Jan 30 2008
GOP Purity Wars Must End – Or Else Welcome Dem President
The purity warriors (sometimes I like to jab them as the Mary Poppins conservatives who are practically perfect in every way) have a decision to make today and into the future. Do they want a seat at the table of power or are they going to leave the conservative coalition? They have been ranting and insulting for years now as their power and influence has waned. And the result of the purity drives – and a horrid disrespect for others – has driven the conservative coalition to go in the complete opposite direction they want by nominating John McCain.
So those on talk radio and elsewhere who railed against McCain (note that I did too in the sense I pointed out he is not conservative enough on many issues) need to line up and support the more conservative (not the most perfectly conservative) candidate. Only in an alliance can folks hope to blunt McCain’s liberal tendencies on critical issues. Because that is the only path to staying in Iraq and not surrender it to Bin Laden. That is the only path to pressure someone to hold off on Embryonic Stem Cell Research. That is the only path to make the Bush tax cuts permanent. None of these are possible under a Democrat President.
The only other option is to sit on the sideline – which will become a permanent place of residence. Americans will not back strong conservative principles for years to come if the reaction to McCain’s pending nomination is an increase in the volume of vitriol and venom. You want to promote Romney then do so. But I have heard 20 minutes of McCain bashing for every 2 minutes of discussing Romney’s positions. If this continues the path that started with Miers and Dubai Ports and Immigration will continue to its logical conclusion – a long time and possibly permanent fracturing of the conservative coalition and years in the minority for the GOP.
I am not very optimistic. Too many are willing to let our country get hurt by the dems as some way to vindicate their madness that let the dems back in power in the first place. Recent history does not bode well. Many like me (The Anchoress comes to mind) warned the far right to not get out of hand and personal, and to learn to lose some causes with dignity. But those warnings went unheeded and we went from 2004 and the peak of conservative control of government to 2008 where it is all about to be lost. The wars must end – or the GOP ends as we know it.
AJ
There are at least two sides to purity wars.
Just looking at the numbers in a NEUTRAL manner 20% of those voting on the rep side were not normally registered republicans. That means people like you describe yourself moderates who vote republican in the general.
Huck and Paul combined last night hold a block of about 20% which you could almost for analysis purposes consider a third party in relation to the leading republicans were trying to choose between.
So at best you are suggesting that the moderate 20% should tell the republican 60% just who they should vote for and why? And out of that 60% republican vote only about 12% comprise what you call the hard right and other terms.
So in essence you are ending up with moderates being just as much demanding as those you rail so hard against. Plus the ones you seem to hold such ire for simply on a single issue related to immigration most likely are the strongest conservatives who also most firmly support your positions on stem cells, abortion and many other issues.
So if I am getting that analysis correct you are railing the most against those who are on many issues the strongest supporters of all the other issues you have.
This makes how many primaries now? Except for the caucus in Wy which is almost a blip they have all been moderate to left leaning. Florida is durn near neutral as you get.
We have not had a single primary that is in what could be called a republican stronghold state so far. NV carries a little toward us and SC has in the last 4 elections but only by small margins. But none would be classed in the powerhouse category.
Call it what you want, but the problem with McCain in a lot of ‘conservative’s minds is that he is dishonest. He willfully, knowingly and repeatedly lied (bore false witness against Romney) to ‘get ahead’. Not the trait of a good leader. Also the sign of a very weak character of no solid core values (or ethics for that matter). Many people will choose not to vote when the choice is between that and worse. This also highlights another difference between liberals and conservatives. Liberals seem to admire, respect and expect dishonesty and deceit from their leaders, marveling at how ‘clever’ they are, while most conservatives despise such behaviour. God help America and its choice in future leaders.
I am doing my level best to do impartial analysis based simply on the numbers without bias insertion. As I have said many times before my guy was never even running in the race at all. So really for the most part I don’t have a dog in this hunt. But yes I am voting my preference of those that are in the race. That is the best I can do with what is presented to me.
But based on historic data the group you seem to have the most issue with when all is said and done will join with the party and support the nominee whoever it is. At worst case about 1/4 of 1% will stay home and pout. So I see all the hand wringing being done as overblown and not productive. It looks like my guy I have been supporting in the race will likely be out and thats ok, it’s part of the way we do things. But I will not stay home for the general.
But your focus for months has been ire against those who support you in so many other things. Yes those people have their desires of what they want in a candidate just as you do, but they are not any more right or wrong in that choice as anybody else in the voter base.
I just look at how the numbers fall and do my best to just express what I am seeing and sometimes I feel like you have taken offense to that most neutral of viewpoints. I find that a little sad in a way, but emotions carry through on some things and I shrug it off and just keep on keeping on.
McCain hasn’t been my first choice, either. But I’ve got to admit some schadenfreude at seeing all those conservatives who dishonestly cried “amnesty!” take it in the teeth (or lower) so hard! They worked hard for this moment, they deserve their reward.
So far to date combining all primaries held except Wy we have had an approximate total of 3043000 votes cast on the republican side with 1851000 being last night.
With an average crossover vote of 20% that means the total crossover has been around 608600 votes and Mc has gotten 40% of them for a total of about 243400 crossover votes for Mc.
So 61% roughly of all republican primary votes were cast last night, with 370,200 crossovers and Mc getting about 148000 of them of his 693,425 votes he got last night.
Bottom line is the crossover vote for Mc last night was about 1/3 of the votes being sequestered by Huck and Paul so they are having more of an effect on how this primary season than anything else.
I’ve NEVER voted for a Democrat (other than in nonpartisan local elections in California many years ago), but….
McCain is good on the War for now, but how steady will he be under continuous pressure from the New York Times (whose favor he courts) and the Democrats in Congress (for whose opinion he seems to care more than for that of conservatives and other Republicans)?
McCain is TERRIBLE on taxes and economics generally, TERRIBLE on free speech, and, from my perspective, TERRIBLE on dealing with the borders. (Of course, that means AJ will discount my views completely, since he is as hysterical in favor of the left’s position on immigration as he accuses anyone who disagrees with him of being)
I think conservatives and Republicans (sets that overlap but are not identical) have to have a very open and public discussion of whether we would be better off with McCain in the White House forging a liberal coalition with Democrats except on the war (and maybe letting himself be persuaded on that, too) or whether we would be better off with Obama in the White House, and digging in the trenches to fight the left wing economics and taxes, relying on a dose of reality to keep Obama from doing anything really, really stupid once he’s actually president.
Consider, as lefty as he clearly is, Obama is not a stupid man (e.g. like Teddy Kennedy) or (on the available evidence) a particularly mendacious one (e.g., like the Clintons). There are solid conservatives who have known him in law school and since, and have high personal regard for him. If, in fact, he is open to rational argument, that might be an improvement on McCain, who makes every disagreement personal, just like the Clintons do.
If it’s Hillary, I will hold my nose and vote for McCain, but if it’s Obama, the jury is out.
WWS:
My thoughts exactly.
G’day, all
CatoR – you summed it up quite well and the dilemna facing conservative voters. Do you vote for McCain with the knowledge that a win will severely damage the conservative movement and voice within the GOP, or do you stay out and risk an Obama presidency in the short-term but re-vectoring the GOP back to core conservative principles?
I believe it was Rich Lowry who pointed out that this is first time there has been a presumptive GOP nominee who has yet to win a majority of GOP voters in any state. Crazy … and some wonder why there is hesitancy and frustration.