What is the future of the republican party?

[zipman]

I am big on fiscal responsibility and small government and this administration goes through money like Ted Kennedy goes through Scotch at and open bar.

This administration has gone through money far worse than Teddy-boy ever could.

 

[unregistered]

 

[zipman]

Yawn. Who cares what happens to either aspect of our one party system?

Actually I think it's pretty hysterical that republicans have spoken about what they would do with control of congress and the white house and once they had it, they've handled it far worse than the democrats ever could.

Spending is like a runaway freight train, nation-building left and right, piss poor security.

 

[Moxon4]

Well I'm a Republican, I think I'm the first to admit it on the thread.

The Republicans havne't been doing a bang-up job of things according to the media, but after Rather's little escapade most Republicans don't believe the media anyway. The economy is going well, and when it comes down to it, most people vote based on that than anything. I hate this guy, but to quote Paul Begala "It's the economy stupid" If people are employed, making good money, and things are going well, they'll just vote for the status quo. The tax cuts have worked to grow the economy, and it's not because of a tech bubble or people cooking the books (at least as far as we know) Tax receipts are actually up 13.4% from last year, because the way to increase tax receipts is to increase the people paying the tax, as opposed to the tax rate. I think the Republican platform is changing, but the strategists for the GOP know that Bush's numbers suck, so they throw out issues to let Republican congressmen disagree with him, and then the media does a bunch of "GOP Congress disagrees with Bush" stories.

I don't think that Iraq is going to be as big of an issue for the midterms, it's not like changing the members of the House will change our policy because to do that it would take the Democrats actually having balls and cutting the spending for it, it's the top issue for 2008 though, so keep an eye on top dogs from either side commenting on it.

As a Republican, I hate McCain, he's a grandstander, and him going to a tv camera is like a moth going to a light, plus he ruined any chance of real campaign finance reform, and took away the chance to have a real showdown when it came to the Supreme Court. That's why I want Mike Huckabee (Governor of Arkansas) to be the nominee.

The Democrats are now in the position that the Republicans were in for a long time, they're trying to regain power, and since they haven't been in power for awhile, they seem like a good alternative. I don't think they really have any positions on anything because "Bush is evil." Their biggest problem is that all the money from special interests on the Democrat side is the ultra-leftist kind, and to get it they have to screw the center, which is the wrong way. Clinton gave them a roadmap on how to win, and yet they constantly ignore it. I think the best thing that can happen to the Republican Party is for Speaker Nancy Pelosi to be in charge for 2 years, it's going to guarantee a Republican win in 2008

 

[unregistered]

 

[SleepingWarrior]

I agree they have handled it badly, but listen when I tell you that nothing can beat the 45 year stretch of Democrat control of Congress for shear spending blunder.

They make these guys look like pikers, and their spending prectices, sadly, will soon be brought forth to remind us of why we turned the place over to the Republicans a few years ago.

Eh, it doesn't matter which party is in power when it comes to just throwing money down the drain. Its just a matter of which pet issues have the money thrown to them. A lot of this problem comes from just who is able to run for office these days... if you aren't a millionaire you have basically no chance of even making it out of the primary. Millionaires have money to blow so they have little sense and possibily little respect for having to scrape by paycheck to paycheck.

 

[unregistered]

 

[Mr. Mann]

The future of the Republican Party?

Vote Libertarian!
http://www.lp.org/

 

[Slowlane]

Democrats plan to inject spirituality into agenda

The republican party hasn’t done all they should lately, But the Demas have done nothing. I mean NOTHING – In fact they stood up and cheered about at the state of the union address. When Bush said that congress had done nothing about social security the Dems stood up and cheered.

Like, YAY, OH BOY, we haven’t done a fucking thing and we’re proud of it.
The problem is that many republican voters are so disgruntled that they may not go vote. And, it's posible they could draw votes from the relegious movenent with the new ploy. (note the word ploy) If that happens the Dem’s will win by default.

Then, my friends, we are right and truly fucked.

 

[Wrong Element]

Making long term predictions about either party is tough, since both parties have flipped around quite a bit over the last 150 years.

The Republicans are going to have to change because they've pretty much maxed out on the whole "party of white people" thing. That's enough to get them 300 electoral votes and a bare majority in Congress right now, but that can't last forever. Which is why so much Republican energy over the last few years has been devoted to trying to "voter proof" their current majority, with things like the Texas redistricting and putting ideologues a few years out of law school on the federal bench.

I think that making Mexicans the new enemy might get them a short term gain--certain Republicans seem to need enemies to find any reason to get up in the morning. But it's a losing battle in the end.

 

[Moxon4]

Yeah, but Bush did make gains from 2000 in terms of minorities voting for him. I don't think skin color has as much to do with it as economic factors, as many studies have confirmed. Usually people who make similar amounts of money vote the same way, regardless of race

 

[woody54]

All the bluster about whether the republicans or Democrats are better for the US is a distraction from the reality that the power base of both parties and a significant base of senior Government bureaucrats are all members of the CFR which has its own agenda. The public get to fight over apples and oranges considerations while everyone takes it up the arse from the establishment.
Americans are trained to lose themselves on meaningless dickmeasuring arguments while the direction of the US is laid out in advance by published policies of the elitist globalists in the CFR... they are equal opportunity deceptors in the political game.
There is no major league politician without their backing.

If more people were to step back from their bubble thinking, they would recognise what a crock of shit democracy is in its current form.

 

[Imhotep]

I forsee brown shirts in the future. And no riff raff.

 

[MechaBlade]

I have a feeling that this mid-term election is going to decide what the republican party is going to become.

There's a fire smoldering in the big tent and the religious right seem to be the match. There's a lot of frustration on the part of the religious right that Bush hasn't vigorously pushed their anti-gay amendment.

There's also a lot of anger from fiscal conservatives to the utter lack of fiscal restraint demonstrated by both congress and the president over the course of the Bush presidency.

About the only core group who isn't pissed at him is big business.

The republicans have abandoned many of their supposed core values over the last 5-6 years, such as fiscal responsibility, small government, american isolationism, etc.

It should be pretty interesting watching what happens.

They will morph and survive as they always have. Probably by becoming more liberal, or by staying loyal to the few conservative issues that people will care about.