May 27 2008
Finger Pointing Will Not Help GOP Or Conservatives
The answer to all of the rights concerns this year seems to boil down to “find the most pure conservatism”. Â We see it over and over again as the denial and finger pointing continue from the right, and we see it again today from Sen Tom Coburn:
Many Republicans are waiting for a consultant or party elder to come down from the mountain and, in Moses-like fashion, deliver an agenda and talking points on stone tablets. But the burning bush, so to speak, is delivering a blindingly simple message: Behave like Republicans.
Unfortunately, too many in our party are not yet ready to return to the path of limited government. Instead, we are being told our message must be deficient because, after all, we should be winning in certain areas just by being Republicans. Yet being a Republican isn’t good enough anymore. Voters are tired of buying a GOP package and finding a big-government liberal agenda inside. What we need is not new advertising, but truth in advertising.
Becoming Republicans again will require us to come to grips with what has ailed our party – namely, the triumph of big-government Republicanism and failed experiments like the K Street Project and “compassionate conservatism.” If the goal of the K Street Project was to earmark and fund raise our way to a filibuster-proof “governing” majority, the goal of “compassionate conservatism” was to spend our way to a governing majority.
This is revisionist BS. Â I have no idea what the K Street Project is, except I know K Street houses very powerful lobbies who (a) can make or break politicians and (b) still represent interests of Americans. Â I am not happy with how lobbyist money influences government priorities, but I am not so gleefully naive to forget that people have the right to collectively petition their government on issues dear to them.
But that is a minor problem, the bigger problem with Coburn is his whining finger pointing.  I have numerous examples of compassionate conservatism which were wholly conservatism and were low to no cost, proving that his rants against the impure are fiction. Â
First is President Bush’s ban on federal funding of Embryonic Stem Cell Research. Â A huge step towards protecting human life from becoming nothing more than a commodity for the rich and powerful. Did not cost a dime to the tax payer. Â Parental notification and the ban on partial-birth abortions also showed compassion for the right to life, and cost the taxpayers very little if anything.
How about those tax cuts which allowed families to keep more of what they earned and buoyed an economy staggered by the attacks on 9-11 clearly that is not a cost to the taxpayer.  How about the Gang of 14 and all those conservative and constructionist judges that now balance the bench from 8 years of Clinton’s wild liberal ride?  No extra money there, the seats had to be filled, the salaries paid no matter who filled them.
And there was the change in medicare/medicaid to add a prescription drug benefit which reduced the overall costs of those programs by eliminating costly emergency room visits as the only way to get needed drugs. Â While costly, it was a much better investment under the program. Â And how was allowing religious institutions to participate in local community programs, bring compassionate religion to bear on our social problems, costly? Â The entire faith based initiative was simply to end the ban on religious organizations helping this country. Â And remember that I do not belong to any religion and yet I, an impure independent conservative, could champion this cause easily.
Coburn suffers from what really ails the right – purity contests and finger pointing. Â It was purists who literally chased the center and moderates out over immigration (and other issues). Â When it comes to elections this year the far right conservative politicians get the pure con voters (pun intended), but they don’t get a governing coalition. Â Wrapping themselves up in the mantle of the most tolerant conservative to shape modern US politics, these purists actually defy the Reagan doctrine – which was to get 70% on an issue that was common ground and fight for the rest later. Reagan did not sanction the routing of conservative opposition through crass character assassination.
The fact is the government spending that so many in Congress bemoan was all under their control.  Bush needed money for the wars, but Congress laid on the pork.  Yet these ‘purists’ deny their own hands in all this by trying to blame Bush and K-Street and the voters and the moderates.  Wake up Senator, you had the power of the purse and you blew it.  Don’t expect finger pointing to win you votes Senator. Maybe it is time for you and the rest of the finger pointers to retire so a new generation of conservatives can take over.
Clearly the finger pointing only extends the time the GOP will spend in the political wilderness, because it keeps open the divides that now have conservative democrats beating conservative republicans in what is clearly a right of center nation. Â The only way to screw up in a right of center nation, from the right, is to reject the center so that you only get votes from the right, and let the center go to the left. Bottom line – finger pointing and purity contests are the problem, not the answer.
You would think a ‘professional’ politician would realize that conservatives are losing the impure conservative vote, so railing against these people will not gain back their support. Â You would think. Â You would also think GOP leaders would know better not to insult their own voters with such simpleton platitudes like this claim that it was not Congress’ fault they lost their fiscal self control. Â One of the staunchest fighters of pork, John McCain, has been accused by the purists of being a traitor, a RINO, a liberal, a liar, etc. Â Yet he has steadfastly stood against pork ear marks. Â Cochran, your glass house just shattered.
The K Street Project was heavily publisized in 2006.
It was a project of Tom Delay to orient Washington DC’s political/lobbying culture toward the GOP.
This was characterized by the press as evidence of corruption in the GOP.
This was viewed by the grass roots as evidence of how GOP Congress have totally incorrect priorities.
It was confirmation to many that the GOP politicans were more interested in their own incumbancy than they were advancing the agenda they claim to represent.
If you want to see how this story bubbled up over time, view this time-line graph of search engine results for “K Street Project”
http://www.google.com/views?q=%22k+street+project%22+view%3Atimeline&vwdr=2000+-+2008&btnmeta%3Dsearch%3Drestrict=Set+filter&num=5
If you’re going to complain about finger pointing then I will too..
Your finger pointing to conservatives is just as bad.
What’s your point.. that only non-conservatives are allowed to discuss what the values of the GOP should be?
You’re just as dogmatic as the dogmatic people you decry for their dogmatism.
Vince,
I simply point out why the right is losing voters. Remember, I am an independent – I am not a republican. Don’t confuse my deep conservative values with any need to identify with any group.
If you don’t like the message – change the channel. Sadly, the reality will not change. The answer has been there from day one – mea culpa and build bridges – stop throwing bombs.
I am simply giving the diagnosis – I am not the cancer.
None of that stuff matters very much. Iran has served it’s
islamic dawa on us twice. That’s enough.
If we elect Obama, we will find ourselves in a nuclear war
with Iran within his first (and I guess only) term.
http://errortheory.blogspot.com (AJ, why isn’t this site on your blogroll?!)
has an excellent piece on the preemptive surrender to Iran being
planned by Obama and Carter. Iran plans a war of annihilation for
the USA, for Israel, and for itself. What is it about a whole nation
being a martyr to islam can’t our leaders get?
Nobody will be talking about purity or free trade agreements by
2011. Remember what Michelle Obama said – Barack will never let
you go back to your lives as they used to be.
Unless,
Asia Times Online (a decidedly anti-USA news org) linked to from Hot Air
claims that “inside sources” are sure that President Bush plans to attack
Iran in the next two months. That would buy us some time.
AJ, have you seen this yet today?
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0508/10638.html
Vince, AJ’s not republican…
as if we needed to be reminded of that again.
😉
or this one, AJ?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121184690228421415.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries
No 75, I had not. But all it means is the GOP and conservatives are still at each others throats and running for cover. Big surprise, no one trusts anyone after the purity wars – which has destroyed any and all opportunities to show solidarity in purpose.
># 75on 27 May 2008 at 12:37 pm
Vince, AJ’s not republican…
Neither am I. 🙂
AJ, you just keep telling yourself that.
75,
I can (and will soon) go back three years and show how I predicted this day. No need to ‘tell myself’ what is happening to the GOP and conservatives – it is all over the news.
And please stop whining every time I respond to an article (or in this case a GOP leader) who continues to blame the moderates for the demise of the far right.
Moderates did nothing to the far right, they did it all to themselves.
Oops…sorry AJ, the second link I sent you was the very Coburn article your posting was about…very sorry…I meant to send you this one…
http://townhall.com/columnists/ChristopherMerola/2008/05/27/devastation_by_triangulation
Oh, please AJ…this is getting boring. It was yet another of your whiny articles against conservatives that prompted my response. Do you really expect us conservatives to take a daily dose of your complaints and assaults without responding? Good Lord, show a spine, will you? It’s obvious that the party is in trouble because of moderate pandering and fear of the left and not because of any conservative idealogy. Pork spending is a leftist and moderate pandering tool and to try to paint conservatives as responsible for this is just…well…foolish. No one is going to buy that crap except your lemming followers. You really don’t have to drag every writer through your “purity” microscope just because you’ve made a tremendous calculation. We get it, you’re no conservative, you’re no republican, and you don’t even know why. Just take your medicine and move on. Geesh, you’re bordering on childish with this subject.
that should read “tremendous miscalculation”…sorry. It’s my monday today. 🙁
75,
You should be able to edit your comments now.
And no, I am a conservative, not a republican. I am just not a far right conservative – you know, those losing all those elections!
BTW 75,
I am here to stay, my blog. Your “childish” rants can be deleted from the Strata-Sphere, along with your commenting privileges.
Don’t come here and insult the host because he tells you the bad news about the far right.
Clear?
Why do you come here and prove my point by insulting those who disagree with you? I can make my points without your help you know.
Yeah, I know I can edit…old habits die hard, you know.
And I find it ironic that you can continue to claim to be a conservative while trashing them daily. How do you sell that one?
And I’m not intending to insult you, AJ. But it’s instructive to see you are so defensive about this particular subject.
It’s your prerogative to ban me at any time, in fact, you seem to keep that holster close to you. But wouldn’t silencing a critic, especially for a single subject, would make you the very thing you claim you are not? Terrye, too, claims to be a conservative and then refuses to read the very links I share here. I only know Democrats to be as ignorant as Terrye.
75 and Vince,
AJ says:
” And please stop whining every time I respond to an article (or in this case a GOP leader) who continues to blame the moderates for the demise of the far right.”
Then when we respond to his article we get:
“I am here to stay, my blog. Your “childish†rants can be deleted from the Strata-Sphere, along with your commenting privileges.
Don’t come here and insult the host because he tells you the bad news about the far right.
Clear?
Why do you come here and prove my point by insulting those who disagree with you? I can make my points without your help you know.”
It couldn’t be shown to him any clearer than that, and he still will fail to see it. He can “comment” on an article, but we “whine” or produce “childish rants” and are told we are insulting the host when we comment on his…
Isn’t that called hypocrisy?
Whippet1,
Tom Coburn penned a piece about what is wrong with the GOP and I commented on it – that is what bloggers do. I disagreed with his view, which is my right.
When you and other righties whine that I am bringing up the topic again I see no reason not to remind you I am free to offer my views on published articles and opinions.
Whining that I blog is as lame as the denial going on. It is hypocritical to come to this blog and try and insult me for voicing an opinion. No one is forcing you to read this, nor are you going to get a free pass when you voice your opinions.
But do not come here and tell me to be silent, or move on. Do not come here and insult me for disagreeing – which is the point I am making in the first place.
The ‘childish’ adjective was 75’s – not mine. I allow comments so people can voice their views. I don’t see anything that requires me to listen to the far right insult those who disagree with them.
If it dialogue is beyond you folks, move on. There are plenty of other sites for you folks to visit. This is my site, my views and my right to express my support or opposition to news and views of the day. Those who tell me to be quiet are the ones hiding from reality – the reality that many conservatives ain’t buying their BS.
Careful, Whippet. Don’t be too hard on our host. Besides, you risk his wrath.
I can only assume that this particular subject is too close to AJ’s heart. Having gone on record as the very type of person who gave us McCain, it can’t be sitting very well with him. Especially as the evidence mounts against him. I know it certainly wouldn’t be sitting well with me had I turned my back on conservatism to get a candidate that might actually lose to a Marxist.
P.s. Whippet, please share the posting where you told AJ to be quiet. I must have missed that one because all I can see is AJ threatening conservatives to be quiet. 😉