Posted on 05/15/2008 8:24:51 AM PDT by bilhosty
Things are so ugly for the members of the GOP right now, it’s worth pondering their political mortality: Put bluntly, can this party be saved?
We talked to some of the smartest minds in Republican politics, and their prognosis is pretty grim. They think it will take pretty big changes — and possibly many, many years — to repair a Republican brand sullied by excessive spending, an unpopular war and an even more unpopular president.
Republicans are deeply divided over how dramatic changes should be and how precisely to change things. But there appears to be an emerging consensus on six steps they must take — and soon. What follows are the composite views of key Republicans we interviewed.
1. Get a clue: Republicans desperately need to cook up some new ideas and craft an attractive agenda to have any chance of success. Former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate Mitt Romney says it should be a modern edition of Newt Gingrich’s “Contract With America.”
“We talked to some of the smartest minds in Republican politics”
Who might those people be? Newt, Dole, Lott. Give me a break. Those you talked maybe Republicans but I surmise are not conservative.
“Republicans are dominating Democrats in one area right now: humiliating sex scandals.”
Huh? The state of NY alone has had more humiliating Dem sex scandals than repubs this entire year. Perhaps the author impliedly recognizes that they’re only humiliating if they’re republicans involved because if it’s dems, it’s the norm.
Judging by their list, no - they do not get it.
They did what they want instead of what we told them, so they are getting fired.
Because almost all of them have not listened, they will all get fired. It will be hard on the business (our country) for a term, but it is their doing, not the voters.
After the house has been cleaned and punishment meeted out, we can hire better employees at the next election.
A business cannot stand too many cycles like this, and neither can a nation, but IT IS THEIR DOING, NOT OURS !!! DON'T BLAME US, IT'S TIME FOR CONSEQUENCES ! THE TIME FOR ACTION HAS COME AND PASSED !
Amen!
Well, Politico is a leftist website, hardly likely to understand what the problem is, or even if they understood it, to offer advice that might fix it.
But I hardly think that Mitt Romney, Bill Frist, or Tim Pawlenty are credible people to turn to at this point.
Jeb Bush is the only one quoted who makes any sense, and I’m afraid his brother has wrecked any chance he might have ever to run for office again.
TAXES TAXES TAXES
SPENDING SPENDING SPENDING
SECURITY SECURITY SECURITY
Everything else is small potatoes
The solution is for the party of Reagan to lead like the party of Reagan again. We've seen that conservative leadership can win over moderates when our views are well communicated, and leadership does what it says it will do.
Calling yourselves conservatives and acting like lefties will get you nowhere, at least when you're Republican.
I don't see things improving for the Repubs unless the Demos win it all and screw things up even worse. Then we might see things starting to turn around in 2010. Otherwise, we're screwed because most of this nation is blaming the Repubs for the current state of the nation, and in many ways they are right. We had it all and we BLEW IT!
New ideas are the last thing the Republican party needs. Simply adhere to the core party principles and you've corrected the mess that the RINOs have created.
The Republicans can win in a two step.
1. Reveal the Dems for what they are - put their quotes, their lies, their corruption, and their wrong predictions before the people. The republicans don’t have to beat the Dems. The Dems have provided sufficient ammunition for the dems to beat themselves. They’ve been wrong about Iraq since 2007. Wrong about the economy (increased min wage + regulation + energy policies have contributed to this mess, in fact, their housing policies created the subprime issue). Wrong about Iran. They’re corrupt. They haven’t remained true to their campaign promises, from earmarks to transparency. They’re hypocritical on every issue from taxes (Kerry, Obama and other pay at the lowest rate), environment (flying around while telling us to change our lifestyle, compare gore’s house to Bush’s ranch), and corruption/earmarks/special interests.
2. Come up with real plans that actually solve problems. There are some good ones out there. Combine them all and put it forth as an agenda for America. Compared to the hollow words of hope and change, it should prevail.
Everyone is making like the GOP is in shambled, with good reason, but they are forgetting how bad the Dems have “performed” since 2006 and the GOP needs to do what the Dems did in 2006. Non stop attacks. Use the Dems’ record against them. This is the Congress with the lowest approval ratings and two inept “leaders.” It shouldn’t be that difficult. Today’s Duke Cunningham is Jefferson and Murtha. Today’s Foley is Spitzer. Today’s Mecca is Biden & Clinton. There’s so much cannon fodder.
They are no friends of republicans.
The republican party had better wake up fast!....or it’s going to be replaced by the conservative party!
Maybe I just suffer from the “fecal encephilitus” that an earlier poster mentioned, but I have trouble taking seriously, a party named after a bird. No matter how noble falcons might be.
The GOP desperately needed to start putting new faces in front of the crowd right after the 2006 election. They put Bonior (MR K Street) and Blunt back in their house positions and whola, we suck still. They wrote off all of the Rat infrastructure building in the last 4 years and we are paying the price.
The brand is damaged without a doubt. Many here on FR and as much as I like Rush are suggesting solutions that are not win alls and are more “all or nothing, solutions.” For example, their is no reason in the world that Conservatives should not embrace alternative energy at the same time we seek to increase domestic oil production. But Rush and some here on FR think it's foolish, so the GOP and Conservatives in general get labeled as being against new thinking in this area.
Bash if you will, but some on here and on talk radio need to step out of the echo chamber and hear some other thinking on issues that we as Conservatives can win with, without surrendering our principals.
IMHO, would’nt matter. In my mind, I keep coming back to what happened to Tom Delay.....
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1802383/posts
Washington is so jammed with parasites looking for a teat...that ANY organized opposition-IOW any Conservatives-will be run out of town . Period. This, folks, is a far BIGGER problem than just one with the Republican leadership.
The fall of the GOP is tied directly to it’s identification with the South. The GOP looks strong in the South, the true weakness is everywhere else in America.
The GOP started out tolerating, then supporting and finally taking marching orders from Christian Conservatives and Creationists driving out all the Socially Moderate/Liberal/Fiscally Conservative out of the party.
The GOP has to decide if they want to be the party of small government, individual liberty and pro-business or if they want to be the party of busybodies.
I will be helping purge them come November.
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE
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