May 15 2008
When Will The “True Conservatives” Wake Up To The Damage They Did?
The purity wars inside the GOP are doing what many of us feared and predicted, decimating the GOP as America dumps the “true conservatives” and goes with conservative democrats. Those are the choices we have seen in the last 3 special elections: Far Right verses Left of Center. America chose Left of Center.
Why did America do that? Probably because they are tired of the far right testing their purity and clamoring all the time about who the best, most pure conservatives are, while damning those lesser conservatives – which are at times called ‘moderates’ (best said with the nose up in the air), many times ‘RINOs’ (Republican In Name Only), and on some issues ‘traitors’. America has decided that the ‘true conservatives’ are too difficult to deal with and are going with the conservative democrats or moderate republicans instead.
Rush Limbaugh tried to say the other day that the GOP dumped on the conservatives (of course all the true conservative ranting and name calling over issues like immigration is not dumping, it is politics). Actually conservatives, at least the ‘pure, true’ conservatives of Hannity and Levin and others, are not being dumped on. American voters are simply dumping them – period. Sorry Rush, but that dumping feeling is Americans telling the far right they went too far. That feeling of rejection is not because people are mean to the far right, it was because the far right became too caustic and heated and started on their purity rant, which left voters cold and looking elsewhere.
Note how all the ‘true conservative’ presidential candidates failed in this year’s GOP primary. The ‘true’ conservative’s worst enemy has became the party standard bearer. That was a message to the far right. The fact the conservative movement is growing and succeeding on the Democrat side of the aisle is a message to the far right. The fact that the liberal democrats had to end their own purity wars and allow pro-life candidates into the fold to gain back their political power is a message to the far right. The only question is whether anyone is listening on the far right, or are they all still obsessively comparing how ‘pure’ they are too each other and ignoring everything else going on around them?
Personally, I prefer the Reagan-Bush version of conservatism that came out of the GOP. But that was a broad coalition Reagan built. A diverse movement that respected differences and did not have litmus tests. This is not Reagan’s conservative movement today, clearly since it has decided to reject one of the most successful conservative president’s in modern history: George W Bush. Funny thing is all these purists think it was centrist Bush who chased the centrists to the center? Now that is some pretzel logic! If you are on the right and cannot stand Bush it is a good bet you are a ‘true conservative’, and you probably look in the mirror and think you see Reagan staring back.
But Reagan was extremely tolerant of non-conservative views. Remember, he was an life-long Democrat – like Harriet Miers. And we all know how Mrs. Miers was treated. He signed into law the largest, real amnesty bill for illegal immigrants, and we all know what traitors lurk in the GOP to repeat Reagan’s sin. Conservatism has a bad image right now, and the fact is the ones at fault are those who created the image of ‘true conservatism’ and claimed it was the only allowable brand of conservative thought allowed in the GOP. When they did that they told everyone else to take a hike – and they did! Now Americans support conservative democrats as they take over GOP seats held for a decade or more. We have succeeded in obtaining purity! (of course being an independent who is not allowed to be ‘conservative’ due to his impure positions the ‘we’ is very much tongue in cheek, or as Tonto would have said ‘what’s this ‘we’ stuff Kimosabe?”)
This was always where the purity wars were going to lead. To make something pure means to distill it down to just a few numbers with identical traits. That in politics is called a fringe group, because it is so far outside the impure mainstream. It looks like when Bush completed much of the common ground the right of center coalition agreed on, that coalition was destined to blow apart. There was nothing left to fight for that everyone agreed on. Now comes the next coalition, whatever shape that may be. Hopefully another Reagan-Bush type leader will arise that will quell this ten year itch the far right gets, which lands us with Clintons and Carters and who knows what this year.
Update: With all due respect to Ed Morrissey, who I find is one of the most level headed people on the right, his current thesis on what is wrong with the GOP is just not realistic:
Did the House GOP caucus take a hard line on pork-barrel spending or adopt policies to cut federal spending? No. Republican voters and conservative pundits begged the House and Senate caucuses to make dramatic breaks with the previous six years and adopt real conservative policies of fiscal responsibility and federalism. What did they do? They offered to stop earmarking only if Democrats followed suit, a deal everyone knew would never take place. Instead of appointing one single anti-pork activist to the House Appropriations Committee in Jeff Flake, they appointed Joe Bonner, a good Congressman but a well-known earmarker, and mostly because Flake’s anti-pork crusade irritates his colleagues.
Sorry, this is too much inside baseball to sway the electorate outside the beltway. And the idea anyone would gravitate to the tax-and-spend Dems to limit spending is laughable (but I still respect you Ed!). Whatever committee some guy named Flake is on did not cause this. Everyone sees the evidence – a conservative coalition is building in the democrat party. Conservatism is now winning when it comes attached to the democrats, which would have been considered ridiculous back in 2004 – before the purity wars erupted.
The reason far right conservatives are losing is they have lost the American voter. And it is not because they are not conservative enough, it is because they have been demeaning people who disagree with them marginally for years. When McCain and Bush and others put forth a reasonable compromise on immigration, people on the far right compared them to the far left which wants instant citizenship for all! This comparison was ludicrous and only demeaned those making it. America saw a radicalized, out of control, overly emotional far right and has backed away. America is backing away from conservatism under the GOP and going with conservatism under the democrats. Get a clue folks. If you love America and its people then listen to what they are saying in the voting booth. This not about pork spending and committee assignments. This the GOP losing the conservative preference to the Dems. Without broad conservatism, what does the GOP have to offer to oppose liberalism?
Update: I meant to post how Rush Limbaugh actually does the same thing has Hannity and Levin and Savage, by disparaging those ‘impure’ conservatives:
Gee, they’re just now getting it. What took ’em so long? Did you see what happened in 2006? Folks, I am mad today. Did you see what happened in 2006? Did you see all the conservative Democrats Pelosi ran in the South then and skunked your incumbents? With what? Not McCainism. These Democrats were not running as McCain. They were running as Reagan conservatives, and that’s how they won, in Reagan conservative districts.
…
Because the Republican Party, which has sold out to the pseudoconservatives of the New York Times and the DC-New York media establishment who think that Rockefeller Republicanism and country club Republicanism is the future of the party, Ms. Pelosi, “Okay, they’re going to give that up, they’re going to give up Reagan, fine, we’ll go take over.” If she wanted to, she could take over the whole Republican Party this way. But she’s too far left and her party is too far left. But if they really wanted a huge supermajority, it’s waiting for them. Meanwhile, the Republican Party is doing everything in the world that it can to try be 25%, 30%, 40% liberal or independent for some God-knows-who-can-explain-it reason.
Well, no time out from RINO bashing it seems. I think it is delusional to claim a democrat conservative is more conservative than the GOP conservative. Greg Davis in MI (the GOP candidate) was on the far right, especially when it came to immigration. He beat out those nasty pseudoconservatives (aka, RINOs, like Rudy Giuliani). No, it was not because the democrat was more conservative – that is emotional denial.
Want to know what pisses off America? Insult their favorite hero Mayor from 9-11, Rudy Giuliani, as the ‘true’ conservatives did when he ran for President. Insult Vietnam War Hero Senator McCain. Backstab our President and demean him and his views. That is the GOP brand of conservatism in the eyes of many Americans, and they have had their fill of it. They are now voting for lower key, less volatile conservatives, ones not beholding to the conservative chattering class. Yes, the Blue Dogs have to co-exist with Pelosi’s liberals and fight the battle for conservatism inside the Dem party, but they are not beholding to conservative talk radio and others who try to push more conservatism than some are ready to accept. Did it ever occur to the far right that Americans are really smart and know how to get around obstacles? Want to get the far right talking heads out of the picture? Put in Blue Dogs who can run free of the far right.
Something to think about while this disaster unfolds.
Update: This article at the Politico is especially brutal, but it also notes the other fallout of the GOP conservative movement losing ground to a Democrat conservative movement – you lose campaign dollars. I fail to see how Rush Limbaugh expects to garner support for GOP conservatism by bashing pseudoconservatives and conservative independents like he did the other day? When these impure voters vote for Blue Dogs, the tend to take their campaign contributions with them. Not sure how belittling them is a winning strategy???? Call me naive.
Mark Levin, in particular, reminds me of a poster I once saw:
Rush, Levin, Hannity, et al, are in this for ratings. Others also seek to perpetuate the issues, particularly if there is little chance of their solution being enacted into law any time soon.
first whining, now pouting – that what a ‘true’ conservative means???
Poor ‘ol true conservatives, no one admires them anymore.
Might as well have a pity party for them.
Drat – the image didn’t show.
It was from a Demotivators poster (from Despair.com), specifically, Consulting:
If you’re not a part of the solution, there is good money to be made in prolonging the problem.
I think that some people have decided their bottom can improve if the GOP is in the minority and out of power, and issues like immigration fester.
Nice try, AJ.
We are treated to your whining and pouting everyday…with much entertainment, I might add!
AJ,
Perhaps you missed it, but both parties appear to be splintering just now, just along different fault lines.
Rodney,
No I did not miss it. But there are differences. The Dems have ended their purity wars and have fielded conservative dems – and it is working.
The GOP is not fielding liberals! Conservatism is the natural position of America. Only the far right could screw up so badly as to lose conservatism to the dems. But hey, they wanted to lose ugly and so they have!
The lamest part is the whining and pouting about how the world is so mean and no one understands them. What they don’t get is everyone understands them all too well. When they don’t get their way they call you a traitor and compare you to the most extreme liberals.
Now that their tantrums have backfired they are all confused, and blaming others again. They do the blame thing really well. They can’t lead worth a crap.
Things look bad for the GOP in the next election.
In the UK, things look bad for the leftist labor party
of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown that have been in power
for a decade and a half. What gives?
One country is tired of the Right while another similar country
is tired of the Left.
Those of us who write blogs or hang about commenting on them
probably don’t represent most of the electorate who aren’t all that
interested. Events only get their attention when they slap them
hard across their lives. Most of the time that doesn’t happen,
with the huge exception of 9-11 or in the UK their subway
bombings. Plots that are foiled don’t really register. Britain foiled
a plan to blow up multiple airplanes simultaneously over
American cities. Noted but didn’t sink in.
For most of the electorate, they want their daily lives to improve
year on year and naively they hope that the politicians will help
them with that, and usually they are disappointed no matter which
party is in charge. Disappointment results in decade long
oscillations – whichever party holds office gradually loses it’s
luster and eventually it gets chucked out.
Once this starts to happen, reversing the cycle is pretty well
impossible.
Gordon Brown in the UK has reached all time lows in his
approval rating and nothing he tries to do helps. Yanking most
of his trooops out of Basra didn’t win him any praise, he found
that electorate just shrugged and thought “now what?”. The Brits
are fed up with $10/gal gasoline and ever increasing taxes,
but mostly the Nu-Labor project is seen as “tired”.
Once a cycle flip occurs, the newcomers have only a very
short time to earn their keep – unless some big event happens
to distract everyone.
I think this is happening to the Conservatives in our country.
I don’t believe the average voter is outraged by the government
not granting amnesty to illegal immigrants. That is just not
an everyday issue – unless you either are an illegal immigrant
or you employ a few of them.
People want their lives to get magically better. It’s now time
to believe in change – so says Obama. In that song by
The Who – they sing “Don’t get fooled again”
I caution against doing too much soul searching. I think
this normal cycle will tip both houses of Congress into
democrat control and they will achieve exactly nothing.
The one real danger is electing our first Arab president
who will let the terrorists of Iraq, Pakistan, and Iran live to
fight another day. That is what they WILL do.
Call me alarmist because I predict that if Iran is not stopped
then it’s atomic bombs will detonate in several of our largest
cities within Obama’s first term. No one can predict what will
happen after that. President Bush can still put a stop to that
perhaps in November and December.
Dave M,
Buck up and keep the faith.
You too, AJ. 😉
AJ,
In what way, shape, or form is McCain a Conservative?
Freedom of Speech? Nope.
Rational Approach to “Global Warming”? Nope.
Reduced size and scope of Government? Nope.
War on Terror? Better than the Democrats (faint praise that).
I can’t get worked up about that title “Conservative”.
OK – we have a maverick vs. a hard core leftist.
I’m going to vote for the maverick, because that’s not as bad
as voting for the hard core leftist.
When will people realize that Global Warming isn’t a real issue? It’s made up and there are any facts to support it. Just read some of AJ’s posts on the issue.
Dave M,
I agree with most of what you have to say. But both houses of Congress are already in Dem control and they aren’t doing much with their power. Well, other than pissing off Americans.
Rodney,
If you don’t accept McCain as part of the conservative coalition then your coalition will be so small it will be useless.
Don’t ask if McCain is a conservative. He connects more to the conservatives and has decided to work with and for them. He calls himself conservative (as I once did). He is just not a wild ideologue.
By asking the question you are testing for purity to your own standards. That is the mistake. If you ask and then denigrate then you have compounded your mistake.
The more conservatives candidates lost. They lost because Americans are dumping ‘true’ conservatives. Don’t worry about who is purer, worry about who carries the most support to (a) oppose liberals and (b) make PROGRESS on conservative issues. The only alternative is to (a) let liberals win and (b) lose ground on conservative issues.
If you want perfection and purity stop looking for it in politics. That is not what it is about, it is not what democracy is about.
“The Dems have ended their purity wars and have fielded conservative dems – and it is working.
The GOP is not fielding liberals!”
These two sentences are very revealing AJ. They tell me exactly where the political center is in your world. Evidently it is somewhere to the left of Hill and Mr. Hussein. Hmmmm, No wonder you think all of us NORMAL people are ‘far right’.
Do me a favor AJ, look up into the heavens and tell me, how many suns do you see up there?
Dave M,
Voting for the lesser of two weasels is never particularly palatable.
Crazy,
The rational approach to “Global Warming” is to scoff and move on. As regards Congress, the Democrats have but slim majorities at the moment. If they enjoy larger majorities and the Exectutive branch, things will probably go to hell faster than you can find a handbasket.
I’ve endorsed McCain. I’ll vote for him. I’ll not give him a bloody cent, and for sure and certain will back a primary challenger come the next Presidential Primary season.
Stop trying to read minds Bikerken. You suck at it.
Again, people confuse my observations with my preferences or beliefs. Clearly a sign that those confounded are not engineers or scientists who are well practiced at observing objectively.
Case in point. The Dems back in the 1990’s raged with their purity wars and would not allow Bob Casey, pro-life dem, to speak at their convention. Now the dems are openly recruiting (and highlighting) their pro-life Blue Dog democrat candidates.
It’s an observation dude, get over it. This let them take on conservatives. I do not prefer this. As I said I prefer the Reagan-Bush conservatism from the GOP. I wrote that in the post above – pay attention and stop imagining things.
I did not want McCain (though in many people’s minds my choice of Giuliani was not much better). I don’t prefer him, he is what we have to fight liberalism and keep the progress the current President Bush has achieved.
And this is why emotional reactions can never out perform objective calculus and strategies. You may want with all your heart for 2+2 = 5. You may want it so bad you demean and attack others who tell you differently. You may have a few like minded friends who believe as you d0.
But in the end the one who objectively determines 2+2=4 and moves on to fight real battles will win the day over those stuck on 2+2=5. As I said, my observations determine my plan forward, regardless of my preferences or desires.
Don’t confuse facts with desires or intentions. And please stop pretending you know me. You haven’t a clue about me.
will some of the Rush fans here please explain to me what good they think Rush is doing by constantly bashing McCain at this point in the process? Seems to me he could at least wait until he McCain is possibly elected president. Unless of course Rush would rather see an Obama presidency. I find that hard to beleive so what’s up with him?
Satrist, Rush isn’t bashing McCain.
ok. what is he doing?
Careful Biker, dissent will not be tolerated!
I really find it quite hilarious that anyone would think that AJ is left of Hillary Clinton. Wow, now that is not possible at all. My father is very good at observing from both sides of an issue. Its the scientist in him. And when he makes an observation and a prediction about something he is almost always correct. Whether it falls in line with his preferences and beliefs or not. It helps if you just read the words and not try to assume that there is writing implied between the lines. Might make everyone\’s heads cool off a bit.
But thanks for the laugh, Bikerken