The lead story in this month's Washington Monthly gives some great insight into the current makeup of the GOP and why it might be headed for a meltdown. The writer, uses the history of the Democrats in the 70s as a cautionary tale of what lies instore for the GOP as it becomes more and more insular and out of touch with the general public (ala the Dulfur Report). It's a good read and may prove show how moderates and traditional conservatives can take back the GOP from the neo- and theocons.
Posted by Dennis at October 12, 2004 12:02 AMWhat about starting a grassroots organisation and /or new Party that embraces Moderates from both sides--perhaps fiscally conservative/socially liberal people...or is that too radical an idea? I really believe the Center could be inclusive and represent the values of most of us. I also think it could be a lot more powerful than either extremes on both sides of the spectrum....
Posted by: CaliforniaVoter at November 14, 2004 07:12 PMCheck out www.rym.org!
Posted by: Rachel at November 14, 2004 06:51 PMWe're working on a moderate Republican movement around the country, concentrating at the grassroots level, with college students and young professionals. Let's work together for a more inclusive and diverse GOP!
Posted by: Rachel at November 14, 2004 06:49 PMssk
Posted by: ssk at November 4, 2004 05:23 AMAbout 20 Republican congressmen -- all fiscal conservatives -- gathered nervously in a back room at the Hunan Dynasty restaurant on Capitol Hill on Nov. 21, trying to shore up their resolve to defy President Bush. It was the night of the big vote on the Bush administration's Medicare prescription drug bill, which they had concluded was too costly, and they began swapping tales about the intense lobbying bearing down on them.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A22782-2003Dec22¬Found=true
WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, admonished by the House ethics committee for using improper bargaining to try to persuade a fellow Republican to change his vote on a Medicare prescription drug bill, could face another investigation by the panel.
http://www.house.gov/ethics/Medicare_Report.pdf
Some Republicans were already seeking to put distance between themselves and the majority leader. In Oregon, Republican Goli Ameri, who is challenging Democratic Rep. David Wu, said in an ad that if elected, "When Tom DeLay is wrong, I'll look him in the eye and I'll let him know that."
http://www.libertypost.org/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=69655
The conservative DallasNews is prognosticating (hoping?) that Ethics rulings should cap majority leader's rise
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/editorials/stories/101204dnedidelay.8ddba.html
The Republicans standing up to Delay will likely be marginalized if he is not de-fanged and if Bush is reelected. They've gone as far as they can go without burning the last bridge.
Democrats lost the House because they stopped doing the people's business. If things go much further, the nation will turn around and ask Democrats to fumigate the place.
But some Democrats still don't get it. One is taking quotes by one of the Republicans out of context in an election campaign ad to imply that he supports DeLay's intimidation (when in truth, he risked his political career to try and give DeLay a time-out).
The House Ethics Committee Report
http://www.house.gov/ethics/Medicare_Report.pdf
Posted by: dorsano at October 12, 2004 10:30 PMI saw that issue, just shelved it this week in fact. The problem is the article spells out exactly what is wrong with the GOP (the power of having all three branches of gov't under control allowing for arrogance to be insular, for one thing), but also warns us how the moderates might not be able to re-gain control, that the far right will obsessively maintain their deathgrip on the party for a few more 4-year cycles much in the same way the liberals kept the Democratic Party weakened during the 80s. It also mentions that we might not get it this election as Bush could (shudder) win: the party is not openly divisive among the power elite (the way Kennedy openly campaigned against Carter in 80 for example) with everyone, even McCain sadly enough, supporting Bush. Which means four more years of Bush's obsessive incompetence.
Our best bet is for the GOP to lose control of Congress, at best the Senate, so that the Dems and moderates can watchdog Bush if he's still in the White House. At worst, the excesses of his first administration will lead into the kind of scandal-plagued second terms we've seen from Nixon on (Watergate, Iran-Contra, Monica Lewinsky) that will royally screw up this country further.
Sigh.