I have the gut feeling you would have more success with addressomg just one party and not being shy about calling out your specific objections:in recent trends. As an example, if I were voicing an objection to negative campaign ads, I wouldn’t refer to them as a lack or compassion for the target; I would call them smear tactics. Unless highlighted to grab the readers’s attention, important ideas can blur together and become forgotten bakground .

Note: This advice comes from someone with zero experience in phrasing party policy or kicking off a movement.

Note 2: Your blogging entries are among the most representative of ’sanity’ to be found anywhere. And I say that as one who often disagrees with you.

I think what you want is a return to the Republican Party of the Eisenhower era. That’s a tall order because big-money interests who want and are getting the best government their money can buy see their greatest return on investment coming from the kind of Republicans who’ve dominated the party over the past 30 years. Those big-money interests and the entrenched pols they’ve invested so much money in aren’t going to politely step aside because other Republicans want them to, or because they’ve screwed up the government, our country and another country, getting a whole lot of people killed in the process and wasting money on a scale never before seen in U.S. history.

Similarly, a segment of America’s evangelical Christians has developed an appetite for political power. These people have formed ties with radical right-wing Republicans. The payoffs have been relatively few and mostly paltry so far, but they can raiselots of money and deliver lots of votes, so they’re in the game to stay. Which is where right-wing Republicans want them.

Wresting control of the party from these people is a daunting challenge. You won’t do it with well-intended letters. Large numbers of voters and large sums of political contributions are required.

Write a letter that requites them to reject the copout that “The constitution is not a suicide pact”, or “you have no civil rights if you’re dead” and you’ll have found candidates who’ll actually fight for the rule of law and the constitution.

And yes, cfpete, I’ll look more closely at Crist. Thanks for the suggestion.

Cfpete- OK we get your point. But the guy served a year under Clinton and 6 1/2 under Bush. Even if he wasn’t appointed by Bush, doesn’t that make him part of his administration?

The brief post that you mentioned in your initial comment became infected with a technical glitch that no one could fix and was deleted, including your comment and my response.

Saw your comment after pushing publish on my last one. I will give the party-neutral approach some thought, though I do think the Republicans are in more dire need of a change!

Thanks for your comments. I will re-look at the letter with those points in mind. I want to figure out some way to incorporate your input, but I hestitate to recommend too-specific policies because I think that will cut down on the number of potential signatures. Nor is my goal to get policy or action specific, rather to let Republican leaders who are socially tolerant and foreign-policy-prudent know that there is a base of Republicans who support them and this base of voters does not approve of the cowboy approach to war of the current Administration, nor of its trampling on habeus corpus, nor its use of wedge issues to appeal to the “other base,” etc.

Net: I think I could get more specific without crossing the line, I just need to figure out how.

cfpete,

First, I sent a note to the editors and Shaum Mullen asking them to respond to your other question.

Second, former Sen. Danforth and Gov. Whitman are working to bring us together; I’ve joined their group and I know they could use the energies (and dollars) of others who feel the same way. Check out http://www.republican-leadership.com, and if there’s not an RLC chapter in your state, you could either start one or support ours in Missouri. I suggest the latter only because Missouri is often considered a bellwether state and if we can win here with a moderated Republican Party, we could win anywhere (except maybe South Carolina or Texas).

Somebody,

You claim that I have …

listened to the Liberals define the argument too much these past few years.

God is bad.
Religion is Bad.
Neoconservatives are bad.
Secrecy in war is bad….. No more Manhattan projects for America.
Republicans are Bad.
Conservatives are Bad.

To the contrary. I believe there is a powerful and loving God and that religion can play a remarkably valuable role in our lives. In war, I know there must be secrets kept in order to win, and of course, I know there are great Republicans and conservatives. No, I’m not overly fond of neocon philosophy, but that doesn’t mean I reject everything attached to it.

Though it seems that you could not only change Republican to Democrat and still have a powerful letter… You could eliminate party reference altogether (”we are actively seeking and supporting Republican candidates…” becomes “we are actively seeking and supporting candidates…“) doesn’t make it less powerful and you’ll get more people signing on with you.

Things need to change and that change will require optimism, open dialog and thoughtful communication like that shown in your letter. Party neutral and I’m with you all the way.

Thanks… Your attitude and outlook is good OUR (your, mine and Somebody’s, too) country. :]

Pete, I beg you. Bring us together. We are out there and don’t even know it. If you do, I will give you all the financial and physical help I can muster.

Sorry for using your post for complaining, but I would just like to know how a post gets deleted.

“Why can’t we all just get along, manifesto.”

Nice.

And Idealistic. There are two parties in this country because their are philosophical differences.

You have listened to the Liberals define the argument too much these past few years.

God is bad.
Religion is Bad.
Neoconservatives are bad.
Secrecy in war is bad….. No more Manhattan projects for America.
Republicans are Bad.
Conservatives are Bad.

They have pulled the wool over your eyes.

(I cannot sign it myself as a registered Democrat. As I have mentioned briefly at your blog once before, I find myself agreeing with moderate Republicans as often as left Democrats, but until people such as yourself win the Republican party back, I had to register in opposition.)