What good does the GOP and modern conservative movement stand for?

[OneOfTheseDays]

It seems to me when looking at the sum of their collective positions they are simply pure evil and a poison to everything great this country is.

 

[RabidMongoose]

It stands for racial-gender identity politics. It's basically a party that continues to cater to white men at the expense of all others.

It's time for the GOP to grow up and abandon racial-gender identity politics.

 

[OCGuy]

The above two posters obviously have never been alive long enough to see more than 2 election cycles.

 

[RabidMongoose]

The above two posters obviously have never been alive long enough to see more than 2 election cycles.

If you have been around for more than 2 election cycles, then you would know that the GOP operates on racial-gender identity politics. In fact, the modern GOP was regrouped based on racial politics.

 

[Agent11]

In the near future the one good thing they will hopefully stand for is the 2nd amendment.

And the Dem's would be wise not to give them that clarion call.

 

[JEDIYoda]

In the near future the one good thing they will hopefully stand for is the 2nd amendment.

And the Dem's would be wise not to give them that clarion call.

You have no clue what you are talking about...

The 2nd amendment is a non issue!!

Get over it....

 

[OCGuy]

If you have been around for more than 2 election cycles, then you would know that the GOP operates on racial-gender identity politics. In fact, the modern GOP was regrouped based on racial politics.

The extreme right-wing of the Republican party is officially stuffed in the closet for the next election.

The war on women and latinos is over, at least on paper. Pretending that the "GOP" is the same thing as the tea-party is the same thing as pretending the Democrats are all Dennis Kucinich and ELF. As with anything in life, most people land in the middle.

I hate the relig-nut Jesus-camp (R) base as much as I hate the "Obama gunna pay my mortgage" society-draining (D) base.

I know that after two election cycles it may seem like the pendulum will not swing back and a Republican can never be elected again, but that is just not reality based on history.

I believe the new national GOP platform will be more libertarian and fiscally conservative, even if that means increased taxes and a hard look at Pentagon waste.

 

[schneiderguy]

You have no clue what you are talking about...

The 2nd amendment is a non issue!!

Get over it....

It would cease to be an issue if Democrats would stop making it one.

Apparently they've forgotten what happened the last time they made it an issue.

 

[RabidMongoose]

The extreme right-wing of the Republican party is officially stuffed in the closet for the next election.

The war on women and latinos is over, at least on paper. Pretending that the "GOP" is the same thing as the tea-party is the same thing as pretending the Democrats are all Dennis Kucinich and ELF. As with anything in life, most people land in the middle.

The GOP is far more tea party than the Democrats are Kucinich. The tea party is far more influential within the GOP, so much so that the greatest threat to GOP politicians is a tea party challenge in a primary.

The problem with your position is that you don't seem to realize the influence that the tea party has within the GOP. They just stopped their own Speaker's proposal. That's how powerful the tea party is. Kucinich and ELF have almost no sway within the Democratic party.

Furthermore, the prospects of a tea party challenge is terrifying for more mainstream GOP candidates. This is because tea people are far more likely to vote in a GOP primary than the average GOP voter.

The extreme right-wing of the GOP is still running the party.

 

[Arkaign]

I agree with Rabid, while hoping that OC's idea of a more moderate common-sense GOP comes to pass. The wingnuts and religious right have royally fucked the GOP (and the country in many ways) right in the ass. And judging from the foaming-at-the-mouth bullshit spewing out of Hannity, Levin, Rush, etc, they're not done yet. They are chomping at the bit to protect millionaires from (minor) tax hikes while not giving a shit about the rest of the populace. I do agree with the thinking that a moderate tax hike on the highest earners isn't really going to do jack shit, but holding the country hostage over it is beyond retarded.

I think the 2nd amendment issue is a legit problem for the Democrats though, if they push too hard, they risk losing a considerable number of independents and center right folks like myself, who see the Dems overall as the lesser of two evils when compared to the current GOP crop of assholes. Hopefully they stop at a simple stupid "Assault Weapons Ban" that is the same laughable joke that the last one was. Maybe they'll actually do something worthwhile and look at the much more cogent mental health issue, after all the Colorado shooter had a cache of explosives he could have used for even deadlier results had he not been able to get his hands on firearms in the first place (not that gun laws seem to matter to those who choose to use them to murder innoncents anyway).

I have no party at the moment, but the GOP needs to flush the tea turds before I'll even give them a second thought, unless the Dems :

(1)- Do absolutely zilch on spending. As much as the whiners on right-wing radio mouth off their nonsense about this, I do think it likely that they will work some deals to start ramping down spending.

(2)- Push too far with the gun control nonsense. We DO need a hard look at gun violence in this country and ways to help it, but the fact is blindingly clear that more obstacles and hassles for law-abiding gun owners is not the way. Is it a fact that most homicides by firearm use handguns? Yes, overwhelmingly so. Is it a fact that most of these homicides are committed by people with a previous record of violent crime? Why yes, yes it is. Is it also true that mass shootings, while a media sensation, are a true drop in the bucket compared to 'ordinary' single victim single pistol murders? Yes, yes it is.

So we see, there is a problem with criminals willing to murder with things including firearms, and criminals will find weapons regardless. However, it's pretty rare for an incarcerated individual to use a firearm in a murder, so how about we keep violent criminals locked up for MUCH longer to begin with? End the failed drug war, and start using the freed up prison space to house violent offenders for dramatically longer periods of time. Better still, create prisons exclusively filled with violent offenders, and create a system where if they engage in a violent act while in prison, they are charged and sentenced automatically with 10 year extensions on their time.

So : first offense, aggravated assault : 10 years, no parole, in a gladiator unit full of other lifers. Get in a fight, 10 more years. Spit towards a guard, 10 more years. Pretty soon we'll have a lot of dead scum, and people sitting on 500 year sentences. Win/win. As an added bonus you'd have absolutely NOBODY wanting to voluntarily follow in those kinds of footsteps. "Did you hear about Eddie?, he got in a bar fight and broke a bottle over some girl's head, he got sent to Ironside, made it 3 months before being stabbed to death on the toilet."

 

[Jhhnn]

The extreme right-wing of the Republican party is officially stuffed in the closet for the next election.

The war on women and latinos is over, at least on paper. Pretending that the "GOP" is the same thing as the tea-party is the same thing as pretending the Democrats are all Dennis Kucinich and ELF. As with anything in life, most people land in the middle.

I hate the relig-nut Jesus-camp (R) base as much as I hate the "Obama gunna pay my mortgage" society-draining (D) base.

I know that after two election cycles it may seem like the pendulum will not swing back and a Republican can never be elected again, but that is just not reality based on history.

I believe the new national GOP platform will be more libertarian and fiscally conservative, even if that means increased taxes and a hard look at Pentagon waste.

That flies in defiance of the primary voting GOP base, which has been extremely radicalized over the last 30 years or so.

It also flies in the face of the policy positions of currently serving GOP politicians.

While I'm sympathetic to your POV, and to your desires for a more reasonable GOP, the sad truth is that they'll have to be beaten, and badly, if they're going to change for the better. That can't happen quickly, given the nature of what the primary voting base believes to be true & the ability of big money to shape & reinforce their perceptions.

 

[Arkaign]

That flies in defiance of the primary voting GOP base, which has been extremely radicalized over the last 30 years or so.

It also flies in the face of the policy positions of currently serving GOP politicians.

While I'm sympathetic to your POV, and to your desires for a more reasonable GOP, the sad truth is that they'll have to be beaten, and badly, if they're going to change for the better. That can't happen quickly, given the nature of what the primary voting base believes to be true & the ability of big money to shape & reinforce their perceptions.

Yep, until the super elite ultra rich elites are expelled with their astroturf nonsense (Americans for Prosperity, et al), they're basically hijacked by a hidden agenda that is complete nonsense for the average person to rationally consider voting for. It's brainwashing on an epic scale, and it's completely off the rails in contrast to classical conservative thought. Taxes under past GOP presidents were much higher, and now they make a massive stink about taxes going up 4-5% on a tiny fraction of the population, all while Capital Gains are stupidly low? Way to screw over most of your actual base.

The problem with our current situation is that :

We spend too much (fault of both D and R)
Our taxation structure has become too regressive

The fact is that if one wants to maintain a world class military, etc, and remain the country that they claim to love, then a progressive tax structure is the only way to achieve that. It's worked for decades previous, and giving the rich a break (often through very sneaky measures) is not an effective solution. At the same time, the pay dispersement common in current union-busting corporate america is also bad for the general population. When executives are making 500x, 1000x the amount of income that the average employee gets, that's a lot of employees that can't be hired with that money to expand the business. That's a lot of assets that can't be invested in the future of the company. And typically, that's a lot of money that's simply warehoused offshore, doing absolutely jack shit for the US economy.

 

[trenchfoot]

Well said, Jhhnn, Arkaign.

IMO, with the Repubs being run by the fundie Christians, the Lipton loonies and having the small minority of the very rich in this country funding them to shield and further propagate their corruptive influence over our politicians, that party is hard wired toward turning our nation into a theocratically influenced plutocracy. Therein, the religious fundies and self-anointed purists would exert their control over the base that keeps voting Repubs into office and the very rich would keep those politicians firmly under their control.

I'm also of the opinion that a milder version of the aforementioned is already in place and operating with effect.

 

[techs]

Stop blaming the Tea Party.
Its the lazy ass real Republicans who won't get off their asses to vote for real Republicans in the primaries. Its the high percentage of their voters that give the Tea Party wackos power.

And if the real Republicans don't do something soon, the fact that the Tea Party is winning will drive more and more moderate Republicans out of the party. Eventually the Tea Party will take over.

 

[nehalem256]

I thought they stood for not-Obama?

 

[Greenman]

They give you fellows a reason to have yet another P&N circle jerk.

Grow up, think for yourself, you don't have to be just another bleating sheep to be liked. Your character isn't measured by how much you hate the republicans, your self worth shouldn't be either. You can think for yourself, you can express an idea and even disagree without denigrating others. You can even hold an opinion that isn't popular, and still be respected.
Consensus isn't fact, band wagons aren't the only form of mental transportation, disagreement doesn't equal stupidity.

This inspirational moment was brought to you by Greenman and the Church of Don't Pee On My Leg.

 

[Anarchist420]

I believe the new national GOP platform will be more libertarian and fiscally conservative, even if that means increased taxes and a hard look at Pentagon waste.

The GOP won't ever be libertarian. You can't be fiscally conservative if you support increasing taxes.

 

[piasabird]

What does an Anarchist stand for?

 

[piasabird]

We need term limits. We also need to make all terms of office be 4 years. That way we can get rid of all of them at once. Then have a no confidence vote every year inbetween where we can vote people out of office. I think we should have a no-Confidence vote before the primaries. That way we can kick all the losers out of office that we did not think they voted right.

 

[dmcowen674]

What good does the GOP and modern conservative movement stand for?

It seems to me when looking at the sum of their collective positions they are simply pure evil and a poison to everything great this country is.

More and more Americans are asking this very same question and realizing it is time to take action against them. :thumbsup:

 

[Moonbeam]

The problem is a conservative brain defect.

 

[Tom]

It would cease to be an issue if Democrats would stop making it one.

Apparently they've forgotten what happened the last time they made it an issue.

the Democrats didn't make it an issue. Ronald Reagan did.


http://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/29/opinion/why-i-m-for-the-brady-bill.html

 

[CaptnKirk]

GOP historically backs big business & Corporations, it's only since St. Reagan that they adopted stupidity.


Posted from Anandtech.com App for Android

 

[bononos]

GOP historically backs big business & Corporations, it's only since St. Reagan that they adopted stupidity.


Posted from Anandtech.com App for Android

I thought the old GOP were supposed to be opposed to centralization of economic power when such accumulation would lead to political interference and too big to fail situations. Its the Reagan revolution that have warped minds to think that the GOP have always been there for big capitalism.

 

[CaptnKirk]

I thought the old GOP were supposed to be opposed to centralization of economic power when such accumulation would lead to political interference and too big to fail situations.
Its the Reagan revolution that have warped minds to think that the GOP have always been there for big capitalism.

In the post Reagan GOP, many of the Old DixieCrat Biggot Redneck Democrats from the South
became Republicans after winning as Democrat Candidates, they were essentially 'Bought' by being
offered unconditional funding for future elections 'IF' they followed the prescribed party 'Lock-Step'
philosophy as required by the 'Southern Stategy' invoked by the Nixon Machine, which was emplaced
behind the mouthpiece that was the Regan Administration - the actor that was great with the
teleprompter, that spewed out whatever was displayed for him to say.
Reagan never had an original thought, & as a President - he just played one on television.

Go back and study the Post-Eisenhower GOP and their lock-step policies to regain power after Nixon's disgrace.