Posted on 07/30/2003 11:25:27 AM PDT by hsmomx3
If you put your ear to the ground, you can hear the rumble. It is the rumble of political discontent, obsolete bipolarities, and looming realignment. What am I talking about? I’m talking about the coming split of the Republican Party.
Years ago, Jeff Foxworthy blessed America with his “…you might be a redneck” jokes. Drawing upon his comedic methodology:
If you fear the one true God, define America as a “Christian Nation”, seek to make God’s Law the law of the land, think of homosexuals as freaks and sinners, and want to jail women who have abortions…you might be a Republican.
If you think history has bequeathed a destiny upon America to serve as the world’s policeman, to liberate oppressed nations, and you love to stay up all night strategizing on how to isolate the Saudis or punish France…you might be a Republican.
If you think it is the proper role of a Jeffersonian state to steal money from citizens to build civic plazas and university labs…you might be a Republican.
If you don’t care about ballooning budget deficits, and want to jack up government spending as though the rising debt never needs to be paid...you might be a Republican.
If you can’t stand deficits, are firmly committed to balancing the budget, and want to dramatically cut taxes and spending…well, you might have been a Republican in 1980.
There are at least five categories above, and all of them consist of people who identify with the GOP. They are, in order: theocratic Christian conservatives (there are, thank God, non-theocratic ones as well), neoconservatives, Chamber of Commerce Republicans who practice crony capitalism, the Bushies, and finally the blessed fiscal conservatives.
So what’s the problem? These people cannot possibly coexist in the same party for much longer. This is especially true now that Republicans in power have abandoned fiscal responsibility. They now stand for nothing – certainly nothing that would meaningfully separate them from big-spending Democrats.
Republicans were supposed to be about freedom – freedom from that monster which takes freedom away – government. The GOP was supposed to “get the government off our backs.” This hasn’t happened, and government at all levels is violating our rights now more than ever.
The above five groups can really be reduced to two kinds of people. There are those people that want to be left alone, and there are those people that refuse to leave others alone. The former simply want to be left alone to pursue their happiness, and are happy to leave others alone to do the same. They understand government’s proper role is limited to securing this freedom from those (criminals and foreign threats) who would aggress upon their peaceful lives. The latter group are all basically civil thugs. They want to impose their vision of the good on others by force. They don’t care if you’re living a peaceful, happy life. In fact, they might hold it against you. They want to take your money, or arrest you for any number of reasons. Got weed? To jail you go. Got a gay lover? To jail you go. Got a cancer treatment they haven’t approved? To jail you go. Got a successful business? How’s 40% off the top sound?
Republicans used to be the leave-me-alone crowd, and Democrats the thugs. Things are messier now.
What we can expect to see in the coming decade or two is a realignment. There are lots and lots of fine leave-me-alone people in the GOP. They don’t hate gays or brown people. They are pro-abortion and anti-tax. They are basically libertarians, but see themselves as too pragmatic to join the Libertarian Party.
There are also some leave-me-aloners in the Democratic camp. I call them smart gay people: they are too gay to be Republican, but much too smart about self-responsibility and economics to be real Democrats. Smart gay people are really good for America.
The theocratic Christian conservatives are a strong wing of the GOP. They will either grow to dominate the GOP or they will get their asses kicked out by the leave-me-alone Republicans. In any case, what we will see is a realignment that unites all the pro-freedom Americans under a major party. The religious nuts might have their own party, like the Religious Nut Party or something similar. It seems structurally impossible to break the two-party system into three or more parties, but I wouldn’t dismiss the possibility altogether. In any case, two parties might be enough to represent the major threads.
There are lots of unhappy Republicans today, chafing at their party’s abandonment of fiscal restraint and occupation by anti-sodomists. There are some number of Democrats that have tired of the drug war, expanded police powers, and foreign adventurism. These people need to find each other, for they are the best Americans.
So you do not drive on public roads, and you refuse to get a driver's license? Otherwise, you are not the little island you like to claim to be.
All I get to see on Newsstands are the RAg [sorry, Gazette flushed years ago] and the Tribune in its various regional flavours!
LOL! It's much more than a philosophy. It's a way of life! It's a religion!
This isn't an attack upon you, but I've come to despise this term "RINO." It's used by purists who wish to stigmatize Republicans they don't agree with, and it usually is followed by a statement that "I'd rather have a real liberal than a pretend Republican."
I was curious about this, so last week I went to the American Conservative Union website to look at the conservative ratings of a bonafide liberal, and a bonafide "RINO." According to the ratings of the ACU, Barbara Boxer rated a "5" with her voting record last year. Olympia Snowe, everyone's consensus "RINO," rated a "65." I'd take Snowe over Boxer, or just about any other Democrat, any day.
Your buddies just voted to keep the U.S. in the UN and piss away more American tax dollars. Laugh at the Libertarians all you want with ad hominem and the obligatory doper label, but at least they'll get us out of the UN and abolish the welfare state.
Very true they(demos) are 100% in trying to stamp out Christian influences in the US.
JMO, they are the religious nuts, in a secualr/atheistic/fundelmenatalist Islam way.
And yet you come up with this quote,
Guess that's why I can't officially become a republican
Thus giving succor to your demo cousins, IMO.
Sheesh I thought you Libertarians were aghast about fence sitters, and here in your reply #21 you declare yourself as a fence sitter.
Don't they offer it in the birdcage stores? ;-)
Exactly. The modern democrat party is basically a religion on par with fundemantalist Islam in their hatred of other views, and their miniscule cousins, the Libertarians parrot the demo religion on social issues, IMO.
Secondly, I can't ever recall seeing a group of people who opposed, and actually attempted to undermine, their own country's security like the left has done for the last 50 years. Howard Dean follows a long shameful line of useful idiots that stretches from Mondale, to McGovern, to Alger Hiss.
Everything else should be secondary.
Ok, let's look at the facts here. The one true and blue "Libertarian" in Congress, Ron Paul, put up for a vote to get the US out of the UN. Fine the Republic in action, but yet that same congressman, sided with the liberal democrats (who are big UN supporters)and the UN in saying that the US and the UK should have not removed saddam from power.
JMO, but can anybody say schizophrenia.
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