Posted on 02/01/2008 5:03:19 AM PST by A2J
In the coming weeks, I will acknowledge an anniversary of thirty (30) years as a registered Republican. I have always been a Republican and my first presidential election was a vote cast for Ronaldus Magnus, one of my heroes.
I have always voted the GOP line in state and local races, except when there were only Democrats running wherein I would either vote for the most conservative or skip that particular match up entirely.
I'm afraid that this year will be different.
As a conservative who found a home in the GOP 30 years ago, I now find myself without a home, particularly as the GOP has been gradually becoming the DNC-Lite over the past eight (8) years. To say that I'm now frustrated with the GOP would be an enormous understatement but yet I find myself more frustrated and even bitter at such conservative stalwarts as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, two I have always enjoyed listening to and agree with for the most part.
It is not my intention to challenge the pedigree of their conservatism, but rather to tell them and the collective conservatives and conservative wannabes who are now complaining about the ascendancy of John McCain, a despicable little man, to shut the hell up.
Why? Because they've laid the steps for McCain's rise.
Just this week I listened to Rush complain about McCain and Huckabee, who should step aside and support Romney who is more conservative than McCain, with Rush's earlier comments that should McCain or Huckabee receive the nomination, they would destroy the GOP...a statement to which I agree. Additionally, just this week Rush was championing conservatism over the GOP, as he and all conservatives should, and yet when asked as to whether he would support McCain if he is nominated, Rush flip-flopped, ala John Kerry, when he said that he would do nothing to harm the GOP.
Such doublespeak is what cracks the door open for rats like McCain.
Sean Hannity, "Mr. Nice Guy," is no different especially when it comes to anyone who has an "R" after his name.
During Arnold Schwarzenegger's gubernatorial run against Grey Davis, Hannity nearly wet his pants in adoration of Schwarzenegger. He has been the same toward "Mr. Character," Rudy Giuliani. And now he wants to feign anger and frustration over Schwarzenegger's endorsement of the little man from Arizona. In fact, Hannity ridiculed Schwarzenegger's comments as being void of the ideals and core values of Ronald Reagan.
While I cannot speak for all true-blue conservatives, I know that my frustration truly lies with people like Rush and Hannity who openly embrace liberal Republicans and yet now complain that those same ones whom they have embraced are now going to destroy the party. Maybe the GOP should be allowed to continue to merge with the DNC. Maybe then we can build a true conservative party from the ashes.
To me, true conservatism transcends parties and labels and remains absolute and unchangeable, however hard others may try to redefine it. "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" are the "marching orders" for all conservatives regardless of party and while the GOP is currently undergoing a redefinition, conservatism must never.
But, alas, as long as we are more obsessed with making sure that GOP candidates are elected instead of true conservatives, we are not only guaranteeing the destruction of a Grand Old Party, but worse, we become the willing participants in the assault on conservatism.
This year will mark a new era in my long history of voting Republican in that should John McCain become the Republican nominee, I will choose my convictions over my party and withhold my vote because if I truly love America, as we all claim to, then why would I continue to inoculate her with more poison by choosing party over principles?
Sadly, those of us in NY do not have that option.
That’s all well and good(and could be great fodder for late night, but my concern is security and tax increase( re: true recession and more devaluation of the dollar)People make fun of me when I mention that I seriously thinking of buying precious metals.
Not sure, Ksen.
Like 99.999% of Americans I know next to nothing about them.
I know there is some “cross pollination” between CP and Religious Right/John Birchers e.g., “Point of View” radio show.
One thing we should do going forward is destroy every rino we can any time we can.
Regards
I can't stand when Hannity "Hanitizes" callers into conservatism I guess. Like he is the only conservative and we are all his students. The dude is a lightweight. His support of Trudy should be rubbed in his face.
Regards
I’m just stating that for a huge chunk of the base Romney is a barfer and more disliked than McCrazy.
The party is screwed now because all the acceptable conservatives were driven out of the race in a far too crowded field.
You can’t win elections if you let states that vote for liberals drive out the candidates that can win in the states that vote Republican.
I’ve been furious with all of the right wing radio hosts (national) as they should poop or get off the pot. Quit wasting time telling the audience what is wrong with this candidate or that. We are not idiots- we have kept up with events and know who McCain is and who Guliani was.
Instead of tearing down those who you don’t like- trumpet the good candidates and their qualities. We complain about the MSM failing to cover Fred adequately, but the same thing goes for Hannity or Rush or Beck and Laura openly opposed him. Sure they all had him on the show but when he would release a policy statement or the details of a plan, not a peep from our “alternative media”. We might as well have been listening to Dan Rather radio.
The Right Wing radio crowd is very good at being critical but fails at lifting up. We stopped Dubai, stopped amnesty, stopped Harriet Meyers (and don’t look at Roberts or Alito as giant victories- they should have been a cake walk). We can stop candidates but until our media wing is willing to go out on the limb, we will never get anyone elected or this revolution re-fired!!!!
“Sadly, those of us in NY do not have that option.”
Isn’t Fred still on your primary ballot in NY?
Nope - and no write-ins either.
How dare you bash Hannity? Sure, it would be NICE to have a pro-life candidate—but Rudy can WIN!!!
Rush was a closet Rudy lover. Had he and a lot of the other closet Rudy lovers endorsed a conservative candidate, he might not be stuck with McCain.
“You can’t win elections if you let states that vote for liberals drive out the candidates that can win in the states that vote Republican.”
Beagle8u - You are exactly right. Pretty sure if conservative states were front loaded in these primaries we would have a different outcome than the one we got. DriveByMedia working to get their “Maverick” as the front runner sealed the deal.
He has not taken that position, he has said exactly the opposite, that he could see himself not supporting the REP nominee.
Unfortunately I can’t agree with you. There is no nucleus of conservative leadership in Congress, as there was under Clinton. Hillary or Obama will quickly nominate lib judges to the SCOTUS and other Fed. courts, who will then find that citizen’s don’t really have gun rights, that illegals must be granted full de facto citizenship, that “victim” ethnic groups must get reparations, that criticism of Islam is hate speech, etc. etc. It will be a Marxist revolution. The Electoral College may well be dismantled, and 8 more years of suicidal border and immigration policies will fill the land with so many illegals and 3rd-worlders that the country will be irredeemably lost. We would never even see a RINO President or Congress after that, let alone a conservative one. I don’t see why the nation for which our forefathers sacrificed should be thrown away because today’s Pubbie Party is a bunch of treacherous idiots.
You are so wrong. Rush was never a closet Rudy lover. Where do you get any statement by Rush that would come close ?
Most agree with you. I’m not voting for any of the candidates left. I’m writing in my vote.
And neither did anyone tell the conservatives that we'd have to swallow all of the baggage that the "Big Tent" philosophy envelopes.
Do you really believe that Congress will become powerless? Do you think Hillary or Obama will be able to get their way without 60 Senators agreeing?
I think the "Hillary must be defeated at all costs" argument has done nothing but bring us to the sad state we are in now with the Republican front runner as bad as the Democrat front runner.
I don't believe that the U.S. is so fragile that a single person like Hillary can destroy it. I don't believe she will propose any insane legislation, although she would be in favor of many things I strongly oppose, and even if she did it would have to be passed by 60 Senators, that means Republicans must also approve.
I think the chances of really damaging legislation, like amnesty, being passed would be greater with McCain as president than with Hillary as president. That makes McCain the more dangerous of the two.
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