May 15 2008
When Will The “True Conservatives” Wake Up To The Damage They Did?
The purity wars inside the GOP are doing what many of us feared and predicted, decimating the GOP as America dumps the “true conservatives” and goes with conservative democrats. Those are the choices we have seen in the last 3 special elections: Far Right verses Left of Center. America chose Left of Center.
Why did America do that? Probably because they are tired of the far right testing their purity and clamoring all the time about who the best, most pure conservatives are, while damning those lesser conservatives – which are at times called ‘moderates’ (best said with the nose up in the air), many times ‘RINOs’ (Republican In Name Only), and on some issues ‘traitors’. America has decided that the ‘true conservatives’ are too difficult to deal with and are going with the conservative democrats or moderate republicans instead.
Rush Limbaugh tried to say the other day that the GOP dumped on the conservatives (of course all the true conservative ranting and name calling over issues like immigration is not dumping, it is politics). Actually conservatives, at least the ‘pure, true’ conservatives of Hannity and Levin and others, are not being dumped on. American voters are simply dumping them – period. Sorry Rush, but that dumping feeling is Americans telling the far right they went too far. That feeling of rejection is not because people are mean to the far right, it was because the far right became too caustic and heated and started on their purity rant, which left voters cold and looking elsewhere.
Note how all the ‘true conservative’ presidential candidates failed in this year’s GOP primary. The ‘true’ conservative’s worst enemy has became the party standard bearer. That was a message to the far right. The fact the conservative movement is growing and succeeding on the Democrat side of the aisle is a message to the far right. The fact that the liberal democrats had to end their own purity wars and allow pro-life candidates into the fold to gain back their political power is a message to the far right. The only question is whether anyone is listening on the far right, or are they all still obsessively comparing how ‘pure’ they are too each other and ignoring everything else going on around them?
Personally, I prefer the Reagan-Bush version of conservatism that came out of the GOP. But that was a broad coalition Reagan built. A diverse movement that respected differences and did not have litmus tests. This is not Reagan’s conservative movement today, clearly since it has decided to reject one of the most successful conservative president’s in modern history: George W Bush. Funny thing is all these purists think it was centrist Bush who chased the centrists to the center? Now that is some pretzel logic! If you are on the right and cannot stand Bush it is a good bet you are a ‘true conservative’, and you probably look in the mirror and think you see Reagan staring back.
But Reagan was extremely tolerant of non-conservative views. Remember, he was an life-long Democrat – like Harriet Miers. And we all know how Mrs. Miers was treated. He signed into law the largest, real amnesty bill for illegal immigrants, and we all know what traitors lurk in the GOP to repeat Reagan’s sin. Conservatism has a bad image right now, and the fact is the ones at fault are those who created the image of ‘true conservatism’ and claimed it was the only allowable brand of conservative thought allowed in the GOP. When they did that they told everyone else to take a hike – and they did! Now Americans support conservative democrats as they take over GOP seats held for a decade or more. We have succeeded in obtaining purity! (of course being an independent who is not allowed to be ‘conservative’ due to his impure positions the ‘we’ is very much tongue in cheek, or as Tonto would have said ‘what’s this ‘we’ stuff Kimosabe?”)
This was always where the purity wars were going to lead. To make something pure means to distill it down to just a few numbers with identical traits. That in politics is called a fringe group, because it is so far outside the impure mainstream. It looks like when Bush completed much of the common ground the right of center coalition agreed on, that coalition was destined to blow apart. There was nothing left to fight for that everyone agreed on. Now comes the next coalition, whatever shape that may be. Hopefully another Reagan-Bush type leader will arise that will quell this ten year itch the far right gets, which lands us with Clintons and Carters and who knows what this year.
Update: With all due respect to Ed Morrissey, who I find is one of the most level headed people on the right, his current thesis on what is wrong with the GOP is just not realistic:
Did the House GOP caucus take a hard line on pork-barrel spending or adopt policies to cut federal spending? No. Republican voters and conservative pundits begged the House and Senate caucuses to make dramatic breaks with the previous six years and adopt real conservative policies of fiscal responsibility and federalism. What did they do? They offered to stop earmarking only if Democrats followed suit, a deal everyone knew would never take place. Instead of appointing one single anti-pork activist to the House Appropriations Committee in Jeff Flake, they appointed Joe Bonner, a good Congressman but a well-known earmarker, and mostly because Flake’s anti-pork crusade irritates his colleagues.
Sorry, this is too much inside baseball to sway the electorate outside the beltway. And the idea anyone would gravitate to the tax-and-spend Dems to limit spending is laughable (but I still respect you Ed!). Whatever committee some guy named Flake is on did not cause this. Everyone sees the evidence – a conservative coalition is building in the democrat party. Conservatism is now winning when it comes attached to the democrats, which would have been considered ridiculous back in 2004 – before the purity wars erupted.
The reason far right conservatives are losing is they have lost the American voter. And it is not because they are not conservative enough, it is because they have been demeaning people who disagree with them marginally for years. When McCain and Bush and others put forth a reasonable compromise on immigration, people on the far right compared them to the far left which wants instant citizenship for all! This comparison was ludicrous and only demeaned those making it. America saw a radicalized, out of control, overly emotional far right and has backed away. America is backing away from conservatism under the GOP and going with conservatism under the democrats. Get a clue folks. If you love America and its people then listen to what they are saying in the voting booth. This not about pork spending and committee assignments. This the GOP losing the conservative preference to the Dems. Without broad conservatism, what does the GOP have to offer to oppose liberalism?
Update: I meant to post how Rush Limbaugh actually does the same thing has Hannity and Levin and Savage, by disparaging those ‘impure’ conservatives:
Gee, they’re just now getting it. What took ’em so long? Did you see what happened in 2006? Folks, I am mad today. Did you see what happened in 2006? Did you see all the conservative Democrats Pelosi ran in the South then and skunked your incumbents? With what? Not McCainism. These Democrats were not running as McCain. They were running as Reagan conservatives, and that’s how they won, in Reagan conservative districts.
…
Because the Republican Party, which has sold out to the pseudoconservatives of the New York Times and the DC-New York media establishment who think that Rockefeller Republicanism and country club Republicanism is the future of the party, Ms. Pelosi, “Okay, they’re going to give that up, they’re going to give up Reagan, fine, we’ll go take over.” If she wanted to, she could take over the whole Republican Party this way. But she’s too far left and her party is too far left. But if they really wanted a huge supermajority, it’s waiting for them. Meanwhile, the Republican Party is doing everything in the world that it can to try be 25%, 30%, 40% liberal or independent for some God-knows-who-can-explain-it reason.
Well, no time out from RINO bashing it seems. I think it is delusional to claim a democrat conservative is more conservative than the GOP conservative. Greg Davis in MI (the GOP candidate) was on the far right, especially when it came to immigration. He beat out those nasty pseudoconservatives (aka, RINOs, like Rudy Giuliani). No, it was not because the democrat was more conservative – that is emotional denial.
Want to know what pisses off America? Insult their favorite hero Mayor from 9-11, Rudy Giuliani, as the ‘true’ conservatives did when he ran for President. Insult Vietnam War Hero Senator McCain. Backstab our President and demean him and his views. That is the GOP brand of conservatism in the eyes of many Americans, and they have had their fill of it. They are now voting for lower key, less volatile conservatives, ones not beholding to the conservative chattering class. Yes, the Blue Dogs have to co-exist with Pelosi’s liberals and fight the battle for conservatism inside the Dem party, but they are not beholding to conservative talk radio and others who try to push more conservatism than some are ready to accept. Did it ever occur to the far right that Americans are really smart and know how to get around obstacles? Want to get the far right talking heads out of the picture? Put in Blue Dogs who can run free of the far right.
Something to think about while this disaster unfolds.
Update: This article at the Politico is especially brutal, but it also notes the other fallout of the GOP conservative movement losing ground to a Democrat conservative movement – you lose campaign dollars. I fail to see how Rush Limbaugh expects to garner support for GOP conservatism by bashing pseudoconservatives and conservative independents like he did the other day? When these impure voters vote for Blue Dogs, the tend to take their campaign contributions with them. Not sure how belittling them is a winning strategy???? Call me naive.
Terrye,
You and AJ have been as guilty of attacking others with opposing beliefs as Levin, Malkin or anyone else you accuse of doing so. You need to choose your words wisely. If you disagree is it an attack? If it isn’t for you then it isn’t for them. It goes both ways.
“They want to analyze everyone else when they need to be analyzing themselves”
And so do you.
I do not think that Republicans were in trouble with McCain. In truth I think he is the only Republican who can win right now. And maybe conservatives need to ask themselves why that is so, rather than just bitching and moaning and whining and attacking the man for having the temerity to actually WIN the nomination.
Whippet:
Your lame moral relativism does not work here.
So I need to analyze myself? Why?I am not the one who is thinking about sitting out the next election and letting Barack Obama win just because I am pissed.
Conservatives are pissed that they can not win elections anymore. Rather than ask themselves why that might be, they go after McCain or Bush or someone else.
So spare me the you are no better than they are when they threaten to sit home because Juan McAmnesty stole the nomination and plans to open the borders and sell us out to Mexico bla bla bla.
I hear that kind of stuff every day, and worse.
Terrye,
” I hear that kind of stuff every day, and worse.”
I’m sure you do because it fits your narrative to well. Concentrate on those few and lump every conservative in with them…that’s your way.
No Terrye, no need for you to do any soul searching…when you can blame others so easily. It must be an amazing feeling to always be right.
Blaming people for bitching and moaning as you bitch and moan.
Unbelievable.
Moral relativism? lol!
Whippet1 asks:
“what I don’t get is why a guy who is pretty conservative on most issues holds so much contempt for conservatives in general.”
after a tirade by the far right when I simply pointed out they are losing elections, which means they are losing support.
Gee Whippet1, do you think I hold contempt for the far right (not conservatives because – I are one!) because, like Savage and Levin, they have been acting contemptible?
LOL! Actually, since they are losing support I don’t feel contempt. I simply keep pointing out how they can fix their problem with the voters – but they don’t like what they have to do to fix it so people lay into me for the mess.
Typical.
whippet:
Oh grow up. There is Mark Levin, a supposed leader in the conservative community literally calling for conservatives to leave the Republican party because so many Republicans are not pure enough, not good enough for them. They are the ones laying down the ultimatums.
They are the ones who seem to think that few years with Obama as President is not big deal if it teaches the Republicans a lesson. And of course it will be good for ratings. Lots of things to bitch about.
However, the simple truth is that any conservative who sits back and lets some lefty like Obama win without even trying to stop it, does not need to be doubting anyone else’s integrity. That is what is unbelievable.
And by the way whippet you bitch and moan too all the time. So why are you bitching and moaning about someone else bitching and moaning?
I think the thing that bothers me the most is the soldiers. The idea that those young men and women gave their lives in defense of a cause that is less important to people than some silly partisan bullshit. McCain would do his best to see to it that their sacrifice was not in vain. I guess that doesn’t matter to the pure conservative anymore. They seem to be too pissed about the fact that McCain does not kiss their asses enough.
AJ,
“Actually, since they are losing support I don’t feel contempt.”
Yes, of course you don’t feel contempt…since they are LOSING support. Very telling…gloating maybe, but never contempt, right? Or is that your rationalization for it? They lost because of it, so now that you feel that you’re on the winning end you can act in the same manner?
We have been down this road before and you’ll never see that you are acting just as they are. Like I said, passion always overrides common sense.
It isn’t about whether you are right or wrong. I was irritated by some on the far right for the same reasons you are and I told you so when I first started posting here. But I have come to see that I was more wrong about you than them. They were blustering about things that angered them and made that very clear. You, on the other hand chose to use them as cover to bluster about what you believe all the while blaming them.
I rarely listen to Rush and rarely go to Malkin’s site. I came here every day hoping for rational discussion of differing reasonable viewpoints. (I have to put reasonable in there to cover the unreasonable Truthie/Soothie/Norm viewpoints.) What I have found is condensention, mocking, and contempt for those who see a few things differently. That is no different than what can be found at Malkin’s site. Each simply justifies it by claiming to be less offensive than the other. Both are offensive. Both are tirades. Both are contemptible. That’s pretty sad when such small differences detract from what otherwise are some really great thoughts and ideas and common ground at both sites.
Terrye,
Get off your high horse…Conservatives will vote for McCain BECAUSE of the troops. If you spent as much time bashing your former party of anti-American troop haters as you do the few “pure”(whatever that is) conservatives who choose not to vote you might have a valid argument.
What is obvious is that conservatives aren’t kissing your ass enough and that’s what really bothers you.
And you consider major differences of opinion “silly partisan bullshit.”? I would think not if it came to one of your major differences of opinion, like say the War on Terror and all those heroic soldiers who we all want supported?
Terrye,
And as for Levin? Do I see the pot calling the kettle black? It’s o.k. for you to leave your party but he can’t leave his? What makes you so high and mighty that you can make those choices but somehow he isn’t allowed. Do as I say not as I do…that’s the mantra of your former party isn’t it? Or is it your former party, because you sound as if you’re still one of their charter members.
“And by the way whippet you bitch and moan too all the time. So why are you bitching and moaning about someone else bitching and moaning? ”
Left by Terrye on May 15th, 2008
Yes, I’m bitching and moaning about listening to you excuse your actions by bitching and moaning……….oh, forget it. It’s like talking to a brick wall.
Hey, Terrye and AJ,
Diane Feinstein snuck in an illegal alien amnesty measure to the Iraq War supplemental bill. Are you happy now?
Whippet1,
You still slamming conservatives who don’t agree with you? I mean I know I was right when I said the far right was killing the party, but you don’t have to go this far in supporting my points!
And no, I was for comprehensive reform, not amnesty. I know, from the rightward fringes they all look the same, but they are very different.
The real question is whether all the right wingers who gave the issue over to a dem led congress and gave them this window to put through real amnesty are happy? Fact is they are the ones who killed off the only option out there to a liberal bill.
You hypochondriacs are the ones who should be proud – this is what you worked so hard for!
Whippet:
Why are you asking me if I am happy? I am not Diane Feinstein.
And Whippet if you think there are not conservatives threatening to sit and home and let Obama win then you are not listening to these people rant and rave.
You know what the problem is? This morning over at powerline the first post is another one bitching about Lindsay Graham. Not Feinstein or any other Democrat. Conservatives spend too much time attacking other Republicans and too little time going after their real opponents.
And btw, once Levin and his kind help Obama get elected, he will put in whatever kind of amnesty bill he wants and there will be nothing conservatives can do about it.
After all, they will have purged their party of so many people there won’t be enough votes left for a filibuster.
That kind of makes me wonder who the RINOs really are.
Geesh…you can’t shut down your computer for even one evening. I see the hounds have been released.
It takes a special kind of stubbornness and denial to blame conservatives for a centrist candidate. What AJ and Terrye are admitting to here, is that they have been so put off by the delivery of the conservative message that THEY have moved to the center. Again, they are shooting the messenger for the message. So it comes down to one of two things, either they are naive and are rejecting conservatism because it’s delivered harshly or they aren’t on board with the idealogy anyway. I assume they are not on board with conservatism. To say the other would mean they would have to admit to being duped into judging the messenger rather than the message. AJ, Terrye? What you say? Is it the messengers or the message?