Nov
13
Let’s reverse this trend…
ByThe AP has an item today on how New England Republicans (fiscally conservative, socially liberal) are a dying breed. I was raised in a New England Republican family and was particularly sad to see Nancy Johnson, who represented my hometown, lose after more than 20 years in office.
It is time to reverse this trend and stop scaring the moderates away from the party. The GOP needs to stop caving to the Christian Coalition by pushing their so-called ‘moral values’ and focus on economic measures so we can prevent more moderates from fleeing the party and attract more of the swing vote in 2008 .
This post and the contents thereof are the views of only the author identified immediately above and do not necessarily represent the
views of the New York Young Republican Club, Inc. (the "NYYRC"), its officers or its members. The NYYRC expressly disclaims
responsibility for the contents thereof and by its charter documents may not, and does not, endorse any candidate for any office,
except in a general election.
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18 Comments
November 13th, 2006 at 7:20 pm
Jen,
I agree. Having grown up in New Hampshire in a Republican family that was politically active in the local and state levels, the moderate voice of the Republican party has indeed been dying over the past 15 years.
As the demographics RAPIDLY change in New England due to increases in population from the Tri-State area and major development all over the region, the Democrats have been sitting back and capitalizing on the failure of the Republican party to evolve in New England.
The day New Hampshire turned blue was a sad day, but it was not without warning. The problem is that most of the Republicans are too stubborn and are failing to adapt their strategies of promoting the Republican agenda in a new environment. The ousting of both Bass and Bradley is so unfortunate and was a result of the southern part of the state being Taxachussetts transplants and bringing their blue with them. The republicans of New Hampshire (and NE) desperately needs a leader to transform the Republican party for a new New England that holds its values true in this transforming region.
“It’s also a chance to rebuild the party from the ground up, Miller said.”
This quote is EXACTLY true and this is a pivotal point in New England politics. As all of New England becomes engulfed in development over the next 20-30 years, the Republican party needs to transform itself to show that they can hold true to the fundamental small government and independence that New England is notorious for and not display a case of “senior mumbling in the corner to themselves”.
We, as New Englanders and New Yorkers, MUST show that extremism & corruption and the Republican party do not go hand in hand. We must demonstrate that a simple concept of smaller government, less taxes, stronger local involvement, and family values is what the Republican party is about.
“When the Athenians finally wanted not to give to society but for society to give to them, when the freedom they wished for was freedom from responsibility, then Athens ceased to be free.” —Edward Gibbon
To see New Hampshire turn blue is infuriating and is a wake-up call to the Republican Party. I know we are up for the challenge.
Kellen Giuda
November 13th, 2006 at 8:47 pm
The reason why the Republicans lost and are not gaining any ground lately is that they are abandoning what the party actually stands for. The Republicans have to return to our Conservative roots and stop kissing the behinds of the very people who do not have our very best interest in hand. Liberal and Moderate Republicans are oxymorons. The moral decay of this country is rampant and we can thank our so-called Moderate and Liberal Republicans for spreading the liberal doctrines like wild fire. The Christian Right should not be to blame for the election losses. Perfect example, someone like Mr. Foley was hiding behind a Christian banner and he is not a representative of what a real republican is. He was rightfully ousted as soon as his true colors and moronic and disgusting behavior was revealed for all to see.
Republicans need to preserve what is true to our being: Our moral strength, strong military might, as little govt. involvement in our lives as possible, marriage is between a man and a woman, abortion is murder, right to bear arms, and put a stop to illegal immigration for good.
Are we going to continue to be the silent majority or are we going to once and for all speak up and not cower behind the vitriol of the Liberals?
November 13th, 2006 at 9:02 pm
I don’t think conservative Republicans scared the moderates away. Moderates and independents have known for years that the conservative right is the base of the Republican Party. Moderates have generally always voted Republican because they know they generally get it right.
This election was not a protest by moderates as a way to send a message to the party that it’s becoming too conservative. That’s just an excuse. The vote was emotional that was related to Iraq. I don’t think these people really wanted liberal politicians like Pelosi running the show either but that is what their emotions led them to do.
Come 2008, moderates will move back to the Republican Party now that they got it out of their system.
November 13th, 2006 at 9:38 pm
First of all, I don’t see why conservative fiscal policy and radical christianity need to go hand-in-hand.
Would you prefer that all liberal and moderate Republicans leave the party?
Good luck winning any elections then.
November 13th, 2006 at 9:42 pm
The Christian Right is scaring away the moderates. You ignore that fact at your peril.
No moderates realized after 2004 the newly empowered Evangelicals were going to have Congress so hog tied that they’d be voting on gay marriage every other week or running to save Schiavo.
Republicans have lulled themselves into a sense that social conservativism (hard right especially) is a sustainable electoral winner. It’s not.
Most Americans are moderate and pragmatic, not ideological.
November 14th, 2006 at 3:57 am
As usual Jen shows her true blue colors.
From what I understand, the exit polls seem to have shown that voters didn’t vote against conservatism, but that they voted against Republicans because they haven’t been true conservatives as of late.
Even Bill Clinton said a few weeks before the election that the only reason Dems even had a shot was because Republicans strayed from their conservative principles.
Jen, not all conservatives are religious conservs. In fact, many aren’t. All you do is preach against this religous right, and hate on them because you believe they have too much power and influence. I think you are trying to turn this Big Ten Party into a tiny shed.
November 14th, 2006 at 10:32 am
Back to censoring I see…
November 14th, 2006 at 2:01 pm
That is exactly my point – not all conservatives are religious conservatives, which is why I say ‘religious right’ and am calling on those non-religious fiscal conservatives to stand up to the jesus freaks.
Republicans turned away from their fiscally conservative priniciples, which is why they suffered this election, not because they lightened up on the moral issues. They lost because of Iraq, because the Democrats succeeded in portraying them as corrupt and because of big spending. Polls showed the evangelicals turned out despite the Mark Foley and gay-basher-who-hired-a-gay-prostitute scandals anyway.
You call me blue because I’m pro-choice and support gay marriage, even though I believe strongly in free trade and less government? Now who’s trying to turn the big tent into a tiny shed?
November 14th, 2006 at 2:37 pm
I am saying every chance you get, you bash the religious right, when this is suppose to be a big tent party. Now, I am conservative on all fiscal issues and some social ones, but it is not at all because of religion. I just don’t understand on what grounds, you as an individual have the moral high ground to be condescending to this particular group. Maybe it’s the whole new england thing going on. Who knows? Do you have John Kerryitis?
As a party going forward we need to band together under this whole big tent concept and strong principles. You have to learn to be able to accept that other groups (i.e. religious right) might have a different thought process than you, and might realize their principles and beliefs through different methods.
When you are calling them “jesus freaks” how does that distinguish your writing from some of the mess that Nick cleans up on the blog every morning?
November 14th, 2006 at 2:40 pm
Also, it’s ok if you are a liberal Republican, moderate, conservative, etc. As long as you stand by your principles without bashing the next guy on your same team then we will be able to move forward successfully.
I don’t know if you have ever played sports but this same issue applies to there as well. What happens on a football team when a Quarterback bashes a middle linebacker in the media instead of just some constructive criticism?
November 14th, 2006 at 2:58 pm
Let’s see, this group feels they have the right to tell other people they are going to hell, take away my right to choose, put god in the public schools and to infringe on the freedoms of homosexuals, and you are asking who I am to criticize this group? They have no problem trying to legislate how the rest of America lives their lives.
It’s somewhat hypocritical for you to criticize me for my comments when you accuse me of being blue and having johnkerryitis. To quote nick I’ll use the phrase “pot calling the kettle black”.
The religious faction of the party screams bloody murder and threatens to pull support when Republicans try to run candidates who are pro-choice, no matter what their stance is on other issues. When was the last time you saw the social moderates in the party do that with a pro-life candidate?
The Republicans just suffered a huge defeat – this is the time to be openly voicing our concerns about the party.
November 14th, 2006 at 4:33 pm
Jen,
I respect your passion but you act as if the things you are concerned about are actually happening. Abortion and God in public school isn’t happening anytime soon. If anyone should be disgusted and upset it’s Conservatives who are on the outside looking in. I don’t see why anyone would waste their time concerning him or herself with something that isn’t going to happen.
As far as northeast moderate Republicans loosing it’s not because of the Bible Belt. Bible Belt Republicans held onto their seats easily. Moderate Republicans lost to Democrats that overlap with them on many issues. They lost because voters in Boston and New York got emotional and treated those Republicans as if they were from the Bible Belt. Those voters failed to remember, “all politics is local” and forgot to think rationally before they voted.
November 14th, 2006 at 4:45 pm
I agree, prayer in public schools and outlawing abortion is likely not going to happen anytime soon, which is why I’m saying the Republican party needs to stop focusing on the issues that turn off Libertarians and moderates and get back to focusing on fiscal policy.
The main reason Republicans lost in moderate areas is because the Democrats ran on Iraq, and all the Republicans had to counter with was banning gay marriage. That may fly in Georgia, but people in CT and CA are not going to be swayed by that.
The Republican party cannot survive on the South alone and should start thinking about attracting the swing vote nationwide.
November 14th, 2006 at 4:55 pm
We can point fingers all we want but I don’t think anything was going to change the outcome. Santorum lost despite fighting the President on a lot of issues and the Democrat that beat him was pro-life.
The media and the Democrat Party did a great job demoralizing the nation in thinking a war should be won in five minutes and the fact that it hasn’t meant things were doomed. In a country where immediate gratification is the rule, Democrats had it easy when it came to convincing voters Iraq is a disaster.
November 14th, 2006 at 8:21 pm
What I cannot understand is why the Republicans didn’t push through the minimum wage increase a few months ago and NOT tie it to the estate tax.
This is an issue that’s politically impossible to win and it was used in the same manner (Referendums on the ballots) to get votes to the polls. OH and MO woulda been nice.
If it was increase 6 months ago, it wouldn’t have been on the ballot of six states and perhaps the senate would still be in Republican control.
November 14th, 2006 at 10:29 pm
One thing that I do think is an interesting dynamic to consider is that the founding principals of small government do seem to slowly be giving way to the extreme religious right fanatically trying to push interference. The debate of interference and domination is definitely fully alive.
Proposing an objective question here; but if the religious right got fully what it wanted and had the ability to fully promote its agenda, how far would the oppressiveness go? I am a faith based man, but I do always find it hard to judge anyone else because there is only one entity that judges and that is for him to decide, not us. While one can condone certain acts, to judge and interfere in someone else’s life is questionable to me because I am not God, and we are ALL God’s creatures.
November 15th, 2006 at 3:28 pm
Personally I don’t think people who claim right wing extremists are taking over even know anything about them, other then they’re pro-life.
Further I don’t think people who attack the religious right, know anything about our country’s founding and history. This country was founded on white Anglo-Saxon Protestant values. Our founding fathers were God-fearing people who never meant for the term “separation of church and state” to take the form it has today.
I don’t think 80% of the people in this country know anything about colonial history.
November 16th, 2006 at 5:34 am
Ryan Sager has an interesting take on the differenct factions within the current Republican Party. I think you guys will enjoy his presentation at your meeting tomorrow.