Questions for the Forum's Republicans

[Siddhartha]

Who do you think are the GOP's future leaders?

Do you think the influence of moderates and the drifting away from party principles were the main reasons the GOP lost in 2006 and 2008? Why do you think the GOP lost in 2006 and 2008?

How do you think the current economic crises should be address by the Federal government? Do you think the Federal government should be involved at all?

I am curious about what Republicans are thinking after last week's election. And I have not heard any Republican proposals for addressing the current economic crisis.

It would be great if this tread did not devolve into another liberal vs conservative flame and personal attacks.

Siddhartha

 

[JJChicken]

As a partisian republican, I think Sarah Nailin' Palin is the future of the GOP. Dog-gonnit!

 

[Moonbeam]

As a self-righteous asshole, I often feel like a Republican. I have no use at all for Porn or Gambling. I would take away your right to smoke. I don't want anybody touching my guns. You'd get horse whipped for spitting on the street or sticking your gum under the table if I were running things, and if your pants hang below your ass you'd wear them over your head.

Yup, as a judgmental prick, I'm all Republican but I guess it's not really enough because, more than anything I really hate people like me. Republicans make me sick. So, even though I have all the qualifications I think really matter, I don't actually qualify to post in this thread. I'll just have to leave it up to real Republicans, the self-righteous assholes devoid of the curse of introspection, to screw up the next election for themselves. I do know this, however. If you want to win you will have to deny all your core principles, and since it's all about winning and not about principles, that should be easy.

 

[nobodyknows]

Someone who knows Africa is a continent? :laugh:

 

[sciwizam]

Originally posted by: nobodyknows
Someone who knows Africa is a continent? :laugh:

That story is a hoax.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11...television/13hoax.html

 

[SP33Demon]

Originally posted by: sciwizam

Originally posted by: nobodyknows
Someone who knows Africa is a continent? :laugh:

That story is a hoax.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11...television/13hoax.html

McCain's pick of Palin was a bigger hoax.

 

[KB]

I am unaffiliated because of the changing republican party, but align myself on some issues with either side.

The republicans lost because people were unhappy with GWB, the Irag War and the economy. McCain was too aligned with W and the people wanted any change they could find.
Hopefully repubs will get back to Barry Goldwater Republicanism and fiscal conservatism and stay away from the religious conservatism that has made them so intolerant and unthinking. If this happens, Mitt Romney or Huckabee may lead the way for them in 2012.

As a fiscal conservative, the government should have a minimal role in fixing the mess. They should help with loans to grease the wheels of the economy, but that is about it.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Siddhartha
Who do you think are the GOP's future leaders?

Do you think the influence of moderates and the drifting away from party principles were the main reasons the GOP lost in 2006 and 2008? Why do you think the GOP lost in 2006 and 2008?

How do you think the current economic crises should be address by the Federal government? Do you think the Federal government should be involved at all?

I am curious about what Republicans are thinking after last week's election. And I have not heard any Republican proposals for addressing the current economic crisis.

It would be great if this tread did not devolve into another liberal vs conservative flame and personal attacks.

Siddhartha

I don't know who the GOP's future leaders will be. My hope is that they will be both socially liberal and fiscally conservative, something the GOP has not been for some time now. I do think that if the current leaders are kept, the party will fail.

I think that the main reason the GOP lost in both '06 and '08 is because they are increasingly pandering to religious fundamentalists and alienating the more intellectual members of their own party. They have been unwilling (unable?) to take the stand that the government of a free country must be strictly secular.

I believe that the Federal government's role in the economic downturn should be limited. While I do believe in the free market, I also believe that free market theory assumes a society that is far more cash-based than our current society and that, as such, there need to be rules set in place to discourage over-use of credit. The 1929 downturn and the current downturn both share the root-cause of excessive buying on credit. I think that we need to look at ways to use legislation to ensure that loans are extended only to credit-worth individuals and also to ensure that the granting institution does not use overly-optimistic projections of future value of collateral to determine whether to grant the loan. In essence, I think that we need to put some laws in place that will reduce or eliminate the easy availability of credit. In the short term this will hurt, but in the long run it would help to prevent these kinds of shocks to the economy.

As far as the current crisis, I believe that, much like a virus, it must be allowed to run its course.

ZV

 

[Lemon law]

Republicans have a fundamental problem in being the party of big business. Because what is good for the very few at top is never good for the larger number at the bottom.

And when the measure of success is the popular vote, the larger number at the bottom voting their interests will always bury the smaller number at the top voting their interests.

Therefore, Republicans must always fool the larger number at the bottom to not vote their interests. And their latest gimmicks is the spend and borrow pioneered by Reagan. A very rotten public
policy with a limited life, in eight years or so, it back fires big time as the piper must be paid. The mere fact that GWB added in stupid neocon policies just makes the inevitable failure magnitudes greater.

The Republican failure in 2008 is certainly massive, we would have to go back to 1929 to find anything comparable, and what is unknown now, is will 2008 exceed the 1929 economic collapse? We should note that over a century of bi-partisan regulations put in place to avoid such problems were gleefully dismantled during the eight years of GWB&co., and many of those financial reforms and regulations were started by Teddy Roosevelt.

And because of that epic fail in 1929, there was a resulting and permanent democratic majority in the house for 64 unbroken years, with the dems also having the Senate majority for most of the 76 years, and no Republican took POTUS for 20 years.

Time will tell, I certainly hope the GOP does not stake its fortune on idiots like Palin, but over the last 76 years, the American people want larger than life hero's for POTUS, Eisenhower was at best a caretaker President, Reagan was a disaster, and GWB has been pumped up way past his level competence, an intellectual featherweigt front man easily dominated by the corruption behind him.

 

[GTaudiophile]

I think Ron Paul answered your question yesterday.

 

[CPA]

nothing like a legitimate question to republicans turning into a liberal circle-jerk.

 

[BoberFett]

Originally posted by: CPA
nothing like a legitimate question to republicans turning into a liberal circle-jerk.

Would you expect any less in this place?

 

[BoberFett]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
I think Ron Paul answered your question yesterday.

Ow, the Republicans bitch slapped by one of their own AGAIN.

Call him crazy if you want, but he voted against the Iraq war. Most of the Democrats can't even say that.

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: BoberFett

Originally posted by: CPA
nothing like a legitimate question to republicans turning into a liberal circle-jerk.

Would you expect any less in this place?

lol, not at all

 

[Atreus21]

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
As a self-righteous asshole, I often feel like a Republican. I have no use at all for Porn or Gambling. I would take away your right to smoke. I don't want anybody touching my guns. You'd get horse whipped for spitting on the street or sticking your gum under the table if I were running things, and if your pants hang below your ass you'd wear them over your head.

Yup, as a judgmental prick, I'm all Republican but I guess it's not really enough because, more than anything I really hate people like me. Republicans make me sick. So, even though I have all the qualifications I think really matter, I don't actually qualify to post in this thread. I'll just have to leave it up to real Republicans, the self-righteous assholes devoid of the curse of introspection, to screw up the next election for themselves. I do know this, however. If you want to win you will have to deny all your core principles, and since it's all about winning and not about principles, that should be easy.

Thanks for generalizing.

 

[Possessed Freak]

As a registered Republican, answering the OP's questions...

Who do you think are the GOP's future leaders?

I don't know yet, but I have a feeling it will be somebody more moderate then the prior ones.

Do you think the influence of moderates and the drifting away from party principles were the main reasons the GOP lost in 2006 and 2008? Why do you think the GOP lost in 2006 and 2008?

Nope, I think there were kneejerk reactions, and I feel if Obama does not do a decent job in the next four years, the kneejerk will again take place.

How do you think the current economic crises should be address by the Federal government? Do you think the Federal government should be involved at all?

As a true Republican, I feel the government should have a very minimalist approach to these matters. Provide civic jobs if required, but do not get involved in business errors.

I am curious about what Republicans are thinking after last week's election. And I have not heard any Republican proposals for addressing the current economic crisis.

I am pretty sure you have, Bush is a Republican and he has offered his solution and has started to implemented it (the bailout).

It would be great if this tread did not devolve into another liberal vs conservative flame and personal attacks.

Pish, as if this could happen on a forum where debates don't take place but ad hominem attacks are the norm.

 

[Atreus21]

I like Bobby Jindal.

 

[Svnla]

For the record, I am neither Rep or Dem.

I do like La's Gov. Bobby Jindal. He is similar like us immigrants (his parents were legal immigrants themselves).

Smart, young, charismastic, can do attitute, religious but not hard core bibble thumber, moderate, inclusive, fiscal conversative...and his wife is not bad looking either

After the Katrina disaster with "crying cluesless" Blanco, Bobby showed how things got done with Gustav and Ike.

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: Siddhartha
Who do you think are the GOP's future leaders?

A new generation of politicians that are not currently elected.

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
As a self-righteous asshole,

You actually admit this now? :shocked:

 

[OCGuy]

After the dems got thier stuff pushed in back in '04, people were asking the same things.

New "stars" emerge from both parties in times of crisis. We will see a strong republican in 2012. I really dont see a wacko like Palin getting near the nomination, but i've been wrong before. (only once)

 

[Lemon law]

Even as a partisan democrat, the question is now really before republicans, after losing the elections of 2006 and 2008 rather badly, its quite clear that the GOP has lost its appeal.

Perhaps its understandable to call out non GOP posters such as myself for the sin of making this thread into a liberal circle jerk, but other than the few people who make statements like I like Jendal or I am against porn and for family values, I have to note that the collective set of GOP posters have seeming not even tried to come up with any set of core GOP principles that can guide Republican governance into an unknowable future.

 

[daveymark]

Originally posted by: Atreus21
I like Bobby Jindal.

This. Palin needs to take over the soon to be empty senate seat if she wants to run in 2012.

 

[Mursilis]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

I think that the main reason the GOP lost in both '06 and '08 is because they are increasingly pandering to religious fundamentalists and alienating the more intellectual members of their own party. They have been unwilling (unable?) to take the stand that the government of a free country must be strictly secular.

I think the whole fundamentalist threat is overblown. For myself and most of the people I know, the fact that they completely abandon any facade of fiscal conservatism alienated a lot of voters. That, and the Iraqi war was a huge mistake that had GOP written all over it.

 

[Mursilis]

Originally posted by: Lemon law
Even as a partisan democrat, the question is now really before republicans, after losing the elections of 2006 and 2008 rather badly, its quite clear that the GOP has lost its appeal . . .

. . . temporarily. These things come in cycles. As much as the electorate won't abide a third party for too long, they won't abide one party rule for much longer.