A handy checklist for people who wish to complain about the RiNOs in the GOP.

http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

Common_Cents

I hope we don’t fall into the trap of searching for someone to save us from ourselves. We are seeing how electing an unvetted rock star savior is working out.

mbecker908

Please Digg it here

Vegas_Rick

Sometimes we all need a little kick in the pants. I now know that the next meeting of the Clark County, NV, Republican Central Committee Meeting is this coming Tuesday, at 7:00 pm, at Arizona Charlie’s in Vegas.

It will be my first meeting. I’ll let ya know what I learned.

http://briansimpson.wordpress.com Brian Simpson

http://www.reddit.com/r/reddit.com/comments/8kylh/

Wing Zero

For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?

ColdWarrior

n/t

Wing Zero

I agree… didn’t know if the verse made that clear, but Scripture is much better at stating things than I am.

http://www.ssce.net/Web-Articles/Web-articles-indexed-authors.html#authors-l JLenardDetroit

BrianH’s Support Your Party (even when it’s hard) seems to have spawned this and therefore is very worthy of note….

And everyone duped in previous elections must be reminded/taught that a vote for ANY CINO/PLINO DEMOCRAT just supports/yields control of the Govt. to the most RADICAL of Democrats/Progressives (Reid,Pelosi,Frank,Dodd,Kerry,etc) (see: Red-Dogs, RINOs, CINOs, DINOs, PLINOs, and Blue-Dogs, oh my… The Political Zoo – what/who are they?) and NOT-VOTING (Sit-It-Out) or voting Alternative-Party is a ZERO-strategy that again empowers the Uber-Leftists!

http://www.ssce.net/Web-Articles/Web-articles-indexed-authors.html#authors-l JLenardDetroit

Brian Hibbert

I couldn’t have said it better myself. There isn’t anyone who’s going to fix this problem just because we complain about it… except us. It reminds me of the manager who will listen to my complaints about a bad procedure and then assign me the task of fixing it.

And I like your checklist. Until last year, I was in the “I don’t know” camp. Now I’m on a crusade.

farstar99

….I’m sure this would have greater resonance.

The truth is, my state, city and country are poorly served by the RNC and GOP structure at all levels.

Any time someone like me tries to get things moving, the entrenched groups shut us down.

This is why Montana’s probably going to go blue in 2012, if not sooner.

Maybe we’re the cavalry, but unfortunately we sent all of our cash to Washington, DC.
Troops need weapons and horses need feed.

bs

johnCV

My first political involvement (other than writing letters and voting) was the Tea Party – it will expand from there. I’m taking it personally.

Mike gamecock DeVine

Mecklenburg County Republican Party
Rob Bryan
May 21
Committee assignments
next meeting conflicts with Braves game
votes
June 21
RB
Myrick
money
Ron Paul

I am the cavalry.

ocleverone

We are the cavalry.

While I find the back door shenanigans obnoxious, I have come to the conclusion that more members of committees also need to grow spines and stand up against party hijinx.

I will agree that most of the membership in our local area is content with going with the flow instead of raising the issues, raising the concerns because we have good representation at the Congressional (Rob Wittman), state (Richard Stuart – VA senate and Mark Cole and Speaker Bill Howell VA House of Delegates). The local area is another issue. Our Board is comprised of 4 Democrats and 2.75 Republicans (one I am not sure about completely). They are the minority and we are working desperately hard to change that.

Prior to this past committee Chair (currently Susan Stimpson) we were kind of adrift with the back door finaggling of a few party hacks whose concern was more of controlling their own power than that of a cohesive party base. Susan did change all of that. Membership is up and we actually have money in our coffers.

My fear is once Susan is elected to the Board of Supervisors and steps down from the Committee leadership, the wrangling by the old guard will be back in action and once again the cycle perpetuates itself. Note, the old guard did choose Susan to be the chair prior to the election – that is the only party position they have gotten right in 10 years.

As far as addressing my concerns, I have never been one not to vocalize my opinion or concerns. I am known as the firebrand here.

I guess after thinking about what you wrote, my question is – how do we get the membership off their duffs and get more active?

http://moelane.com/ Moe Lane

“90% of life is just showing up.”

Surely you know a couple of other firebrands. Drag them along. Have them back your plays. Do a lot of boring scutwork (I’m not looking forward to that myself, but it has to be done). Have a plan. Have another plan for when that plan’s accomplished.

Don’t blindly trust the advice of random stay-at-home dads on the internet, either.

1stRichard

Local, that?s a joke right? The most we have out this way are a handful of conservative garrisons and not much more.

GOP Local is?

http://southhadleyrtc.blogspot.com/

I think Frank fell asleep some time last year?.

Ok, what do I do if I can?t get past the first part? I have no funding, time or backing, now what?

Thomas Crown

With good reason, I should add. Despite that, his motley band of laughing pot-obsessives, pot-obsessed gold bugs, pot-obsessed anti-Semites, pot-obsessed health supplement nuts, pot-obsessed 19th Century revanchists, and pot-obsessed isolationists nearly managed to completely take over one State’s GOP, and sparked internecine warfare all the way up to the State conventions in a dozen others.

Imagine if you were obsessed with something other than pot, what you could do.

ocleverone

One of the things I had written about in a diary was advice to local committees to do an outreach program to new residents coming into the area. I suggested that the committees go once a month to the Voter Registrar’s office and get a list of newly registered voters. With that list, send a letter from the committee welcoming them to the area, giving them the contact list of elected officials and inviting them to the committee meetings (and where they are held.)

Tonight, partially thanks to you, I volunteered to head that committee up. Someone has to do it. I figure it might as well be me.

Hopefully, I can give a few people a sense of empowerment and ownership in the voice of this committee to keep things on the right (pardon the pun) road.

ocleverone

I always have Plans A through D. I have run several campaigns and I have learned that it is best to have at least 4 plans and a good leg with which to punt.

While I always attend the committee meetings and remain involved usually I am content running a campaign here and there, doing phone banking and door to door, sitting on special committees (such as delegate validation) or throwing a fundraiser now and then at my home. It is time for me to remain engaged more so.

Please send all firebrands down this way.

manateespirit

I am the editor of our Republican township newsletter. I have attended the teaparties, several of the grassroot organizational meetings that have sprung up, as well as the kickoff for the “Campaign for Liberty” tour which began here in St. Louis. Ron Paul and Judge Napalitano spoke. While I am not on board with the defense posture of the Constitutionalists, the ideas on the Fed and Constitution were right on target. There were over 1000 people in attendance for this 2 hour meeting, with approximately 40% of those in attendance under the age of 40.

I have spoken with my township chairman who is also the county chairman. We have a new state chairman who has encouraged his committee people to “think out of the box”. I wrote this chairman a week ago, requesting a time that I and a GROUP OF WOMEN (Hmmm…I seem to remember reading the GOP wanted to work with more women) could meet with him. We have ideas, NEW IDEAS, to get this party kickstarted. A local Republican office was to open here by April 1. Now they think it might be August.

Have I received a reply to my email? Silence….I am so disgusted. There is so much energy from the grassroots level and WHERE IS THE GOP?

If they lose Kit Bond’s seat in MO, IT’S THEIR FAULT. I am disgusted. Until they get off their entitlement thrones, we have no chance here.

papalee

but it is going to be added to the things I must do. I was a committee man before in California until Bush I decided to support Affirmative Action so that those like myself could continue to be discriminated against. I quit and walked. I voted for Bush II in 2000, but not the next time over the same issue. But one look at Obama and I voted for McCain and went back to work for the party. I won’t stop until we win and and put an end to the Marxist nonsense.

bs

Base your strategy on pot.

Oh…maybe not…

http://www.ssce.net/Web-Articles/Web-articles-indexed-authors.html#authors-l JLenardDetroit

I hear the trumpet starting the call already for a local GOP group next week lol

Some of this Cavalry resembles F-Troop lol

ocleverone

It was last updated in 2008??

Mike gamecock DeVine

Aaron Gardner

Sorry i just saw a Terminator Salvation commercial while reading this….:^)

Seemed appropriate.

The_Rebel

n/t

http://www.ssce.net/Web-Articles/Web-articles-indexed-authors.html#authors-l JLenardDetroit

and I can’t wait for that to come out… I’ll probably be going to a 00:01 Friday showing….. been waiting so many years for them to finally get back around to the next Trilogy….

ATLconservative

…”it was only updated in 2008.”

ocleverone

Can you find someone to take control and back them?

I did notice it was MA but I thought surely there would be a bit more activity than that.

The_Rebel

and if he awoke today he would not have missed much in Massachusetts politics. You could cram the few Republican State Senators into a phone booth, if you could find one. I’m sorry to tell it like it is, but there are no leaders here capable of resurrecting the GOP. I have never seen a Republican legislature, and I most likely won’t in my lifetime. The last Republican congressman was defeated for re-election in 1996.

Brian Hibbert

Some of them SAY they wan’t more input from the base, but they really want to pull an Obama and appear to listen to you, then go off and do what they intended to do to begin with. Or more likely, they are set in their ways of doing things the same old way and don’t want to try anything new. Change is hard….

The only thing I can suggest for you is to implement your ideas locally. Don’t wait for aid or permission from above. Just do it. If you are successful in your local area, and get new members and win elections, then the leadership will notice. If they don’t notice, talk with other country chairmen and get them to implement your ideas, people tend to imitate success. Eventually the leadership will take notice or the leadership will get changed by those of you who win elections. Either way, we win.

Brian Hibbert

that makes YOU the leader. Go recruit some troops and CHARGE!

And read Tip’s book (at least the first half when he explains how he took your state away from Republicans) I’m sure your local library has a copy. Do what he did (minus the corruption, bribery and graft) and take Mass back.

For example, one thing he did was go to Republican districts, find the most popular non-politician in the area and get that person to run for the state house. AND he supported them in their campaign.

It took a few years for him to take the state, but it worked.

1stRichard

How can I be the cavalry to the rescue when there is no one to rescue. This is also the five collage area, yes five indoctrination camps. The Mass GOP Chairman Jennifer Nassour is so broke I think she had plundered my pen at the last meeting. Does that count as being the cavalry? Imagine what we could do with a bit of national support, imagine is about the only thing we can do. Imagine no more Barney Frank, Imagine?.

http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

load

I’ve worked on 2 Congressional races and 1 Senate race here in my home district. In my opinion all the candidates were super and should have won their races. The issue was the state GOP lack of support for these candidates. The district was the TN 4th Congressional district held by Lincoln Davis (D) and the Senate race was to replace Bill Frist. We not only got little response from the state but my county GOP leadership didn’t have a clue what they needed to do get the grassroot voters involved. We couldn’t get any volunteers to knock on doors. We couldn’t get anyone to work the phone banks…nothing.

I can’t tell you how many times I get frustrated in attending our monthly meeting only to find the Executive Committee, Election Commission and the Chairman only interested in drinking coffee and eating cookies. No plans to increase participation, no plans to recruit well qualified conservative candidates for local elections, no plans for growth of the party. They want only status quo. Needless to say I don’t attend any more meetings. My wife and I can do more good working independent from this group that will not take direction or try to understand what needs to done.

Until we get leadership at the local and the state level who are willing to go “outside the box” will be successful. Leadership that is willing to shake the establishment and not worry about GOP INSIDERS will we able to take our party back. The good old boy network is still strong here in TN.

The_Rebel

He’s more in tune with the state of the party than I am. Ask him how his plans for the state GOP have been working out. We’ve had seven congressional elections since the last defeated Republican in 1996, and nothing to show for it, despite the best intentions of our so-called new Republican leaders. No election has been even close, and many fail to even field a candidate. Where are the national leaders of the party? They could care less about this state.

kweiss01

It’s a strange thing when you agree with nearly everything in a post and find yourself becoming irrationally annoyed by it. After all, I’m active politically (in an admittedly small way, but step by step). I’ve voted Republican, even when “it hurts” (which has been a fairly regular experience at the national level lately). Is it because I just don’t like being told what to do? This post clearly states it’s not an order to do anything, just a suggestion before complaining about RINOs.

I finally figured it out this morning. I live in the SF Bay Area, where I’m told on a fairly regular basis to shut up about my political opinions and vote the way I “should.” It’s not that far from suggesting one doesn’t speak out unless one can check a list.

Living in the SF Bay Area is a big reason why I’ve enjoyed RedState. Not only has RedState been a friendly haven in a decidedly unfriendly political environment, but it’s also provided an opportunity for me to get a better handle on the issues and candidates, as well as to hone my debating skills – not only vs. liberal/democrat issues but also on the direction of the Republican party. So far it’s been great in all regards and debating the merits of moderate vs. conservative Republicans is a part of that. The discussions on RedState have changed my thinking on what makes a successful political strategy in this regard.

I am very interested in hearing what the disaffected Republicans on RedState have to say, because for every person on RedState who complains the party doesn’t represent them, there must be thousands out there, who aren’t on RedState, feeling (and voting) the same way.

I hope others do get involved as Moe urges. I hope more RedStaters step beyond the website and take action, as I will continue to do. And I hope that RedState will continue to “police” the trolls, the obscenities, and the occasional insanity that crops up in the comments. But I think part of rebuilding the GOP comes out of, well, talking about it, and I hope RedState continues to provide a forum for such discussion.

http://www.ssce.net/Web-Articles/Web-articles-indexed-authors.html#authors-l JLenardDetroit

If you talk about Conservative values and how the Republican Party has lost its way and threaten to vote with someone else if the Caucus doesn’t do exactly what you want….

Soon the Contrariness and Blather will ensue…. It has to, because those that are would be Republicans yet willing to cross the Party-lines to vote other than their own Party (wait, doesn’t that sound familiar – oh yeah, that makes them a RINO) have to rationalize how it is okay for them to RINO in an Election while it is NOT okay for a Republican in DC to RINO — because it really isn’t okay for EITHER!

Is that straight-forward as a equivalence for everyone? RINOs in DC vote outside the Party, RINOs across America cross the Party-line in the voting booth.

Perhaps I should have softened this by using humor…. like a Foxworthy joke….
You might be a RINO if….. you vote Alternate-Party against your Republican candidates and allow Democrats to have their way lol

SteveLA

Jl\Lenard

I voted for the Libertarian guy, who’s name escapes me, rather than cast a vote for the CA Girlyman Governator in the last Governor’s race in CA. Girlyman Arnie was running as a “Republican” and was going to win anyway, making my vote was a protest, so how does that figure in? I should have written in “None of the above”.

Do I get a badge of honor or a RINO badge?

http://impudent.blognation.us/blog kyle8

Your so called point amounts to total capitulation to the people moving the party away from conservatism. If they have more money and better connections and beat us in the primary then you are saying we have to support them. Why? I am not sure really other than blind party loyalty.

Its really pretty ignorant when you think about it. These people are the reason we keep losing and why the nation moves leftward even when republicans are in charge.

Well do what you want but I am not going to support liberal republicans, I hate them and everything they stand for, I hate them worse than any democrat. I will not support them no matter what.

http://www.ssce.net/Web-Articles/Web-articles-indexed-authors.html#authors-l JLenardDetroit

being a Conservative in Michigan gets very frustrating too…. especially being one in the Bluest part of the State Wayne County. At least the last time we had a Republican Governor (John Engler) he actually acted like a Republican. Usually, however, the rest of the States Republican votes are not enough to over-come the few Blue counties in the State. Gave us Gran-unist-holm, pathetic US Senators Levin and Staba-you-now-andagainlater, etc….

If it’s any consolation, no – no ribbon , I was really refer to Presidential and/or US Congress votes as we have been on about RINOism there. It does relate though, but as you said it didn’t hand the election over to the Democrats (this time). I know, I know, would it really have been worse? PROBABLY by a bunch! Maybe 10x more Taxation and Spending.

http://www.ssce.net/Web-Articles/Web-articles-indexed-authors.html#authors-l JLenardDetroit

you are just excusing your RINO voting and not theirs

and you’ve been willing to admit you have no problem voting outside the Party, just not that you recognize it being about the same thing as those we complain about. Don’t start deflecting now!

SteveLA

JL

I have a great R Congresscritter representing my area, and another one in the area where I work. There is no holding of nose to vote for them. Both Congresscritters by the way are pretty low key sorts of representatives, but both are very well respected in the districts they serve, even in Southern California because they stay out of culture war issues.

http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

You hate the conservatives. You hate Schwarzenegger.

Are there *any* California Republicans you like?

SteveLA

Neil

Buck and Kevin McCarthy, both Runners I can do without.

http://theminorityreportblog.com David Hinz

is the same way the old Soviet Union referred to “The Party”

Absolute blind obedience to “The Party”

And here all this time I thought it was the left that emulated the Soviet model.

JadedByPolitics

this blind loyality at the expense of a large portion of their readership and participants? When is insulting a large portion of your base acceptable? I thought that was reserved for the Religious Right it now appears Conservatives are included in that! I think that might leave 5 percent in moderate/liberal section to run with see how far that will get you!

I am no RINO but if JLenard and his OUR want to call anyone who doesn’t agree with their way a RINO then I will wear that badge proudly and with distinction because it separates ME FROM THEM!

Brian Hibbert

no one will care about Mass. The national party isn’t going to be coming to help you. You’re on your own. Unless someone gets the ball rolling on the local level, the national party’s not going to see the point of “wasting” effort on Mass.

It’s unfortunate, but that’s the way it’s been and I don’t see much changing. It was why I had hoped Blackwell would win RNC chair. He had a plan to help rebuild the local parties at the precinct level. Now I expect to get no help from anyone.

http://briansimpson.wordpress.com Brian Simpson

A lot more often.

Achance

there really are only a handful of self-styled pure conservatives who have annointed themselves as the judges of we lesser mortals, who take the votes where we find them and actually do stuff like work with the party and actually run for office and take appointments and such instead of casting stones about who’s pure from the comfort of their basement.

There’s a reason that strident conservatives, especially strident social conservatives are generally regarded as pains in the butt in any organization; you’re going to get their opinion on how impure you are up until you just surrender to them and put them in charge. Of course, they can only get put in charge if the leadership surrenders because they can almost never win an election for anything. Of course, the Democrats have their hard lefties too, but they usually sensibly ignore them, though they’ve let them have the reins lately. We’ll see how it works out for them.

JadedByPolitics

…

http://moelane.com/ Moe Lane

At least, I’m not. Pretty clearly, neither is Neil.

We’re not here to make our readers feel better and we’re not here to tell them what they want to hear. We’re here to tell our readers what we think they need to hear. If they don’t want to hear it… there are other sites.

SteveLA

Art,

The thumping you are going to get for daring to state the obvious is going to leave a mark up side your head.

Good one!

Achance

Everything is simple and pure when you’re not the one with your name on the door or the ballot. I can look back at what a PITA I was for my principals when I was safely ensconced in a merit system position and could always be as ideologically pure as the driven snow and remind them of all their failings and compromises. I ain’t so easy to do that when you’re the one responsible and if you are to get anything done you WILL learn to compromise. The art of the compromise is knowing when you’re compromising in the direction of your objective and when you’re just compromising to get agreement. The problem many Republican political figures have is that the are Rs as a flag of convenience and don’t really have objectives beyond staying in power, so ANY compromise is in furtherance of their objective of being popular and powerful, see, e.g., John McCain.

http://www.ssce.net/Web-Articles/Web-articles-indexed-authors.html#authors-l JLenardDetroit

and you point is made and taken….

but again, the comparison….. and you confuse that the Democrats are the Socialist Party – I abide by the PLATFORM and recognize there are some bad-apples as there are in any organization.

RINO is thrown at those that vote outside the Party in DC….

Someone wants the Party to be/do something and if it doesn’t, they vote outside the Party…..

Simple comparison – they relate – if one is a RINO then the other can also be classified as such…. That is NOT to say the a Red-Dog would be 100% perfect Party-liner, everyone has some occasional times (SteveLA above in CA Gov vote) but when the times are toughest, I contend as have many others, like the Stimulus vote, a Red-Dog will hold where the RINO crosses over. We are in the toughest times now, IMO…. Crossing over, IMO, gives it to the other side….

It’s fine for those that do not agree – just not if one has to be convoluted to pretend it is different. There will be MANY more if things continue to go the way they are that will also feel that last straw has been placed upon the Camels back and have to cross-the-line to vote… Again, admit it (and you have) and own it….

If the point/comparison is SO SILLY then it would be recognized as such by all and would hardly need to be given the time of day…. but this will probably generate pages of people trying to self-justify.

I will continue to vote Republican (not saying some point in time won’t come that I won’t)… I admit it… I own up to it…. I will not be apologetic about it…. I am honest and up front about it…. and if you have to somehow have to personalize that, it is your choice not my intent. THIS SITE DOES NOT EXIST JUST FOR A HANDFUL OF MEMBERS, BUT TO INFLUENCE THE MASSES…. These are general comments to influence those that may be on the cusp, not made up their mind yet as many of us already have either way. You are free to try and get them to join other Parties – but it yields zero IMO (ZERO-strategy)

Achance

better than yours and you’ve demonstrated that you have a lot more zeal than intelligence on numerous ocasions, so don’t come to a gunfight with a pointy stick.

http://moelane.com/ Moe Lane

…may I suggest sandwiches and maybe a five minute stretch away from the keyboard?

http://theminorityreportblog.com David Hinz

you and I probably agree much more than we disagree — I just object to the constant personal attacks — and deny it if you wish but it IS a constant personal attack

and personally, I am done with this thread

http://impudent.blognation.us/blog kyle8

In one breath you berate conservatives who are not OK with supporting liberals, Then in the next breath you admit that there are a lot of Republicans who are fairly worthless politicians.

How about this for a compromise? I won’t lecture you or JLDetroit on the need for ideological purity as long as you guys don’t call me names for not supporting a lefty jackass like Schwartzenegger, Specter, or Crist.

http://theminorityreportblog.com David Hinz

This is the new “Chickenhawk” argument.

“I was in government service/party leadership [read: part of the problem] and therefore I know and you don’t”

We must all bow down to our political leaders…

Swamp_Yankee

“the Democrats have their hard lefties too, but they usually sensibly ignore them”.

I think the Left understand the mushy nature of politics and it content with running “Democrats” and not ideological moonbats in the political arena. Liberal activists use their energies in other arenas including media, litigation, education, arts, community organizing and whatnot. Lefties are not ignored. They lead behind the curtains.

I consider myself a far right conservative and a pragmatist. Conservatives know no other activism than political activism. Bi-partisan politics in a representative democracy in a country as diverse as ours that is designed with systemic internal checks and balances will never bear immediate fruit for any purely ideologically driven political movement.

It will take a generation. The Left always understood this. They were plotting gay marriage and universal health care decades ago, but dared not run candidates on that platform because the people were not ready.

There is a difference between conservatives and Republicans. There is a difference between the culture war and the political process. Conservatives would be much the wiser to understand this. Politically, I am content inching Right. A Purple congressman in a Blue state is acceptable to me. As a conservative activist, I prefer to channel my energies destroying the NEA and SEIU and not waste my time pissing in the wind trying to effectuate overnight change via the political process.
democracy

Achance

them if the alternative is a worse Democrat in a General Election. Schwartzenegger in particular takes a very bad rap. He tried to do a more courageous thing than any Republican politician since Reagan has done when he tried the initiatives and took on the CA unions. The Rs abandoned him in droves, he got his head handed to him, and he had to get on with governing by getting 50%+1 however he could.

I don’t like the NSRC and the National Party intervening in primaries and don’t think the Party should intervene except to keep crazies out. That said, if Specter before he switched or Crist were the nominee, I’d hold my nose and vote for them rather than throw away a vote on a third party or stay home, either of which is a vote for the Democrat.

http://moelane.com/ Moe Lane

…if he was telling you that you had no moral right to opine on the Party.

http://www.ssce.net/Web-Articles/Web-articles-indexed-authors.html#authors-l JLenardDetroit

not those who have made up their minds… your constant need to take it personally is solely on you…. As I said elsewhere, the site does NOT exist for the handful of mega-posters but to influence others….

you decided to put on the shoes and parade around in them while insisting they don’t fit….

Achance

the purists who have never had to cast the vote or make the decision are just exactly like the so-called chickenhawks who are always willing to fight never having fought and knowing that they’ll never have to.

SteveLA

Art,

You ignore one power that the Governor of the state of California has, the line item veto.

I can’t tell you why, but the Girlyman Governator has not used the line item veto, and the budget of the state of California has grown by some estimates 40 percent from the time when he took office. I call that FAIL!

If you want to talk about R politicians who run promising one thing, then do another, well look no further than the Girlyman Governator, there’s plenty of R Congresscritters and Senators who do the same.

Swamp_Yankee

n/t

http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

The Legislative Dems and Legislative Reps would have a deathmatch, and the result would be a budget that wasn’t insane. Governor Davis would then swoop in, ignore the deal made, and add some vetoes of his own, making the budget even more reasonable.

Schwarzenegger’s ruined that by a) undermining us in our fights with the Ds and b) not being a ruthless line item vetoer.

The fact is he cares more about being a team player with the Ds than with “his own” party. That’s not surprising when he appoints Ds routinely to his staff and to the bench.

That’s the essence of a RiNO.

blooch

“A Fistful of GOP Dollars”

http://impudent.blognation.us/blog kyle8

How’s that working out for ya? How is your failed strategy of supporting out right liberals with an R by their name really worked out for our betterment?

I’ll tell you how it has worked out, its a damn disaster. If they aren’t jumping the fence like Specter or Jeffords, they are ruining a state, or busting the federal budget, and guess who wins?

I’ll give you a hint, it’s the party in power now.

Really I would like to see a list of actual good things that have come from this policy, I am sure there are some.

SteveLA

Neil

You have to admit that the R party in CA has not exactly been a paragon of fiscal conservatism over the last 10 years ether. Your guy McClintock was as close as a pure fiscal conservative in the R brand in CA, and his lack of ever compromising on budget maters made him the odd man out and a non factor in negotiations.

It seems to me that R’s in CA were more worried about hanging on to their seats by not offending Unions, teachers, prison guards, state workers…the list is long and inglorious, by making hard stances on matters budget related. Arnie being a Girlyman when it came to spending and lack of using the line item veto did not help ether.

I long for the days of the ‘Duke or even Pete Wilson who knew how to pick a fight with Willy Brown on these budget matters.

http://impudent.blognation.us/blog kyle8

When have we ever “inched right” with a bunch of liberal republicans?

In the sixties and seventies when they lead our party? In the Bush years?

No,I am afraid that we will only slide leftward if there are anything more than a tiny handful of powerless liberals in the party.

http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

Finally, somebody we agree on?

http://www.ssce.net/Web-Articles/Web-articles-indexed-authors.html#authors-l JLenardDetroit

I’m certainly not happy with the lack of being able to BLOCK the Liberal Incremental-ism let alone reversing it…. just that there is nowhere else to be able to fight for those things IMO

I respect others going to the Libertarian Party or where-ever, I just don’t think (again, IMO, as a matter of analysis) it does a darn thing – amounts to what I’ve been calling the ZERO-strategy for what it has yielded thus far.

I DO NOT DEMAND people agree with me! just that I am trying to influence those with Open minds.

PS: You best crawl out of the Swamp, you’ll catch your death of Cold lol

SteveLA

Neil

Liked Pete Wilson too, and thought he was dead right in the early 90′s when he supported Prop 187, Save our State. Something our cowardly Republican CA party has turned it’s back on for fear of aliening voters who aren’t buying the Republican brand anyway.

JadedByPolitics

http://digg.com/d1rSDB

http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

It boggles my mind how the story of 1994 has been turned on its head, and our winning issue has been rewritten into a losing issue.

Swamp_Yankee

Please elaborate conservative efforts to control the media; to recruit teachers; to empower private and parochial schools; fight for conservative judges; organize legal defense funds to protect private property.

If what you say is true, than you are satsified with nobody. If you Remember, Goldwater and Reagan were born of that era.

But the thing is that people like you pose no alternative except screaming and hollering a lot and running candidates who can’t win. I know the argument already, if we just run Jim DeMint in Connecticut tand Maine, the people will have an epiphany and everyone will become conservitive. They give back their government checks, willing get fired from their government jobs, go against what they’ll been told and taught for a generation. Just like that.

I bet you this. I’ve knocked on more doors and called more people in RI, MA, NH and ME than you. I bet I’ve talked with more locals in more diners. I bet I’ve talked with more locals in more bars. It took the Left over fifty years to get here. Whining and crying and foot stomping isnt going to change that all back over night.

Achance

have a lot in common. Remember, Graham was an impeachment leader. Both having seen how few friends you have on your own side once the “shooting” starts and just how ruthlessly and relentlessly the Ds can attack you, decided that since the house was burning, they’d just keep warm.

I know I’ve been there; carrying out something that the leadership specifically hired me to do but when it came SHTF time, I was all by myself and nobody even knew that I was doing such a thing until they heard it from the Democrats and the media. You won’t do things like that often unless you have a no cut contract and a nice parachute.

SteveLA

Neil

Name one piece of legislation, proposed even that never made it out of committee, that the R’s in the CA assembly have proposed to deal with illegal immigration. You’ll be hard pressed.

Lots of bills which failed dealing with culture war issues, few if any that address immigration, spending or other real issues effecting real people. That’s one of the reasons why the R party in CA is just about dead in this state outside of a few districts where there is a R majority and representation that stays out of social issues.

We’ll probably go back to disagreeing now.

Achance

because of ideology. We lost because of a relentless campaign by the Ds that we were incompetent, corrupt, and hypocritical. Unfortunately, we gave them all too much evidence of some of those things and neither the GWB Administration nor the Congressional Leadership lifted a finger to defend policies and practices or to protect the brand – NOTHING! Frankly, on the competence front, we WERE INCOMPETENT. GWB et al. never got a handle on that government and it constantly leaked, thwarted, and sabotaged everything he tried to do.

Expecially, on the Congressional side, there has not been the slightest evidence of leadership or discipline since the days of Gingrich and Armey. The Senate especially was “every man for himself” and the spending exploded, and, yes, I know how much my own senators contributed to that. We basically proved to the American public that we weren’t against spending at all, we were just against Democrat spending, something they could easily spin into anti-poor, anti-labor, anti-middle class, you know, the stuff they do if you give them the ammo and don’t defend your policies and personalities.

http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

Achance

who knows how to count votes. I take what I can get because in order to run a government well, you must first run the government.

The_Rebel

not to give one dime to the national party.

http://www.ssce.net/Web-Articles/Web-articles-indexed-authors.html#authors-l JLenardDetroit

by having a sufficient BASE on which to build and culminate in those victories…. but I’m sure you’ll find some way to wiggle around this….

Bush 41 times… some ran off to the Libertarian Party… others bled off to Perot…. and so on…. many of us stayed behind and FOUGHT within the Party and eventually we got the votes and the leadership and brought the country the Republican Conservative Revolution with the Contract with America (original, a part 2?) … and if far too many bleed off again now it won’t happen again.

That, IMO, is the proper analysis and why I advocate for my strategy of working harder within the party while others (notice I did not say “you” nor mention ANY names [nor did I yesterday] but some will insist on not wanting to “own it” yet parade around in the shoes they insist don’t fit) push the ZERO-strategy as I call it……

I expect ANY OF US…. advocating any strategy to … admit it openly… own it…. not try to deflect from it….. be honest about positions and the strategy one advocates…. I am…. and not afraid to admit I make EXCEPTIONS! I don’t run from it/them and try to deflect as some (note, again, I am saying a general statement of “some” and it is up to each RS reader/commenter to decide for themselves who it applies or does NOT apply to)….

http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

And not you.

JadedByPolitics

that you would think it was for you says more about you than about the link!

Achance

I didn’t care who you directed it to, but I’m clearly among those you view as “impure.” Plus, I’m guilty of the mortal sin of not liking Sarah Palin. That said, I do wholeheartely agree with one of The Other McCain’s points about Republican politicians generally; they are far too eager to pre-emptivly compromise. They bargain with themselves before they ever bargain with the opposition, so they’re always halfway to the opposition’s position before the actual bargaining ever begins.

http://www.ssce.net/Web-Articles/Web-articles-indexed-authors.html#authors-l JLenardDetroit

Swamp_Yankee

It?s going to take a lot more than political organization. A LOT more. This is a one party state. It?s not for lack of trying or organizing. We simply do not have the numbers. Just the word Republican elicits fear and paranoia. Probably the best thing that has happened to us is the demise of the Globe. Its part of the reason that I am passionate about fighting the culture war. We have to change hearts and minds first. Then we can change votes. People are too attached to the government and too attached to the Demcoratic Party. Liberalism is a religion here. Asking people to vote Republican is akin to asking a Jew to convert to Catholocism.

JadedByPolitics

why must you bring her into every discussion that you and I have….I have stated quite clearly I would rather her start a REAL National Organization for Women and work the Conservative women’s base more so than run for President. I am also clear about this thread and the other in that It is not going to work for militant moderates or as I know will be calling them liberals to denigrate the Conservative base….it is NOT going to force anyone to get out and vote or send money to NRSC, RNC, NRCC or Crist or any liberal for that matter just because they decide to carry an R after their name and the truth is that anyone who would support a liberal with the R moniker is no better than the liberal they are voting for.

http://impudent.blognation.us/blog kyle8

but remember I was told that I had to hold my nose and vote for the Bushes and the Doles and the McCains, I was told I had to support the Jeffords and the Specters and the Snowes, and what has come of it?

Nothing good. So far from throwing a temper tantrum, which is what you seem to be doing, I am carefully weighing the balance and counting the costs and I will NEVER EVER EVER again support a person who is more left than right, period.

And that is a dispassionate, and rational view based on the evidence.

Oh and BTW don’t bring Reagan and Goldwater into it because they were fought tooth and nail by the people I was talking about in the seventies.

The_Rebel

Try finding the base in this state. Good luck.

Swamp_Yankee

No one to rescue. You aint kidding. At least you have some foresight ot what is really going on. Most people on the natinoal level dont. They are fighting under old school rules and precepts. Poltical orgainziation cant save us. Honestly, we need to fight the way liberal radicals in the Seventies fought. We need to become our own Saul Alinskys.

http://impudent.blognation.us/blog kyle8

But counter that it was precisely when we lost our ideology that our politicians started acting like job shoppers.

When the only thing you have to sell is government, then the party of choice will always be the democrats.

http://www.ssce.net/Web-Articles/Web-articles-indexed-authors.html#authors-l JLenardDetroit

engaging in a Staring contest with the Party not-so-Conservatives and waiting to see which one is going to blink first is NOT an effective Strategy IMO – both sides Lose – Democrats are conceded/surrendered to.

This is all a STRATEGY debate, nothing more! Some are running around looking for things to take offence to, IMO. I made a pointed GENERAL statement that I knew would get attention, mentioned NO names, and I think it is a realistic comparison – the definition of both match! Others can respectfully disagree (rather, we wish all could just respectfully disagree).

http://impudent.blognation.us/blog kyle8

We never did build a conservative base. What we had was conservative LEADERSHIP during the Reagan first term, and during the Newt Congress.

In the meantime the real republicans, I mean the people who used to always run the party, kept to the sidelines and sniped and bullied, and worked with the democrats to overthrow most of the good Reagan did, and to dump Newt. Those same people now want to jam a liberal like Crist down our throats and routinely attack real conservatives like Limbaugh and Palin.

So you have been slaving for this party for a long time and I kinda feel sorry for you because the people who have mostly benefited from your hard work look down on you and hate your guts.

http://www.ssce.net/Web-Articles/Web-articles-indexed-authors.html#authors-l JLenardDetroit

to which some came forth and acted as I pinned the label directly to their chest.

If it is okay to call disreSpecter a RINO, and it is, why is not okay to suggest the label might apply to others for what, by comparison, are the same voting patterns.

I suspect MOST readers will get the difference and see who has actually done the name-calling directly.

Someone falling off a cliff is not a problem, unless they are going to pull the rest of the country off into the abyss with them… and that is what we “work within the Party folks” are trying to avoid. IN OUR OPINIONS based on “reasoned thought” over the best STRATEGY – not upon personalities.

penguin2

the battle needs to be against the MSM. The print media and MSM television news have been doing us in for four decades. They have gotten away with dominating the news reaching the people, whether it is a few words they catch from the evening news or the blaring headlines of a newspaper. Always, always the Republicans are painted in a negative light and the Democrats positively. They drum our people out of office, and gloss over the Dems infractions/crimes.

Insidious brainwashing, mission completed and successful, Nov. 2008.

http://www.ssce.net/Web-Articles/Web-articles-indexed-authors.html#authors-l JLenardDetroit

The Conservative Leadership was BUILT UP by those of us that remained and fought within the Party to make it so…. it is you, IMO, that has a cloudy view of that history…. not by running off to other parties. SIMPLE! We that remained built that and it brought others back or fresh folks into the Party.

Achance

This isn’t an issue of militant moderates; there’s no such thing. But they’re not liberals either, they’re simply feckless, opportunistic politicians, of which there are a lot, including some you seem to like.

http://www.ssce.net/Web-Articles/Web-articles-indexed-authors.html#authors-l JLenardDetroit

okay, you say our standpoint/strategy/POV has yielded nothing of late (I’ll say it has at least the ‘we have got to go more Conservative’ debate being heard) and we say your strategy amounts to nothing more than a ZERO-strategy.

If we accept that, all things being equal then (ZERO)…. it is still our opinion that our strategy is better suited toward getting Conservative power than copying RINOs and voting with somebody else….. We absolutely WILL NOT ever come to agreement on the appropriate strategy. Some of us are, at least, within the Party in a position to push for the change while others try to pound on the door screaming “If you’d all only change I’d come back!” — In our opinion… the way WE (those advocating work within) see it….

People running to Libertarian and the next Perot will yeild the same Zero results it has in the past, and I still contend it was/is us “stay inside” folks (when many left because 41 wasn’t Conservative enough, and yet more because 41 lost because the Party wasn’t Conservative enough – history repeats with the abandon the Party to change the Party concept) that shaped/made the Republican Revolution…. History will repeat again, as we insiders will over-come the others INSIDE the party that haven’t gotten it yet… I know others cannot allow that basic truth to be accepted!

Scope

who apparently jumped ship to the new “favorite” of the day. He still came from way way behind, and still only got beat by 3/4 length. I am thrilled that the “girl” proved her strength and ability, but, the jockey of both wins now shows that he is only for whoever has a chance to win, and of course the cash payout. Isn’t there a paralell there somewhere?

http://www.ssce.net/Web-Articles/Web-articles-indexed-authors.html#authors-l JLenardDetroit

and while we disagree, I will proudly but respectfully do so… I have NEVER mentioned your name in any of these threads while you had to mock my Userid….. and frankly, I just laughed it off — some of the occasional “you” that were meant as “for those” or “some people” or whatever ‘generic form of addressing’ (as covered in be respectfulwere my-bad (we ALL have to be more conscious of our word choices but we ALL also have to be careful of seeing every “you” word as PERSONAL!) but were made in general, and some were quick to personalize it to them.

Jack_Savage

If she was going to run the Preakness – this was known by the owners of Mine That Bird before the Derby, and seemed OK at the time…

Michael Dugas

Militantly indecisive? Militant mediocrity voicing concerns on both sides of the issues and responding with a stern definite maybe.
I dunno Achance, I used to be of a like mindset in which I thought that no matter what an R was an R. But I look back, and not that far back even, and I see all the damage that has been done to our party by liberal republicans. They have watered down the Republican message over and over again moving themselves closer and closer to Democrats and depriving the voters of distinct choices. They help create split votes in primaries and dissension within the party that is seen by the voters and viewed as weakness.
Take the McCain/Palin ticket for example. McCains loss would have been much worse if not for the stimulation of the base by the addition of Palin. Weak moderate Republicans will not win elections because they have NO base with which to count on.
Now I know you are not a Palin fan and I’m no Palin fanatic but there is a lessen in there as relating to Republicans getting elected. I disagree with her on several fronts, intelligent design/creationism being an example, but she does extremely well on many other base republican issues that I can’t toss her out
for that. My problem with, for lack of a better term, RINO’s is that
they seem to separate themselves from major base republican platform issues not minor ones. Big government, pro choice republicans will NOT get elected en masse on a national level.
I’d prefer to see Palin in the Senate than the Whitehouse myself.
I’d like to see what I will call Common Sense Conservatives elected to office. CCC’s pledging to uphold and work for:
Smaller Government
Free Market
Less Taxes
Strong Defense
And then vocally support leaving the divisive social issues up to the states themselves. In my heart of hearts I truly believe that the right republicans sincerely bringing voice to such a platform would begin to win and win big once trust was again earned. Particularly in the Senate.
Right now the separation that exists between the DC GOP and the Base is hurting the GOP.

Scope

but if true, it is commendable to honor prior committments. I just loved seeing the little unknown longshot proving the handicapers wrong in the Derby. Mine that Bird is still a star to me as he had obstacles in the Preakness, and still only lost by a 3/4 length. We will see what happens in the Belmont. If Mine that Bird wins the Belmont, he will have lost the Triple Crown by 3/4 of a length. I personally think they should be in from the beginning, and not brough in for the purse in one race. Wasn’t it supposed to be a test of stregth and speed over the long haul?

MrsNachos

Ron Paul gives pot a bad name.

…

Kidding!!

MrsNachos

My guess is that it has more to do with what you perceive as the implication that whatever it is you’re doing, it’s not enough, than any non-agreement with Moe.

MrsNachos

First, I miss your face.

Second, I don’t think I understand what you mean here? It sounds antagonistic to me, but I don’t think that’s how you meant it?

MrsNachos

I feel like I should have made popcorn to read this. It seems like your original point of view is being lost in bureaucratic bs, which is incredible being that we’re all on the same side. I cannot believe the amount of in-fighting and name calling I’m reading. I rarely come back here (not since the great name calling/in-fighting of Fred Thompson ’08) and I’m dismayed.

The last I was aware, we are all adults and we have the same goal here: To find people to represent us fully that support our beliefs and ideals for what we want this country to be as opposed to what it currently is.

Something is missing here.

Jack_Savage

I also hear that the owners of Mine That Bird were going to enter an additional horse to keep the filly out of the race and their jockey on, but decided against it.

Mine That Bird reminds me of the time I was at a track and a horse was charging up from behind, and the announcer was overwhelmed with the moment, shouting, “And here comes Dapper Dan, running OVER horses!”.

Mine That Bird is one helluva horse – I have never seen any horse with a drive down the stretch twice like that, and you are exactly right in pointing out the obstacles he faced in the Preakness. He is a lock in the Belmont.

1stRichard

Nationally, I don?t think we exist in the GOP. We reach out for help and get our hand slapped and rejected every time. And the notion that we the boots on the ground, we the grassroots and we the people are not trying to ?get the ball rolling on the local level? is totally absurd. The national level needs to throw us a ball first. Everyone that is thinking national needs to stop the ?what came first the chicken or the egg? argument and realize it does not apply to us here in Taxachusetts the Marxist welfare state.

Seems funny you mentioned rules for radicals, I just started re reading it.

http://www.the41stvote.org rcov092

I am beiggning to know the people of which Me speaks. It is the ones at the top that are really making me extremely mad. We have a State Chair so in love with his squishy Governor and the prospect of being fragged along to DC that he will result to starting a war in the party.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/v-print/story/68321.html

Any GOP politician that would condone this is dead to me.

http://impudent.blognation.us/blog kyle8

But I never voted for a third party, I never left the Republican party, and I have volunteered and donated to the party before.

I just reserve the right to cross over and vote against any liberal who runs as a Republican. And I will, every time.

And I think you are making a colossal, stupid mistake by supporting those type of people, even if you do fight them in the primary.

We will NEVER go forward with those type of saboteurs among our elected officials. And I don’t know how you cannot just look at the history and see that I am right about that.

http://www.libertygroup.org libertygroupdotorg

This is exactly what each of us should be doing in our local areas, and it IS what we’re doing where I live. This checklist should be spread to everyone we know to make them think and realize what it takes to really have change. The RIGHT kind of change, not Obama change.

Brian Hibbert

This is the type of thing we need to see more of.
” the primary might not be the cakewalk for Crist because Florida has closed primaries dominated by the conservative wing of the party.”

In a state like this, we CAN buck the party leadership and get a conservative through the primary.

cagusa

?We founded Conservative Army Gear, USA (CAGUSANET.com) because we do not believe that we should be hidden away. With all due respect to Sean Hannity and others, we are not part of the Conservative Underground, we are not Conservatives in Exile.

We are a large portion of this society, which is not militant, not advocates of violence, or hate or intolerance (especially when directed against us). We are the silent majority who can ill afford to be silent any longer.

We have stood by and watched our education system fail our children. We have hoped that illegal immigration would be turned back at a secure border. We have prayed that our elected officials would see the immediate needs of the masses, not the special interests, and do the right things.

We have been passed by, disappointed and ignored by those who have taken the seats of power in our state and national capitals.

But of the many things we aren?t, there are some which stand in glaring contrast to those who wish to remake our country. We aren?t the ones who shout down opposing views or force speakers from stages, we aren?t revisionist historians who shower praise upon former adversaries while demeaning the contributions of Americans, we aren?t the ones who damage and destroy buildings, vehicles and infrastructure to demonstrate their contempt for our way of life, we aren?t the ones who have a different set of values depending on which audience they are in front of, and we aren?t the ones who invade places of worship in order to make political statements about lifestyles or world crisis.

There is a common bond which runs through hundreds of thousands of households across this nation. Whether you are Republican, Democrat, or Independent, we share innate beliefs which are not limited to morality, independence, self reliance and drive to succeed in what ever we choose to do
to either improve our personal circumstance or the betterment of others.
These beliefs and personal truths make us who we are. We are proud to be Americans. We do not shy away from reflecting upon our shortcomings, but we prefer to proclaim the good of this nation and we as a people.

We Conservatives are an Army, we are not an underground to be kept in the
shadows for fear of being outed as a radical. We are not in exile, we are here, we are now and we are on the march.

What we do, we do for the good of the nation, so that this great experiment may continue to thrive and be to the rest of the world a haven for the oppressed, the opportunity for the enterprising, and the defender against tyranny, dictators and other despots across the globe.

Within each of us, there is this thread, this continuity. Regardless of race, religion, gender, or any other label those who oppose us use to divide, we share the seed of freedom which for most of us was planted in our subconscious at an early age. It is not indoctrination, but rather education of those principals in life which will shape how we see ourselves and our country. ?From our Fathers and Mothers, To our Brothers and Sisters, For our Sons and Daughters? do not be made to feel that you are somehow in an Underground, or in Exile.

Get informed, Get Involved and proudly proclaim to all who you encounter that you are part of the Conservative Army, and you are fighting for their rights as well as your own. Don??t apologize, don??t cower, and don??t let anyone tell you that being a conservative makes you anything other than what you know you are.

mikeinmaine

Your first sentence’ sentiments are parallel to mine where I reside, but your last- cry out for a change in attitude instead of merely crying. Maybe it’s time to build your own weapons and grow your own feed!

There’s no crying in politics. Roll up your shirtsleeves and get to work! And Give ‘em Hell!
We certainly need new leadership. It will also come from the cavalry!

RS

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A handy checklist for people who wish to complain about the RiNOs in the GOP.

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