If all of the perfect conservatives stay home, the message you send to the GOP is that you can't be counted on, and in the next election they will pay even less attention to you. That's how politicians work.
I don't much care whether you have anything to say to me or not. I am simply pointing out that the name calling on both sides is preventing people from moving towards a solution. Each side feels that moving from his position endangers his reelection. That sort of guarantees that nothing will get accomplished in Congress.
I would prefer border security before discussing guest workers, but I understand the reasoning behind the President's position.
At any rate, I have made my point. I'm going to be gone for a couple of hours, so if you reply I will be delayed in answering.
Well worth repeating.
Many people will argue there is little difference between some of the RINO votes on issues and how the Democrats vote on those same issues. That is true but very misleading.
The party that controls the House and Senate decides what bills are brought before Congress. And if you think the RINOs would vote like the liberals on the Bills the Democrats would bring before congress Hillary has some ocean front propery in Arizona that you will surely want to check out.
If the Democrats controlled congress the issues brought to a vote would be far different. I submit that had the Democrats won the house an senate in 1994, the Clinton administration would have turned left faster than you can say "The House will be in Order." When the liberals lost .. Clinton was saing the era of big government was over.
What comes before congress is what the party that controls congress wants to have a vote on. Things that Democrats really would like to enact have zero chance of being brought up for a vote or even for hearings as long as Republicans are in control. Put the Democrats in control and you have a whole new situation. I would ask you to look a LBJ administration to see how that works.
What will happen if the Democrats get control of the House and Senate. The liberal establishment wants one thing in particular. They want to re-enact is the so called "Fairness Doctrine". This time they want to apply it to all media.
That would end Talk Radio and the Internet as a force for the right or left. It would leave the MSM as the only source for news and commentary. Those that can't see it as a big item in the Democrat agenda are just not thinking. All the right is thinking about is punishing RINOs while the Democrats are intent on using that revolt to emasculate the right.
The orginal Fairness Doctrine only applied to Radio and TV stations. But now the Democrats want to make it apply to all media.. including the Internet.
Under the orginal Fairness Doctrine in force from 1967 until 1987, political talk shows like Rush Limbaugh were illegal. A station that was bold enough to carry a show like Rush's in 1975 would have lost its license to broadcast at all.
Does anyone on Free Republic really understsand what a Fairness Doctrine applied to the internet would do to FREE REPUBLIC? It would make FR illegal. And the people who run and post on FR would be felons under the new Fairness Doctrine law being considered as one of their first acts once the Democrats get the House, Senate and Presidency. P>Does anyone think the MSM would oppose it? Of course not! Newspapers, and even the Broadcast Networks supported the Fairness Doctrine adopted during the LBJ administration. Reagan wanted to do a political talk show in the early 70s... But he could not! It was illegal. So one of Reagan's major goals was to repeal the Fairness Doctrine.
What many fail to see is that the a vote on the Fairness Doctrine by a RINO as opposed to the vote of a liberal are very different. Of course as long as the Republicans are in control there is no chance of a Fairness Doctrine being brought to a vote.
The primary message the Democrats are hearing is the Right will do all it can to help the Democrats remove their poltical influence. Democrats think that the political right is ignorant of the real world, and can be induced to do self destructive things. They hold conservatives in contempt. They know they can use the emotional responce of Conservatives to elect Democrats.
Does anyone with a brain fail to understand why the media is making illegal immigraition such a huge issue in 2006. It has been a major problem for decades. Does anyone want to bet me that illegal immigration will not fall of the media radar the day the Democrats take control?
Many Freepers are not aware that during WWII Roosevelt made criticsm of the WAR on broadcast stations a crime. Can you imagine a Presidnet Bush making criticism of the war in Iraq illegal? A Democrat President, FDR, made criticism of a war illegal.
Of Course Miss Marple is exactly right. After every election both parties persue the returns and then try to adopt what they think can give them a majority in the next election. If Democrats are getting elected, then both parties become more liberal. If Repubicans are getting elected then both parties become more conservative. The first act of a Democratic American Government is to enact laws that will keep Democrats in power.
Many people on the right can't see the forest for the trees. They gladly participate in their own destruction under the guise of seending a message.
What astounds me is my own experience in Ohio. I have met many of the county party officials especially in southern ohio. I am by far the most conservative of the bunch.
What one learns is conservatives rarely get involved in the Republican party. Conservatives stand on the side lines and demand that the party do what they want. But those who control the party, that is those that donate time, effort, money and skill don't share their conservative views on issues. The people who volunteer and do all the work, have no reason to grant conservative wishes.
What do candidates do? Here in Ross County there are a small number of Republican activists who can put 3,000 votes in a candiate's column when ever they wish to do so.
Do you really think a candidate is going to tell 3,000 RINO produced votes to shove it. What are the odds of a candidate trying to please some conservatives that never show up to do any work and never do anything except to say .. "Do what I want or I will take a walk." The people who have proven in many elections that they are good for 3,000 votes will prevail every time and they do.
Many candidates and party officials are convinced that only a handful of conservatives exist. They believe they are vocal but few in number. So even if the conservatives are a majority of Republicans the candidates and Party Officials do not believe it. The candidates believe in the people who show up to work for their election.
If the Democrats do win this fall, Republican candidates will assume the voters have moved left and if they want to win the next time they need to move more to the left as well.
The big question for me is why are there so few conservatives getting involved in the Republican party. The RINOs in charge say that is because there are really very few of them. Are they wrong?
I don't know.
But I do know this... those that get involved in a political party, do canvasing, man phone banks, work to get out the vote, recruit other like minded people to join the party, and build their own little political machine have a huge influence on a party and its candidates. Those that want to take their marbles and go home,have zero influence.
There are just two way to influence policy. That is to get involved and do all the hard work to gain majority support for that issue. To work for and help elect candidates that know what you have done to elect them. The other is to donate large sums of money. But money is only used to try to get more votes. It has been my experince with candidates that votes in the hand always beat money in the bushes.
Supporters who do the work to get out the vote rarely get told no on an issue they want a candidate to support. Those that stand on the sidelines threatening to send messages rarely if ever get told yes on an issue they want a candidate to support.
From 1961 until 1965 Barry Goldwater organized a grass roots effort that took over the Republican party. They were strong enough in 1964 to get Barry easily nominated. Their problem was they did not do what it takes to get the voters on their side. I was quite surprised after the 1964 landslide defeat, that the conservatives walked away from the Republican party and mostly just pouted. Some of them are still on FR and still pouting.
I have posted it many times and it is true. Get a majority of the Voters to support your positions and policitians will come out of the woodwork to adopt your platform and work as hard as they can to enact it.
Fail to get majority voter support and the most you can hope for is lip service and gross disappointment.