Posted on 01/28/2009 9:17:33 AM PST by St. Louis Conservative
Republicans' 2008 election losses have spawned a spate of self-reflection. Was it just President Bush and the economy? Was it too much religion or ineffective candidates? Was opposition to immigration reform the death knell with minorities, or did Republicans fail to explain tried and true conservative principles? The theoretical argument rages among media elites and Beltway insiders, but the impact of Republicans' declining fortunes is more vivid--and the test of their ability to battle back more concrete--just a few miles south of Washington D.C. in the suburbs of Northern Virginia.
Tom Davis spent 14 years on Fairfax County's board of supervisors and then 14 more in Congress. He hasn't had many leisurely Saturday mornings in the last few decades, with all the civic events and campaign mixers to attend. But on a rainy Saturday, he and his wife, Jeannemarie Devolites Davis, were relaxing in their living room, their two small white dogs scampering about. They are both officially retired (albeit not entirely voluntarily and perhaps not permanently) from politics--she after failing to be reelected to her Virginia state senate seat in 2007 and he after retirement from the House last year.
It is not clear whether Davis is talking personally when he explains that in the George W. Bush era, Virginia Republicans were often "just collateral damage." The only way for voters to vote against Bush in midterm elections was to vote against Republicans in House, Senate, and state races. "It's our own fault. The party branding is what killed us."
(Excerpt) Read more at weeklystandard.com ...
You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness. If we fail, at least let our children and our children’s children say of us we justified our brief moment here. We did all that could be done.
-Ronald Reagan
One word, BAILOUT.
Seriously! When President Bush offered a bailout at that time, he made this look all about Republicans in power screwing things up.
I have talked to I don’t know how many people who voted for Barack with the attitude “Well, he can’t do much worse than Bush did, maybe he’ll do better”. Even my very religious family who was behind the shield of the MSM (no internet other than bill pay and myspace to share pictures).
And you know what? I never thought to discuss this in detail with them right before because I assumed they would be conservative in their voting. They were definitely GOP in the summer. Economy trumped abortion.
Oh yeah, and for those who say “The Democrats were in control of the GOP and Senate” I say you give too much credit to the average person to know that. With the MSM only mentioning party affiliation when it makes a Republican look bad, and more than half the country not understanding the different branches of government... I mean I’d bet 90% of the people who voted for Obama didn’t even KNOW that being President doesn’t give you all power in the country.
As Sarah Palin might say, "You betcha!"
We had a horrible candidate who espoused liberal approaches to problem solving. Our candidate needed to say "I will reward behavior I want to see and not reward destructive behavior". Our candidate claimed to be a maverick against wasteful spending but when he had a chance to demonstrate conservative principles he led the GOP off the cliff with that ridiculous bail-out.
Was it too much religion?
LOL, where did that one come from? This rewriting of history is hilarious-10 years from now it will be because mcCain was an ultraconservative...
I submit that ANY “R” that votes for this bailout should have a alternative “R” in the next primary. This should be the mantra on all talk radio shows. Let’s unite & knock these types out - starting Today.
>>You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness. If we fail, at least let our children and our children’s children say of us we justified our brief moment here. We did all that could be done.
-Ronald Reagan<<
Thank you.
As Sarah Palin might say, “You betcha!” 2013 should be a good year.
Was it just President Bush and the economy? Was it too much religion or ineffective candidates? Was opposition to immigration reform the death knell with minorities, or did Republicans fail to explain tried and true conservative principles?
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no, no, yes, no, yes.
WE HAVE AN ECONOMIC CRISIS! And John McCain's approach to this was "Let's get to work! Let's do something!! Okay Barrack and the rest of you Democrats, what would you like me to do?"
No leadership. No ideas. No principles. McCain let the Democrats grab that issue and run with it. It was "It's the economy, stupid" all over again.
Funny they don’t mention the effect of Iraq.
Didn’t you know? Only 8 out of 10 Americans believe in God.
But, the ones that don’t vote 10 times each.
Those Baptist terrorist scare them.
Actually Davis does, a little farther down the article.
If it walks like a RINO and smells like a RINO...It’s a RINO!
It was a setup. Treasury Secretary Paulson of Goldman Sachs was secretly working for Obama. He suddenly came out with all the calamity talk and the bailout plan that must be immediately passed, and played Bush for a sucker.
It was widely known that Paulson was in communications with Obama, Pelosi, and Reid over the plan, but that he refused to speak with McCain.
McCain was, as usual, a total idiot, without a clue what was happening. This was, in fact, the “October Surprise.” Not another supposed McCain mistress, but an economic catastrophe that was “all Bush’s fault” and that McCain was too stunned to respond to—for instance, by pointing out that Obama was hip-deep in CAUSING the catastrophe. He had a chance to do that in the debate, and he completely blew it.
HA! Exactly....My step dad is a teacher in Wisconsin (ya ya I know) and he’s a flaming lib who thinks Bush was a waste of space and the worst pres we have ever had. Every time I talk about economy with him...he blames BUSH! I try to help by telling him that Bush had nothing to do with the economy until he proposed a bailout. President can NOT overturn senate and house for a “yes” vote, he can only VETO! After I explained I said to him, “wait, aren’t you the one that’s suppose to teach ME this?”
That is the problem now days....uninformed(MSM) and uneducated (public school) that throws these people into a frenzy of blame on the wrong people!
I believe McCain was ahead at that time?
“... If we fail, at least let our children and our children’s children say of us we justified our brief moment here. We did all that could be done.” Ronald Reagan”
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Few men are up to the job. It is the people that have faltered; and become increasing engrossed in relentlessly growing government welfare programs.
Personal responsibility is absent in many. The handwriting has been on the wall for a long time.
Either they do not care, or they do not read it ... or ‘get it’.
“Government can not fix the problem ... government is the problem.” paraphrase ... Ronald Reagan
And then Paulson came out with the economic crisis -- which would have been a godsend to someone like Ronald Reagan, but McCain handled that about as badly as anyone could have. The race was lost right there when McCain suspended his campaign and did what the Democrats told him to do.
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