"Once again we can snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory!"
Speaking as a Conservative who often votes with the Republicans, as of late it has been very painful to watch what is going on in Washington. Not only painful, but brutal. Whereas this month the discussion was suppose to center around the multitude of problems with Obamacare, instead it has focused on the "War of the Roses" in the Republican Party. It has been dirty laundry getting washed, live and in color, not only on C-SPAN, but also the major networks. As we come speeding down the super highway of government ineptitude, the table has now been set to blame and embarrass the Republicans.
We have slide a long way down the hill since we have had the likes of Ronald Reagan and Lee Atwater guiding the Republican Party. They would make mincemeat out of the Democrats, and do so with a smile on their faces. They knew how to play the game, manipulate the press, and come up with a winning hand. So what in the world has happened? How could this have gone so wrong?
Many think it started after the great Republican sweep of 1994. This historic election returned the control of the House and Senate to the Republicans under the leadership of Speaker Newt and Leader Dole. President Clinton had overplayed his hand in letting his unelected wife try and initiate "HillaryCare" and the voters did not like it. The Republicans were now going to put some sanity back into our Federal Government.
There was a fight itching to happen. Clinton had no time for the Republicans and visa versa. The Republicans passed the 1996 budget through the House and Senate and sent it on to the President for signature. It has many of the pet rocks that Clinton liked either pared back or eliminated. As expected, Clinton vetoed the bill and the Government shut down. When it was all said and done, and a budget was finally agreed to and governmental operations resumed, the Republicans got tagged for the loss. Clinton's number's went to an all time high.
I believe this was the genesis of the Republican "War of the Roses". One side wants to get stuff done, but not risk being accused of not "playing nice" and then getting blamed once again by the voters. The other side is sick of lukewarm Republicans which often act similar to Democrats. As establishment Republicans have acted more like the moderate Democrats of old, it has allowed the more liberal Democrats to move even further to the Left. Consequently, there have been a growing number of fights within the Republican Party on what path should be taken. Meanwhile, the very liberal Democrats (including our President), have been running all over the field, mostly unchecked.
Many of today's Conservatives are not married to the Republican Party. They tend to often vote Republican because it is the better of the choices. However, if the Republican Party strays too far from conservative values, the Conservatives within will drop the party like a bad habit.
The Republican Party really needs to look in the mirror and decide who it wants to be. If it wants to be a "Democrat light" party, fine. Just say so and lets move on. If it wants to once again hold close to conservative values, great. Lets do it. However, the public display of the circular firing squad does nobody any good - unless that nobody is a Democrat.
We have slide a long way down the hill since we have had the likes of Ronald Reagan and Lee Atwater guiding the Republican Party. They would make mincemeat out of the Democrats, and do so with a smile on their faces. They knew how to play the game, manipulate the press, and come up with a winning hand. So what in the world has happened? How could this have gone so wrong?
Many think it started after the great Republican sweep of 1994. This historic election returned the control of the House and Senate to the Republicans under the leadership of Speaker Newt and Leader Dole. President Clinton had overplayed his hand in letting his unelected wife try and initiate "HillaryCare" and the voters did not like it. The Republicans were now going to put some sanity back into our Federal Government.
There was a fight itching to happen. Clinton had no time for the Republicans and visa versa. The Republicans passed the 1996 budget through the House and Senate and sent it on to the President for signature. It has many of the pet rocks that Clinton liked either pared back or eliminated. As expected, Clinton vetoed the bill and the Government shut down. When it was all said and done, and a budget was finally agreed to and governmental operations resumed, the Republicans got tagged for the loss. Clinton's number's went to an all time high.
I believe this was the genesis of the Republican "War of the Roses". One side wants to get stuff done, but not risk being accused of not "playing nice" and then getting blamed once again by the voters. The other side is sick of lukewarm Republicans which often act similar to Democrats. As establishment Republicans have acted more like the moderate Democrats of old, it has allowed the more liberal Democrats to move even further to the Left. Consequently, there have been a growing number of fights within the Republican Party on what path should be taken. Meanwhile, the very liberal Democrats (including our President), have been running all over the field, mostly unchecked.
Many of today's Conservatives are not married to the Republican Party. They tend to often vote Republican because it is the better of the choices. However, if the Republican Party strays too far from conservative values, the Conservatives within will drop the party like a bad habit.
The Republican Party really needs to look in the mirror and decide who it wants to be. If it wants to be a "Democrat light" party, fine. Just say so and lets move on. If it wants to once again hold close to conservative values, great. Lets do it. However, the public display of the circular firing squad does nobody any good - unless that nobody is a Democrat.
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