Posted on 12/04/2006 6:52:31 AM PST by streetpreacher
Where Have All the Conservatives Gone? Right Runs Out of Potential Presidents
Sunday , December 03, 2006
By Susan Estrich
Are there going to be any running for President?
First it was Virginias George Allen, the great white hope, the George on a horse, the governor with a smile, on his way to a White House run, once he got past that frisky re-election campaign.
He was, less than a short year ago, the Hotlines unknown front-runner, the insiders best guess, the neocons next new best friend.
Now, thanks to a Macaca joke, a ham sandwich joke, a terrible campaign, and some smart moves by senator-elect Jim Webb, hes toast.
Then there was Rick Santorum. Mr. Conservative. Surely he would at least make a run. Give the hard core a place to be. Just as soon as he got past his Senate re-election campaign in Pennsylvania. The number three Senate Republican and conservative stalwart is as good a friend as conservatives have in the Senate.
Correction: Had. History.
Hello Bob Casey. Goodbye Rick Santorum. Another one bites the dust.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Nope. Don't have any problems with the war. Have problems with how its being fought and/or how its being presented to the public.
It might be noted, too, Corin, that no other Republican Senator or senatorial candidate was running against the Washington Post. They relentlessly covered 'macaca' and every last little misstep of Allen's, while glossing over even larger faux pas of Webb.
We in VA gonna be paying for that for six long years.
Brownback is, like GWB, for open borders.
I think what the Washington Post did to george allen in 2006 is a preview of whats to come for any gop'er in 2008 by the entire MSM.
At least we get to live in interesting times.
I've tried to explain what really happened in this race.
But there's a certain contingency of FReepers who can't be bothered with facts.
First, Susan Estrich came up as Michael Dukakis's campaign mangler... er, manager. So Susan is perhaps not best poised to evaluate presidential candidates, or conservatives (the Duke was so far to the left that he didn't believe murderers should go to prison, or at least, that they should get out on the weekends).
Second, she only seems to look at Senators. Washington insiders love considering the chances of Senators because, well, they're exposed to them all the time. The public loves Senators less, because Senators are by their nature insiders and have to do a lot of crooked deals -- such is the nature of Washington. Who were the last Senators elected to the Presidency? Richard M. Nixon and JFK -- and Nixon had been out of the Senate for about a decade when he ran.
If you do look at Senators, you have to consider John McCain. He is unpopular among the Republican base, but he does have conservative credentials, when you look at his voting record. Among the governors, Mitt Romney is a credible conservative, who may be compromised by policies he had to have to get elected governor in ultra-blue Massachusetts.
Estrich may be focused on the Senate because her candidates, Hillary and Obama, are both senators. By "her" candidates I mean the prefferred candidates of the Democrats and the media (but I repeat myself).
d.o.l.
Criminal Number 18F
A certain contigency of freepers could also be blamed for an allen loss given how close it was. Unfortunately we all know 2008 politics caused a bunch of those on our side to dump on allen.
I've heard that too. The present VP should be keying up for the job. It is kind of a loss, but there are potential candidates out there besides McPain. If that man runs, I am abstaining from the voting process.
unfortunately, SDGOP is right. But as Corin notes, if even conservatives want to whine about what Allen did wrong, as opposed to looking at what he was up against, we might as well forget about 2008. No Republican stands a prayer.
We have to learn to fight differently. And, from what I've seen so far, we're not getting it.
The way the Senator explained it to me is:
1) build the fence
2) increase border security
3) punish employers who hire illegals
4) guest worker program
Yea, 2006 was a prime example of the media going bezerk on us and it worked. Freepers and conservatives have to realize that this is going to be a tough obstacle to overcome. Unfortunately most freepres just say allen was a boob who was too dumb to overcome the media bias. If we continue with that attitude say hello to president hillary.
Yeah, seems to me the Bible said something about mockers . . .
It might help to learn WHO to fight. Right now the GOP and FReepers are too busy shooting at elected and defeated Republican office holders and candidates, the President, (the formerly magnificant bastard) Rove and each other.
Republicans just are lousy fighters. Too busy being polite and/or self-righteous. Dems come by it naturally, and get into it with gusto. Facts/decency be damned.
Only time in my long life I've been proud of the way R's fought back was in 2000. That was a first. And probably a last.
This is getting pretty tiresome. How come no one says Talent or Burns or Menedez lost us the Senate?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.