For Oregon GOP, only way to go is up

Oregonlive ^ | 2/29/08 | HARRY ESTEVE and JEFF MAPES

[MovementConservative]

A sobering assessment of the GOP in Oregon.

[The_Republican]

Quote:

“It’s a wake-up call,” says former state labor commissioner Jack Roberts. “We’ve been spending so much of our time arguing about who is more Republican, and the voters are electing people who aren’t Republican at all.”

a.k.a - Ann Coulter Syndrome.

[stevio]

Excited about McCain? Sounds to me like they're still liqueured up.
Very sad, a conservative without a country.

[johnthebaptistmoore]

Just try being the GOP in either Massachusetts or Rhode Island for the next few decades and then get back to me.

[SoConPubbie]

“It’s a wake-up call,” says former state labor commissioner Jack Roberts. “We’ve been spending so much of our time arguing about who is more Republican, and the voters are electing people who aren’t Republican at all.” a.k.a - Ann Coulter Syndrome.

Very misleading.

Same garbage mentality here in California gave us Arnold "the girly-man" Schwarzeneggar.

Same garbage mentality gave us the drubbing nationally in 2006 because the GOP had drifted to the left on Illegal Immigration and spending.

You keep telling us how we need to compromise our principles and move to the center and you will keep getting less and less of our votes and will lose more and more elections.

[goodnesswins]

“It’s a wake-up call,” says former state labor commissioner Jack Roberts.

HMMMM....most "Roberts" in politics in Oregon are/have been DEMOCRATS.....wonder if he's a "crossover/polluter?"

[UCFRoadWarrior]

Very misleading.

Same garbage mentality here in California gave us Arnold “the girly-man” Schwarzeneggar.

Same garbage mentality gave us the drubbing nationally in 2006 because the GOP had drifted to the left on Illegal Immigration and spending.

You keep telling us how we need to compromise our principles and move to the center and you will keep getting less and less of our votes and will lose more and more elections.

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So true.....the GOP cannot afford to lose its conservative base. With McAztlan as the GOP nominee....more state GOPs will be in similar predicament

[Mr. Jeeves]

Well, if a party’s message doesn’t appeal to the electorate, they have to find one that does. California’s GOP has the exact same problem: social conservatives and RINOs in both states are slugging it out over who are the real Republicans (as if the West were Alabama or New York), and the libertarian themes that could gain large support here are ignored.

[darkangel82]

RI has a conservative GOP governor.

[darkangel82]

Mark Hatfield, Tom McCall, Bob Packwood, Norma Paulus and Dave Frohnmayer.

RINOs.

[MovementConservative]

There are some very short-sighted people in Oregon with loud voices. One conservative commentator was trashing McCain because McCain wants to close Gitmo and move the prisoners to leavenworth. Now that’s something to get excited about. /sarc.

[PeterPrinciple]

Reasons for the recent Republican tailspin abound. Among them: deep emotions among voters about the Iraq war; a failure to nominate moderates; confusion over who calls the shots within the party.

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The reason they lost is a failure to nominate moderates? If you take the conservatives out of the republican party (which is happening) what do you have?

[MovementConservative]

We nominated a moderate for Governor in 2006 but that was such a poor year for the GOP that he ended up losing by about 8 points. The conservative Kevin Mannix nearly won in 2002.

[Leo Farnsworth]

Perhaps more Republicans could be voted into office if ALL VOTING was NOT done by MAIL IN BALLOT.

Food for thought.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Sorry, but this is biased crap. Those “mavericks” they’re talking about are out-and-out liberal RINOs. Newsflash: Every state GOP that goes down the liberal path dies. It’s just that simple. Massachusetts, New Jersey, just for two examples.

I did not see it mentioned that the Republican candidates that did best (at least with respect to Governor) were Conservatives (Mannix, who only just barely lost, did far better than the RINOs that were put up on several other occasions). The most smashing GOP Gubernatorial victory since after 1950 was Conservative Vic Atiyeh’s reelection in 1982 (when he beat the current Governor by a 2-to-1 margin). But they won’t mention that, because that will contradict the author’s position that liberals must be nominated by the GOP in order to win. Sorry, but screw that.

[The_Republican]

Sorry that you miss him! LOL!

[Cicero]

Mark Hatfield and Bob Packwood were two of the worst Republicans in Washington.

You don’t beat the Democrats by saying “Me, too.” The Dems can always do it more and do it better. Ask the Conservative Party in England whether there’s no way but up when you’re down. No, you can always go down even further.

California is now headed that way, too, after the Arnold disaster.

[goldstategop]

The Left Coast is a Dem lock. I just don't see the GOP regain ground in the Pacific Coast states any time soon.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[Valpal1]

Vote by mail has given the Dems cart blanche cheating ability. Republicans will keep losing, nothing will change.

[SoConPubbie]

Well, if a party’s message doesn’t appeal to the electorate, they have to find one that does. California’s GOP has the exact same problem: social conservatives and RINOs in both states are slugging it out over who are the real Republicans (as if the West were Alabama or New York), and the libertarian themes that could gain large support here are ignored.

I don't by that explanation either.

Reagan was able to keep all three legs of the Conservative stool together by promoting sound conservative ideals in the fiscal, defense related, and social arenas of governing.

The moderates/liberals in control of the party machinery are doing everything they can to divide and conquer the natural allies consisting of the conservative factions.

So far they have been quite effective by moving open primaries up to the front of the race and by starting the primaries and the primary process so much earlier than usual.

The only way we are going to gain control of this whole process is through the grass-roots and more hands on involvement in the process.

We need to get involved at every level and need to focus on re-vamping the overall process including the following:

1. Closing all primaries
2. Rewarding states who reliably vote conservative in the primaries by putting them at the front of the line.
3. Forcing the states to hold their primaries in a more reasonable time-frame like they used to do.

Furthermore, the GOP needs to understand that unless they run candidates that are acceptable to conservatives, no matter what the fear tactics they emply, that conservatives are not going to support them.

In short, we need to get busy taking back our party.