Moderate Republicans need to defend ideals (revealing piece)

iowastatedaily.com ^ | 7/2/14 | Michael Glawe

[cotton1706]

I have fond memories of my internship on Capitol Hill last summer, many of which have broadened my understanding of the political culture brewing in Washington. As I mentioned already in the Daily, I had the privilege of meeting Bill Nye, Francis Collins and other well-known faces.

It would be difficult, though, for me to place those delightful occasions ahead of the durable friendships I built during that time. These friendships crossed party lines and I found that we could have thoughtful discussions from across the aisle, absent the scant and cheap points typical of the comments section of any newspaper.

I remember frequently declining invitations to a round of drinks after work in order to spend extra time discussing policy in a Republican office with my Republican friends. A byproduct of those conversations was the subtle realization that there is still a great deal of reason found in the Republican Party, despite the festoon of superstition, ignorance and imprecision adorned by its tea party compatriots.

Safeguarding that reason is of utmost importance to the identity of the Republican Party. Where once the tea party was an asset to the GOP, it has now become a liability.

Despite taking some recent blows, the tea party movement continues to challenge “establishment

[GeronL]

Why is always considered “reasonable” and stuff when Republicans agree with Democrats?

Because leftists do not tolerate ANY dissent

[NFHale]

“...Why is always considered “reasonable” and stuff when Republicans agree with Democrats?...”

Because when you control the debate, the message, the mouthpieces FOR the message, and the audio/video presentations of the message, you can make those that disagree with you look as “unreasonable” as you want.

And many in the GOP are gutless weasels that refuse to reach down, find their pair, remember they’re men, and stand up for what they say they believe in.

[DoodleDawg]

Moderate Republicans are as extinct as moderate Democrats.

[GilesB]

LOL! Right you are!

[RKBA Democrat]

This is a fascinating article. I think the most telling part is this quote: “Where once the tea party was an asset to the GOP, it has now become a liability.” I view that as less the authors opinion and more simply reporting the attitude that he encountered.

Several of us have been suggesting that this is no mistake. That rather than trying to keep the gop wing of the uniparty intact, perhaps the calculus has already been run and the decision has been made that it would be better to have a gop without conservatives in it. And if you’re going to conduct a purge, what better way to do that than to have conservatives self purge themselves?

That goes a long way in explaining things like the cochroach campaign in MS. If your objective is to drive a class of people out of an organization, then engaging in conduct that outrages that class is a pretty good way to do it.