Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

In GOP base, a 'rebellion brewing'
The Politico ^

Posted on 04/26/2009 6:03:07 AM PDT by Sub-Driver

In GOP base, a 'rebellion brewing' By: Ben Smith and Jonathan Martin April 26, 2009 07:03 AM EST

A quick tour through the week’s headlines suggests the Republican Party is beginning to come to terms with the last election and that consensus is emerging among GOP elites that the party needs to move away from discordant social issues.

There was Sen. John McCain's daughter and his campaign manager who last week demanded that their fellow Republicans embrace same-sex marriage. Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman – the most devoted modernizer among the party's 2012 hopefuls – won approving words from New York Times columnist Frank Rich for his call to downplay divisive values issues. The party’s top elected leaders in Congress, meanwhile, spooked by being attacked as the “party of no,” were recasting themselves as a constructive, respectful opposition to a popular president.

But outside Washington, the reality is very different. Rank-and-file Republicans remain, by all indications, staunchly conservative, and they appear to have no desire to moderate their views. GOP activists and operatives say they hear intense anger at the White House and at the party’s own leaders on familiar issues – taxes, homosexuality, and immigration. Within the party, conservative groups have grown stronger absent the emergence of any organized moderate faction.

(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...


TOPICS: Front Page News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 111th; 2012gopprimary; amnesty; bho44; conservativevote; gop; homosexualagenda; huntsman; illegalimigration; moralabsolutes; pervertedmarriage; rinoalert; rinopartyrino; rinos; teaparty; yankeerebisatroll
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 61-8081-100101-120 ... 141-153 next last
To: Unam Sanctam
The elites are getting just the wrong message from the past election....

You err, friend. You imagine they care about messages. They don't.

81 posted on 04/26/2009 2:54:12 PM PDT by lentulusgracchus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Extremely Extreme Extremist
I smell desperation from the Politico.

You smell more than that from them. You should have listened as their swinish talking-head ripped up Sarah Palin after her debate. I've got five bucks says the guy was (is) homosexual. The fiercest Bush-bashers usually were. One guy on FR did a lot of Googling on the names of rabid Bush bashers a few years ago and bracketed the names with "gay" in his search. He found tons of references to their being actually gay. Mystery solved.

82 posted on 04/26/2009 3:05:58 PM PDT by lentulusgracchus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: Maelstorm
We dig up those small bones in horror while today we accept as normal the on going horror of today.

A docent who once led a museum tour of a celebrated exhibition from ancient Carthage showed us some of the remains from the Tophet, the place where the child-immolations occurred and the children's bones were buried after they'd been sacrificed to Melqart. She said that the little public area they had come from, on the Byrsa near the temple complex, was "the saddest place on earth."

Wonder if she got it?

83 posted on 04/26/2009 3:15:55 PM PDT by lentulusgracchus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 60 | View Replies]

To: Sub-Driver

The GOP is doomed unless it expels the RINOs that have crippled it.


84 posted on 04/26/2009 3:18:45 PM PDT by kaehurowing
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Sub-Driver

the mccains sux. sic.


85 posted on 04/26/2009 3:25:22 PM PDT by ken21 (the only thing we have to fear is fdr deja vu.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BlackElk
Fiscal tightwadism is an acceptable part of a broader coalition but not in the absence of a far more essential dedication to innocent human life, marriage, morality, a militant military policy, etc.

Goldwater's exculpation and defense of his homosexual relatives didn't occur until later. If they'd been gay before he ran for President, Lyndon Johnson would have made sure that every deacon and tent-preacher in America knew about it -- he once told John Connally and the rest of his staff (as Robert Caro tells us) to circulate the rumor that senatorial primary campaign opponent "Coke" Stevenson was a pedophile. Big John bridled, "Lyndon, you know that isn't true!" "I know," replied Lyndon, getting a hateful, cynical-clever look on his ugly face, "I just want to hear him say it."

LBJ would have advertised Goldwater's relatives to the four corners of the earth. Goldwater, on the other hand, when LBJ aide Walter Jenkins was caught cruising in a D.C. men's room, wouldn't touch it. He took the high road and passed up a good opportunity to perforate LBJ's holier-than-thou, above-the-battle posture.

Social conservatives, btw, trace their involvement with the GOP back to a speech Goldwater made in May, 1964, during the primary campaign about what is called today the "family values" cluster.

So Goldwater was indeed a libertarian, as you say, but he also had a socially-conservative message that was at odds with what the selective "economic conservative" RiNO"s of today propagate as "the message" of the GOP.

86 posted on 04/26/2009 3:28:04 PM PDT by lentulusgracchus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 78 | View Replies]

To: wardaddy

Moral issues are taught in the home and church and are not the domain of government or to be concerned with by politicians.

The ONLY issues we have that we need to address is runaway socialism, government spending, immigration and protecting the country.

Leave what belongs to God to God.

John


87 posted on 04/26/2009 3:29:50 PM PDT by Diggity
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 72 | View Replies]

To: Diggity

poor argument..we legislate all sorts of behavior, we have to

all civilizations have

otherwise it would be pandemonium

why have laws then?, let the church teach folks not to steal or murder...shucks that will stop it

*non- Randian ...obviously right?


88 posted on 04/26/2009 3:32:12 PM PDT by wardaddy (You will not destroy our country without a fight replete with horror your naive ass cannot imagine)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 87 | View Replies]

To: wardaddy

Looks like some Republicans would rather tell someone how to run their life then protect the constitution.

Enjoy Obama. He will be just the first to come if its not stopped begining in 2010.

John


89 posted on 04/26/2009 3:45:27 PM PDT by Diggity
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 88 | View Replies]

To: Sub-Driver

BTTT!


90 posted on 04/26/2009 3:51:55 PM PDT by neverdem (Xin loi minh oi)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: TMA62

Within the party, conservative groups have grown stronger absent the emergence of any organized moderate faction.”

This is a good sign, and indicative of rallying the base in the way Reagan did. Who will step up nationally to do so? 2010 comes first however.


91 posted on 04/26/2009 4:01:01 PM PDT by SeattleBruce (God, Family, Country and the Tea Party! Take American Back!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: silverleaf

“Just imagine what we could do if we had a leader”

Yes, we need leadership, but I do like what people were talking about at the Deleware state level races, in terms of developing new political blood through pro baseball’s farm teams concept. We need to build the conservative movement state by state. True leaders will emerge from this just like stars emerge in baseball. We can’t just sit back and wish and hope and pray that someone will lead us out of the wilderness. I know all of us are doing what we can locally. In my view, that is the long term battleground - and yet we all face the near term battles of 2010 and 2012 also.


92 posted on 04/26/2009 4:05:10 PM PDT by SeattleBruce (God, Family, Country and the Tea Party! Take American Back!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies]

To: Diggity
Moral issues are taught in the home and church and are not the domain of government or to be concerned with by politicians.

Tell it to the Democrat commies who have been legislating morality for 40 years....and all the while educating and idocrinating your children in the communist/Marxist/socialist ideology.

Rightwing patriots had better not stand down...moderates had their chance, and their weak tone and attitude have given us our first anti-American President.
93 posted on 04/26/2009 4:07:45 PM PDT by roses of sharon (Pray Hussein fails!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 87 | View Replies]

To: Sub-Driver; SmithL; fieldmarshaldj; AuH2ORepublican; Norman Bates; Impy; ExTexasRedhead; ...

A rebellion? I would hope so.


94 posted on 04/26/2009 4:09:05 PM PDT by Clintonfatigued (Being condemned for corruption by Mexico is like being lectured on morals by the adult film industry)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Sub-Driver
From 1992 to 2005, my family probably contributed in excess of $10k to the Republican Party and various Republican candidates.

Since 2006 I have not given a dime to the GOP in any fashion, either thru the RNC or contributions to any republican candidates. But I am still on all the mailing lists and always return any postage paid envelopes empty.

The GOP and the Republican party are dead to me. Worthless, useless, gutless, having no discernable principles, and no spine to stand for any even if they did.

If Conservatives reassert themselves and take control, and the McCain/Specter/Snowe disease is purged from the party, then I may reconsider.

95 posted on 04/26/2009 4:21:22 PM PDT by spodefly (This is my tag line. There are many like it, but this one is mine.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Sub-Driver
...absent the emergence of any organized moderate faction.

WTF?!

Who do they think is RUNNING the party?

96 posted on 04/26/2009 4:25:31 PM PDT by papertyger (Journatizing made free speech an assault weapon.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: YankeeReb

Read the rest of the article.


97 posted on 04/26/2009 4:32:54 PM PDT by Conservativegreatgrandma (When the righteous rule, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule the people mourn. Proverbs 29;2)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: STONEWALLS

Again, read the rest of the article.


98 posted on 04/26/2009 4:33:31 PM PDT by Conservativegreatgrandma (When the righteous rule, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule the people mourn. Proverbs 29;2)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: SampleMan

READ THE ARTICLE!!!!


99 posted on 04/26/2009 4:34:35 PM PDT by Conservativegreatgrandma (When the righteous rule, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule the people mourn. Proverbs 29;2)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

To: MuttTheHoople
...HATE the 1994 Congress, and LOVE Nelson Rockefeller, Gerald ford and Bob Michel.

There was a very good reason Newt was able to toss Bob Michael out on his ear, and a very bad reason Bob liked things just the way they were...how did Newt forget that?

100 posted on 04/26/2009 4:34:36 PM PDT by papertyger (Journatizing made free speech an assault weapon.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 61-8081-100101-120 ... 141-153 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson