Comments on: Club For Growth Harms Gop Growth

By: MSheridan

MSheridan — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 22:59:59 +0000

As I (an outsider) see it, the problem the Republican Party currently has is that although the libertarians and the fiscal conservatives branches agree on the low tax part of the platform, the social conservatives mostly don’t care (unless they’re ALSO libertarian or fiscal conservatives). Moreover, libertarians want significantly smaller government, but the fiscal and social conservatives generally do not (some fiscal conservatives are still convinced lowering taxes will always raise revenue to pay for expensive stuff). Sure, the small government line gets used a lot, but who in Washington or elsewhere has shown themselves willing to take the heat to really swing that budget ax? I haven’t seen it. Sure, there are Republicans happy to reduce some social programs…at the same exact time they increase the budget in other areas. You guys are going to have to give up trying to be all things to all Republicans and pick positions that aren’t so contradictory. I’m not saying there aren’t politically consistent Republicans out there; I’m just saying you’re not consistent with each other, even though you kept up the pretense for a very long time.

By: DL_Marble

DL_Marble — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 15:21:55 +0000

New Blood not afraid to stand for the Old Idea of Freedom is what is needed.

By: ronin72

ronin72 — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 20:13:25 +0000

So, what does that make you, sinz? I have no problem laying blame at the feet of President Bush. He was the de-facto head of the party, and his refusal to push back on the fallacies and lies being spread about his party hamstrung us in the court of public opinion. But just because these lies have reached mantra status due to repetition, doesn’t mean we have to go along with the false narrative. The NE republican parties only have themselves to blame for their decline. They stuck to untenable positions and lost to the democrats, who embraced the minority populations of their states. The stuffy country club caricature of the Rockefeller Republican is the fault of these elites and their old, crusty ideas. The State GOP leaderships that have no vision and no voice have nothing to add at a national level.

By: JackinMichigan

JackinMichigan — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 01:29:03 +0000

Nah, I’m not buying it. Adding a few seats from NE districts isn’t worth the destruction a party’s “brand” that comes with their tax-hiking, big-spending, welfare-state loving elitist ways.

Besides, run a fiscally conservative candidate in those districts who represents the correct side of the People vs. the Political Class divide that’s the most important attribute of someone like Palin, and the GOP could win – without having to elect a “dead rat head in the Coke bottle” brand-destroyer, to use Grover’s charming analogy.
Jack in Michigan

By: sinz54

sinz54 — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 01:13:32 +0000

DL_Marble: A political party that spends all its time expelling members due to “lack of room” for their beliefs, rather than bringing new blood into the party, is a shrinking party in its death throes. Remember: New blood will come with new ideas.

By: sinz54

sinz54 — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 01:09:26 +0000

Tarazeigler: The GOP has turned inward. Unable to turn on their own standard bearer, President Bush, for having dragged down the GOP’s election chances, many Republicans started to scapegoat each other instead. The GOP seems to have stopped reaching out to attract new members. Instead, existing members who are deemed insufficiently ideologically pure are now at risk of expulsion from the party. Note that this wasn’t the case in the Age of Reagan–because back then, Republicans were more concerned with bringing new members into the party than expelling existing ones. In 1980, George H.W. Bush, who had called Reagan’s economic proposals “voodoo economics,” was selected by Reagan as his running mate.

By: DL_Marble

DL_Marble — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 01:03:47 +0000

The Republican Party as it stands now is like Democrat Lite, So there is not really any room in a party that is suppose to stand for a Small Federal Government, With people in control of the government, and not Government in control of the people. Low Taxes, NO Bail Outs, Free market Capitalism, A party founded on the principals that our founders (Washington, Jefferson, Jackson, Madison) stood for. So no there is no room for Democrat Lites or socialist types in the party. There is plenty of room in the open boarder, big tent, no fences, weak, liberal, Socialist Democratic Party of Dear Leader Obama. ** Remember A government big enough to give you everything, is big enough to take it all away-Barry Goldwater**

By: tarazeigler

tarazeigler — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 21:03:02 +0000

The whole concept of the RINO is bizarre to me. Is it impossible for a party to have members with different points of view? Seems to me that competition of ideas (as long as some core values are shared) strengthens a party. Republicans should do all they can to eliminate RINO from their collective vocabulary.

By: artigiano

artigiano — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 20:18:15 +0000

could have saved the McCain campaign and the Bush presidency.

By: artigiano

artigiano — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 20:17:12 +0000

Do you people on the right ever stop to “war game” different options before you do anything? No wonder the right is infected by magical thinking. “Obama will soon screw up so bad voters will flock back to us. There is no problem. We don’t have anything to fix.” Before you make any move ask, “What’s the worse that could happen if this doesn’t play out the way we hope?” That one simple question, that was never asked, could h