Author Topic: Country Club Republicans Must Go  (Read 7752 times)

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Offline happyg

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Country Club Republicans Must Go
« on: October 05, 2013, 09:36:00 pm »

Country club Republicans seem to be clueless about Democrats. Although country-club Republicans are reluctant to criticize Democrats of any stripe, they don't mind attacking other Republicans, like Ted Cruz. Some Republicans provided Chris Wallace with opposition research against Cruz. As Sarah Palin noted, country club Republicans eat other Republicans.

John McCain's assault on Ted Cruz in the Senate after Cruz's filibuster against Obamacare shows just how far "moderate" Republicans will go to eat other Republicans.

Country clubbers' tendency to fold before Democrats is so frequent that it no longer occasions much comment. McCain's blast against Cruz, however, has made GOP country clubbers' proclivity for doing Democrats' bidding impossible to ignore.

We need to understand why GOP country clubbers are hostile to conservatives, and then recommend a reasonable course of action for conservatives to take. A successful strategy for conservatives (within the Republican Party) hinges on understanding why clubbers don't like Rightists.

There are two, probably related, reasons for country clubbers' hostility toward conservatives.

Rush Limbaugh has noted that country-club Republicans are embarrassed by conservatives. Conservatives' advocacy of social issues such as abortion, the Second Amendment, and defense of marriage seems especially galling to country clubbers. (For clubbers, Rightists stand guilty of being... conservative.) Moreover, clubbers equate conservatism with Goldwater's defeat. Even after Reagan won two landslide victories, GOP clubbers kept Reaganites at a long arm's length. Unhappily, by naming George H. W. Bush his vice presidential running mate, Reagan virtually guaranteed the clubbers would resume control of the GOP once "the Gipper" was no longer president.

Angelo Codevilla notes another reason in an op-ed piece in the February, 2013 issue of Forbes. Aspiring to be allied with America's Democrat "ruling class," country-club Republicans don't mind being junior partners in running the country.

How are the two explanations related? If country-club Republicans seek to ally with the Democrat ruling class, it is no wonder they dislike conservatives. Country clubbers accept Democrats' belief that the ruling class knows what's best for the country.

Consequently, millions of voters, especially conservatives, are orphaned. It's not surprising that, although most Democrats are satisfied their party represents them, only a quarter of Republicans believe the GOP reflects their views.

At first blush, an obvious course of action for conservatives who feel orphaned is formally to depart the GOP and form a new political party.

Opting for the "third" party route, however, would be a colossal mistake. It is unlikely that a new political party could successfully compete against the Democrat ruling class.

There have been "third" parties in America, of course, but only once -- when the newly-formed Republicans supplanted the Whigs in the late 1850s -- has a minor party achieved major party status. America has had a two-party system for most of its history.

What explains America' history of two-parties dominating our politics? One reason is the single-member legislative districts with the "first-past-the-post" principle determining the victor. Equally important is the Electoral College, which puts a premium on a party's ability to appeal to a wide range of voters in 50 states and the District of Columbia. In addition, state statutes governing ballot access generally benefit established parties and disadvantage "third" parties.

What might conservatives do? Barry Goldwater (and his backers) provides an excellent model. After losing the GOP's presidential nomination in 1960, Goldwater urged conservatives to "grow up," and work to take over the GOP's local, county, and state units.

By 1964, the Goldwaterites were in charge of the party's nominating machinery. They first took over local GOP entities, and then moved on to county and then to state organizations. The Goldwaterites' bottom-up strategy provides an excellent template for contemporary conservatives.

After LBJ and the mainstream media devastated Goldwater, country-club Republicans regained control of the GOP. Reaganites also had a long, hard slog between 1976 and 1980 to get the Gipper nominated. (Country-club Republicans' distaste for the Reaganites has already been noted.)

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Offline Rapunzel

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Re: Country Club Republicans Must Go
« Reply #1 on: October 05, 2013, 10:26:00 pm »
So if Obama DOES usurp congressional power and raise the debt limit - who is McCain/Graham/Ayoette, etc., going to support?
�The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves.� G Washington July 2, 1776

Offline truth_seeker

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Re: Country Club Republicans Must Go
« Reply #2 on: October 05, 2013, 11:05:38 pm »
Divided the GOP loses.

Unified the GOP can win.
"God must love the common man, he made so many of them.�  Abe Lincoln

Offline happyg

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Re: Country Club Republicans Must Go
« Reply #3 on: October 05, 2013, 11:16:15 pm »
Divided the GOP loses.

Unified the GOP can win.

That works both ways, truth. Why bank on the country club republicans, when there are people like Lee, Cruz, and Rand who feel like millions of us? I haven't changed my views in 45 years, but the republican party has. Truth be told, Cruz came in line with the rest of us. He isn't leading anyone, since we have already "been there".

Offline Rivergirl

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Re: Country Club Republicans Must Go
« Reply #4 on: October 06, 2013, 12:10:18 am »
If you are in a state with one of these obstructionists you must work towards a primary candidate to defeat these country club elites.

Offline sinkspur

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Re: Country Club Republicans Must Go
« Reply #5 on: October 06, 2013, 12:19:35 am »
That works both ways, truth. Why bank on the country club republicans, when there are people like Lee, Cruz, and Rand who feel like millions of us? I haven't changed my views in 45 years, but the republican party has. Truth be told, Cruz came in line with the rest of us. He isn't leading anyone, since we have already "been there".

I take it that "Country Club Republicans" includes anyone who doesn't believe in driving the country over the default cliff or who thinks this defunding of Obamacare strategy is nonsense.

That happens to be the majority of Republicans. 

Oh, and the author fails to mention the trashing the Cruz did of fellow Republicans in his 21 hour speech, and siccing his PAC on 25 Senators who dared vote against him. 

What does Cruz hope to accomplish by alienating his fellow GOP Senators?
Roy Moore's "spiritual warfare" is driving past a junior high without stopping.

Offline truth_seeker

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Re: Country Club Republicans Must Go
« Reply #6 on: October 06, 2013, 12:25:31 am »
That works both ways, truth. Why bank on the country club republicans, when there are people like Lee, Cruz, and Rand who feel like millions of us? I haven't changed my views in 45 years, but the republican party has. Truth be told, Cruz came in line with the rest of us. He isn't leading anyone, since we have already "been there".
The TP faction, or the Cruz followers, or the True Conservatives, or whatever you call them---don't have enough votes to elect a President, or control Congress. They need all the potential GOP voters, plus independents and even some democrats.

GOP members of all types ought to focus on more votes, and less fighting, namecalling. They ought to instruct their followers to do likewise.

The dems and the media like nothing better, than a divided GOP, so they stir the pot.

"God must love the common man, he made so many of them.�  Abe Lincoln

Offline sinkspur

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Re: Country Club Republicans Must Go
« Reply #7 on: October 06, 2013, 12:30:51 am »
The TP faction, or the Cruz followers, or the True Conservatives, or whatever you call them---don't have enough votes to elect a President, or control Congress. They need all the potential GOP voters, plus independents and even some democrats.

GOP members of all types ought to focus on more votes, and less fighting, namecalling. They ought to instruct their followers to do likewise.

The dems and the media like nothing better, than a divided GOP, so they stir the pot.

The TP has thrown overboard Reagan's "let's get 80% of what we want now, then come back and get the rest later."   It's 100% or nothing, and we can see how that's working in this shutdown. 

Division is what the TP wants, especially against Republican "elites."  Palin opened her yap today to scream at Republicans who have money and fund the party.  Talk about wanting to kill the golden goose!!!!
Roy Moore's "spiritual warfare" is driving past a junior high without stopping.

Offline truth_seeker

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Re: Country Club Republicans Must Go
« Reply #8 on: October 06, 2013, 12:54:08 am »
The TP has thrown overboard Reagan's "let's get 80% of what we want now, then come back and get the rest later."   It's 100% or nothing, and we can see how that's working in this shutdown. 

Division is what the TP wants, especially against Republican "elites."  Palin opened her yap today to scream at Republicans who have money and fund the party.  Talk about wanting to kill the golden goose!!!!
The entertainers have too much influence. They should be using their power to urge unity, but that doesn't satisfy those who are itching for a fight--mostly sitting home on the internet.

Big noise doesn't equal big money, or even a lot of votes.
"God must love the common man, he made so many of them.�  Abe Lincoln

Offline sinkspur

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Re: Country Club Republicans Must Go
« Reply #9 on: October 06, 2013, 01:13:03 am »
The entertainers have too much influence. They should be using their power to urge unity, but that doesn't satisfy those who are itching for a fight--mostly sitting home on the internet.

Big noise doesn't equal big money, or even a lot of votes.

Sarah Palin is not about unity.  She's about destroying the Republican Party and remaking it in her image.

Which is why she's fringe.
Roy Moore's "spiritual warfare" is driving past a junior high without stopping.

Offline Rapunzel

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Re: Country Club Republicans Must Go
« Reply #10 on: October 06, 2013, 01:28:15 am »
Sarah Palin is not about unity.  She's about destroying the Republican Party and remaking it in her image.

Which is why she's fringe.

You're so full of it.
�The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves.� G Washington July 2, 1776

Offline happyg

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Re: Country Club Republicans Must Go
« Reply #11 on: October 06, 2013, 01:34:49 am »
You're so full of it.

 :silly: From most appearances people like us are the base. Always have been, but accepted the lesser of two evils. Now is our chance to get a good guy, such a novelty in today's government.

Offline Rapunzel

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Re: Country Club Republicans Must Go
« Reply #12 on: October 06, 2013, 01:35:50 am »
:silly: From most appearances people like us are the base. Always have been, but accepted the lesser of two evils. Now is our chance to get a good guy, such a novelty in today's government.

Yep and the two country-clubbers here are freaked out about it.
�The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves.� G Washington July 2, 1776

Offline happyg

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Re: Country Club Republicans Must Go
« Reply #13 on: October 06, 2013, 01:38:40 am »
Yep and the two country-clubbers here are freaked out about it.

They are the fringe.

Offline sinkspur

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Re: Country Club Republicans Must Go
« Reply #14 on: October 06, 2013, 01:46:47 am »
You're so full of it.

Wow.  The brilliance of that argument simply gobsmacks me.
Roy Moore's "spiritual warfare" is driving past a junior high without stopping.

Offline sinkspur

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Re: Country Club Republicans Must Go
« Reply #15 on: October 06, 2013, 01:48:44 am »
:silly: From most appearances people like us are the base. Always have been, but accepted the lesser of two evils. Now is our chance to get a good guy, such a novelty in today's government.

Tea Partiers are not the base.  If they were, Rick Santorum would have been the nominee in 2012. Or Sarah Palin.

Oh, I forgot, she somehow couldn't summon the courage to actually RUN.
Roy Moore's "spiritual warfare" is driving past a junior high without stopping.

Offline happyg

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Re: Country Club Republicans Must Go
« Reply #16 on: October 06, 2013, 01:49:27 am »
Tea Partiers are not the base.  If they were, Rick Santorum would have been the nominee in 2012. Or Sarah Palin.

Oh, I forgot, she somehow couldn't summon the courage to actually RUN.


Wow.  The brilliance of that argument simply gobsmacks me.

Offline Bigun

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Re: Country Club Republicans Must Go
« Reply #17 on: October 06, 2013, 01:52:59 am »
Divided the GOP loses.

Unified the GOP can win.

So how do we unify?

WE have a party platform that was entirely written by the grass roots of the party from every corner of the land and when someone comes along and actually tries to implement what is laid out therein he is dragged over the coals unmerciful  for doing that.
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.

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Offline Lipstick on a Hillary

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Re: Country Club Republicans Must Go
« Reply #18 on: October 06, 2013, 01:58:59 am »
Wow.  The brilliance of that argument simply gobsmacks me.

Hey, I notice you haven't weighed in on the veterans' support threads.  I guess that wouldn't be very country club of you.
« Last Edit: October 06, 2013, 02:00:06 am by Lipstick on a Hillary »

Offline Rapunzel

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Re: Country Club Republicans Must Go
« Reply #19 on: October 06, 2013, 01:59:02 am »
So how do we unify?

WE have a party platform that was entirely written by the grass roots of the party from every corner of the land and when someone comes along and actually tries to implement what is laid out therein he is dragged over the coals unmerciful  for doing that.

Remember, Sink never wanted Cruz in the first place and has never had a good thing to say about Lee or Palin. 

In fact, Palin doesn't have to run for anything if she doesn't want to... something Sink just cannot seem to comprehend - or refuses to admit.
�The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves.� G Washington July 2, 1776

Offline sinkspur

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Re: Country Club Republicans Must Go
« Reply #20 on: October 06, 2013, 02:01:58 am »
Hey, I notice you haven't weighed in on the veterans' support threads.  I guess that wouldn't be very country club of you.

Obama's revealing his mean streak in dealing with the veterans.  You're doing a fantastic job of defending the vets.
Roy Moore's "spiritual warfare" is driving past a junior high without stopping.

Offline sinkspur

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Re: Country Club Republicans Must Go
« Reply #21 on: October 06, 2013, 02:06:22 am »
Remember, Sink never wanted Cruz in the first place and has never had a good thing to say about Lee or Palin. 

In fact, Palin doesn't have to run for anything if she doesn't want to... something Sink just cannot seem to comprehend - or refuses to admit.

I don't disagree with their philosophy; I disagree with their tactics.

We're stuck in this shutdown because Cruz led a small group of the House GOP down this rathole, and now my neighbor (Who works for Lockheed Martin and is a lifelong Republican) is pissed at me because he's being furloughed next week from a private defense contractor because of the shutdown. 

I told him to call Ted Cruz's office and bitch.

What, exactly, is Ted Cruz's strategy for resolving the shutdown?  Just keep doing what we're doing?
Roy Moore's "spiritual warfare" is driving past a junior high without stopping.

Oceander

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Re: Country Club Republicans Must Go
« Reply #22 on: October 06, 2013, 02:12:38 am »
Divided the GOP loses.

Unified the GOP can win.

The problem is, the dividers here are the moderates, like McCain.  You're preaching to the choir here; you should be preaching to the likes of McCain and Graham.

As seems too often forgot, the 11th Commandment was not intended to muzzle conservative firebrands in the GOP, it was intended to stop the continued self-immolation of the GOP by muzzling the moderates who were more adept at attacking the conservatives in the GOP as they were inept at attacking the democrats.

I am not saying that compromise on both sides must be the order of the day - it must - but it does mean that the moderates - who predominantly hold the higher positions of power in the GOP (largely through dint of seniority, not acumen or wisdom) - must start treating the current firebrands with respect and as adults who represent - who were popularly elected to represent - a certain not-insignificant segment of the American population.  They must also stop their insidious, vituperative, venomous attacks on those firebrands because those attacks do nothing but dispirit the rank-and-file voters the GOP depends on and gives the democrats more than sufficient ammunition to shoot down all too many republican contenders.

Furthermore, in terms of attacks, attacks on moderates as being RINOs by certain conservatives do far, far less damage because those attacks are effectively saying that the target is too much like a democrat - an attack that provides little ammunition to the democrats because, after all, what are they going to do, attack the target with accusations that he's just like the democrats themselves?  That provides precious little help in trying to distinguish themselves from the moderate who's being attacked as a RINO from the conservative side of the GOP.

Sorry, but it's the attacks and accusations from the moderates - from the McCains and Grahams - of the GOP that do the real damage when it comes to splitting the party when it comes to elections; the damage done by the attacks and accusations from the conservatives against the moderates pales into insignificance by comparison.

That is what the 11th Commandment was intended to stop, and it is high time the moderates in the GOP remembered that and stopped their senseless, pointless, suicidal attacks on the firebrands like Cruz.

Oceander

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Re: Country Club Republicans Must Go
« Reply #23 on: October 06, 2013, 02:16:28 am »
I don't disagree with their philosophy; I disagree with their tactics.

We're stuck in this shutdown because Cruz led a small group of the House GOP down this rathole, and now my neighbor (Who works for Lockheed Martin and is a lifelong Republican) is pissed at me because he's being furloughed next week from a private defense contractor because of the shutdown. 

I told him to call Ted Cruz's office and bitch.

What, exactly, is Ted Cruz's strategy for resolving the shutdown?  Just keep doing what we're doing?

Hmm, yeah.  And it had nothing to do with the democrats in the Senate refusing to consider any sort of GOP appropriations continuing resolution to fund some part of the federal government; nothing to do with the democrats' refusal to consider anything but a blanket continuing resolution.

I don't think the HuffPO could have put the "spin" more eloquently than you have.

And this is a poster-child illustration of what the 11th Commandment was intended to stop - vituperative, emotional attacks by moderates on their more conservative brethren, attacks that do nothing more than split the GOP and hand the democrats more than enough ammunition to finish off what the moderates' self-inflicted political suicide attempts have not.

Offline Rapunzel

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Re: Country Club Republicans Must Go
« Reply #24 on: October 06, 2013, 02:23:11 am »
I don't disagree with their philosophy; I disagree with their tactics.

We're stuck in this shutdown because Cruz led a small group of the House GOP down this rathole, and now my neighbor (Who works for Lockheed Martin and is a lifelong Republican) is pissed at me because he's being furloughed next week from a private defense contractor because of the shutdown. 

I told him to call Ted Cruz's office and bitch.

What, exactly, is Ted Cruz's strategy for resolving the shutdown?  Just keep doing what we're doing?

If your neighbor is a Republican why - exactly - would he be angry with you?  I think you left something out of the story you related here.
�The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves.� G Washington July 2, 1776