[bilhosty]

This is meant as a dose of cold water. I have commented before that the the unreality on this board is unbelievable. This is a clear sign of a need for change and a retooling of our message and of our essence. W. and our leaders do not seem to have a clue of what is going on. We are going to have to start dealing with things or face the consequences. Our messages are tired and not working. We no longer appeal to the center and are facing insurgency from our base. W. is so afraid of alienating anyone he is alienating everyone. This is just exactly what happned when W.'s father was in office.

[EQAndyBuzz]

I don’t think so. What is happening is that most of the Republicans in the Senate are up for reelection and they don’t want to be tied to Bush.

Bush has fought a war on all fronts for 6 years. He has gotten no help from a “spend spend spend” congress. For 6 years he has gone at this alone. Both the right and the left have condemned him for his policies and his principles.

Bush is an honorable man. More than can be said for most of congress. Bush is doing what he believes to be right. He leaves the states to do what they are suppose to do and uses the Supreme Court to enforce states rights. That is why we are winning the social war.

We condemned him for the border, yet Arizona, and Texas are putting policies in place to stop illegals. More illegals are now being rounded up nationwide. With all the political, ecological, and financial wrangling that has to happen before a shovel is stuck in the ground, and we know this, we still blame the President as if he is the one to go out there and dig.

On morality issues, is there anyone better? As Conservatives we wanted states to take back abortion and gay marriage and we got that. More states are implementing bills that do what we wanted.

The war on Terror is founded on Iraq and the President isn’t wavering. He is doing what he knows to be right, as do most Americans. And this is despite what the MSM says to the contrary.

Bush doesn’t listen to polls. He doesn’t care. He is doing what he thinks is best for this country. One thing he needs to do better is communicate. Liberals don’t shut up. Bush has to start opening his mouth and saying what is going on. That is what hurt this administration.

We should be grateful. Remember, if Gore won Tennessee, right now we would be reading about 5 year farm plans and how we are loved by the world as more building came down in terror attacks and no military to do anything about it. And don’t forget, we would have more basketball courts for midnight basketball in urban centers and more police to patrol the streets after the games finished.

[Alberta's Child]

As is often the case, John Podhoretz is completely full of sh!t on this one.

The GOP isn't in decline because people are more apt to be liberal today. It's in decline because it has become dominated at the national level by radical secularist "neo-conservatives" whose agenda is strongly opposed by a huge chunk of the Republican Party base. I offer the illegal amnesty idiocy as Exhibit A in support of this statement.

Podhoretz does a clever job of masking the fact that he himself is one of those effete, limp-wristed "neo-cons" who have been instrumental in the decline of the GOP's fortunes.

[CyberAnt]

“We no longer appeal to the center”

TRUE CONSERVATIVES DO NOT NEED TO APPEAL TO THE CENTER.

Conservatism works every time it’s tried. Reagan appealed to the center and some of the left because of his decisiveness and his strong conservative values .. not because he was willing to cow-tow to the center.

And .. I totally disagree that the congress doesn’t get it .. they get it .. they just don’t want it.

When the repubs take on the immigration mess .. they can win big in 2008. The repubs must show they are FOR AMERICA FIRST - and not feathering their own nest. We must force them to realize that joining in the corruption of the dems is not a good choice.

If the repubs don’t distance themselves from the Bush amnesty plan - people will stay home again in 2008 and it will be a horrible disaster for America.

People didn’t believe us when we told them in 2006 they were courting disaster by staying home. Now .. we have seen that warning come to fruition and the dems are even more horrible than I thought they would be.

We must make this clear to the repubs - either change or the whole govt is going to be liberals and Hillary will end up president - which is a terrifying thought.

[WashingtonSource]

I do believe the corrosive influence of the MSM is a factor, but at the same time, conservatives have been gaining ground through the Internet and talk radio. As viewership and readership of MSM declines, so does their influence. They have compensated by becoming even more partisan, which worked in 2006. Finally, I don’t think we should make so much of a single poll. While it’s good to wonder as Podhoretz has wondered, I don’t think we shoudl consider his argument remotely persuasive. As for 2000, Gore was help as the successor of Clinton, who presided over a good economy.

[Sonora]

This is just exactly what happned when W.'s father was in office.

Sounds right to me - BillyBob got elected, perhaps it will be Hillary this time. We are eating our own here - nobody running is good enough - so Hillary will more than likely win. God save us!

[Dave Olson]

I have a hard time buying this.

If it was true, then the Democrat controlled Congress wouldn't be sitting on a 14% approval rating, while President Bush's is around 33%.

[tcrlaf]

It’s all about THE PROPOGANDA. And it continues 365/24/7 unabated.

And it WORKS in a media-centric society....

Until we have a candidate (FRED?) that can deliver the message above the din of the screaming and foriegn-financed leftists, and thier gay/Democrat allies in the MSM, we’re SCREWED.

Let’s take a look at few headline examples from just the last FEW MINUTES, on a SINGLE Financial STOCKS message board.

IS THAT WOMAN THOMPSONS DAUGHTER OR HIS WIFE???
by foreclosure08 [11 minutes ago] 4 1 minute ago
by mirelda7

Cheney getting gerbil powered pace-maker changed.
by russ_meyer_jr [36 minutes ago] 2 1 minute ago
by d_dubya_i

Pray With Me For The Republicans
by christ_burns_2yea... [1 minute ago] Not rated 0 1 minute ago
by christ_burns_2yea...

DID CHENEY SIGN OVER POWER TO BUSH DURING SURGERY??
by foreclosure08 [16 minutes ago] 2 2 minutes ago
by foreclosure08

Republican Support Collapses Among Youth
by mirelda7 [3 minutes ago] Not rated 0 3 minutes ago
by mirelda7

THIS MORNINGS SERMON FROM REVERAND SCARE
by red_state_mess [4 minutes ago] Not rated 0 4 minutes ago
by red_state_mess

Cadaverous Tony Snow A Metaphor For A Dying Administration
by d_dubya_i [28-Jul-07 09:07 am] Not rated 4 6 minutes ago
by foreclosure08

TONY, JUST SHUT THE F*CK UP AND DIE ALREADY
by thomas_paine_bann... [6 minutes ago] Not rated 0 6 minutes ago
by thomas_paine_bann...

CANCER EATING THE CARCASS OF TONY SNOW
by thomas_paine_bann... [7 minutes ago] Not rated 0 7 minutes ago
by thomas_paine_bann...

SELLING WEAPONS TO SHAH OF IRAN AND SADDAM IN IRAQ
by thomas_paine_bann... [10 minutes ago] Not rated 0 10 minutes ago
by thomas_paine_bann...

I’M THE DECIDER AND I SAY ITS OK
by halpukemachine [10 minutes ago] Not rated 0 10 minutes ago
by halpukemachine

Religion Is The HEART Of The HEARTLESS...
by xmarxthemao [33 minutes ago] Not rated 6 11 minutes ago
by christ_burns_2yea...

THE CHIMP IS AN ONGOING JINX
by red_state_mess [11 minutes ago] 0 11 minutes ago
by red_state_mess

BUSH PLAN: MAKE MIDDLE EAST POWDER KEG
by thomas_paine_bann... [11 minutes ago] Not rated 0 11 minutes ago
by thomas_paine_bann...

George Bush: Cocaine Addict
by christ_burns_2yea... [28-Jul-07 11:35 am] 17 11 minutes ago
by freddy_freedom_1

Sunday Comics Eviscerating Gonzo McTorture
by d_dubya_i [28-Jul-07 09:05 am] 1 12 minutes ago
by aryanzombie_and_f...

Pukes didn’t care about New Orleans
by dem_r_stwpid_moth... [30 minutes ago] 2 12 minutes ago
by homofied_hannk

IMPEACHMENT IS A RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE.
by long_john_digit [26-Jul-07 07:09 pm] 31 22 minutes ago
by christ_burns_2yea...

REAGANITE WARNS GOP PLANNING TO ATTACK U.S.
by ozzy_osmond [31 minutes ago] Not rated 1 22 minutes ago
by aryanzombie_and_f...

SONOFABITCH!!! CHENEY SHOWN LEAVING HOSPITAL
by foreclosure08 [35 minutes ago] 3 23 minutes ago
by d_dubya_i

300 Point Drop To Precede A GOP-Inspired Terror Event?
by ozzy_osmond [24 minutes ago] 0 24 minutes ago
by ozzy_osmond

ALERT! ALERT! - PRIESTS SEEN GOING INTO CHENEY’S ROOM
by thomas_paine_bann... [24 minutes ago] Not rated 0 24 minutes ago
by thomas_paine_bann...

Jesus Realized That He Didn’t Like Forgiving Pukes...
by xmarxthemao [24 minutes ago] Not rated 0 24 minutes ago
by xmarxthemao

What Treasonous Plot Is The GOP Hatching?
by ozzy_osmond [26-Jul-07 08:43 pm] 2 27 minutes ago
by d_dubya_i

IF CHENEY DIES, WHO GETS TO PISS ON HIS GRAVE 1ST?
by thomas_paine_bann... [41 minutes ago] 5 28 minutes ago
by wellstonesbody

Time to tax hedge funds to the hilt
by defeated_gop [31 minutes ago] Not rated 0 31 minutes ago
by defeated_gop

TIME TO ROLL BACK TAX CUTS FOR THOSE OVER $250,000
by foreclosure08 [33 minutes ago] 0 33 minutes ago
by foreclosure08

Fred Thompson’s Non-Campaign In Disarray
by defeated_gop [33 minutes ago] 0 33 minutes ago
by defeated_gop

CHIMP CALLS FOR 20 BILLION IN AID FOR SAUDI
by lu_dude [59 minutes ago] 4 34 minutes ago
by rnc_operative

ASK BUSH WHERE $13 BILLION IN CASH DISAPPEARED TO
by ive_already_said_... [26-Jul-07 08:33 pm] 4 34 minutes ago
by rnc_operative

Pelosi and Dems want 100% tax on
by knucklehead502003 [28-Jul-07 09:00 am] Not rated 9 37 minutes ago
by carlyle_global_co...

repubs running from YouTube Debate
by rltj44 [28-Jul-07 09:10 am] 5 37 minutes ago
by billiondollar_mot...

IF CHENEY DIES, PARTY IS AT MY HOUSE
by thomas_paine_bann... [45 minutes ago] 5 37 minutes ago
by d_dubya_i

[Luke21]

I haven’t spent a lot of time here since the Rudy Wars. But let’s have a little perspective. In 1979-80, people feared that the country’s best days were behind us. The Soviets were in Afghanistan. The Cubans sent troops anywhere they wanted. Our hostages in Iran were shown on TV every night. Jimmy Carter shook and bit his nails.

Domestically, mass murderers were rampant and liberal judges released the most vile killers routinely, based on insane rulings from an insane Supreme Court that had turned the country upside down for a generation. The liberal answer to rising crime was to attempt to take our guns. Inflation, unemployment, interest rates, and gas lines were our lot.

In 1980, the press said that America would choose between Jimmy Carter and Ted Kennedy. There was no other point of view allowed. America would never select a conservative president, ever. This was taught as fact in schools. I will never forget Tom Brokaw’s face on election night.

More than a quarter century later, because of Ronald Reagan, progress has been made in every one of those areas. We are safer in our homes, in spite of horrible crimes like the one in Connecticut this week. In the seventies, one of those was on the news nearly every day. (HIllside Strangler, etc..) We are winning on guns. Abortion is not shouted and snarled from the lips of our enemies. They are on the defensive about it. Not us.

The Soviet Union is gone. Did we honestly think those liberal pigs who demanded we kneel and grovel to the USSR for so long would actually thank us for ending the Cold War? No, they still insist it was Gorbachev who was the hero of the era.

This thread is a real downer. What is so bad? We sit in our living rooms with our coffee and pretzels and preach on a message board. Real hard life we got here, folks. Have some perspective.

Ronald Reagan was a Churchill. People only turn to one of those in terrible times. When times are good, human selfishness, greed, or disinterest are likely to rule the day and win elections because then it’s just politics. There is nothing higher at stake. We won big in 2002 and 2004 because of higher national needs.

I know somebody a lot higher than the president. It’s Him I trust, through darkness and light, Clintons or no-Clintons. All will be well. Regards to you all. Luke

[JasonC]

Yep, we are going to get absolutely creamed. Strangely enough, your typical conservative doesn't give a hoot. Because we navigate political matters by steering for what we think is right, not what we think is popular. And easily half the reasons Republicans are unpopular right now, are because they are standing for correct policies that convey deeply unpleasant truths about the world, home to the American people. Another half, certainly, are self inflicted stupidities.

We will be lucky to hold most of the south and half of the west in the next election, and the liberals will consider their impending victory a generational mandate to undo the entire Reagan legacy and go back to building a semi-socialist great society on a 1970s model. With slightly more rational (Rubin-esque) macroeconomics, that is all.

The Republicans have lost 3 major components of the coalition that has made them successful in the past. In the northeast, pro business Republicans whose signature issue is low taxes and management of the economy, have been driven out by relentlessly pounding them as cultural traitors to the populist grass roots in the rest of the country. These people have decided that they agree with the left on the culture, and are leaving, taking the remaining Republican strength in the northeast (and California) with them. Their defection is also helpful to the left financially, and provides them and deprives us of excellent personnel.

Second and much more important in an electoral sense, the upper midwest has had it over the war, and is in full revolt against what they see as Republican warmongering and incompetence. While entirely patriotic, they have always been more isolationist than the rest of the country, in matters of trade as well as military action. Illinois and Michigan went a long time ago over this, and now Wisconsin, Iowa, and Missouri are following suit. The entire Mississipi valley is in play. All the left has to do there is promise to bring the boys home, and it will win in a walk.

Meanwhile in the west, the party elites have stiffed the base over immigration, and the populists will first try to drive the nominee to the right over it, but if that fails they will simply fail to show up, en masse. They already started in the last election (along with the previous), but it will be vastly worse if we run a pro amnesty candidate. And if we instead articulate a low brow nativism, then the first group above is goner than gone.

The left does not have a coherent policy to offer on national security. In the long run, that will out, and the people will recover some of their natural Jacksonian hawkishness. But right now only the deep south remotely feels that way, and even their patience in the matter is worn to rags.

If you stay at war forever, let your domestic opponents walk all over you and thereby lose, getting the blame for the war and defeat on top of it, and then deliberately alienate two huge portions of your base with deliberately unpopular policies or sustained rhetorical assaults, then yeah of course you are going to be creamed.

The Dems can just stand there and they will be elected. In fact they aren't standing still, but are running left to up their mandate and how far they can push when it comes.

[Eagle74]

Watch out for polls that use all Adults, no matter if they are registered, likely voters, illegals, or concentrated in blue states.

[Brimack34]

You lose one election and people are going into hysterics. A year ago people were saying are the democrats dead. Now it has flipped more then Hilary on Iraq.

[RetiredArmy]

I have said it here many times before, that the RINOcrat party is a self-inflicted wound. They shot themselves in the foot, then were so stupid they did not seek medical attention. Thusly, the wound has become infected, built up to gangrene and soon will rot off the foot, leg, and finally, body of the RINOcrat party. They are simply liberals now as the Marxist’s party of abortion loving homo’s are. We are slowly being out numbered as millions of illegals vote and are not suppose to vote. Thus, we lose anyway. America will soon be a third world nation, over run with socialism, homosexuals, muzzie murderers, Marxist’s and frenchmen. America was founded, will no longer exist. There are far fewer Conservatives and we are being out numbered more and more every day. People need to take the rose colored glasses off. When something is free, the hands will come out and get it. That is how the Marxist’s want to do things. Stupid Americans vote with their own pocket book in mind first and too hell with the Republic as a whole.

[ilgipper]

We have lost one election after losing a long series in a row. The problems revolve not just around the message, but the ability to govern to meet the principles in the message, and the ability to communicate the message. We have drastically lost the later two...and the GOP in Washington abandoned the principles by undisciplined spending.

The GOP will win if they return to the core principles of smaller government, fiscal conservatism, and strong defense. A good candidate and well run campaign will change things drastically. I doubt the voting electorate changed that much from 2004 to 2006. The things that changed were in the party and the White House...lack of conservatism and inability to communicate.