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If McCain loses, what next for conservatives?
Reuters ^ | Oct 26, 2008 | Ed Stoddard

Posted on 10/26/2008 7:57:44 AM PDT by TheNewPundit

DALLAS (Reuters) - If Republican John McCain loses the November 4 election as most polls predict, his party may be in for a rough period of soul searching.

Analysts and some party activists say losing the White House will highlight the pitfalls of relying too heavily on a narrow foundation of conservative Christians whose support has nonetheless become crucial to Republican electoral success.

But some social conservatives say a victory for Democrat Barack Obama, whom they regard as an "ultra-liberal," will energize them for the 2010 congressional "mid-term" races and the 2012 White House battle.

(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...


TOPICS: Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2008; 2010; conservative; mccain; nomorerinos; obama; sarahpalin2012
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To: TheNewPundit
REAL conservatives will be the last line of defense against a systematic dismantling of Capitalism and the destruction of our Constitution.

Based on their record the past several years I am NOT very confident!

101 posted on 10/26/2008 8:58:12 AM PDT by PISANO
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To: Cheerio
Conservatism and conservatives will be forced to go underground.

With "The Fairness Doctrine", conservative talk radio is neutered, and freedom of conservative expression on forums such as FreeRepublic is squashed. Print newspapers are "saved" from extinction for "economic reasons" just like they will "save" GM, Ford, and Chrysler. These "saved" print newspapers will further push the liberal agenda freely since opposition news will be censored.

How would we go underground in a way that we could be in communication with each other as we are today? I could see the government making it illegal to subscribe to what they would term "subversive" (read conservative or anti-socialism) newsletters. There is no way we could be an organized movement without modern communication.

Without modern communication, there will remain underground pockets of conservatives, but it will be like the dark ages.

102 posted on 10/26/2008 8:59:31 AM PDT by SteamShovel (Global Warming, the New Patriotism)
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To: HuntsvilleTxVeteran

Might I suggest a study of various “resistance “ movements from the late 19th - 20th centuries say like the original Irish Republican Army that literally led to the creation of the Republic of Ireland .

Also I am most definately NOT talking about recreating the “militia” movement as it will most definately be infiltrated by the various agencies of state security expressly for the purpose of manipulation into rash acts such as Oklahoma City.


103 posted on 10/26/2008 9:00:38 AM PDT by Nebr FAL owner (.308 reach out & thump someone .50 cal.Browning Machine gun reach out & crush someone)
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To: CARTOUCHE

Win or lose, fundamental change is needed.


104 posted on 10/26/2008 9:00:53 AM PDT by PajamaTruthMafia
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To: PISANO
Based on their record the past several years I am NOT very confident!

Ditto

But to be fair, the conservatives have been diluted with RINOs.

105 posted on 10/26/2008 9:01:07 AM PDT by SteamShovel (Global Warming, the New Patriotism)
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To: Arkinsaw
"Moderates" in the Party have been pushing to make it a "moderate" party for years. They got their "moderate" nominee. [...] If McCain loses, it will prove beyond any shadow of a doubt that the Republican Party cannot win against even the most leftward Democrat without a conservative atop the ticket.

BUMPED for the truth.

106 posted on 10/26/2008 9:01:26 AM PDT by KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle (G-d watch over and protect Sarah Palin and her family.)
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To: quadrant
If this {national health insurance} goes through, the chance of getting rid of it is all but nil.

Sadly true. As one who has severe health problems all my life(but with damned good health insurance)I read with absolute horror of other countries entanglement with socialized health care and this scares me most of all.

Frankly, I'd been dead (many times over)if I lived under their systems.That's no BS.

107 posted on 10/26/2008 9:02:46 AM PDT by RedMonqey
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To: sonic109

You are correct. Islam will see us in our weakest state and make a final attempt to bring us down the first moment they get.

They will wait till after the election and after Bush leaves office and Obama takes over. Such an attack will bring down the Western Markets rapidly. It will be a snowball effect on the World markets, oil prices will go over $200 a barrel and domestic oil production will have been shut down by the Democrats as their way of getting even with evil “Big Oil”.

Wind and Solar power will have been fully funded with the defense funds and our troops will be on their way home from Iraq. Congress and the Democrat super majority in the Senate will already have a head start on Obama by having already pushed through countless bills on their agenda, ready for him to sign when he takes office.

Bush is likely to sign some of it, in order to just get along and preserve what he thinks is a legacy of being a “uniter”, not a divider.


108 posted on 10/26/2008 9:03:30 AM PDT by PSYCHO-FREEP (WHAT? Where did my tag line go?)
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To: I got the rope
Yep...people like Rudy Guiliani, Bloomberg, Rick Perry, etc., etc. should never be allowed to be in the party.

The ones who win elections, you mean.

That's a respectable point of view. Purify the Party, get down to the 20-25% core.

But be honest about what you are advocating. Your pure party will never win another election, as long as any of us live.

Most of us don't want that.

109 posted on 10/26/2008 9:05:59 AM PDT by Jim Noble (Tyranny, like Hell, is not easily conquered...the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph)
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To: Noumenon

Well, for sure, and the irony of it is that if the socialists get total control, outfits like ACORN which are now almost perfected in how to steal elections will be so heavily financed that they’ll steal elections at will and use highly paid PR mouthpieces to convince people that the fourth or fifth election of Obama is the “will of the people”. Sorta like hanging someone and making them pay for the rope and laughing at their stupidity and gullibility. (This citizenship question about Obama, if proven true after the election, will set a precedent which can be argued as enough to change the Constitution.) Oh, and these Executive Orders he will sign willy nilly will be a hoot, I am sure.


110 posted on 10/26/2008 9:06:00 AM PDT by Twinkie (Democratic Party = Communist Party)
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To: marajade

I am not a one issue voter...If I were I certainly wouldn’t be voting for McCain. However, he and the moderates like him are destroying the party.

Oh, and Rush rocks.


111 posted on 10/26/2008 9:06:35 AM PDT by bushinohio
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To: marajade
Rush is out of touch.

Doubtless that's why his audience and sphere of influence are both so decisively dwarfed by your own, you grand mover and shaker, you.

112 posted on 10/26/2008 9:07:41 AM PDT by KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle (G-d watch over and protect Sarah Palin and her family.)
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I don't think it is so much a "what if" for Conservatives.

The sheep of this country will continue to receive their spoon feeding nightly on the television while the American dream circles the drain with more gravity and at a quicker pace than today.

If Sen. Obama wins the election, I suspect America's worries will be of the fundie islamists. That will be the case no matter who is in the Whitehouse.
I don't believe our enemies will out and out make a play on us in the first four years. What I do believe will happen is our enemies will move against their targets abroad (Iran on Israel, China on Taiwan, Russia trying to rebuild CCCP) but nothing directly against America; and why should they? They have a pseudo ally in office.
What I do see happening is pockets of Americans getting fed up. Attempts made on varying office holders or targets of opportunity in the U.S. Government that are deemed Marxist when said office holders put their socialist and Marxist ideology on display.
Following these attempts (whether successful or not) martial law in areas deemed "hot beds". Those areas will be cleared out of indivduals that speak out too loudly or can be pin-pointed with "large cache of guns".
It will be neccassary to clean up these areas to "ensure the stability of America and the rule of law"; or so the alphabet soup media will report it as such. But the "clean up" will spread; block by block, city by city. Slowly as to not create a flashpoint that people can rally around and place commanders in those areas in precarious situations that make them question their loyalties (at that point, WHO IS the enemy??).
All the while these small scenarios are playing out across the country (some actions will be larger than others), our Government will be nationalizing America's resources and confiscating profit as the weight of social and bureaucratic programs running at full steam completely eat away at America's economy with each program having no source of income for self-sustainability other than heavy taxes and Government mandates.
After our resources have been nationalized, the private sector of business will be firmly in the cross hairs of a behemoth Government intent on the consumption of business revenue to feed ever spiraling costs of programs that will be reported as "vital to Americans".

Another Presidential election cycle is already coming up and by this time, any conservative speaking of reigning in spending and social programs will be stomped into oblivion by the media ffed it's talking points straight from the DNC in a way we simply have not witnessed yet; I don't believe there will even be a semblance of objectivity at that point other than to keep marxism in power until the deterioration of America into communism is complete.

Our Military will not be in shambles, but it's loyalty will be in question (who do commanders and generals support? The common American citizen suffocating under Government? Or the United States which they swore an oath to?).
With households across the country struggling to keep food on the table (literally) and the means to resist squelched by a government that can constrict resources at will, our enemies will be in a position to strike economically, electronically and physically.

My time lines are probably off the mark, but not by much I would imagine.

113 posted on 10/26/2008 9:11:03 AM PDT by Michael Barnes
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To: PajamaTruthMafia

U R correct. A purge, a realignment, or an entirely new party. My preference would be an entirely new party so that the current crop of Elephants would lose our financial support until they renounced their allegiance to bigger and more powerful federal governing. A party that demanded more than just an occasional $15-20 contribution once an election cycle; demanded active campaigning and participation in some manner. Was clear and unambiguous on issues like illegal immigration, the WOT, Islamic Radicalism, and other important issues to freedom loving conservatives.


114 posted on 10/26/2008 9:13:53 AM PDT by CARTOUCHE (two roads diverged and I chose the one less travelled by)
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To: FrdmLvr; Calpernia; Kevmo; Fred Nerks; null and void; pissant; george76; Polarik; PhilDragoo; ...

Thanks, FrdmLvr.

Ping.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2115642/posts?page=80#80

McCain-Palin 2008; consider the alternative.


115 posted on 10/26/2008 9:19:14 AM PDT by LucyT (McCain-Palin 2008; consider the alternative.)
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To: padre35
Very good points. We conservatives have forgotten what it is like to be galvanized by a cause. Almost every cause we have taken on (from liberalism in the 60s, to crime in the 70s, to taxes in the 80s, to balanced budget in the 90s, to the war against Islamofascism and the Supreme Court of the 2000s) has resulted in our victory.

I think the next 4 years should be a time to energize the base, go back to the basics, and craft a new strategy around a new cause. Since we will be out of power, our fight from the sidelines will not be tainted by political compromise, and therefore can be more effective.

116 posted on 10/26/2008 9:19:22 AM PDT by nwrep
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To: jla

ROFLOL!!! I was following the lead of the owner! :)


117 posted on 10/26/2008 9:19:48 AM PDT by PhiKapMom ( BOOMER SOONER -- VOTE FOR McCAIN/PALIN2008! LetsGetThisRight.com)
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To: TheNewPundit

The article said — “Analysts and some party activists say losing the White House will highlight the pitfalls of relying too heavily on a narrow foundation of conservative Christians whose support has nonetheless become crucial to Republican electoral success.”

Well, I’ll guarantee you that if the Republican Party doesn’t rely upon and listen carefully to the conservative Christians, then it will become totally indistinguishable from the Democratic Party...


118 posted on 10/26/2008 9:22:56 AM PDT by Star Traveler
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To: TheNewPundit

Funny thing... the Obama people said we were being sent to "Camp Happy", but that doesn't look right.

119 posted on 10/26/2008 9:24:09 AM PDT by Caipirabob (Communists... Socialists... Democrats...Traitors... Who can tell the difference?)
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To: TheNewPundit
If McCain loses, what next for conservatives?

How about actually being conservatives?

120 posted on 10/26/2008 9:24:29 AM PDT by Types_with_Fist (I'm on FReep so often that when I read an article at another site I scroll down for the comments.)
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