Posted on 09/20/2009 10:51:33 AM PDT by AJKauf
It would be understandable for those who closely follow politics to have missed Republican Senator Olympia Snowe’s comments on health care a couple of days ago.
The second week of September was an unusually big week for partisan politics (and that’s saying something in this day and age). Commentators on both sides of the divide sparred bitterly over the crowd estimates for the massive 9/12 Taxpayer March on the National Mall. In addition, the drip, drip, drip of scandalous revelations surrounding the ACORN “prostitution sting” further strained the lengths of recent political polarization. And as the weekend neared, allegations of racist opposition to President Barack Obama’s policies — aired by former President Jimmy Carter, no less — had further dashed the longstanding hopes for bipartisan cooperation that followed Barack Obama’s inauguration in January.
Given all that, Senator Snowe’s mid-week remarks on her place in a changing GOP might seem tame. Snowe, a moderate Republican and senior senator from Maine, stated that “I haven’t changed as a Republican, I think more that my party has changed.”...
(Excerpt) Read more at pajamasmedia.com ...
That person who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally; not a 20 percent traitor. - Ronald Reagan.
buwaya is right. If we continue to insist that only candidates that agree 100% are welcome then get used to Obama and expect even more marxism. Maybe a lot of you folks live in red states, but many of us don’t and we know how much worse things will get. We need more allies - not less.
"Blisters" didn't seem adequate.
What incredible arrogance.
I realize that elevating such vermin to the status of tumors is arrogant, but rhetoric has its limitations.
“Excise” all these people - and you excise their voters too.
Their voters are liberals. Or they wouldn't be electing creatures such as these. We don't need to "lose" their votes; we already have.
The logical end of such thinking is irrelevance.
The result of any other way of thinking is the continued dilution of conservatism by irrelevant, insignificant lightweights as John McCain and Ms. Snowe.
We might as well be troglodytic hermits, secure in our purity, forgotten by all.
Oh, much better to compromise ourselves right out of existence, to mind meld with the enemy until we become indistinguishable from what we've sworn to fight.
Probably not, but I wouldn’t mind if she followed Specter.
“Their voters are liberals. Or they wouldn’t be electing creatures such as these. We don’t need to “lose” their votes; we already have. “
If you define such an enormous mass of people as irrelevant, then you are not dealing in politics at all. This is not a church, the end result is not salvation. We need some things done in reality, not in heaven. For that you need these people.
“The result of any other way of thinking is the continued dilution of conservatism by irrelevant, insignificant lightweights as John McCain and Ms. Snowe. “
“Dilution” ? Conservatism CANNOT be “diluted”. By definition and tradition conservatism is a mongrel mix of ideas grounded in reality. From Edmund Burke to Russell Kirk it has been so. Go look for a time when conservatism could be considered pure or even narrowly defined, and you will be disappointed.
“Oh, much better to compromise ourselves right out of existence, to mind meld with the enemy until we become indistinguishable from what we’ve sworn to fight.”
You don’t have to “mind meld”. You just need to maintain a contact with reality and do the best you can to get your way. There are no points given in this game for purity.
Go back an read my post. I didn’t say hang her an ignore the voters that legally put her there
Thanks for the explanation. It certainly looks like we're in between a rock and a hard place...
In my opinion, it seems like one of the best things we can do for the moment is to just keep pushing the conservative message to those who will hear it... and live with the RINOs.
In many states that used to elect Republican senators, the GOP is out of existence right now.
The "purge the RINOs" plan is the reason why.
If you start by conceding 275 EVs and 52 Senate seats, I don't get why you're in the game.
This woman is a fricking tool, plain and simple. She said she supports limited government but voted for the porkulus knowing full well of the implications. Just another one of those cocktail circuit, elitist Rockefellers who doesn’t give a damn about the country.
Bolt the GOP? When has she ever been part of the GOP?
Snow is the best Republicans are going to get from Maine. Better to concentrate our efforts in other places where they will do some actual good.
Would you rather have a liberal Democrat with an ACU rating in the single digits in her place? Enough with this RINO hunt nonsense. You people need to start living in a little place called reality.
Silly me, I thought she already had......L)
Good riddance you RINO POS.
Read more. Post less.
Well, you know, it’s — I’ve always been a Republican for the traditional principles that have been associated with the Republican Party since I, you know, became a Republican when I registered to vote. And that is limited, you know, limited government, individual opportunities, fiscal responsibility, and a strong national defense. So I think that those principles have always been a part of the Republican Party heritage, and I believe that I, you know, reflect those views. And I haven’t changed as a Republican, I think more that my party has changed.
So, Senator Snowe is arguing that the GOP has moved away from limited government, individual opportunities, fiscal responsibility and astrong national defense. OK, the GOP is NOT conservative enough. If she actually understands what she's saying, I think she has a great point. Senator Snowe is joining with Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh, in that the GOP needs to move back to Reagan and Goldwater as models.
And Senator Snowe really believes what she's said? When has she advocated for any of the principles, she says were hers when she became a Republican? She can't be this blind or can she?
Post an answer, and I will read it.
Hold your breath. I’ll be right back.
A party can be defined the same way, a consolidation of diverse interests, real interests, into a common cause. A successful party has a lot of these, and a majority party can claim most. I support the party which supports my interests, or at least isn't likely to outlaw them. I keep my basic concerns simple, and when voting often distill them into "More or less freedom". Other voters might have a different conclusion, but the party that delivers to the voters is the one that wins, the intricacies of cash and propaganda notwithstanding.
Factionalism is a reality amongst Free People as real as anything else, but a winning effort knows how to deal with it by the time the last primary vote is cast. That's why God gave us 'smoke filled rooms' coffee, and 'handshake deals'. Sometimes we go beyond intra-party healing and manage to take it out to the public. The term "Reagan Democrats" is not an oxymoron any more than it is permanent. It's the result of an excellent candidate, and unimaginably hard work by a lot of people who really give a shit about that common cause, even if it doesn't satisfy all of their immediate political desires. Snowe is no Reagan, but neither is she running for national office.
Maine, as a State with the Constitutional protections of all States, chooses its senator, and they seem pleased with their choice. I can live with that. I believe Republicans can too.
Yes she can be that blind. But so are most of her constituents most likely.
A lot of people are just like her, perhaps most. Logic is not their strong suit, neither is mapping ideals to reality.
But we have to deal with and live with people like that. Getting enraged over someone else’s illogic is pointless.
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.