Time to switch registration to ‘Independent’...I’ll be voting for Constitution Party candidates from here on...I’ve read their platform, and it is as close to conservative as anything out there.
In which century do you expect the constitution party to win the WH, or Senate or the House? Or is it that winning is not one of your requirements?
There were five maybe six House seats (several in new districts in Arizona) which went to Democrats because third party candidates took away what should have been winning Republican margins. Redistricting in states, often by Democratic legislative majorities, or ordered by liberal judges, commonly gives Democrats an upfront advantage. When these races are close and a third party takes from Republican votes, the Rats most always prevail.
John Boehner 220
Nancy Pelosi 192
Eric Cantor 3
Jim Cooper 2
Allen West 2
Colin Powell 1
Jim Jordan 1
David Walker 1
Justin Amash 1
John Dingell 1
Raul Labrador 1
John Lewis 1
And we wonder why Obama won his first term, and the second.
Obama's second term was any easy defeat. I didn't agree with the GOPs selection of Romney, however he was the choice, (less then 4% voter turnout for primary here). To many people fed up with the GOP either did not vote, or voted third party, it got Clinton elected. Long time republicans not turning out to vote this time got Obama elected.
Everyone complaining about who is in DC, have you done ANYTHING locally to get the right people in the party. Support your local county, and state level candidates, they are the future. Support the Constitutionalists when they run locally on the GOP ticket, maybe in a few years they will be the once in DC making the right decisions.
I have had my own experience with those cowards. Those thieves took my money (OK, I was stupid and I admit it) and used it to try to convince me that Bush was more dangerous than Gore and Kerry.
These cowards have no intention of ever winning anything or they would be running as Republicans. Don't be deceived like I was when I was sucked in by them.
“Who Knows,” I'm not really trying to pick on you here. You've actually made the best case yet for a third party and I'm going to say more about that at the end of this message.
But I seriously wonder if most of the people complaining about the Republican Party have actually tried to fix problems locally, where their firsthand personal actions could actually help, or if they're giving up without much effort.
Are people here aware that we have a Freeper from the Class of 1998 who got sworn in this week to a county with a $250 million budget, defeating a Republican incumbent during the primary and fighting against a county board of supervisors that likes insider financial deals and doesn't like public input?
I can't post the full text because it's an Associated Press article, but what appears to be a great profile piece on Hildy Angius and how she got active in politics appears here:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/06/19/takes-action-tea-party-backers-explain-journey-enraged-engaged/#ixzz2H1CQ95ij
Scroll down past the initial section and you'll find gems like this:
“Her accent screams Long Island and she seems better suited for an episode of ‘The Real Housewives of New York City’ than the Chaparral Country Club in Bullhead City. Yet here she is, Hildy Angius, holding court with three older gentlemen who've just finished a round of golf in this retirement community in the far northwest corner of Arizona... Spotting an opening, Angius launches into the speech she delivers these days to friends and strangers alike, whether at tea party rallies, the local coffee shop or on Facebook. The upshot: Don't gripe, do something. Vote. Volunteer. Knock on doors. Do, in essence, what she's now doing: Whatever it takes to move the Republican Party, and the government, to the right... An avid Rush Limbaugh fan, she's called in to his show on any number of occasions.
Still, she acknowledges she did little more than complain until September 2008, when she realized Barack Obama was likely to win the presidency, bringing to office a far too liberal agenda that would mean the kind of changes Angius vehemently opposes. Never before a ‘joiner,’ she went online, learned about the Colorado River Republican Women, went to a meeting and found an outlet for her dismay.”
That, fellow Freepers, is a model in miniature of what we **ALL** need to be doing.
Here's the link to my post: http://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2974438/posts?page=133#133
Activism on the local level is what wins elections.
Words can change minds. Debating is not useless by any means.
But words without actions **ARE** worthless.
If you don't like your local Republican leaders, get involved in your local party and try to change their minds. If you can't, run for office yourself and try to get rid of them. If you can't do that, then go look at third party options.
But try the first steps first before jumping ship.
For those conservatives who are serious about trying to form an alternative party, the Constitution Party is the best option now out there. Missouri Right-to-Life endorsed their lieutenant governor candidate this year, a former Republican legislator.
I am not prepared to abandon the Republican Party, but for those who are, go out and get active on the local level in working for the Constitution Party or some other alternative party in deep-red districts where your vote actually can count and won't just elect a Democrat. CedarDave is dead right about how third party candidates can siphon away votes in close races.