Breaking Up Is Hard to Do ("Bush Destroyed the Republican Party" -- Drudge Headline)

WSJ.com ^ | Jan 25, 2008 | Peggy Noonan

[fightinJAG]

[snip]

On the pundit civil wars, Rush Limbaugh declared on the radio this week, "I'm here to tell you, if either of these two guys [Mr. McCain or Mike Huckabee] get the nomination, it's going to destroy the Republican Party. It's going to change it forever, be the end of it!"

This is absurd. George W. Bush destroyed the Republican Party, by which I mean he sundered it, broke its constituent pieces apart and set them against each other. He did this on spending, the size of government, war, the ability to prosecute war, immigration and other issues.

[ovrtaxt]

That’s all you got? come on.

[WildcatClan]

Rush, like most of the political pundits is a big bag of wind. He proved that Rush cares about Rush and doesn’t know his a$$ from his elbow.

He claims he doesn’t get involved in endorsements and then sets about to do just that by default. Huckabee and McCain will destroy the GOP, but not Mitt and Rudy? Is there some regional bias here or perhaps the Bain/Clear Channel relationship is driving his insanity?

The arrogant blowhard thinks Huckabee and McCain will destroy the GOP but not the candidates who endorsed Tsongas and Cuomo? Not the candidates who were for abortion? Really, Rush? When Rush was asked why he would not do more to support the only conservative in the race he intimated it was not his job to do so. Things seem to have changed in that regard. If either Huckabee or McCain wins, where does Rush go from there?

Four candidates remain, one no better or worse than the other and none are conservative, yet Rush seemingly prefers the NE liberals? Why didn’t he include them all? I suppose it doesn’t matter to Rush as long as the checks continue to clear. I would think that the GOP is bigger than one election and one candidate. If not, then it was not worth anything in the beginning. What happens, happens, and as long as there are some true conservatives around to pick up the pieces as usual, it won’t matter in the long term.

[cake_crumb]

Saddam was exporting terrorism and using OUR money, OUR MONEY via oil for food to pay the families of successful homocide bombs and to BUY POLITICIANS and members of the MEDIA. We found a Pali BOMB FACTORY in downtown Baghdad, complete with Pali terrorists! How can YOU, as a self professed uber conservative, honestly believe that us paying billions to keep Saddam contained while HE used that money to pay terrorists and buy influence was a good thing?

For TWELVE YEARS we supported Saddam supporting terrorism. That is a LOT of money. OUR money. TAXPAYER money. And it DID NOT WORK.

"Imperialism" my left toenail. It was common sense by someone with more survival sense than the average lemming - which is more than can be said for the average "paleocon" - and that someone was President Bush.

[antisocial]

“As far as I’m concerned the Party’s broken.”

Same here!

[roamer_1]

Alan Keyes is nonexistent this cycle. After getting what, 25 percent, against the popular Obama in liberal IL, no one takes him seriously with his reparations for slavery.

He is the only Conservative standing, and I vote Conservative. You may keep your RINOs.

Regarding Keyes' stand on "reparations", this press release might clarify the issue for you.

Keyes on reparations for descendants of slaves

Reparations would be taking money from you and giving it to them, which is not what he proposed at all, and is in fact what is being done already though the welfare system.

Keyes' proposal was to exempt blacks from federal taxation for a generation or two as an economic stimulus, rather than a continuation of largely useless legislation aimed at leveling the playing field.

[ColdSteelTalon]

Does anyone have Mike Huckabees actual record. regarding his policies and decision making?

[roamer_1]

Yes, and that strategy yields 39-40 percent like GHWB in 1992.

Yet still they try. Silly.

[LibLieSlayer]

BS... Bush played his part in it alright... but the rinos spending like drunk sailors and Amnesty being pushed by graham, mcinsane and others... calling Conservatives racists and bigots... being elected as Conservatives and voting like dims... and certain Republicans causing National scandals by their (either corrupt, immoral or both) actions... painting ALL Republicans as hypocrites... is why we find ourselves where we are today.

LLS

[cubreporter]

She alays seemed to us to be very solid but the last year or so she seems very out of the loop and silly acting.

[montag813]

For the good of the nation, we need a Constitutional Amendment—no more Bushes or Clintons—EVER. DNA testing would be required for borderline cases.

[LibLieSlayer]

Ding... ding... ding... we have a WINNER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LLS

[roamer_1]

Do you mean that Republican primary voters became so uninformed that they nominated poor almost non-Republican candidates?

What "Republican" primary voters? For the most part, these primaries have been in blue or blue leaning states, with open primaries. If it had been that only registered Republicans were voting, you might have a point.

[LibLieSlayer]

Noonan has to publish overseas to make a living. Conservatives (like myself) like her but we do not think she is very astute or Conservative. She is elitist in that she thinks her light shines the brightest. It does not.

LLS

[yorkie]

"Does anyone have Mike Huckabees actual record. regarding his policies and decision making?"

Try this:

Huckabee on the Issues

[HawaiianGecko]

Peggy Noonan was a brilliant speech writer 30 years ago.  Today, she's just 30 years older and a bit crankier.  Nothing has destroyed the Republican party.  President Bush did some bone-headed things like the nomination of Harriet Miers, but  as I recall judge Alito sits on the court, not Harriet.  It didn't make me question my party, it just caused a sore spot on my head due to scratching it in wonderment.

President Bush's biggest problem seems to have been overspending.  But, what were the big ticket items here, Iraq War, Homeland Security and the prescription drug program.  Hmmm... I can't think of two and certainly not three of these items I was against.  Percentage increases in existing programs certainly were much lower than traditional budget hikes.  President Bush didn't fight back when attacked, but I can't find the logic needed to follow this problem to the conclusion of a fractured GOP. The President IMHO is on the wrong side of immigration, but that's not destroying the GOP, in fact I'd say immigration helps pull the GOP together.  I'm sure there are more Republicans that want to throw illegals out of the country and build a fence than there are Pro-Life-Gun-Small Government Republicans.

Everyone is looking for a scapegoat to blame the Republican woes of late.  I find it humorous that so many are joining lockstep with Democrats in pointing fingers at the President.



I'm personally tired of everyone evoking the name of President Reagan. A good man and in my opinion the best President we've had in over a century, but people forget how Mr. Reagan got elected.  The holy mantra flung around is because he was a hard core conservative, or is it that he was a fiercely religious man, or a hawk or so many others that I lose track.  Well, exactly how does that explain 26% of Democrats, 27% of liberals and 54% of moderates voting for him. Heck, only 71% of conservatives voted for the man. See table/a> from raw data by American National Election Studies (ANES). He was smart enough to create a big tent coalition.

The problem with the GOP is that each of it's constituents has decided that they alone represent the party.  Evangelicals think they are the only true Republicans, far right Conservatives have the same vision, as do Neo-Cons, moderates and so on. That's why we can't find a candidate.  There is no such applicant that personifies this ideal candidate.  Republicans have finally become intolerant of themselves.  Everyone's a RINO!

Just watch for posts back to me to prove my point!!!  :-)

[Young Scholar]

The “Country Club Blue Bloods” you speak of have been the base of the party for over a century. Many members of the current socially conservative “base” have only been with the party for a few decades. So it’s hard to say that the former group of stealing the party.

Still, the old base (the pro-business middle class) would be wise not to lose sight of the moral values society must hold for capitalism to succeed. Just as the party would be wise not to lose sight of the fiscal values the old base values (or we’ll have another election like 2006).

[Earthdweller]

"Gonna be hard to come by when the suits running the GOP hate conservatives as much as the 'Rats do...."

Conservatives against totalitarian government has a nice ring to it.

[puroresu]

Yeah, but Bush’s failure to control the borders is more devastating than anything a GOP president has ever done. He’s basically allowed millions of potential Democrats to enter the country, and by pandering to them has created an atmosphere where anyone wishing to defend the borders is regarded as an “extremist”.

[narses]

“Even he admits other than the show, he’s been a failure all his life.”

LOL, yeah, so what? His show has been a spectacular success! What have you done that comes close?

[org.whodat]

That is why there is Mitt.

Oh, please, willard might be a rino republican, but he is not a conservative.