I probably didn't explain my theory clearly enough. It's my thought that, had the conservative base thoroughly rejected the milquetoast candidates of decades past, that it might have persuaded the GOP to turn back toward their stated ideals, in that time. After having seen that the vast majority of us are hopelessly 'on the reservation' these last few decades, they now have no inclination whatsoever to move the party back to the right. Four out of ten Republican voters could sit out another election, and I don't believe it would move the needle on their thinking at all. I agree. I do think you and I have a tendency to be too harsh on those who voted for the lesser of two evils in the past though. In hind sight it's pretty easy to see how mistaken some of us were. At the time voting for Bush I over Clinton was a no-brainer. Voting for Dole vs the corrupt Clintons and their Dixie Mafia connections was too, although it grated me something fierce to do it.
Looking back we can see how thing degraded, but Nixon was a no-brainer over McGovern. Ford was a no-brainter over Carter. In those days the differences weren't as pronounced on our side. These guys weren't one with us, but they weren't anywhere near as one with the Left as McCain and Romney are. In those days it was reasoned to think the next election we would have a better nominee and things would correct. Then we came to McCain and Romney, and it's impossible to deny how bad things have become. McCain and Romney could easily be running on Democrat tickets. If they were, McCain would certainly be a Leftist's Leftist, and Romeny wouldn't be much better. Was this the case coming up to 2008? I don't think so. As much as I rail on Bush II for blowing our biggest chance in 60 years, I don't consider him to be as bad as McCain and Romney.
The fact that he took a pass on fixing things, passed Medicare Part D, and worked to get amnesty, sure makes that a tough call though. And his spending, and allowing us to come to the 2008 situation, without taking action before hand..., sorry, the guy really F'd us over. He may not have been McCain and Romney, but he sure gave them a run for the money. Thinking of the melt-down alone, I could be wrong here. I think McCain and Romney would have handed us the same situation, so I consider them farther left. It's a real debate subject to be sure. I'm not convinced I'm right..
I’ll be honest, I don’t see rescue from any active party at this time. Something new is going to have to come along, and it’s going to have to catch on like wildfire across the spectrum, or we’re done for.
I couldn't agree more. I've been saying here for some time, that the civil system of citizen participation in government has been subverted beyond all recognition, and that the visible game of politics is merely a charade to keep the people thinking that something resembling the Framers' government is still in place.
I no longer believe that it is. Nor do I.. They count on new voters to replace us. Young kids trying to do the right thing before they fully grasp what's gong on, is the only thing that keeps the R party alive IMO.
I believe that we've finally reached a place where elections are little more than elaborate dog and pony shows, staged by the ruling elite to pacify the people and to manipulate the broke ring of power. The so-called 'two party' system has become nothing more than a shabby apparency. In truth, there's only one party with two (supposedly) opposing wings. More and more, it's hard to see where there's anything but solid cooperation between the two - and that 'working across the aisle' tends to only benefit the elite - not the people. I don't want to lower it to the elites. I understand where you're coming from, but the elites have something to lose here too. I guess it depends on your definition (or paramters if you will...) of elites though. If we're merely talking about corporations, and not the very very very elite, then I think it's a mistake to allow the Left to divide us. We need corporations to get the big things done. Our aircraft industry couldn't survive if there weren't large corporations able to make investments on the scale they need to, or take losses on the scale they need to to remain viable.
The Left would love to creat a us vs them thing with 'the people' coming out against any corporate environment. I think that would be a mistake to play into. Corporations are good, and they are bad. We have to find a way of weeding out the bad. We can't simply toss out the baby with with the wash-water.
Yes, we citizens (and our state legislatures) have to get a grip on what's really going on here, and come up with an effective method to get back in the game. I'm now past the point of believing that 'voting them out' is going to do anything to move the ball in the right direction. I can only state that state legislatures can be very problematic too. We could cut 75% of our state regulations and probably have a pretty good country. Say nullify anything passed after 1970 or something. LOL, but I think we'd be on to something pretty decent if we studied what we could do along these lines. These legislatures are in session too much of the time. Cut them down to 60 days per year and I think we'd be a lot better off also. These aren't origianal ideas. I think they deserve some thought.
Thomas Sowell said in a recent article, that there are only four possible choices for the American people at this time:
1. Accept the fundamental overthrow of the Constitution and the American Way. ABSOLUTELY NOT!
2. Launch an all-out campaign of widespread civil disobedience or rebellion to force Washington to reform. I don't think this is wise either. 20 million folks march on D. C. and demand change peacefully, yes. Civil disobedience can spiral things out of control, and with this government in it's present state, you don't want to give them any excuses. This is like us moving and say, "Check"..., and then they move and say, "Check Mate!".
3. Secession by several red states from the union. This is not going to happen peacefully. We would have a civil war in days, and with the weapons we have today, the death toll would make the fist Civil War look tame by comparison.
4. Trust that we can accomplish reform through the civil mechanisms laid down by the Framers. Who is selling Conservatism in this nation? The answer is NOBODY. It's why nobody is getting all the Conservative votes. Sell Conservatism on the street corner, and you'll sell sell sell. This is the answer. We want folks to buy Conservatism, but we don't advertist it, market it, create products to buy (candidates), or anything else that would make our nation head back to the right.
Of the four, I only see numbers 2 and 3 as being probable, with number 3 being the most likely choice because it's a peaceful, purely political process.
Sowell admitted that he most desires the last choice among the four, and so do I, but I believe we've passed the point where that's even possible. Naturally, I believe that choice number 1 is unthinkable. I also believe that there's a significant percentage of Americans who will refuse to go down that path, which leaves us again with choices 2 and 3. You see four as the best, but you think it is passed time. You know what, you take the most popular product in this nation right now, stop advertising, stop putting it on the shelves in our local markets, and don't make it available on the internet. Does it sell? That is what we have done with Conservatism. Yes, we hawk it here, but we're not the party. We're not a large enough endeavor to change 50 states. We hawk the truth, and hope folks tune in. It's the people in the parties that will make it happen, if it does happen..
This is all very heavy to consider, but we must begin confronting what the current reality truly is. For much of my life, it never occurred to me that I would live through such an historic time of choosing, but here we are. I never wanted to be part of anything as disruptive as what we're fast approaching, but it appears I have no choice. Neither does any other American. The only thing fast approaching is calamity, if we try options two and three. It wouldn't be several months before the absolute lunacy of two and three would become undeniable. And by then the ball would be rolling so far down the road, the fascists would mop up.