Posted on 02/11/2007 10:46:19 AM PST by PhiKapMom
Edited on 02/11/2007 12:14:43 PM PST by Lead Moderator. [history]
In this winter of their discontents, nostalgia for Ronald Reagan has become for many conservatives a substitute for thinking. This mental paralysis -- gratitude decaying into idolatry -- is sterile: Neither the man nor his moment will recur. Conservatives should face the fact that Reaganism cannot define conservatism.
(Excerpt) Read more at suntimes.com ...
Personally, I would support a candidate who would promote the idea that more of my tax dollars should stay in my pocket in the first place and promote free enterprise to support government by free growth and not support a 1 on 1, dollar for dollar promotion of confiscation as the only way to support government.
He started his political career as a liberal, and then saw where his political bread was buttered in GA and "moved right."
Since then, his highly touted "ideas" have tended to be shallow and ultimately meaningless pap. Poll and focus group-tested pap.
He was a failure as a leader because of it.
In the final analysis he was more worried about what the Democrat Media and the political establishment thought than he did about doing what is right. And that's always a losing proposition in the long haul.
Just say it: morales and values have changed and the party needs to go with the flow -- toward abortion on demand, big government, away from Constitutional protections such as the right to bear arms -- in order to remain competitive. Easier to do that, it seems, rather than stand by the courage of our convictions.
Correction;
That's all you WANT to know.
I can truthfully say they received a very good eduction in all but OH, NH, and MA -- everywhere else the schools were very good to excellent but then two communities were very conservative and where my last two completed high school you could tell if the teachers were liberal or conservative in their classes for the most part which I liked.
You and me both! Here in OK they gave us a tax rebate of $90 instead of cutting taxes and we had to declare it on our Federal Income Tax as income which came out after a lot of us had filed taxes.
No, I didn't stutter. It's all I need to know.
Get ready for your flame suit! :)
You might try spending more time and effort worrying about your own candidate. Time is slipping and will rapidly prove that out.
Whatever.
Personally, my portfolio could have used that $90 when it was earned in real time to produce gains on it which would be taxed anyway....
Note: Your tagline contains the only scripture most liberals know how to (mis)quote.
Well said. Unless that man rises quickly, we conservatives will have to vote for a placeholder in 2008. That is why I can be sympathetic to Rudy in 2008 until we get our act together and bring forth a realistic conservative candidate. (PS, I don't want to be on the Rudy list. I haven't decided who to support just yet.)
""It's been over 18 years since Reagan left the White House, and there has not been one truly conservative leader to emerge to take his place -- in 18 years! And I don't see any on the immediate horizon. The sorry truth is that conservatism isn't a viable political philosophy nationally at the moment because there isn't a viable national conservative leader.""
You are correct.
Reagan was the great communicator and combined with his principles and optimism he was unstoppable.
The GOP abandoned Reagan's conservatism by watering down his ideas and message in favor of bi-partisanship.
The next time the GOP embraced conservatism was Gingrich and his contract with America and we won a huge victory again. That too was watered down and faded by poor communication and bi-partisanship.
My point? Conservatism wins when the message is clear. The problem is not our ideas...... it's sustaining those ideas with unwavering candidates who promote ideas instead of trying to meet the left in the middle.
A euphemism for losers.
Ban the Bible and make the Constitution "living and breathing" and that way the inmates can run the asylum.
At least everyone would be happy for a short period...
Well a lot of us started as a Democrat. After Carter, Reagan showed me that Republicans were the answer -- Never looked back. I don't agree with the pap part. While I think the gun owners had more to do with the 1994 victory than Newt, his policy decisions were usually spot on Conservative - Why do you think the media hounded him so hard?
The fact that Newt, and Delay, gave up and retired gives me pause. Reagan would have never shrank from the fight, and the media hated Reagan almost as much as Bush. The marches against Reagan went into the millions.
Who do you like to pick up where Reagan left off?
Makings for a GREAT tag line.
Obama can run as the second coming of Lincoln (as if), and conservatives are quagmired because admire and yearn for the conservatism of Reagan. Go figure.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.