Ideological Purity and the GOP

Kathy..

Even if the GOP followed Moran's suggestions for remaking itself, you still wouldn't join the party.

You wrote this article without having "a horse in the race" and seem to support it because it would make it a much easier party for your party to beat on election day.

I could say the same about myself, since I will be voting Constitution Party next year and in 2012 (unless something miraculous happens).

I agree that the GOP can't win on its numbers alone. They CAN win, however, by demonizing the opposition. Voters might hold their noses and vote Republican because they are blaming the party in power for not solving the problems they inherited from Bush.

the party in power for not solving the problems they inherited from Bush.

You should stop blaming Bush, he is not the problem he is but a symptom, You should blame the idiots who voted for Bush twice for the state of the Nation.

I love how extreme liberals want to tell the Republican Party to survive by becoming liberal. If the Repubilcans should learn anythng from NY-23 is that the RINOs are selling something that very few people are buying. If people want big government, big spending, and a politically correct nanny state, then they need to be in the Democratic Party.

The Republicans lost their way when Karl Rove and all of the Karl Rove wannabes decided that buying Hispanic votes with massive government spending was a good idea. The Repbublicans lost their way when they came to believe they could buy votes.

The U.S. needs a small government, balanced budget, conservative party. The RINOs will never deliver such a party even though the last thing the U.S. needs is two big government, big spending parties.

DQ-- I agree that idiots voted Bush in-- but we heard from the GOP for 8 years how everything Bush failed at was Clinton's fault.

Obama inherited a mess that even conservatives didn't want to touch. There's a reason that Rush and others wrote off '08 and told listeners to concentrate on '12.

The conservatives failed to show that small government is workable. They lost their way and their credibility. What they proved is that its easier to criticize big-spending liberals than to actually cut costs.

I am not so sure. If they wanted the Repubs to lose and continue losing I would think the first thing they could do is become a Glenn Beck fan and then tell all of their conservative friends about him. Personally I am fighting the current trend for two reasons both of which are not in the Dems best interests. First I see no point in sending more Dems to DC when we already have so very many, in fact I would like to see some opposition at some time soon but I see those chances fading which greatly concerns me. Second once we do get some oppisition in DC I would like them to be people that can actually move things forward and the only way to do that is making deals. Deals that would give us a nice balance between liberal and conservative ideals which has in the past given the country some of the best legislation that was available from my point of view. What I see instead are people that will dig in their heels and scream "purity over nation" until people stop talking to them which tells me that they will not make deals and will instead merely obstruct which can sometimes be useful but not if that is all you are willing to do and also investigation is good but not if we are investigating the silly just to be investigating the other side(lookie I have a blue dress with a stain). I am on the left but I will have voted Repub before since I prefer that things get done when they are needed. Admittedly I will not vote for a social conservative(no longer a threat where I live) but I will also not vote for people that will just obstruct either.

Constitution Party? And I thought you were a conservative Dem. Seems to me that as long as the likes of Limbaugh, Beck, and Hannity hold sway in the GOP, the best path to achieve the overall conservative agenda is to back those within the ruling party (i.e. the Dems) who are gradually gaining more influence. This would be the Blue Dogs (fiscally) and those like Rep. Bart Stupak and Sen. Bob Casey (socially). Voting for a minor party might as well be not voting at all, since they won't come into power anytime in your lifetime, J.D.

Just a local observation: Hudson County New Jersey has about 163K registered Democrats and 25K registered Republicans. Anyone want to explain how dumping a third of those Republicans would help the local party?

I didn't think so.

Just my mild disagreement, Redbus. The idea of voting the lesser of two evils has had its place, I guess, but I do not subscribe to it. My inclination is to vote write-in as in last year's preidential election if neither party has a candidate I believe in, but I don't oppose JD or anyone else voting for a minor party. Done that myself a few times. If the R's put up an anti-freedom hard core rightie and the D's put up a profligate spending leftie, don't ask me to hold my nose & vote for one of them. I'll make a vote of conscience and sleep at night, thank you.

Yes, as of right this moment, Constitution Party. They represent just about everything I stand for. Don't get me wrong.... If they put up a clown for President, I won't vote for him/her either. I would prefer that both parties change from the inside (i.e. Ron Paul and Russ Feingold). But as you pointed out, that also is unlikely to happen in my lifetime. The power structure is entrenched and I'm tired of the corporate lobby on both sides stealing MY power. Like Tidbits says, the days of voting for the lesser of two corrupt scumbags are over. I vow to never do that again. I'd vote for Nader before I do it again. And anyone who knows me, knows that THAT is a huge thing for me to say.