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Are True Conservatives A Minority In America?
Political Realities ^ | 12/13/13 | LD Jackson

Posted on 12/13/2013 3:37:52 AM PST by LD Jackson

The American ConservativeIn 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.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 2014; conservatives; paleolibs; putinsbuttboys; randsconcerntrolls; strawman
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To: ROCKLOBSTER
"Because the numbers matter, and control of the committees and floor give those conservatives, that are in place, a fighting chance to win policy battles."

I haven't seen that. The Republicans held both branches of congress and the Presidency for six years last decade and I don't recall winning any "policy battles". They played the Dem game as much then as they do now. Reelections and good press is all anyone from either party care about. And they will spend as much public to buy votes as it takes to get the job done. A plague on both their houses.

61 posted on 12/13/2013 6:06:39 AM PST by circlecity
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To: JRandomFreeper
A bill introduced by a socialist

Amash is a socialist??

I think it's time to back away slowly and take a deep breath.

62 posted on 12/13/2013 6:21:07 AM PST by kobald
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To: LD Jackson

Mark Levin finally realized this week what many of us have already known. The GOP will never step up and do what is necessary to save this country. We will end up in a terrible economic crash. Perhaps then things will change.


63 posted on 12/13/2013 6:24:26 AM PST by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped.)
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To: AlexW
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.

I agree. All his (many) flaws aside, Romney's "47%" comment was dead on. Half of the country (at least) consists of dedicated statists. Of those who aren't, how many could be described as "truly" conservative? Half, at best?

64 posted on 12/13/2013 6:32:26 AM PST by Kip Russell (Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors -- and miss. ---Robert A. Heinlein)
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To: angcat

I guess what I meant was how the run their business and finances. A vast majority of conservatives (not to mention Americans) are reprobates when it comes to morals and such.


65 posted on 12/13/2013 6:33:02 AM PST by demshateGod (The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.)
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To: LD Jackson

Yes.

Now I’ll read the article.


66 posted on 12/13/2013 6:34:49 AM PST by NeoCaveman (DC, it's Versailles on the Potomac but without the food and culture)
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To: LD Jackson

It’s important to remember that “conservative” is an umbrella term, and covers “conservative” ideas that are almost mutually exclusive, so if you support one, you cannot support another.

So to achieve the overall concept of conservative, you have to fall back to its deeper meanings, not just the narrow focus of the different “flavors” of conservative.

To start with, the different definitions of conservative. Note, there is some overlap.

1) Status Quo conservatives. These are conservatives who are willing to accept whatever the situation is right now. They do not want dramatic change in any direction, only slow, gradual change. They have no particular agenda other than stability and constancy.

2) Social/Religious conservatives. They stand opposed to government sponsorship of negative and destructive social policies, and want to end them. They want significant change away from them as soon as possible.

3) Business conservatives. Best typified by Calvin Coolidge, who said “The chief business of the American people is business.” However, many of these type conservatives have somewhat lost their way, by being attracted to internationalism. This confuses corporate profits with national economic good, which are not the same thing. Corporations can make great profits by outsourcing, for example, but this hurts us as a nation. In this way, also, they find much in common with internationalist socialists. Again, not a good thing.

4) Libertarian conservatives. Not Libertarians, as such, they reject direct federal government involvement in their lives. They want to stop being pestered by government, to being forced to involve themselves with government. To have to watch the government being in the news every single time they watch it. They want government to shut up and govern, not act like a small child throwing a tantrum because it demands constant attention.

5) Military/Police/Intelligence conservatives. They support the “Pax Americana”, world policeman role; envision the 100+ federal police agencies as not enough domestic security; and also embrace the complete surveillance state, because privacy promulgates criminality. George W. Bush is the perfect example of this. It has gone to its logical extremes, and is egregiously expensive while producing minimal return. Likewise, what it built with good intentions is instantly corrupted by Democrats who have none.

6) Constitutional originalist conservatives. They seek to erase over a hundred years of progressivism, as being necessary for the survival of the nation. A small bloc of conservatives, they imagine the long term agenda of conservatism.

7) Other conservatives. There are many other forms of conservatism, some of which are just a rejection of socialist-liberalism and fascism, internationalism and open borders, etc.


67 posted on 12/13/2013 6:47:25 AM PST by yefragetuwrabrumuy (Last Obamacare Promise: "If You Like Your Eternal Soul, You Can Keep It.")
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To: AlexW

You just keep stepping in it.

The “we” is that “small group of sad kids” (wow, you certainly know how to turn a phrase!), who have commented on the subject.

Again, you leave yourself open. If you had enough money to retire, why did you go out and blow it on “visiting the world.” Hardly what I would call planning.

BTW, I’m not “slaving away.” I have been retired for some time now and enjoy my 4,000 sq. ft. house with 25 acres of woodlands and a large pond and another house with 15 acres in another state. Not your tropical paradise but it’ll do.

Anyway, you’ve made your bed. Just stop telling the rest of us in America how superior your lifestyle is in The Philippines.


68 posted on 12/13/2013 7:04:53 AM PST by OldPossum ("It's" is the contraction of "it" and "is"; think about ITS implications.)
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To: kobald
Amash is a Paultard. Conyers is a socialist.

/johnny

69 posted on 12/13/2013 7:13:58 AM PST by JRandomFreeper (Gone Galt)
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To: JRandomFreeper

Why is it that they’re the ones trying to uphold the Constitution, while the GOP Establishment wipes their arses with it?


70 posted on 12/13/2013 7:24:00 AM PST by kobald
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To: Biggirl

I despise that quote and call it BS. It might be true for some but I looked liberal but by no means was I. I had a heart and because of it I was never a liberal. If one is twenty or younger and a conservative then one is somehow a heartless and nasty person. Total BS. I don’t mean to be overly literal but this one has always irked me.


71 posted on 12/13/2013 7:46:27 AM PST by Sheapdog (Chew the meat, spit out the bones - FUBO - Come and get me)
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To: snoringbear
We still have quite a few here who participate in what I call "Free Republic Dancing with the Stars" featuring:

the “Cutting Waste and Fraud Will Solve The Problem Two-Step”

the “Get Rid of Every Government Program Except The One That Benefits ME Tango”

the “Tax The Snot Out Of My Grandkids, But Keep My Check Coming Waltz”

the "But I Paid In, and They Promised Me! Cha-Cha-Cha"

and that evergreen favorite, the “Kick The Can Down The Alley Until After I’m Dead Fox Trot"!

And that's here on this hard core conservative forum. So among the public at large, yes, conservatives are a minority, and not a particularly large one.

72 posted on 12/13/2013 8:59:33 AM PST by Notary Sojac (Mi tio es enfermo, pero la carretera es verde!)
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To: LD Jackson

Talk to 5 different people self identifying as conservative and I’d guess you’d get 5 different definitions of what it is to be a “true” conservative.

Lots of overlap, of course, but getting to the nitty gritty, different.


73 posted on 12/13/2013 9:06:09 AM PST by dmz
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To: demshateGod

“They” are part of the problem, not part of the solution. O would not be selfie if they had bothered.


74 posted on 12/13/2013 9:07:04 AM PST by HChampagne
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To: HChampagne

4 million stayed home because they had no choice in the election they don’t vote for liberals and Romney was a liberal. The GOPe is about to get another dose of principle when even more of their base sits out the 14 and 16 elections because of their never ending deluge of liberal, Me Too just a little cheaper..., candidates they trot out and expect conservatives to vote for.

The fifth column is alive and well in the GOP and they are all in positions of power to sabotage or stop any conservative action.


75 posted on 12/13/2013 11:33:12 AM PST by sarge83
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To: circlecity
The Republicans held both branches of congress and the Presidency for six years last decade

Maybe so, but that was basically GOPe...there was no TEAparty yet.

Now, there is an opportunity to elect more TEApublicans, replace some RINOs and do what I said.

Of course if the LIV conservatives stupidly stay home again...Fogedaboudit.

76 posted on 12/13/2013 4:54:02 PM PST by ROCKLOBSTER (Celebrate "Republicans Freed the Slaves" Month.)
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