Good point. Reagan was one who knew the importance of incremental-ism. The Conservative movement has been slowly moving forward incrementally. Eventually, the Snowe’s & Collins’ will be replaced by the Brown’s, & so on. If guys like Keyes & EV had their way, & ran nothing but true blue, rock solid Conservatives in liberal states, the Conservative movement in all likelihood would have been snuffed out by now.
Reagan realized that. That’s why he governed incrementally & often backed those of his party that were less than bedrock Conservatives. He understood that you have to win & lose some battles w/ the hand you’re dealt in order to win the war. Sometimes you have to fight w/ those that are mostly, but not totally of your mindset to win the war. More importantly, these wars are not won overnight.
How do you think the Dem’s were able to take over a few years ago? They won on the heals of conservative Democrats, those that were not fully in their ideological camp. Why have they been losing lately? They forgot what got them there, & have started running nothing but libtards & pushing their unpopular ideology.
Reagan, our standard bearer, knew the art & importance of compromise. Unfortunately, some so-called Conservatives here have yet to learn that principle. It’s all NOW or nothing. The Dem.’s are learning right now just how well that attitude works. Will we?
There is a reason why Keyes has lost like 39 elections.
“Reagan was one who knew the importance of incrementalism…often backed those of his party that were less than bedrock Conservatives…knew the art & importance of compromise.”
Here’s the difference. Reagan actually had the bedrock conservative principles, and when he compromised, it was—as you say—in the interest of eventually winning the war.
RINOs do not *have* the bedrock conservative principles, and when they compromise, it is in the interest of their own political careers.
While it is true that sometimes you have to ally yourself with those that are mostly, but not totally of your mindset to win the war, and that these wars are not won overnight, we must remember that these wars are *never* won if no battles are ever fought, and fought to win.
RINOs don’t fight those battles, much less fight to win.
“If guys like Keyes & EV had their way, & ran nothing but true blue, rock solid Conservatives in liberal states”
Neither of them has proposed that. They have taken note of the fact that Brown’s positions on baby-killing and sodomite “marriage” are not conservative. They didn’t say he shouldn’t have run, or shouldn’t have been elected. It’s just a matter of seeing things as they are.
That said, we’re not really faced with the prospect of running nothing but rock solid conservatives; we are faced rather with a GOP that seems to deplore conservatives and support nothing but RINOs in primaries and elections. And that is something about which a conservative can reasonably complain. It is also reasonable for a conservative to favor cleaning the RINOs out of the GOP, and running more conservative candidates. Not blindly and recklessly, as so many here wish to assume, but rationally and with full consideration of political realities.
“Why have they been losing lately? They forgot what got them there, & have started running nothing but libtards & pushing their unpopular ideology.”
So, pushing an evil, destructive ideology grounded in lies is the equivalent of pushing a rational, tried and true, successful ideology grounded in truth?
The fact that many people seem to recoil in horror from the demonrat ideology when finally they confront it is in no way an indication that they would recoil from conservatism in the same way.
“It’s all NOW or nothing.”
No, no one has proposed that or anything like it. That was fabricated and attributed to conservatives so that their opponents would have a criticism that at least sounds rational.