[Oklahoma]

Read it all.

[sauropod]

bfl

[Gaffer]

I read this. It was hard to follow, frankly.

There were diversions of thought that distracted from the message. To me, what was the point of invoking Erick Erickson? We’ve already heard enough about Erick because Erick Erickson reported on Erick Erickson’s asking Erick Erickson about what Erick Erickson thought.

I get the gist....do real debate, do the conversation of ideas and all that. Yes. But is that the rank and file’s job? How exactly do they do that when you have a debate moderator team of media personalities who are party line establishment? Their goal for that night was “put together some doozies and controversy.”

I can understand the plea for party unity and back to basics and all that. Only that Party, Republican, isn’t me any more. My allegiance is to this country, and to sublimate that under a party mantra of “vote for the next least evil candidate” isn’t going to work for me.

[Din Maker]

Now one simple way to start, and I am open to other suggestions, is to call a few of these candidates before a panel of sensible fellows, including Mr. Lord and myself, and also Mr. Tyrrell and Mr. Pleszczynski, and while we are at it Mr. Erickson and Mr. Fund, the National Review guy, and let’s get Mr. Barnes too, the political ace from the Weekly Standard, and I think we should also have Miss Peggy Noonan and Miss Anastasia O’Grady

You exhorted us to "Read it all". It was hard enough, but, when I got to the RINO Roll Call above, I said "Oh, hell no".

[be-baw]

Well that column was a complete waste of time. What did you see in it that led you to encourage all of us to read the whole thing?

[Bobalu]

They can shove it.

I won’t vote for a GOPee RINO like Jeb?

Go Trump! Go Cruz!

[Hugin]

Is that the Republican Party that has no problem with John McCain calling conservatives “crazies”, but hyperventilates at Trump calling illegal aliens criminals?

The GOP is no more the party of Reagan and Buckley than the Democrats are the party of Truman and JFK. I’m getting too old to care if the people screwing us have R or D next to their name.

[Jim Noble]

One of the sentinel features of our age is an aversion to true campaigning.

We are already seeing MSM articles about how “unsettled” the Republican race is - almost 300 days BEFORE the nomination is to be decided.

This is because the political class, and their LSM partners, HATE the fact that it is the People, not they, who decide things.

[neefer]

And what about W. F. Buckley’s admonition to always work for the Republican with the best chance to get in? He meant the most conservative candidate in a position to get in. I do not think he meant you should vote for the strongest conservative even when the strongest conservative was likely to get creamed by the weakest liberal.

Buckley was unarguably a great conservative thinker, but maybe he had it wrong this time? Decades of voting for the most likely candidate has given us a party full of RINOs. Voting for the mostly likely Republican to win leaves us with a candidate who is only a few steps to the right of the leftist opponent.

[Theophilus]

He doesn’t have to “declare” himself anything. He only has to speak the truth.

[trebb]

Cruz isn't afraid of Trump and notes that so many are foolishly attempting to smear Trump. Trump has only attacked "spoken poorly of") those that need to be spoken poorly of. This article reminds me of how the Left will cherry pick the Bible to try to use it against actual God-fearing Christians.

The "read it all" comment seems to indicate you agree with the GOPe supporters who use false memes to attack the best of what Trump brings and wishes for us all to continue to kiss the ring of the GOPe. If my assessment is wrong, feel free to educate me.

[nonliberal]

"Can you be a conservative and not be chivalresque? "

I stopped reading right there. That line tells me all I need to know about the author.

[Political Junkie Too]

Let's start with Mitch McConnell and John Boehner before we complain about Donald Trump.

-PJ

[Mister Da]

“fellow Republican”?

Those are hard to identify the last decade or so.

Would that be the open borders Republicans, the spendthrift Republicans, or the go along to get along with Obama Republicans. How about the pro-gay marriage Republicans or the abortion for fun & profit Republicans?

Just how do I distinguish a Republican from a Democrat?

[longtermmemmory]

how can it be a “civil war” when it is the ENTIRE USA vs a few DC effetes?