Republicans must head back to center
Published: November 24, 2008
An important step for Republican Party recovery is to move it back to the center. This will be a difficult, decade long, hard turn away from the elite right neo-cons and the social fundamentalists that
Christine Todd Whitman, co-chair of the Republican Leadership Council, says is holding the party hostage.
The move is necessary because these two entrenched groups have run the party to ground. Under their leadership, the party no longer has the moral authority to govern.
The social fundamentalists so overwhelmingly control the Republican Party that they deter many talented Republicans of different beliefs from seeking political office because in good conscience they
cannot support the social fundamentalists’ approved theology. This is not a good situation for the party or for democracy. The net effect is a reduced Republican talent pool that many refer to as
a “dumbing-down” of the party and a dramatic shift away from its historic principles.
What Whitman and other keen observers saw on Election Day was the return of millions of centrist Reagan Democrats from their diaspora. They could no longer accept immoral preemptive wars, the use
of torture, the use of illegal searches, a presidential philosophy that holds itself above the law and so many extreme social and economic positions the essence of which violated their moral
consciences.
Clearly in a democracy the people want governance that does not impose the theocratic hegemony of the extreme right.
WILLIAM H. WESTHOFF
Woodbridge
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Reader Reactions
raywilliams said: “America was NOT founded as a Christian county, but a country where freedom of religion prevailed. Hence, the separation of Church and State we so cherish.“
I stand by what I said. America was not founded to be ruled by the Christian bible, in the way Iran, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan are ruled by the Koran and religious leaders.
Hence our freedom to practice any religion we wish, or to practice none at all if that is our choosing.
Your “history lesson” would lead one to believe the Christians are merely humoring those American citizens who do not practice Christianity.
Can you give me one example where the words of the bible trumps our national laws?
Does Billy Graham tell the president what laws to impose? Are Muslims or Buddhists not free to practice without fear of retailation?
Does anyone care if Thomas Jefferson went to church or not?
I truly do not understand what you are trying to say, but if I did understand it, I might believe you are trying to tell me HOW I should think and what I SHOULD believe in, so I would be just like you and intolerant of others.
And your comment “your hate and rejecton of God has no boundaries” puzzles me. How does one hate or reject what does not exist?
I would suggest that YOUR hate and rejection of those that do not share what YOU believe to be has no boundaries.
You are free to worship a rock or a tree or anything else that floats your boat. You may form any scope of political party you wish without fear I will interfer with your right to do so. Just don’t think for one minute you have the right to impose your personal thoughts on me.
Do not feel obliged to say “Sorry, I was wrong” ... it is understood.
scorpio,
The civil war was fought over “States Rights,“ namely; whether or not states had the right to seceed from the Union if they did not agree with laws coming out of Washington, D.C.
Slaverly was the issue that drove southern states to seceed; Southern states demanded the right to maintain the institute of slavery, and northern states wanted to abolish the practice. But the war was not fought, in the initial phase, over abolishing slavery.
Some of you are overlooking th efact that Democrats won and Republicans lost. People were just tired of the social dogma.
Had McCain moved to the center and not chosen Sarah Palin, darling of the social conservatives, as his running mate, we might very well be preparing for his inauguration.
Mainstream is called that for a reason.
Mr. Charest, I agree the Native Americans deserved better though I doubt they would be treated with more dignity if the French or the Spaniards had conquered them. And I agree that the South was fighting to remain separatists and “to continue to be slave holders” in your own words. Do you deny that white people spilled each others blood in order to get rid of slavery?! Would you deny that Lincoln campaigned against expansion of slavery before the Civil War started? Would you also deny William Wilberforce role in abolishing slave trade? And maybe John Newton didn’t write “Amazing Grace” either…
You say I can’t handle the truth. I agree - I can’t handle distorted historic truth.
phdee
Think like Rev. Wright follower, a racist who speak with resentment and hate against “whites” , blaming them for all the bad thing happened to the ‘blacks”. Bill Cosby is a good example for black-Americans, stop blaming to others, but themselves . There is not more slave in this country ,we have the first African American President, it is only an state of mind that many African Americans need to get over because is a ballast for their own progress.
Scorpio,
Uh, No: “Americans spilled each others blood in getting rid of slavery!“
During the Civil War, the citizens of “America,‘ were those mostly residing in states north of the Mason-Dixon Line, fighting citizens of the “Confederacy,‘ who were mostly residing in former states south of the Mason Dixon Line. “Americans” were fighting to restore the Union, while the Confederates were fighting to remain separatists and continue to be slave holders.
President Abe Lincoln said, at the start of the war, that the issue was maintaining the Union. If he could do so by ending slavery, he would. If he could do so by continuing to allow slavery, he would. Ending slavery only became the reason to fight, near the end of the war, when “Americans” needed a boost in moral.
You may want to learn some basic history of these United States.
I won’t even try to go into our history of treatment of Native Americans, colloquially known as “Indians.“ I’m not sure you can handle the truth.
Ray Williams - your hate and rejecton of God has no boundaries: there are Christian Democrat Parties in Europe and there are no theocracies there believe it or not. What could possibly be so wrong to have a party of Christian followers who define themselves as democrats who acknowledge that abortion is wrong?!Aaah… you wouldn’t want to see that - the original Democrat “Party of death” may suddenly shrink to nothing.
If you had done a research yourself instead of repeating liberal cliches and slogans (like “Change” and “Hope” recently) you might have found the truth about the “wall of separation of church and state” mentioned ONLY in a Thomas Jefferson’s letter to Danbury Baptists who were fearing that the government might intervene into church’s affairs. There is NO reference to this anywhere in the Constitution and to imply that the founding fathers had separation of church (let alone gay marriage) in mind is ridiculous - America was founded on basis of independence of the church. This is the reason the pilgrims came here from Holland where they fled King James’ persecution.
Here is one more fact about Thomas Jefferson I am sure you never heard before: Thomas Jefferson attended church services in the… House of Representatives of all places! Now, can you say once again America was not founded as Christian coutry?
Do not feel obliged to say “Thank you for the history lesson”...
phdee wrote: “this country was founded on slave labor and exploitation. Anyone who denies that is denying his American heritage.“
Congratulations, phdee! You just joined the Michael Moore club!
How lower can someone get in their hate for their home country?! Americans have fought throughout their history to spread freedom and democracy around the world, to stop the spread of communism or nazism, to remove dictators and so on. Americans spilled each others blood in getting rid of slavery! If it was not so all countries suffering dictatorships or genocide would be crying out “Help” toward France or Russia instead of America!
Shame on you and all the rest of the history distorting, God-hating, anti-American liberals!
“The failed Republican economic policies”
Yes…free trade and tax cuts for everyone, including those who’ve worked hard to be successful. Terrible idea. Oh wait…it’s called capitalism, and it’s what built this great nation. Wrong there.
“the failed Republican invasion of Iraq”
Genocidal dicatator tried by his own people and hanged? Check. Free and fair elections for the first time in 30 years? Check. Surge worked? Check. Except BHO said not only would the surge NOT work, it would “make things worse.“ Another demonstration of the boy genius’s policy saavy.
“diverting of our resources from terrorism to retaliation”
That’s funny. Since 9/11, it’s GWB 7, Al Qaeda 0. See, he understands something that Democrats never can…when someone attacks you, YOU ATTACK THEM BACK. Crazy thought, I know. But unbeknownst to the Democrats, you are actually supposed to fight back, and not simply admit defeat, disgrace, and cowardice.
We’ll be lucky if there’s anything left of capitalism, the Constitution, or our military left by the time King Obambi is done waxing socialism and surrender.
“democrats won because the economic situation and the war in Iraq and the slogan “change”.“
You are correct GSU - Democrats won for these very reasons.
The failed Republican economic policies, the failed Republican invasion of Iraq and the diverting of our resources from terrorism to retaliation, and the urgent desire of the majority of American citizens to “change” from George W. Bush to just about anybody that was not another Republican.
Which goes back to my post of this morning. Republicans beat John McCain. Barack Obama did not beat John McCain. Obama just asked the question “do you want four more years of Republican leadership?“.
If America is not successful during the next four years, we only have President Bush and the Republican Party to blame.
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