Republicans have abandoned their Conservative principles and that is why they have been defeated in recent elections. As a conservative I am ashamed to see the party fall to the hands of George Bush and John McCain and other phony conservatives. Our leader was Ronald Reagan who gave us a platform and voice with which to articulate our philosophy to Americans all around the country. We have been embarrassed and defeated by the hypocrisy of recent Republican control. However, the conservatives will regroup and weed out the fake, phony and fraud Republican. We must go back to our roots and draw inspiration from a great conservative Barry Goldwater and his principles of true conservatism. I have confidence this defeat will humble us and we'll move forward with a new vision to restore America to what the founding fathers fought so hard to create.
Absolutely - both parties are similar under the hood. Both sides ultimately crave power and once they get it, they get corrupted over time. And then they purge and restart and get healthy again. It's just a matter of time before the GOP reshapes itself in a positive way.
While that is the conventional wisdom and has been true for the past several cycles of political history, it would not surprise me at all if the Republican Party as it has existed since the 1980's crumbles soon. I've never in my lifetime seen anything close to the problems the Republicans face now... when Sarah and Joe are your most recognizable faces and your only policy is more of the same and the intellectual arm of your party is confined to focus groups and messaging it does not bode well.
Like I said earlier, the Republicans always abandon their "conservative principles" when in power. Conservatism is just a slogan they have used in the past to gain power. What's changed in the current environment is the term "conservative" is no longer a catchword Republicans can wrap themselves in and feel good. I doubt it becomes the epithet that the word "liberal" is, but it's going that direction. If you continue looking back to Barry Goldwater and/or Ronald Reagan, you will never receive another mandate from the American people. The GOP needs to look forward and figure out how to make themselves relevant in today's world. It isn't the 1700s, 1960s or 1980s any more. Looking backward is exactly why the party is so stale and empty of new ideas. It's the same old gruel warm over. RR, your comment on Reagan is dead on. He did the easy part, which was cut taxes. When it came to the notion of cutting spending, he threw it out the window. Yet he is lionized by "conservatives" to the point of being a mythical figure.
