Posted by
Yubaduck on Sunday, May 18, 2008 11:42:11 PM
My Mom is the only person in my life who I was able to discuss politics with before coming to Townhall. She and I have a lot of agreement on issues. My mom and dad live with my 83 year old lifelong Democrat grandma. One of the shows she watches religiously for political knowledge is "Meet The Press". I rarely see it, and while Russert slants very left and is off the deep end on the war, it can be illuminating to hear analysis from that side. My mom wrote me this e-mail this morning, summing up that while the political class in the Republican party recognize that the party is in decline, they completely misunderstand why. I have nothing to add to this, she sums up how I feel about this party perfectly.
Hi Wil,
.....The last 3/4 of the program was a panel with Bob
Scum (like that spelling?), the republican
counterpart whose name escapes me and Ford from
Tennessee and last but not least Mike Huckabee. I
have to say I liked listening to Ford. Not because
I agreed with what he said but because he listens
and does a good job of really debating. He did say
that if Obama moves to the middle and adopts less
severely liberal policies he WILL win the election.
I believe that is true. Mostly because of what
Huckabee and the other republican said.
Both said the republican brand is broken. I've read
all those articles too but what has broken the brand
isn't what they both believe. I listened to both of
them tout the wonderous praises of John McCain.
They believe he is the one and only person who can
repair the "brand" because he isn't one of old guard
republicans. They think he is the only one who can
win the election because he is a straight talker and
isn't a Bush clone. This went on and on and on and
on.
As a former democrat I beg to differ with this
simplistic analysis. I believed it when John
Kennedy said, "Think not what your country can do
for you, but what you can do for your country!" Now
today that would mean get a government job so you
can get extra perks, gain power, and never get
fired, but that isn't what I believed then.
Ronald Reagan is the first republican I voted for
and it was because I truly believed government was
the problem and not the solution. As a young
Christian I saw God as my savior and ultimate
protector and not Washington. I believed if
government got out of the way our economy would
flourish because I had seen the opposite in the
Carter years. I believed if a farmer was growing
the wrong crop he should suffer the loss and learn
from the experience, not be paid to artificially
tamper with the price. That's how it worked for us.
And the farmer anology is a perfect one for most
government programs. The ultimate result is far
different from what is intended. It almost always
leads to dependence, corruption, and misplaced
power.
I lost faith with George Bush because he
substantially increased the size of government. Not
because of the Iraq war. I also disagreed with his
reluctance to halt illegal immigration and his
abysmal lack of communication. If anything, my
rejection of Bush's policies is a reflection of his
lack of conservative economic policies. The
republican brand isn't broken in my opinion it has
just been forgotten and trampled by power-hungry
politicians who put their election above everything
else including consistent values and our freedom
from government interference in our lives. As I
listened to Mike Huckabee and the other republican
on Meet the Press today, I despaired of them ever
really "getting" the problem. A dream is dying and
no one even understands or cares.....
So my question is, is there a leadership in the party that will listen to the base and mend the party, or is it time to leave this broken brand and start new? You all are the base as well, what do you think?