Posted on 06/13/2003 1:55:59 AM PDT by Jim Robinson
Is Free Republic too "Republican?" I've been receiving a lot of complaints lately that FR is not really conservative, it's Republican. Is that a bad thing?
When I started FR (see the wayback machine) I don't think I even used the labels conservative or Republican. But, even though I was a registered Democrat at the time (I registered when I was very young), I was definitely anti-Democrat. And definitely anti-big government, anti-government corruption, anti-government abuse, anti-liberalism, etc. And I still am.
As FR became more and more popular, people started referring to it as a "conservative" web site and so eventually I posted the label to the front page. If it no longer applies, big deal. What's in a label? I'll change it to "Republican" if demand warrants.
I'm still anti-big government, anti-government corruption, anti-Democrat and anti-liberalism. I just happen to believe that in the current political environment we stand a better chance of defeating the left (liberalism/socialism/marxism, etc) by using the Republican Party to defeat the Democrats. The organization is there. The platform is there. The winning candidates are there. The dollars to run winning campaigns are there. The momentum is there. And the vast majority of the conservative voters are there.
Makes perfect sense to me. I want to defeat the left, and I want to do it as quickly as possible. I'll go with the organization that can get the job done.
My current goal is to defeat liberalism by defeating the Democrat Party. If that labels me a Republican, then so be it. If the vast majority of the FReepers want it so, then Free Republic will officially become the newest "Republican wing" of the Republican Party.
Long live Republicanism. Long live the Republic!'
What say you, FReepers?
For once you and I agree on something, chick.
I have a number of good buds who have good, decent conservative tendencies, but who shy away from the whole Republican label... (Haha, maybe it's me...)
Don't alienate would-be Republican voters by forcing them to pick a party. Let's face it, we ain't egzackly the cute-'n-fuzzy ones. The subtle insidious way is best-- let the truth sneak up on 'em, and they'll never know what hit 'em.
Haha... Nope, it'll get FReeped...
I worked for a name brand Republican national organization for years and know something about the inhibiting effects of an institutional portfolio. Let FR stay generically conservative, not formally Republican, because sometimes "the Party" (or rather, the candidate, which the Party is bound to support) will zig a bit too far left in pursuit of that elusive 51%. It not enough simply to side with the anti-Democrats in the external debate; even the RINO's usually do that. We need also to side with the rightward tendency in the internal tug of war.
I'll add that to my definition of "Conservative Death Wish" and move it close to the top. If you give that a little thought, you may realize that voting for good Democrats gives control of the government to the Democrat Party and the Democrat Party is comprised of mainly bad Democrats who will ignore the good Democrats that YOU voted for and the country will go further down the tubes. Check with us first the next time you consider voting for a Democrat.
I've always considered myself a Conservative Republican, and feel like I fit right in with MOST freepers' beliefs and ideals......and their distaste for the left.
Thanks for what you do, Jim. This is a great place, no matter what you call it.
Well, I mentioned Specter because he's close to home; he's an entrenched RINO who wins by large margins here in PA. Maybe he won't run for President, but that's not the only office that's important. The Senate might hang in the balance next year; how many liberal Republicans would you elect to keep it? Is there no such thing as too many?
Next year he'll face a true conservative, Pat Toomey, in the primary. I'm going to register Republican for the first time in my life, just to vote for Toomey. I expect Toomey to lose big, in which case I'll vote for someone OTHER than Specter in the fall, and change my registration while I'm at it.
If you want a realistic RINO Presidential candidate, try McCain. McCain got trounced by Bush, sure, but five years from now that won't be an option. McCain could very likely take the nomination. What will you do then?
The input of the typical FReeper is usually interesting and many comments are intellectually stimulating. That said, I believe that - much the same as the Bush administration has taken a pragmatic view of terrorism - we must take a pragmatic approach to defeating the liberal left. To steal their weapon of "spin", their platform and agenda is "frightening". Were it up to them, our magnificent country would abandon those ideals and principles that have made it the greatest nation ever. Their agenda of big government, revisionist history, redistribution of wealth, elimination of individual ambition, and "feelings" over common sense has become institutionalized in our education system, campuses, unions, etc. If they were to hold total power over our government there would be more gender strife, class envy, geriatric fear, race conflict, environmental sensationalism, etc., than we now have. Additionally, our military might would be vastly diminished and our ideals weakened. Thus, I fear that we would soon become just a pandering slave to the world community - at our dire peril.
This liberal agenda must be defeated.
So....I am in full agreement that the Republican Party is the best funded, best organized, best equipped to defeat the left. Republicans are not without warts - that is clear. But if we get caught up in all the other "alternatives", we risk diluting our power, thereby giving the initiatiove to the "enemy".
As John Huang would say, "That's my two cents!"
It's a good day when Freepers talk about politics, and the Undertoads talk about Freepers.
I sadly, do not trust any political party as you seem to do in the above statement.The ideals of conservatisim are far more solid than any political party. The republican party may not always be conservative and conservatisim will always be more solid in tradition and pro-constitution. Dumping the word conservativisim and putting all your eggs in one basket of a political party, may take away some traditional ideals.
Which brings an excellent question. Folks love to throw around the word RINO, on this forum. If the republican party suddenly or even gradually, no longer represented conservatisim/traditional ideals and further dismissed the constitution would they still be a republican? I would not be, so call me a RINO. I am not -that- diehard, that I would support the republican party if they took a slight left turn muchless a huge one nor never will be a political diehard to anything but my faith and ideals and the constitution which is, (as defined in this time era) conservatisim.
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