Posted on 08/29/2010 9:24:21 PM PDT by Lorianne
And just for the record...way I hear it advocating for less governnment, cutting spending and cutting taxes makes you a right wing extremist. There is NO issue that isn’t considered a wedge issue by some MINORITY group out there. People who are uncomfortable by the other issues may like to think themselves “reasonable” but in truth they label you just as extreme.
I agree abortion is not a necessarily a religious issue. But it is framed as such so much so that you can’t fight that battle and all the other battles and win.
I am 100% pro-Life ... but I think Denninger is right on getting elected you must stick to fiscal issues, which can be a big winner right now more than ever.
Sure you can. Both the pro-life movement & traditional marriage proponents have been very effective, passing DOMA in the 90s and outlawing partial-birth abortion. Also working on public opinion which shows more people support traditional marriages and younger people being pro-life.
If a Republican disregards life and supports homosexual marriage, how are we to trust him on other issues that matter? Giving benefits to homosexual couples and funding Planned Parenthood isn't fiscal conservatism.
“Witness John McCain, who made a campaign spectacle out of bailing out the banks. How’s JD Hayworth doing in challenging him? He lost, right? How’d that happen? The same way it always happens: Hayworth let the campaign’s terms include those wedge issues, and then got tattoed by the guy with the bigger warchest and the ability to threaten people politically.”
I’m thinking about the issues raised here but the above statement is incorrect.
JD was outspent 10 to 1, made some tactical errors, did not have GOP in AZ behind him from the outset, had Sara Palin support Juan, had media outlets against him. When his infamous “Free Government Money InfoCommercial” came out, he never recovered. These factors do not translate or abstract into a more valid general assessment of election dynamics. JMHO (as a JD supporter here in AZ)
How so? Most I saw are pro-life and say they are Christians.
November is a battle not the war. They’ve been preparing for 60 years. For all you old hippies out there remember Don Juan (Time cover & all that — the old Yaqui Indian eating mushrooms and dispensing wisdom to the washed): a warrior has only his will and his patience.
Agree
Not all of them but there are Econocons so glued to their stock tickers, that is all they see. If only the economic system were changed to their liking, if only we had this or that new law or this or that law repealed or this or that law enforced, unicorns would be dancing in the streets passing out lollipops. They see nothing beyond their little material world and they are extremely intolerant of those who know that culture and morality, not law, determines the success of a society.
You don’t have to support abortion or gay marriage.
Focus on fiscal issues doesn’t mean you don’t have those other values. It’s not either/or.
As usual, Karl is right on the money.
You cannot effect any change on social issues if you don’t WIN.
So we become like Obama, without raising the taxes so high or restricting our liberties quite as much? Obamalite?
Maybe I will have to read further...I started on the “Last” page, and worked my way up...had to stop, thought it was like DU.
I doubt he gives a damn about the Tea Party. Seems to me he's trying to drive a wedge in a movement where none exists. Tea Party folks are already socially conservative.
Same old divide-and-conquer BS. And you're falling for it, Lorianne.
This is right on the money. Every one of our conservative candidates could win with five canned issues and answers, no matter what the questions asked are. All questions to a conservative candidate from the media are asked simply to trip up the candidate and try to pin various extremest labels on them.
Here’s the five answers:
1. I’ll vote to reduce taxes and reduce spending.
2. I’ll vote to reduce regulation, including green house gas regulations.
3. I’ll vote for a strong military and for strong protection of our borders.
4. I’ll vote for strong methods for protecting our country from terrorist and other enemies.
5. I’ll vote to repeal ObamaCare and then vote to replace it with honest reform.
Say, and really believe, these four things and nothing more and you will be elected. The rest and come after you are elected.
Agree - 100%
Every social issue that is brought into the conversation loses some fraction of the people in the movement. You may say good riddance, but you’d be diluting the impact of the movement - and the more issues you add, the more irrelevant the movement becomes.
NO!
I will NOT compromise my values to make nice with the Democrat butt-kissing RINO GOP. Time for the GOP to choose where they want to be instead.
And he is now active in the Tea Party as are other Obama voters.
Why make enemies?
I don’t agree.
I can do “lesser of evil” calculations as well as anyone.
But I’m looking for the whole package. If you don’t get “natural law” you probably don’t get the constitution either. If your morality is rooted in the culture rather than the transcendant you don’t have anyway of knowing when the culture has gone off the rails.
So, no, I’m not going to ignore the moral order. Separate from the moral order liberty can’t sustain itself. If a McCain is all we’ve got to go up against a raving communist, then fine, but the fact that after all of the backstabbing McCain has done, Arizonans reward him with high office, is itself evidence of a much deeper problem.
If you keep losing at the political level its because you’ve already lost at the deeper moral level. Your response has to be on both levels. You’ll never turn it around, though, if you can’t speak to the deeper moral law. Its not just about winning, if winning means electing people like McCain. You have to persuade and win with people who truly represent your views.
Is reelecting McCain a victory? For who, besides McCain?
No. You don’t have to abandon your values in order to focus first and foremost on fiscal issues,
It’s not either/or.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.