Comments on: A Few (New?) Thoughts http://www.nextgengop.com/2009/03/31/a-few-new-thoughts/ Political Commentary and Analysis from the GOP's Future Leaders and Visionaries Mon, 24 Oct 2011 08:04:48 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 By: LibertyNow http://www.nextgengop.com/2009/03/31/a-few-new-thoughts/comment-page-1/#comment-2563 LibertyNow Thu, 02 Apr 2009 02:40:52 +0000 http://www.nextgengop.com/?p=1315#comment-2563 I agree with your overall response Sal, but in regards to what the GOP should do I don't think it is plausible that they'll go back to core principles of conservatism. One reason is because they never had them, at least not many of them. Case in point, McCain is a self declared fiscal conservative. He supposedly is the advocate of excessive pork-barrel spending, yet when the first corporate bailout bill was being debated he folded like a lawn chair and supported it. How can you support corporate bailouts and be a principled fiscal conservative? You can't, it's impossible. Not to mention all the credibility he lost with all the pork that was stuck in that bill. This just goes to show that most of these people do not have a single ounce of principle. They talk a good game, but when it comes time to cast a vote on legislation they think more government is the answer. The only way the GOP will be credible in the future is to throw out the unprincipled hacks, and replace them with fundametally sound conservatives. I agree with your overall response Sal, but in regards to what the GOP should do I don’t think it is plausible that they’ll go back to core principles of conservatism. One reason is because they never had them, at least not many of them. Case in point, McCain is a self declared fiscal conservative. He supposedly is the advocate of excessive pork-barrel spending, yet when the first corporate bailout bill was being debated he folded like a lawn chair and supported it. How can you support corporate bailouts and be a principled fiscal conservative? You can’t, it’s impossible. Not to mention all the credibility he lost with all the pork that was stuck in that bill. This just goes to show that most of these people do not have a single ounce of principle. They talk a good game, but when it comes time to cast a vote on legislation they think more government is the answer. The only way the GOP will be credible in the future is to throw out the unprincipled hacks, and replace them with fundametally sound conservatives.

]]> By: Sal http://www.nextgengop.com/2009/03/31/a-few-new-thoughts/comment-page-1/#comment-2513 Sal Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:44:07 +0000 http://www.nextgengop.com/?p=1315#comment-2513 I think you miss the point that many of us have when we say we want the Democrats to fail. I don't want them to fail in the sense of ruining this country, and I know others (such as Fred Thomson, Bobby Jindal, and most notably Rush Limbaugh) don't mean that either. What we mean when we say we want the Obama policies and Democrat policies to fail is that <b><i>don't want to see them implemented</i></b>. For example, I am very glad that it appears that Card Check has failed. It would be bad for the country and bad for the economy. In the same way, I want the President's budget to fail. I don't want to see it passed. Its consequences will be disastrous for the nation, and therefore I want Obama to fail to get it even enacted. It is disingenuous to accuse anyone who wants these policies to fail as being hateful. It is precisely love of this country and what makes it great that causes us to want these anti-American far-left policies to fail. That said, the Republican Party has its share of problems, and they are quite extensive. Under Bush, they became the free-spending entitlement party. The GOP needs to do three things: 1) Rid itself of corruption and corrupt influences. 2) Return to its Conservative philosophical roots and core principles of limited government, fidelity to the Constitution, and freedom. 3) Use these core principles to come up with new policy ideas that address the problems of 2009, but don't compromise on basic principles. The GOP also has to change tactically, utilizing technology and seriously engaging the grassroots. The party also needs to learn not to accept the premises set forth by the Democrats, but to reject those premises and reframe the argument in Conservative terms. I think you miss the point that many of us have when we say we want the Democrats to fail. I don’t want them to fail in the sense of ruining this country, and I know others (such as Fred Thomson, Bobby Jindal, and most notably Rush Limbaugh) don’t mean that either.

What we mean when we say we want the Obama policies and Democrat policies to fail is that don’t want to see them implemented. For example, I am very glad that it appears that Card Check has failed. It would be bad for the country and bad for the economy. In the same way, I want the President’s budget to fail. I don’t want to see it passed. Its consequences will be disastrous for the nation, and therefore I want Obama to fail to get it even enacted. It is disingenuous to accuse anyone who wants these policies to fail as being hateful. It is precisely love of this country and what makes it great that causes us to want these anti-American far-left policies to fail.

That said, the Republican Party has its share of problems, and they are quite extensive. Under Bush, they became the free-spending entitlement party. The GOP needs to do three things:

1) Rid itself of corruption and corrupt influences.
2) Return to its Conservative philosophical roots and core principles of limited government, fidelity to the Constitution, and freedom.
3) Use these core principles to come up with new policy ideas that address the problems of 2009, but don’t compromise on basic principles.

The GOP also has to change tactically, utilizing technology and seriously engaging the grassroots. The party also needs to learn not to accept the premises set forth by the Democrats, but to reject those premises and reframe the argument in Conservative terms.

]]>