Posted on 01/21/2013 6:45:57 AM PST by Kaslin
Every Republican knows another Republican who agrees with them on 99% of the issues, yet will attack them relentlessly over the 1% of issues they disagree upon. Instead of uniting against the left, these busybodies waste countless hours criticizing other Republicans. They will frequently do it under the ruse of being the “true conservatives,” claiming that anyone who does not agree with them is not conservative enough. Yet the 1% of issues they disagree with others on are often arbitrarily decided and not legitimate issues. Mitt Romney was criticized for being too moderate of a Republican presidential candidate, yet he ran the most conservative campaign as the Republican nominee for president we have seen since Ronald Reagan.
These “true conservatives” will tear apart other conservatives not on the issues, but on personality and connections. In Arizona, anyone who is perceived to get along with moderate Republican Senator John McCain and his ardent supporters is attacked for being a moderate themselves. McCain bullies his way around politics and most Republicans are afraid of him and his supporters, only seeking his endorsement to stay out of his crosshairs.
Sadly, this infighting results in Republicans losing races they should not have. Vernon Parker, a black Republican and former Mayor of Paradise Valley in Arizona, ran for Congress in Arizona's new Congressional district nine last year against Democrat Kyrsten Sinema, a self-avowed bisexual who once received the Arizona Federation of Taxpayers' Vladimir I. Lenin award for being the most far left member of the Arizona State Legislature. Several relatively unknown Republicans ran against Parker in the primary, claiming to be more conservative than him.
The “true conservatives” held two things against Parker. The first was that he had benefited from affirmative action as a small business owner many years ago. While affirmative action is not something conservatives agree with, just because someone is a recipient of it does not mean they support it. Conservatives disagree with many of the government created redistributionist tax breaks in the IRS code, but they still take advantage of them when doing their taxes. While I was working on the Arizona Civil Rights Initiative to ban affirmative action, one of the staffers told me they saw nothing wrong with any of us benefiting from affirmative action should an opportunity arise.
The other thing the “true conservatives” held against Parker is that he was listed as endorsing McCain for Senate in 2010. The McCain machine plays fast and loose with how it obtains endorsements, and will put down the name of anyone who was simply a delegate to the Republican convention as an endorser. When J.D. Hayworth entered the race to run against McCain for Senate, Parker attempted to remove the endorsement, but the McCain machine turned a deaf ear - even after Parker showed up at a J.D. Hayworth for Senate fundraiser!
Consequently, the “true conservatives” did little to help Parker in the general election. There was little activity in the blogosphere and social media by conservatives supporting him. The only Republican candidate in the race with name recognition, he had the best chance of any Republican in the slightly Democratic-leaning district. Parker is a charismatic, genuinely principled conservative who rose from the ghettos of Los Angeles to serve in high-level posts under both Presidents Bush. He lost the race by only 4%.
That wasn't the only Arizona Congressional race Republicans lost due to purists. Republicans went from holding five out of eight Arizona Congressional seats down to only four of nine. In two of those races, the Republican candidates had very close races but were snubbed by “true conservatives.” Martha McSally, America's first female fighter pilot, lost her race against former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' chief of staff Ron Barber by an incredibly close 49.9% to 50.1%. Iraqi war veteran Jonathan Paton lost to Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick by 3%.
The losing Republican Congressional candidates were all pro-life, pro-gun, and are considered more conservative than McCain. Paton ran in a Democratic-leaning district, which became even more heavily Democratic with a 9-point voter registration edge after the seat was redistricted last year. Even so, because he was the strongest candidate coming out of the Republican primary, his race was viewed as a tossup going into the general election.
The “true conservatives” hold Republican candidates to a standard that few could live up to. They expect Republican candidates to go beyond adherence to the party platform, and follow their dictates about who they may and may not associate with. They hold any minor indiscretion in a political candidate's past against him or her, even if that candidate has since become more conservative over the years. Heaven help us if that candidate has a spouse who ever contributed to an odd cause or candidate!
The “true conservatives” want Republican political candidates to make far out public statements on the issues and denounce other Republicans. Yet that kind of talk is what ultimately causes Republicans to lose races. The left and its allies in the complicit liberal media have figured out how to successfully ridicule and portray Republicans who make brash statements as extremists.
As long as a Republican candidate has conservative principles, he or she should not be required to commit political suicide by pleasing a few “true conservatives” with statements better left to talk show hosts. Ann Coulter can get away with making shocking political statements, but former Virginia Governor George Allen, former Missouri Congressman Todd Akin, and former Indiana Congressman Richard Mourdock cannot.
Using the standards of the “true conservatives” today, Ronald Reagan would have never secured the Republican Party nomination. Reagan used to be a Democrat and signed the most liberal abortion rights bill in the country after becoming Governor of California. He also signed a bill making community college education virtually free. As president, he never cut social spending. Yet he is looked up to by “true conservatives” as their number one hero.
The so-called “true conservatives” hold Republican candidates to a standard that virtually no one but Jesus could adhere to. Oh wait, the Pharisees and Sadducees didn't think even Jesus lived up to high enough standards.
We forget that the leftists have been patient over these 50 years, and have put in place their agenda a little at a time, by electing folks who may not be 100% with them, but agree with them enough so that they're willing to get them into the office, and can work on them once they're there.
Anything derogatory from the village idiot is considered a compliment. Keep up that hard earned reputation.
"X-spurt is such a fool."
If only the American People were more amenable to domestication and domination, things would be so much better!
I am so happy you have something to do today besides droll at your fav kenyans day at the fair.
Your linked article on Rachel Alexander contained this gobbet:
Her former boss, former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, was disbarred in April for perjury, filing malicious and bogus criminal cases against political enemies, and other ethics violations. Another of his subordinates, Lisa Aubuchon, was also disbarred. Both women are appealing the decision by a three-member panel headed by Judge William O'Neil. On August 31, the Arizona U.S. Attorney's Office declined to press charges against Thomas or his alleged accomplice, Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
Alexander played the role of stooge in the power-play by Thomas and Arpaio, taking an incompetently crafted racketeering lawsuit against county leaders, judges and local lawyer and re-filing it for Thomas after Aubuchon recused herself from the case.
With her law license in limbo, Alexander could no longer handle bankruptcy cases to support herself. The business that was the sole source of income for her fiance's four children, Alexander wrote in court pleadings. [Emphasis supplied.]
This is part of a vindictive Left campaign of persecution against people who work for Sheriff Joe, is what this is, and the source is part of Rahm Emmanuel's RatRoots orc army -- the same people he energized to go after Sarah Palin and use Alaska's unique accountability laws to drive her from office.
This is scumrats talking. Let's keep perspective, folks. RiNO or not, she was working for Sheriff Joe, and this is what the Left does to people who work for people like him.
So pursuing a bogus racketeering lawsuit as a political weapon was okay because she was doing it for Sheriff Joe and his allies?
Interesting ethical standards.
Better hope you're never a defendant in a lawsuit simply because you ticked off the wrong people in government.
Look who the sides are. You might at least have a look at the people the ankle-biter says are upright and righteous (like Judge Weir), and who their "peeps" are.
So far we've identified Arpaio and some people working with (a DA) and for him, and this unnamed, uninspected adversary up at the state bar association is chasing them around and taking people's law licenses and trying to beggar them.
This stinks of Rahm Emmanuel and Barky and Janet Napolitano.
I’m not extremely informed about the case, but the stuff that I had heard, sounded to me like even the case against Thomas was ridiculous.
I smell Get Sheriff Joe about this one, and it’s part of a longer, protracted struggle between Arpaio and Arizona Dems.
Thank you’ people in my state (Arizona) are quiet familiar with the unethical disbarment of Thomas and Alexander.
I met her when she was helping Ward Connelly pass our civil rights initiative which is anti-affirmative action.
She is a strong conservative, hardly a RINO.
If you read the disciplinary proceedings opinion, you would understand that this was not a Democrat hit job. Her best defense was that she was just following orders. That doesn’t cut it when you’re an attorney filing lawsuits. If ordered, she should have quit rather than file.
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