what he means. They wanted "a uniter, not a divider." They wanted a social conservative, someone who would nominate Supreme Court Justices who would strictly adhere to the U. S. Constitution and not add new meaning to it. They wanted President Bush.
The Electors were chosen and President Bush was elected.
The problem stems from the fact that loyalty is extremely important to President Bush! But he seems to have forgotten that loyalty is a TWO-WAY street!
The "stockholders" elected him to "preserve, protect and defend" the Constitution and the sovereignty of the country from all enemies, foreign and domestic. Because President Bush has totally ignored (i.e. been disloyal to) the "stockholders" on the issue of securing the border---the most important job he has to do---those who voted for him feel they have been used and taken for granted. They feel it is incredible that NEARLY FIVE YEARS AFTER 9/11, the borders are STILL NOT SECURE!!! And that instead of listening to the "stockholders," he is listening to those who are not "stockholders," and even to another country's President (Vincente Fox)---yet we are having to pay for it, in security, new diseases and healthcare, lower wages, language, etc.
How do I know what the people who elected President Bush think? I have investigated the pulse of the people. Number one, I have three degrees and experience that are marketing-related and I have talked to hundreds of people about the issue. Number two, I watch Fox News (primarily) and listen to and call into talk shows, both locally and nationally.
Number three, I was one of the 286 Electors who literally elected President Bush and I know I did not vote for him to look the other way when our country is being invaded, particularly from our southern border!!!
If President Bush somehow sees or hear about this response, I hope that he will also see and abide by my motto: It's NEVER wrong to do what's RIGHT!!!
I hope he will drop the idea of listening to and REWARDING people who DISREGARD our entry laws, flag and language and who commit IMMIGRATION FRAUD, IDENTITY FRAUD, VOTER FRAUD, MAIL FRAUD and participate in ORGANIZED CRIME (R.I.C.O.) (i.e. participate in rallies to register non-U.S. citizens to vote), etc., instead of INCARCERATING or DEPORTING them.
President Bush could save face by disclosing that the American "stockholders" have spoken---LOUD and CLEAR! They want the borders secure and NO AMNESTY FOR CRIMINALS. We need H.R. 4437!
Hopefully, the Senators will drop the idea as well and support H.R. 4437. If illegal aliens can no longer be hired or get "free" healthcare, and they truly risk incarceration or deportation and NEVER being allowed to become a U.S. citizen after being in the U. S. illegally, that should take care of a lot of the financial incentive to stay and many would probably leave "voluntarily."
WOSG ADDED: "HR 4437 is a GOOD bill and all Republicans should get behind it."
I disagree...I think President Bush's approval numbers would probably jump 30-40% overnight if he would SUPPORT H.R. 4437 and ENFORCE THE IMMIGRATION LAWS!!!
ANother take on this, from Powerling blog:
"First, conservatives need to understand that the failure of Republicans to govern as strong conservatives is not the result of moral defects (although some can be found). The core problem is that conservatives do not make up a majority of the electorate. Republicans need the base, but they also need swing voters -- they can't win without both. A defeat at the polls won't change this. Instead, it will give liberals a chance to govern. They likely will do this in a center-left fashion or worse, and conservatives will be the main losers.
We should also keep in mind that, because this is still a great country, once a party takes power there's a good chance it will keep it for years. But for a 50-50 race in Florida going Bush's way, we'd probably be in our 14th straight year of a Democratic presidency. The country likely would have rallied around President Gore after 9/11, thus enabling the Dems to increase their majority in the Senate in 2002 and perhaps recapture the House that year or in 2004.
So let's push Republicans to build the fence and get a better grip on spending. But let's not fool ourselves into believing that the question of which party holds power is a matter of indifference or that, if defeated, the Republicans are likely to return quickly to power as a much more conservative force."
>>>Crybaby of course being a reference to Voinovich's crying fit over John Bolton being named US Ambassador to the UN.<<<
For the record, my cousin works for John Bolton, and she told me several weeks ago that Voinovich now supports Bolton.
I submit that that action was neither a strategy nor stupid - instead it is consistent with a President and his party leaders responding to imperatives that can't be discussed publicly. I don't know what those imperatives are or whether they are being imposed on the President by Islamic terrorists, the Chinese government, K Street lobbyists, drug cartel bosses, or some combination of the above...only that they appear to be leaving Bush with very little freedom of action...or speech, for that matter.
Stupidity can't adequately explain it.
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