They want to maintain their relevance. This is self-preservation They want to desperately avoid their extinction.

You’ve really focused on fiscal issues here. And I agree, many of our leaders don’t have one ounce of fiscally responsible blood in their bodies.

I’d look at the other legs – Socially, I don’t think we’ve moved to the right. I think rather, new issues have come to light since the 80′s that make us seem further right- e.g. gay marriage, and illegal immigration amnesty.

On foreign policy, when the thought of a foreign power comparing to us militarily seems laughable, many don’t understand why we have to engage in any military conflict at all.

Both of these are our fault for losing the message war. Just as I think we are winning the message war with the public on issues like gun ownership rights, card check, the fairness doctrine, and the need for low taxes, we are losing the battles on the issues I’ve mentioned above, and on a range of other issues.

I’m a regular lurker to blogs on the left. As they gloat about their now 60 strong senate majority, they continue to argue that they are winning because their beliefs are in the mainstream. I disagree with that notion. They are winning, because on every issue they pick the feel good response, the easy out. They win by default to an uneducated public. We win when we teach the public the need for restrain or discipline on issues.

To do this, we don’t only need to be correct, but we need to be able to convey our conclusions in 30 second or 2 minute. And it is tough, when we have a more thoughtful conclusion that takes longer to really do justice to the idea.

Like the kid said in “Dr. Morag, MD”:

“I don’t know. It has never happened.”

Washington DC Republicans have done very little “social conservatism” since Reagan.

House Republicans took a bit of a risk voting unanimously against the “stimulus” bill. They made a tactical decision that the Party needed to reclaim credibility on matters fiscal, even if it meant opposing a newly elected President. There were plenty of good arguments that could be made against it – calling the bill “Porkulus” is way too kind (think ‘bovine excrement’) – problem was those arguments would never see the light of day unless Senate Republicans held the line and forced Obama & the Dems to engage/deal with them on the bill.

Of course, Specter couldn’t be bothered with that – - – he didn’t / doesn’t care enough about the economics to oppose the bill when there’s a sticky re-election campaign coming up in 2010.

Specter wasn’t in trouble as a Republican because of abortion or any other ‘conservative’ issue – he was in trouble because Pennsylvania Republicans, who’d indulged him on social issues for YEARS, finally came to the conclusion they couldn’t count on him on economic issues either.

Specter will be far more at home in the Democrat party – he has the ‘entitlement’ mentality mastered.

I agree with the statement above this all about relevance. These people choose to be liked and want to be invited to participate instead of taking a stand on the tough decisions. They won’t stand up for true conservative values because they don’t want to be left out of the discussion. As many have said, We tried the moderate route with McCain and we all saw how that worked out.

When, not if, we get back on message McCain and his daughter along with Frum, Brooks and Noonan will be a distant memory and I for one will not miss what they have to say.

I laugh when people say that conservatives are not inclusive. We are, we just choose not sacrifice our beliefs to be a part of the popular class. I also agree with the comment above taking the “feel good” route. Being a conservative takes discipline, its not easy because our core beliefs are constantly under fire. I will always have to work hard to be a conservative…for me, my family and my community.

one allows the very, VERY far left to define the center.
As constituted today, the Liberal Democratic Party declares that anyone not in lock step with the Socialist/Fascist beliefs is to far to the right.
Even demanding that the size of government, and the associated spending, grow no more then the rate of inflation is declared to far right!
And for far to many years, the Republican ‘leadership’ has enabled, empowered and allowed the far far left to keep moving the goalposts further and further left.
What the Conservatives of this Nation need, and NOW, is a charismatic leader, who espouses the “radical far right” notion of smaller government, less tax and spend, personal responsibility.
I just don’t know if that person exists.
Or is willing to make the kind of sacrifice that is needed to win.

have chang

They are talking about the electorate…it isn’t that they have moved farther to the right really, just the ones that were more liberal switched parties to vote for Hillary. Leaving the true conservatives with a greater share. That really isn’t moving any farther right than Reagan had it (well at least in theory, maybe not totally in practice – yeah he disappointed occasionally, but his rhetoric was in the right place though). Arguably the more ‘pure’ republican voters in PA are still to the left of Reagan.

Now you may say that the public officials are a reflection of the electorate, but you have to remember the huge advantage incumbents hold, and the biggest party switching happened just this past election.

Now I fail to see how someone like Ms.McCain who calls herself a ‘progressive Republican’ can really consider that they are republicans. When I think of progressives I think of Hillary Clinton, not a moderate. Her dad is probably the only reason she is an (R) – didn’t she claim to support both Gore and Kerry? Yeah I know Bush and McCain didn’t play nice in the primary but to support a democrat over the republican? :/

It’s odd, so many GOP’ers look wayyyy back to Reagan as their future GOP hope. Unless I’m mistaken– he didn’t decrease the size of Gvt in the least; like GW he cut taxes and doubled the national debt. The GOP’s problem is that it sat on it’s hands during the previous 8 years and accepted the whole slash & burn Rove/Cheney message”You’re either with us or the Evil-doers” without a peep. >> Now >> the GOP is trying to retro-fit its message: WE HATE DEFICIT SPENDING AND BIG GOVERNMENT,,,,, ahemmm, yeah, right. Since when, January 19th 2009? Somehow the GOP needs to cut the apron strings of the GW era & also the Christian Coalition style of finger pointing, screamy- angry / white/ affluent cookie cutter morality.

than why do the Democrats all pretend to be Republicans every election cycle?

And to add… in all this analysis, I haven’t read a reference to Zell Miller.

If Specter’s clownish excuse is the party has moved rightward, where is the comparison to Zell Miller’s excellent RNC 2004 convention speech where he takes his party to task, here is a snippet:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/09/01/politics/main640299.shtml

“In 1940, Wendell Wilkie was the Republican nominee.

And there is no better example of someone repealing their “private plans” than this good man. He gave Roosevelt the critical support he needed for a peacetime draft, an unpopular idea at the time.

And he made it clear that he would rather lose the election than make national security a partisan campaign issue.”

Read the whole thing my friends, there is a man of principal!

Compare and contrast!

“Kids, I want you to look at these two things, who can tell me what is different?
Ah… Timmy… you raise your hand if you want to be called on!”

I can’t see how any of our positions have shifted since Reagan. If anything we have drifted leftward under people like McCain and Graham.

The best way to counter the charge that Conservatives have moved “too far right” is to simply challenge Liberals to identify those parts of our agenda and philosophy they disagree with and to articulate those parts of the Liberal and Obama agenda they support. Most will be unable or unwilling to do so.

I’d like someone to put that question to Specter to see what he’d say.

Nobody but a few care about what you are all talking about.

The Dems managed to wreck the economy while a Republican President was in office. That is why we lost. Understand how the Dems wrecked to economy then you can begin to fight back by stating to the People

See the blog “The Oil Drum” November 5, 2008 – $4.00 gas killed the American consumer. Why did we get $4.00? Cause the Dems blocked off ANWR in 1996.

Talk radio should say this every day. every hour!

…it’s us know-nothing voters.
And for the record I’m not MOVING right, everybody else has gone so far left that by comparison I LOOK extremist. I haven’t moved since 1985 when I finally saw what really worked. Reagan conservatism.

Note to lefties;
“Don’t be afraid to see what you see.” -Ronald Reagan

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Marginal rate at 35% compared to Reagan’s 25%.

When did the GOP EVER support same-sex marriage?

When did the GOP EVER support abortion on-demand?

What is this MORON talking about?

but I think that the culture has become less and less concerned over social conservatism. I’m 22, and my experience with people my age, even younger Republicans, is a lack of concern for a lot of Social Conservatism first, fiscal conservatism in the back seat (like Mike Huckabee.) The real trick is getting the two on a more even footing because fiscal conservatives left because of the Bush administration. Ones that didn’t care so much about abortion, same-sex marriage, flag burning, etc. etc.

To some degree, young people are, more and more, getting their news from people like John Stewart. I think John Stewart is a funny guy, but he obviously has a liberal slant. After enough time, his kind of message sinks in though. This seems like a mixed blessing to me. If the Republican party can harness a libertarian view towards social issues, they could move a lot of young people towards conservative fiscal issues. This is how the base could be expanded.

I was going to say something about the war, but it seems like it’s terrible to start a war, but once it’s been started you have free reign to do whatever you want. Obama isn’t getting the troops out of Iraq. 100 days have passed and no real progress has been made for that. Clinton bombed a number of countries and had a series of military action on the ground in Somalia and the Balkans. No one really made a fuss.

The biggest possible way Obama would fail would be by sending soldiers into Darfur. I hope he doesn’t because some of our soldiers would likely die for something that isn’t any of our business, but I think that might catalyze a shattering of his image here and abroad if it turned into a quagmire.

This is quite a good case against MSM lie that the Republican Party has moved to the far right.

In fact, the Party is already on the left side of the middle:

Proof: Just look at Bush’s last 12 months in office plus the growing number of defectors from the Republican Party:

- Libertarian Party
- Constitution Party
- American Independent Party

The existence of these third parties is the reason why I’m so worried on the possible fall out that may be caused by the NCNA to the GOP.

The lib media perpetuates the lie that the GOP has moved to the right. The truth is that it has moved to the center.

20 years ago, no Republican would have supported civil unions as a watered down version of anti-family gay marriage.

20 years ago, no Republican would have passed a prescription drug benefit primarily designed to attract the votes of seniors who were too short-sighted to save for their own retirement.

20 years ago, no Republican would have even pad lib service to RINOs like Snowe and Collins.

People, it is 1965 all over again. It looks grim right now, but soon Obama’s spell will wear off. Things turn quickly after a low point. If we consolodate behind the TRUE conservatives, we will have a message ready to win big in 2010.