One of the things I find disconcerting about politics is that there are too many people that look at increasing the size of the Republican party without concern for keeping the principles upon which it was built around the mid 1800’s. If the party gets big by including more moderates, changing what it stands for (moving toward McCain) then what is the difference between the Republicans and the Democrats? If the Republicans are in this just to win elections, then why not just disband the party and join the Dems?
The problem as I see it is that many people don’t have a clear understanding of their own principles. If you don’t know what you believe and why you believe it, how will you ever know what is trivial and what is important. Where would you want to make a bright line in the sand over which you would never want to see the party cross? And even more, if you include many more people all the time (that do not center on the same issues) then the party will have a sea change in its beliefs.
The only way around it is to have a clear set of principles, ones that are clearly stated as uncomprimizing and nearly unchangable. Anything less, and entropy will set in motion the disolution of the difference.
Principles? You repubes don’t have principles. If you did you would want everybody associated with this Bush mis-administration needs to be tried on war crimes, breaching the Constitution and all of the other things they did in their failure to do the duties they swore to do.
Yvonne, one would think that keeping all of us safe for eight years after the terrible tragedy of 9/11 might have earned those guys just a wee modicum of gratitude from you. You had your pound of flesh on 4 November. Now you want their blood? Please take your thirst for vengeance elsewhere. This is the United States of America, not a banana republic where a transfer of power sometimes terminates on the scaffold.
I agree Brian. A smaller Republican party will be a better Republican party. Preferably as small as possible. And winning elections is not nearly so important as being right. I hope the republicans take your advice.
Winning has nothing to do with principle, is the problem. It has more to do with simplistic messages, repeated over and over, and slick marketing. Messages like: 95% of the people will get a tax break, I promise! Demonize opposition”greedy” “selfish” “unpatriotic” but in a simple message–like supported Bush 90% or supported “deregulation” (the Congress devises legislation, not Bush? and what deregulation that was negative? the another simple message: everyone will have health care, everyone will have a college education who wants one, everyone will have a house, etc. that is all the sheeple want to hear–simple messages–it does not matter if the statements are too simple to be true, or if promises are empty or impossible–just make the message simple, and we win. That is our problem. Until “principle” becomes important to the majority of Americans, then I think we lose to unprincipled hollywood presentations and special effects, and the willing suspension of reality. Especially among young people, who did not live through the Viet Nam war, 22 percent interest rates in the 1970’s, gas lines, etc.. Our kids have it too easy, that they do not understand how hard it has been traditionally to make a living–there is an entitlement mentality out there, and it is partly our fault. We need to start in the schools, teaching and revering the American dream: self reliance, self determination, entrepreneurship economics, capitalism, at very early ages, to appreciate and celebrate the things that have made our country great. Instead the kids get so much “green” indoctrination, and liberal education where Christian or other beliefs are often not PC and mocked.
Brian,
Not necessarily a small party but a small government. The GOP used to be conservative. It became infected and lost its core values to be replaced by wealth and power. My point can be proven by the converts who follow the winner. We need stock principles based on conservative values with the good of the PEOPLE-as granted by the Constitution-no self-serving individuals as its driving force.
As synonomus to the name “politics”, how do you keep the lying, self-serving, country destroying riff-raff out of the party? We still have that problem today within the RNC. Remember, it takes but one rotten apple in the GOP to ruin the whole party. Unlike the liberals were “rotten” is a qualification.