Well, I don’t think incremental compromising is the main cause. Much as I get angry at people like Graham, and McCain, they are the RESULT of what’s wrong, not the cause.
This country has been under attack by the left since the 1920’s, and with increased fervor after WWII, particularly in the 1960’s and 1970’s.
The left took over all of the cultural avenues in this country: academia; broadcasting; movies; publishing; newspapers and television; theater; fashion; the music industry. Heck, they have even taken over most of the mainline churches.
If you don’t think this is true, go back and watch some movies made in the 30’s and 40’s, when Louis Mayer was in charge of a studio instead of Stephen Spielberg. Listen to some music from the 1940’s, when no artist would have thought of writing about how crummy our country was in the middle of a war, unlike today. Read the Time Magazine of the 1950’s, when the Luce’s still had control.
The left now controls all of the methods of disseminating information and cultural trends except for talk radio, the internet, and a few programs on Fox. It is a testament to the strength of conservatism that we manage get people elected in spite of these roadblocks, and a testament to the American people when they step forward and vote for traditional values and vote for even the most lukewarm GOP candidate, because the left has been telling them all of these people are evil for 3 generations.
What we have are elected Republicans who feel surrounded. They cannot go onto a news program for an interview without being ambushed. Their homes are constantly watched. Reporters (functioning for all practical purposes like the KGB) snoop on their families, go through their trash, dig up every old rumor from old enemies who have a personal grudge, and then this is plastered over the current versions of Pravda, the Washington Post and the New York Times.
Ask yourself how you would like to live in this type of environment. Could you stand up to this constant presure? Then, when you are doing your work and you happen to take a different line than the “approved” conservative position on one issue, your supporters, insttead of asking WHY, attack with a ferocity equal to the left, because they are convinced that you are a traitor.
So the next time an issue comes along, you remember that your fake allies attacked you, so you decide you can’t counton them in an election, so you’d better pick up some votes from the center.
Every time this happens,a candidate moves more to the left, because he cannot count on those votes from conservatives. They told him so.
This theory is not mine. It is the late Common Tator’s explanation. And it is to my mind the reason we have people like Lindsey Graham, who once was very conservative. I don’t remember what the first issue was which caused people to attack him, but it seems that every year he moves away from conservatism a little bit, while people on our side never realize that they themselves are part of the problem.
Very few people will stay out on that limb supporting conservative causes if they see nothing but people with saws climbing up the tree.
No doubt we are in a war with not only the left but the rino right. Purity contests such as the one you describe that aide the left are useless.
As I have stated before now is the time to nominate the most conservative candidate we can get.
When this time,the primaries, is over and we have a candidate its time for rat extermination. time to exterminate each and every democrat we can at "every" level of govt. Not just our favorite level,IMHO.
Our politicians have failed to faithfully support and defend the Constitution as they swore to do and through their incremental compromising put us in the position we now find ourselves. They are elected to office to make sure, above all else, that any laws enacted are within US Constitutional parameters, the laws are enforced and if not, raise holy hell or, in the legal vernacular, raise the hue and cry to the citizenry! They are not sent there, contrary to some of their beliefs, to enrich themselves monetarily and with power at our expense and that's a major factor to their motivations to compromising. They seem to think they're at "Club Med."
As far as Lindsey Graham goes, he is an Attorney and knows the US Constitution and law and regardless he has refused on a numerous occasions to enforce it for emotional claptrap reasons.
My point on all this is Republican need to get a backbone and get in the opposition's faces as they do with us without fear of losing office and refuse compromise unless it's to our benefit ...... and big time! If they can't do that or are afraid and want to play nice, nice and the "like me, not like me game," then they should get out or be voted out. Once you submit yourself to that game you've lost control of your situation.
I've got to go I've been on here to long already ......... it's been nice talking with all of you. :O)
Linseed was pretty good as house impeachment manager.
He got squishy after winning the SC senate seat and buddied up with McCain, it was downhill after that.