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January 26, 2008
Republican Party And The Election
02/12/1999 Impeachment of President Clinton - Article I No Vote
02/12/1999 Impeachment of President Clinton - Article II No Vote
04/11/2007 Stem Cell Research Act of 2007 Yes Vote
04/11/2007 HOPE Stem Cell Research Act of 2007 Yes Vote
07/18/2006 Stem Cell Research Bill Yes Vote
12/21/2005 Removal of ANWR Provision from HR 2863 No Vote
06/06/2007 English as the Common Language Voted No
McCaini co-authored global-warming legislation with Sen. Joe Lieberman.
In South Carolina, McCain made another huge turn left all again making sure to trash ANWR and drilling in ANWR. Everybody's talking about energy independence and coming up with ways to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
McCain championed an immigration bill that would have set up a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.
Wild Thing's comment........
And this from a transcript of Rush Limbaugh that I think is excellent
.
I've decided if we've got a bunch of Republicans who go out and act like liberals or moderates in order to get those people to vote for a Republican, I'm going to insult the moderates, and I'm going to see to it that they don't want to vote in the party I'm a member of. (laughs) Somebody's gotta do something here. Now, seriously, folks. It is one thing to go out and attract the so-called Reagan Democrats, these moderate conservatives that have been Democrat by tradition. It's one thing to go get them by talking to them from the standpoint of conservatism and freedom, American exceptionalism, and greatness; but it is not good to go get them if you're going to pander to them with populism and make them also dependent on the Republican Party as they already are on the Democrat Party. That's not what we're about. "But, Rush? But, Rush? What about winning the election?" I understand, folks, and I understand some of you that think any of our Republican candidates would be better than Hillary or Obama, and you're probably right about that.
I'm not going to dispute that, but I'm going to tell you: there's not going to be much difference in terms of policy or what's going to happen to the Republican Party. Look, the Republican Party matters to me in the sense that it is the vessel -- it is the host, if you will -- for conservatism. Now, too many Republicans look at themselves as the host, and conservatives as an infection -- as a virus that has been spreading throughout the Republican Party and slowly eating it away. Wrong. That's what will happen if we succeed in having a candidate -- I don't care who it is -- who is so enamored with getting independents and moderates and certain liberals, by going out and trying to be like them and telling them that our party is in fact their home. It's the Invasion of the Body Snatchers all over again in a political sense. Now, I keep talking about Ronaldus Magnus. Pete Wehner has a great piece today at Commentary, their website, and I'll share excerpts with you in a second. But remember, now: My devotion to Reagan is not a cult of personality. I think a lot of people's devotion to McCain is. I think a lot of people's devotion to Governor Huckabee is a cult of personality. Reagan didn't invent conservatism. He just showed how to apply it, and he showed how it attracts voters.
How can you do better than a 49-state landslide? A fifty-state landslide, but it's pretty damn close. Anybody want to tell me that Reagan was campaigning as a moderate, independent? Anybody want to tell me that Reagan was running around campaigning and telling people how to become dependent on the government? Come on, folks! It's time to wake up here. I understand going out and "expanding the base" and having a chance at electoral victory and so forth, but if it means destroying the Republican Party -- and certainly losing, by the way. Does anybody think that the way to be elected president is to out-liberal liberals, to out-moderate moderates? Some of this just escapes me, especially when the history is not that long ago. It's fairly recent; it's the eighties. Even the Contract with America and the Republicans winning the House of Representatives in 1994, you think we did that with liberalism? You think we did that by attracting moderates? We had a little help there because there's so much corruption on the House of Representatives on the Democrat side, but how did anybody know about that? Talk radio -- which, back then, was me. Well, still is me. Ha-ha-ha! Anyway, don't forget the main point here. There's no magic and there's nothing valorous about going out and attracting people to our party by being like them, and having them think that our party is a new home for them, because of whatever deficiencies there are with Hillary or Obama or what have you.
That expediency to win is going to set us back. For those of us that are conservatives first and Republicans second, this is something that matters deeply. As I said, global warming and campaign finance reform are not just little throwaway issues that McCain made mistakes on and maybe apologized for (which he hasn't). They're substantive. They're crucial. I think this notion that we've gotta go out and broaden the base of the party by forsaking our own roots, by forsaking our own base, I'm going to tell you: You talk about this notion, "When you get down to nominations, Rush, and you get down to the presidential race, if it's McCain or Huckabee or any of our guys against Hillary or Obama, you really think that our guys are going to stay home and not vote for our side?" It depends. If our nominee spends a whole campaign acting like he's embarrassed at his own base; like he's angry at them, wants to diminish them and deemphasize them; and wants to instead build his party and his victory on members of the Democrat Party and liberals and moderates; yeah, it's going to make 'em mad! There's already an undertow of real anger at Senator McCain over immigration alone and McCain-Feingold, among the Republican base. It's just these moderates and squishy Jell-Os out there, those that are also in the media. They're out of touch with the Republican base as well. The Republican base embarrasses them. So these are the people that consider themselves to be the party's "modernizers."
Well, hell, I'm all for "modernization," but not destruction.
(((Commercial break in transcript)))
RUSH: You know, about this modernizing business, my friends, and you know this, I do not blow my own horn. I do not tout my own whistle. I do not call attention to myself. That just happens. I do not say, "Notice me. Notice me." But I'm going to step in here on something. All this talk about modernizing the so-called conservative movement or modernizing the Republican Party, how many of you have heard the term "New Media"? You're responsible for it. Well, I'm responsible for it, but you have sustained it, all of you in the audience. We are the New Media. I think that's modernization. I think the true modernization of the movement and moving it forward and, quote, unquote, of the party is happening in the New Media. We are leading it, and there are people who don't like that, either, within our own structure, within our own movement.
McCain says, "I think I'll match my conservative record up against anybody that's running." Okay, now, see, that's pretty clever. It's pretty clever, because one of the laments among a lot of conservatives is that we don't have a thoroughbred out there, that every one of these guys has some sort of a question mark about them that you can go to in their past. As I said once, "The only guy that doesn't have to defend a prior liberal governing stance or moderate governing stance," well, and it's not even totally, "is Thompson." But even Thompson went along with McCain on the campaign finance reform thing. So, nobody is a thoroughbred out there.
We're not looking for purity. We're looking for people that want to beat liberals, not join them, and not have them join us. That's not the future. Do you ever hear liberals say -- do you hear Obama and these guys running around saying -- "We need to go out and attract conservatives to our party. We need to find out how to broaden or base?" Do you think if any one of those candidates -- be it Obama, be it Mrs. Clinton, be it the Breck Girl -- started talking in ways that would attract somebody like me, that their party would put up with it in order to win?
Well, they promised a middle class tax cut, but they don't deliver the thing. You know, it works when the conservative Democrats run in local, state, House of Representatives elections. That's how they won the House last time. That's another thing that bugs me. When the Democrats do want to win, especially in local House race, they run conservative Democrats, and they win. Our own side wants to shuck and jive conservatism; sweep it aside as something that's an antique, that needs to be modernized and so forth. It's patently absurd. Now, having said that, it is very interesting to listen to Obama cite Reagan.
This embarrasses me. He's citing Reagan in great ways. He's not citing Reagan on policy. He wouldn't dare do that, and he's taking a risk doing it anyway. That group over there despises Reagan even more than some of the country club, blue-blood Republicans on our side despised Reagan -- make no mistake, they did. Nevertheless he's out there citing Reagan, but he's doing it in the context of attitudes and uplifting sentiments, optimism and hope and inspiration. The kind of things our people ought to be doing, Obama is out there-doing.
Posted by Wild Thing at January 26, 2008 12:40 AM
Comments
I LOVED Mitt's reply in the last debate that we don't need the Clintons back in the White House again as well! He hit a grand slam on that one WT. McCain and Hitlery ARE all what is bad with Washington DC politics...They are two primary poli kooks - big time!
Posted by: darthcrUSAderworldtour07 at January 26, 2008 05:16 AM
Rush is right.
People don't like to hear the truth
because they can't handle the truth.
Notice how the liberal media goes after
the most conservative in the bunch from the
republicans? (with the exception of the village idiot Ron Paul). They're on Rudy now. Next it'll be Huckabee, and so on until their choice (more than likely McCain) wins the nomination and then can't win against the Clinton Machine of Death.
So who's been disinfranchised here? I have! The media made sure of that.
The party of Reagan is over. It has been spoiled and ruined by good intentions which never amount to anything. Remember, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. And "almost" carries no weight (Ghost of Christmas past).
Posted by: Lynn at January 26, 2008 06:59 AM
McCain said he would be Kerry's running mate in 2004.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-03-10-mccain-vp_x.htm
His attack of the Swift Boat Vets, men of the highest honor and integrity, show that political friends are above service to this nation.
Posted by: BobF at January 26, 2008 09:38 AM
McCain is as phony as an 8 dollar bill.
All of a sudden he is this great Conservative, when his record almost parallels that of Toad Kennedy. But what is really sorry, is, there are so many people who are believing it.
If Romney gets out of the race then Hillary ought to use McCain as her running mate on the order of another Co-Presidency but in this case with 'The Felon', it would be a tri-parte pact.
We are going to suffer big time for George Bush. He is the one who has fragmented this Republican party with his 'Compassionate Conservativism' all that means is: spend like a drunken sailor and open the borders and let all his little brown friends in and suck up to the UN.
Posted by: Mark at January 26, 2008 10:47 AM
Conservatism is dead for now.It will only be revived by some individual coming forth with the charisma and depth of belief of a Reagan or Gingrich. What we have for "conservative" leadership right now are either weak-kneed softies or total phonies. George Bush has been a terrible disaster, but we have had many others recently like Trent Lott, Friske, Hastert and others.
These people have not had the fortitude or faith to stand by the conservative principals they were supposedly elected on. Political correctness and careerism were their, and our, downfall. The votes have been there for true conservatives, but true conservatives have not been there for the voters.
We have a rough and ruinous ride ahead of us for a while. The sad aspect is that liberal legislation and a socialist agenda once passed is then very difficult or impossible to reverse.
Posted by: TomR at January 26, 2008 11:44 AM
Too bad John doesn't show some of the character his namesakes have, he being the third and all. His Grandpa died a few days after the Japanese signed the surrender, he giving his all in the war effort where John's father served at the same time. Instead Sidney embraces the same things John Kerry does and expects the rest of us vets to honor him after his open defense of the traitor. Sorry John, no can do!!!
Posted by: Jack at January 26, 2008 09:53 PM
Darth, I agree, it was good. I may be mistaken but I can't remember any of the others saying anything against Hillary.
Posted by: Wild Thing at January 27, 2008 02:02 AM
Lynn, yes sad but true too. The party of Reagan has been watered down so much over the years, too much PC, too many with apathy to fight back, too many rino's getting elected at all levels of government. sigh and tears from me.
Posted by: Wild Thing at January 27, 2008 02:04 AM
Bob, good grief! Thank you so much for the link Bob.
Posted by: Wild Thing at January 27, 2008 02:05 AM
Mark, AMEN!
When history is written about Bush I hope they add to his record what he did to his conservative base.
Gosh I can see it now, a Hillary/McCain ticket and withini 6 months of them being in power we won't even know our country. waaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Posted by: Wild Thing at January 27, 2008 02:09 AM
Tom, yes, that kind of thing is something that can't just be fixed with a new bill written. whew
Posted by: Wild Thing at January 27, 2008 02:11 AM
Jack I am so proud of all of you Vets that spoke up about Kerry. It all helped and it all made a huge difference to keep him from becoming President. You all served our country and oh how I wish all you had to do about things like this would be to sit back and enjoy good conservatives in power and also running for office. It is wrong in so many ways how it reflects on the population how they don't care how McCain has treated his fellow POW's. His brothers! It makes me sick.
Posted by: Wild Thing at January 27, 2008 02:15 AM
