The Pink Flamingo :: What Is the GOP To Do?

I have been ranting and raving about conservatives and the GOP for ages. Anyone can rant and rave. But – we need reason and plans of action.
I am not about to suggest a plan of action. That is for wiser minds than my own. I can, though come up with some fairly educated observations. I don’t think there is much more anyone can do. We all know the GOP is either going to sink or swim with John McCain. He is going to drag them kicking or screaming into the 21st Century, or we are going to be consigned to minority status for many years to come.

I do know, though, what we do not need is more of the same. We do not need to be listening to the tried and failed advise of hard-line conservative. They’ve had their day in the sun and they blew it. The worst part of this is there is no introspection. They are so busy blaming John McCain and “moderates” that they don’t realize the American people are tired of them. They either need to evolve or become extinct.

The American people do want change. They want a change in the behavior of hard-line conservatives they perceive to be Republican. The real problem, as I have stated over and over is the fact that our multi-millionaire talking radio heads, and blog pundits are obfuscating the situation. Somehow we need to get the sniveling cowards Republican Cowards in Congress to realize that we are not dealing with “Republican” ideals and goals, but those of conservatives who might not have the best interests of the GOP at heart. They are being manipulated by several power-mad individuals who have managed to buy their way into the hearts and minds of conservatives everywhere.

We’re talking two groups of people here, Republicans and Conservatives. There are conservative Republicans who are fine, reasonable people who realize that we need to reach out to a more moderate voice. Then there are the pure Republicans (First, Last & Always). I number myself in this group. We are interested in winning. We want to control the situation and to control the House and the Senate. We want to keep the White House. We want control over who chooses judges. We want the Supreme Court to be in our hands. Pragmatic, we are willing to evolve – to change, in order to see that this happens.

Strangely, we ‘Pure Republicans’ have not changed our ideals or our positions. I think this should be noted as we realize that ‘Pure” conservatives have evolved way beyond what is the norm for the American people. They are the ones who need to re-think their positions. If they cannot remain Republicans, they need to openly change parties and admit they are not Republicans, so we can get on with rebuilding our party. Liberty Pundit is a wonderful example of conservatives who can’t see the forest for the trees, so to speak. Read Sassy’s comments about John McCain are the very reason a certain form of Conservative is destroying the GOP. Let’s get rid of the nastiness people. People need to be allowed to disagree. According to Ronald Reagan, if you agree 80% of the time you are a ‘friend’. John McCain fits into this according to the ACU – so what’s the problem here? Or the new blog, “Reclaiming Conservatism” - read the comments. These people are clueless!

Today in Called As Seen Harold Hutchinson wrote about he, AJ Strata, The Anchoress, and The Pink Flamingo.

“…Yet all four of us are feeling less and less welcome in the GOP, and that is largely due to the fact that people like Michelle Malkin, Laura Ingraham, Mark Levin, and Ann Coulter have routinely talked down to us as if we were somehow not good enough to be in their club, and a lot of party leaders have gone along with their commissar act, and have not called them out on it. then of course, when this "new brand" of strict compliance was no savior at the polls, they demanded even stricter compliance, claiming a lack of principle was the problem.  The fact that people may have looked at their "true conservative" brand and decided to reject it does not seem to have crossed their mind at all. So they try a harder and harder sell, ticking off more and more people. By insisting on a coalition of the pure, they are literally shrinking their base of support. As long as the GOP goes along with that, then they will find their base of support shrinking as well….”

SLAMMING THOSE WHO ARE DISLIKED
I think it is time conservatives start treating people they dislike with a little bit of respect. I’ve done a little surfing Monday evening, making sure to check out the things being said about the latest Kennedy tragedy. I would be humiliated if I acted like they are. But then, let’s be honest. How much votes did Rush Limbaugh lose for the GOP when he went off on Michael J. Fox? Malkin, who has never liked Kennedy showed a lot of class today the way she and her usual commenters handled the whole announcement. As an aside, my friend Janice Hendricks, editor the Tombstone Times is packing to leave for London. Her daughter, KC, was diagnosed with the same thing, today. Hyscience has more on the daunting prospects these two face. I told Janice that Maureen Reagan and I were diagnosed with melanoma the same day. I bring all of this up because there is a time to be political and a time not to be. Mean-spirited, as many conservatives have become, is never acceptable.

John McCain is the anti-Christ. He is evil and must be destroyed. He is “Juan” McCain. He is “Shamnisty” McCain. He is given no respect, the Rodney Dangerfield of GOP candidates. We are told that a huge percentage of “conservatives” do not like him and will not vote for him. If this is true, then how did he win the nomination? (And don’t say Dems and Independents voted him in). We hear “Christian” conservatives are going to vote for Barack Obama (the most pro-abortion candidate around) instead of anti-abortion John McCain. This makes sense. Look at Tom Tancredo and John Tanton.

BETRAYING CONSERVATIVE VALUES
I think one of the reason conservatives are causing so many problems for the GOP is they have gone so far astray they are betraying their conservative values. I think the border fence is the perfect example. Last night while guest hosting O’Reilly, Laura Ingraham basically spouted Marx when it came to the border fence – from each – for each – for our national security. Sorry, socialism is socialism.

Is that why Republicans who are embracing hard line conservative “values” are losing elections? The American people aren’t stupid. They don’t like arrogance. They will only put up with hypocrisy for so long. I think that time has past. You don’t advocate freedom of speech, then try to censor Republicans who disagree with you. You don’t advocate the end of eminent domain and embrace it when it suits your purpose. You don’t castigate members of your own party who are not 100% pure in ideology. You don’t threaten those who disagree with you. You don’t call them names. You don’t tell tall tails about them. You don’t treat them worse than you do Democrats and call them “traitors to the cause”.

Unfortunately today’s conservatives are rapidly spiraling downward into a cult. How do we keep the GOP from going down in flames with them? First, we need to follow the new leader of the party – John McCain. It is time to reach out to those fabled “Reagan Democrats”.

Funny thing, conservatives are decrying John McCain for reaching out to these very people. These are the voters who are going to put McCain over the top in November, unless the worst happens and it is an Obama-Clinton ticket. If that is the case, we will either need Palin or Steele on the ticket. As much as I am a Palin fan, Michael Steele may be the answer.

The only way to save the GOP is to start thinking outside the box. We must reach minorities. We will die if we don’t. We must start treating Hispanics like humans rather than wetbacks who need to be rounded up and catapulted back across the Rio Grande.

Life is all about changes. The GOP can change, yet still regain their REPUBLICAN values, which are almost the same as conservative. There is a very big difference, though. Republican values teach tolerance, individuality, and freedom of thought. Evidently conservative values today require the 100% solution.

It is time conservatives get a life. They need to breathe in and out, have a stiff drink and take a day or two off from their multi-millionaire talking heads. They need to see what life in the real world is all about. “Christian” conservatives also need to go back and re-read the Sermon on the Mount and reacquaint themselves with the teachings of Christ. I think they will find those teachings and current conservative theology is at odds.

Go re-read the Contract with America. The word “conservative” is NEVER used. It is about Republican values, not conservative values. Let’s face it, today’s “conservative” Republican is maybe 10% of the bottom rung of the party ladder. That’s not exactly the base, is it?