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CIVIL WAR ON THE RIGHT
The American Spectator ^ | 8/11/2015 | Roger Kaplan

Posted on 08/11/2015 2:56:06 AM PDT by Oklahoma

What ever happened to Ronald Reagan’s “Thou shall speak no ill of a fellow Republican”? And what about W. F. Buckley’s admonition to always work for the Republican with the best chance to get in? He meant the most conservative candidate in a position to get in. I do not think he meant you should vote for the strongest conservative even when the strongest conservative was likely to get creamed by the weakest liberal. He meant you should vote for a weakly conservative or imperfectly conservative candidate if he is in a position to beat the left. No enemies on the right, is what Reagan and Buckley meant, in sum: two great men who thought alike in many ways and whom we miss, boy, do we miss them.

If Mr. Donald Trump declares himself a conservative and a Republican, and if he looks good, then what is the problem? This is, however, an academic question because as of now he has not declared himself either. As far as anyone knows he is a Democrat and a liberal. As Joe Queenan points out, there are strong reasons to believe he may be hand in glove with her.

(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: New York
KEYWORDS: 2016; 2016primaries; bush; trump
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Read it all.
1 posted on 08/11/2015 2:56:06 AM PDT by Oklahoma
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To: Oklahoma

bfl


2 posted on 08/11/2015 3:02:33 AM PDT by sauropod (I am His and He is mine.)
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To: Oklahoma

I read this. It was hard to follow, frankly.

There were diversions of thought that distracted from the message. To me, what was the point of invoking Erick Erickson? We’ve already heard enough about Erick because Erick Erickson reported on Erick Erickson’s asking Erick Erickson about what Erick Erickson thought.

I get the gist....do real debate, do the conversation of ideas and all that. Yes. But is that the rank and file’s job? How exactly do they do that when you have a debate moderator team of media personalities who are party line establishment? Their goal for that night was “put together some doozies and controversy.”

I can understand the plea for party unity and back to basics and all that. Only that Party, Republican, isn’t me any more. My allegiance is to this country, and to sublimate that under a party mantra of “vote for the next least evil candidate” isn’t going to work for me.


3 posted on 08/11/2015 3:09:22 AM PDT by Gaffer
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To: Gaffer
How exactly do they do that when you have a debate moderator team of media personalities who are party line establishment?

1. We can start by having the questions prepared by a different people than the moderators. Maybe we the people can be polled on what is important to us.

2. The moderators should only be there to enforce the rules of the debate. They should be boring, invisible type people.

3. Since we have multiple debates anyway, let each debate be on one topic only and beat it to death.

4 posted on 08/11/2015 3:25:52 AM PDT by bankwalker (In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.)
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To: Oklahoma
Now one simple way to start, and I am open to other suggestions, is to call a few of these candidates before a panel of sensible fellows, including Mr. Lord and myself, and also Mr. Tyrrell and Mr. Pleszczynski, and while we are at it Mr. Erickson and Mr. Fund, the National Review guy, and let’s get Mr. Barnes too, the political ace from the Weekly Standard, and I think we should also have Miss Peggy Noonan and Miss Anastasia O’Grady

You exhorted us to "Read it all". It was hard enough, but, when I got to the RINO Roll Call above, I said "Oh, hell no".
5 posted on 08/11/2015 3:33:00 AM PDT by Din Maker (Either Carly Fiorina or GOP Gov. Susana Martinez of NM for VP)
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To: bankwalker

I think part of their so-called plan was to get these questions from viewers, voters and so forth. They did get them, if I am not mistaken. They had a whole cornucopia of valid issues and dire ills in this country to choose from.

Yet, the first question out of the gate was to Trump and why he’s a general in the war on women - and it wasn’t “just Rosie O’Donnell- here I have a whole list prepared.....”

Yep, her first question an old standard of the Democrat Party, one of the prime phalanxes of Hillary’s campaign now, in fact.

After the debate, this learned team of moderators bleated “we were showcasing what they’ll be getting from Democrats - if they can’t take it from us, then how do you expect them to win?” Yes, let the Democrats and media frame the debate, pick ALL the questions and issues, and then you pukes can tell us who to vote for - that’s what you’d like, isn’t it? We don’t need no stinkin’ information about no candidates’ positions; we only need your proclamation about who kissed your ass the best. That’s the ticket.


6 posted on 08/11/2015 3:33:33 AM PDT by Gaffer
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To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; cardinal4; ColdOne; ...

7 posted on 08/11/2015 3:45:35 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (What do we want? REGIME CHANGE! When do we want it? NOW)
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To: Oklahoma

Well that column was a complete waste of time. What did you see in it that led you to encourage all of us to read the whole thing?


8 posted on 08/11/2015 3:52:14 AM PDT by be-baw (still seeking)
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To: Oklahoma

They can shove it.

I won’t vote for a GOPee RINO like Jeb?

Go Trump! Go Cruz!


9 posted on 08/11/2015 3:52:47 AM PDT by Bobalu (If we live to see 2017 we will be kissing the ground)
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To: Oklahoma

Is that the Republican Party that has no problem with John McCain calling conservatives “crazies”, but hyperventilates at Trump calling illegal aliens criminals?

The GOP is no more the party of Reagan and Buckley than the Democrats are the party of Truman and JFK. I’m getting too old to care if the people screwing us have R or D next to their name.


10 posted on 08/11/2015 3:53:33 AM PDT by Hugin
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To: bankwalker

They should ask broad policy questions, and have every candidate answer the same question in random order. But of course that would mean the moderators wouldn’t be important. The agenda of the networks is to make news about themselves, hence the gotcha questions.


11 posted on 08/11/2015 3:56:43 AM PDT by Hugin
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To: be-baw

Unreadable really


12 posted on 08/11/2015 4:02:00 AM PDT by jpsb (Believe nothing until it has been officially denied)
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To: Oklahoma

One of the sentinel features of our age is an aversion to true campaigning.

We are already seeing MSM articles about how “unsettled” the Republican race is - almost 300 days BEFORE the nomination is to be decided.

This is because the political class, and their LSM partners, HATE the fact that it is the People, not they, who decide things.


13 posted on 08/11/2015 4:10:34 AM PDT by Jim Noble (You walk into the room like a camel and then you frown)
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To: Oklahoma
And what about W. F. Buckley’s admonition to always work for the Republican with the best chance to get in? He meant the most conservative candidate in a position to get in. I do not think he meant you should vote for the strongest conservative even when the strongest conservative was likely to get creamed by the weakest liberal.

Buckley was unarguably a great conservative thinker, but maybe he had it wrong this time? Decades of voting for the most likely candidate has given us a party full of RINOs. Voting for the mostly likely Republican to win leaves us with a candidate who is only a few steps to the right of the leftist opponent.
14 posted on 08/11/2015 4:33:42 AM PDT by neefer (Because you can't starve us out and you can't make us run.)
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To: Oklahoma

He doesn’t have to “declare” himself anything. He only has to speak the truth.


15 posted on 08/11/2015 4:35:57 AM PDT by Theophilus (Be as prolific as you are pro-life.)
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To: Oklahoma
Cruz isn't afraid of Trump and notes that so many are foolishly attempting to smear Trump. Trump has only attacked "spoken poorly of") those that need to be spoken poorly of. This article reminds me of how the Left will cherry pick the Bible to try to use it against actual God-fearing Christians.

The "read it all" comment seems to indicate you agree with the GOPe supporters who use false memes to attack the best of what Trump brings and wishes for us all to continue to kiss the ring of the GOPe. If my assessment is wrong, feel free to educate me.

16 posted on 08/11/2015 5:04:17 AM PDT by trebb (Where in the the hell has my country gone?)
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To: Oklahoma
"Can you be a conservative and not be chivalresque? "

I stopped reading right there. That line tells me all I need to know about the author.

17 posted on 08/11/2015 5:05:08 AM PDT by nonliberal (Sent from a payphone in a whorehouse in Mexico.)
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To: Gaffer

This author’s wife has his testicles on the mantle to show to friends. Pathetic cuckservative manlet.


18 posted on 08/11/2015 5:06:01 AM PDT by nonliberal (Sent from a payphone in a whorehouse in Mexico.)
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To: Gaffer

The real ‘n’ in the wood pile might be the rumor is in fact true —RUMOR?? Ailes is gone and Murdock sons are now running the show. That might be truth from what was seen Thur night. Will MK make goo goo eyes at these two or would she just be wasting her time?
If rumor is truth Fox News is no longer spinning....it’s already gone down the drain.


19 posted on 08/11/2015 5:08:50 AM PDT by V K Lee
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To: Oklahoma
Let's start with Mitch McConnell and John Boehner before we complain about Donald Trump.

-PJ

20 posted on 08/11/2015 5:08:50 AM PDT by Political Junkie Too (If you are the Posterity of We the People, then you are a Natural Born Citizen.)
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