I Want My Party Back

Off Topic Politics and World Issues
1

"My mum wrote me a letter the other day and she said, ‘Son,’ - she’s 86 years old - she said, ‘Son, please don’t become a Democrat’.

And I told my mum, I called her and I said: ‘Mum, you know what? I want my party back. I don’t want to become a Democrat. I want my party back.’

The Republican Party that I knew, that I grew up in, a moderate party, a party that believed in fiscal discipline, a party that believed in small government, a party that had genuine conservative values. This is not a conservative leadership. This is radical leadership. I called them neo-Jacobins. They are radical. They’re not conservative. They’ve stolen my party and I would like my party back."

  • Larry Wilkerson, Colin Powell’s former chief aide.
2

[quote]GDollars37 wrote:
"My mum wrote me a letter the other day and she said, ‘Son,’ - she’s 86 years old - she said, ‘Son, please don’t become a Democrat’.

And I told my mum, I called her and I said: ‘Mum, you know what? I want my party back. I don’t want to become a Democrat. I want my party back.’

The Republican Party that I knew, that I grew up in, a moderate party, a party that believed in fiscal discipline, a party that believed in small government, a party that had genuine conservative values. This is not a conservative leadership. This is radical leadership. I called them neo-Jacobins. They are radical. They’re not conservative. They’ve stolen my party and I would like my party back."

  • Larry Wilkerson, Colin Powell’s former chief aide.[/quote]

well, i’d agree with that. The problem with small government = people say the government failed them whenever a 9/11/hurricane katrina/andrew or whatever comes through.

I dont think there is going back to small government…ever.

3

Not just the fiscal irresponsibilty, what about all the religious kooks who are calling the shots on the right? They are the American Taliban.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is going after internet porn now (not child porn, regular porn made by consenting adults, for consenting adults).

And forget the ban on abortion and get ready for some states to go for the gusto and try to ban contaception and sex toys. I’m not kidding.

In the GOP’s version of the future, sex is only for making babies, and only the missionary position is allowed.

I’m sure that would make some of the Right Wing prudes here very happy.

4

Isn’t that just a take-off of Reagan’s old story at one of the conventions about how the Democratic party left him, he didn’t leave the Democratic party?

5

The Republicans are only for smaller government when the Democrats are in charge.

The Republicans are for big government. The Democrats are for bigger government. Some choice, huh?

6

[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
The Republicans are only for smaller government when the Democrats are in charge.

The Republicans are for big government. The Democrats are for bigger government. Some choice, huh?[/quote]

“I think the puppet on the left reflects my views.”

“I like the puppet on the right!”

"Hey, they’re both controlled by the same guy!

“Shut up, kid. You’ll spoil the show.”

–Bill Hicks

7

[quote]Brad61 wrote:
Not just the fiscal irresponsibilty, what about all the religious kooks who are calling the shots on the right? They are the American Taliban.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is going after internet porn now (not child porn, regular porn made by consenting adults, for consenting adults).

And forget the ban on abortion and get ready for some states to go for the gusto and try to ban contaception and sex toys. I’m not kidding.

In the GOP’s version of the future, sex is only for making babies, and only the missionary position is allowed.

I’m sure that would make some of the Right Wing prudes here very happy.[/quote]

Few conservatives hold religious prejudices that could compete with the liberal prejudice against religion.

Most conservatives I know are tolerant of all beliefs, including atheism. They wouldn’t think of mocking what others believe

8

[quote]
Zap Branigan wrote:
The Republicans are for big government. The Democrats are for bigger government. [/quote]

Huh?

Bush expanded the government 40% larger than Clinton’s government. How does your comment make any sense, except in a shallow I-believe-the-spin kind of way.

9

[quote]hedo wrote:
Few conservatives hold religious prejudices that could compete with the liberal prejudice against religion.

Most conservatives I know are tolerant of all beliefs, including atheism. They wouldn’t think of mocking what others believe
[/quote]

Oh sure, I believe you. This is from the Power Of Christ thread. Do you know what cognitive dissonance is?

[quote]“Judge not according to the appearance…” -

Your appearance at T-Nation - vulgar, obscene, perverse, morally liberal.

You frequent the sex forums and defend it as justifiable for Christians to play with sex. Sex is great! I love it with my wife. You, on the otherhand, don’t care if it’s man and woman, woman and woman, man and man, woman man and man and man, etc…

Of course, this is just the appearance. However, the Bible tells us that it should stay with Man and wife. The appearance is that you don’t care what God’s word says - you’ll do what you want to do. [/quote]

Wow, that sounds really tolerant of all beliefs.

If somebody wants to believe that every word in the bible should be interpretted literally, that’s their problem. The problem within the Republican party is that a lot of these kooks are now running the party and making decisions for the rest of the party and the rest of the country, that do not share their views.

Hell it’s no skin off my nose, in fact I love it. I think most Americans will find the views of Christian extremists politically offensive (banning contraception, banning abortion with zero exceptions, banning pornography, etc). The more people get exposed to these views the more they will reject them.

What’s relevant to this thread is that religious extremists are fragmenting the GOP, and may very well make it impossible for them to win at the polls in the future.

10

[quote]Brad61 wrote:
Not just the fiscal irresponsibilty, what about all the religious kooks who are calling the shots on the right? They are the American Taliban.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is going after internet porn now (not child porn, regular porn made by consenting adults, for consenting adults).

And forget the ban on abortion and get ready for some states to go for the gusto and try to ban contaception and sex toys. I’m not kidding.

In the GOP’s version of the future, sex is only for making babies, and only the missionary position is allowed.

I’m sure that would make some of the Right Wing prudes here very happy.[/quote]
Agreed!! I believe they had past lives,during the Salem Witch Trials

11

Both parties are VERY irresponsible and WE are to blame. We want lots of benefits, a strong military, social programs ad infinitum. They are simply giving us what we demand.

We are trading our freedoms for a $1000 SS check and Medicare.

But reality cannot be cheated – we cannot continually spend more than we have earned. The possibility of a new and worse Great Depression is, IMO, staring us in the face. Watch the government controls and regs then.

12

[quote]hedo wrote:
Brad61 wrote:
Not just the fiscal irresponsibilty, what about all the religious kooks who are calling the shots on the right? They are the American Taliban.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is going after internet porn now (not child porn, regular porn made by consenting adults, for consenting adults).

And forget the ban on abortion and get ready for some states to go for the gusto and try to ban contaception and sex toys. I’m not kidding.

In the GOP’s version of the future, sex is only for making babies, and only the missionary position is allowed.

I’m sure that would make some of the Right Wing prudes here very happy.

Few conservatives hold religious prejudices that could compete with the liberal prejudice against religion.

Most conservatives I know are tolerant of all beliefs, including atheism. They wouldn’t think of mocking what others believe

[/quote]

Until recently I would have agreed with you, and I say this as a Christian, but some of the fundamentalists and evangelicals who increasingly dominate the GOP worry me. Assholes like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell (who Bush certainly communicates with through surrogates). When Samuel Alito has to write a thank you note to James Dobson, I get a little concerned.

13

The Republicans have always been a big tent – at least in my lifetime, and I’m 31. The Dems enforce party-line discipline on their hot-button issues – when is the last time you saw a nationally prominent pro-life Democrat? Any ever speak at conventions? How about on the Republican side of the aisle? Do the names Giuliani or Schwarzenegger ring any bells?

And that’s just one issue. I’m sure with just a little thinking we could list a bunch more issues in which there is serious intraparty debate on the Republican side of the aisle, while no dissent is tolerated with the Dems.

Yet somehow its zealots on the Republican side that have taken over the party?

Listen, I’m not getting all I want from the party in power at the moment – not by any stretch of the imagination. But I don’t think pointing to one subgroup of the big tent has any particular bearing regarding the fact that some group or other has taken over the party.

14

[quote]Brad61 wrote:

Zap Branigan wrote:
The Republicans are for big government. The Democrats are for bigger government.

Huh?

Bush expanded the government 40% larger than Clinton’s government. How does your comment make any sense, except in a shallow I-believe-the-spin kind of way.
[/quote]

Prove this. Bush slowed the rate of growth of countless government programs and they were called cuts by the Democrats.

And military spending during a war does not count as government growth.

15

[quote]BostonBarrister wrote:
The Republicans have always been a big tent – at least in my lifetime, and I’m 31. The Dems enforce party-line discipline on their hot-button issues – when is the last time you saw a nationally prominent pro-life Democrat?
[/quote]

Um, Harry Reid?

[quote]
Any ever speak at conventions? How about on the Republican side of the aisle? Do the names Giuliani or Schwarzenegger ring any bells?

And that’s just one issue. I’m sure with just a little thinking we could list a bunch more issues in which there is serious intraparty debate on the Republican side of the aisle, while no dissent is tolerated with the Dems.

Yet somehow its zealots on the Republican side that have taken over the party?

Listen, I’m not getting all I want from the party in power at the moment – not by any stretch of the imagination. But I don’t think pointing to one subgroup of the big tent has any particular bearing regarding the fact that some group or other has taken over the party.[/quote]

I don’t think I could ever bring myself to vote Democrat, but I don’t enjoy voting for the lesser of two evils either. And it’s not as though “one subgroup of the big tent” is particularly distasteful; increasingly that subgroup is the big tent, or at least ringmaster of the circus inside.

16

[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
Brad61 wrote:

Zap Branigan wrote:
The Republicans are for big government. The Democrats are for bigger government.

Huh?

Bush expanded the government 40% larger than Clinton’s government. How does your comment make any sense, except in a shallow I-believe-the-spin kind of way.

Prove this. Bush slowed the rate of growth of countless government programs and they were called cuts by the Democrats.

And military spending during a war does not count as government growth.[/quote]

You aren’t really going to argue this are you? LBJ (LBJ!) boosted domestic discretionary spending (adjusted for inflation) by 33.4%. This was the Great Society, sweeping social legislation, etc. In five years, Bush has increased it by 35.1%. And that?s without the costs for Katrina and the Medicare benefit. That has absolutely nothing to do with defense spending (which is too small in my book).

17

What I should have said was that federal spending under Bush is up 42% since Clinton left office (not the literal size of the federal government, which Bush definitely expanded, but I don’t know by how much).

http://www.factcheck.org/article376.html

18

Harry Reid
Bob Casey Jr. (trouncing Santorum in the polls)

Big party at my house if the GOP runs Rudy Giuliani for president… Woo Hoo! He’d lose bigger than any other candidate in history. Sadly he won’t make it out of the primaries without getting shredded. I would love to see it.

A bunch, huh? Go for it, if you want. The GOP is not more tolerant and welcoming than the Democratic party by any stretch of the imagination.

I hope the Far Right religious extremists get even more power, not less. I want to see them tell the Protestants, Roman Catholics, Jews and Lutherans that their brand of faith is lacking. Just the infighting over what should constitute official school prayer would be SO entertaining.

19

[quote]Brad61 wrote:
Not just the fiscal irresponsibilty, what about all the religious kooks who are calling the shots on the right? They are the American Taliban.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is going after internet porn now (not child porn, regular porn made by dconsenting adults, for consenting adults).

And forget the ban on abortion and get ready for some states to go for the gusto and try to ban contaception and sex toys. I’m not kidding.

In the GOP’s version of the future, sex is only for making babies, and only the missionary position is allowed.

I’m sure that would make some of the Right Wing prudes here very happy.[/quote]

Brad,

Posts like these only show your clear immaturity, lack of historical knowledge, and a hatred for your country and the ideals in which it was founded.

Some of us “religious kooks” actually love America, would die for America, and have sent our sons and daughters to do the same. What have you sacrificed for your country?

Remember the words of [Democratic] President John F. Kennedy – “ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country.” Wouldn’t it be great if more democrats were like this!

20

[quote]steveo5801 wrote:
Brad61 wrote:
Not just the fiscal irresponsibilty, what about all the religious kooks who are calling the shots on the right? They are the American Taliban.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is going after internet porn now (not child porn, regular porn made by dconsenting adults, for consenting adults).

And forget the ban on abortion and get ready for some states to go for the gusto and try to ban contaception and sex toys. I’m not kidding.

In the GOP’s version of the future, sex is only for making babies, and only the missionary position is allowed.

I’m sure that would make some of the Right Wing prudes here very happy.

Brad,

Posts like these only show your clear immaturity, lack of historical knowledge, and a hatred for your country and the ideals in which it was founded.

Some of us “religious kooks” actually love America, would die for America, and have sent our sons and daughters to do the same. What have you sacrificed for your country?

Remember the words of [Democratic] President John F. Kennedy – “ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country.” Wouldn’t it be great if more democrats were like this!

[/quote]

I agree. We should all do our country a favor by not watching porn. Porn is what’s really wrong with America today.