2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumI No Longer Recognize My Party
That's the message emanating from the website Republicans for Obama.
The Webmaster Writes
As a registered Republican for over 30 years now, I thought Id share my thoughts.
The Republican party isn't what it used to be. Our leaders and our most vocal activists have written moderates out of the party and have refused to work with the other side, to the detriment of the nation.
I No Longer Recognize My Party
As a registered Republican I fear I must confess that I no longer recognize the party that I grew up with in Oregon. I voted for Mark Hatfield, Tom McCall and other Republicans who found enough common ground with Democrats to govern. Now I watch in dismay as those in my party boast that their primary objective is to defeat the President. Not to govern. Not to bring together a sense of responsibility and willingness to compromise to solve problems we face. Such as the budget. Such as bridges, roads and our electric grid that need maintenance and upgrading, which actually costs money.
My Commentary
Look at how those who have hijacked the Republican party have reacted each time fellow Republicans have reached across the isle: Colin Powell, Chris Christie, Chuck Hagel, Jon Huntsman, etc.
NOTE: This website and others like it should be promoted by both parties. So, that's what I'm doing.
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northoftheborder
(7,574 posts)Jackpine Radical
(45,274 posts)as the crazies grow more intransigent.
BrotherIvan
(9,126 posts)That means he loved St. Ronnie.
No thanks
Skittles
(153,193 posts)he fooled a lot of people (CERTAINLY not me)
tilsammans
(2,549 posts)Not for one second.
And a lot of "Reagan Democrats" should be having big-time buyer's remorse.
iandhr
(6,852 posts)BrotherIvan
(9,126 posts)But then again, it could be the reason the party has moved so far to the right.
And fair enough, if Democrats can say they were "fooled" into voting for Reagan because of the hostage crisis or the energy crisis (or some other revenge against Carter because he was "weak" and we need a cowboy!), were they fooled into voting for him twice? Did they vote for W. twice because these people certainly did. They're only on "our side" *now*.
And while it has a whiff of the whole the sinner repents kind of thing, which is often beguiling, it does make one wonder what kind of person who lived through the Reagan and Bush eras self-identifies as a Republican. Did they turn a blind eye to all the suffering their ideology caused? Have they only seen the error of their ways once it has personally touched them? Have they lost their jobs, gone bankrupt from healthcare expenses, had their homes foreclosed? I have a suspicion that is the case because every person I have ever met that chooses to be a Republican has been politically very classist, fairly racist, tribal and selfish. Until their lifestyle is affected, they have no compassion nor mercy. That's why they're Republicans in the first place.
If they are now on our side have they also changed to a liberal ideology? While I'm only coming out of the shadows and commenting, I have been reading this blog for a long time. And the former Republicans on this very site are here chastising liberals for their "purity" here every day. I'm not sure Democrats want or need any more.
jcgoldie
(11,645 posts)...
Blanks
(4,835 posts)I've known quite a lot of republicans that are good people. The ones who hang on to all the hate and racism are not among them, but there are people who believe that the republicans have a philosophy, and that philosophy is smaller government and fiscal responsibility.
Now, I recognize that the republicans have a lousy track record on both issues, but if you get all of your news from the same folks (let's call it Fox News) you don't know that.
We need republicans that feel disenfranchised from their party on our side if we are ever going to get things turned around.
I don't think it does us any good to hate on them; if they are on our side.
Additionally, it's easy to sit around and bitch about Reagan (I voted for him in '84), but the democrats had controlled congress for a long time and the government was not always efficient. Plus, there was all the flag waving surrounding his re-election and the economy had turned around, and he was very charismatic.
It's easy to chastise folks for being sucked in, but a lot of people voted for Reagan and for a lot of us; only through the eyes of history is it obvious that it was a mistake. It was an emotional time and frankly; I didn't see (because I was surrounded by like-minded people) what the liberals were fussing about at the time.
Of course I was young (24), but I hardly think its fair to paint all people who ever voted republican as selfish; it seemed like a good idea at the time. The republican argument at the time was that there were a lot of lazy, selfish people and the democrats had been coddling them. It was time to push them a little; I bought into that.
People who have always voted for the democratic candidate have, very likely, been surrounded by democrats. Peer pressure is a very powerful thing.
CANDO
(2,068 posts)It was my first ever vote at the age of 20. I was young and politically dumb. And Raygun would never make it beyond a GOP primary now.
frazzled
(18,402 posts)Elizabeth Warren has admitted she voted as a Republican for many years, because she thought Republicans were "better for the markets." She only began to vote as a Democrat in 1995. So that means she most probably voted for St. Ronnie as well.
Converts can be strange.
workinclasszero
(28,270 posts)He would be considered a RINO, no doubt about it.
But hes dead so a safe hero for the baggers.
The have problems with facts.
oldandhappy
(6,719 posts)Your party is no longer the party it used to be. So, yes, hard to see yourself there.
I watched my parents go thru this with Barry Goldwater.
I hope you find a spot for yourself with friends who are 'with' you either as a moderate Republican or conservative Democrat. There is a place for each of us. Sometimes the noise makes it hard to believe! But really, hang in there. I am a moderate Dem. I will not try to convert you, smile. I believe we need strong middle folk in both parties. The current extremes are destructive rather than constructive. Be strong!
MichiganVote
(21,086 posts)Brother Buzz
(36,463 posts)Here's what lifelong Republican, Marine veteran and former congressman, Pete McCloskey had to say about the republican party:
McCloskeys have been Republicans in California since 1859, the year before Lincoln's election. My great grandfather, John Henry McCloskey, orphaned in the great Irish potato famine of 1843, came to California in 1853 as a boy of 16, and joined the party just before the Civil War.
By 1890 he and my grandfather, both farmers, made up two of the twelve members of the Republican Central Committee of Merced County. My father's most memorable expletive came when I was a boy of 10 or 11: "That damn Roosevelt is trying to pack the Supreme Court!"
I registered Republican in 1948 after reaching the age of 21. We were the party of civil rights, of free choice for women and fiscal responsibility. Since Teddy Roosevelt, we had favored environmental protection, and most of all we stood for fiscal responsibility, honesty, ethics and limited government intrusion into our personal lives and choices. We accepted that one the duties of wealth was to pay a higher rate of income tax, and that the estates of the wealthy should contribute to the national treasury in reasonable measure.
I was proud to serve with Republicans like Gerry Ford, the first George Bush and Bob Dole.
In 1994, however, Newt Gingrich brought a new kind of Republicanism to power, and the election of George W. Bush in 2000 has led to wholly new concept of governance. The bureaucracy has mushroomed in size and power. The budget deficits have become astronomical. Our historical separation of church and state has been blurred. We have seen a succession of ethical scandals, congressmen taking bribes, and abuse of power by both the Republican House leadership and the highest appointees of the White House.
The single cardinal principle of political science, that power corrupts, has come to apply not only to Republican leaders like Tom DeLay, Duke Cunningham, Bob Ney and John Doolittle, but to a succession of White House officials and appointees. The stench of Jack Abramoff has permeated much of the Washington Republican establishment.
The Justice Department, guardian of of our rule of law, has been compromised. It's third ranking official, a graduate of Pat Robertson's dubious law school, has taken the 5th Amendment.
Men who have never felt the fear of combat, and who largely dodged military service in their youth, have led us into grievous wars in far off places with no thought of the diplomacy, grace and respect for other peoples and their cultures which has been an American trademark for at least the last two thirds of a century. We have lost the respect and affection of most of the world outside our borders. My son, Peter, one of the U.S. prosecutors at The Hague of the war crimes in Serbia and elsewhere, tells me that people of other countries no longer look at the country which countenances torture as a beacon for the world and the rule of law.
Earth Day, that bi-partisan concept of Gaylord Nelson in 1970, has become the focus of almost hatred by today's Republican leadership. Many still argue that global warming is a hoax, and that Bush has been right to demean and suppress the arguments of scientists at the E.P.A., Fish & Wildlife and U.S.Geological Survey.
I say a pox on them and their values.
Until the past few weeks, I had hoped that the party could right itself, returning to the values of the Eisenhowers, Fords and George H. W. Bush.
What finally turned me to despair, however, was listening to the reports, or watching on C-Span, a whole series of congressional oversight hearings on C-Span, held by old friends and colleagues like Pat Leahy, Henry Waxman, Norm Dicks, Nick Rahall, Danny Akaka and others, trying to learn the truth on the misdeeds and incompetence of the Bush Administration. Time after time I saw Republican Members of the House and Senate. speak out in scorn or derision about these exercises of Congress oversight responsibility being "witch-hunts" or partisan attempts to distort the actions of people like the head of the General Service Administration and the top political appointees in the Justice and Interior Departments. Disagreement turned into disgust.
I finally concluded that it was a fraud for me to remain a member of this modern Republican Party, that there were only a few like Chuck Hegel, Jack Warner, Arlen Specter, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins I could respect.
Two of the best, Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, and Jim Leach of Iowa, after years of battling for balance and sanity, were defeated last November, and it seems that every Republican presidential candidate is now vying for the support of the Pat Robertsons and Jerry Falwells rather than talking about a return to the values of the party I joined nearly 59 years ago. My favorite spokesmen have become Senators Jim Webb and Barack Obama.
And so it was, that while at the Woodland courthouse the other day, passing by the registrar's office, I filled out the form to re-register as a Democrat.
The issues Helen (McCloskey) and I care about most, public financing of elections, a reliable paper ballot trail, independent re-districting to replace gerrymandering, the right of a woman to choose not to bring a child into the world, a reversal of the old Proposition 13 and term limits which have so hurt California's once superb education system and the competence of our Legislature, are now almost universally opposed by California's elected Republicans, and the occasional attempts at reform by our Governor are looked on with grim disdain by most of them.
From Helen's and my standpoint, being farmers in Yolo County gives us the opportunity to work for purposes which were once Republican, but can no longer be found at Republican conventions and discussions.
I hope this answers your questions about the party and a government I have served in either civil or military service under ten presidents, five Republican and five Democrat ... I doubt it will be of much interest other than to our friends, but it has been a decision not easily taken.
Respectfully, Pete McCloskey
http://archive.truthout.org/article/pete-mccloskey-leaves-republican-party
AnotherMcIntosh
(11,064 posts)Caligulla
(1 post)and the election of George W. Bush in 2000 has led to wholly new concept of governance
George W. Bush governed as a Wilsonian Democrat rather than a traditional Republican. The last real Republican the DNC had to campaign against was his father (Bush The First), who was a one term President (weird isn't it that the son won a second term?)
I seriously doubt they'll get as good a candidate again in the near future. Most are getting out of politics and applying themselves to the public sector. This last Congressional cycle saw more retirements and "won't run agains" than I've seen in 30+ years of being a voting citizen.
Until the RNC and Party as a whole get their act together they can look forward to getting regularly trounced in national elections for the foreseeable future.
nineteen50
(1,187 posts)I no longer recognize my party.
frylock
(34,825 posts)as the two parties continue to list to the right.
Coolest Ranger
(2,034 posts)gateley
(62,683 posts)rightsideout
(978 posts)Yea, I voted for Ronnie before I knew better.
But I voted for Clinton twice when I was a Republican. Then changed from Republican to Democrat in 2000. I voted for both Gore then Kerry and Obama twice.
I dumped the Republican Party for a bunch of reasons. A friend was running for County Council and he asked me to design his website and change parties to vote for him. At the same time I was involved in promoting electric cars and solar energy. The Republicans kept voting down efforts to block alternative energy technology. I was like, "WTF?" when I saw Republicans voting down some EV or solar grant or incentive. I was shooting my self in the foot being a Republican and promoting alternative energy. Another reason is I didn't trust George W Bush and liked Al Gore because he was an alternative energy pioneer.
I kept finding myself at odds with the Republican party and their intolerance. So I changed over and haven't looked back. It's why I came up with the name "Rightsideout."
47of74
(18,470 posts)But then I saw where the Republicans were leading this country - right down the shitter. I saw them embroil us in wars of aggression to enrich themselves. I became a Democrat back in 2004 and have not looked back since.
Warren Stupidity
(48,181 posts)But you might find it more like home.
mountain grammy
(26,648 posts)A big part of the ARA was tax cuts, not nearly as stimulating to the economy as out and out spending. The whole structure of the ACA is Republican, and no public option. What's up with that?
I voted for Obama, the moderate Republican because no Democrat was running and the other choice was unthinkable.
truebluegreen
(9,033 posts)AnotherMcIntosh
(11,064 posts)He took a lesson right out of Reagan's play-book.
Other than that, I don't know what the phrase "moderate Republican" refers to.
Myrina
(12,296 posts)Thank you.
Kablooie
(18,641 posts)Recently became a Democrat.
I was stunned.
John2
(2,730 posts)who do not agree with the State's Rights agenda to leave the Republican party. The more the better. This is not the Party of Abraham Lincoln or even Ronald Reagan dare I say. It is Strom Thurmond and Jessie Helms' Party. The Republican Party is not for Social Security or Medicare either. Older white people are continously being fooled into thinking the Republican Party wants to protect their interests. They should be voting for the Democratic Party like everyoneelse. That is where their interests are and not with the race baiting of the tea Party and Koch brothers. They cannot win the Popular vote, so they use the oldest tactic in History. It is called Divide the masses and Conquer. They play on fear. They use this strategy in Foreign Policy and Domestic Policy. When the Republican Party resorted to the Southern Strategy, it was just another form of that tactic. It is no different than what plantation owners did to justify the American Civil War. Just replace them with people like the Koch brothers. The groups in the Democratic Party are not the enemy.
The Republican Party use to be a Northern Party. The North did not leave the Republican Party. The Party left the North along with the Southern Strategy. In the last two Elections, President Obama won three out of four regions. He did not only lise the South, but he got trounced in the South except for areas of more diversity. Even in Southern States where you had large Black populations, Obama only got in the teens among white voters of the South. That was not the case in the other three regions. This is not just associated with a Black President either, but with the Democratic Party. The roles have reversed between both Parties except for name only. So that is why I'm claiming the Republican party has been hijacked by appealing to racists. That was the Southern Strategy all along. It was like a cancer on the Party. You cannot have a rational discussion with people whose ideolgy is based on hatred of skin color.
Jamaal510
(10,893 posts)the number of Republicans who have crossed over versus the number of Democrats. Throughout the election season and beyond, I have heard quite a few stories about not only Republicans criticizing their own party, but also people who were once Republicans, but didn't like the way it is being taken over by the extremists. I can only think of two people off the top of my head who claim to once be Democrats, but are now Republicans: Arthur Davis and this guy:
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blkmusclmachine
(16,149 posts)And because of it, the Party is pitched to the right in a 24/7 pursuit of "bipartisanship," which means we wind up with some sh!tty warmed over GOP legislation with a big fat "D" after it, and told to be happy that we got that much.
John2
(2,730 posts)talking about Obamcare? I see it as the opposite. Obamacare moves you closer to universal care. This is a long term War with the Right. Those that do come to the Democratic Party, you can have a rational debate with. The Republican Party has become more extreme and intolerant. The other serious problem are corporate interests. Both Parties have a problem with that. Ther only way to fight that is to get better candidates, probably like Elizabeth Warren, who are willing to take them on.
AnotherMcIntosh
(11,064 posts)Who brought top-level Bush officials into executive positions in the White House? Do you remember when this was excused by some under the theory that he was a 12-dimensional chess player and some kind of nonsense about the desirability of "keeping your enemies closer"?
Who gave de facto immunity to openly admitted war criminals, even after Cheney gave a TV interview and happily admitted his role in water-board torture? Do you remember the excuse offered by some at the time that Obama was trying to bring us all together? How do you bring together those who want the rule of law and those who don't?
Who has continued endless wars in the middle-east? Do you remember those who have excused this by saying that he ended the war in Iraq while disregarding the mercenaries that we pay to continue an Iraq occupation? Do you remember those who excused the expansion into Afghanistan on the grounds that he said before the 2008 election that he said, without identifying any limits, that he would expand the military into Afghanistan?
You took the initiative to mention Obamacare. A program that is the exact opposite of a program for universal health care. But you indicate that perhaps, someday, it will evolve into universal health care?
The poster didn't mention Obamacare, but you did. It is now the excuse for every Republican policy that Obama has adopted. Did you not know that Obamacare - the opposite of universal health care - started as a Republican concept? The fact that some Republicans want an even worse health care system does not mean that we should close our eyes and disregard the fact that it is not universal health care and there is nothing, other than "hope," to support a belief that it will evolve into universal health care.
Can you think of even a single important policy promoted by Obama that is not a Republican policy?
great white snark
(2,646 posts)I'm sure others can chime in.
AnotherMcIntosh
(11,064 posts)Dream Act = Continuation of Reagan's (R) let's give amnisty to those aliens who knowingly broke the law and create a magnet for more illegal aliens instead of respecting the aliens who followed the law in their quests to becoming Americans.
ending wars = it is a Republican policy to say one thing and do another in furtherance of more wars and occupations in the Middle-East.
equal pay = it is a Republican policy to take credit for the actions of others. Was Obama a primary supporter of the Lilly Ledbetter Act, or a hanger-on who, as President, didn't veto it?
not defending DOMA = A lot of Republicans showed by their actions that they were not in favor of DOMA. Did Obama do more than not defend DOMA?
thetruthhurtsforsome
(33 posts)The Corporate Dems/Centrists/Thirdway/DINO's need to be chased out of the Democratic Party in the same manner the Dixicrats were chased out. They need to fix the REPUBLICAN Party but instead they lack the courage to be a Republican so they try to hide in the Democratic Party pushing Republican Policies.
They cause nothing but harm and damage to the party and the American people.
I am starting to see the writing on the wall, the Democratic Party is becoming the CORPORATE Party and if that is what the majority of the party wants, fine by me, I will find another party to join and support or just become an independent.
The so called big tent needs to be much smaller.
truebluegreen
(9,033 posts)Welcome to DU!
AnotherMcIntosh
(11,064 posts)Egalitarian Thug
(12,448 posts)I remember when the Democratic Party stood and would fight for something beyond elected. While it's true that you have to be elected to change anything, it is just as true that after the election the thing has to be changed.
idwiyo
(5,113 posts)This is kind of like (New) Labour Party in UK - same old neocon/Tory bullshit with a new name to get elected.
The "Big Tent" BS has to stop at some point.
BlueDemKev
(3,003 posts)Let me say that, although I've never been a Republican, I no longer recognize the party, either!
Brother Buzz
(36,463 posts)[font size="4"] Why I Parted Ways With The Right[/font size="4"]
By Charles Johnson
30 November 2009
1. Support for fascists, both in America (see: Pat Buchanan, Robert Stacy McCain, etc.) and in Europe (see: Vlaams Belang, BNP, SIOE, Pat Buchanan, etc.)
2. Support for bigotry, hatred, and white supremacism (see: Pat Buchanan, Ann Coulter, Robert Stacy McCain, Lew Rockwell, etc.)
3. Support for throwing women back into the Dark Ages, and general religious fanaticism (see: Operation Rescue, anti-abortion groups, James Dobson, Pat Robertson, Tony Perkins, the entire religious right, etc.)
4. Support for anti-science bad craziness (see: creationism, climate change denialism, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, James Inhofe, etc.)
5. Support for homophobic bigotry (see: Sarah Palin, Dobson, the entire religious right, etc.)
6. Support for anti-government lunacy (see: tea parties, militias, Fox News, Glenn Beck, etc.)
7. Support for conspiracy theories and hate speech (see: Alex Jones, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Birthers, creationists, climate deniers, etc.)
8. A right-wing blogosphere that is almost universally dominated by raging hate speech (see: Hot Air, Free Republic, Ace of Spades, etc.)
9. Anti-Islamic bigotry that goes far beyond simply criticizing radical Islam, into support for fascism, violence, and genocide (see: Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer, etc.)
10. Hatred for President Obama that goes far beyond simply criticizing his policies, into racism, hate speech, and bizarre conspiracy theories (see: witch doctor pictures, tea parties, Birthers, Michelle Malkin, Fox News, World Net Daily, Newsmax, and every other right wing source)
And much, much more. The American right wing has gone off the rails, into the bushes, and off the cliff.
I wont be going over the cliff with them.
SmittynMo
(3,544 posts)First time I've read this. All its all the truth!!!!
marlakay
(11,491 posts)Took Amtrak to Seattle. Light rail to sea tac, waiting for plane to Cali.
She and I had easy nice talk about our kids and traveling. Then she started talking about how bad obama was that he wanted to raise age for SS.
I turned to her and smiled and said, whoa...I am big Obama fan worked on his campaign.
I told her how republicans have changed and that her party is taking in too many crazy people. She mentioned she heard remark from Oreily. Go figure!
I told her it was not true but you could tell she believed every word they say at fox. I told her to get news online from outside America to get a nonpartisan view.
SmittynMo
(3,544 posts)They're all nuts. She went back home and turned on FAUX!!! Good try though.
SmittynMo
(3,544 posts)Last edited Thu Feb 21, 2013, 01:27 PM - Edit history (1)
I applaud your post. The GOP has not been the same for over a decade. It's smart people such as yourself, who have figured out the GOP and that their "me me me" attitudes are going to destroy the GOP. It has been said many times after this last election that if the GOP doesn't change their stance they will never win again. NOTHING has changed. I do remember a day when both sides sat down and compromised. Not any more. What did it for me was 2 things. 1 - When Obama was elected in 2008, McConnell saying their first priority was to not have him on as second term president. Screw the budget, Screw bipartisianship. Screw the country. Our priority is to not have him as a 2nd term president? And 2 - the 47% remark. That doomed Rmoney and their far right attitudes. People really woke up to the real GOP then.