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Liberal Republicans Seek Relevance
NewsMax ^ | 2 December 2006

Posted on 12/01/2006 9:39:14 PM PST by Aussie Dasher

They call themselves Main Street Republicans, moderates consigned to the back alleys of politics by their own party. But despite a severe bruising in the fall election, this minority within a minority finds itself with new avenues to explore, including working more closely with Democrats.

The Republican Main Street Partnership, a leading voice of GOP moderates in Congress, lost seven of its 48 House members to Democratic challengers in the November election. Two other senior members, Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y., and Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., are retiring.

The group also saw Sen. Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I., one of its eight Senate members and possibly the most liberal Republican in Congress, get swamped by the Democratic deluge.

"We had some difficult losses, people who had been very vocal and active in terms of being moderates," Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del., a Main Street leader, said in an interview. Castle said his group still can be a force in the new Democratic-controlled Congress by working with conservative and moderate Democrats.

Holding one-fifth of the GOP's seats in the House, Republican moderates will be needed by Democrats, particularly on such issues as expanding stem cell research, improving access to health care and promoting alternative energy. Republicans moderates also hold the key to any Democratic hope of overriding vetoes by President Bush.

Rep. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., a Main Street member who also heads an overlapping group of centrists called the Tuesday Group, said he plans to work with the Blue Dogs, conservative House Democrats who are demanding a bigger role in policymaking because of their pivotal role in the elections.

Kirk is promoting a "suburban agenda" that includes such issues as tax-deferred savings programs for children and protecting suburban open space.

The election losses for GOP moderates were all the more painful because moderates on the Democratic ticket flourished, helping carry their party back into the majority. Indiana, a solid red state, went from a 7-2 Republican advantage in the House to a 5-4 Democratic edge because three Democratic moderates ousted conservative incumbents.

"Indiana is really more moderate than it is Republican," said Robert Schmuhl, a political analyst and University of Notre Dame professor. "That is something we learned from the election."

But GOP moderates tend to come from more diverse, Democratic-leaning districts that make them vulnerable when the political winds shift. That was the fate of losing Main Street members Reps. Rob Simmons and Nancy Johnson of Connecticut.

Another victim was Rep. Jim Leach, a 15-term lawmaker from Iowa who opposed the war in Iraq and supported abortion rights. Other defeated GOP Main Streeters were Charles Bass and Jeb Bradley of New Hampshire, Sue Kelly of New York and Curt Weldon of Pennsylvania.

Another departed member is Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., who resigned in September after it was revealed he had sent sexually explicit electronic messages to former House pages.

Main Street executive director Sarah Chamberlain Resnick said fiscal conservatives in her group who share some views with Democrats on social and environmental issues were also hurt because "the Republican Party wasn't a big enough tent" for them.

While the new Democratic majority ranges in political philosophy from liberal Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi of California to conservative freshman Heath Shuler, a former NFL quarterback from North Carolina, Republicans concentrated on shoring up their conservative base, Resnick said.

"If it all adds up to just appealing to a more conservative base, then we are dealing at the margins in terms of gaining seats," Castle said of fellow Republicans.

Moderates were heartened that Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, considered to be open to all wings of the party, defeated conservative standard-bearer Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., in party leadership elections earlier this month. But Main Street's only spot in the leadership went to Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, one of its more conservative members, who was elected GOP conference vice-chair.

Pence made a name for himself by heading the Main Streeters' conservative counterpart, the Republican Study Committee. It went into the election with 110 members, almost half of all House Republicans. Despite GOP losses in the election of 30-plus seats, the RSC expects to come close to maintaining its current membership level.

Meanwhile, of the 13 Republican freshman in the next Congress, only one, Dean Heller of Nevada, has said he is joining the Main Street caucus.


TOPICS: Extended News; Government; Politics/Elections; US: Nevada
KEYWORDS: darockefellers; deadarmadillos; deanheller; defendingmainst; gop; gopmodsquad; irrelevant; liberals; mainstpartnership; mainstreet; mainstreeters; middleoftheroadkill; mikepence; moderates; msrp; pence; rinos; rmsp; rsc; stevelatourette; tuesdaygroup; yellowstripedlosers
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To: Aussie Dasher

If a district is too liberal to elect a conservative, than a RINO serves a purpose. Problem is, RINO's taking themselves too seriously.


61 posted on 12/02/2006 10:28:49 AM PST by Clintonfatigued (Corporatism is not conservatism)
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To: johnthebaptistmoore
Mitt is also a member of the Main street Republicans, and he's a RINO.

For the last few weeks, I've been talking myself into overlooking the Mormonism thing. I hadn't quite got past the pro-life/pro-choice/pro-life flip-flop-flipping. Now he's a MSR too?

Forget Mitt.
62 posted on 12/02/2006 10:44:48 AM PST by George W. Bush
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To: George W. Bush

Mitt was a member of the Main Street Republicans until just a few weeks ago. Mitt has never been the "conservative" that way too many conservatives outside of Massachusetts believe him to still be. Here's a link to prove that Mitt Romney is no conservative: "The Mitt Romney Deception" http://www.alainsnewsletter.com/s/spip.php?article325


63 posted on 12/02/2006 12:28:58 PM PST by johnthebaptistmoore
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To: johnthebaptistmoore
Ye-e-e-e-e-owwww! What was I thinking?

More liberal than even Giuliani, it seems. Those two even make McStain look like a rabid rightwinger. If they're the alternative, McStain is a little less repulsive.

I can't believe the Mormons tolerate him. But then the SBC never did kick out Carter, Clinton & Gore either. Or the Catholics with Kennedy, Giuliani, etc.
64 posted on 12/02/2006 1:17:49 PM PST by George W. Bush
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To: George W. Bush

Everyone that you know of that truly is a Mitt Romney supporter needs to look at "The Mitt Romney Deception". It bothers me to see how many conservatives really don't know Mitt Romney's political record.


65 posted on 12/02/2006 1:27:43 PM PST by johnthebaptistmoore
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To: Aussie Dasher
Hahaha... GOP liberals plan to vote with Democrats? Big surprise.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus

66 posted on 12/02/2006 1:30:07 PM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
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To: Aussie Dasher
I'd tell Michael Castle the RINOs delivered for the GOP exactly, zip, zilch and nada in November. The last thing we need on Free Republic are RINO cheerleaders. This is a CONSERVATIVE forum!

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus

67 posted on 12/02/2006 1:33:31 PM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
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To: NormsRevenge
Traditional Ronald Reagan Republicans? ROFLMAO! LOL! BWAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHA Stop it! I'm dying of laughter here, friends. Whatever RINOs are, they are no friends of Ronald REagan. They ought to be ashamed to claim his mantle.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus

68 posted on 12/02/2006 1:36:32 PM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
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To: Clintonfatigued
RINOs pretend to be Republican but vote Democrat. Give the voters credit for being smarter than the smooth talking politicians who represent them. They decided to finally vote for real Democrats.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus

69 posted on 12/02/2006 1:39:36 PM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
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To: libbylu
The vast majority of Republicans ARE conservative. Da Rockefellers have been dying ever since conservatives took over the party in the mid 1960s. This election ratified their demise as a force in Republican politics. In the minority, conservatives don't need their votes to pass anything of consequence.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus

70 posted on 12/02/2006 1:42:51 PM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
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To: GregH
There are NO conservative Democrats. There are only liberal Democrats who sound moderate to fool the sheeple.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus

71 posted on 12/02/2006 1:44:31 PM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
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To: Theodore R.
I agree. We should stop apologizing for our values and give up trying to make every one happy. Conservatives are never going to bring about real change in America if they appease the Left. And so-called moderates are far more dangerous than real liberals since they fool the public into believing liberal policies won't do this country harm if its smoothed over with double-talk and phased in implementation.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus

72 posted on 12/02/2006 1:47:48 PM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
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To: goldstategop

That statement isn't entirely true when talking about the present major U.S. political parties as whole "entities". I wasn't expecting to play the part of devil's advocate when talking about the Democratic Party. Rep. Collin Peterson, Rep. Charlie Melancon, Rep. Melissa Bean, and U.S. Senator Ben Nelson are four Democrats who don't have a liberal voting record no matter what people presently think of them. It will be interesting to see if these four continue to vote the same way after the Democrats become the Congressional majority next year. There are still many Democrats at every political level who vote with conservative Republicans on a variety of issues, and there are also many Democrats who end up switching parties and becoming Republicans while they are still in office. I'm also guessing that there are probably many more Democrats at every political level that become Republicans than there are Republicans at every political level that become Democrats.


73 posted on 12/02/2006 3:55:00 PM PST by johnthebaptistmoore
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To: johnthebaptistmoore

There are also many moderate and conservative voters throughout the U.S. who are registered with the Democratic Party even though the Democratic Party continues to veer more to the left every year.


74 posted on 12/02/2006 4:01:50 PM PST by johnthebaptistmoore
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To: johnthebaptistmoore

Yea, former Mayor John Lindsay made turning R to D unsavory.


75 posted on 12/02/2006 4:07:26 PM PST by Theodore R. (Cowardice is forever!)
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To: johnthebaptistmoore

In 1994, a good Republican year, Mr. Romney failed badly in his challenge to EMK. He almost apologized for having the temerity to challenge the MA icon.


76 posted on 12/02/2006 4:09:04 PM PST by Theodore R. (Cowardice is forever!)
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To: Theodore R.

Mitt Romney lost by 17% to Senator Kennedy in '94 in Massachusetts where the majority of the state's voters always treat Senator Kennedy like a God. This only shows that it's impossible for anybody to defeat Kennedy in Massachusetts. Senator Kennedy will probably die in office. The majority of Massachusetts voters continue to live in their own socialistic world for their entire lives, and Massachusetts is pretty much its own country.


77 posted on 12/02/2006 4:17:56 PM PST by johnthebaptistmoore
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To: johnthebaptistmoore

Dick Morris has a new column that says there is NO conservative under serious consideration for president in 2008. The closest he could think of are the open-borders Mike Huckabee and Sam Brownback.


78 posted on 12/02/2006 4:40:31 PM PST by Theodore R. (Cowardice is forever!)
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To: Theodore R.

'08 is a long way off, but if the conservatives in the GOP can't find themselves a candidate dynamic enough to win the nomination and the party winds up nominating a moderate for President, then many conservatives like myself will simply vote for a third party candidate.


79 posted on 12/02/2006 5:03:08 PM PST by tfelice (Romans 8:29-31)
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To: Aussie Dasher

BUMP!!!


80 posted on 12/02/2006 5:06:13 PM PST by Nancee ((Nancee Lynn Cheney))
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