A Conservative Litmus or Purity Test for the GOP ... Its time
Can you ask America to rebuild the GOP once again just to have it become RINO again? by Mark Vogl
(libertarian)
Friday, January 22, 2010
Recently, the modern father of American conservatism, Rush Limbaugh, mentioned on his radio show that former New York Governor George Pataki( R ) was leading in a poll which pitted Pataki against New York's incumbent Democratic Senator. Rush only mentioned it as evidence of the ascension of conservatism, even in the bluer then blue northeast. The problem is George Pataki could easily win a RINO award for his complete abandonment of conservatism once elected to office.
Pataki was elected when New York's economy was in a shambles, and he promised fiscal conservatism. That lasted only until he was comfortable in the Governor's mansion, than he gave away his trump card on school property tax relief, and the remainder of his terms looked like Cuomo-lite.
The problem for many of us Americans is we don't have the time to do a pedigree check on most candidates. We have to take their self -identification for what it is, unless someone helps us.
And than there's the big tent argument for the GOP; our party has to be large enough to gather more than a simple majority in order to assure itself some level of stability in good times and bad. And than there are the single issue people, whether they be Pro Life, or Pro Second Amendment, or whoever, who on their signature issue meet or exceed the norms within the Republican Party, but on other issues they part. May be on all the other issues but that one single issue, they part.
And than there's the question of trying to determine what is the real Republican Party, the platform, or living breathing elected officials who serve as Republicans?
The Republican Party, like the Democrats, is built on a coalition of different issue groups. But, the core of the party are not Wall Street fat cats, or NRA only folks. The core are regualr Americans who have a number of social, political and patriotic causes. We are the red necks, the pick up truck owners. We have rebel flags on our trucks, and not just in the South. And, we have been led down the primrose path before, to rebuild the party after it collapsed after Nixon, and now its collapsed after the moderate Bushes. We love Sarah cause she's one of us...atleast so far.
2010 seems like it might be the beginning of a rebuilding of a Republican Party which could become the majority party again. But before that happens, and we start the roller coaster ride which led us to globalism, and unpopular wars, and open borders, and international corporations, its time to take stock. What will this version of the Republican Party be?
And than, once that has been established, I believe there should be a litmus test, or more appropriately a purity test for Republicans. If we don't do that, we will end where we are now, back supporting people whose policies inevitably lead to the Democrats' policies. Elected officials should be held to the purity test. Arlen Spectre,Lindsey Graham, and John McCain are what's wrong with our party and I am not spending any more time or effort supporting them.
Rush has repeatedly said we don't need a third party and I may be willing to accept that if; the creation of the Republican Party is on real conservative populism. That would include secure national borders (no matter how much it hurts NAFTA), absolute opposition to Homosexual marriage or union or whatever they decide to call it.
And an opening of the discussion of a third choice, if not a third party, secession. Only secession will restrain oppressive federalism, whether from the right or the left.
The Democrats are in trouble, no doubt,. and their policies are bad for America. But, Democrat lite ain't gonna motivate this conservative to give the Republicans carte blanche. Tea Parties are fine, but if we are gonna fight...I want my powder dry...and that means no half measures on the things that are important to us red necks.
Folks real welfare reform started in the grass roots and took years to percolate up. A rejection of immigration reform started at the grass roots...and now secession is taking the same road. In the end, if Washington can't get it straight, we'll try it in our own states...some of us will get it right.
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Another good piece of evidence for you is Scott Brown, who just won the Senate election in Massachusetts; while his victory was due to Tea Party manpower and donations from across the country, the man himself, judging by his record as a state legislator. For one thing, he's always been a supporter of Roe v. Wade, which alone would cause him to flunk any Conservative litmus test. And while he campaigned vigorously against Obamacare, one has to look at what he was saying about it: his line was that Massachusetts "doesn't need" it because it already has the very similar Romneycare, (which he supported in the state legislature and still supports).
Meanwhile, the only genuine Tea Party candidate in the race, Joe Kennedy, got little from his colleagues except pressure (including death threats) to drop out, and finished with 1% of the vote.
The Massachusetts election is a paradigm case of the dilemma facing any political movement: do you go for a broad-based coalition to achieve some short-term goals (and risk ending up with a party that stands for nothing), or do you strive for ideological purity (and risk achieving no goals)?
Posted By: John Melvin Dodd
Date: 2010-01-22 11:00:48
Quote: "The Massachusetts election is a paradigm case of the dilemma facing any political movement: do you go for a broad-based coalition to achieve some short-term goals (and risk ending up with a party that stands for nothing), or do you strive for ideological purity (and risk achieving no goals)?"
Therein lies the dilema. Do we vote for the lesser of two evils or for a candidate who gets 1 to 5 % of the vote? Votes for Ross Perot put Bill Clinton in the White House twice. (But how much better would George H. W. Bush and Bob Dole have been? Definitely better-but how much better?)
One thing is for certain--in the Upshur County Judge race John Melvin Dodd has always based his philosphy on the US Constitution and our free enterprise system. Currently the platforms of the Texas Republican Party and the Upshur Republican Party are documents that I support. We have the opportunity to put in office a lifelong Constitutional conservative. The primary election is March 2.
I think its time to revisit the questons on the Nolan Chart Poitical Quiz. There is some incongruousness when someone claiming to be a 'libertarian' calls for a Social Statist Purity Test.
Mark, to the same extent that you're tired of "RINOs" being mere "Democrat Lite," I am tired of Conservatives thinking that libertarians are merely quirky conservatibe step-brothers who should just get withe the Conservative Program. NO true libertarian could pass the proposed GOP Purity test.
And for the record, as for "...absolute opposition to Homosexual marriage or union or whatever they decide to call it," we call it "Marriage" and we require Equality.
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