That seems to be what McConnell wants us to do.

BO is doing much the same with his Cabinet appointees; it’ll just take longer to come out. And he’s certainly doing it with the Porkulation Bill.

These discussions get bogged down when they start to argue at the extremes. I may be wrong, but the specifics of a Human Life Amendment (that’s what HLA means, right?) are nowhere near the center of my conservative principles. That is, I think the Tenth Amendment is far more important than any state legislation that might come out of it.

States rights mean just that, let the state determine what the law on end of life and abortion should be. South Dakota did a pretty good job of sorting out the matter in a way that seems satisfy the majority of the citizens of that state, as would California.

In terms of a change in R principles , moving away from support of pushing for Federal intervention in abortion matters to a desire to let states decide what to do about abortion would in my view go a long way to attracting the middle back to the party, but somehow I can feel the slings and arrows being prepared now.

For what it’s worth, I have voted for every CA initiative that has tried to introduce reasonable restrictions on abortion like parental notifications, but I would probably not support a HLA amendment here in California.

10th Amendment and keeping the Federal government out of states rights in end of life decisions and abortion matters.

Fiscal restraint.

Pretty simple stuff, but something that half the “base” won’t like.

So, it seems that McConnell is suggesting we should change our ideas. “Ideas” in this context are “principles,” and changing principles to attract voters makes no sense unless you’re a Democrat and can run supporting one set of “ideas” and then support the opposite once you’re elected. Given that “integrity” is one of our “ideas,” that wouldn’t work very well for Republicans.

Therefore, I must believe that McConnell really wants to abandon those principles that he finds inconvenient in campaigning in the Northeast. I have to agree with those folks here who have surely pointed out that we’ve lost ground there by ABANDONING our principles, not by sticking with them too closely.

McConnell’s path is not only counterproductive, it’s already been proven so by the history of the last 17 years. Disaffection with Republicans started with the failure of George H. W. Bush to keep his promise against “no new taxes.” You can fill in the mistakes of the interim years at your leisure.

We either believe in Conservatism or we don’t. We either believe it’s the right way to govern, or we don’t. Our task isn’t to find the principles that will attract more voters, it’s to find ways of articulating Conservative principles truthfully that will convince those voters it’s beneficial to become conservative in their outlook on life, and to vote Republican as a result.

Jeff said it well. Mitch McConnell didn’t.

this side of the ditch is in a lather over how to turn even harder right of late.

by saying “even harder right” you’re saying the party has been “hard right” up till now….I contend they’ve been anything but….on fiscal issues, social issues and any other issue you want to name

hose that tried to be name brand conservative let social issues (abortion, guns, etc.) get in the way of true, fiscal conservancy, and so people voted for the devil they knew instead of the devil they didn’t. If you give people two very well defined

those are winning issues for us…and please tell me how the Republican Party has focused on those issues…and spare me the rhetoric…give specific examples…

The problem is they haven’t been conservative on any issues…Fiscal or social….and if some in the squish leadership had their way…we’d have given up on Iraq and the surge in 2006…The idea that Socons are the cause of the fall of Republicans over the last 4 years is a joke and nothing more than elitist libertarian propaganda!

The problem we have as a party is not a result of to much conservatism…I’m convinced it’s a result of not doing what we say we’ll do, not standing for what we say we stand for, and doing exactly what McConnell says we need to do.

Run another McCain in the General…and we lose again…McConnell needs a clue!

Odd that someone should say this as the Obama Administration tries to push another questionable nominee through Congress, further expending rapidly diminishing good will.

Odd that someone would say that as the GOP picked an able and dynamic man as its Committee Chairmen.

so what’s your point?

If the arguement is that we need to stop ceding a huge part of this country to the enemy without a fight then I’m with you…we need to contest every election in every district from LA to NY…..but if you’re arguing that we need to move the entire party leftward as McConnell, McCain, and the rest of the Washington crowd are arguing…then you’re dead wrong…