Survey: Conservatives Anger with GOP May Be Devastating<snip>
WASHINGTON, DC -- A poll of 1,015 conservative activists and donors shows that 77 percent are either seriously disappointed with Republican Congressional leaders or want them replaced. The survey also found that 54 percent of conservatives feel so abandoned by current Congressional leaders and President Bush that they plan to reduce their contributions and/or grassroots work for GOP candidates in the next election. And 70 percent would support a principled conservative challenger running against an established incumbent Republican in a GOP primary.
"Conservatives feel betrayed by the Republican leaders, and they want them replaced," said Richard A. Viguerie, chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, which sponsored the survey. "Conservatives, which form the GOP's base, provided most of the volunteers and money to elect a Republican-controlled House and Senate -- and wound up with bigger government as a result. Now more than half of these committed activists say they'll reduce or end their involvement in the upcoming elections -- which could prove devastating for the GOP."
Asked how they feel about the Republican members of Congress, 48 percent of conservatives report being "disappointed" and an additional 32 percent think they
"should be replaced."
Asked to grade the GOP-controlled Congress, 73 percent gave it a D or F on "controlling government spending;" 73 percent gave it a D or F on "reducing illegal immigration;" and 54 percent gave it an "overall grade" of D or F.
Sixty-three percent gave Bush a D or F on controlling government spending.
Perhaps most troublesome for the GOP, Viguerie pointed out, is how that anger may affect the upcoming elections: 51 percent of donors said they plan to reduce or end their financial support. "This is a recipe for Republicans losing. Republican leaders need to comprehend that if they govern as liberals, they will lose the support of conservatives," Viguerie said.
<snip>
Link:
http://www.theconservativevoice.com/article/28387.htmlAnd...
This Revolution Will Not Be BloggedWatching the conservosphere debate the significance of social conservatives' threats to back a third-party candidate, should Rudy Giuliani win the nomination, we are struck by one thing: There is no voice in the blogosphere claiming to speak for the social conservative movement. Sure, The Brody File does a fine job delivering the opinions of established social conservative figures (like Richard Land and Tony Perkins), but there are very few bloggers who consider themselves part of the movement. Instead most conservatives bloggers speak of social conservatives in the third person.
Just look at the different terms used to describe the group. Today we quote conservatives using 'Christian Right', 'Evangelical groups', 'pro-lifers', 'pro-life grassroots', and 'Religous Right.' Whatever divide exists between social conservatives and the GOP in real life, it has definitely materialized online as well.
...
GIULIANI: '08 To Be GOP's '68?Townhall's Matt Lewis heard AL Chief Justice Roy Moore was the early first choice for a third-party candidate, but Richard Viguerie shot down that idea in a later interview. Lewis summarizes more from Viguerie: "Viguerie believes the conservative movement has been lied to by the establishment Republicans for 45 years, and that it may be time to launch a true conservative party. He tells me that the 3rd party rumor isn't an ad hoc one-time effort to stop Rudy Giuliani, as was reported. Instead, it is a long-term paradigm shift in which conservatives will forever leave the GOP, it's natural home since Ronald Reagan."
NRO's Jim Geraghty shares this nugget from Human Events contributor Nathaniel Blake: "Far better for the GOP to lose in 2008 than for pro-lifers to be marginalized from both parties. If Rudy gets the nomination, I will oppose him vociferously. I would want to see protesters with giant gruesome aborted baby photos crash the convention. I'd want the GOP version of Chicago in 1968."
...more from Geraghty's notes: "I took an informal poll of pro-life readers of National Review Online, and heard from about 150 grassroots who had past experience volunteering for GOP campaigns at the local, state, and presidential level. ... While the poll is unscientific, it seems reasonable to surmise that if Rudy wins the GOP nomination, anywhere from a quarter to a half of pro-life activists could be playing a different role than they did in 2000 and 2004.
Link:
http://blogometer.nationaljournal.com/archives/2007/10/102_this_revolu.htmlDamn... at one point in my trip, I was at the John Birch Society's site!
:banghead::puke::hide: