Jan 29 2009
The Conservative Implosion
All you need to know about how badly the purity wars crippled the GOP is to look at this graph:
The chart shows how the far right was able to run off those nasty moderate RINOs and push them into the Democrat camp. That includes some serious conservatives like the Anchoress, and keeps conservative independents like me out of the GOP and at arms length to the extremists.
One reason we have a President Obama running at warp speed to undo years of conservative progress is because the far right wanted purity over progress. They could not tolerate their less extreme political allies – so they tuned on them. Now the party is pure, and impotent in its small base.
To turn the country red requires a mea culpa and promises not to be intolerant of diverse views again. It will not go red simply because President Obama and Pelosi screw things up royally. The next round of GOP leaders will be more moderate like Bush and Palin and Reagan. No more hot heads.
Terrye
When conservatism returns, the conservatives will be there to support it??? In the meantime they will sit home and pout and complain?
well, you’ll notice that I said I did vote for McCain, I didn’t just sit home and pout. I agree with Dave m above where he says he would have liked to have had some input on the selection of the presidential candidate. It was all decided well before Louisiana voted, so we had zero input also. I would never have voted for McCain in the primary. I like none of his policies, except his support of the military and the war on terror. he is wrong on immigration, wrong on torture, wrong on closing of Gitmo (he did make an excellent choice for VP)
Newt, He did nothing about the fact that Democrats in the House and the Clinton administration were pursuing an easy credit policy that would have long term devastating economic effects.
I will concede that Newt is likely not a psychic. But at least he wasn’t actively pushing legislation meant to bankrupt the country while making a bunch of crooks rich, as Barney Fwank was (is).
It was one thing for Bush to be attacked by the media and the Democrats, but when the right turned on him, I lost a lot of respect for them… somehow or other they thought that attacking a Republican president would be good for conservatism.
Right turned on him? Peggy Noonan? an airhead. I’m a part of the right and I never turned on him. I would vote for him again. Harriet Myers, not my choice, Alito a much much better choice, but I didn’t say a word against Pres Bush about that fiasco, it was his choice. Do Repubs make mistakes, sure but much less so than Dems. I don’t know of a single policy or appointment they come up with that I support.
Why would a conservative say ” but when the right turned on him, I lost a lot of respect for them”? do you think the lefties are turning against the far lefties because Obama is not far leftie enough? Let’s make an analogy. Let’s say you believe in Jesus, but not 100%, oh say maybe 50%. But the people that believe in Jesus 98% say they think you should believe a little stronger, maybe 65%. So you lose ‘respect’ for them. Because some people aren’t willing to compromise their principles, you ‘lose respect’ for them? I respect the conservatives that are not willing to compromise their principles “for the sake of ‘getting along'” much more so than the ones that are willing to compromise all (or most) of their principles. Give Obama a chance? Ha.