Quotes of the day
posted at 9:50 pm on May 3, 2009 by Allahpundit
“‘So our ideas need to be forward looking and relevant. I felt like there was a lot of nostalgia and the good old days in the [Republican] messaging. I mean, it’s great, but it doesn’t draw people toward your cause,’ Mr. Bush said.
‘From the conservative side, it’s time for us to listen first, to learn a little bit, to upgrade our message a little bit, to not be nostalgic about the past because, you know, things do ebb and flow.’”
***
“‘All you moderates out there, y’all come. I mean, that’s the message,’ Steele said at a news conference. ‘The message of this party is this is a big table for everyone to have a seat. I have a place setting with your name on the front.
‘Understand that when you come into someone’s house, you’re not looking to change it. You come in because that’s the place you want to be.’”
Blowback
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Cindy Munford on May 3, 2009 at 10:48 PM
Now look at the
spit in the facethanks you get. Infighting my a$$. Pompous arrogance is a better description.Upstater85 on May 3, 2009 at 10:48 PM
Pretty much.
Upstater85 on May 3, 2009 at 10:49 PM
nooo!
blatantblue on May 3, 2009 at 10:50 PM
What does Reagan have to do with today’s directionless Republican party? Maybe these so called leaders should listen to constituents who want the GOP to go back to its conservative fiscal roots. How in the heck are we going to gain back power by trying to be like Democrats? The problem with GOP leaders is that they want to lay blame on anything but themselves.
Maybe if they acted like real conservatives and had an actual strategy to get their message to the people instead of letting the left define the GOP message for them, our party wouldn’t be so powerless now.
Christina_M on May 3, 2009 at 10:50 PM
I’ll try to measure up and make our daily shout out to the hawk.
thomasaur on May 3, 2009 at 10:50 PM
Obama routinely invokes the symbolism of Lincoln, who was elected nearly 150 years ago. Churchill was W’s idol and he tried to emulate his British example of stalwart leadership during wartime. But W’s allegedly more conservative brother Jeb doesn’t want us to look back 25 years to an American president whose economic and defense policies have not been equaled by two Bushes and two Democrats?
Alrighty then. Note to self: cross Jeb and Prescott Bush off list of future presidential candidates.
I heart Jack Kemp. He was a true believer before the Reagan revolution. I am so sad for his family’s loss — and for our national loss. Speaking of political nostalgia, I have often wished that Kemp had been Reagan’s VP choice and presidential successor instead of George H.W. Bush for the following reasons:
1. No Souter on the SCOTUS, but Thomas probably would still be there, along with a stronger conservative replacement for Souter.
2. No “no new taxes” pledge to break. President Kemp would have resolved the 1989-1990 recession as a supply-sider without raising taxes.
3. No President Clinton. Per item 2, the Democrats would not have had a winning issue with “it’s the economy, stupid.”
4. No candidate Ross Perot to peel votes away from the 1992 GOP incumbent. Perot ran due to his grudge against the elder President Bush.
5. No 9/11, perhaps. Per item 3, President Kemp would likely have handled the 1993 World Trade Center bombing much more aggressively.
6. No Clintonian revisionist history about the triumphs of the Reagan era. Per item 3, President Kemp — who co-authored Reagan’s supply side economics — would have continued those policies. Hence, no political amnesia about Reagan, which Jeb Bush and others would like to make permanent.
And the circle is closed.
Terrie on May 3, 2009 at 10:50 PM
As long as the idiotic term “RINO” continues to be a part of the GOP lexicon, we’re doomed.
JetBoy on May 3, 2009 at 10:50 PM
Thanks, INC!
blatantblue on May 3, 2009 at 10:51 PM
Palin didn’t cost McCain the election. McCain cost McCain the election. I know you believe otherwise, but it is not the case at all.
McCain, had he named names as promised, could have altered everything that is going on today. But he decided to play moderate.
I’m all for a mod/lib on social, con on fiscal. That’s where I’m at.
And the GOP is heading fo mod/lib on fiscal, con on social. And that’s ashame.
lorien1973 on May 3, 2009 at 10:51 PM
Fine, let’s call them what they are. Progressive Republicans. Do you disagree?
Upstater85 on May 3, 2009 at 10:51 PM
The fact these three stooges had their first town hall-style in the DC suburbs speaks volumes. I’m sure they gave away free pizza and attracted about 100. I wonder how large a crowd Sarah Palin could have drawn.
bw222 on May 3, 2009 at 10:53 PM
How truly out of touch these Republican leaders seem to be. Did they not get the “message” from the over 250k people that gathered to focus on lower taxes, smaller government, personal responsibility, etc? This IS the message of Reagan, and Conservatives across the country are craving this message from the GOP.
It’s time for Jeb B., Michael Steele, Mitt, etc. to open up their ears and listen to the ever weary Conservative voices that have been screaming for Reagan’s message.
smartsy on May 3, 2009 at 10:53 PM
Juan RiNO was a worldbeater without Sarah and her trog army of Cons backing her driving off all those wonderful moderates like Colon Powell…..
//s
point is that the GOP can play the “current members dump all your beliefs and values we’re going big tent baby!” ’til the cows come home but a tent that big has a pretty big flap wobbling for conservatives to walk out of.
A GOP sans conservatives is a GOP without volunteers, money, votes, and a soul….sorta like a DNC sans moonbats.
sven10077 on May 3, 2009 at 10:53 PM
The GOP morphing into the European right? *shudder*
Upstater85 on May 3, 2009 at 10:53 PM
As long as there is the Constitution there is Reagan and the United States. It’s the blueprint, it’s the Holy Grail. You don’t have to search for it it’s right here where it’s always been.
Cindy Munford on May 3, 2009 at 10:53 PM
I prefer the original “Democrat”…
sven10077 on May 3, 2009 at 10:54 PM
How could I forget Colon Powell… “There’s nothing wrong with my values…”
Upstater85 on May 3, 2009 at 10:54 PM
Republicrats?
portlandon on May 3, 2009 at 10:55 PM
+ T. Rooseveltians
Upstater85 on May 3, 2009 at 10:55 PM
…….. anytime.
By the way, it still brings a tear to my eye, tuff guy and all…..
Seven Percent Solution on May 3, 2009 at 10:55 PM
Bullshit. Palin and the “Palinites” gave McCain the ONLY chance he ever had of winning. Period. After TARP and McCain’s antics surrounding it, he was toast.
McCain, like a lot of “moderates”, is more concerned with criticizing his own party than criticizing those you’d think are his political opponents.
So the key to success for the GOP is “moderating” on the issue of gay marriage? Aside from some (I’m not among them) who support constitutional amendments defining marriage as between a man and a woman, the position of the GOP on the subject isn’t vastly different from the one articulated by Obama and the Democrat party.
ddrintn on May 3, 2009 at 10:55 PM
You’re welcome. I really like your idea of Reagan’s legacy as an advisory for us.
INC on May 3, 2009 at 10:55 PM
I guess I’ll be switching my Party ID to Libertarian. I swear stupidity rises to the top in the beltway.
Stickeehands on May 3, 2009 at 10:55 PM
Thanks, I’ll let you know as we get closer to when I go out of town. You’re the best.
Cindy Munford on May 3, 2009 at 10:55 PM
How many days til Lent starts again?
bw222 on May 3, 2009 at 10:55 PM
Dear Cindy:
I promise that every day, I will remember Hawkdriver and his comrades in a post.
And I will also pray for god to grace you with formatting skills.
Loxodonta on May 3, 2009 at 10:55 PM
Thanks a lot!
Have a good night erryone
Hope the sun is shining for y’all when you wake up.
blatantblue on May 3, 2009 at 10:57 PM
Jetboy, that’s a very poor characterization of “what went wrong” with the 08 election. There are many reasons McCain lost the election, but it wasn’t because of “Palinites”; by definition those Palinites would’ve voted FOR McCain because they were on the same ticket. If her presence on the ticket pushed other voters away because she was “too” conservative, then that poor judgment falls on McCain and not Palin nor her supporters. Look, it’s obvious that McCain has “moderate” street cred. For years, he established himself as the guy who’d “stick it” to his own party, he’d listen, he’s a statesman, he’s not afraid to walk across the aisle. And look where it got him. When it really mattered, all those deposits in the “moderate” bank still yielded overdraft violations. All he had to do was pick Palin for the VP slot, and BOOM, McCain’s a panderer to his base. The Press beat him over the head, and made him look weak and unable to find his footing. You know why? The whole “moderate” game is a shell game. Our ability to be “moderate” is dependent upon the Press, the democrat party, and the D.C. establishment saying we’re moderate. If at anytime one of our guys does something they don’t like, BAM, we’re extremists. Moderate-ism, in practice, is a mirage, and our party should not make “moderate-ism” our goal.
Weight of Glory on May 3, 2009 at 10:58 PM
Here’s the problem with “Moderate Republicans,” they don’t think that the growth of government under Bush is bad. In fact, they kind of liked it. They fear the base because the base would probably cut half of their beloved bureaucratic jobs.
Upstater85 on May 3, 2009 at 10:58 PM
Attributed to Harold Macmillan, Earl of Stockton, conservative, who served as PM in late ’50′s, early ’60′s.
Obama is popular now because he is being very active, looks like he is doing stuff, and the press isn’t examining what he is doing in a negative way, if at all, so it all looks good to John Q. Public. But give these policies a chance to take root, and work their magic for six months or so.
Like next winter when his beloved working poor will be struggling to pay their capped and traded, suddenly sky high heating bills . . .and are having trouble keeping the car filled with gas.
Or when the recovery gets strangled in its crib by the weight on the economy of the budget deficit, soooo much bigger than anybody (in the Obama adminstration) thought, when all of Obama’s rosy projections for the economy keep failing to materialize. How smart will he appear then?
Or when even Obama’s economists have to admit that they’ve reached the point where tax increases on the rich won’t raise additional revenue, and they’ll have to look elsewhere (further down the old food chain) for additional revenue?
Or when the new GM’s (Government Motors) products are rejected by the buying public, because they really don’t want cars that were designed by the Sierra Club? Bob Seger’s “Like a rock,” will only refer to the falling sales numbers.
We should be shev ve-al taaseh (sit and don’t do anything) mode–it’s something you hear in Israel a lot; sometimes the best thing you can do is just hold your position, and don’t do anything. Obama has just about reached the top of the big hill in the roller-coaster ride that will be his political career. Because nobody likes to be made a fool, and that’s what the public and the press will feel like, once they finally start figuring out the size of the bag they’ve been left holding.
We’ll keep doing what we can to do the job that the MSM won’t do, but I believe it is going to get a lot easier once Obama’s wrong-headed policies begin to take root.
smellthecoffee on May 3, 2009 at 10:59 PM
JetBoy -
Did you see what happened to the Cowboys “big tent” yesterday? A GOP “big tent” will have the same result.
bw222 on May 3, 2009 at 10:59 PM
It’s why this entire ‘inclusive/moderate’ debate is a bucket full of sh*t IMO. ‘Moderates’ seem to be very insistent on you adopting their ideas, but not so much the other way around…just saying. They truth is, they are just like Specter…my way or the highway.
AUINSC on May 3, 2009 at 10:59 PM
Abe Lincoln, Teddy and William Howard Taft were the big three in the march to the Super State, FDR just picked up the ball and ran with the machinery left in place by Hoover.
You can make the argument that Lincoln needed the power for the war, you can make the argument that TR needed to kneecap the robber barons and their trusts….you can’t make the argument that their laying the groundwork for FDR sending folks to jail for ironing shirts too cheaply was a good thing….
that is what Dubya and the RiNOs have laid the groundwork for BO….
sven10077 on May 3, 2009 at 11:00 PM
I have a question to all you saddened McCainites out there:
What exactly were McCain’s views on economic issues?
Or the free market system? Or the first amendment (which he ridiculed)? Or energy? Or how we are going to produce 27 terawatts per year with little crappy ineffective wind turbines?
Or how are we going to pay for our national defense with a hyperinflated currency? Or a 500 billion-dollar per year carbon credit tax that will cripple our economy into a 2nd World status (or worse).
He never thought about 95% of our real-life problems because he was, at the bottom, a retired half-educated military lifer without a whole lot upstairs. He never had a business or had his own income that wasn’t from the government. He seemed disinterested in so many things that it was shocking to watch him fumble around on economic issues when all hell broke loose in September. Obama, who knew nothing as well, at least had the good sense to shut up and make concerned faces while McCain flailed around like grandpa at the nursing home on Bingo night. It was an embarrassing display and the final nail in his (and our) political coffin.
That is a blunt assessment, but, unfortunately, true.
TexasJew on May 3, 2009 at 11:00 PM
You really are clueless. Without the Base (Palinites as you stupidly call them), McCain’s loss would have looked like the 1984 Mondale loss (he only won Minnesota).
Bush fatigue was too much to overcome, along with media worship, and a better ground game from the Obama crowd.
When the “Leaders” of our party are telling the electorate to forget the best leader the country has had in half a century……..something is broken & it’s not the Base.
portlandon on May 3, 2009 at 11:00 PM
Sure seems to be a lot of infighting happening here tonight, perhaps we should all “moderate” our views on those negligible social issues like abortion and come together as one.
Bishop on May 3, 2009 at 11:01 PM
Obamania has spread to Jeb.
Jeb throws President Reagan under the bus!
Cannibalism.
purgatory on May 3, 2009 at 11:01 PM
So what is so bad about my house instead of Steele’s? If you won’t sit at my table then why the hell should I sit at yours? Because it is neighborly or something?
It is time for the party to pull up their britches instead of always pulling them down.
Limerick on May 3, 2009 at 11:01 PM
A listening tour?
A farking listening tour? You’ve got to be kidding.
How about a leadership tour? How about actually listening? Now there’s an idea!
While you’re listening, we don’t want more damn government. We don’t want more spending. We want less of both.
Still listening?
Prove it.
hillbillyjim on May 3, 2009 at 11:02 PM
You hit the nail on the head. The most infuriating thing is that they’d have you believe they were kicked out or something. The only people that kick them out are their voters!
Now, I wish Specter and Co well on their voyage to the dark side. Remember, the D’s were the same people that tried to dethrone Lieberman (VP nominee and all).
D is for Disloyalty.
Upstater85 on May 3, 2009 at 11:02 PM
Reagan has not left the people. But as you note, the Republican Party has left Reagan.
And I’m not referring to Reagan’s looks or the sound of his voice or any other sentimental notions, nor his electability. I’m talking about his core principles and that so filled his politics and personal character that he could represent those principles genuinely in his words and deeds.
Loxodonta on May 3, 2009 at 11:03 PM
Great post!
Upstater85 on May 3, 2009 at 11:03 PM
I am the master of copy and paste.
Cindy Munford on May 3, 2009 at 11:04 PM
How about a HEARING TOUR?
We want to be heard not listened to!
thomasaur on May 3, 2009 at 11:05 PM
“The message of this party is this is a big table for everyone to have a seat. I have a place setting with your name on the front.”
I’m all for it but how about we have a conversation about table manners expectations before eating dinner?
Bishop on May 3, 2009 at 11:05 PM
You draw people to your cause with strong ideas about the foundational meanings of American liberty and how to defend its future security, not saying: “Y’all c’mon over!”
None of the current “leaders”, from any angle, appear to know anything about America, past or present, only how to sell “popularity”.
We live among political pygmies.
And puny power pimps.
Tapdancing for applause.
Pathetically pandering to whatever the polls tell them.
Whether Climate Change or any other current hysteria.
profitsbeard on May 3, 2009 at 11:07 PM
It’s a listening tour to hear what they want to hear.
ddrintn on May 3, 2009 at 11:08 PM
If anyone puts arugula on the table there will be a full blown riot.
Limerick on May 3, 2009 at 11:08 PM
Reagan was also a big tent Republican, as was Kemp. It can be done. But it can only be done by securing that tent on the conservative issues that most unite the party. The divisive social issues have to be placed second and shouldn’t be the litmus tests.
Loxodonta on May 3, 2009 at 11:09 PM
+100
Cindy Munford on May 3, 2009 at 11:11 PM
What’s ironic in all the talk of Reagan nostalgia is the fact that he was held by many of the moderates of his time to have been unelectable, too polarizing, too far right.
ddrintn on May 3, 2009 at 11:11 PM
So that’s what the stupid RINOs do, instead of organizing to fight socialism in a nation-changing crisis – imitate Hillary’s fake “listening tour”? Wear Jimmy Carter sweaters and talk to Democrats dressed up as Republicans?
No wonder they want to forget Reagan. They’d better, with this brain-dead idea….
And what the hell is Jeb Bush doing there? It’s like someone named Irving Hitler thinking of running for Prime Minister of Germany in 1946.
TexasJew on May 3, 2009 at 11:11 PM
Every time I get the urge to accept moderate leaders of the Republican Party, I hear a quote like this that makes me want to tear my hair out. WHY in the HELL is it always us Conservatives who have to make the compromises? Why are WE the ones who have to be more understanding, more inclusive, less “nostalgic,” etc? Leftists are rarely asked to moderate themselves, and moderates, meanwhile, enjoy the groveling of leaders on both sides of the aisle in attempt to woo their support. Progressives, they of the ideals, and moderates, they of the supposedly superior intellect that prevents one from making up one’s mind: these people are permitted to be immovable in their beliefs. But Conservatives? No, we have to be flexible. Don’t we realize that modern thinkers no longer value integrity and adherence to time-tested principle?
I’m done. I’ll take marginalization over moderation. Going to go join the Constitution Party now…. Bye-bye, Repubs.
Animator Girl on May 3, 2009 at 11:12 PM
Thank you The Gop needs to wake up fiscally. Through some of you have made me feel as lib on social issues and that I do not fit I do. Fiscally first Fiscally always we need to be consertative or we are lost.
If you don’t, leave, don’t let the door hit you where the good lord splict you.
By the way I need to confirm but James Harris our local radio consertative did not seem upset by Michael Steele speech (I had school and could not go to the convention)and he would have mentioned if Steele did not get it. You may recall him as the man that told McCain to fight and was trashed as a Uncle Tom and race traitor for not supporting Obama.
Gracelynn on May 3, 2009 at 11:12 PM
That did it.
Now there’s hell to pay.
:-)
hillbillyjim on May 3, 2009 at 11:13 PM
What sort of parallel universe do you live in? McCain cost McCain the election by: 1) accepting public funding; 2) having a staff of total incompetents running his campaign; 3) by not being able to articulate a message; 4) by his bailout antics; 5) by throwing in the towel with several weeks to go in the election; 6) he absolutely sucked as a candidate.
Had it noit been for Sarah Palin, McCain would have lost by another 10 points and likely never attracted more than 1,500 on ther campaign trail.
bw222 on May 3, 2009 at 11:13 PM
One problem with the tea party movement is they have been perceived as anti-tax. And they are to some extent. But the bigger problem is out of control spending, and out of control regulation. If spending were controlled the taxes would take care of themselves.
Nearly all of the issues Congress takes up these days it has no business doing so. They are things the states should be doing. That includes education of which the federal governments roll should be absolutely nothing.
Dasher on May 3, 2009 at 11:13 PM
Does this new “group” have a website? If so maybe we should write them and let them know how we feel.
Cindy Munford on May 3, 2009 at 11:14 PM
Jeb is just staying to form and following the rest of the Club House set and bootscooting. We are all supposed to applaud and sign up for classes.
Limerick on May 3, 2009 at 11:15 PM
Hm, I thought I was going to bed, but realized I forgot to do HW.
How forward thinking of me. Happy Jeb?
blatantblue on May 3, 2009 at 11:17 PM
^^YOU … ARE … EXACTLY … RIGHT.
In 1976 Reagan made a tremendous run at the nomination and lost to Gerald Ford – primarily because Ford was considered the safer … “more appealing” candidate to the public. This was after Nixon had resigned and the GOP was scared to run a guy like Reagan.
Reagan lost the nomination – BUT HE DOMINATED THE CONVENTION. And what’s more – HIS FOLLOWERS (CONSERVATIVES) DOMINATED THAT CONVENTION. They told the GOP they were making a mistake in not picking Reagan. The moderates told them to STFU.
Guess what? Ford lost. The Conservatives came back four years later and told the moddies … “STFU – we’re running our guy – you blew it last time”.
Reagan won in a landslide.
We took the moddies advice last year and ran Raging Rino McCain – and got the same results the moddies got with Ford in 1976.
Wake up and smell the coffee GOP! YOU SUCK.
HondaV65 on May 3, 2009 at 11:18 PM
The spirit of the original tea party was only suppose to be an inspiration but I agree it takes the focus away from spending. Although I bet by 2010 there could be some real tax tea parties. The actual parties had only a little about taxes and at ours it was the taxes that would be accessed through Cap and Trade.
Cindy Munford on May 3, 2009 at 11:18 PM
I would add that McCain never even bothered to stand up for his own atrocious McCain-Feingold, unConstitutional, POS legislation as BHO was trashing any notion of legality in campaign finance. First he tries to destroy the Constitution with his idiotic pandering to the left and then he lets the left collect campaign funds from everyone with a gift card and a fake name to type in.
BHO’s illegal campaign finances should be more than enough to throw him out of office, right now. But McCain has never said word one about the BHO campaign finances. This is totally infuriating.
progressoverpeace on May 3, 2009 at 11:19 PM
Jeb is just staying to form and following the rest of the Club House set and bootscooting. We are all supposed to applaud and sign up for classes.
Limerick on May 3, 2009 at 11:15 PM
That “bootscooting” remark made me think of the greatest two-step song in history:
Lefty Frizzell’s “Always Late” from 1951:
Always late with your kisses
Won’t you come to my arms sweet darlin’ and stay?
Always late with your kisses
Why, oh why do you want to do me this way?
How long do you think I can wait
When you know you’re always late
Always late with your kisses
Why, oh why do you want to do me this way?
TexasJew on May 3, 2009 at 11:23 PM
I don’t how many more seats, money, and power, these RNC RINOS want to lose in Washington.
I’ve been donating to Sarah Palin exclusively (and soon to Perry) because they have espoused conservatism without sucking up to liberals. I can not believe the level of deafness in the GOP. We are all shouting, writing, protesting the lack of conservatism in Washington, and these RINOS want to push it all aside. Reagan was a tremendous leader for a reason. Jeb, you’re a loser.
jencab on May 3, 2009 at 11:25 PM
JetBoy – If McCain was this wonderful candidate you claim he was, name some things he did right during his campaign (other than having as many joint appearances with Palin as possible so’s to not be embarassed by miniscule turnouts)?
His campaign was an absolute joke. What did Juan Hernandez, his left wing Hispanic Outreach Director accomplish (other than draw a paycheck and P.O. conservatives)?
bw222 on May 3, 2009 at 11:25 PM
I voted for McCain even though my heart wasn’t in it & what do I get for my efforts? A party that believes in nothing. They won’t be Reagan Republicans. They will be Specter Republicans. A Democrat or a Progressive Republican? The lesser of two evils? No, they both look pretty evil to me.
Stickeehands on May 3, 2009 at 11:27 PM
As the old Texas saying goes:
The only things in “the middle of the road” are yellow stripes and dead armadillos.
TexasJew on May 3, 2009 at 11:29 PM
G’nite all. I think I just saw Jerry Jones flying past my window.
NightCap
Limerick on May 3, 2009 at 11:31 PM
+1000
Jack Kemp was my hero before Reagan. Had he followed Reagan, the Republican Party would be the majority party today.
Jeb Bush is first and foremost a Bush. The Bushes believed that Ronald Reagan never should have been President. When George H.W. Bush became president, he immediately fired all of the Reagan appointees. They though we were all a bunch of yahoos. It drives them crazy that Reagan’s legacy grows and grows while the Bush family legacy is in tatters. And they sniped constantly at Jack Kemp throughout his tenure as HUD Secretary.
Sometimes I wish the entire Bush family could be tried for murder of the Republican Party.
rockmom on May 3, 2009 at 11:31 PM
heh. nite.
Weight of Glory on May 3, 2009 at 11:32 PM
That’s good.
INC on May 3, 2009 at 11:34 PM
This thread turned out better than I expected since it was in the headlines.
Goodnight everyone!!
Cindy Munford on May 3, 2009 at 11:34 PM
Thanks for the history. Earlier I said “I’ve wondered if there’s a little payback here that Reagan beat out GHWB for the nomination in 1980.”
Sounds like there is.
INC on May 3, 2009 at 11:35 PM
G’night, Cindy.
INC on May 3, 2009 at 11:35 PM
I think there were a lot of co-conspirators in Congress.
Loxodonta on May 3, 2009 at 11:36 PM
How many times are people going to bring up McCain’s loss?
His loss is on him alone almost entirely. Any Republican had a built in 5 point disadvantage from the gitgo simply because a Republican held the office the last 8 years. After naming Palin and his Convention speech McCain had actually overcome that and had evened it up. What killed him? TARP killed him.
He ran back to DC and this could have been what put him over the top. Instead what did he do? Nothing, finagled around for a few days and then voted for it. His claim to fame was a desire to cut spending and being a Maverick. He did neither. A maverick would have bucked his party in DC and his, very unpopular president and Treasury Sec., and voted no. Instead he says he would pick someone like Andrew Cuomo for his Sec Treasury, of all people.
McCain was offering nothing different from Obama at that point on anything people cared about and the only thing they cared about was the economy. Social issues meant absolutely nothing in the last election. In any poll none of those issues were in the top 5 even once.
Rocks on May 3, 2009 at 11:36 PM
“Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue” — Barry Goldwater
Once again, the GOP “leadership” is wandering all over the map, trying to find a personality that is acceptable instead of trying to articulate a set of common principles.
We don’t need to build a bigger tent. We need to fill the tent we have. And we won’t do it by being wishy-washy on principles. That is what has emptied the tent we have. From the top down over the past decade, from the top down, we have been fed a diet of moderation, a diet of appeasement, and to what end?
From the bottom up a party will be built over the next year to meet 2010, and will be further built to meet 2012. It may not be the GOP as we know it, which is not a bad thing, when you give it careful thought, but it will be a party of the people, by the people, for the people…and not the current party of “professionals” most concerned about sinecure than about developing basic principles and living by the same.
coldwarrior on May 3, 2009 at 11:39 PM
For what it’s worth…across the Pond we are having a major Maggie (Mrs Thatcher) lovefest right now. Unfortunately it took 12 years and an economy on the brink of bankruptcy to achieve it. You most probably don’t know (or remember) the levels of hatred there were for the conservatives in the 90s. It’s a shame it will probably have to come to this in the US before the Dems are thrown out again. But they will screw up…bigtime. It’s inbuilt. I’ve seen it all before.
Hold tight to your principles and stay safe.
Fortunata on May 3, 2009 at 11:40 PM
Fortunata…Thanks for the words of encouragement.
I was just thinking about Mrs. Margaret Thatcher today. Thinking about the parallels of our beloved President Reagan and Prime Minister Thatcher and how they changed the world for the better. Great leaders. Unlike no others in history.
Great minds, indeed!
purgatory on May 3, 2009 at 11:52 PM
Barry should try to support Brown if he wants his policies to be implemented globally – I guess he thought the DVD sets would achieve this goal…
Upstater85 on May 3, 2009 at 11:53 PM
Who do you think will come out the bigger winners in the EU Elections on June 4th?
HondaV65 on May 3, 2009 at 11:54 PM
What do Thatcher and Reagan have in common?
They would have had way more of Chavez’s imaginary sulfur than GWB and they probably would have hurt Barry’s feelings…
Upstater85 on May 3, 2009 at 11:55 PM
The Fascists Duo: O’Barry and Helen The Old Tomboy.
Upstater85 on May 4, 2009 at 12:00 AM
Republicans need to sound more like this guy – he’s catching on.
He’s on the attack … not apologizing for his views. He’s not out there lamenting that more people aren’t joining his cause – HE’S LEADING. And because he’s leading – more people will join his cause.
If the GOP looked in the mirror and then at this guy – they’d conclude one thing … THE GOP SUCKS.
HondaV65 on May 4, 2009 at 12:01 AM
Hmmm….probably the Conservatives, with a lot of New Labour and Ukip votes being lost to the BNP. Cameron has to avoid the infighting over Europe that cost the Tories a lot of votes a decade ago…shouldn’t be difficult now that that very sharp, very long knives are out for Brown back at home. My guess is that votes for the European parliament are still “protest votes” — in that people will vote for more extreme parties than they would for the national election, but I could be wrong. A bad showing for Labour will trigger some serious (ie great fun) infighting.
Fortunata on May 4, 2009 at 12:02 AM
Look how the RINOs try to confine Reagan’s values to Reagan. The trouble is that Reagan’s values are transcendent. That’s a big problem for the Ivy-League power-mongers of the northeast, and another reason I won’t exclude liar from any definition of RINO.
The country-club trash won’t release their skeletal claws from the Republican Party. Modern medicine and Chinese organs make 120 year life spans probable. Senility is irrelevant.
Feedie on May 4, 2009 at 12:04 AM
Ronald Reagan……….
………… you are missed.
Seven Percent Solution on May 4, 2009 at 12:18 AM
Better yet………
“Tribute to Ronald Reagan”
Seven Percent Solution on May 4, 2009 at 12:24 AM
+100!
We have a winner here. Seriously.
Scratch that (sorry Weight of Glory). This is a winner too! I think this seriously nails it on the head. We had ‘Reagan Democrats’ back in the day. People who crossed party line because someone had principle. Reagan’s values are transcendent, and they are just as powerful. The next one who realizes this and runs on them… whoever that person is… is who I will vote for. Many from both sides of the aisle would say that. Most moderates would say that. All conservatives already do.
It’s just that most people don’t look to principle, they look to people, power, and money. Sadly, all three are very much perishable. The old leadership of the GOP sees it this way. The moonbats see it this way. All the DNC sees it this way. And sadly, it’s all we have left to vote for.
Chaz706 on May 4, 2009 at 12:27 AM
Perfect!
AUINSC on May 4, 2009 at 12:33 AM
OK………
……… Best for the Last.
Seven Percent Solution on May 4, 2009 at 12:34 AM
on that note before I retire: I refuse to say Ave Atque Vale to the principles of Reagan. I’ve long said that to Reagan (he is dead, gone, and sorrily missed). But to say goodbye to those principles: no. To do so would be to say ‘Hail Brother! Farewell!‘ to the Constitution, and I would take up arms first!
I would not and should not care what anyone says. He fought for the constitution. He’s a hero to many in both parties and to abandon the things he stood for just doesn’t seem politically smart. It’s also morally wrong to begin with (sorry to all you social libs, but you can take that statement as you take it, though I mean no offense). The constitution is our heritage. Our law. Our own 12 tablets hanging in the senate hall (if you get that reference, congrats). To abandon it is to abandon everything. Then what? Tyrrany of the soft sort in socialism followed by the hard rule of communism? To go down into the depths of anarchy and totalitarianism?
Reagan was right: there is no ‘Left’ or ‘Right’ anymore. Just an Up and a Down. So to all you moderates… you Getalifes and trolls… you conservatives and die hards… you Meghan McCains and Donald Frums… You moonbats… you who say you are for your country? What say ye? Would you go Up to the heights of freedom and liberty enshrined in the rule of Constitutional Law, or down to the depths of the Rule of Man, bringing with it various forms of tyrrany? Which’ll it be?
As for me, I will stand my ground with Reagan.
Chaz706 on May 4, 2009 at 12:35 AM
Get THAT Meghan McCow.
If RINOS like you were to succeed in watering down the republican party to the point where it suits your RINO tastes, you would lose everything that’s important about the republican party and turn it into just another ‘wet the finger, see which way the wind is blowing’ pack of politicos. It’s been exactly that for over 12 years and dumb b1tches like YOU making it even worse isn’t going to get your weak a$s daddy elected anywhere.
Forget the McCains. Pay attention to the quote at the top of this comment. The liberals stand for socialist feel goodism at the cost of destroying society and the country, they simply do not care as long as they have the power. True conservatives believe the country is based on morality, even if many in the party over the last 12 years have failed the party and acted like liberals.
The only answer is to bring the party back to the tenets of individual freedom and personal responsibility, in society AND in government. I know that sounds like swearing to the pusbag liberal spooge suckers, but the moderates that believe that’s a better way to go than marxism, socialism, fascism, will side with, join, and vote with the republicans…but ONLY if it’s shown that they believe in this themselves and act accordingly instead of just mouthing the words like they have been for over a decade.
Spiritk9 on May 4, 2009 at 12:35 AM
“Reagan Tells Obama To Shut Up!”
Seven Percent Solution on May 4, 2009 at 12:36 AM
My two cents.
Ya know what all this talk about RINO’s and party ideology purity means? Nothing, it’s just inner party politics that don’t mean sh*t. It gives pundits something to right about and bloggers something to argue about and that’s about all it does.
The only thing that’s going to matter is fiscal conservatism and limited government in 2010 and 2012. That’s where we’re get the voters after Obama and this congress and that’s what we’ll be talking about. The electorate that will put Republicans back in congress aren’t going to care what Jeb Bush, Megan McCain, David Frum, etc., etc. are writing about today.
What the GOP leadership (if their is such a thing) needs to be doing is scouring the GOP at the state and local levels for true fiscal conservatives that can effectively govern and start promoting them while at the same time start hammering this administration and congress on how much damage their reckless fiscal policies will do and are doing.
We can’t start fixing the countries problems till we get some seats back in congress.
lowandslow on May 4, 2009 at 12:42 AM
Speakup on May 4, 2009 at 12:52 AM
+100
Isn’t it funny how hard it is to keep capitalism, even with all its successes, and yet people will try socialism over and over again, even with all its proven failures?
inmypajamas on May 4, 2009 at 1:01 AM
Speakup on May 4, 2009 at 1:06 AM
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