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First Post - Serious Question Regarding the Bush Effect on the GOP

Posted on 05/06/2008 10:05:33 AM PDT by MGMSwordsman

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To: MGMSwordsman
when Reagan won the nomination so long ago, something fishy happened at the convention when he picked elder Bush....I think there was some kind of threat or deal from elder Bush...because IIRC....the talk at the time was of someone other than Bushy.....there must have been pressure on Reagan to accept Bush....

once Reagan left office, its been Bush Sr and Bush Jr...if not for the brave House and Senate Republicans during the 90's who thrarted Clinton, things would be worse now...

but this current group of Congresscritters have had no backbone, no resolve....

I am looking for a change come November...for the better as far as the Congress goes....I think this sink hole we've been in has awakened many conservatives...

I know McCain ain't conservative....but I think we can get enough good solid Pubs in there to get things back in order....and McCain is much, much better than the two numbskulls who are currently opposing him.

21 posted on 05/06/2008 10:21:11 AM PDT by cherry
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To: MGMSwordsman

“My question is, how much of a negative effect do you think the Bush administration has had on the current standing of the GOP in the minds of voters”

I think voters are war weary. This hurts Republicans.

W did the right thing to remove Saddam. The goal of the war was to prevent him from gaining WMD. Saddam will never have weapons of WMD.

There has been several phases to the Iraq War. Sunni insurgency, Al Quada central front, Anbar Awakening and now the Iranian gambit. W has persevered and it is possible that a military win is close at hand.

W has done a good job of preventing another 9/11. He has hurt Al Quada badly. He has not gained a knock out though.

The propaganda and abuse thrown at W has not been answered well. It would take a daily defense of policies to correct the effect of left wing propaganda.

I think W will be regarded well by history.

The best thing the Republican Party has going for it is left wing Democrats. A majority of voters will not consent to become slaves of the state.


22 posted on 05/06/2008 10:23:48 AM PDT by y6162
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To: MGMSwordsman
PURELY my own opinion - a long time (62 years old) conservative.

“My question is, how much of a negative effect do you think the Bush administration has had on the current standing of the GOP in the minds of voters,”

In general, I think Bush II has been a catastrophe who has adversely impacted the perception of Republicans towards their own party as well as the perception of independent Americans.

“and the resulting electability of GOP candidates?”

Hard to say. A lot of campaigns are based solely on local issues. But the current state of the economy and the perception that the Republican Administration is mainly to blame, instead of Bush and the liberals in Congress together, is probably the view of most unsophisticated voters.

” Is the current negative perception the fault of the administration, or does it have more to do with the mantra that the media has consistently spewed towards all things Bush related,”

Both. They started to team up on Bush as soon as he was elected. But I think he has lost credibility because instead of fighting them, he has gradually come around to their views on many subjects, e.g. global warming. Part of this I believe is Bush's very poor communication skills which demonstrate a lower level of intelligence than most prior Presidents. Both he and Gore flunked several courses in College and both had low cums in the mid 70’s.
No brain children there.

” or is it due in your opinion to a perceived do-nothing congress when the GOP had control? “

Definitely contributed. The Republicans blew it when they had control of Congress. They failed to deliver the Contract for America that Gingrich used to gain control during the Great Stain-Maker’s regime.

“Based on how you answer these questions, my second question is do you think it was even Bush at all that started the slide, or had the slide already started before Bush was elected in 2000? If so, do you think it started with Daddy Bush, or even earlier with Reagan? “

I think it started with Daddy Bush - the VEEP Reagan never wanted. If they had persisted in the philosophies of Reagan and Goldwater, the Republican Party would be a viable, thriving political organism today instead of a rotting carcass that hasn't realized its dead already.

Why would people vote Democrat Light when they can have the real product if they are socialists?

And why would conservative Americans continue to prop up a decaying edifice whose best answer to the Bolsheviks in the Democrat Party is John McCain?

23 posted on 05/06/2008 10:25:51 AM PDT by ZULU (Non nobis, non nobis Domine, sed nomini tuo da gloriam. God, guts and guns made America great.)
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To: MGMSwordsman
Bush was elected in 2000

I think the talking points memo says that he was selected, not elected.

24 posted on 05/06/2008 10:26:29 AM PDT by Izzy Dunne (Hello, I'm a TAGLINE virus. Please help me spread by copying me into YOUR tag line.)
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To: MGMSwordsman

There is a difference between conservatism and the GOP. The GOP is the party that claimed conservatism as it’s own. IMO, the move away from conservatism towards the middle started under “read my lips Bush-I, and accelerated off the ramp onto the highway under Bush II.

The current GOP is no longer Conservative. They are just a less liberal than the democrats.


25 posted on 05/06/2008 10:27:31 AM PDT by Rebelbase (Carbon is the fifth most abundant element on the planet.)
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To: MGMSwordsman

On second thought, you’d better be careful. FR shows up well in google searches and if your professor checks, you’d better have written your tern paper with enough changes so you don’t get nailed.


26 posted on 05/06/2008 10:30:00 AM PDT by Rebelbase (Carbon is the fifth most abundant element on the planet.)
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To: MGMSwordsman

In before the zot?


27 posted on 05/06/2008 10:31:38 AM PDT by contemplator (Capitalism gets no Rock Concerts)
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To: Always Right

that little immigration thing and “see you at the signing” had no little effect.

Frankly, I was APPALLED.


28 posted on 05/06/2008 10:32:04 AM PDT by bill1952 (I will vote for McCain if he resigns his Senate seat before this election.)
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To: MGMSwordsman

I personally think John McCain, Chuck Hagel, Arlen Specter, to name a few of the loser RINOs in our Senate, have had a far more detrimental effect on the GOP by acting like Democrats .


29 posted on 05/06/2008 10:32:47 AM PDT by A message
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To: avacado

This person wouldn’t know! This is a jack-ass Democrat trying to get conservatives to Bash Bush.


30 posted on 05/06/2008 10:35:11 AM PDT by MeSpikeLibs (God help us this election!!!!)
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To: y6162

“A majority of voters will not consent to become slaves of the state.”

I wish you were right, but I don’t think so.

I think Americans are only too willing to give up freedom for more security or a stimulus payment to pay for a softer couch upon which to watch American Idol.


31 posted on 05/06/2008 10:35:24 AM PDT by live+let_live
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To: MGMSwordsman

the GOP is strong...it’s the mindless independants and democrats that get their information in 10 second sound bites that have a problem. If you can’t do a little research and find out what is actualy happening then you shouldn’t be allowed to vote!


32 posted on 05/06/2008 10:45:52 AM PDT by Jewels1091
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To: MGMSwordsman

33 posted on 05/06/2008 10:50:36 AM PDT by The_Republican (Ovaries of the World Unite! Rush, Laura, Ann, Greta - Time for the Ovulation!)
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To: MGMSwordsman
Bush 41 and Bush 43 have been disasters for the Republican Party and conservatives.

Bush 41 wanted to be friends with the Dems, so he left the Reagan revolution and joined the Dems in raising taxes and signing gun control, causing a prompt loss of what should have been an easy reelection to an Arkansas grifter.

Bush 43 and Republicans had it all in 2002, they controlled the White House, Senate, House of Representatives, State Governors and State Legislatures, Republicans now only have the White House, with a very good likelihood of losing that as well.

Bush 43 also deeply split the Republican Party when he chose to stand with the Mexican government and their illegals, against fellow Republicans and America.

34 posted on 05/06/2008 10:50:45 AM PDT by RJL
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To: MGMSwordsman
does it have more to do with the mantra that the media has consistently spewed towards all things Bush related

Yes.

Conservative still listen to the MSM, regardless of how much they say they don't.

35 posted on 05/06/2008 10:51:00 AM PDT by what's up
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To: MGMSwordsman

You need to find an Obama sticker and place it over your mouth.


36 posted on 05/06/2008 10:53:01 AM PDT by wac3rd
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To: cherry
...when Reagan won the nomination so long ago, something fishy happened at the convention when he picked elder Bush.

I remember that very well, and have often wondered about it. I also remember that the Bushes and the Reagans did not seem to be very close.

37 posted on 05/06/2008 10:59:45 AM PDT by ghostrider
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To: MGMSwordsman
There is a quote that best sums up the go-along-with-big-spending mindset that has rendered the GOP irrelevant in recent years, and I think it was former Texas Congressman William Archer (R) who said it:

"If the Democrats introduced a bill to burn down Washington, DC, the Republicans would counter with a compromise to phase it in over five years."

38 posted on 05/06/2008 11:01:13 AM PDT by Mr. Jeeves ("One man's 'magic' is another man's engineering. 'Supernatural' is a null word." -- Robert Heinlein)
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To: mnehrling
The real problem isn't President Bush, it is so called Conservative voters who, like liberals, look for someone to say “I'm from the government and I'm here to help”, only with their own pet issues.

Prescription Drugs - “I'm from the government and I'm here to help”

Federal Involvement In Education - “I'm from the government and I'm here to help”

Boosting of Foreign Aid - “I'm from the government and I'm here to help”

Bush is a huge part of the problem.

39 posted on 05/06/2008 11:04:34 AM PDT by jmc813 (Eek!)
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To: MGMSwordsman

How do approval numbers for the Democrat Congress compare to approval numbers for President Bush? Why so? Did the downward trend start with Tip O’Neill? Discuss.


40 posted on 05/06/2008 11:06:34 AM PDT by RedRover (DefendOurMarines.org | DefendOurTroops.org)
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