novatownhall blog

In the parts I & II of this series I laid into John McCain. I also explained why I thought it would be better to treat election day as an Irish Wake. Out could come the pipes, a few pints and the blarney would flow as we we watch the socialists lather up the clueless Republican Johnny ‘Boyo the Maverick’ McCain with their left wing media shillalies. We could then spend the next four years three sheets to the wind as a coping mechanism during the Obama presidency.

I got a lot of grief from some quarters saying that the Republican Party must moderate and not be so extreme. I’d rather see us show a respect for the Constitution I swore to uphold and defend when I joined the Marine Corps in 1983. Having principles is not extreme, it is called sticking to your guns. Upholding the law is not extreme, or is it? Do I need a dose of nuance from the left? Wandering about the internet I have stumbled upon a kindred spirits in the issue of the Republicans ongoing leftward meandering in the name of Wir and Hawkins. Both present interesting views on the matters. From Wir:

Republicans are denied a “meaningful opportunity to participate” in the affairs of their own political party. If you are asked to join something, anything, you expect that joining means involvement and participation. People don’t join civic or political affairs just to receive barked orders.

This is something that rings true, and Wir goes on to write …

Turnover in leadership, changing of the guard from one generation to the next is being delayed because simply turning 65 no longer means one’s getting infirm.

The trouble with this is that as the leadership becomes entrenched it becomes self serving which is why we get bridges to nowhere, and other forms of runaway spending. Wir further notes:

The GOP once the party of reform, became the party of insiders. Access to power replaced the power of ideas.

We started to try to hold on to power by any means necessary, which narrowed the differences between us and the Democrats. This is lethal for Republicans for unlike the Democrats the Republican party does not have the old guard media carrying its water. With the scandals and spending excesses the Republicans may have consigned themselves to the wilderness for a generation.

Then comes part two of this disaster, the non-conservative Republicans. Spector, Graham, Bush et all, and of course … McCain. They have shown contempt for the constituency that propelled this party to power. The Conservatives are the mainstay of the Republican party. The trouble with the economy, Iraq etc all pale in comparison to the disenchantment of conservatives with the GOP. Hawkens states:

there is one overriding problem that dwarfs all the others, a problem that few people in the leadership of the Republican Party seem to have come to grips with. That problem is that conservatives, who are the heart and soul of the Republican Party, no longer believe that the GOP has their best interests at heart.

We do not see our selves being served. So we are staying home. We stayed home in 2006, we have seen nothing to fight for. Simply voting against Obama is not enough. People need something to vote for. Hawkins continues …

does the Republican Party adequately represent conservative interests? No. Do George Bush and John McCain’s values and beliefs match up well with those of the average conservative in the Party? No, they do not. Does the machinery of the Republican Party — the RNC, the NRCC, NSCC — treat conservatives fairly and do a good job of representing conservative interests? Not at all.

This is the heart of it. The McCain-Kennedy Amnesty bill was brought up and the elites tried to stuff it down the countries’ throat, that finally tore it. Sen Graham’s calling us bigots was not helpful either. The money dried up. The approval ratings dropped even more, and the conservatives walked; most have not returned, for nothing has been done to improve matters. Some will provide an anti-Obama vote, but face it, this is small potatoes when compared to the millions of votes that will be home Nov 4. Good luck fellas, you’ll miss us.

UPDATE:
For those who insist on not getting it: When a political party has your interests you will forgive mistakes, like those made in the occupation in Iraq. When a political party does NOT have your interests, things like a downturn in the economy, which are technically NOT in your control, will hurt you. When the voter sees no gain for themselves supporting a party, then the party is finished regardless of circumstances.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 12th, 2008 at 10:15 pm and is filed under Campaign 2008, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.