tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21079623.post4716966368841876225..comments2023-04-20T23:23:08.705-07:00Comments on NeoMugwump: Moderate Republicanism: Is It Worth Fighting For?Dennis Sandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06115504318620722199noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21079623.post-23522634983169638812009-10-25T12:21:18.288-07:002009-10-25T12:21:18.288-07:00I might have mentioned awhile back that I gave up ...I might have mentioned awhile back that I gave up on being Republican a long long time ago.<br /><br />The thing is, when you look at the polling numbers, how many people identify themselves as Republican dropping to their lowest points since Watergate (ABC poll at 20 percent, Gallup at 27), that's a lot of moderates fleeing a sinking ship.<br /><br />Does that make us whiners? Well, not as bad a bunch of whiners as the Far Right is getting ("oooh, Obama is picking on us because we've been so MEAN to him! Waaah!"). The problem is, being out of the Republican Party as I am, as a lot of moderates have become over the years, I'm in no position to do anything about it anyway.<br /><br />I'm out. That's the whole point. And if you're thinking I need to come back to the GOP, forget it. I had little say in what was going on anyway when I was there. The people I backed kept losing... because the deeper pockets (Club for Greed) and the crazier advocates (the pro-lifers) kept rigging the games. If that sounds like whining, it's not. Take a good hard look at how candidates get chosen: who gets paid off, who knows whom, whose asses need to get kissed, etc. Any fight I'm going to get involved in if I come back to try and get more moderates into positions of authority within the party machine will go nowhere.<br /><br />Being moderate doesn't mean being stuck in the middle of the road getting hit by cars - that's a terrible analogy. It also reminds me of Eisenhower's retort that being Left or Right on that road means you're in the gutters. Being moderate is supposed to mean being reasonable, capable, respectful, level-headed. Something the GOP doesn't want right now... hasn't wanted since 1992.<br /><br />Being moderate means getting leaders who are trustworthy, honest enough to admit something isn't working and to switch to more practical efforts, and following through on their proposals. Point to someone, anyone in the current GOP that fits that description please.<br /><br />The GOP right now is led by those who won't EVER admit tax cuts were/are a bad idea, who think neocon war plans to bomb everyone else is a worthy goal, and who tend to work 2 days out of the week and spend the rest on vacations planning their future gigs for lobbying jobs. And anyone who comes along to say otherwise ("Gee, guys right now tax cuts won't help our deficit problems, let's say we hold off on that kind of talk until unemployment gets down below 5 percent") gets heckled and tossed out of the party (where have you gone, Paul O'Neill?)<br /><br />So I left. So a lot of moderates left. Yes, it's killed the Party in terms of numbers. But that's what the Wingnuts wanted when they started RINO-hunting. Let them have it. Let them kill the party. They'll do it whether we're there or not. And they'll never cop to it either. The only thing that will happen if we moderates do come back is that we'll remain accomplices to the wingnuts' madness. It will only encourage them into thinking there's more people supporting them than truly are.<br /><br />Fight's over. Norquist and Armey won. Let them go.<br /><br />It'd be nice if we moderates have a new home (a viable third party) to go to, truth be told, but we don't. You are right about one thing: we moderates are as bad as the Democrats in trying to get together to form ANYTHING. At least the Dems have a 200-year plus organization in place: we moderates are gonna have to start from scratch.<br /><br />Tell you what: if you can get people on the Moderate Voice and other moderate-leaning blogs to get financial backing for a third-party Moderate Party, I'll sign up, pay the dues, work the party machine, what have you. We moderates NEED to get organized. And it's gotta start somewhere.Paul Whttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13092023794397583036noreply@blogger.com