Comments Posted By beornn52
Displaying 1 To 3 Of 3 Comments
I saw McCain a little while back saying how he was in favor of same sex marriages so long as they were just religious ceremonies and not legal marriages. If he keeps talking like that he will lose the respect of the Independents and Democrats who might support him. I suspect a lot of people in favor of same sex marriage and civil unions would rather support someone they otherwise like even if he was against same sex unions over someone who tried to have it both ways.
Comment Posted By beornn52 On 13.11.2006 @ 12:30
THE SLAUGHTER OF THE MODERATES
As a Democrat who believes in fiscal integrity and small government I am happy to say that Jaybo is right that Democrats seem like the more fiscally responsible party to many but it isn't just an act. Just look at who has overspent in the last 30 years. People talk about tax and spend liberals but what about borrow and spend conservatives? We have had more than our share of them in Washington.
I disagree about moderates being to blame for what happened as I think blaming moderate Republicans or RINO's for what happened misses what people are upset about. It isnt't what the moderates stand for or because they are too liberal but rather the problem lies with what the Republican party requires from any who call themselves Republicans,i.e., kneeling before the altar of big government social conservatisim. If moderates aren't to blame then why did so many get sent packing by the voters? Maybe it is because people are becoming aware that sending a moderate to Washington really supports the big spending "conservatives" who don't mind big government just so long as government is telling the rest of us to do what they think is right. People can see that moderate Republicans may mean well but they have limited influence and have become just window dressing.
Comment Posted By beornn52 On 10.11.2006 @ 14:44
I agree with much of what you say but not sure about the present GOP being what Goldwater had in mind. Clearly we have Big Government social conservatives running the GOP and I wonder if that will change. If nothing changes then the GOP is doomed to being a regional party.
I was shocked up here in NH to see both moderate GOP Congressmen sent packing but it is what the GOP deserves. The GOP has changed from being a big tent party as it was 50 years ago to being an ideological European style party and people are starting to realize this. The first thing moderate Republicans do when they get to Congress is vote for a big government social conservative leadership that is all too happy to punish anyone who strays from the plantation. People are starting to understand that voting for a moderate Republican is also voting for the big government social conservatives (and gokart-mozart is right in saying that people in NH don’t take to people calling themselves conservatives and telling you how to live your life).
I am talking here about how moderate Republicans in recent years have found themselves facing conservatives who come out of nowhere in the primaries . There is also the matter of the practice in the House of Representatives of no bills being allowed to the floor unless approved by the GOP caucus. This combined with the threat of an opponent being found for the next primary helped turn the GOP into what it is today.
I have always thought there was something unholy about the Democratic party when for many years after WWII you had Northern ethnics and liberals joined with Southern segregationists. The way the GOP has structured itself may be more honest and a better way to do things in a democracy but so long as the GOP’s base is big government social conservatives, it will find itself more and more isolated. This is especially true if the mountain state conservatives and traditional liberals on each coast manage to live with each other and compromise instead of one group steamrolling everyone else as has happened in the GOP in Washington.
Comment Posted By beornn52 On 10.11.2006 @ 10:16
