Posted on 09/29/2014 7:54:52 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
If history has taught conservatives anything, it is that having Republicans in power is a necessary but by no means sufficient condition to advance a conservative agenda.
During the George W. Bush era, for instance, Republicans controlled the White House and both chambers of Congress. Spending soared, the federal role in education grew, and entitlements underwent their most significant expansion since Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society.
Republicans claim to have rediscovered their commitment to limited government principles as a reaction to President Obama. But with the possibility of retaking control of the Senate within their grasp, Republicans have decided to pursue a strategy of playing it safe.
The thinking among many Republican strategists is that with Obama’s popularity in the toilet, it’s better to make the 2014 election a referendum on him rather than running on specific policies that could leave the GOP open to attack.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., finding himself in a tough re-election fight, has given mixed signals when it comes to Obama’s healthcare law. While telling New York Times that the law should be repealed “root and branch,” he also said of those who have obtained Medicaid coverage in his state as a result of the law’s expansion of the program, “I don’t know that it will be taken away from them.”
This is not an isolated example of Republicans undercutting conservative principles when it comes to entitlements.
Crossroads GPS, an arm of the Karl Rove-founded political action committee American Crossroads, has produced ads attacking Democrats for backing changes to entitlements — programs conservatives know are unsustainable and desperately in need of reform.
“Arkansas seniors depend on Social Security and Medicare,” a narrator says in Crossroads ad attacking Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor. “It’s troubling that Senator Pryor said we should overhaul Social Security and Medicare.”
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...
This headline is a false premise. The implication is that Republicans (i.e., the GOP-e) care one iota about conservatism. They don't. They want it burned at the stake as badly as Democrats -- who, while garbage, are at least open about their affiliation.
Their strategy is to fight us and any genuine conservatives in the primaries, then to pretend there is no reason for an election. Their ads don’t criticize Obama, his scandals, the economy, prices, nothing...They act like they want to be re-elected, but that’s it.
Compassionate conservatism! That's the ticket! Oh, did I forget amnesty? How racist! But then, I'm just a Republican, so you can't expect much from me.
Not sure I get your point.
Like someone said, this is the Seinfeld party, it stands for nothing. It is a dead man walking.
“The Rove-Romney crowd wants us to believe that this is politics as usual. This is war, and RINOs are on the wrong side.”
But we all lose. Divide the vote and lose the election. Not enough time to build a successful new party without losing to the communists and becoming sure that the destruction is final, total and fatal.
All we are doing is fighting a delaying action now. The probability of an orderly recovery is very small but not non-existent. It is zero without trying though.
One of the problems, besides the redefining, is that you can legitimately use it to refer to keeping the status quo.
The GOP message: “We’re not them.”
Republicans, by standing for nothing, will lose many races they should have won and are effectively deferring to Democrat policies and ideology because they will let the Democrats set the agenda as they tend to do even when they are the Congressional majority.
They don’t really envy him, they don’t want his job. They desire to be apparatchiks in a Total Government. To them that is Job Security and loads of opportunity for the proceeds of corruption.
Laughable.
The GOP has NEVER been conservative!!!!!!!
Never.
Sorry, kids. Conservatives are the “Republicans In Name Only”.
Time to accept it.
They are just laying in wait so they can pass amnesty.
This is especially true in the GOP today because of the many splits in the GOP.
This is why many democrats want the GOP to capture the Senate next Nov.. They think that a GOP controlled senate will descend into chaos similar to the GOP House.
Which will pave the way for a stronger dem party in 2016
But if the Republicans control the House and next year the Senate then we can begin to deal with the RINO issue and root out the problems of the Party. Oh, wait we already controlled them and the White House at the same time in the Bush presidency and we didn’t root out the RINO problem then.
But I am really-really assured by the RINO’s, GOPE and their “conservative” apologist if we can just support the Party this time and take the senate they will begin work right away on the RINO issue and they way conservatives are treated like dirt by the RINO’s and GOPE.
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