Editorial: Thin the RINO herd

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ^ | 2008-11-09 | Lowman S. Henry

[rabscuttle385]

Now what?

The Republican Party -- nationally and in Pennsylvania -- lies in tatters. Having lost the White House to Barack Obama, suffered historic losses in congressional elections, been almost shut out in statewide races and experienced further erosion in the state House, there is no doubt the GOP has hit rock bottom.

It is, most significantly, a loss for so-called moderate Republicanism. Party moderates have opined time and again that a more middle-of-the-road presidential candidate could win Pennsylvania. McCain was touted as that candidate. It was a double-digit trouncing.

[rabscuttle385]

FTA:

The GOP at all levels has abandoned its core principles. From the string of corrupt Republicans headed off to jail, to big-government spending like the Medicaid bill and the bailout, to state-level support for Gov. Ed Rendell and his big spending ways, Republicans have sold out, melding with Democrats into one big incumbent party.

The GOP has become an unprincipled, undisciplined, ineffective shell of its former self. It has a party structure controlled by lobbyists and special interests, unable to excite even its own base. Worse, the structure is mired in the politics of the last century, unable or unwilling to take advantage of the modern techniques of organizing and communication.

No more RINOs!

[snowrip]

Limp-wristed, policicaly correct, hand-wringing “compassionate conservativism” isn’t conservativism at all... it’s liberalism.

[snowrip]

politically

[rabscuttle385]

The Juan McCain Truth File. "I have great respect for Al Gore." —John McCain, October 2, 2008 FR Keywords: mccaintruthfile, mcqueeg, mcbama Please tag all relevant threads with the aforementioned keywords. This can be a very high-volume ping list at times. To join the ping list: FReepmail rabscuttle385 with the subject line add  mccaintruthfile. (Stop getting pings by sending the subject line drop mccaintruthfile.) Republican Commissar’s Warning: By joining this ping list, you may be subjected to the delusional rants and ramblings of McCainiacs, of "moderate" Republicans, of pragmatic conservatives resigned to voting for the lesser of two Democrats, and of countless GOP shills who simply want to meet a new overlord.

[StandUpChuck]

Thin? Decimate is a better word.

[Sine_Pari]

Begin by cleaning the voter registration ranks, cut public funding to partisan (left wing all of them) groups that subvert elections, and use the courts to go after any elected politician and .org that gets in the way.

Regards.

[Red_Devil 232]

We need a political equivlent of a Weatherby Mark V.

[PapaBear3625]

Party moderates have opined time and again that a more middle-of-the-road presidential candidate could win Pennsylvania. McCain was touted as that candidate. It was a double-digit trouncing.

No more moderates. They have no ability to excite passion in the conservative base, and why would a liberal vote for a moderate Repub when a liberal Dem is available?

[Chaguito]

there is no doubt the GOP has hit rock bottom.

I don't think so. The party will try to resurrect itself while still espousing the same creed. I'm just about convinced that it's time for a new party. I'm just not politically savvy enough to know how it's done.

[UCFRoadWarrior]

Finally someone not blaming the loss on Conservative Christians, or Sarah Palin

Its time to purge the liberals/moderates. No longer can the GOP try to be DNC-lite

We need to rid the party of the “Fred Robers Whiny Elitist Liberal” crowd. Stupid to let people in non-conservative areas of the country try to dictate what Conservatives do.

The fact that Conservatives won in the Marriage Amendments in states that went Obama means that Conservatism is fine...and GOP Liberals are a loser

[VRWC For Truth]

BTTT

[Tzimisce]

It’s too bad that Norm Coleman, Ted Stevens and John Boehner are still there.

They should have been swept away with the rest of the losers...

[Rockitz]

Stupid to let people in non-conservative areas of the country try to dictate what Conservatives do.

Exactly what I've said before on this forum. Why do we let the RINO-infested northeastern states chose our presidential candidate? We need several large conservative states to move their primaries up.

[donna]

This is what the RINO women think:

Saturday, November 8, 2008
Lingle says GOP platform too rigid

Gov. Linda Lingle, one of the most moderate Republicans on the national political scene, says she has ideas on how her increasingly conservative party can again ascend to power in Washington.

But the two-term Hawai’i governor, who campaigned across the country for the GOP presidential ticket, said in a post-election interview with The Associated Press that she won’t devote any of her time and energy to actively press decision-makers in the national GOP for change.

Lingle said the national GOP needs to become less ideologically rigid and attract more ethnic minorities and women into its fold if it is going to recover after big losses in Tuesday’s election.

“If someone looks up and they don’t see anybody who looks like them in the party hierarchy or power structure, by nature they are not going to feel attracted there,” she said. (snip)

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20081108/NEWS01/811080327/1001/localnewsfront

[UCFRoadWarrior]

Good idea...states where the GOP is not strong in should not decide the candidate.

Also, should do away with winner-take-all primaries. That way a liberal GOP candidate cannot rely on liberal states to win nominations

[swatbuznik]

Begin by cleaning the voter registration ranks, cut public funding to partisan (left wing all of them) groups that subvert elections, and use the courts to go after any elected politician and .org that gets in the way.

Yep. And speaking of RINO's, and I had sent an email to Coleman, demanding that he defunded ACORN, but got back a namby-pamby response; something to the effect of "oh, yes, they did some bad, but there some good, and we shouldn't throw the baby out with the bath water," kind of thing. I don't want Franken in his seat, but I'm sick of his capitulations.

[Rockitz]

Also, should do away with winner-take-all primaries.

Definitely!!!

[TheRedSoxWinThePennant]

Gee I wonder who has a history of thinning herds?

[DouglasKC]

We need conservative politicians who will identify socialists and communists for what they are. They can be civil, but they shouldn’t back down from telling the truth about the politics of their opponents.

[Weaver95]

I could no longer vote for the Republican party after Bush authorized torture in Gitmo. That aside, I was still shocked to the core of my being when Bush crafted that wall street bailout bill. A Republican president just flat out nationalized the insurance industry, banking and housing. It still gives me chills when I think about it.

The Republican party lost because they didn’t just betray their core values, they completely forgot them. THAT is the reason for the failure of this past election. While the social conservatives whined about ‘gay marrage’, Republican leadership was voting to turn this country into a socialist nation.

Until we admit to ourselves that we’ve forgotten what it means - what it REALLY means - to be a ‘conservative’ then we will continue to lose elections.

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

Thin hell.Declare open season on the scumbags.What burns me up is having to vote for chambliss on 2 dec just to keep the commie martin from taking the seat.If and I say if chambliss keeps his seat I promise his staff are going to hate their jobs over the next few years.

[Rockitz]

Possibly assign number of delegates based on registered Republicans in a state as opposed to delegates based on total registered voters in a state?

[Mojave]

Party moderates have opined time and again that a more middle-of-the-road presidential candidate could win Pennsylvania. McCain was touted as that candidate. It was a double-digit trouncing.

That's why the RINOs are trying to make Sarah Palin their scapegoat.

[Dutch Boy]

Decimate means to remove 1/10th. I would rather we drive then to extinction.

[NewJerseyJoe]

You want to get rid of only one of every ten RINOs??

[Weaver95]

Party moderates have opined time and again that a more middle-of-the-road presidential candidate could win Pennsylvania. McCain was touted as that candidate. It was a double-digit trouncing. That's why the RINOs are trying to make Sarah Palin their scapegoat. Were you paying any attention at all? Palin isn't a 'scapegoat', she is part of the reason we lost. wake up and smell the coffee!

[captnorb]

We lucked out.....Libby dole is finally gone.. Don't know who is picking up the baton yet. My letter writing skills have to be brushed up and start letters to the editors and back to the county repub meetings to assure we push for a conservative candidate.

[Mojave]

Palin isn't a 'scapegoat', she is part of the reason we lost. wake up and smell the coffee!

Put down the crack pipe.

[skeeter]

Lingle said the national GOP needs to become less ideologically rigid and attract more ethnic minorities and women into its fold if it is going to recover after big losses in Tuesday’s election.

Do America a favor, Gov Lingle and change your party affiliation. We already have a party that panders to racial identities.

[penowa]

"there is no doubt the GOP has hit rock bottom."

I don't think so. The party will try to resurrect itself while still espousing the same creed. I'm just about convinced that it's time for a new party. I'm just not politically savvy enough to know how it's done."

I agree with you. The RINOs will try to breathe life into the DEAD thing - the Republicrat party. If they succeed, there will be no 2nd party and no opposition. I won't live long enough to see the formation of a 2nd party, but if there isn't one, the Republic is dead along with the Republicans.

[bdeaner]

Were you paying any attention at all? Palin isn't a 'scapegoat', she is part of the reason we lost. wake up and smell the coffee!

You are wrong. Without Palin, a lot of conversatives would have sat out the election or voted third party. Palin saved him from an even bigger and much more humiliating loss.

McCain lost because he ran on a platform that said, "Vote for me, I'm not really a Republican." I voted for Palin, not for him. Without Palin, I would have voted third party. A lot of people feel the same.

Now that all is said and done, I am actually happy McCain lost, because it probably would have done more harm than good should the party become associated with that RINO piece of crap.

[Thane_Banquo]

Ronald Wilson Reagan won Pennsylvania twice, running on hard core conservatism. Liberal Republicanism tends to be corporatist Republicanism, which puts off the Reagan Democrats. Conservatism attracts them because it tends to be what they actually believe in.

[Mojave]

McCain lost because he ran on a platform that said, "Vote for me, I'm not really a Republican."

Exactly!

[Thane_Banquo]

I say we do the complement of decimating. Remove 9/10ths of them, so we always have that annoying 1/10th around to remind us why we got rid of the 9/10ths in the first place.

[WOSG]

Begin by cleaning the voter registration ranks, cut public funding to partisan (left wing all of them) groups that subvert elections, and use the courts to go after any elected politician and .org that gets in the way.”

Since we are now a minority, this is impossible.
The Democrats will keep fraudulent voters on the books, put pork and earmarks to fund leftwing special interests, stuff courts with liberal activists so the third branch becomes a partisan advocacy arm for socialism.

It’s very troubling, and our only hope is to wake up the people in the middle of the road to the danger the left-liberal Democrats pose.

As of right now, the swing voters swung to give the Democrats all the power they want.

[AC-130 Gunship]

"I could no longer vote for the Republican party after Bush authorized torture in Gitmo."

So waterboarding Islamofascist terrorists cut you loose from the GOP? Really?? You must despise General George Patton as well - he actually slapped a U.S. soldier.

So tell me - Is your 8x10 glossy of Olbermann autographed?

[Lancey Howard]

What? The GOP can’t win with “rock-ribbed” moderates?
Who’d a thunk?

[Lancey Howard]

On the bright side, Connecticut’s Christopher Shays was finally jettisoned.

[Issaquahking]

Were you paying any attention at all? Palin isn't a 'scapegoat', she is part of the reason we lost. wake up and smell the coffee!

Hey troll, You and your attitude can't even recognize a conservative. I had the privilege of working as a volunteer on her campaign for a while. Guranteed, people like you shoot off your mouth with no proofs, arm chair warrior jerk. Even things you would consider proofs, are rumors and inneundo.

[Weaver95]

I believe in the US Constitution and the decree of the Founding Fathers. If they said ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ was a bad thing, then who am I to disagree?

Or if you want put a religious spin on it, you cannot be a Christian and be in favor of waterboarding. Christ didn’t give exceptions - He said ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ He didn’t say ‘unless they were terrorist suspects’.

Torture is always wrong. Always. there are no exceptions. no ‘outstanding circumstances’. When Bush starting making excuses for the practice, I stopped voting Republican.

[PFC]

Here’s an idea - maybe the national GOP should focus on shrinking the size and scope of the federal government. Advocate that certain issues should be decided and run by the individual states. That’s the concept that attracted many people to the GOP. But they’ve lost that ideal along the way and now everything is a federal issue and all they do is toss money at problems.

[AC-130 Gunship]

"No more RINOs!"

Been saying it for years. Funny, but wasn't this supposed "Big Tent" of the GOP calculated to co-opt ALL the mutants, misfits, freaks, fairies, and "disenfranchised" of the Democrat Party...BUT it hasn't worked, has it? 'Power over Principle' has killed the GOP.

RINOs are a virus upon conservatism which has effectively worked to "Divide and Conquer"...

Now can ANYONE tell us if the GOP actually described their "official" platform this election season and if 'Pro-Life' is STILL a part of that platform? Or was it hush-hushed this go-around?

[Mojave]

Been saying it for years. Funny, but wasn't this supposed "Big Tent" of the GOP calculated to co-opt ALL the mutants, misfits, freaks, fairies, and "disenfranchised" of the Democrat Party...BUT it hasn't worked, has it?

Next time for sure!

[Weaver95]

Here's another reason why the Republican party lost. From the Republican party platform: "We do not support government bailouts of private institutions. Government interference in the markets exacerbates problems in the marketplace and causes the free market to take longer to correct itself. We believe in the free market as the best tool to sustained prosperity and opportunity for all." less than a month after that proclamation was made, President Bush bailed out wall street. You can't go around being a blatant hypocrit and then expect to win elections.

[donna]

Were you paying any attention at all? Palin isn't a 'scapegoat', she is part of the reason we lost. wake up and smell the coffee!

Weaver95 is right.

I haven't fought against Feminism all these years to cave in now.

Plus, the first thing Sarah Palin wanted to do was spend federal money for her personal interest in special needs children. That's a state job.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

This elecion, if nothing else, was a full and complete repudiation of RINOs.

[Weaver95]

Hey troll, You and your attitude can't even recognize a conservative. I had the privilege of working as a volunteer on her campaign for a while.

I'm a 'troll'? Palin *lost*. If she was the right candidate, she would NOT have lost. If she lost, then ergo - she was the wrong choice.

[E. Cartman]

Anyone else here old enough to remember the soviet "gerentocracy" of the Brezhnev years, the collection of self-serving chair moisteners who then made up the ruling soviet Politburo?

That's what The GOP has become.

[AC-130 Gunship]

"I believe in the US Constitution and the decree of the Founding Fathers. If they said ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ was a bad thing, then who am I to disagree?

It's all about context and definition which has clearly been subverted.

"Waterboarding" is NOT torture - unless you've been drinking the Koolade.

"If you want put a religious spin on it, you cannot be a Christian and be in favor of waterboarding. Christ didn’t give exceptions - He said ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ He didn’t say ‘unless they were terrorist suspects’."

That's a very creative spin - are you Lanny Davis?

Using Christ's words in the context of discerning the Rules of Engagement for war against murdererous thugs and application of pressing for info and data that saves lives is bizarre.

QUESTION:

Would you approve "waterboarding" if its use helped save one of your loved ones?

[AC-130 Gunship]

Yeah - if only we are “inclusive” of all the Vulcans, Clingons, and Elves, and Hobbits, the GOP will pull it all together!