Is the Republican Party Finished?

The American Thinker ^ | December 29, 2010 | Michael Filozof

[Scanian]

The lame-duck session of the 111th Congress proved one thing beyond a doubt: the Republican Party does not represent the interests of conservatives. Despite the midterm election tidal wave, in which the Republican Party gained 63 House seats (eclipsing its historic1994 success against Clinton), congressional Republicans failed to leverage their victory into political clout and collapsed like a house of cards in the lame-duck session.

The last two weeks ought to have sickened conservatives. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell spectacularly failed to hold his caucus together to even delay ratification of the START treaty until the 112th Congress is seated in January. Republican leftists Olympia Snowe and Lisa Murkowski sided with Democrats to end the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, forcing the gay agenda from the streets of San Francisco right into the U.S. Marine Corps. Congressional Republicans agreed to cut FICA taxes for Social Security (which is underfunded already) and expand the Democratic Party's welfare state constituency by extending unemployment benefits -- in exchange for maintaining current tax rates for a paltry two years. The deal will add billions to the deficit. Tea Party darling Scott Brown, mocked by Obama for driving a truck in his insurgent 2009 campaign in which he stole "Ted Kennedy's seat" from the Democrats, voted for Obama's agenda on all of these issues.

Give the Democratic devils their due. They are astute students of Machiavelli.

[bert]

——old stalwarts like Snowe and Collins, and the relatively new Brown. -—

They are not the problem. The people from Maine and Massachusetts are the problem. Those noted are but visible symbols of the real problem.

[central_va]

RICHMOND, Va—The leader of Virginia’s Tea Party organization has officially declared her candidacy for U.S. Senate.

Tea Party Patriots Federation chairwoman Jamie Radtke has filed papers to run for the Senate as a Republican in 2012. Radtke said she was prompted to join the race due to concerns about the ballooning national debt. Former senator George Allen, also a Republican, is expected to announce plans that he will also run for the seat held by Democrat Jim Webb, who has not said whether he’ll seek reelection.

(Copyright 2010 by 630 WMAL News. All Rights Reserved.)

[ClearCase_guy]

I live in MA and I recognize that my neighbors are the problem.

But you cannot elect new people. We have the voters we have and complaining about it doesn't help. If the RNC wants to make some changes, they should cut off support from apostate Republicans and vigorously support primary challengers. The RNC does no such thing.

The establishment looks out for its own, and people like Brown, Snowe, Collins, and others receive lots of official support, which enables them to continue in their ways.

I would like to elect a new batch of voters, but that's impossible. So, I criticize the system that allows Leftists to run as Republicans.

[muawiyah]

Collins and Snowe are brain dead ~ they simply don't look at results in OTHER STATES and respond.

You find that with lots of folks from Maine ~ they don't know the United States exists so they don't care.

[IamConservative]

The lame duck was just the continuation of the politics that brought us Obamacare. What I am watching closely:

1) Will the Senate reliably filibuster Harry’s socialist BS now that we have a buffer of 8? Are there more than 8 RINO’s left that don’t get it?

2) Is Boehner a conservative or a Republican? Does he have the spine to take the battle to the liberals? Does he understand doing nothing is better than compromising? Take the mandate and drive them back on their heals. Shut government down if he has to.

If he takes a path of compromise, I fear the tide will turn against the Tea Party for 2012.

[Big E]

“They are not the problem. The people from Maine and Massachusetts are the problem.”

I agree. It’s reality that in the blue States, things like the DADT repeal and abortion are more popular than the red States. However, there’s no excuse for RINOs from red States. We have to hope we get good conservative primary challengers. Lugar from Indiana? Hopefully, Mike Pence will run against him. Corker from Tennessee? Hutchinson from Texas? Hatch from Utah? All of them should be primaried hard in 2012. We just have to hope some good conservative statesmen step up and do it.

[muawiyah]

We expect Freepers to be smarter than that.

I think it's time to check their bonafides ~

[bert]

.....Radtke said she was prompted to join the race due to concerns about the ballooning national debt....

More likely she is afflicted with being on TV and in the papers. She likes it

[Roccus]

Thanks for the background, but my question still stands unanswered;

How did this person become Chairman? Was there a vote? If so, who voted? Was it an appointment? If so, who did the appointing? Or was the position merely assumed by this individual?

Not trying to be a wise @$$, but I do not take kindly to "leaders" who just appear.... with no bona fides......like Zer0.

[April Lexington]

2011 brings the usual realignment in local precinct and caucus and club leadership. We are poised to smash the local RINOs out of power at take complete control of our local unit. This is happening all over our state. By the time the 2012 festivities begin, our state will be predominantly Tea Party folk who will ASSURE quality candidates for the next election. If you are not active at the local level... get active or quit whining. The battle is moving from the keyboard to the local party level. BE in it or... shutest thou thine mouth...

[Georgia Girl 2]

“The people doing the kvetching are Mitbots and Democrat disruptors. Don’t listen to them.”

I don’t think its kvetching when 12 RINO’s including our own illustrious Johnny Isakson vote with the Dims on START.

What it is is a damn shame.

[John Galt's cousin]

“I’ve been voting straight Republican (aside from a couple of Libertarian votes long ago) since 1978. But the Republican establishment lost me in 2010.”

I am in the same position. I blame McCain and his anemic campaign for Obammy. McCain should have done (and published) the opposition research. He should have taken the fight to obammy and make his lack of experience, and hidden background a daily talking point.

Instead he wanted to be seen as a “gentleman” of some sort and did not expose Obama and the ultra leftist swing of the Demo party.

It make me sick.

[LibLieSlayer]

Bingo!!!

LLS

[Redleg Duke]

To tar the entire Republican Party with the same brush that should be applied to the Socialist Sisters of Maine, the Sore Primary Loser of Alaska, and the other few RINOs is the action of the usual gang of "Principled Conservatives" so totally invested in and counting on failure.

They should really form their own, separate party, and may I suggest their symbol be the Donkey from Winnie the Pooh, "Eeyore".

[muawiyah]

Give 'em a call. But it wouldn't matter given the spread the Democrats have in the Senate. Come Next Monday morning they no longer have that spread.

Now, regarding who is or isn't a RINO, did you mean "mind numbed, robot-like, knee-jerk Leftwingtards" or people who'd previously run for or won office as Democrats but switched to the Republican party?

Why I ask is that since Ronaldus Magnus we haven't had all that many Democrats switch parties ~ and, in fact, they claim GROWTH IN NUMBERS (if not in intellect).

They did have an overwhelming majority in the House didn't they? And in the Senate? Why should they be switching horses ~ doesn't make sense.

I suggest you return to the correct usage when referring to Leftwingtards which can be Leftwingtard, but also "Liberal" spoken with a sneer and saliva dripping down your chin (my favorite way BTW), "Puke" ~ an old FR standby that's so informative, or Commie POS, or any of the other more colorful, and still accurate, terms referring to people whose philosophy is inconsistent with mine if not yours.

Actually, by now, some of you should have figured out I don't think you are Conservative enough, and that rests primarily on your misuse of classical Republican terms. At least Conservatives should have a command of the terminology, and even if you are not yet comfortable voting as Republicans instead of hard-core, knee-jerk, robot-like, mind-numbed Democrats, least you can do is let us discuss Republican internal party politics using Republican terms.

The bad old days voting Democrat are behind you ~ don't bring their nasty habits with you. Stick with the program and we'll continue to win. Most of those pukes you target as RINOs are just Rockefeller Republicans or old Nixon supporters ~ yet, we have a Republican Senator from Alabama who is a REAL RINO and he's more Conservative than most Freepers.

Also, don't use a single issue alone to decide whether or not you've got a "leftie" in the saddle. Sometimes there's a piece of pork in the fire ~ like Tennessee. Corker and Alexander were lying awake in bed dreaming of some multibillion dollar upgrades at the Red Stone nuclear facilities. Rest assured there are some other Senators dreaming of a brand new replacement for those facilities being built in their own states (behind mountain ranges and out of sight of course).

They liked START for the pork. Since they're getting senile in their old age they forgot they're supposed to be concerned with national interests as well.

That didn't turn them into "liberals", just made 'em stupid and unpatriotic. Encourage them to resign before they hurt somebody.

[dirtboy]

The establishment looks out for its own, and people like Brown, Snowe, Collins, and others receive lots of official support, which enables them to continue in their ways.

I'm not understanding why folks think Brown betrayed them. It was clear all along that Brown was a moderate pubbie - but in MA, that was a major improvement over the Dem (and it was a harbinger of November 2010 that the GOP was able to take Ted the Swimmer's old seat). So in Brown's election, the establishment was gunning to win a new seat, not protecting an incumbent RINO from a Tea Party challenge.

I'm all in favor of trying to primary Brown and the Maine twins the next time around. But it's absurd to pretend that Brown sold himself as something that he is not now.

[muawiyah]

Again, apparently someone thinks the RNC (Republican National Committee) should get into the business of picking candidates.

I thought we gave that up when we finally had active Republican parties in the Southern states ~

Wasn't that about the time Ronaldus Magnus ran for President?

The RNC supports candidates in the general election ~ and usually through the Senatorial and House campaign committees. The State Republican Committees run everything else ~ except the County organizations.

The theory is that the Republican party is built from the ground up by independent representative bodies that reflect Republican principles and who support Republican candidates. It's the Democrats who are operated from the top down ~ the DNC chairman has much more authority than the RNC chairman. The DNC National Committee is also much more authoritarian, and by the time you get to local Democrat committees you find a stark reality ~ Democrat factions actually run the party with Chairmen always teachers, or union thugs, or criminal lawyers, or etc. holding the reigns. Sometimes it's the Daley machine that runs stuff.

Whatever you guys learned about party politics when you were Democrats just forget it when it comes to the Republicans. They are organized differently, are actually Republican in form and structure and adhere to the of representational democracy. Republicans don't have dictators ~ and if they do somewhere, bust their chops ~ that's the Republican way.

[Georgia Girl 2]

“Give ‘em a call. But it wouldn’t matter given the spread the Democrats have in the Senate. Come Next Monday morning they no longer have that spread.”

Dude!!! Treaty ratification takes 67 votes. The vote was 71-26 on START. 71 minus 12 equals 59. I’d say that matters some.

[bert]

Au contraire mi amigo.....

My point was that the bad guys with the Republican labels were selected and elected by the people of the states. The people have what they want. The wrath of America should be directed against those misguided souls.

The RNC is not a consideration in my thoughts. the RNC is merely a group that once was worthy of receiving my contributions but is obsolete since the advent of online direct contributions.

[pt17]

This is really quite simple. As a group, the GOP does not represent me as a conservative so I do not support them. That they lifted up the Obama train wreck and put it back on the track tells you just about all you need to know. That is, (1) they are incredibly stupid, (2) they are simply fellow liberals and socialists, (3) they are corrupt and/or (4) some combination of all of these.