Posted on 02/01/2008 11:08:49 AM PST by PlainOleAmerican
Republicans no longer control the Republican Party and as a result, they can not advance a truly Republican candidate though the current liberal leaning primary process. By the time 99 percent of Republicans get a chance to vote in the primaries, all real Republicans have already been eliminated from the race. Lesser evil choices are all that remain by Super Tuesday…?
How it Happened
It happened by two important factors.
First, Republicans refused to unite behind any of the conservatives originally in the race. They were divided, and all of their candidates failed as a result.
Evangelicals think Pastor Huckabee is the real conservative in the race based solely upon his evangelical preaching from the stump. Fiscal conservatives think that business man Mitt Romney is the real conservative in the race. Anti-war isolationists think that Ron Paul is the real conservative in the race. Border security – national sovereignty conservatives thought that Duncan Hunter or Tom Tancredo were the real conservatives in the race. War on Terror hawks thought that Rudy Giuliani was the real conservative in the race and the base of the Republican Party, those who are fully conservative on all the above, thought Fred Thompson was the real conservative in the race.
As a direct result of these divisions, the one candidate that is by no means a real conservative in the race, John McCain, is currently leading the race for the Republican nomination. Failing to unite early behind one of the conservatives, left the door wide open for the worst possible result, John McCain.
The second factor is a broken primary process. McCain is not being nominated by conservatives or for the most part, even by Republicans. He is being nominated by liberal voters from liberal leaning states who hold the earliest primaries and vote to eliminate all conservatives from the race before “fly-over” Republicans get a chance to cast a single vote.
A Broken Party
Like it or not, the BIG TENT is collapsing. You can’t invite liberals to your table without inviting their ideologies along. Try this at home with your liberal neighbors if you think I’m wrong on this. They will be happy to eat your food and drink your wine, while they tell you all about the progressive benefits of socialism. They won’t shut up until you stop inviting them for dinner.
Yet this is what the Republican Party leadership decided to do years ago. Invite liberals across the aisle into the fold under the BIG TENT open society philosophy whereby all ideas are welcome if not equal, even when they aren’t.
Today, the base of the party is trying to figure out if or how it can wrestle back control of their party from the dinner guest they invited to the table years ago. The problem is this. RINOs now think it’s their party. They have exercised squatter’s rights. They are using the “possession is nine tenths of the law” defense to claim ownership of the Republican Party now and demanding that “right-wing extremists” (the foundation of the party) leave. The guests are tossing out the hosts.
A Broken Process
How do you expect to advance a Republican candidate via a process designed to net a liberal candidate, voted upon by liberals in Democrat strongholds? The answer is - you can’t. Yet this is what we do.
It is not possible to advance a conservative candidate using liberal RINO, Independent and Democrat voters in liberal strongholds. The Republican primary process MUST change.
The Long-Term Fix
Only registered Republicans should be voting in Republican primaries and Republican primaries must begin in Republican strongholds, not Democrat strongholds up east. There should be no such thing as “open primaries.” Even in many “closed primaries” in Democrat stronghold states, where Republicans seldom have even a chance of carrying the state, many Democrats and Independents register as Republicans for the sole purpose of skewing the Republican nomination. This can not be allowed to continue.
Further, if the Republican nomination process expects to ever advance a conservative Republican candidate, it must start its nomination process in Republican strongholds across the country, not the Democrat strongholds they start in today.
The ten most Republican states in 2004 (a Republican year) were Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Nebraska, Oklahoma, North Dakota, Alabama, Kansas, Alaska and Texas, in that order. Yet only one of these states has held a primary thus far, Wyoming. Before the rest will get a chance to vote, all Republicans are out of the race.
Other traditionally Republican strongholds are Indiana, South Dakota, Mississippi, Kentucky, Montana, Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina. Pick the five most populated states from these two groups and start the nomination process there, if you want to see what real Republicans want for party leadership.
Three of the worst states in which to hold an early Republican primary are Michigan, New Hampshire and Iowa. Yet this is where we begin our nomination process?
Both of these things must change looking forward and they will have to be changed at the state level by simply getting Republican stronghold states to move their primaries up to the front of the line. Don’t count on any help from the Republican National Committee which has long since determined that Republicans must join liberals in order to compete with them.
The ONLY Short-Term Fix
These two changes in the nomination process will allow Republican stronghold states and real Republican voters to advance a real Republican candidate in the future. But it’s too late for 2008.
So a short-term answer for the immediate problem is also in order and only one option is available now…
That option is the subject of my last column, Time for Some REAL Straight Talk
Take a moment to read it quickly. Super Tuesday will set the next four years in stone. What we do between now and then makes a difference….
Republicans simply passed on all opportunities to do something smart and unite behind one of the conservatives in the race over the last several months. Now, doing something half-smart is the only immediate option available. Find a way to be part of the solution, not just an angry part of the problem acting out in childish temper tantrums and protest votes.
Half-smart is better than blindly foolish and all wrong any day…
Long term, things must change. But short term, our options are now limited to living to fight another day. Think about it!
All of the conservatives are out of the race now before the Republican states vote.
The one that people are now trying to sell as the best of a sorry lot is going to lose to a crazy man in the Republican states!
That should tell everyone that the primary system has to change to sort that out long before we get to this point.
You (we) allowed this to happen. No hiding from this reality.
Quitting seem like the way to right this wrong to you?
Huckabee and Paul MUST drop first!
BIG AMEN!
Live right or die hard!
Now I know why it’s called the ‘Stupid Party’!
Welcome to the BIG TENT!
Ya, what’s our half smart option we have left?
_________________________________________________
Crying works for Hillary...
But seriously, praying always helps
We need a miracle...
And with God, nothing is immpossible
“This is Americas “conservative” party, not the RINO party. It’s time conservatives do a little house cleaning.”
The only way to clean house is to change the system so that conservatives vote first.
:(
Now play nice
They know better than you, what is good for you
/s
Hukabee is conservative not "a conservative"
Kirk:
"Perhaps it would be well, most of the time, to use this word “conservative” as an adjective chiefly. For there exists no Model Conservative, and conservatism is the negation of ideology: it is a state of mind, a type of character, a way of looking at the civil social order."
"The attitude we call conservatism is sustained by a body of sentiments, rather than by a system of ideological dogmata. It is almost true that a conservative may be defined as a person who thinks himself such. The conservative movement or body of opinion can accommodate a considerable diversity of views on a good many subjects, there being no Test Act or Thirty-Nine Articles of the conservative creed."
WE failed our party. We are being run out of our own house by imposter's, and you fail to accept any responsibility?
NOT ME!
They will get me out of my house right after they get my gun out of my cold dead hand.
There is a Third thing that needs to be done. That is, to start an inner Shadow Party, somewhat like the Conservative Party in New York.
The Shadow Party would still register Republican, but hold their own nominating convention, BEFORE the other primaries.
The Conservative American believes in the culture and economy
of Early America! This early period was the time the British Colonial governments left and the Federal and State Governments took over. A time of GREAT GROWTH in culture and the economy. Freedom was paramount!!!! Christian beliefs prevailed! The “truths” of that period are being learned and practiced in every nation around the world. It cannot be stopped. This is the basis of ‘globalization” IMHO!
I remember back when Norm Coleman was my Democrat mayor and one day the RNC sent Jack Kemp over here to get Coleman to change from D to R. It's the Party of Coleman now.
Rush and some others used to snicker about how we were co-opting the Democrats. They never really thought this one thru.
I hope Huck is listening to Sean Hannity right now
Sean is making sense...
You’re too late for me, my friend. I left the Party years ago.
Fortunately, in New York we have smaller parties that piggyback on the larger ones. So I can be a member of the Conservative Party without throwing my vote away - the Conservative Party nominee is the same as the GOP nominee. He just gets to see how many real Conservatives voted for him, and hopefully that will help hold his feet to the fire.
The Last, Most Fatal Cut: Nominating this RINO for the Presidency.
Fred was right when he said we are in a fight for the heart and soul of the republican party. Trouble is he left us here to fight it alone and it looks like we are losing.
If McCain is the nominee of the Republican party I will not be associated with the Republican party anymore.
Glad you pointed this out. I ignored the ignorance.
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.