Posted on 02/01/2008 11:08:49 AM PST by PlainOleAmerican
Republicans no longer control the Republican Party and as a result, they can not advance a truly Republican candidate though the current liberal leaning primary process. By the time 99 percent of Republicans get a chance to vote in the primaries, all real Republicans have already been eliminated from the race. Lesser evil choices are all that remain by Super Tuesday…?
How it Happened
It happened by two important factors.
First, Republicans refused to unite behind any of the conservatives originally in the race. They were divided, and all of their candidates failed as a result.
Evangelicals think Pastor Huckabee is the real conservative in the race based solely upon his evangelical preaching from the stump. Fiscal conservatives think that business man Mitt Romney is the real conservative in the race. Anti-war isolationists think that Ron Paul is the real conservative in the race. Border security – national sovereignty conservatives thought that Duncan Hunter or Tom Tancredo were the real conservatives in the race. War on Terror hawks thought that Rudy Giuliani was the real conservative in the race and the base of the Republican Party, those who are fully conservative on all the above, thought Fred Thompson was the real conservative in the race.
As a direct result of these divisions, the one candidate that is by no means a real conservative in the race, John McCain, is currently leading the race for the Republican nomination. Failing to unite early behind one of the conservatives, left the door wide open for the worst possible result, John McCain.
The second factor is a broken primary process. McCain is not being nominated by conservatives or for the most part, even by Republicans. He is being nominated by liberal voters from liberal leaning states who hold the earliest primaries and vote to eliminate all conservatives from the race before “fly-over” Republicans get a chance to cast a single vote.
A Broken Party
Like it or not, the BIG TENT is collapsing. You can’t invite liberals to your table without inviting their ideologies along. Try this at home with your liberal neighbors if you think I’m wrong on this. They will be happy to eat your food and drink your wine, while they tell you all about the progressive benefits of socialism. They won’t shut up until you stop inviting them for dinner.
Yet this is what the Republican Party leadership decided to do years ago. Invite liberals across the aisle into the fold under the BIG TENT open society philosophy whereby all ideas are welcome if not equal, even when they aren’t.
Today, the base of the party is trying to figure out if or how it can wrestle back control of their party from the dinner guest they invited to the table years ago. The problem is this. RINOs now think it’s their party. They have exercised squatter’s rights. They are using the “possession is nine tenths of the law” defense to claim ownership of the Republican Party now and demanding that “right-wing extremists” (the foundation of the party) leave. The guests are tossing out the hosts.
A Broken Process
How do you expect to advance a Republican candidate via a process designed to net a liberal candidate, voted upon by liberals in Democrat strongholds? The answer is - you can’t. Yet this is what we do.
It is not possible to advance a conservative candidate using liberal RINO, Independent and Democrat voters in liberal strongholds. The Republican primary process MUST change.
The Long-Term Fix
Only registered Republicans should be voting in Republican primaries and Republican primaries must begin in Republican strongholds, not Democrat strongholds up east. There should be no such thing as “open primaries.” Even in many “closed primaries” in Democrat stronghold states, where Republicans seldom have even a chance of carrying the state, many Democrats and Independents register as Republicans for the sole purpose of skewing the Republican nomination. This can not be allowed to continue.
Further, if the Republican nomination process expects to ever advance a conservative Republican candidate, it must start its nomination process in Republican strongholds across the country, not the Democrat strongholds they start in today.
The ten most Republican states in 2004 (a Republican year) were Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Nebraska, Oklahoma, North Dakota, Alabama, Kansas, Alaska and Texas, in that order. Yet only one of these states has held a primary thus far, Wyoming. Before the rest will get a chance to vote, all Republicans are out of the race.
Other traditionally Republican strongholds are Indiana, South Dakota, Mississippi, Kentucky, Montana, Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina. Pick the five most populated states from these two groups and start the nomination process there, if you want to see what real Republicans want for party leadership.
Three of the worst states in which to hold an early Republican primary are Michigan, New Hampshire and Iowa. Yet this is where we begin our nomination process?
Both of these things must change looking forward and they will have to be changed at the state level by simply getting Republican stronghold states to move their primaries up to the front of the line. Don’t count on any help from the Republican National Committee which has long since determined that Republicans must join liberals in order to compete with them.
The ONLY Short-Term Fix
These two changes in the nomination process will allow Republican stronghold states and real Republican voters to advance a real Republican candidate in the future. But it’s too late for 2008.
So a short-term answer for the immediate problem is also in order and only one option is available now…
That option is the subject of my last column, Time for Some REAL Straight Talk
Take a moment to read it quickly. Super Tuesday will set the next four years in stone. What we do between now and then makes a difference….
Republicans simply passed on all opportunities to do something smart and unite behind one of the conservatives in the race over the last several months. Now, doing something half-smart is the only immediate option available. Find a way to be part of the solution, not just an angry part of the problem acting out in childish temper tantrums and protest votes.
Half-smart is better than blindly foolish and all wrong any day…
Long term, things must change. But short term, our options are now limited to living to fight another day. Think about it!
Williams has it exactly right. Sorry, but which “Williams” is he? Need a little clarification. I would like to read more from him.
Remember Tom Tancredo said the same thing. In fact he named him McKennedy...saying he is the WORST IN THE BUNCH,.
Ah... there it is, the famous LIBERAL buzz phrase beaten into every Paulestinian, “critical thinking.”
The implication being of course, “if you don’t think like us, you don’t think “citically.”
Yet as is always the case among closet liberals, the use of the well trained buzz words and overt lack of “critical thinking” in their commentary, exposes the true liberal behind the door... LOL
BRAVO!
It took me only one post to drag you from the closet, and I’m not even a Yale grad. You’ll find most Yale grads hanging out over at DU by the way. Sending their money to MoveOn.org type folks like yourself.
Thanks for the 10 seconds of entertainment.
I’m bored now...
The process must change... But until then, we can only limit our losses...
Vote Romney to derail McStain... any other vote (or non-vote) won’t stop McStain...
Until you can make it better, don’t make it any worse.
www.JB-Williams.com
“The process must change... But until then, we can only limit our losses...”
What in your opinion should be changed about the process...this is a real question not me just being snarky.
No, I did not hear it. I will have to look that up. Thanks.
www.jb-williams.com
sorry!
Thank you!
Soyanara, bonehead! All you proved is that you know nothing.
Republican’s need to nominate their own candidates. Republican’s should be the only people with a say in that process - period.
No open primaries and the closed primaries should begin in Republican strongholds, not Democrat strongholds.
Much more to it, but that’s the starting point.
Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!
Nice job Paulestinian. Closet liberals are so easy! Not much of a challenge is the problem...
I'm cementing my thinking...that another party is TOTALLY needed.
With the Dims and the Pubbies...we are getting socialist lite..and pure socialist.
The end is ultimately the same....just one gets us there faster.
Color me totally disgusted......Much more than when Dole was dumped on us.
The WHOLE LOT of both houses of Congress...need to be sent to Haiti.
Thorough-going movement conservatives are a minority but so what. We always have been. The key is to remember that Ronald Reagan put together a coalition of disparate groups who together swelled into a majority: A patriotic assembly of social conservatives, defense hawks, and small-government fiscal conservatives. Those elements of the electorate are all still out there but we lack a leader with the skill and vision to call them together.
McCain has no credibility with social conservatives. Romney has little or none, and has no obvious credibility on national defense. Huckabee has little of anything but god-talk and wisecracks. Giuliani was a security hawk but little else. Thompson could have been the man but he dithered until long after the train left the station.
Where is the leader who can evoke patriotic images of a limited, domestically mild government which yet maintains a fierce commitment to national security while nurturing the eternal values which made America the "last best hope?" Find this man and stand back, because you will have a bandwagon and a president for the next eight years.
Everything we’re seeing is the fruit of abandoning our core principles.
It was predictable, and in fact was predicted.
One wonders...he allegedly toyed with joining Kerry in 2004. He seriously, sounds more like a 'rat than a pubbie now. If he collapses the republican party as a viable option, that means we have a one-party state in reality as well as name. That means only one thing...
5) Failed to correct the RINO's ways when they broke ranks with the majority of the party.
Have you ever wondered why there are no DINO's but plenty of RINO's? If a democrat ever broke ranks, he wouldn't be able to get a dime appropriated for his district. Not only does the GOP tolerate the RINO's, but it also supports and campaigns for them (Specter comes to mind here)......
“Republican’s need to nominate their own candidates. Republican’s should be the only people with a say in that process - period.
No open primaries and the closed primaries should begin in Republican strongholds, not Democrat strongholds.”
That would be a start. Isn’t SC pretty conservative though. And Iowa as well. JMHO but I think the Gop leadership is reaching to the middle because in 2006 the majority of the middle broke for the Dems. I’m not sure how this would have shaken out any differently, but I don’t think a hard core conservative had a snow balls chance this election cycle. The Republican brand has taken a thrashing the last several years, and while I think the MSM has certainly fanned the flames out of proportion on a number of occasions even the most committed conservative has to realize that maybe the GOP Show has been running too long. Most of the posters here seem to consider GWB a moderate, but he’s been painted as an evil conservative by the MSM at every turn. When you add to that GWBs defense by many in the conservative pundit class it’s really taken it’s toll among anyone that’s not already a serious conservative. JMHO but I think the only chance the GOP has this year is a right of center moderate. There just weren’t enough Freepers to get Hunter, Thompson elected.
Best idea ever!
I’m not sure Fred is still on the ballot in all the states. Do you know? He would be the better one to vote for, of course, if there was a possibility that he could pull more votes than Huck, at least enough to throw the nomination up for grabs. That’s the point. And if did happen, there is a possibility that Fred would be the man to unite the party, at least what is left of it. If it did happen, you can be sure this would be one of the most exciting elections we’ve had in centuries. Otherwise . . . I even hate to speculate.
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