Are True Conservatives A Minority In America?

Political Realities ^ | 12/13/13 | LD Jackson

[LD Jackson]

In the past few days, much has been written and said about the budget deal worked out between Paul Ryan and Patty Murray. That budget deal passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 332-94. The vote came after a fairly harsh push-back against outside conservative groups like Heritage Action, Club for Growth, Americans for Prosperity, and Freedom Works. Speaker John Boehner made his displeasure for these groups plain for all to see and hear, saying they had lost all credibility, that he didn't care what they did.  Clearly, he is tired of the thorn in his flesh and is pushing back against the groups that he perceives have made his life as Speaker more than a little tough.

This brings me to the subject of this post. Conservatives in America seem to be losing the battle they have fought, not only with liberals, but with the more moderate wing of the Republican Party. I know everyone has different priorities concerning what they would like to see accomplished, but it seems that conservatives are being pushed to the side, in favor of more moderate policies. That's how it looks to me, at any rate.

I believe the spine we are seeing John Boehner display is a direct result of what happened with the most recent government shutdown. Clearly, conservatives lost that fight in a landslide and Boehner must feel they damaged the GOP brand in the process. I would contend that brand was smashed long ago, but that's how he must perceive what happened. He is now fighting back against what he sees as a portion of his party that needs to be reined in. Here is portion of what has gone on in Washington, both in public and behind the scenes.

Real Clear Politics - But Boehner won’t be taking any pointers from Heritage or the others. “I don’t care what they do,” he said Thursday.

“You know, they pushed us into this fight to defund Obamacare and shut down the government,” Boehner told reporters. “It wasn’t exactly the strategy I had in mind. But if you recall, the day before the government re-opened, one of the people at one of these groups stood up and said, ‘Well, we never really thought it would work.’ Are you kidding me?”

Also this week, a Gallup poll found just 30 percent of Americans view the Tea Party movement favorably -- a new low -- while 51 percent dislike it.

Last December, Boehner failed to cajole his conference around a “Plan B” proposal to avoid the fiscal cliff, and took heat for bringing up a bill that failed to extend the Bush tax cuts for high earners and needed Democratic help for passage. The speaker felt similar tension when trying to pass legislation for hurricane relief and a Farm Bill that included food stamp funding.

He had pledged to avoid a shutdown this past fall, but allowed his members to follow a strategy heralded by Heritage and its ilk, shutting down the government if the short-term budget included Obamacare funding.

Quickly, GOP approval numbers went from bad to worse.

But interestingly, Boehner’s standing among his members, even some of those who had been most critical of him in the past, rose. Many House Republicans saw their leader as fighting for them until the very end, and talk of taking him down subsided. They then shifted their sights to a timely political opportunity: the troubled rollout of the health care law.

While budget issues have been especially problematic for this Congress, GOP leaders hoped to put it behind them, avoid another shutdown that could damage their approval ratings further, and focus on the Affordable Care Act heading into the midterm year. So when the outside groups spoke out against the Ryan-Murray budget agreement before details were released, Boehner headed to his weekly conference meeting “with a full head of steam,” in the words of one GOP aide. There was a feeling of “we let you guys try it and you drove the car right into a cliff,” the aide said.

This week, some members appear to have gotten an education about the limits of GOP power in Washington, given divided government. Some members who blasted the deal were also mindful of Paul Ryan’s task.

For his part, the Budget Committee chairman also had a stern message for critics on the right. “To really do what we think needs to be done, we are going to have to win some elections,” he said on the House floor before the vote.

Where do conservatives stand from here? Paul Ryan has an obvious point with his warning to the conservatives of his party. If we expect to accomplish anything of substance in Washington, we are going to have to win some elections. I expect to see the House leadership working towards that goal in the mid-term elections next year. Where the real tale will be told is in 2015.

For the moment, let us accept the fact that winning elections is more important. Long-term goals vs. short-term goals. Let us assume the Republicans go into 2015 with a majority of the Senate and the House of Representatives. What comes after that? Will John Boehner still push conservatives into a dark corner and warn them to not come out and play? Or will he use his newly won majority to push for real conservative reforms of our fiscal process? To that point, are there enough true conservatives in America to force that to happen? Or are we a minority who will have to be satisfied with the little tidbits we are thrown from time to time?

I fully understand the point behind this budget deal. I realize we are in a position of limited power and can only accomplish so much. That was never more on display than it was during the fight to defund ObamaCare. I am pragmatic enough to realize how that strategy failed and how we have to look forward to the 2014 elections and beyond. At the same time, I find myself wanting to make sure the Republican Party does not give away their entire soul and body, just for the chance to regain it in 2014.

[HChampagne]

The question is moot since conservatives don’t bother to vote. 4 million stayed home in Nov. 2012.

[AlexW]

“Have you ever heard of the saying, “if at age 20 you are a CONSERVATIVE, you have NO HEART, if at age 40 you are a LIBERAL, you have NO BRAIN?”
_______________________________________________
Dear, I have known that phrase for many years.
The sad thing is that there is no longer a Churchill or a Ronald Reagan.

[Venturer]

The way the Republican party appears to be standing now I don’t want anything to do with them.

Come election time I will pick and choose. I will vote Republican only if that Republican is Conservative, Other than that they can KMA./

[OldPossum]

I now live in a totally new life on the other side of the world, and at age 69 I am as happy as a clam.

A perfect example of what I have telling you: you seem to want to come on to FR and proclaim how much superior your lifestyle is now that you live in the Philippines and away from that evil USA.

The question is: why are you even here if all the politics being discussed don't even affect you?

[ilgipper]

conservatives are a plurality in America, but not a majority. The fact is, most people are un-engaged enough to fall for whatever emotional ploy is made during a political campaign. As others said, people are conservative in principle but will fight to the mat for whatever program they receive benefit. That can be SS, Medicare, subsidies, tax breaks, etc.

As said recently in the right-wing media, what is going on in DC is more of a soap opera or reality show...completely un-reflective of real life or the problems we face as a nation. Most are not engaged to get past that aspect.

[sergeantdave]

If you think conservatives are a minority, then you better explain how conservatives and Republicans control 28 states while liberals control 11 states.

There are two political battlefields: the states and Washington DC.

[Biggirl]

I am more correct than you think. I have two friends who used to be very liberal and they have gotten more conservative as they aged.

[Biggirl]

Plus you sure sound like a pessimist.

[Biggirl]

Keep a close eye on 2014, we could very well see a replay of 2010 here. :)

[AlexW]

“The question is: why are you even here if all the politics being discussed don’t even affect you?”
___________________________________________________
Because I am am an American going back to my great great great uncle, Uncle Sam, Troy, NY, war of 1812, and I have been a FReeper longer then you.
The fact that I am enjoying a new life in my retirement has nothing to do with love of country, but it IS far superior to what I would have back there, as there is no way that I could live there on my small social security.
Feel free to join the “dog in a manger club” They are a small group of sad kids that hate my guts because I am not there to share their pain in the Obamination.

[PubliusMM]

The simple answer is “Yes”. The underlying reasons are manifold and not quite so simple; ranging from single issue voters, to low/no information voters, and a federally corrupted public education system that teaches accommodation to extremes rather than true basic, functional knowledge and accurate history.

[Biggirl]

Thanks to “Obamacare” people are NOW waking up and smelling the coffee for a change.

[AlexW]

“Plus you sure sound like a pessimist.”
_________________________________________________
No, I am a realist. America will not recover in MY lifetime.
I do, however, pray that it will in yours, but prepare for very hard times.

[Phlap]

In the end there is right and wrong and all those gray areas are BS but via Group Speak and PCness too many people have come to accept it.

[demshateGod]

A vast majority of people are conservative in their personal lives.

[demshateGod]

He’s right. DC is the enemy of The People. A conservative working for DC, thinking they’re going to change something, is like a Jew working in Berlin, circa 1940.

[Pietro]

“To really do what we think needs to be done, we are going to have to win some elections,”

Why should we re-elect spineless republicans that fold and roll over ALL THE TIME!?!?

F!@K Boehner

F!@K McConnell

They're dead and useless.

I used to have respect for Ryan, but he should've gotten a much better deal than he did. The dhimmis are weakened because of the disaster they brought on themselves. And he let them lift the sequester for what?

A bunch of empty promises!

We're going to have a $700B deficit this year! The dhimis are going to pack the courts so tight we're screwed for a generation.

How dare they lecture us when they've been nothing but miserable failures. If they don't have the stomach for a fight they should get the hell off the stage.

[Colonel_Flagg]

Quickly, GOP approval numbers went from bad to worse.

Republicans now lead the generic congressional ballots by the major poll takers, and eliminating Obamacare was the key reason Democrats -- not conservatives -- shut down the Federal government by their unwillingness to negotiate.

That would not have happened, and the national conversation would not have shifted to eliminating Obamacare, were it not for the principled stand of the conservative wing of the Republican Party.

Care to try again?

[AlexW]

“people are NOW waking up and smelling the coffee for a change.”
_______________________________
Yes, but the coffee has already been brewed and being served.
You need to think outside the box. Being a devoted FReeper is great, but we are a very small minority in the scheme of Obumbo’s USSA.
Reality has very hard knocks.

[MrB]

I’m betting that all the issue positions of the “Tea Party” would poll favorably,

but then when mentioned by name, the Tea Party itself polls unfavorably.

There’s only one reason for that - propaganda.

MSM - when/if the SHTF, you’re gonna be decorating the most lampposts.