re: #348 tedzilla99

Really quick - this talk of ‘exclusion’ is a bit overstated. If the GOP is losing politicians who are basically democrats - Specter, Snowe, etc. then that is the normal cycle of elections - and remember that McCain is exactly the candidate that these brainiacs seem to think the GOP needs, and he only had a decent showing thanks to Sarah Palin. If you recall JFKennedy, he was for a strong defense, anti-communist, and tax cutting. He couldn’t get on TV as a democrat today. Clinton and Gore were pro-life until they hit the big time. So, be careful when you talk about exclusion, because what I see is if the GOP were to have strong conservative leadership then you have a big tent. Some people will hang their hat on the social issues [on both sides] but in reality most people vote their wallet. If candidate A is handing out your tax money, and candidate B is wanting to cut your taxes, you have a clear choice.

I think we agree on more than we disagree. Specter wasn’t excluded, he excluded himself, and he’s done it before. By today’s standards, JFK would be considered a center-right Republican, in my opinion.

When I speak of exclusion, it our tendency to exclude candidates that don’t necessarily fit all of the expectations of the individual factions. Yes, I have no doubt that a strong conservative leader could re-erect that big tent that Reagan built, but we have to have some self identity, as Republicans, to even be receptive to that type of leadership. Until we have that self-identity, and we are willing to be united, I have to question whether we would even recognize that leader.

We can’t wait for the “conservative messiah” to solve our problems, we need to do some groundwork for ourselves.