Posted on 11/14/2008 5:34:13 AM PST by philman_36
Apparently "Fox and Friends" were having some of the Republican governors on their show today after their meeting in Florida.I didn't get to catch all of their guests but I did tune in just in time to see Charlie Christ's interview. As I was watching him and listening to him speak I realized that there was an easy way to spot a RINO.
To paraphrase Gov. Christ..."I want a GOP that's inclusive. I want to allow anything and anyone under the big tent."
Well guess what, Gov. Christ, conservatism is inclusive, with a caveat. Conservatives want to associate with other conservatives no matter their race or ethnicity. The key there is conservatism. Without that base of shared beliefs and values what you get is a shifting foundation whereupon nothing can be built. "Inclusiveness" will get the GOP exactly what they have now, a watered down GOP that will continue to lose it's base because people like you are willing to sacrifice their conservative base at the altar of political correctness. Your "Big Tent" compromise is what turned the GOP into the laughing stock of conservatives everywhere and you are yet one more Republican who just doesn't seem to get it.
Perhaps you should listen to the man who was on the show before you who espoused conservatism. I didn't get to see or listen to him, but he did get a mention so I know he was on with, according to the hostess, a completely different view...called conservatism.
I don’t know, but like you - I did tune in in time to see Crist & his “big tent” speech. If this is the way the party is going, they can count me out.
I support mandatory sex-change operations for kindergardners (state funded, of course), so I feel very welcome in the GOP now. I expect you'll all work with me to advance this wonderful cause.
Owl_Eagle
“When the stock market crashed,
Franklin Roosevelt got on the television
and didn’t just talk about
the princes of greed, he said,
‘Look, here’s what happened.’"
-Slow Joe Biden
When you have a Big Tent, you end up with a three ring circus and even the doofuses who run the circus have enough sense to keep the wild animals in a cage outside the tent.
Since the election, the RNC spokespeople have been using that “bigger tent” line.
They are even saying that the Republican Party should run on spending MORE and creating bigger government.
They are so clueless. No wonder they lost in ‘06. No wonder they lost in ‘08. At this rate, they are going to give the Dems supermajorities in both chambers in ‘10.
==
If conservatives do not get control of the RNC and change its direction, they might as well hang it up or find a new home. The GOP, as is, is a lost cause.
I’m all for being a “big tent” - on OUR terms. In other words, we hold to our principles, and the moderates come to US, not the other way around.
The Republican Party can be a big tent. However, conservatives are the poles that hold up that tent. We all need to remember that while they are entitled to use our tent as shelter for their cocktail party, counting on them to hold up the tent will only result in the collapse of the entire structure.
I mean, how much more proof do they need? I know that donations were way down until the DAY that McCain picked Sarah Palin & then they jumped way up! Can they not see the crowds she pulled? It is willful ignorance on their part. Maybe these RINOs really are Democrat plants - infiltrating to kill the party.
If that’s the case, it’s working magnificently.
Well, the 800 pound gorilla escaped from his cage & is sitting in the middle of the tent.
There are lots of conservatives even here that I disagree with on some issues. There are many protectionists here, and I disagree with them (I support free markets), but that doesn't negate the dozens of things we agree on... small government, lower taxes, strong national defense, etc. Similarly, there are conservatives that have different views than I do about what to do about illegal immigration. That doesn't mean they aren't conservative. I think the key is to have an approach that is consistent with conservative principles, then we can discuss it. But to insist on lock-step agreement on every program idea is stifling and divisive.
I'm getting a little weary of the “RINO” charge (nice pun) being leveled against everyone in the news for a single comment. Conservatives of one ilk have to work with conservatives of another ilk to accomplish those things we agree on. The insistence on purity, defined only by “they agree with me on everything” is destructive.
One can disagree on individual issues, but we must, as a group and party, focus on those things we agree on without all the rancor. Again, I think the basis or a conservative party is whether an idea, program, position, or solution is rooted in conservative principles. Then a meaningful discussion about the differences in positions can take place.
It is political suicide to tell people they have to agree with me on everything before they can be part of my party.
I like Charlie Crist as possibly then next GOP nominee. To be sure, he isn’t an extreme conservative as many people would prefer, but he has appeal to Independent voters.
Hopefully, he will be married and have kids by the 2012 election.
Being a right-wing ideologue is a bridge to nowhere, we need someone who knows it is 2008, not 1988.
Crist is a johnboy light,almost Arnie. No way Crist would win a GOP primary here in Florida. Thank God for the conservative GOP governors.
Arnie,Crist and Pawlenty are OUT in my book.
This is exactly what I was talking about in posts a few day ago - If you aren’t 100% in agreement then no need to apply. For example, I AM north of 90% conservative - I don’t agree with school vouchers at the cost of the school of your choice, thus I feel that I would NOT be welcomed. I am however, in favor of a voucher in the amount of property tax that you pay that goes to the school district in which you live - I pay 4500 in property taxes and about 3800 goes to the school district and I only feel that if I wanted a voucher that it should only be for 3800. Let the flaming begin.
"...conservatism is inclusive, with a caveat. Conservatives want to associate with other conservatives no matter their race or ethnicity. The key there is conservatism. Without that base of shared beliefs and values what you get is a shifting foundation whereupon nothing can be built."
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