Posted on 01/29/2008 11:55:19 AM PST by Sideshow Bob
There have been more than a few recent articles and editorials attempting to affix blame for the demise of the Republican Party. Peggy Noonan blames President Bush. Rush Limbaugh believes a McCain nomination will kill the party. However, even in a worse case scenario, the Republican Party will probably stagger along for several years much like the last decade of the Whigs. Conservative Republicans should probably be more concerned about the impending demise of the conservative movement within the party. Some individuals can be blamed more than others, but this folly has many fathers. The latest blow to conservatives has come from within – thanks to Dr. James Dobson and other egotistical evangelicals. Political doomsayers may be correct and it is likely too late to save the conservative movement in 2008. Conservatives can correct their path to destruction for 2010 and beyond, but only if they look back at recent history, recognize the actions and actors that have brought the party and movement to this point, and to learn from a long series of missteps and mistakes.
Ronald Reagan built a winning coalition of conservatives, independents and establishment moderate Republicans in 1980. A coalition of social, economic and security conservatives had come together to form a plurality within the GOP and wrest leadership of the party from the establishment, moderate GOP. The Iran-Contra scandal (Mistake #1) weakened the coalition and the moderate wing of the party regained control of the GOP (Mistake #2), which led to the election of President George H.W. Bush (Mistake #3).
While the elder Bush had adopted – albeit reluctantly – many conservative ideals, he and the moderate GOP leaders advocated a “kinder, gentler” approach (Mistake #4). Conservatives might have been content to take a back seat to moderate GOP leadership, but they read Bush’s lips and their support and enthusiasm for the Republican Party evaporated after the Bush tax increase (Mistake #5). In 1992 some conservatives were taken in by Ross Perot and his anti-establishment, anti-Washington message (Mistake #6). Others just stayed home (Mistake #7) and helped Democrats elect the Dope from Hope, Bill Clinton, with just 43% of the popular vote (Mistake #8).
The only positive to come out of 1992 was that it helped create an opening for an obscure, but brilliant Congressman from Georgia to lead conservatives to regain control of the Republican Party. Newt Gingrich reformed the three-legged conservative coalition and took an upstart innovative approach of leading the GOP from the House with a 1994 national congressional campaign platform – the Contract with America.
It is important to note that prior to the ’94 elections, Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole and other establishment, moderate GOP leaders scoffed at and were dismissive of Gingrich and the Contract. Dole and Senate moderates rode the Contract’s election coattails, but made it plain that the GOP Senate did NOT sign on to the program, was not obligated to it, reluctantly followed Gingrich's lead, and worked to water down each and every one of the Contract's provisions (Mistake #9).
By January 1996, Dole was the presumptive Republican presidential nominee (Mistake #10). Dole sought to convince Speaker Gingrich to fold up the federal government shutdown stalemate with President Clinton and allow Dole to lead the GOP via his presidential campaign.
Dole gave Gingrich the choice of single-handedly continuing the shutdown and fight with Clinton and the media with Candidate Dole seeking a different path from the House GOP or deferring to Dole's presidential campaign and resuming the conservative battle together with Gingrich’s friend Trent Lott to keep President Dole honest after the ’96 elections. Gingrich made the wrong choice (Mistake #11). Gingrich probably should have run for President himself in 1996 (Mistake #12).
We all remember what happened. By caving in and compromising on the shutdown, the conservative House leadership lost some of their ability to control their more moderate members (Mistake #13). Bob Dole lost (Mistake #14). Trent Lott built his own voice separate from the House (Mistake #15). And with no help from Lott & the GOP Senate and a Clinton veto looming on all conservative issues, Gingrich, Armey & DeLay focused too much of their efforts on the growing Clinton scandals (Mistake #16).
Gingrich was able to maintain order within the House even during the Clinton impeachment. But after the Senate RINOs failed to do their duty and convict Clinton (Mistake #17), the House moderates began feeling their oats (Mistake #18).
Then, the impact of the missing FBI files took effect. Allegations of marital affairs Gingrich and Hyde took their toll (Mistake #19). Seeing his conservative House coalition slowly diminish and Lott's desire to set on a different path, Gingrich stepped down as Speaker (Mistake #20). Then his presumed successor, Bob Livingston from Louisiana, was also taken out by a marital affair (Mistake #21).
House Moderates became emboldened and championed the lackluster Dennis Hastert as Speaker to muzzle Armey & DeLay and appear less confrontational (Mistake #22). This effort also helped to clear the agenda of party leadership for the 2000 GOP presidential candidates (Mistake #23). And in 2000, conservatives settled for the "compassionate conservatism" of George W. Bush (Mistake #24). Many conservatives stayed home, nearly costing Bush the presidency and actually losing GOP control of the Senate in 2000 (Mistake #25).
To be fair, conservatives should thank God everyday for W's leadership in dealing with 9-11. But Bush also squandered the opportunity to push the party and country to the right following that horrible event (Mistake #26). The GOP regained control of the Senate in 2002, but based solely on the country’s fears of Democrats’ inability to deal with national security concerns and not on conservative social and economic principles. Meanwhile, the House drifted further to the center (Mistake #27).
Conservative fears of repeating Florida 2000 helped Bush win reelection in 2004, despite the party's overall drift to the center. By now, any conservative elements in the House and Senate were in complete retreat. The moderates ruled the roost in both houses. RINO defections on the Iraq war (Mistake #28), wasteful earmarks (Mistake #29) and ethics scandals (Mistake #29) were now front and center for the GOP. The only conservative victories of 2005-06 were the confirmations of Roberts and Alito to the Supreme Court. And it took a battle to defeat Bush on his nomination of Harriet Miers to do it.
By Fall 2006 conservatives had become utterly disheartened. Attempts to make the Bush tax cuts permanent stalled (Mistake #30), the continued treachery of Arlen Spector, John McCain, Lindsey Graham and the Gang of 14 (Mistake #31), increased dissatisfaction with George Bush and the Miers nomination debacle all caused conservatives to stay home in November 2006 (Mistake #32). And the GOP lost both the House and Senate.
Occasionally, the conservative movement can still rise up. The reaction to the Amnesty bill was encouraging. But other than that, conservatives have again been wandering in the wilderness. GOP moderates and RINO's have been resistant to allowing a conservative to assume leadership in Congress. And any potential conservative congressional leader has held back (Mistake #33), in part due to the extremely early start of the 2008 presidential race (Mistake #34).
And what did conservatives get for 2008 GOP candidates? Were there any Reagan conservatives who possessed all three legs of the coalition stool - strong national defense, social conservatism, economic conservatism?
Nope.
Instead, we got Rudy Giuliani. An autocrat who has little affection for social conservatives, but pledged to nominate strict construction judges. Whoopee!
Instead, we got John McCain. An angry RINO maverick who enjoys flouting social and economic conservatives AND even the GOP establishment to gain favor and positive reviews from the liberal media.
Instead, we got Mitt Romney, an uber-wealthy GOP establishment moderate. At least Romney panders to social and economic conservatives with recently discovered flip-flopped positions on issues of importance to those two factions.
Instead, we got Mike Huckabee – the Dope from Hope, part II. While he is just as slick and manipulative as Bill Clinton, Huckabee is nowhere near as smart.
Instead, we got Ron Paul, a true blue, libertarian nutbag. Paul has a few economic bona fides that have pulled away a few non-nut job libertarians. But I'm sorry, Dr. Paul is a kook.
Instead, we got the Obscure Four - Tom Tancredo, Alan Keyes, Tommy Thompson & Duncan Hunter. Tancredo & Keyes are single issue candidates. Tommy & Dunc are well-rounded politicians (especially Hunter), but they lacked the ability to have broad nationwide appeal.
Seeing this morass of blech, Fred Thompson entered the fray expecting to be the savior of the Republican Party and the conservative movement. Fred should have been that candidate.
Unfortunately, Dr. James Dobson and a few evangelical leaders decided to cut off their nose to spite their face (Mistake #35). You see, Fred's not a Bible thumper. Neither was Ronald Reagan. And like Reagan, Fred is a bona fide, all-around, federalist conservative. That wasn’t good enough for Dobson. And when Fred refused to kiss Dobson's ring of evangelical purity, Dobson went shopping for a candidate he thought he could control.
Flim Flam Huckabee seized on that opportunity. Huckabee played Dobson into thinking that Dobson could be a GOP kingmaker (Mistake #36). A handful of evangelical leaders blindly pushed Huckabee as a viable conservative (Mistake #37). The media, who knows a GOP loser when they see one, helped fan the flames of Huckabee's support. For a time, the scheme worked. Huckabee won Iowa (Mistake #38), but eventually the truth of Huckabee's Christian Socialism became evident to most conservatives.
But the damage had been done. Social conservatives were now spilt. Some had been taken in by Huckabee's class warfare (Mistake #39). Some had been taken in by the media's false depiction of Fred as a lazy campaigner (Mistake #40) and settled for Romney, Rudy or, worse, McCain (Mistake #41).
Added into this deceptive mix was the ability of independents and Democrats to participate in and distort the Iowa, New Hampshire & South Carolina Republican primaries (Mistake #42). Media darling McCain was back! McCain – the new Comeback Kid – was ready to lead....the GOP down to defeat. Meanwhile, Fred's race and the ability for the GOP to unify behind a Reaganesque conservative died (Mistake #43).
At best, the GOP could still end up with a George W. Bush-lite nominee like Mitt Romney. He will at least pretend to care about conservative ideals from his Country Club wing of the party.
At worst, the GOP could end up with John McCain. McCain, the perennial thorn in the GOP's side who was once touted as a possible VP running mate for John Kerry!
Who knows? It’s still remotely possible that none of the moderates and RINO’s still in the presidential race will win a majority of the primary delegates. Maybe a conservative nominee could still rise up in a brokered GOP convention. Maybe a conservative national congressional campaign like the Contract with America could still arise in time for the 2008 elections. But really, that’s a fantasy.
The reality is that conservatives will have to wait until 2010 or 2012 to reassert itself as the true and legitimate leaders of the Republican Party. The reality is that conservatives have allowed numerous people to make numerous mistakes which have led the movement to this precarious point. The reality is that conservatives and the GOP are now left with this Dobson's Choice of Romney or McCain. Pass the nose clips and prepare for the worst.
Of course, the inconvenient detail in all of this was that Dobson had never spoken to Thompson at the point of his interview with the reporter. So, Dobson was just guessing. Off-the-cuff. About a person's salvation status. Not very responsible. And certainly beyond the pale for someone who purports to be a leader.
Dobson wanted to get out in front of this story and put a black mark next to Fred's name. Mission accomplished.
I can assure you that we in the Homeschool associations can quantify qualify the difference in merely overturning Roe and the RLA. None are against overturning Roe, but it is obvious that we need a RLA defining "personhood".
And on that note, Thompson was never against abortion because the unborn baby is a person. Otherwise he would have believed in protecting the unfortunate children of rapes, incest and the Space Shuttle size loophole of the "life of the mother".
Or so we thought. Faith without works is dead.
I fully understand his worldview and trust his integrity.
I don't think I do so much.
it has been an anethema in advancing conservative positions on immigration and government spending.
Please don't pin horrible lie of the last 100 years of unenforced immigration laws and the profligate goverment spending on us. So-Called "faith based" governemnt funding is an outrage. Charity with other people's money ain't charity. Most of us are smart enough to know that. Yes we Christians are to love our neigbors, including the illeagal ones. But the government is not supposed to bear the sword in vain. We want the border secured, the laws enforced and I personally want legal immigration streamlined and increased.
Yeah. Merely overturning Roe. And I would agree that the homeschool crowd would be the most likely to distinguish between the two. But y'all are not the norm. You know that.
And on that note, Thompson was never against abortion because the unborn baby is a person.
Source?
[The abortion debate is] going to be ultimately won in the hearts and minds of people. I'm probably a pretty good example of that. Although my head and my legislative record's always been the same, when I saw that sonogram of my little now 4-year-old, it's changed my heart. It's changed the way I look at things. And I think life begins at conception. It was abstract to me before. I was a father earlier when I was very young. I was busy. One of the few advantages you have by getting a little bit older.
Otherwise he would have believed in protecting the unfortunate children of rapes, incest and the Space Shuttle size loophole of the "life of the mother".
He says life begins at conception. Do you have a contradictory quote?
I know that but since Dr. Dobson is an Evangelical, and I am an Evangelical and he described my point of view, a point of view about Thompson that I have corroborated with my family and lot of other Evangelical Christians, I'd say that Dobson nailed it this time.
And I am an evangelical and Dobson took actions and made statements contrary to my point of view - a point of view about Thompson that I corroborated with my family and a lot of other evangelical Christians. And I'd say that Dobson was an egotistical, religious bigot this time. And it sounds like 808bass has experienced a similar reaction.
Do you understand my point on evangelical uniform thought now?
I don't think that Dobson attacked Thompson, he simply pointed out, in a conversation with a reporter, that Thompson did not appear to be Christian, a fact that did not help him with evangelicals. That's all. I believe that if Thompson had assured Dobson, in private conversation, that he believed that Jesus had died to save him from his sins, that Dobson would have proclaimed "Thank God we have a Conservative Christian running for the presidency!!!". If Thompson is a Christian, he should not have been ashamed or afraid to say so. But he simply wouldn't say so. He is what he is and he ain't what he ain't but thank God that can change if God wants it to.
For the last time, Thompson did assure Dobson of his faith in private conversation - a conversation requested (demanded?) by Dobson.
And Dobson did not simply point out an objection to Fred in casual conversation to a reporter. Apparently Thompson's private assurance of faith didn't meet Dobson's bigoted standard, so Dobson STAGED a leaked email which surfaced in the media and caused reporters to seek out Dobson's statement "on the record." And then during these "on the record" interviews Dobson slagged Fred again and again.
Fred did publicly proclaim his faith. He didn't hide it. He didn't exaggerate it. He didn't use it to bludgeon his opponents. And he said it neither validated nor disqualified his candidacy.
I think it's the best possible stance on religion for any public official.
I understand that you are trying to defend Dobson. But what Dobson did is indefensible, immoral and wrong. And conservatives will pay for it for at least 4 more years.
So now you want to speak for all homeschool associations, too?
Wow, you're versatile.
the808bass says Dobson had not yet spoken privately with Fred prior to the news story. I was under the distinct impression that he had. Either way, Dobson was wrong for his statement and actions.
Dr. Dobson told Mr. Gilgoff he had never met Sen. Thompson and wasn’t certain that his understanding of the former senator’s religious convictions was accurate. Unfortunately, these qualifiers weren’t reported by Mr. Gilgoff. we were, however, pleased to learn from his spokesperson that Sen. Thompson professes to be a believer.Never met the man. But he's not a Christian. "At least that's my impression."
My impression is that Dobson is a sanctimonious prig. Not that I've ever met him or anything. I hope that this doesn't get out into public. Hold on while I hit "Post"
To hear the comments when Dobson said this one would gather that Dobson had no follower at all, that he was a kook. He was lambasted for daring to say what all Christians voters take as number one in voting... and Fred and his follower followed the nearest exit off lemming cliff to mass suicide with comments like "I don't wear my faith on my sleeve" and "Dobson is an idiot". Lukewarm was about all that could be said about Fred and his faith and straddling that fence was not where you want to be come election time. The last thing true Christians want is someone that is ashamed of them and their faith. Fred further distanced himself from conservative Christians with his abortion statements that muddied the water instead of the opposite. Yet surprisingly in this year's field where Duncan was still a nobody, Fred did have a lot of Christian supporters (here on FR and otherwise, including my cousin, who now has switched to Huckabee).
Now the last thing Fredheads need to do is to just keep driving that nail between themselves and Christians. Eve blamed that cunning snake, Adam blamed Eve... Fredheads have blamed everything under the sun. Perhaps the sad fact is that the American populace is just a bunch of RINO's and liberals and there is little we can do about it. The socialist cake has been tasted and many have come back for second helpings and big government is more than happy to keep serving it.
I'll remind myself to do that to me.
He was lambasted for daring to say what all Christians voters take as number one in voting
Really? All Christian voters have "evangelical Christian" as their number one qualification? Good thing we didn't have that for Reagan. Or Bush 1.
nearest exit off lemming cliff to mass suicide with comments like "I don't wear my faith on my sleeve" and "Dobson is an idiot".
I didn't say Dobson was an idiot. I said he was a Machiavellian, wannabe-king-maker, sanctimonious, self-righteous prig with delusions of grandeur who got a whiff of power with Falwell deceased and Robertson off the reservation (with his Giuliani endorsement). I may have missed a few. But that's the gist. And I'll stand by every iota.
The last thing true Christians want is someone that is ashamed of them and their faith. Fred further distanced himself from conservative Christians with his abortion statements that muddied the water instead of the opposite.
Fred wasn't ashamed of his faith. He just didn't try to milk his faith for your vote. That may be difficult for some people to grasp as they believe that faith is about loud proclamations over bullhorns.
Fred further distanced himself from conservative Christians with his abortion statements that muddied the water instead of the opposite.
I wasn't confused. I do reckon Mike Huckabee had a hard time understanding them, but he's still trying to figure out where Pakistan is on the map, so no surprise.
And for God's sake, we've got to find a way to keep the middle from sliding farther to the left with each passing election!
Agreed. So I'm going to bed. Wake me up when McCain loses.
Thus the reason Fredheads helped bring down their candidate.
As my post above explains, their lukewarm at best encounters with anything remotely Christian didn't help. Sending out some unknown spokesman to tell about something that happened 30 years ago instead of dealing with this subject head-on was a disaster to say the least. Christians wanted to know if Fred was ashamed of them or not, is that so hard to fathom? Christians understand judging by fruits, and when even secular web sites offer big money to anyone that could produce a picture of Fred darkening the door of a church, and ANY church (with no takers), there was interest in the subject. Reagan could have pulled this off with charm, Fred could not, and it is a bitter pill to Fredheads to this day. Slipping on a barbed wire fence is not a fun place to be, lukewarm does get spewed at times.
Except many of them were Christians. So maybe your "anything remotely Christian" could be replaced by "cynical pandering to Christianity." You won't get that. Which will only further make my point. And you think it will make yours. Such is the way of worldviews.
Thus he didn't go to church and hadn't for a while and thus why he sent out some nobody to talk about 30 years ago, thus why he didn't breach the subject that is number one with Christian voters, thus so on and so forth...
He just didn't try to milk his faith for your vote. That may be difficult for some people to grasp as they believe that faith is about loud proclamations over bullhorns.
Grandstanding as you did above is quite the opposite of what most Christians want, but they certainly don't care to vote for someone that acted ashamed of them. Deal with it, just as most FR members will not vote for McCain, they know McCain is ashamed of many conservative principles. They know this because of his fruits. Fred had the opportunity to lay palm leaves down to Christian voters, instead he played the lukewarm centralist card. In a field full of centralist, with two candidates that sapped some religious voters up already that was not the wisest trick to play.
BTW... Mr. Hunter was my choice (as my tagline suggests), was it wrong for him to publicly make his profession of faith public too? Or was that bullhorning?
I don't think anyone noticed. So he's probably ok.
Thus why I said in post 349 the below.
"Yet surprisingly in this year's field where Duncan was still a nobody, Fred did have a lot of Christian supporters (here on FR and otherwise, including my cousin, who now has switched to Huckabee)."
Just the few, the proud, the true Christian conservatives that have been shown we are not needed this year.
LOL... have a good night bass...
“I’ve said it a couple of times, to unite Conservatives will take a Hillary (or even Obama) in office.”
But which one of the two is more likely to actually get their agenda through? That’s the scary part...
Obama, who claims he can unite Republicans and Democrats but with absolutely ZERO Republican senate endorsements saying how easy he is to work with.. Or Hillary, who Dems and Republicans alike despise?
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