I have not reviewed this entire thread as yet and I am responding only to #380.
The political party system has become considerably more polarized since the days of Ronaldus Maximus. OTOH, the "Reagan Democrats" who helped Reagan were members of the general public more than members of Congress or the Senate, by far! Demonrat House and Senate members then from New York or New Jersey or New England, for several examples, were just as inclined to be polarized in their voting records as their successors are today. Working class Democrat (largely ancestral Democrats) voters, however, were a different story.
Speaker Tip O'Neill famously entered a Democrat caucus meeting early in Reagan's tenure carrying polling data showing Reagan's popularity as off the charts shortly after the assassination attempt. O'Neill told his fellow Demonrats that it was time to sit down and shut up unless and until Reagan's red hot popularity cooled down.
Lest we succumb to the temptation of ascribing that popularity only or even primarily to Reagan's manner while recovering from the assassination attempt, remember that Reagan (the allegedly unelectable "extremist") had just carried Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and came within 27,000 votes of carrying New York City (a closer margin than any Republican POTUS candidate since Calvin Coolidge in 1924).
There WERE more liberal Republicans in Reagan's time, if by liberal we mean a few people like Lowell P. Weicker, Jr., Robert Packwood, Charles Mathias and the like who had truly despicable voting records. Other liberal "Republicans" could easily be charmed or intimidated into line on most issues. Today's Republican caucuses in House and Senate have considerably more sinister menace: corporatist stooges posing as Republicans. Think Thad Cockroach, Bob Corker, LAMAR!!! Alexander, Roger Wicker, John Cornyn, Mitch McConnell, Lindsay Graham, Lisa Murkowski, John McCain, Jeff Flake, Mark Nancyboy Kirk and their ilk. Such as these are part of the problem and not part of the solution.
The Federalist Party died of greed exemplified by the ideology of its theorist Alexander Hamilton. Since greed did not disappear, the Whig Party inherited the Federalist constituency. The Whig Party died of greed but greed did not disappear. The Republican Party inherited the Federalist and Whig constituency and ideology of big centralized business uber alles. The Republican Party is now dying of greed. See the control over the GOP exerted by Wall Street, K Street and the US Chambers of Crony Socialism. This is all just warmed over Hamiltonianism. As is Mitt Romney and other GOP-E candidates for POTUS eagerly BUYING nominations so that conservatives will have no apparently electable alternatives.
The base of the Republican Party (as opposed to its monied "leadership") is rooted in a rich tapestry of worthy goals:
1) 1st Amendment Freedom of Religion and Press and Speech and Assembly,
2) 2nd Amendment individual Right to Keep and Bear Arms,
3) the Bill of Rights generally,
4) the Declaration of Independence generally,
5) a 5th and 14th Amendment jurisprudence protecting the Right to Life of each human being from conception to natural death (absent conviction for a capital offense),
6) each marriage consisting of one man and one woman,
7) a strong military second to none and far ahead of whatever comes next,
8) a foreign policy AT LEAST aggressive enough and capable of guaranteeing that American citizens minding their own business will not be victims of terrorism or other forms of preventable misbehavior,
9) genuinely EQUAL rights for each and every American,
10) secure borders,
11) control of the education of children by the parents of those children,
12) protection of homeschooling and private schooling,
13) a thriving economy that benefits all who are willing to work and not just those at the top,
14) rolling back taxes on ordinary Americans wherever possible,
15) rolling back regulations particularly on small business,
16) a genuine opportunity society welcoming and rewarding the effort of each person providing such effort.
Add other desirable common benefits for a free society not controlled by big business, big labor or, especially, big government.
So, Kansas58, while your #380 is accurate as far as it goes, it does not go far enough.
In a society as polarized as ours has become SINCE Reagan, defections from stated commitments to the electorate are serious acts of ideological treason by public officials. We have a right to demand a better and far more principled class of public officials than the aforementioned senators.
I have allowed you to convince me in the past that Pat Roberts was worth re-nominating and re-electing. I am open to reasonable arguments. I am neither ignorant nor a liar. I know that you did not point those words at me but we should give others here the benefit of the doubt that they are honest and, at least, somewhat knowledgeable. Any of us can be wrong for lack of sufficient information. Few of us intentionally lie. Don't you agree?
The GOP "leadership," whether Boehner or McConnell or various utterly deficient POTUS candidates, are not very interested in the 16 numbered issue interests above but are verrrry interested in sucking up to the non-ideological $$$$ types who have bought their souls.
Just wait until around post 501, it gets weird.
Very well stated!
I also seem to remember it was not that long ago that our GOP leadership decided they didn’t need or want the conservative vote. In fact, they declared war against us. And now they expect us to meekly fall in line? Compromise with evil?
The stupid party working overtime to lose yet another election that they should have had in the bag.
If they screw this one up with their loser RINO nonsense, hopefully we’ll see a complete turnover in leadership. Either that or a new party.