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Add to FavoritesIn my opinion, if it's not broken, it's well on its way. It just doesn't stand for what it once did. The recent and present party officials in power have slowly been moving the party away from its once proud tradition of standing for smaller government and more personal freedom for all Americans.
John McCain has captured the nomination but he certainly isn't the most conservative candidate of the field. Indeed, he would be considered the least conservative. I can't help but think that this may lead to a Democrat in the white house. I think he would stand a better chance of winning against Hillary, but the momentum has shifted toward Obama and if it's a choice between Obama and McCain, Obama will win simply because the American public is sick of the war in Iraq and the Bush (Republican) administration in general. They will see Obama as the candidate of change and McCain as simply more of the same.
So why are the so-called conservative power brokers and the Republican Party backing him? Why are they backing the least conservative candidate in the field? I think they have strayed from the Republican Party's platform. It appears to me that they have moved the party more toward the left so it's not going to be as clear of a choice for the voters come November.
The Republican Party is the party of freedom, "the strength of our nation lies with the individual and that each person's dignity, freedom, ability and responsibility must be honored." Our personal freedoms are constantly being eroded away by the ever increasing intrusion into our lives by the federal government. The premise to limit the power and scope of the federal government and put more power in the hands of the states has always been a Republican ideal. But now they seem to be following the Democrats down the road of bigger and more government, higher spending and more involvement in the affairs of other countries.
Thomas Jefferson once said that we should have "Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations-entangling alliances with none" He knew that it was essential to have good relationships and free trade with other countries but wrong to get involved and try to influence or control their affairs. He was right then and it's right now but the Party has moved away from this simple premise.
In some ways, John McCain will appeal to the more moderate Republicans. A lot of people are conservative in some ways but lean more toward what is traditionally considered a liberal point of view on issues such as the environment, global warming and alternative fuels. John McCain will appeal to these more moderate Republicans but on one key issue, he will not.
I believe we are at a point in our history when a lot of Americans are starting to believe we should get our troops and influence out of most other countries in the world. The Republican Party is not offering any indication that this is their goal. McCain comes off as just the opposite, a person that easily commits our troops at the drop of a hat and believes that we should continue or even increase our influence around the world. This may be his downfall in the end. Anyone that believes we should get out of the Middle East and other places around the world will have a hard time getting behind him.
The only thing the GOP has going for it at the moment that will appeal to voters is the ideal of lower taxes. It's clear that either Clinton or Obama in office will result in much higher taxes to pay for all the programs and even more government control that they are touting.
Voters are faced with the choice of lower taxes but a continuing war or a promised withdrawal from Iraq but paying much higher taxes. In the minds of many voters, there is no clear best choice here. It's either one bad thing or the other bad thing.
We need someone that will bring our troops home from Iraq and around the world but also lower taxes and revamp the federal government by downsizing and making it more efficient. That's what the Republicans should be offering but they're not and I think it's a big, big mistake.
One thing seems clear. America has gone down the wrong road and I'm afraid that none of the present candidates, Republican or Democrat are offering the solution.
Learn more about this author, MJ Miller.
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No
Is the Republican Party broken? After watching Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama hiss and claw at each other for the past few months I'm not worried about the Republican Party nor do I wonder if it is broken, at least not irreparably so. The Republican Party is in the process of healing and all without the help of Barack Obama.
As the months wear on, Republicans will see enough of the backstabbing and infighting and they'll conclude that John McCain is a better choice for President of the United States. As an added bonus, McCain may get some votes from the fall out of the fight between Clinton and Obama.
The Republican Party is beginning to unify behind John McCain. His maverick style can become an asset as he directs it toward issues that matter to the American people. Dick Morris, former member of the Clinton White House, who has been favoring the Obama camp, is beginning to give helpful comments to the McCain camp on how to win the hearts and minds of voters.
Since he announced his candidacy, Obama has gotten a pass from the mainstream media, but recent events suggest that the honeymoon is just about over. Once Obama is fully vetted, some people may change their minds about him.
Chicago breeds Chicago politicians - not messiahs.
Hillary's been a great help to Republicans, she given more than $10 million worth in smear attacks on Obama during the campaign for the Democrat nomination. The information she gave has been available online for some time, but she made the search engines sing with the information she gave on Wright and the others.
Republicans still have the smear to face.
The $40 million smear campaign against McCain led by David Brock and fueled by George Soros is hardly a surprise to anyone. McCain should feel honored; I believe Soros only spent $26 million to defeat Bush. It looks like McCain has a higher bounty on his head, but George Soros isn't putting up all his own money this time.
At the beginning of the primaries, it was the republicans who were called "undecided" on a candidate. The primaries yielded a winner quickly and it was settled by March 4, 2008.
Whose party is split now?
Obama is at odds with the image he is projecting.
Obama is criticizing the debate moderators in Philadelphia because of the questions asked about his association with Bill Ayers and Jeremiah Wright. With regard to Ayers, former Weather Underground and bomber, Obama says they don't exchange ideas "on a regular basis." That's good to know, but I wonder how often they do exchange ideas?
"According to Politico, Ayers also hosted a political event for Obama in 1995 with his wife Bernadine Dohrn, another former member of the radical weathermen group. The purpose of the event was to help launch Obama's campaign for the Illinois State Senate." http://blog.washingt onpost.com/fact-chec ker/2008/04/pennsylv ania_democratic_deba te.html
Tony "The Fixer" Rezko hosted fund raisers for Obama too, long before he assisted with Obama's housing problem with finances, fixing it with a real estate deal in 2005. After 20 years, Obama claims he still doesn't know if Rezko is a fraud and they're still friends unless Rezko proves to be guilty. I guess now is not the time to brush off Rezko while he is on trial.
Is he nave or just a bad judge of character? Either way, he has a long list of friends who are anti-American. There are more Obama friends and connections like Ali Abunimah, Rashid Khalidi, and Nadhmi Auchi. Does he know who they are?
Republicans may have problems when the Democrats launch their $40 million smear campaign, but the party is not broken and it has plenty of ammunition.
Learn more about this author, Mona Gallagher.
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