I'm in a bit of a bind as to what to do, and anyone who is willing to bounce this idea around will have my appreciation.
I was a registered Republican here in NJ for a while. I left the party and registered with the Constitution Party because I was nauseated at what I learned - specifically, that the party bosses consisted of more than a few former Democrats who switched party affiliation just to advance up the ranks and get more power. What's worse is that many of the more conservative elements were resigned to it and thought little of it.
While I like a lot more of the CP's stances (not all, but more) and the fact that they by and large are more devoted to their principles, I want to effect a change for the better.
That said, is it more helpful to:
a) Stick with the CP and try to help them gain a foothold at a local/state level, or
b)go into the GOP again and try like hell to get them to return to the principles which made them as popular as they once were?
I want to be more active, but I want to know I'm not peeing into the proverbial wind.
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Like you...I am perplexed about the Constitution Party
August 4, 2008 - 19:12 ET by LionKingI like many of their ideas and policies. McCain is no conservative. On the off hand that I do not support McCain, something far worse could happen.
I want to send a message to the Republicans and I actually would love to see some CP in authority. The more damage Pelosi does, the better I feel about Republicans regaining congress. If that happens, then Obama is less of an issue and I will vote CP.
My only concern is that it is very likely that 2 Supreme Court Justices will need to be appointed. McCain is likely to do a better job that Obama, but it is not a lock.
well rogue
August 4, 2008 - 19:36 ET by candanceThis is a touchy subject especially on NB. Most folks on here really want us to play along with John McCain just to keep the peace. I'm not bashing them or making fun of them. That's just the way they feel led.
I however am with you - I'm sick to death of the GOP and can no longer in good conscience call myself a Republican.
As to your question, I think it's a personal choice we all have to decide on our own. It depends on a few things....
-How much time you're willing to spend being patient
-How much compromise you're willing to make
-What your eventual goals are
If you don't mind fighting (and fighting and fighting) for the soul of the GOP there is some good you can do. A lot of good conservies like Sarah Palin, Bobby Jindal, and Duncan Hunter are hanging in there. And (for time being) the GOP does have more money/resources than some of the lesser known parties.
That said, being in the GOP does mean pressure to go along with McCain and work with the leadership in your state, even if they are rinos. If you live in a place where the GOP leadership isn't interested in your ideas you'll have a hard time getting anything accomplished.
The middle ground a lot of outcasts have come upon is to support an alternative party on the local level but still be pragmatic enough to vote GOP on federal elections.
I checked out the Constitution Party but don't feel led to support it myself. The Libertarian Party has become quite appealing to me.
Hope some of this helps.
Good points
August 5, 2008 - 11:06 ET by rogue9772I feel much the same as you. I don't like a lot of McCain's ideas, yet I have tremendous respect for him as a person - especially since my dad was also in Vietnam.
The actions of the GOP in the House this past week have been very motivating as well. I would like to think that if more solid conservativesgot together and spoke as one, the RINOs would have no choice but to stop and listen. Losing a large portion of your base will ring in their ears.
At the same time, electing a RINO would only serve to encourage them to put up more and more bland choices.
It's up to you and I to force the bosses to listen, it is OUR country after all. We just need the motivation to care more.
For now, I think I will try to touch base with conservatives within the state GOP, and vote CP where I can. NJ is hopelessly lost to Obama as far as I know.
I'd go with B dude and I
August 5, 2008 - 11:18 ET by TruthMongerI'd go with B dude
and I will never ever vote for McCain
I would vote for his wife, however - some fairly impressive executive experience there
I say stay in the party
August 5, 2008 - 11:35 ET by Guy Arthur ThomasReaganism wasn't always so popular with the GOP but he and his brand understood that leaving the party to form a lesser party with far less influence meant lessening their own possibilities.
McCainism isn't JUST the problem, if it is REALLY a problem. Our GOP INCLUDES a SPECTRUM of Republicans. We have always understood that.
Frankly I see it as the FAR RIGHT and RELIGIOUS RIGHT as being the problem. They are EITHER/OR's. They have no tolerance for or capacity to understand the necessity of differences among those within the GOP. We are REPUBLICANS, some liberal, some moderate and some conservative. While the conservatives have been dominant they have also, in the past, benefitted from working with and cooperating with their moderate and liberal brethren.
Reaganism was not what the FAR RIGHT presents itself as today. While they might be right on some issues, their method of getting to such conclusions is faulty. They haven't subscribed to thinking through their ideas and taking them to their ends and discovering political and social realities in their most basic and prescriptive form. This new brand of conservatism work backwards.
They understand the end principle, the discovered truth (sometimes anyway) but not the means Buckley, Reagan, and Goldwater took to get there (ex: 2+2=4. They can tell you the answer but often they cannot tell you "how" it is determined that 2+2=4. Therefore when encountering other issues that involve the intellectual understanding of "how", they are found to be wanting and often come to BAD conclusions for additional sets of challenges). Hence when trying to support ideology with arguments, their arguments end up being demagoguery instead of sound ideology.
Reagan was able to work with those in the GOP with whom he had differences. He understood cooperation without personal compromise. He and 41 were quite different in their philosophies. But he was able to still work with him and have him onboard as VP.
Not every year or every period in GOP history can be marked by dominance of one faction. That is a UTOPIAN dream. No party is this way.
I say stay in the party, strengthen your voice and be patient. Again, Reaganism wasn't always so popular. It took the right time. If you are not around when the right time comes then that void will be filled with other voices.
The answer to terrorism IS war. Next Please!
that sounds great and all but....
August 5, 2008 - 11:56 ET by candanceFirst of all, we must remember that the Republican party got its own start as an alternative to the Whigs. A grassroots movement, sick of seeing their party do nothing, had the guts to reinvent the wheel and stole an election away from the system.
As to your comparison that Reaganism wasn't always popular, I tend to see that as the GOP (yet again) getting off track and only coming around when the economy was in shambles AND they had a charismatic leader that couldn't be ignored.
In other words Reagan did the GOP a favor, not the other way around, and by the looks of things he was the GOP's last hurrah.
As to your complaint that the far right is pushing hardest against McCain, um no. Guys like Neal Boortz and Jason Lewis are scared to death of his campaign finance reform, Cap and Trade scheme, belief in global warming, and his insane habit of praising Nancy Pelosi as a great Speaker. Not to mention the fact that anyone who has a memory going back more than six weeks ago can recall the way he blatantly lied to stop Mitt Romney and flip flopped on issues like drilling.
It's simply unfair to paint McCain's critics as far-right neanderthals who don't understand sound policy. Those kinds of stereotypes are best left to Democrats.
And yes the GOP is known for being a "big tent" but really that's part of the problem. Libertarians, independents, and Reagan Democrats begrudgingly entered the GOP looking for pragmatism - and now that the GOP has gotten some claws on those people, they are told that they somehow owe it to the GOP to vote their way.
No party can survive by being everything to everyone, because in the end someone will end up being ignored. It's not very helpful to drag outsiders under a tent and then scream at them for being immature when they ask to leave.