There is hope for the GOP, it has turned another corner and is back on a positive track. The GOP has begun the necessary process of ‘purifying’ itself from the unreliable far right (or ‘true conservatives’) who spend more time insulting fellow conservatives who don’t toe their line than making conservative progress in manageable steps. In fact, the far right has succeeded in stopping all progress on the alter of ‘perfection’, and handing power to the liberals so they can undo all the progress since Reagan took office. 

With a track record like that it is clear why we cannot let the Hannity-Malkin-Savage-Crowley-Ingrahm types keep chasing away conservatives to the point even liberals look better in comparison (check the 2006/2008 election results for a clue folks). In the pursuit of the mythical ‘perfection’ we did not get immigration reform twice, we stalled on education reform, we could not get entitlement reform. Because they could not get their way (or some liberal had been willing to sign on and move the ball a bit more to the right) the far right torpedoed progress across numerous fronts. Their motto: “All or Nothing”. We got nothing. We got Obama, Pelosi and Reid.

It is no big secret or challenging puzzle to understand why Reagan and the two Bush Presidency’s were so successful – they were moderates willing to negotiate with democrats to make some progress. They would peal away enough democrat support to move our national policies into a more conservative position. For this they were chastised by the zealots of their time. Example: Bush seated huge numbers of constructionists judges and 2 USSC justices, yet the Gang of 14 who helped pull this off was politically lynched for doing it without all-out civil war. That is the sign of hothead thinking led by emotion. Even in smashing success some found Earth shattering disaster (leaving many to scratch their heads).

This week the RNC selected its new leader. The far right, ‘true’ conservative hot head with the smashingly insulting personality was rejected. This guy tried to be like the AM Radio talking heads, simple minded with school yard humor. The problem is the conservative movement is not made up of groupies like the liberal left. It’s members are respected professionals of the community who strive for respect, responsibility and quality in society, not one-liner insults. In the end his approach back-fired (big time).

The new RNC leader is former MD Lt. Governor Michael Steele. He is a strong and devoted conservative who knows how to communicate without insulting people for disagreeing with him 100%. He was the most moderate of the 5 choices – which tells the whole story. First McCain, now Steele – there is a message there folks!.

Steele helped found the Republican Leadership Council, a center right group that probably is too moderate for my tastes in some areas, but it does bring in those who lean conservative and who alone can create conservative governing majorities. “True” conservatives are now a vocal minority pondering why they have lost so much political ground – yet still throwing insults (like “RINO”) at their natural allies. Sort of clueless behavior IMHO.

Steele knows that to make progress in a democracy you have to negotiate and give a little. There is no 100% perfect outcome in politics (or human endeavors). That is a myth.  ”All or nothing” always ends with “nothing”. Steele is a sign that the GOP is growing up and getting out of the politics of insulting your opponents to convince them to support your views. And he is not the only one who has found his voice.

For example, former RNC chairman Jim Nicholson came out recently to call for an end of the ‘true conservative’ strangle hold on policies, which is literally killing the party:

Former Republican National Committee Chair and Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson spoke out on the GOP’s electoral challenges Friday, urging Republicans to reach out to Hispanic voters by reviewing their position on immigration. 

“We have to better inform and motivate and align with the Hispanic voters,” Nicholson said in an interview with Politico. “That’s one of the key issues that the party and its leaders need to convene and, you know, have a very open, transparent discussion about developing a party position on.” 

Nicholson, whose home state of Colorado turned blue in 2008 thanks in part to heavy Democratic voting among Hispanics, said Hispanics could be open to Republican ideas. 

“The Hispanic voters…in this country are center-right, more conservative, more family- and work-oriented people,” he said. “We have to overcome some of the predilections that they have about Republicans so that we get more of their votes.” 

Emphasis mine. Predilections caused by caustic, over-the-top rhetoric from the Amnesty Hypochondriacs who equate all immigrants with mass murderers. I mentioned back when the far right began their purity wars that it would destroy the GOP governing coalition, and that in the end they would end up on the outside looking in (pouting as usual). Here we are years later and my predictions came true.

I have never once given them an inch because of what they did to the GOP and President Bush, and how their self-absorption allowed the Democrats to get in power and start undoing a lot of hard, good work. They would not still their angry insults against the Gang of 14, Harriet Miers, President Bush, and those who supported comprehensive immigration reform. They went insane over the idea a moderate, Arab/Muslim ally would have one of its companies buy a controlling interest in one of our companies (and pay by putting in sophisticated shipping container security scanners around the world to check these before they made it to our ports). These people opened up a civil war on the right and demanded they be the controlling voice. It was a dumb move, as we see now in hindsight.

The intolerant don’t need to be tolerated, and there are plenty more voices of moderation that can override the far right. We outnumber them, but our ‘moderate’ nature (a.k.a., respectful debate, open to options, willing to work together with others) makes us lose the decibel battle on volume. Compassionate Conservatives are the ultimate silent majority who decide elections. If they are loud and insulting, they are not in the majority! They are now rising up again to steer the GOP back from the brink.

The warnings do not stop at RNC chairmen either. The GOP Minority Leader is also joining the chorus, and no one would confuse him with a moderate (or “RINO”):

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell issued a blunt warning to Republicans Thursday: Their party must regain lost supporters plus blacks, Hispanics and voters on both coasts — or risk becoming a permanent minority party with a limited power base. 

“We’re all concerned about the fact that the very wealthy and the very poor, the most and least educated, and a majority of minority voters, seem to have more or less stopped paying attention to us,” McConnell said in a speech at the Republican National Committee’s winter meeting. “And we should be concerned that, as a result of all this, the Republican Party seems to be slipping into a position of being more of a regional party than a national one.” 

In stark terms, the Kentucky Republican added: “In politics, there’s a name for a regional party: It’s called a minority party. … As Republicans, we know that common-sense conservative principles aren’t regional. But I think we have to admit that our sales job has been. 

“And in my view, that needs to change,” he said. 

Damn straight. And people are equals in the party, worthy of respect. Instead of mouthing a line about being ‘a fine American’, walk the walk and treat each other with respect that comes from the diversity a good cause brings. Marvel that so many people from different views and walks of life can find common ground. Stop demanding you are the voice of conservatism! Enough with the silly ego trips (which has me totally turned off from AM talk radio).

And the New GOP messengers don’t stop there. President Bush also laid out the same warning recently:

“President Bush called for a ‘compassionate’ Republican Party and warned against the GOP becoming ‘anti-immigrant’ in one of his last interviews as president, defending his vision of the party, which has become unpopular among some Republicans,” the Washington Post writes. “‘It’s very important for our party not to narrow its focus, not to become so inward-looking that we drive people away from a philosophy that is compassionate and decent,’ the president said in an interview on ‘Fox News Sunday’… ‘We shouldn’t have litmus tests as to whether or not you can be a Republican. And we should be open-minded about big issues like immigration reform, because if we’re viewed as anti-somebody — in other words, if the party is viewed as anti-immigrant — then another fellow may say, “Well, if they’re against the immigrant, they may be against me.”’” 

I hope the conservative movement is finally going to get back to mature, reasoned principles and debate. We don’t need hotheads and self proclaimed visionaries to lead us. We don’t need over payed talking heads to tell us what to think or how to act or what decisions to make.

We can chart our won path of reasonable steps for conservatism to grow and prosper in America. And that is because reasonable conservatism is the framework which supports families, frees individuals to explore their potential, demands responsibility of our people, helps those in need, provides for the national defense, protects and respects life, protects and respects personal decisions, and does this while minimizing the burden on our people and economy. That is the successful formula for a conservative governing coalition. It will be a marvel of progress, made from numerous imperfect steps.

There is a brand of conservatism that limits choices, insults non-believers, demands fealty to self proclaimed leaders, invades our homes and personal lives, is knee-jerk nativist and tries to destroy scientific fact as mythology (with mythology). That is the brand of conservatism that is dying off. 

Here is Michael Steele in his own words on the matter:

He vowed to expand the reach of the party by competing for every group, everywhere.

“We’re going to say to friend and foe alike: ‘We want you to be a part of us, we want you to with be with us.’ And for those who wish to obstruct, get ready to get knocked over,” Steele said.

Gallup: Edwards 50 – Giuliani 45
RCP Avg: Edwards +1.4%

Gallup: Edwards 50 – McCain 44
RCP Avg: Edwards +0.3%

Gallup: Edwards 61 – Romney 32
RCP Avg: Edwards +23.5%

We should all thank the amnesty hypochondriacs for bringing this debacle about because the only major item to hit the news and impact these numbers (where the Reps use to lead in many matches) was the immigration bill.

Go back to this site and see how the numbers have shifted since only June. Clinton has seen a +13 point shift against Guiliani. Clinton moved +10 against McCain (proving the damage is GOP-wide, not against proponents of the bill). Obama has made progress since February, showing a +14 against Guiliani, a +2 against McCain (again, showing that it cannot be due to being a proponent of the immigration bill).

The others do not have comparison numbers in this poll. But if other polls show the same across the board shift for the GOP then we can admit the self destruction of the GOP is working its magic.

“We want to do everything we can to help Iraq succeed in the future but, like many of our senior military leaders, we do not believe that adding more U.S. combat troops contributes to success. They, like us, believe there is no purely military solution in Iraq. There is only a political solution.”

“Adding more combat troops will only endanger more Americans and stretch our military to the breaking point for no strategic gain.”

“Rather than deploy additional forces to Iraq, we believe the way forward is to begin the phased redeployment of our forces in the next four to six months,…

Music to the ears of Bin Laden and Zawahiri, I am sure. The Somali’s and Ethiopians were able to chase Al Qaeda out of Somalia in a few short weeks, but the Dems are so ready to give up they think leaving millions of Iraqis to die at the hand of terrorists is honorable! The American people are going to have a bad case of buyer’s remorse now.

Many derided me when I listed the Democrat’s Contract With Al Qaeda last year. But a quick review shows the Dems are doing exactly what Al Qaeda needs to survive and fight againL:

FIRST, we will finally kill the Patriot Act so that no member of Al Qaeda will fear using our libraries to access international websites, access their email, or do basic research on major US installations and population centers. We will guarantee full privacy due anyone who makes it to our shores without question. In addition, we will roll back all provisions that put terrorism on an equal footing with Drug Traffickers and Organized Crime, which we understand greatly insults members of Al Qaeda who consider themselves above drug lords.

SECOND, We will enact legislation to release all Al Qaeda members now held in custody in the GITMO Gulag, while providing legal counsel to all who have been unfairly detained during this unfortunate international misunderstanding between Al Qaeda and America. We will ensure all detainees have options for bail and parole so they can continue with their life’s efforts while the legal issues surrounding their detention are worked out. Every ex-detainee will be provided the services of an ACLU lawyer.

THIRD, we will pass legislation ensuring that all Al Qaeda members will be free from government monitoring of their phone calls and emails with comrades back home monitored without probable cause. Probable cause will not include the normal desire to call home to friends and family. We see this act as protecting US citizens and Al Qaeda alike from warrantless surveillance.

FOURTH, as part of our revamping of immigration laws, we will ensure Al Qaeda members are treated the same as any other illegal immigrant now in America. We will provide you amnesty, a driver’s license, health care and education support once you are able to sneak past our borders.

FIFTH, as with warrantless electronic surveillance and in anticipation of pending civil lawsuits, we plan to pass legislation that bans warrantless searches of person and luggage at airports and other major transportation centers. It makes no sense to allow random searches of travelers if we are going to end targeted surveillance of communications. And we find both actions to be religious profiling and against the common sense norms of all liberal Americans.

SIXTH, Also, in line with the unfair targeting of Al Qaeda communications and persons travelling, we plan to submit legislation ending the practice of no-fly lists. This practice is biased towards people with common names and has limited the rights to travel of nuns and babies in the past.

SEVENTH, in an effort to demonstrate our sincere apologies for the actions of President Bush towards Al Qaeda, we plan to return the State of Iraq to the despot dictator of Al Qaeda’s choice by calling for the immediate withdrawal of our military forces to the safety of European soil. We encourage Al Qaeda to do what they please with the Iraqi people.

EIGHTH, we will submit and pass legislation that will mandate any questioning by US agents of Al Qaeda members to (a) be done in the presence of an ACLU lawyer, (b) never last more than 30 minutes, (c) be done indoors, in climate controlled conditions, (d) include an offering of proper food and beverage and (e) require every question to use the word ‘please’.

NINE, we promise to immediately begin impeachment of Al Qaeda’s most dangerous enemy, the Imperial President W Bush, and we will promise to not stop our efforts until we have removed this thorn in Al Qaeda’s side – even if we have to make up scandals to get it done.

Note Item 7 – which they have dutifully performed. I posted this on February 6th and plan to measure the Democrat performance against it. I expect them to score a perfect 100 before summer.

Addendum: First off, I do know most of these are actuall in the works right now. I just want to declare them accomplished when the Democrat Leaders actually come out and make good. And I really do not care whether the Dems intend to help Al Qaeda or not, it is the result of their actions that matter. Many dreadful mistakes have been made at the altar of good intentions.

Republicans drew barely 30 percent of the Latino vote last week, down from 44 percent in 2004. Democrats, by contrast, saw their numbers jump. They drew 69 percent, compared with 53 percent in 2004. Given the GOP’s hopes nationally, including in Latino-heavy states such as Texas, it can’t ignore the decline.

A bipartisan survey just days before the election reported that 51 percent of Latino likely voters said immigration reform was important to their vote. Democratic pollster Celinda Lake claims the issue moved Latinos more than any group.

President Bush has polled anywhere from 35 to 49 percent of the Latino vote in races in Texas and for president. And he has not backed down from trying to improve the nation’s immigration system.

Add to these the other ‘races’ who felt the immigration stand was over the top and you have a pretty could thumping. Again, I think Bush’s last minute efforts and Kerry’s terminal foot-in-mouth-disease turned a tide that was ready to swamp the Reps. Personally, if the far right cannot agree to allow a guest worker program then there is no hope for the Republican party. None. I have heard all the rationalizations and they are nothing but reasons not to compromise. Heck, if the amount of energy going into denial was refocused on fixing the compromise bill (like one strike your out tolerance for serious crimes) we would be sailing to a good 2008.

But the far right has no capacity for reaching out. None. The country may have ridden the conservative tide with the Reps as far as we can or as far as we need to. Taxes are low and dems are loathe to raise them. Liberal dems must hide their intents behind conservative sounding sound-bites. If Bush can work with Snowe and McCaskill and Coleman and Lieberman and Menendez to fashion the next round of controlled conservatism, then I guess that is what us voters are left to work with. We need to get the comprehensive Bill passed and thankfully now we have a way to get it done. I can tell the far right is not going to budge, they are a lost cause. And with most lost causes, there is no reason to ponder what could have been. The GOP, at least in my eyes, is not showing any capacity to correct their flaws – the worst of which is their presumed superiority. The same superiority that brought them a resounding win in this election cycle. The “guest worker program” will kill the party off. Being against guest workers who work in the open economy is just ridiculous. To fix this, the GOP has to be for a guest worker program, work out details and live with what is always an imperfect result. If that is unacceptable – the party is finished. It will continue to hemorrhage support.

Addendum: I am going to post later today on what I think will be the new centrist voter which will be ups for grabs this year. Echoing what many of my readers have said, I will try and describe the “Bush Conservatives” (note: This group will be broad based conservatives first, not far right Republicans). Check back later today if you are interested. I will be interested in seeing the comments on this possible new pool of conservative voters.

But the dour Republicans and worried Democrats have switched places, however momentarily, now that she has unexpectedly injected herself into the bitter race to be her underling, the House Majority Leader. “This is the first time I’ve ever seen a leader insert themselves like this,” said a veteran of many Democratic leadership races. Pelosi’s camp says it’s like a high-school election and won’t be a defining moment for her leadership.

Well, that comment may very well be the defining moment. If Pelosi thinks this is all a game, and there are no serious or dangerous consequences, then we are all in for a really bad two years as Grandma Pelosi gets clued in on reality.

The funny thing is, I don’t think the Democrats planned all this. I think they had it foisted on them by the fact centrist democrats got elected in the primaries (with the exception of Joe Lieberman). You cannot plan this. What the Democrat leaders did do was, for once, not fight the movement. Bob Casey is the example here. He was shunned during the Democrat’s purity purges, but now he is the Senator from PA.

My guess is Bush was pressured by the far right political leaders to push partisanship, to give the red meat to the base. It was out of context for him. But political strategies are consensus efforts. Do not for once think Bush or Congress or the RNC just run off doing their own things. They all decided to play to the far right -and in doing so they lost. The ones who held on, like Shays in CT and Wilson in NM, had sufficient moderate credentials to weather the storm.

In fact, I think the Dems would have done a lot better had Kerry not opened his mouth and had the created scandals not energized a lot of conservatives. The polls did measure an uptick in the conservative side of the equation, so it could have been a lot worse.

Hyper partisanship is dead. Purity efforts shrink the tent to the few who all agree completely. The centrists own elections and they elected centrists or new faces. Because the Reps had power they handed the mantle back to the dems to see if they learned anything from 14 years in the wilderness. We shall have to see on that matter. But clearly the days of calling people RINO’s or declaring what ‘true conservatism’ is are over. That cocky, condescending approach to politics where people try and belittle someone into compliance is over. The only question is, will the Reps let go of it or will centrist conservatives have to keep pushing the dems away from from the hyper partisans. One side is going to be willing to join forces. We know where the natural home of a centrist conservative is. The question is are they welcomed and respected in that home.

In fact, Joe controls both sides of the aisle and will be key in a lot of conservative and liberal debates. Embryonic Stem Cell research? I am not sure but I believe Lieberman opposes it. Judicial nominations? A Gang of 14 member now controls the Senate. Immigration reform? You name it and Joe Lieberman has the final say (outside of Bush who must sign it). Move over Cheney, Lieberman just became Bush’s right hand man.

Are we ready to dispense with the Bush bashing yet? The man doesn’t deserve it and the monday morning backstabbing is just the kind of ‘wrong message’ to send those we need to entice back – and yes, I am getting close to saying ‘you’ instead of ‘we’. I want Iraq to succeed. Does bashing Bush obtain this goal? Nope. I want Iraq to succeed. Do we need to work with the Democrat controlled Congress to obtain this goal? Yes. I want Iraq to succeed. People died to make Iraq succeed. Am I going to worry about partisan gotcha ahead of succeeding in Iraq? Never. If we succeed in Iraq three things happen. First we strike a blow against Islamo Fascism and continue to change the face of the ME. This is still the best plan of attack so my kids are not fighting in these streets here in the US to win the war. Second, it will vindicate those who sacrificed to achieve this goal, and make their sacrifice worthwhile. And finally, it will validate the conservative principles, which in the end where to face our threats head on and not pretend they do not exist. But validating conservative principles is 3rd on my list of accomplishments.

When is the conservative movement going to get over the rejection and stop blaming everyone else. It was not Bush. It was the crude infighting, it was the rejections of compromise, it was the holier than thou attitudes. People rage against the Gang of 14 but we got all these wonderful justices and judges on the bench. It is the result that matters – or at least should matter. What is wrong with Schwarzenegger? He not conservative enough? Are we going to push him out of the party even though he has given us the first chance in a decade to make a comeback in CA? Did we purge Chafee and lose the senate in a snit of purity? Did we do the same to DeWine? Did DeWine lose because he was a member of the Gang of 14? A better question for the conservatives right now – is did he deserve to lose? I respectfully ask Republicans to answer this question.

Did DeWine deserve to lose his seat because he was a member of the Gang of 14? Was it better for the party that he lost? The answer to this question will foretell the future of the Republican party. It will not be Bush – it will be the base and how diverse the base is willing to be.

Update: Groping for answers, many point to Iraq. But Bush did nothing wrong in Iraq. When we are played well, face up to it. If the democrats had sided with Bush and said we are in this to win Al Qaeda would have crumbled. We have their own words in communiques to that effect. But the dems took political advantage of the war and promised withdrawl. That gave the terrorists hope and a plan – which they executed very well. And if the Dems do not start withdrawling now (and they won’t), the terrorists will remind them of their promise. This is a clear fact of what happened from 2004 until now. The dems and their pathetic media lap dogs never celebrated the successes in Iraq. The huge elections, the potential, the local control over most of the country. The left never allowed momentum to build towards winning – and that is what is required to win. The left needed a losing war to beat the reps. Don’t blame Bush for this. The media is a powerful tool and they went all out (are people telling me they missed Olberman’s coming out this cycle?). But at what price? You can win ugly – but when you inherit the disaster you created it is best not to win at all. Conservatives have no responsibility to further the Democrat propaganda and blame Bush, when it was they who fed hope to the Jihadists they could (and did) break our will.

And yes, it is about the polarization. Leave that for the left to lose on.

That was three of my missed seats. But all in all I was not far off in many. The ones I missed were NY-24, NY-20, IN-2, FL-22 (Dem Loss – wrong in the right direction!), AZ-5, CA-11, CT-2 (apparently), (IA-1 Dem loss – wrong in the right direction)

I was right in IN-9, FL-13, NM-1 (apparently), OH-1, OH-2, CT-4 (apparently), IL-6, MN-6, WA-8 (apparently), VA-2, AZ-8 (D pickup), , PA-10 (Dem Pick Up), NY-26.

My toss ups were C)-7 (D), IN-8 (D), OH-18 (D), NC-11 (D), OH-15 (R), NH-2 (D), PA-6 (R – apparently), CT-5 (R). I had 8 toss ups and I predicted Dems would get 4, and they got 5.

I missed 9 dem pick ups not in the toss up category (edit: plus 2 I predicted correctly, fixed the numbers), but I also missed 2 Rep pick ups holds. So the dems netted 7 9 seats outside the toss ups. I said the dems would split the toss ups and they did basically (the toss ups I was watching on RCP at least). I had said Dems would win 4-8 seats in the races I had listed in my last prediction and it was actually 12 14. If I had been more bullish on the Foley, Delay and Weldon seats (my big mistakes) then I would have been within one 3 races of the results. This is a perfect example of what I was blaming on the pollsters – I had an inadequate sample. I probably should have done the entire RCP pool of races (but these posts took a lot of time to collate). I had seen a point in the RCP rankings where the polls where not indicating much more than a close race with a Rep lead and stopped there. OK – sue me.

Actually, you can’t. But if you look at my record (outside my pollyannish 3) then I was really close. And the races I applied the bias correction factor on where worthy of that correction in many cases. So we live and learn to play the game another day.

Forgot to notice there is still on Dem loss possible in GA. I felt we would get at least one. Anyway, pointless exercise. I was toasted in the Senate anyway! Speaker Pelosi and Leader Reid, step up to the plate. Your turn.

I am not playing the race card here – though it would seem so. But Rice and Steele are just both so damn smart and engaging. They represent the American dream of success against the odds, fighting the negatives in our culture that existed, proving the fight against racism was well worth the effort (and deaths).

So yes, I tend to find more of an intriguing story in Steele than I do for others who have been rattling around national and DC politics. This election showed Dems taking on the conservative mantle and winning. Reps don’t need to become liberals to win – but the Reps do need to move back towards common ground to win. And Steele is the essence of that move. He wants conservative policies to lift all boats. And he wants to help change the image (self image and that from the outside) of the black American in this country. A worthy cause for sure. So I am here to support Steele for RNC Chairman – and I hope for a Presidential run in 2008. That is a winning adjustment.

And Rumsfeld was a true hero of 9-11. Little notices by the jaded press, Rumsfeld, like Rudy Guilliani in New York City, ran to the site of the attack and started to help save people. He took control of the situation on the front line. The media did not play up Rumsfeld’s role as they did Rudy’s. Which is just anotherr reflection on a media that is totally dysfunctional. Donald Rumsfeld sparred with the media for 6 years and beat them up so bad by pointing out their truly idiotic premises and fantasies, that they had to take him down because they could not be seen inferior in their media. We did not see a lot of Rumsfeld press conferences – he was that devastating. But history will have the last laugh on the media. Rumsfeld’s name is already historic, thanks to the media’s craven efforts to take him down. But historians will go to the tapes, to the full conferences. And they will see the truth of the relationship. There is no contest. If given the choice, we could live without our dysfunctional media, but we needed Don Rumsfeld. He was the right man at the right time, and whether the left can muster the maturity to respect the man is simply their problem. Not our nation’s problem. Thanks Mr. Rumsfeld, for all you did for this country. Unlike some, you worked to better it.

I like the ‘No Child Left Behind’ Bill because now we test the schools and require them to perform. I like the tax breaks because the economy is growing. I liked the fact Bin Laden cannot coordinate attacks on us over the phone – again (it is important to note that was key to 9-11). And now they are at risk. All Bush has left now is his veto. But if the Reps feel like punishing him for their mistakes, we will be the ones paying the price.

If I read one more RINO comment or ‘squishey’ middle tirade out of the right I will go back to being a democrat. I dare any conservative to match my passion and my optimism. But I see no reason to ally myself with insulting sore losers. We have sore winners who are painful enough to deal with. Why do we need sore losers as well? The right better slow down and take a deep breathe. Bush is still trying to win the war and hold the line. If you stab him in the back from the safety of the peanut gallery, all you will do is set up the Dems for 2008. The country rejected the right this week because it went too far. If the response is to call them dumb, then they will feel VINDICATED in giving the Reps the boot – and they will be a long time coming back again. Can we keep it civil? Or is the Republican talking establishment trying to see what depths they can plumb in defeat? Please. Stop blaming everyone because the right failed. The right failed because it failed. When the right is on the proper path and drawing support it wins despite the media, despite the liberal slander machine. Iraq is not the reason the Reps are out of office. The country has never once been for cut and run, and even the Dems knew to never vote for it. Insulting those you disagree with is not a winning strategy. You want votes? Try not insulting the voters and see what happens. I have the feeling it just might work better.

The purity effort results in deroguetory comments like “RINO” and “True Republicans”, like there is some requirement to agree with a single dogma. It was really bad in the immigration debate when the House would not allow those conservatives that wanted to document and background check the workers here already and instead would only build a fence. And this was after the tone was set by claims we should round people up and toss them out of the country if they don’t have a work permit. The penalty for the lack of a permit was back taxes, a background check and no break for applying for US citizenship. I would have added a processing fee as well to fund the effort. But those penalties were considered amnesty. And if you challenged this view you were a RINO or a moderate. Whatever the name, you were impure.

Not being a Republican this meant nothing to me, but it took a toll on people who share 50-80% of the Republican vision and who were willing to work on those aspects. For those who couldn’t stomach the liberal solution working with Reps on common ground was fine – as long as it was respectful. Well the purity police are out again, because they have been rejected at the polls. There answer – move farther right, become more pure, cede more of the middle to conservative Dems (or at least people dressed up as conservatives)

Because folks, that is how the Reps got beaten. Democrats fielded candidates that represented those aspects of the conservative philosophy that have broad agreement. They highjacked conservatism from the Reps. Let me use an example. The country agrees on parental notification and partial birth abortion, but doesn’t accept making abortion illegal. They just are not there yet. So Reps were doing fine when they were not only making progress, but outlining why the next step was also good policy. Until they get impatient and start calling those who want to step towards the goal less than pure, not true conservatives

So the dems tapped these people on the shoulder and said “we see what you are thinking, we will work with you”. And they may. Mark Levin was commiserating with Delay on the radio tonight saying the Dems will let the facade drop and the voters will get buyer’s remorse. I don’t think the dems will. I think they will start stepping America leftward in small, acceptable steps building confidence as they go. At least they should if they want to hold power. And we all know they want to hold power.

There is something about purification that is unavoidable. The process is widely used to remove impurities and create a monolithic product with no variations or imperfections. The problem is, in all purification processes, the amount of material you end up with is a fraction of the material you start with. The more you purify the less you have at the end. If the Reps decided to go farther right and eliminate diversity so they don’t have to expend the effort to debate, convince and – yes – compromise. Then they will be sitting comfortably in a small echo chamber talking about what ‘could be’. There is blame to go around, but the first thing is to understand the left stole a part of conservatism. They had to give up some liberalism in the process. Look at Bob Casey! He is pro-life and supports the NSA program. There is not enough distance between Casey and the commonly supported conservative principles to make it a big penalty to oust a fine man – Santorum. I think Santorum is the better of the two, but if Casey respects diversity and is willing to look for common ground he will win over someone who won’t (and I am not talking about Santorum – I know he was not like this). But Reps earned a bad reputation every time they tried to impose purity standards. Every call of RINO violated Ronald Reagan’s 12th commandment. Lincoln Chafee may have little common ground with us, but at least he voted for Rep control of the Senate. Insulting Olympia Snowe and John McCain insults everyone who finds these people to be honorable, reasonable, good Americans (not good Republicans) through implication. If the Reps think purification is the answer, then they really have totally missed the point. If you find Americans to be the best people on earth, then don’t insult their verdict. Work to change that verdict and again work with them to find common ground. Where there is no common ground, instead of purity-insults try being patient and allowing adjustment time and steps. Be flexible when the right path is being taken and don’t get too frustrated the pace is not to your liking. Leaders of large groups sometimes have to allow the pace to be set by those who walk the slowest – if they want the group to stay together.