Posted on 02/01/2008 5:03:19 AM PST by A2J
In the coming weeks, I will acknowledge an anniversary of thirty (30) years as a registered Republican. I have always been a Republican and my first presidential election was a vote cast for Ronaldus Magnus, one of my heroes.
I have always voted the GOP line in state and local races, except when there were only Democrats running wherein I would either vote for the most conservative or skip that particular match up entirely.
I'm afraid that this year will be different.
As a conservative who found a home in the GOP 30 years ago, I now find myself without a home, particularly as the GOP has been gradually becoming the DNC-Lite over the past eight (8) years. To say that I'm now frustrated with the GOP would be an enormous understatement but yet I find myself more frustrated and even bitter at such conservative stalwarts as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, two I have always enjoyed listening to and agree with for the most part.
It is not my intention to challenge the pedigree of their conservatism, but rather to tell them and the collective conservatives and conservative wannabes who are now complaining about the ascendancy of John McCain, a despicable little man, to shut the hell up.
Why? Because they've laid the steps for McCain's rise.
Just this week I listened to Rush complain about McCain and Huckabee, who should step aside and support Romney who is more conservative than McCain, with Rush's earlier comments that should McCain or Huckabee receive the nomination, they would destroy the GOP...a statement to which I agree. Additionally, just this week Rush was championing conservatism over the GOP, as he and all conservatives should, and yet when asked as to whether he would support McCain if he is nominated, Rush flip-flopped, ala John Kerry, when he said that he would do nothing to harm the GOP.
Such doublespeak is what cracks the door open for rats like McCain.
Sean Hannity, "Mr. Nice Guy," is no different especially when it comes to anyone who has an "R" after his name.
During Arnold Schwarzenegger's gubernatorial run against Grey Davis, Hannity nearly wet his pants in adoration of Schwarzenegger. He has been the same toward "Mr. Character," Rudy Giuliani. And now he wants to feign anger and frustration over Schwarzenegger's endorsement of the little man from Arizona. In fact, Hannity ridiculed Schwarzenegger's comments as being void of the ideals and core values of Ronald Reagan.
While I cannot speak for all true-blue conservatives, I know that my frustration truly lies with people like Rush and Hannity who openly embrace liberal Republicans and yet now complain that those same ones whom they have embraced are now going to destroy the party. Maybe the GOP should be allowed to continue to merge with the DNC. Maybe then we can build a true conservative party from the ashes.
To me, true conservatism transcends parties and labels and remains absolute and unchangeable, however hard others may try to redefine it. "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" are the "marching orders" for all conservatives regardless of party and while the GOP is currently undergoing a redefinition, conservatism must never.
But, alas, as long as we are more obsessed with making sure that GOP candidates are elected instead of true conservatives, we are not only guaranteeing the destruction of a Grand Old Party, but worse, we become the willing participants in the assault on conservatism.
This year will mark a new era in my long history of voting Republican in that should John McCain become the Republican nominee, I will choose my convictions over my party and withhold my vote because if I truly love America, as we all claim to, then why would I continue to inoculate her with more poison by choosing party over principles?
From the first election on there have been people that decided not to vote for one reason or another. That is their right too but I think Democracy is lesser for it. You can’t always get exactly what you want, especially in politics.
When your show is about the "Stop Hillary Express" what else is there to do?
You didn’t get the memo did you. Vote for the McCainiac or your children will die in a mushroom cloud.
Well stated. I agree with almost all of what you wrote.
If Republicans passed only 20% of the liberal agenda each term starting in the first term at 100% of the ideal conservative goal, in 40 years or ten terms only 13% of conservatism would be left. This fall will usher in the sixth term without a conservative, and two terms were the Clinton years in which it would be safe to say far in excess of 20% was implemented.
Since I last stood in this spot, a whole new generation of the Miller family has been born: Four great grandchildren. Along with all the other members of our close-knit family -- they are my and Shirley's most precious possessions. And I know that's how you feel about your family also. Like you, I think of their future, the promises and the perils they will face. Like you, I believe that the next four years will determine what kind of world they will grow up in. And like you, I ask which leader is it today that has the vision, the willpower, and, yes, the backbone to best protect my family? The clear answer to that question has placed me in this hall with you tonight. For my family is more important than my Party. There is but one man to whom I am willing to entrust their future and that man's name is George W. Bush. In the summer of 1940, I was an eight-year-old boy living in a remote little Appalachian valley. Our country was not yet at war, but even we children knew that there were some crazy men across the ocean who would kill us if they could. President Roosevelt, in a speech that summer, told America "all private plans, all private lives, have been in a sense repealed by an overriding public danger." In 1940 Wendell Wilkie was the Republican nominee. And there is no better example of someone repealing their "private plans" than this good man. He gave Roosevelt the critical support he needed for a peacetime draft, an unpopular idea at the time. And he made it clear that he would rather lose the election than make national security a partisan campaign issue. Shortly before -- Shortly before Wilkie died he told a friend, that if he could write his own epitaph and had to choose between "Here lies a President" or "Here lies one who contributed to saving freedom", he would prefer the latter. Where are such statesmen today? Where is the bi-partisanship in this country when we need it most? Today -- Today at the same time young Americans are dying in the sands of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan, our nation is being torn apart and made weaker because of the Democrat's manic obsession to bring down our Commander-in-Chief. What has happened to the Party I've spent my life working in? I can remember when Democrats believed it was the duty of America to fight for freedom over tyranny. It was Democratic President Harry Truman who pushed the Red Army out of Iran, who came to the aid of Greece when Communists threatened to overthrow it, who stared down the Soviet blockade of West Berlin by flying in supplies and saving the city. Time after time in our history, in the face of great danger, Democrats and Republicans worked together to ensure that freedom would not falter. But not today. Motivated more by partisan politics than by national security, today's Democratic leaders see America as an occupier, not a liberator. And nothing makes this Marine madder than someone calling American troops occupiers rather than liberators. Tell that -- Tell that to the one-half of Europe that was freed because Franklin Roosevelt led an army of liberators, not occupiers. Tell that to the lower half of the Korean Peninsula that is free because Dwight Eisenhower commanded an army of liberators, not occupiers. Tell that to the half a billion men, women and children who are free today from Poland to Siberia, because Ronald Reagan rebuilt a military of liberators, not occupiers. Never in the history of the world has any soldier sacrificed more for the freedom and liberty of total strangers than the American soldier. And, our soldiers don't just give freedom abroad, they preserve it for us here at home. For it has been said so truthfully that it is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the agitator, who has given us the freedom to protest. It is the soldier who salutes the flag, serves beneath the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag who gives that protester the freedom he abuses to burn that flag. No one should dare to even think about being the Commander in Chief of this country if he doesn't believe with all his heart that our soldiers are liberators abroad and defenders of freedom at home. But don't waste your breath telling that to the leaders of my Party today. In their warped way of thinking America is the problem, not the solution. They don't believe there's any real danger in the world except that which America brings upon itself through our clumsy and misguided foreign policy. It is not their patriotism -- it is their judgment that has been so sorely lacking. They claimed Carter's pacifism would lead to peace -- they were wrong. They claimed Reagan's defense buildup would lead to war -- they were wrong. And no pair has been more wrong, more loudly, more often than the two Senators from Massachusetts, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry. Together, Kennedy/Kerry have opposed the very weapons systems that won the Cold War and that are now winning the war on terror. Listing all the weapon systems that Senator Kerry tried his best to shut down sounds like an auctioneer selling off our national security. But Americans need to know the facts. The B-1 bomber, that Senator Kerry opposed, dropped 40% of the bombs in the first six months of [Operation] Enduring Freedom. The B-2 bomber, that Senator Kerry opposed, delivered air strikes against the Taliban in Afghanistan and Hussein's command post in Iraq. The F-14A Tomcats, that Senator Kerry opposed, shot down Khadifi's Libyan MIGs over the Gulf of Sidra. The modernized F-14D, that Senator Kerry opposed, delivered missile strikes against Tora Bora. The Apache helicopter, that Senator Kerry opposed, took out those Republican Guard tanks in Kuwait in the Gulf War. The F-15 Eagles, that Senator Kerry opposed, flew cover over our Nation's Capital and this very city after 9/11. I could go on and on and on: Against the Patriot Missile that shot down Saddam Hussein's scud missiles over Israel; against the Aegis air-defense cruiser; against the Strategic Defense Initiative; against the Trident missile -- against, against, against. This is -- This is the man who wants to be the Commander in Chief of our U.S. Armed Forces?! U.S. forces armed with what? Spitballs?! Twenty years of votes -- Twenty years of votes can tell you much more about a man than twenty weeks of campaign rhetoric. Campaign talk tells people who you want them to think you are. How you vote tells people who you really are deep inside. Senator Kerry has made it clear that he would use military force only if approved by the United Nations. Kerry would let Paris decide when America needs defending. I want Bush to decide! John Kerry, who says he doesn't like outsourcing, wants to outsource our national security. That's the most dangerous outsourcing of all. This politician wants to be leader of the free world. Free for how long? For more than twenty years, on every one of the great issues of freedom and security, John Kerry has been more wrong, more weak, and more wobbly than any other national figure. As a war protestor, Kerry blamed our military. As a Senator, he voted to weaken our military. And nothing shows that more sadly and more clearly than his vote this year to deny protective armor for our troops in harms way, far-away. George W. Bush understands that we need new strategies to meet new threats. John Kerry wants to re-fight yesterday's war. President Bush believes we have to fight today's war and be ready for tomorrow's challenges. President Bush is committed to providing the kind of forces it takes to root out terrorist -- no matter what spider hole they may hide in or what rock they crawl under. George W. Bush wants to grab terrorists by the throat and not let them go to get a better grip. From John Kerry, they get a "yes-no-maybe" bowl of mush that can only encourage our enemies and confuse our friends. I first got to know George W. Bush when we served as governors together. I admire this man. I am moved by the respect he shows the First Lady, his unabashed love for his parents and his daughters, and the fact that he is unashamed of his belief that God is not indifferent to America. I can identify with someone who has lived that line in "Amazing Grace," "Was blind, but now I see," and I like the fact that he's the same man on Saturday night that he is on Sunday morning. He is not a slick talker but he is a straight shooter, and where I come from deeds mean a lot more than words. I have knocked on the door of this man's soul and found someone home, a God-fearing man with a good heart and a spine of tempered steel -- the man I trust to protect my most precious possession: my family. This election will change forever the course of history, and that's not any history. It's our family's history. The only question is how. The answer lies with each of us. And like many generations before us, we've got some hard choosing to do. Right now the world just cannot afford an indecisive America. Fainthearted, self-indulgence will put at risk all we care about in this world. In this hour of danger our President has had the courage to stand up. And this Democrat is proud to stand up with him. Thank you. God Bless this country and God Bless George W. Bush.
Not only was Zell invited by the GOP to speak to us Republican, those Democrats who he spoke for were invited to vote with us. They have no party to go back to, and we invited them to join us. No one told them they would have to become right-wing conservatives. What they left behind is PURE EVIL and must be defeated at all costs.
I can’t recall Rush ever “embracing” a lib candidate. He has certainly tried to find the silver lining with some of them, and I believe he’ll try and do that with McCain as well, eventually.
Sean Hannity will never be in the same league as Limbaugh. He’s essentially the pestering kid brother running after the big boys whining “c’mon guys, let me play!” Bottom line, he’s irrelevent.
Excellent post, A2J. You speak for many of us here. Thanks.
I share your affliction.
In 2006, the last year for which ratings are publicly available, McCain’s ACU rating placed him 47th among US Senators. His lifetime rating placed him 39th among senators in office in 2006.
McCain negotiated with Democrats a few years ago to jump ship, but Jim Jeffords beat him to the punch.
I will never vote for a ticket that has McCain on it, no matter which party he chooses to represent. He is not a conservative. He is a moderate (at best).
Unintended pun?
LOL!
I just realized that it was supposed to be "have at it."
But it is quite appropriate.
It's the only thing they know how to do.
I no longer consider myself a Republican. I will vote for Mitt in the VA primary and I'll vote for him in November if he gets the nomination. I will not vote for McCain and if he's the nominee I'll seriously look at 3rd Party options. The GOP establishment is lining up behind McCain and the more of them that get in line the more I'm convinced that this is no longer my party. I've voted GOP ever since 1984 and I can't believe they've left me like this but here we are.
The time to hash out these problems is in the primaries.
Once the primaries are over, then the responsible thing is to sit down and see how your vote will lead to the least damage to the country and cast it.
I loathe the idea of a McCaine presidency but I will not vote for Obama or Clinton. I will not waste my vote on a third party candidate. And I will not act like a petulant child and sit out the election.
Looking at the primaries from the start, I knew I would have to hold my nose when the election came up any way.
Agreed, but while not taking a position on a particular candidate, he has taken a position that he will vote for whoever the GOP nominee is thus helping to destroy the party.
“If McCain is the best the GOP can do then it’s time for Conservatives to start a new political party.”
Already did, Rb.
It’s called the Constitution Party and it gets about 1% in a good year.
If you remember, Nancy supported McCain in 2000 as well. She just likes the guy. It’s probably the POW thing.
I may be wrong but I don’t think Obama will run as VP. Think about it. He would be totally marginalized by Bill Clinton. Whenever he gets face time Bill is going to try to get more face time. If Obama is stupid enough to take a VP slot on a Hillary ticket he really is not presidential material. However, I think this might be a moot point. I’m not so sure Hillary is going to get the nomination. However, if he does you can be sure he won’t ask her to be VP. What might be fun to watch is Obama as president and Bill hating him so much he does everything possible to sabotage him.
What we conservatives are going to have to do is figure out a way to have a sense of humor about this mess. So, let’s hope that if McCain gets elected he winds up with a republican house and senate. That will drive him nuts because there goes his immigration bill. Let’s hope if Hillary gets elected Bill makes a fool out of her and she screws up and gets impeached. And, if it’s Obama, let’s hope Bill is angry and vindictive enough to make him miserable and gets himself trashed by the has been media in the process. Perhaps we can have some fun after all.
What amazes me is that while he was in the "Hilton," j.sKerry, here at home and elsewhere, was falsely accusing his college of "Genghis Khan's" atrocities. Years later he "shook" hands with this weasel, even was in negotiation of being his running mate in 2004. He is a worse "flip-flopper" than sKerry!!!
I intend to vote for down-ticket principled conservatives.
I will not, under any circumstance, vote for McCain if he is the Republican nominee. Indeed, if he is, I will likely vote for the Dem candidate, as denying McCain the presidency will be sublime retribution.
“Let the Bushbots and other Rhinos have had it.”
I am a huge fan of Rush, always have been. Not so much Hannity (I prefer Beck) because he’s just a GOP stooge when it all boils down.
But I cannot disagree with you. These talkies let the meaning of conservatism slide further and further leftward, and so long as one has that magic “R” following their name, they are automatically one of the “good guys.” This has led directly to the likely nomination of Juan McAmnesty. You and I and a great many millions of conservatives simply WILL not vote for the man, and scare tactics will not work on us.
But when Juan just gets absolutely pummeled in the general, we will surely be blamed for the loss. I for one am salivating over the chance of telling the fans of Juan McAmnesty that “WE TOLD YOU SO.”
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