Posted on 02/26/2007 3:33:58 AM PST by markomalley
It is too early to make definitive statements about 2008, but the evidence points to a change in the tone, if not the substance, of the Republican message.
Although moderation is in the eye of the beholder and difficult to define, the GOP message and messenger are much more likely than in the recent past to be less beholden to, or a member of, the party's strongly conservative wing.
(snip)
Since the nomination of Ronald Reagan in 1980, moderates have fared poorly in Republican presidential primaries. The GOP has stood for lower taxes, toughness on defense and opposition to abortion, gay rights and gun control.
(snip)
Of course, none of this means that the Republican message and appeal will lean less to the right. And nothing has changed the inclination of those who vote in Republican presidential primaries.
Yet, there are signs worth watching. In politics change occurs before most realize it. Just as the Democratic Party under Bill Clinton modified its focus to remain competitive, the same thing may be happening on the other side of the aisle for 2008.
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
RINO politicians are ambidextorous in the primaries, they all use their right hand as well as tehy can use their left one.....
Republican politicians and PR people saw other Republicans replaced by Democrats in the last election cycle.
They learned their lesson:
We The People prefer Democrats.
Therefore:
To get elected or re-elected, they must become more like Democrats.
Not the lesson the self-appointed teachers on the right wanted to teach, I know. But that's the one the politicians learned.
None, as they do not know how to dance.
Until the conservatives have a leader, we are going to have to settle for Rinos.
Nothing more than the liberalization of the GOP. All it does is allow the Rat-ics to feel they've consolidated some ground, and then march furthur to their left.
It is not just a matter of priority, it is a matter of embracing the gay agenda and abortions. Social conservativism has also been on the back burner, now you have the Goldwater wing throwing everything out. The Goldwater wing can't wait to legalize gay marriage and fund abortions.
I think about the political climate when Ronaldus Magnus came into power…
He could not have come into power had the traditional NE Repubs been riding a wave. The party was in shambles, as I recall. He rallied the disaffected and forged the conservative revolution.
I think the same thing is going to have to happen again before we see another true conservative giant!
Giuliani was a moderate before the congressional elections. Romney's liberal positions were there before these elections too, and McCain has been trying to turn right lately. And Newt Gingrich remains consistent in his conservative views.
Republicans are returning to their roots as the "me too" party, as in we want the same things as those dems over there but we differ a little on how the policies should be implmented.
Since social conservatives sat on their hands (according to freepers) this last November, no one really expected the GOP to feel beholden to people who don't vote for them. Well, freepers expected it, but people who live in the real world didn't.
I can't speak for any other social conservative, but I voted. And I voted as Republican as possible (living in Maryland, it's not always possible to vote for Republicans). Provided the GOP candidate was actually more conservative than the Dem candidate (which is, these days, not a given), I would be surprised to hear of many FReepers who did otherwise.
Now where's that picture of that dead horse??
…no one really expected the GOP to feel beholden to people who don't vote for them.
Unfortunately, you're right. Since the GOP didn't energize the conservative base (although I voted…that is not the same as being excited about the prospect), the GOP should then toss the base that brought them to power to the curb, rather than (heaven forbid) returning to the core values that brought them to power in the first place.
Sounds like good logic to me…good enough logic to ensure the Dems stay in power for another 40 years.
Reagan said this about compromise in his autobiography An American Life: "When I began entering into the give and take of legislative bargaining in Sacramento, a lot of the most radical conservatives who had supported me during the election didn't like it. "Compromise" was a dirty word to them and they wouldn't face the fact that we couldn't get all of what we wanted today. They wanted all or nothing and they wanted it all at once. If you don't get it all, some said, don't take anything. I'd learned while negotiating union contracts that you seldom got everything you asked for. And I agreed with FDR, who said in 1933: 'I have no expectations of making a hit every time I come to bat. What I seek is the highest possible batting average.' If you got seventy-five or eighty percent of what you were asking for, I say, you take it and fight for the rest later, and that's what I told these radical conservatives who never got used to it."
"Until the conservatives have a leader, we are going to have to settle for Rinos."
Lessee...we have a party comprised of Libs and Socialists on the one side to choose from, and we have a party comprised of some still clinging to Conservative ideals yet integrating that which was the aforementioned parties base in years past on the other side.
The fact that we still have some Conservatives in the latter noted party tells me we don't have to "SETTLE" for "Rino's" shoved down our throat by the Leftist, Socialist, MSM supporters of the forementioned party.
Great post.
Instead of whining, (WHINOs) conservatives need to groom widely known, enormously likeable, articulate candidates.
Our problem is the GOP losing a chunk of the white womens' vote. Too big a segment are completely Oprah-fied, are too susceptible to left-wing hysteria, don't have any stomach for a long yucky war, etc.
I don't like this situation, it stinks, we should be aiming higher... but the fact is, to win the presidency, we have to have some appeal to these soccer Moms or we will lose and give the country back to the Clintons.
The Presidential election is not a FR popularity poll. A moderate will have a better chance than a right-wing conservative. I wish this wasn't so, but it is.
I don't see any math here how Duncan Hunter or Newt (both of whom I like a lot) would win more states than Rudy. Winning is the only goal this time around, not ideological purity.
Yeah, that's the ticket. We don't need no steenkin' principles. We'll go w/ someone w/ name recognition who can talk and who's really, really hot.
Psst. I hear John Edwards is running. He's clean (for a lawyer) and articulate too... Let's vote for him!!
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.