Posted on 02/16/2007 8:30:44 AM PST by meg88
The GOP Should Dump Its Litmus Test By Michael Reagan FrontPageMagazine.com | February 16, 2007
The philosopher Diogenes is said to have wandered around ancient Greece holding a lantern and seeking to find an honest man.
My fellow Republicans, sans lanterns, are now wandering around the political landscape seeking to find the perfect Republican presidential candidate.
I don’t know if Diogenes ever found that honest man, but I do know that those Republicans are never going to find the perfect candidate, simply because he does not exist.
Some Republicans insist that the only perfect candidate would be a clone of my Dad, Ronald Reagan. Aside from the fact that there is no such thing, it’s important to recognize that Ronald Reagan, as he often admitted, was anything but perfect.
One of the criticisms about former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney focuses on his record concerning the abortion issue. We are told by the modern day Diogenes clones that he can’t be trusted to fight abortion because he once, more or less, supported a woman’s right to butcher her baby.
It may come as a surprise to these purists, but Ronald Reagan once supported abortion too. Yet nobody ever questioned his strong pro-life credentials after his conversion to Republicanism. They accepted his sincerity. Why can’t they accept Mitt Romney’s?
Romney’s record shows he should be totally acceptable to all conservatives, yet because of one dubious question concerning the validity of his conversion to the pro-life side, he is deemed unsuitable to carry the conservative banner.
The same is true of Rudy Giuliani. On every major issue, he is a solidly conservative and extraordinarily adept executive, but because he backs abortion and some form of gun control, America’s mayor -- the hero of 9/11 and the man who did the impossible by cleaning up New York -- is all but ruled out as a 2008 candidate.
Not one of the major candidates is free of some real or imagined flaw that offends some conservatives.
This is madness, and if it does not stop, the GOP is going to lose the presidential election in 2008. In the search for the perfect candidate we are going to end up with an imperfect candidate. Keep in mind the truism that agreement with someone on most issues and disagreement on others is seen as normal, but should you agree with someone on every single issue imaginable … well… to put it plainly, psychologists say you’re nuts.
I recently got a letter from a conservative Christian organization that asked me if the current GOP candidates are the best the Republican Party has to offer.
“Is it possible that GOP conservative ranks are this thin?” the letter writer asked. “Has the GOP nothing better to offer? Should not pro-family pro-life voters also want a low taxes and limited government candidate before they vigorously support him? Increased taxes and expanded government hurts everyone. Was Ronald Wilson Reagan an anomaly and did he represent the values of his party?
“These GOP candidates,” the letter instructed me, “are little better than Bob Dole, Gerald Ford, or [George] H.W. Bush. Did anyone notice they all lost?”
This makes me wonder if anybody can stand up to the litmus test these people are applying to candidates.
Ronald Reagan had one litmus test he applied to candidates. Were they Republicans? If they were he backed them all the way. He would let the party choose the candidate and he would support and vote for the candidate. He didn’t go sniffing around trying to find some flaw in their character or their past. Once nominated, they were his choice.
And nobody was more candid in admitting that he was anything but perfect than my Dad. He knew that like all men, he had his flaws and he spent a lifetime combating them. Had today’s GOP litmus test been seriously applied to him, he could not have passed the test.
The Democrats don’t have litmus tests. If the nominee is a Democrat, they support their candidate all the way, and if they lose it isn’t because they didn’t fight like demons for their man or woman.
If we want to win in 2008, Republicans had better wake up, and quit talking Ronald Reagan and start being like Ronald Reagan.
If you think some idiotic push poll on FR is indicative of the views of average republicans, you are beyond help. By the way, why do you say you will "go" 3rd party? You already are 3rd party. If you're not even a republican, why don't you concern yourself with YOUR party's nominee?
With all due respect to everyone here
If we throw the second amendment, border security, gay marriage, right to life issues and questions of religion under the bus so we can elect someone who is a "republican"...then what have we gained?
Further, why not elect a democrat? I mean, what would be the difference, other than Rudy would be a little less reluctant to attack terrorists?
On a personal level, I like Rudy. I think he would be a strong leader in terms of national security. But if he supports a hundred new gun laws and wants open borders and gay marriage....then what makes him a republican?
I do....those that think strong leadership in the WOT and executive experience trumps other issues the Prez does not influence as much.....I am holding my decision to down the road
Yea I'm sure our troops would reallllly appreciate that from Conservatives. (/sarcasm)
Nice picture!
Conservative ephiphanies that do not coincide with a run for a new office are much more convincing.
My post didn't mention Rudy, nor did it mention any primary.
That is something I'll never understand especially when its the Democrats who want to cut funding our troops!
Reagan and Giuliani are on the opposite sides of the political spectrum. Reagan was a conservative.
Rudy`s a big govt liberal, pro-abort, pro-PBA, pro-amnesty, pro global warming kook, pro-gay rights, anti-2nd amendment, gungrabbing authoritarian. Anyone who thinks Rudy is a conservative, ought to seek professional help immediately.
my husband and i are both lawyers in DC. he used to work on the Hill, and travels in political circles. he doesn't think rudy will get the nomination. so our experience differs from your's, apparently. but not because we are out of touch with political reality.
so why are we talking about cutting noses off to spite faces in a general election that is 2 years away and no candidates have been nominated yet?
Or a seance with Bob Casey Sr.
Precisely
Rudy might moderate some of his views and surprise me. If so, then I'll put his sticker on my truck and his sign in my yard and be a warrior for him. It's a given that he'd be better than McCain..that's for sure.
I see you are on the same page as Rudy - that the 2nd Amendment protects your right to hunt.
I'm a bit more concerned about my right to defend myself.
Indeed. But this is the primary season, so lets worry about the democrats after we do everthing to get our house in order.
#269 is for you, that should tell you why.
.
Conversation over. You are a fool.
yeah, it's the difference between sane and insane ; )
Or someone who doesn't come to the plate with six strikes already on the count against him.
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