Posted on 10/22/2014 2:21:52 AM PDT by servo1969
The Republican Party simply doesn't get it.
A new poll this week shows 2012 presidential nominee and 2008 primary candidate Mitt Romney leading the field of potential 2016 Republican candidates. According to ABC News/Washington Post, 21 percent of Republican voters would vote for Romney in the primaries; Jeb Bush and Mike Huckabee tie at 10 percent, followed by Rand Paul, Chris Christie and Paul Ryan. Altogether, some 44 percent of Republican primary voters want an "establishment" candidate -- by which we mean a candidate for whom social issues are secondary, immigration reform is primary and economics dominates.
The establishment donors on the coasts see this poll and believe that a consolidated funding effort mobilized behind the Chosen One (Romney, Bush, Christie or Ryan) could avoid a messy primary and keep the powder dry for a 2016 showdown with Hillary.
The conservative base knows this, and they groan.
That's because the conservative base understands that what motivates them is not the marginal tax rate -- nobody in the country knows, offhand, his or her effective tax rate -- but values. And none of the top priorities for Republican donors match the fire-in-the-belly issues that motivate the folks who knock on doors, phone bank and provide the under-$50 donations that could power a Republican to victory.
The divide between the establishment and the base represents a divide between the wallet and the working man, the penthouse and the pews, the Ivy Leagues and the homeschools. Which is why Republican leadership quietly assures its top donors that should Republicans win the Senate, their first legislative push will encompass corporate tax reform and immigration reform. They will not push primarily for border security, or for protection of religious freedom, or for repeal of Common Core. They will not use their opportunity to govern as an opportunity to draw contrast between conservatism and leftism. Instead, they will seek "common ground" in a vain attempt to show the American people that efficiency deserves re-election.
And the American people will go to sleep, conservatives will vomit in their mouths, and leftists will demonize Republicans all the same.
Conservatives understand that politics simply reflect underlying values. That's why they are passionate. They don't vote their pocketbooks. They vote their guts, and their guts tell them that leftism is immoral on the most basic level.
Republicans, on the other hand, believe that politics are just business by other means. That means that Republicans think Americans, left and right, share the same underlying values. That's a lie, and it's a self-defeating lie at that.
Until Republicans begin to appreciate the moral conflict between right and left, they will dishearten the right and provide easy targets for the left. The nominee won't matter; elections won't matter. And the alienation of the American conservative will deepen and broaden, until, one day, it bursts forth with a renewed fire that consumes the Republican Party whole.
Republicans, advocate for working Americans.
Bring back American jobs.
America won’t succeed or grow, sending jobs to China, and importing 30 billion dollars more from China, than America ships to China, every single month.
Excellent article that really nails it. That’s why, even though I hear predictions of a Republican sweep, it means very little to me. It won’t change much. Christian ministers will still be forced to perform gay so-called marriages, amnesty will still be rammed through in the name of promoting the economy, and the Constitution will continue to be trashed by Democrats and Republicans alike. Mind you, a Republican victory may slow down Obama’s destruction a little, but it’s not going to undo the crap he and the Democrat party have imposed on us for the last 75 years. We have to bypass them all with an Article V convention of the states to discuss Constitutional amendments to undo these things. I agree with Mark Levin on this - it’s the only legal way to address this post-Constitutional government we have now. And it was provided by the Founders just for such an occasion because they were wise men who knew the tendencies of power to corrupt. So all of you “Concon” hysterics please don’t bother - you’re wrong - this is really the only way to get around (short of an armed revolution) the destruction we’ve seen.
some 44 percent of Republican primary voters want an "establishment" candidate
These voters really prefer those candidates. They aren't responding this way because of secret mind-control waves beamed from Karl Rove's attic.
In order to get a conservative candidate on the ballot, a whole lot of those 44% are going to have to be convinced to vote for him/her. Temper tantrums about the "GOP-e" are unlikely to be a successful strategy in this regard.
This would be a good thing for freepers to ponder in depth. People who get all or almost all of their news and discussion at FR are susceptible to the misconception that FR-style conservatism is a much more widely held position among the general public than in fact it really is.
Good post. I like how he threw in some optimism at the end. You know, because everyone should be optimistic. Right?
“until, one day, it bursts forth with a renewed fire that consumes the Republican Party whole.”
Unfortunately, When we see that “elections don’t matter”, that statement will literally be what happens. That’s nothing to be optimistic about.
More reason to have our own party
... And here we have it...
The complete idiocy of the GOPe consultants...
PASSION WINS THE DAY! Passion comes from deep within. It comes from emotion and deeply held beliefs.
People know a fraud when they see one. Mitt and his ilk are FRAUDS! its obvious... that equals ZERO passion. and THAT equals lose every time.
The Iranian, Valerie Jarret will be the next president, but they’ll call her Elizabeth Warren. I know, that’s the stupidest thing anyone has ever said, which, considering America today, is why it will happen.
Yeah, all the “conservatives” on FR were telling me I should support Newt Gingrich. Before that, they were telling me I should support Fred Thompson. That’s the problem. The conservatives don’t know who the conservatives are.
well it’s obvious to me how much the GOP respects your input. Good luck on the plantation.
You were right.
Yup. Pretty much my point.
Now I happen to believe we’re right and they’re wrong, but those who think that all we need is an articulate and charismatic spokesman for conservatism are just dead flat wrong.
The reason, IMO, is that the country has changed. Primarily due to politics being downstream of culture, and conservatives abandoned the fight over the nation’s popular culture to liberals some decades ago.
This is what the late, great Breitbart tried desperately to get conservatives to understand and Mark Steyn just released a new book making this point.
Will and Grace was in the long run infinitely more influential in the debate over homosexuality than any number of referenda on gay marriage. Most people’s attidudes are formed by popular culture (TV, movies, music) more than anything else. The attitudes that people don’t really think about because they take them for granted.
In that case.. those 44% will get tired of losing and either drop out or find their true home in the democrat party.
However, labeling 44% as “Wanting” socialist GOPe as candidates is pretty stinking retarded. This borders on the same tactics liberals in the media use...
Oh wait... The GOPe ARE liberals...the GOPe HAVE used voter fraud to steal an election from a TEA type who was on track to beat the crap out of Thad.
If I knew NOTHING else... THAT primary told me who those F’ers REALLY were.
A good thing for the GOPe to “ponder in depth” is that we ARE coming for you! We WILL own the republican party!
Remember Mississippi!
How’s life under your rock? Perhaps you need to get out more
You are correct! The problem with the so called republican leadership is they allow the democrats and their media allies to define the debate and they’re always reacting to it.You can’t have your position based on “see we’re not bad people like they say we’re for (insert issue)too”!When you start off conceding that your enemy is right and echoing his position then why would the voters elect you? I guess you adopt the Rove strategy of don’t discuss any issues and run ads “I’m proud of my Congressman John Boehner and he works for me” that will do it!The beauty of it is you can sell out the base and never be accused of going back on your campaign promises!
If conservatism were to be applied to its fullest extent the marginal tax rate would be irrelevant since we wouldn’t continue to operate with an oppressive, class warfare instrument known as the income tax.
You can’t keep voting for the lesser of two evils especially if the lesser evil keeps losing and the more evil wins and becomes more entrenched. That’s where we are today.
This is actually a really dumb article. Romney, right now, is benefitting from a combination of name id and buyer’s remorse over the 2012 election. Bush is benefitting from it as well.
Neither of them is going to be the nominee. It’s probably going to be either Cruz or Walker, both of whom are acceptable Conservatives. Christie (or another RINO, not Romney or Bush) could conceivably still get it if 1.) he puts Bridgegate and other scandals behind him, 2.) he goes over the top in attacking the Dems and 3.) Conservatives fail to rally, early, behind a single Conservative candidate. But even that would be a longshot.
“Unfortunately 97% of Freepers rolled over and called us traitors.
What do you think now?”
I think staying home gave us Obama. I think changing from within when you are in the majority is better then changing from within when you are in the minority.
I think conservatives are fighting a conventional war against the establishment, in an age where guerilla warfare needs to be countered by guerilla warfare. We don’t have tactics and we definitely do not have a strategy for victory. “Elect Conservatives” is a slogan, not a strategy.
Good candidates are out there. The TEA party was a good start then they vanished. Maybe it’s time to go national with the TEA party. Get a strong ground game, millions of 5 dollar donations, media blitzes etc. Maybe it’s time to call out liberal politicians and use words like “Fascist” and “Marxist” openly and without fear of what the media thinks. I would go so far as to declare war on the MSM and start by targeting their largest sponsors.
Americans know what is just. They know what is moral. they know what is legal. But all they hear is the other side because while our enemy is laying the groundwork for the final battle, we are here preaching to the choir.
Together, let’s find a leader, get a council, put a strategy in place and take back our party, then take back our country.
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