As conservatives, are we better off now?
By Sandra Lea Wise Posted in 2008 — Comments (30) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
With Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid in charge and the so called “Republican brand” damaged, things look pretty dismal for conservatives.
A few days ago I was listening to a local talk show and a substitute host was wondering where the conservative movement had gone wrong. He had come to the conclusion that one of the problems was that conservative talk radio had lost it’s way. Instead of promoting conservative ideas and showing in a positive way how they would affect the country, they had started criticizing and trying to manipulate the Republican Party. Instead of supporting the conservative members in the Congress and the Senate, they constantly whined about the RINOs. Instead of standing by their own President for the good things that he had accomplished, they had started tearing him apart for things they didn't like.
After 20 plus years of conservative talk radio, conservatives should not be in the position that we are in today. Our President is at an all time low approval rating, the Democrats are in the majority and looking toward gaining seats and the Obama juggernaut with the entire media on his side is probably going to roll over McCain just like he rolled over the Clintons.
The “Republican brand” is damaged and conservatives have had a large hand in making it so. The question must be asked: Are conservatives better off now than we were 20 years ago? The conservative movement has it’s stars, Rush, Ingraham and Hannity, but have they helped or hurt the country?
Sandra Lea Wise
"The conservative movement" is a bit too broad of a target.
To whom are you referring - popular culture, elected officials, Republican party officials, intellectuals, voters?
If you want to reverse the ship's course, you need to first identify who is at the rudder - or at least, whose navigational advice has been steering the ship wrongly.
Then you can move on to righting the course...
After 20 years of Rush is our popular culture more conservative? Are our leaders more conservative? Are the voters voting for more conservative leaders? Is the Republican Party more conservative?
___________
"The perfect is the enemy of the good."
in spite of what certain Contributors continue to assert.
Impeach the 5 usurpers
I know its a holiday week but why not at least try to prove your opinion?
"Land of the Free and Home of da Whopper" Peter Griffin...Family Guy
conform and celebrate diversity....or else!!!
Steel-Belted Radial Right Winger
Is the country moving in a more conservative direction in your opinion? Has the alternative media proven to be the "equal time" to the MSM? If your answer is "no" then where have we failed?
___________
"The perfect is the enemy of the good."
The “Republican brand” is damaged and conservatives have had a large hand in making it so.
This is the assertion that I see no proof for and I don't know you from adam so yeah i would like some sort of analysis provided by you that would support your claim. Call me silly but isn't that how this stuff works?
If there is some factual basis you would like to provide that substantiates this claim that conservatives specifically damaged the republican brand I would be happy to read it and if it stood up on it's own I would even rec'd others to read it. But what you provided was nothing more than your opinion. Sorry. And I am not even saying I disagree, just that I think you should have put more into your diary.
"Land of the Free and Home of da Whopper" Peter Griffin...Family Guy
conform and celebrate diversity....or else!!!
Steel-Belted Radial Right Winger
"Upstream: The Ascendancy of American Conservatism", by Alfred S. Regnery, was reviewed in the June 2nd issue of National Review by Richard V. Allen, who had this to say:
"Regnery devotes much care to identifying and tracing the intellectual components of the conservative movement because he recognizes that it was precisely this pioneering intellectual work that made possible the later practical achievements. Too many of the conservative commentariat today, especially in the talk-radio and activist sectors, are programmatic and either ignore or are unschooled in the foundational thought."
Yet Rush was my "gateway drug" to conservatism, and I would have been much longer unaware of guys like Russell Kirk, Eric Voegelin and Leo Strauss were it not for him. I don't expect Rush et al to set the conservative agenda, and I give them credit for pointing the way towards conservatism for many people who are seeking an intellectual alternative to liberalism.
I'm glad you've converted to conservatism. I know that many have and I give Rush credit for that.
I'd like to see more than an intellectual alternative to liberalism, I'd like to see the country move in a more conservative direction. We are about to give up any gains that we've made if Obama gets to nominate Judges.
___________
"The perfect is the enemy of the good."
acute experiential dissatisfaction with liberalism to make people seriously seek an alternative in conservatism. I'm not saying that I want Obama to be able to provide that dissatisfaction, just that we need to be ready with a convincing sales pitch if he does.
can we ever get back? That is what worries me. What will it take to get our country back?
___________
"The perfect is the enemy of the good."
I believe that the country has not moved in a more conservative direction. The problem is that Conservative politicians made everything a hill to die on, and as such, they, as well as the conservative movement, lost a whole lot of credibility.
But then again, I live in California, so I might be making the mistake of extrapolating based on faulty data.
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4.62, 0.51
That is, that out of cozy "bipartisanship" or out of greed (or cravenness), so-called conservative Republican politicians have abandoned conservative issues (especially fiscal responsibility, smaller government) and thereby give voters no reason to vote Republican.
Generally, the issues that conservatives have stood on, even though unpopular at the time, have demonstrated that they work. Indeed, that's a large reason I've stayed a Republican, because conservative ideas that Republicans stood behind turned out to work whereas leftist/Democratic objections were disproven. I'm talking about issues like welfare reform, tax cuts, school choice/vouchers - and staying the course in Iraq.
the GOP lost it's principles, and people decided to give the democrats a try. One of the reasons I became a Republican is that while I don't agree with some of their national platform, I agree with the general ideas espoused by it (less government, more freedom, etc), and I was pretty disappointed in them when they didn't hold to these principles.
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4.62, 0.51
If the people were unhappy with Republicans doing liberal things like expanding government and failing to push a conservative agenda, how would this motivate them to vote for Democrats?
Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. --- John Adams
they would be more fiscally responsible, and enough people fell fo it appearantly.
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4.62, 0.51
is moving to the right. Will they fall for it again?
___________
"The perfect is the enemy of the good."
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4.62, 0.51
If a Republican conservative, who must have had the support of sufficient numbers of conservative voters to gain office in the first place, then abandons many of the positions he stood on to get elected and moves leftward, he will gain few news votes for this shift, since the voters on the left have no reason to change horses - they'll still vote Democratic.
On the other hand, more voters on the right could well decide to stay home in protest. (You're correct that few on the right would switch parties, except for those who are sufficiently angry that they want to throw the bum out. However, you could see a significant rise in the number of conservatives deciding to sit out.)
It's the kind of calculation we've seen here at RedState: at what point do you "send a message" for a longer-term gain even thought in the short-term, you're acceding to a "worse" candidate being elected.
If you have a reasonably closely divided district, the stay-home vote could shift the election to the Democratic candidate - and 2006 did see a fair number of marginal shifts to the Democrats.
Between a national election for the President and a congressional election.
The President sets the agenda, the congress only acts on it.
"Land of the Free and Home of da Whopper" Peter Griffin...Family Guy
conform and celebrate diversity....or else!!!
Steel-Belted Radial Right Winger
"Land of the Free and Home of da Whopper" Peter Griffin...Family Guy
conform and celebrate diversity....or else!!!
Steel-Belted Radial Right Winger
On the Republican side, McCain has always had a maverick voting record, so his issue (as well as Obama) will be with moving from the Arizona (Illinois) electorate to the electorate of 50 states (plus DC, I think). Of these, probably fewer than a dozen will be seriously competitive, barring an electoral tidal wave.
The dynamics are different. McCain has to deal with those disappointed with his nomination, but so long as he doesn't reverse more of his conservative positions, he shouldn't evoke further attrition on the right - in which case his opponent's level of unacceptibility will have an impact of turnout by the right.
Obama, on the other hand, has been changing most of his previous stated positions (or in a number of cases, he's been advocating both sides to different audiences), generally moving further to the center. He thus risks a sit out from the far-left, more so than McCain faces from the right.
Still early to figure out - Obama has moved so early in the campaign (usually candidates wait until after they're nominated before selling out their supporters) that we're in uncharted waters; come November, how far back it time will voters go regarding flip-flops - that is, if Obama does his flip-flopping now, will elapsed time heal the hurt - will voters not care so much 4 months later? We'll see; this experiment hasn't been performed before, at least not on such an early and widespread scale.
Even if Obama turned into George Bush he would not lose the support of liberals because they know that he is pandering. Even the disappointed Clinton supporters are now getting in line.
The MSM won't call him a flip-flopper yet they are already calling McCain one on the drilling issue and the Bush taxes. It won't be an even fight and you are right, some conservatives are planning to sit out.
___________
"The perfect is the enemy of the good."
... the Obama juggernaut with the entire media on his side is probably going to roll over McCain ...
(percentile dice come up 56)
Easily enough to disbelieve this. The United States doesn't elect out-and-out liberals as President any more; the last one that got in (Jimmy Carter) did so pretty much because the Republican president elected in the last election had *resigned* and his replacement wasn't particularly inspiring, and even then it was a very near thing.
In my view, if McCain runs a competent campaign, he will win.
---
Finrod's First Law of Bandwidth:
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but it takes the bandwidth of ten thousand.
However, Obama is co-opting Republican ideas, starting with the faith based initiatives and tax cuts. By the time the election rolls around, the country won't be aware that he is the furthest left liberal in the Senate.
___________
"The perfect is the enemy of the good."
butt. In fact, the 2-pt Obama "lead" plus the Clark-Webb attacks on McCain's heroic 60's acts tells you all you need to know. Losers of the Mondale, Dukakis and Kerry kind led by double digits in their Junes.
Baby, barone speaks of the attentive voter, that gets so after the WS in Oct, but the screams of Wright got thru in May!
relax
John would win even if propped up for a Weekend at Bernie's!
Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer columns
www.theminorityreportblog.com
"The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race." - The Chief Justice
truly "in charge", the USA would have surrendered in Iraq over a year ago; surrendered to Mexico last summer; surrendered to Charlie's taxrangle last fall and surrendered to GreenPeace last month. And Obama would not be flipflopping to adopt
Rush's positions everyday this week.
more later
Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer columns
www.theminorityreportblog.com
"The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race." - The Chief Justice
You are so right. Pelosi/Reid are not "in charge" thanks to Bush and the minority Republicans. But the country doesn't realize this, due to the MSM. With the gains the liberals will make in November, then they will be in charge and maybe even have a "veto-proof" majority.
___________
"The perfect is the enemy of the good."
Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer columns
www.theminorityreportblog.com
"The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race." - The Chief Justice
Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer columns
www.theminorityreportblog.com
"The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race." - The Chief Justice
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