I thought it might be interesting to have a thread devoted to the realignment of the power structure of the Republican Party and the retooling of its policies post-2008. I'm a progressive, but I still find this absolutely fascinating.
We've already seen today that Eric Kantor will be running for Senate Minority Whip.
Also, Ross Douthat & Riehan Salam have a new book out called Grand New Party, which is advocating distancing the the party from the social conservatives (Palin/Huckabee/Reed) and taking certain social issues off federal table - such as abortion - because the GOP is supposed to be the party of local government.
The Grand New Party
Moderator: Super Moderators
The Grand New Party
Last edited by rumike on 11-06-2008 06:04 PM, edited 1 time in total.
Anchors Aweigh!
Re: The Grand New Party
rumike wrote: I thought it might be interesting to have a thread devoted to the realignment of the power structure of the Republican Party and the retooling of its policies post-2008. I'm a progressive, but I still find this absolutely fascinating.
We've already seen today that Eric Kantor will be running for Senate Minority Whip.
Also, Ross Douthat & Riehan Salam have a new book out called Grand New Party, which is advocating distancing the the party from the social conservatives (Palin/Huckabee/Reed) and taking certain social issues off federal table - such as abortion - because the GOP is supposed to be the party of local government.
Eric Cantor will almost certainly be selected as House Minority Whip. The party has for too long permitted the Social Conservatives to drive the agenda of the party. The Republican party needs to return to it's historic roots of advocating personal freedom, as well as a limited but compassionate government that never forgets the best interests of the people of this country.
There is likely to be an intense battle for the heart and soul of the Grand Old Party within the next few years between the Reagan wing of the party and the Eisenhower-Nixon wing. The outcome of this struggle will do much to determine not only the future direction of the party but our prospects for continuing as a viable party capable of governing a diverse nation in challenging times.
Last edited by racehorse on 11-06-2008 05:56 PM, edited 1 time in total.
racehorse
Re: Re: The Grand New Party
racehorse wrote: Eric Cantor will almost certainly be selected as House Minority Whip.
D'oh! My bad. Of course it's the House!
I should know as Roy Blunt - my (ugh) Representative will be losing that job.
Anchors Aweigh!
Re: Re: The Grand New Party
Let us work together so that mature adults of sound mind take the party from the animals.
racehorse wrote: Eric Cantor will almost certainly be selected as House Minority Whip. The party has for too long permitted the Social Conservatives to drive the agenda of the party. The Republican party needs to return to it's historic roots of advocating personal freedom, as well as a limited but compassionate government that never forgets the best interests of the people of this country.
There is likely to be an intense battle for the heart and soul of the Grand Old Party within the next few years between the Reagan wing of the party and the Eisenhower-Nixon wing. The outcome of this struggle will do much to determine not only the future direction of the party but our prospects for continuing as a viable party capable of governing a diverse nation in challenging times.
The most valuable thing anyone daring to lead is to cultivate and convey to others is a moral conscience. Only such persons deserve to lead others, in any capacity.
rumike, the struggle for Republican party control has already started. Rush Limbaugh in his minute and a half morning commentary for tomorrow will deliver this message which I have uploaded to yousendit.com (link to download video of radio commentary below). He seems to be totally blind to the reasons for the debacle the party just had. His prescription for the Republican party's future is suicidal and the conclusions he has reached for the party defeat are absurd. 
-:mad:
This is a battle the party's traditional supporters can not lose if the party is to survive. If we lose it, Democrats can expect to govern this nation for a very long time. I don't intend to let that happen.
______
Link to Download Limbaugh Statement of Blaming McCain and GOP Moderates
:
https://rcpt.yousendit.com/622690249/db ... 0c59886a28
-:mad:This is a battle the party's traditional supporters can not lose if the party is to survive. If we lose it, Democrats can expect to govern this nation for a very long time. I don't intend to let that happen.
______
Link to Download Limbaugh Statement of Blaming McCain and GOP Moderates
:https://rcpt.yousendit.com/622690249/db ... 0c59886a28
Last edited by racehorse on 11-06-2008 08:08 PM, edited 1 time in total.
racehorse
Race it looks like Glenn Beck is pushing a pretty nasty line too...did you see this. This is just as vile , as the things said about Obama IMO. The GOP will never make any head way with these guys on the airwaves
Beck: Conservatives voted for McCain hoping he’d die in office so Palin could take over.
Today, radical right-wing blog Red State launched “Project Leper,” an attempt to professionally punish McCain staffers whom Red State’s Erick Erickson perceives to have wronged Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK). Erikson told Glenn Beck today, “Palin was the best thing that happened to” the McCain campaign. To which, Beck agreed, saying many conservatives told him they supported McCain in hopes he would die in office:
The rest of it here:
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/11/06/beck-mccain-die/
Beck: Conservatives voted for McCain hoping he’d die in office so Palin could take over.
Today, radical right-wing blog Red State launched “Project Leper,” an attempt to professionally punish McCain staffers whom Red State’s Erick Erickson perceives to have wronged Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK). Erikson told Glenn Beck today, “Palin was the best thing that happened to” the McCain campaign. To which, Beck agreed, saying many conservatives told him they supported McCain in hopes he would die in office:
The rest of it here:
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/11/06/beck-mccain-die/
SETIsLady wrote: Race it looks like Glenn Beck is pushing a pretty nasty line too...did you see this. This is just as vile , as the things said about Obama IMO. The GOP will never make any head way with these guys on the airwaves
Beck: Conservatives voted for McCain hoping he’d die in office so Palin could take over.
Thanks SETIsLady,
This is disgusting. Beck is a disgrace for being an outlet to such vicious and evil comments.
They must not prevail and they won't!
Last edited by racehorse on 11-06-2008 09:00 PM, edited 1 time in total.
racehorse
((crosspost from DU, this is the best analysis of the upcoming wipeout and fracture on the now no longer nantional but regional Republican Party ))
The Republican Party Is On the Verge of Total Destruction
The battle being exposed and quite frankly, AIRED PUBLICLY in the form of exposing Palin as a ineffectual idiot. This is not just a finger-pointing campaign to excuse the failure. The fact is, McCain's career is over and he has no real reason to do this. No, this attack comes from the party. And it's more than just the "she didn't know Africa is a continent" story. Their performing a full-blown investigation of her expense accounts (the 150K+ clothing expense). No, this is a battle between, not just two groups, but THREE groups in the GOP:
1. The first group represents the Republicans who were excited by Palin and wanted her to be the TOP of the ticket. She no doubt energized the conservative base and she totally represents the extreme fundamental Christian conservative wing of the Republican party. She could draw crowds. She was popular. She brings new blood to a very aged party.
2. The second group represents the more true Republican party, the older generation, the group that doesn't necessarily agree with Bush's policies and who allowed the neocons to take over and run the party. This group is more open to not having abortion be a party platform and truly believes in conservative spending practices and minimal taxation and a much more conservative approach to foreign policy (for example, perhaps a nice bombing campaign to back up the enforcement of a sanction, but in no way condoning the occupation of a country like Iraq). This group is epitomized by people like Ron Paul and even Bush Sr.
3. The third group are the neocons, the greediest group of people on the face of the earth. They are in government for one reason and one reason only: money. They manipulate policy and legislation to fund the companies that either give them kickbacks or for which they are directly invested. If an occupation feeds their groups money, then they are more than happy to craft intelligence and build the case for the other two groups to justify it. They in turn, will convince each of their bases, just as they did for Iraq. Dick Cheney is the poster child for this group. Newt Gingrich was an architect of this groups rise to financial power.
These three groups have banded together over the last 10 years to feed their hunger for power and ramrod their agenda down the American people's throat. The neocons and the old-school Republicans used the fundamentalists to divide America on issues of religion, tradition and sexual orientation. The old school thought they were getting power and position out of the deal. The fundamentalists thought they were getting a new Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade and a deeper rooting for fundamentalist Christian groups in the federal government. The neocons were the only group to actually get what they wanted.
And now, you see the face of group one, Sarah Palin, being soundly attacked by the other two. Why? Because there is no way those two groups will allow her to be the next president. The old school GOP and the neocons never had any intention of giving the fundamentalists what they wanted. The fundamentalists just haven't realized that yet. However, the fundamentalists have been the largest growing population of the republican party, while the other two groups diminished as the party slowly disaffected them. The other two simply can't pull together a platform or a set of policies that will be sellable to the American people. Not now and not for anytime to come. The people have been enabled and empowered to see past their deceit with the power of information exchange via the Internet. Even the MSM is not abel to overcome this.
The fundamentalists won't go quietly away. They will find a way to exact their vengeance for the recent vicious attacks on their representative Palin by the other two groups. And they will divide them as the reasons for failure and time in the wilderness further thin out the ranks of the party. As the battle gets bloody, you'll see the old-school tire of the war and want to withdraw further into the wilderness. The neocons will likely survive the fight. But the thing is, they haven't had to survive in the wilderness and Mother Nature is no friend of theirs. The ultimate end is that they will perish searching for the food they just can't see for the poison.
-- berni_mccoy
The Republican Party Is On the Verge of Total Destruction
The battle being exposed and quite frankly, AIRED PUBLICLY in the form of exposing Palin as a ineffectual idiot. This is not just a finger-pointing campaign to excuse the failure. The fact is, McCain's career is over and he has no real reason to do this. No, this attack comes from the party. And it's more than just the "she didn't know Africa is a continent" story. Their performing a full-blown investigation of her expense accounts (the 150K+ clothing expense). No, this is a battle between, not just two groups, but THREE groups in the GOP:
1. The first group represents the Republicans who were excited by Palin and wanted her to be the TOP of the ticket. She no doubt energized the conservative base and she totally represents the extreme fundamental Christian conservative wing of the Republican party. She could draw crowds. She was popular. She brings new blood to a very aged party.
2. The second group represents the more true Republican party, the older generation, the group that doesn't necessarily agree with Bush's policies and who allowed the neocons to take over and run the party. This group is more open to not having abortion be a party platform and truly believes in conservative spending practices and minimal taxation and a much more conservative approach to foreign policy (for example, perhaps a nice bombing campaign to back up the enforcement of a sanction, but in no way condoning the occupation of a country like Iraq). This group is epitomized by people like Ron Paul and even Bush Sr.
3. The third group are the neocons, the greediest group of people on the face of the earth. They are in government for one reason and one reason only: money. They manipulate policy and legislation to fund the companies that either give them kickbacks or for which they are directly invested. If an occupation feeds their groups money, then they are more than happy to craft intelligence and build the case for the other two groups to justify it. They in turn, will convince each of their bases, just as they did for Iraq. Dick Cheney is the poster child for this group. Newt Gingrich was an architect of this groups rise to financial power.
These three groups have banded together over the last 10 years to feed their hunger for power and ramrod their agenda down the American people's throat. The neocons and the old-school Republicans used the fundamentalists to divide America on issues of religion, tradition and sexual orientation. The old school thought they were getting power and position out of the deal. The fundamentalists thought they were getting a new Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade and a deeper rooting for fundamentalist Christian groups in the federal government. The neocons were the only group to actually get what they wanted.
And now, you see the face of group one, Sarah Palin, being soundly attacked by the other two. Why? Because there is no way those two groups will allow her to be the next president. The old school GOP and the neocons never had any intention of giving the fundamentalists what they wanted. The fundamentalists just haven't realized that yet. However, the fundamentalists have been the largest growing population of the republican party, while the other two groups diminished as the party slowly disaffected them. The other two simply can't pull together a platform or a set of policies that will be sellable to the American people. Not now and not for anytime to come. The people have been enabled and empowered to see past their deceit with the power of information exchange via the Internet. Even the MSM is not abel to overcome this.
The fundamentalists won't go quietly away. They will find a way to exact their vengeance for the recent vicious attacks on their representative Palin by the other two groups. And they will divide them as the reasons for failure and time in the wilderness further thin out the ranks of the party. As the battle gets bloody, you'll see the old-school tire of the war and want to withdraw further into the wilderness. The neocons will likely survive the fight. But the thing is, they haven't had to survive in the wilderness and Mother Nature is no friend of theirs. The ultimate end is that they will perish searching for the food they just can't see for the poison.
-- berni_mccoy
Republican - re·pub·li·can (r-pbl-kn) - political party, which will control part of Congress 2011-2012, undermining the strength of the country - on purpose, in public, without apology or shame - simply for a campaign advantage in 2012.
The Grand Old Party survived the disasters of 1932 (The FDR-Herbert Hoover "Great Depression" Election),1964 (The LBJ Landslide against Barry Goldwater), and 1974 (The Nixon Resignation following "Watergate"). We will survive after Sarah Palin helped drag Senator McCain and the party to defeat this year, too.
There will be a power struggle for awhile but the traditional Republicans who built the party, sustained it, and nurtured it in good times and bad will not allow it to be destroyed. We will be back soon; stronger than ever as a party all Americans can be proud of.
There will be a power struggle for awhile but the traditional Republicans who built the party, sustained it, and nurtured it in good times and bad will not allow it to be destroyed. We will be back soon; stronger than ever as a party all Americans can be proud of.
Last edited by racehorse on 11-06-2008 09:33 PM, edited 1 time in total.
racehorse
To be honest, I really don't care what they do to Sarah Palin I personally think she has it coming. You play with the bull you get the horns. What did she during this election was a disgrace to the US and John McCain IMO. What the GOP is doing right now while they air their dirty laundry is tell the rest of the world that they had no confidence in her from the get go and its was purely political not for the good of the Country. Not a good message to be sending.
She is in the past, this thread is about the GOP and moving forward Roy Blunt Resigns as Minority Whip
Roy Blunt is officially stepping down as minority whip in the House as widely expected. This one is very interesting to me, because, as I've mentioned before, he was the president of my small private school and, along with all the other students, I knew him and ate dinner at his house as a senior a couple times. He's very personable, but make no mistake, he epitomizes the the fundie wing of the GOP, although he is not real noisy about it.
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/11/0 ... eadership/
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/11/0 ... eadership/
Anchors Aweigh!
Newt Considers a Run for RNC Chairman
The word among GOP insiders here in Georgia is that Newt Gingrich is considering throwing his name in the hat to be the next Chairman for the RNC.
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/262052
The word among GOP insiders here in Georgia is that Newt Gingrich is considering throwing his name in the hat to be the next Chairman for the RNC.
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/262052