The beauty of America (while it lasts) is that if you don’t agree with the views of a particular candidate or party – you don’t have to vote for them.
Don’t tell that to the Republican establishment, though, which wants everybody who isn’t a Democrat to fall in line behind its virtually indistinguishable platform of big bureaucracy, crony capitalism, welfare statism, global interventionism, domestic spying and … well, everything Democrats support except socialized medicine (which come to think of it, GOP leaders have previously embraced).
Seriously … the only real difference between Democrats and Republicans in Washington, D.C. is that Democrats are generally more honest about their lust for pissing away your money.
Anyway … the GOP establishment is furious there are non-Democrats out there who refuse to support the presidential candidacy of Chris Christie (a.k.a. a fatter version of Mitt Romney, younger version of John McCain and straighter version of Lindsey Graham).
In fact one of the most vocal voices of this establishment – consultant Bernie Goldberg – offered his thoughts on these “puritanical ideologues” during a recent appearance on Fox News.
“Too many people on the hard right, Tea Party people and others, because of their ideological rigidity, say that if Christie is the latest incarnation of John McCain or Mitt Romney then they’re going to sit home and not vote for him because they’ve done that in the past,” Goldberg said. “If they do that they will wind up, again, because of this need for ideological purity, helping elect another liberal Democrat — her name is Hillary Clinton — as President in 2016.”
Goldberg was just getting warmed up …
“RINO is an insult,” he added. “It means, as far the Tea Party and others are concerned, anybody to the left of Ted Cruz is a RINO. The Real RINO’s are the people in the Tea Party and on the hard right because they have made it clear over and over again that their allegiance is not to the Republican Party, but to their particular brand of conservatism – so they’re the RINO’s.”
Really?
Forgive us for taking the notions of “less government,” “lower taxes” and “more personal freedom” literally. And for seeing $17 trillion in debt as something to address … not ignore.
In 2012, this website endorsed the GOP presidential candidacy of U.S. Rep. Ron Paul. When he dropped out, we supported the candidacy of Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson, former GOP governor of New Mexico.
Why did we do that? Because the GOP made it abundantly clear that our views on limited government were not welcome in the Republican tent.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. If the GOP expects fiscal conservatives to “fall back in line,” it needs to start nominating (and stop demonizing) fiscally conservative candidates.
Otherwise it should probably get used to losing more elections …
28 comments
We can agree on this one:
“Seriously … the only real difference between Democrats and Republicans in
Washington, D.C. is that Democrats are generally more honest about their
lust for pissing away your money.”
If Republicans don’t like being called RINO’s all they have to do is change their platform, written by them and signed off by their candidates, to reflect that they aren’t for “limited government” for example among other things.
Problem solved.
Every time I see someone labeled “ideologue” I think to myself, “Someone who won’t compromise against their principles” and of course those people must be squashed by the establishment on both sides of the aisle.
Otherwise, how will the welfare/warfare state continue? The two parties need team players, not apple cart upsetters.
Why should Republicans change at all?
The people who have tried to take over the Republican Party are the ones who should call themselves what they are – Tea Party, Libertarian Party – and, run under those names. They are not Republicans. They defile the name of the party of Lincoln.
Republicans don’t need to kow tow to people who want to make use of their name and party organization – because they could not win without it – and, call them the cheats they are.
“Why should Republicans change at all?”
I didn’t say they should change. I said if they don’t like being called “RINO”‘s all they have to do is re-write their platform.
“They defile the name of the party of Lincoln.”
Good! Also, why does that bother you if you are a Democrat?
“Republicans don’t need to kow tow to people”
lol, tell that to Mitt Romney!
“They defile the name of the party of Lincoln.”
Good! Also, why does that bother you if you are a Democrat?
Because some of us care about the country more than we care about any party and any rigid ideology.
What kind of people of any party don’t find Lincoln an admirable president and man?
The only people who might have a problem with Lincoln are people with race issues who would love to enter a time warp and live in 1859.
I grew up in the 60s when statesmen of both parties were in the Congress. In the GOP, Everett Dirksen, Jerry Ford, even Barry Goldwater after he got over his presidential run craziness.
“if you do not believe in majority rule, you do not believe in democracy or a democratic republic or the USA.”
See, you equivocate democracy & a democratic republic.
But even further, you reject the foundations of the country as it is, a constitutional republic, neither of the above.
“Because some of us care about the country more than we care about any party and any ideology.”
You know, it’s black and white statements like that, that make it difficult to have a reasonable conversation.
Do you realize that most people “care about the country”? It might be nice to try to simplify things intellectually, but it doesn’t reflect reality.
Let me assure you that Dems, Republicans, Tea Party type, and the rest “care for the country”.
They all have different notions of what the “country” is and what “care” constitutes.
But, the Left has explicitly decided to attack the “Tea Party” or “Hard Right” because they know that compromise with the establishment Republicans is getting to be difficult with more hard right pols rejecting compromise now and then.(not that much really)
So the Left has its “Tea Party” bogeyman and the establishment Right remains silent because they want them gone too. They will be vilified by both but the reality is they care just as much as the two “buddies” now in attacking them(Dems & Repubs).
you have amazing patience. 3 years is enough for me. I’m finding twitface to be rejuvenating. Seems to be a great platform for conservatives. Liberals require more than 140 characters to make a point.
I should qualify everything I wrote with this, I believe among those in power(pols), that truly at least 75% “don’t care” among the establishment…but that number doesn’t change regardless of the label.
I agree with all the posters above about pol self interest. I just believe that it’s always been that way and can’t be fixed/changed.
You’ll need to qualify your qualifications with qualifications written by those whom Nit Rat, Snarks and the rest of the GAWD DAMNED SCUM SWALLOWING LIBITURDS on this site, have qualified prior to anyone of them stating you might be learning to think for yourself. XP
Have another drink, Frank.
The GOP has never been interested in fiscal conservatism. The first thing they did in the Bush administration is cut taxes, claiming it would somehow result in more tax revenue. It didn’t. Meanwhile they went on a spending binge, put us in two wars, and created a new Medicare program that wasn’t paid for. The GOP has loved running up debt since Reagan.
You kill deficits by reigning in spending and keeping your revenues high enough to cover what you do spend, not by doing the exact opposite. Republicans would rather cut taxes to the point where it increases the deficits and continue pumping up funding for programs they do like at the same time. The only cuts will go to programs they hate, most of which are low items on the budget that they themselves have made a huge target (for instance, SNAP, PBS, NPR, etc.).
Right the hell on, bro. Nobody ever talks about that. If people stopped yapping for just a few minutes and did the math, they’d see that there just aren’t enough “little” $90 million NPR cuts to offset the huge deficits we run due to entitlements, bloated military spending, and general waste. These days, though, few intellectuals choose to serve in Congress, and why should they? Most of those clowns are just, well, clowns.
The Tea Party represents the Greatest Educated Generation and we are vehemently Anti-Bankster. While the Banking-Cartel Establishment is beholden in the Democrat and Republican Parties, they are losing their full nelson power hold on the American People. The real power in America is the Legislative Branch. Boehnor was one vote from being replaced as Speaker. The Tea Party, targets of organized IRS investigations, IRS 501c application processing illegalities, and NSA eavesdropping are not going away all the while gaining seats in legislative branches all across America. Despite the Bankster attacks using various branches of government and their departments, the Tea Party, the Spirit of 1776, is growing rapidly among the young at heart as well as Gen’s X and Y.
“Greatest Educated”?
pfffff
The Tea Party is a DNC dirty trick, and it’s working exactly as planned.
I’ve got some tin-foil tri-corner hats for sale real cheap!!
Endorsed by non other than Glen Back and Sarah Palin themselves!!!!!
I’ve attended a few Spartanburg TEA party meetings to try to see what it was all about and they are definately NOT Gen X & Y but if you are referring to paranoid/schizos who are middle aged and older as “young at heart”, you are spot on.
Biggest bunch of whiners and complainers I have ever seen. Always blaming everything on something or someone else and really have no solutions except blame some “cartel/cabal”/international bank/The Rothschilds/Trilateral Commission/etc. for the way the world is evolving
“The Tea Party represents the Greatest Educated Generation…” But not the most literate.
Funny, this is a joke right?
So paranoia is now officially a political philosophy? Heh. Whatever works for you out there on the fringe. Keep speaking up loudly about your persecution. It’s SURE to launch your candidates into the White House.
Looking at that picture, I think Romney and Boehner are having a contest to who can get the orangest skin.
Bah! It’s ALL bullshit, and all thesel pols are assholes.
The hard right obviously doesn’t like dissention either. Hence all their litmus tests of ideological purity, requirements that pols sign off of this policy or that endorsed by the Kochs and other cocks, and their own perge mentality that is every bit th match of the mainstream GOP.
Fuck. Them. All.
Holy shit, dude! I, for the first time ever, fully agree with one of your posts. One of us is slipping…
Yeah, it’s like every church you ever go to, There’s always someone on the front pew who thinks no one else is as “religious” as they are.
Those TEA Party types are some self-righteous pricks fer sure
Memo to Bernie…”….at this point what difference does it make….?” Think about it.
The good news for the Republican party is that I am not going to vote for a Democrat for anything in the US Congress.
The bad news for the Republican party is that I am not going to vote for a Republican either.
This whole thing about the government shutdown pisses me off! The Tea Baggers and followers, Joe Wilson, held the nation hostage because they tried fifty or more times to repeal Obamacare and failed.
Republicans and Democrats are not “part of the solution”. They are the problem!
Bernie has come a long, long way, but he still misses some of the big ones.
What is wrong with one’s allegiance being to a set of ideas rather than a political party? Aren’t politics supposed about ideas?
I am not a perfect voter by any means, I was once a liberal, kept getting more Conservative and then voted for McCain in 2008. And then after that election I had a personal epiphany, something that others smarter than me had figured out earlier: in a Republic if one wants limited government, one needs to vote for limited government candidates. And so I supported Bachmann in the 2012 primary and then voted for Tom Hoefling. And I now think that a vote for Romney or Christie is a progressive vote period and that Obama and Hillary must not serve as an excuse to vote RINO (sorry Bernie). This last election is water under the bridge but it should be learned from. The only two viable candidates were progressive. A vote for Romney was more about getting rid of Obama the man than changing the policy direction; what is the point of that? A lot of people are mad at what Oprah said and I doubt most people who dislike Obama are racist but if Conservatives are willing to vote for someone like Romney to get rid of him they open themselves up to lots of charges. Mitt Romney for example stated at one of the debates he would “Comprehensive” Immigration Reform done faster than Obama; so do Conservative voters feel comfortable with Big Government as long as it is done more competently?