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Political Hay
The Next Mitt Romney
GOP Establishment trumpets another Great Moderate Hope — Jeb Bush.
(Page 4 of 5)
The guy who has all the same people who swore up and down on the record that Romney’s so-called “moderation” was THE ANSWER… and post-election have denied Mitt not three times but a thousand times.
Jeb Bush… after multiples of years of experience between family and personally held political office… is in fact blind as a bat to conservative principle. When liberal push comes to conservative pull… Jeb Bush is either pleading neutrality between Rubio and Crist or waving the white flag on taxes or falling dead silent on the existence of the Department of Education.
In the vernacular: Jeb Bush doesn’t get it.
Contrast this with, say, Marco Rubio. The very man about whom Jeb Bush was once a professed neutral — when Rubio was risking all to challenge the deeply liberal Crist.
Senator Rubio happens to be a Latino married to a Latina. Wonderfully fortuitous — but not a reason to support him for president. The reason to support Marco Rubio over Jeb Bush is that Rubio is a conservative. The real deal. A Latino version of Ronald Reagan. Fearless in challenging the Florida GOP Establishment when it counted, just as Reagan was willing to take on first the California GOP Establishment and later the national GOP Establishment.
Mr. Bush, famously, is the Republican Establishment. His very first instinct wasn’t to challenge Charlie Crist and what Crist stood for — it was to stay on the sidelines. To effectively roll over.
Of course Jeb Bush will consider raising taxes. Of course he won’t zap the Department of Education. For a reason.
Establishment Republicans don’t rock the boat. That would be “extreme” or “divisive.” Both labels, not coincidentally, once applied to Ronald Reagan by his own Establishment GOP foes who were truly appalled at Reagan’s views. “Reagan is a conservative, an extreme conservative. All the dummies and blockheads are with him,” Jeb’s Dad — RR’s own vice president — is reported to have once told then-Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. Gerald Ford insisted Reagan could never win a national election because he was “extreme.”
None of this means Jeb Bush isn’t a smart guy or a good guy. He is merely the latest guy to embody the relentlessly rigid principles of GOP “moderation.” The next guy in line to be celebrated by the media for his oh-so-caring compassion… until nominated. At which time, just as with Mitt Romney and John McCain or any of the other moderates, he will be assailed as an immoral if not racist tool of evil corporations whose life, once examined with the skill of the liberal political proctologists, will be discovered to be a life-long testament to a sordid list of fill-in-the-blank horrors.
One can only shake one’s head at enduring the umpteenth round of this business.
America, make no mistake, is in trouble.
It is awash in a culture that has nothing to do with being Hispanic, black, gay, straight, a woman or a rhinoceros. A reckless, selfish culture that will spend — has spent — every American dime and intends to spend every borrowable Chinese dime it can lay its hands on. A culture absolutely divorced from the hard, realities of economic life and the consequences for everybody of an endlessly growing government that can never — will never — have enough tax dollars to support it if they took every last dime from every millionaire and billionaire in the land.
There will be consequences for the decision made on this past election day. The next four years in America will be grim.
And being the guy who wants to merely rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic, as it were, is all Jeb Bush appears to be about.
Of the many challenges that need to be addressed by the Republican Party is the reality that moderate, Establishment tinkering-at-the-edges politics are not only an abysmal failure at the national ballot box, they are a disaster as a governing philosophy.
About the Author
Jeffrey Lord is a former Reagan White House political director and author. He writes from Pennsylvania at jlpa1@aol.com.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (212) | Leave a comment
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spike59| 11.27.12 @ 6:19AM
NO! NO! a thousand times, NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! no more Bushes, no more Kennedys, no more Clintons, no more Rockefellers...
Joellen| 11.27.12 @ 7:23AM
Jeb Bush would be the next savior for the GOP as Megan McCain would be in 2020. INSANITY, yet proof that the Republican elite still dont get it which makes them very much part of the problem. Rush has been saying this for years. They (the Rep elite) dont really like us (the conservative, pro-life, small government, tea party) and it has never been more evident.
Jack in Wi| 11.27.12 @ 7:34AM
The Democrats are the Party of abortion, homosexuality, big intrusive government, endless war for an empire that is bankrupting the country, foreign aid, foreign entanglements, corrupt goverment unions, corporate welfare, and a war on religion and religious people. Rockefeller Republicans like the Bushes have led the party over the cliff for 7 straight elections. They agree with the Democrats far too often. They are a minority of the party, who always gets their way. It is time to get rid of them or get rid of the party. As for Rubio he hasn't shown much knowledge or leadership yet. He is just another Neoconservatve prettyboy sent out to divide the real conservative base.
ebonystone| 11.27.12 @ 9:13PM
I like to compare Democrats and establishment Republicans to bourbon: most brands come in two strengths. There's the 100-proof bottled-in-bond -- that's the Dems. And then there's the slightly diluted 86-proof version -- that's the establishment Reps. Either one will get you drunk as a skunk, one just does it a little faster. But what the country needs is a wine or beer government, not a bourbon government.
Von Mises Jr| 11.27.12 @ 8:22AM
But they do get it Joellen. They are Agenda21 Statist. G.H.W. Bush is an elitist that supported "Smart Growth" planned economy where one will live in a 700 sq/ft apartment and take light rail to your fascist GM or GE job. Your perimeter of travel will be as far as your electric golf cart will take you successfully there and back.
Chris Christie embodies this Statist compete command and control slavery in his plan to pass Agenda21 by EXECUTIVE ORDER. The plan is replete with "Sustainable development," "Urban Centers and technology zones," "light rail and bike paths," redistribution" and "scorecards." If you read this stuff, you wonder who the hell these Statists think that they are:
http://www.state.nj.us/state/p.....p_november 8_pub.pdf
Von Mises Jr| 11.27.12 @ 8:25AM
Looks like the Statist block direct access to their plan online. It is on the NJ website labeled the "Development and Redevelopment Plan."
http://www.state.nj.us/state/p.....final.html
Grzmlyk| 11.27.12 @ 9:51AM
One thing you can reliably say about the GOP is they never, ever learn (of course the truth is they have learned all too well what it takes to obtain and maintain office - hand-over-fist goodies).
Jeb Bush puts the feck in feckless. As King Lear says when he realizes he will see his dead daughter Cordelia no more, so I say of having another Bush in public office:
"Never, never, never, never never!"
The thought of ANY more Bushes - but Jeb in particular - running for anything above municipal dog catcher sends chills of absolute contempt down my spine. Haven't those Nobless Oblige bastards done enough damage?
Of course by 2016 we'll be completely under the waves and plunging to the bottom of the black ocean. Since America clearly wants the ship of state to lie in repose in Davy Jones's locker, we will by then have anointed Barack Hussein Obama dictator for life. So there IS an upside to the stupidity of Americans: It will preclude Jeb Bush's rise.
On the off chance that there be a vestige of America left by then, the GOP will no doubt choose Jeb as our standard bearer. That is, unless we amend the constitution to allow phlegm to run for president. But, given our last several nominees, that would be redundant, would it not?
loulou| 11.27.12 @ 11:06AM
And beware of Jeb's good looking, half Hispanic son. They call him P. He's being groomed to be foisted upon us. Never, never, never!
Grzmlyk| 11.27.12 @ 11:23AM
I saw a commercial that teased a profile of the young Bush or something - Ugh. My god, will we never be rid of this family?
If only the Karl Roves of the world - the thousands of faceless, parasitic enablers who ease the the way for feckless RINOs - would pass into extinction. The GOP will never be anything but a punching bag or a doormat if we don't wrest control from these establishment minions of big government.
But how do you become an activist when what you want is government inaction? That's just one of the reasons conservatives do not dominate in government - it's because we don't want to feed the beast.
The legions of fake Republicans have no problem sucking off the teat of government for their livelihioods and striving to fill the beltway full of empty suits who are just like them.
I once saw an interview with George Sr. - he said that the highest expression of his love of country was to "serve." Right then and there I saw the fundamental flaw in the Bush philosophy - no, the highest expression of love of country is to make it better - not produce more drag by drawing a salary of taxpayer money and trying to use the mechanism of government to reshape society.
GET THE HELL OFF THE PUBLIC STAGE ALL BUSHES!
JmsA| 11.27.12 @ 5:34PM
Cut it out with the Hispanic crap. That's but a pseudonym to hide the truth or orthonym: Mexican, which comprise about 70 percent of the so called Hispanics or Latinos in the U.S., including those Reagan amnestied in 1986.
Pecos Pete| 11.27.12 @ 8:05AM
Ditto!
pogybait| 11.27.12 @ 8:25AM
Spike, it's just perfect, democrats could just dust off all those old anti Bush speeches and the media with it’s unbiased news coverage could recycle headlines and stories that continue to berate conservatives….. Once thinks that the GOP elites have spent way too much time at the Gerald Ford Colonic Rejuvenation Clinic.
C. Vernon Crisler | 11.27.12 @ 9:38AM
I have a feeling that if Jeb Bush is nominated, National Review and American Spectator will be telling us how much we need to get on board. We now have a Conservative Establishment that is almost as bad as the Republican Establishment.
loulou| 11.27.12 @ 11:07AM
Fool me once, twice, three times...
I think I've finally got it.
BTW, NR and TAS are no longer conservative. I let my subscriptions lapse years ago.
RCV| 11.27.12 @ 11:15AM
That's just an indication of how politically isolated on the right you have become.
Occam's Tool| 11.27.12 @ 3:52PM
I want a Black in office in the executive branch on January, 2017. I also would like to see a woman as his or her running mate. I want them to be Republicans and well known Conservatives. Bachmann, Palin, West, Martinez, Sowell, Williams, Love all come to mind pretty quickly.
Anthony| 11.27.12 @ 4:31PM
TO: Dr. Occam's Tool
FR: The Republican National Committee
RE: Your choices
Dear Dr. Tool;
Ain't gonna happen, not now, not ever, if we still have anything to say about it.
Please remember to send your contribution to the RNC no later than midnight tonight.
Very truly yours,
The RNC
Seek| 11.28.12 @ 5:53PM
Why is it so important to have a black president? Even if he's "conservative," so what? He'd still be loyal to his own race first, and ours second. I prefer my presidents white and my coffee dark.
JmsA| 11.27.12 @ 5:07PM
If anyone was politically isolated it was the democrats. Why do you think they began to import voters from the third world?
w
Brubaker| 11.27.12 @ 1:04PM
Just out of curiosity, what publications do you now consider to be conservative?
Paul A'Barge | 11.27.12 @ 1:14PM
Do you mean the American Spectator that published this 5 page evisceration of Jeb Bush?
Or do you refer to that "other" American Spectator?
Sigh. WTH?
Boar Hunter| 11.28.12 @ 3:34PM
I think they were referring to the American Spectator that extolled the virtues of Romney.
7-08| 11.27.12 @ 11:03AM
It has been fairly well established that the electorate wants no more Republicans, much less some dynasty based specific Republican. Even Republicans hate Republicans. Don't believe that (?) - read on.
aware| 11.27.12 @ 6:23AM
And no doubt, you, being the good little waterboy you are, will be in front urging us to support this Statist piece of crap when the time comes. Like you just did with the Northeastern liberal Romney. Right, Jeffery?
jothepro| 11.27.12 @ 6:55AM
I was aware that Mr. Lord was writing articles about how Romney was more qualified than The One to be president. Were you AWARE?
spike59| 11.27.12 @ 7:01AM
you can thank the GOP for running the 'statist piece of crap'...it's not like there were many decent alternatives in the primaries-The Ego formerly known as Newtie ? Self-Righteous Ricky? Brainfarter extraordinaire Rick Perry? Bats in Her Belfry Bachman? The Tinfoil Hat Tinhorn Ron Paul? sorry, but the 2012 'bench' was full of overripe targets for the MSM destruction machine-Romney did as well as he could, considering he limped out of the primaries bullet-pocked, and ObaMao & Co had been given, primarily by Newtie, aiming instructions for the next round
hrh| 11.27.12 @ 10:01AM
And what's your nasty nickname for Romney?
Cause there are many, many that would apply.
Sorry you think Romney's all that, such that you have to trash everyone else.
Romney supporters like you are one of the many reasons Romney failed:
Good leaders don't inspire such reprehensible followers.
Grzmlyk| 11.27.12 @ 11:10AM
My two cents, since nobody asked, is that Romney is, and was, a very, very decent man. I believe he is an excellent manager, a good business person and adept at grasping issues.
The problem with Romney is that he is not a conservative. He is a would-be technocrat, an overly cautious politician who sees nothing philosophically wrong with liberalism - it's just a different way to get to the same result (like the execrable Bill O'Reilly).
I would agree that any embrace of liberalism is, at heart, a morally untenable position at least at the public policy level (i.e., individuals are free to redistribute their own wealth and love affirmative action and hate guns and embrace other moronic positions and all they are guilty of is foolishness). And the epoch we are enduring will not brook a standard-bearer of the right who is a statist, a compromiser, a rudderless vessel to be buffeted by the rough seas of political machination.
Romney failed for two reasons: 1) because he was the ideal establishment candidate: personally competent, politically castrated; and 2) because America will always vote for the Santa Claus whose bag of goodies is the biggest.
Simon Templar| 11.27.12 @ 11:34AM
I second that! It seems we agree on a lot more than you think. No hard feeling I hope? Just wanted to say you are a formidable debater and it is rewarding and a learning experience to discuss these issues with you.
Grzmlyk| 11.27.12 @ 11:54AM
Right back atcha, Simon. No hard feelings whatsoever.
As I say, I always make a point to read your posts and generally agree; I think you are a very thoughtful and articulate voice here. As such, your posts are always rewarding & educational for me as well. And it's always good to look at an issue from many sides.
Liberals may not believe it, but I actually read liberal stuff on a fairly regular basis - it's just that my entire body starts to reject the toxin. I really do try to see the world as they see it, but I just can't fathom how a sane, intelligent, honest person can be a liberal - there's something else at work there; it really is a mental disorder.
The differences of opinion I occasionally have with folks on our own side tend to be different - I can see the rationale behind an opinion even if I don't share the conclusion.
:-)
scotchieguy| 11.27.12 @ 12:04PM
The reason that a "sane, intelligent, honest person" can be a liberal is because they believe man is perfectable and that all results should be the same. The reason they are so animated and miserable is because they realize their goals are impossible to achieve, but they are too stubborn to admit it. Like you said, liberalism is a mental disorder.
Grzmlyk| 11.27.12 @ 12:43PM
There's a great deal of truth to that. I had Thanksgiving dinner with two acquaintances - they don't rise to the level of "friends"- who perfectly embody the liberal point of view. I avoid talking politics to these mindless cogs, but, sure enough, they began to spew bile about what an evil, stupid, corrupt moron Mitt Romney is. Everybody at the table - except me - joined in elitist chuckles.
If either of these two geniuses was driving alone on a highway on a cold, rainy night, and had a flat tire, and they had a choice as to whether Barack Obama or Mitt Romney were to drive by them, would they choose? Obama? That is rich - the entitled brat who never let a fact get in the way of his pristine Marxist world view, who looks at everybody in terms of what they can do for him, who doesn't have a kind, unselfish bone in his body? Or Mitt Romney, who has time and again given freely of his time & resources to help people he doesn't even know - and who never sought publicity for it?
They'd better pray it's Romney who drives past, because the only thing Obama would do is try to hit a puddle and splash them.
Grzmlyk| 11.27.12 @ 12:46PM
Sadly, though, like these two liberals - and many, many others I've heard spew hate for conservatives on the one hand and shopworn, hypocritical propaganda for socialism on the other, do NOT realize their goals are impossible. They think that they can go on being greedy, selfish, slothful, envious, malicious, covetous and bigoted just as long as they pay lip service to Utopia.
These useful idiots do not have the self awareness to depart from their religion for one second to look at common sense (how else can you possibly buy into demand-side economics???); they’re purchasing absolution from their own sins at the very least and, at the most, they are giving themselves a pass to keep on being exactly what they claim to hate in conservatives.
It is supreme narcissism that drives most middle-class liberals.
They are among the fools, a huge segment of the left. There are also the crooks, the pawns and the vandals that fill out the rest of the Democrat party.
scotchieguy| 11.27.12 @ 4:21PM
Useful idiots. Yes, exactly. So, who is to blame? Our garbage ecuational system, our even more insidious media? The voters, because they are too blind or too naive to see the lies? The only thing you can say for certain is the fact that this country made the mistake of voting for a fraud like Obama twice shows that we are so far gone there probably is no turning back. The fact that the media celebrates his reelection just makes my point stronger. It was a nice run.
Grzmlyk| 11.27.12 @ 6:09PM
Agreed. Obama is not the problem - Obama is merely the canker that speaks to a malignant cancer within the body politic.
In a sane world - a world without white guilt and affirmative action and the seductive allure of socialism - Obama wouldn't even have gone to Occidental, let alone Columbia and Harvard; he's always been a slacker with a big mouth.
He surely wouldn't have been catapulted by greedy cronies to the top of the Beltway heap. No, if he were lucky, today he'd be the assistant night manager at a CVS store in Honolulu - no doubt on perpetual probation for his bad attitude and regular truancy.
Occam's Tool| 11.27.12 @ 3:53PM
I work with Liberals, and my family are Liberals. The talking points are boilerplate.
Grzmlyk| 11.27.12 @ 6:12PM
OT, I, too, work with liberals - my family aren't, however, but they ARE wobbly.
What kills me is how eager my colleagues/"friends" are to prove they're among the elite thinkers - most of these folks do not have impressive jobs or records of achievement. But they are quick to place themselves among the Brave New World's future overseers - you know, because they believe so heartily in a classless, egalitarian society where everyone is equal - but, of course, the "chosen ones" will be a little more equal than the others.
spike59| 11.27.12 @ 4:38PM
i believe you're 'projecting'...i'm a follower of NO politician! also, that game of trying to tell me what i think may play in your mommy's basement, but we adults have no time for such nonsense...Romney was NOT the best candidate the GOP could have come up with, but he is a decent human being in a field of mush-heads, bomb-throwers, and psychos whose support proved to be a mile deep and and inch in diameter
Robert Nowall | 11.27.12 @ 6:53AM
Letting the New York Times decide who's the best candidate the Republicans can come up with is like letting your political enemies choose who your leader will be---oh, wait, the Republicans have done that, over and over again, throwing out leaders in Congress when the Democrats came up with objections and scandals. Remember Trent Lott?
spike59| 11.27.12 @ 6:55AM
Letting the New York Times decide who's the best candidate the Republicans can come up with IS letting your political enemies choose who your leader will be
---------------------------------
there; fixed it for ya
GobBluthe| 11.27.12 @ 7:05AM
Whether or not Jeb Bush is the nominee will depend if conservatives can rally around one candidate and not split their vote 4 ways in a quest for purity.
C. Vernon Crisler | 11.27.12 @ 12:20PM
They did have a choice: Romney or Newt. They chose the moderate loser.
TLP| 11.27.12 @ 1:54PM
Why is everybody Killing Romney?
He won the Primaries. Who's fault was that?
Lardass in New Jersey didn't run. Jim DeMint didn't run. Not one A List Conservative threw his hat into the Ring.
Did you SEE that Republican Lineup?
Romney was the Perfect Fit for what this Country needs at this time in History. A skilled Businessman and Manager. As Good and Decent a man, as we have ever had running for President. They had Nothing to get him on, save a scuffle back in High School. So they Lied. And they Lied, and they Lied, and they Lied some more. And they did so with a Fawning Media, that would've Sliced their Mother's Throat if they thought that would get Obama reelected. Joseph Goebbels would've been Proud.
We coulda run JESUS CHRIST, and all of the Blacks would have still Voted for their New Messiah. Have you heard what Jamie Fox just called him? "Our Lord and Saviour - Barack Obama".
THE MUSLIM got 70% of the Jewish Vote.
Hello?
He got 39% of the White Vote.
Hello?
Everything in this Country is going to SH*T, yet the guy who's been Killing Everything He Touches, got Reelected.
"But Romney didn't do this. And Romney didn't say that."
USE YOUR HEADS!
Nothing he could have done, would've changed anything.
If the Retards for Ron Paul, and the rest of the 3 MILLION WHITES who sat on their Asses, that night, had gone out and Voted?
We might be saying: President Elect Mitt Romney.
You people sound like Idiots.
And you people who STAYED HOME.
I hope you Burn in Hell.
Occam's Tool| 11.27.12 @ 3:56PM
TLP: I second that emotion. My wife and I voted for Romney. Hell, I voted for Kurt Bills and Chip Cravaack. I wasted NOT a vote on 3rd party types. Every one of my candidates went down to defeat.
Funny thing. In Minnesota, the statehouse and governor's office are solid Blue. They're talking about raising taxes. I haven't had a raise in 5 years as of March. No discussion about raising state worker salaries from the Unions or the Statehouse.
My nurses will get to enjoy what I suspect will be a major screw.
JmsA| 11.27.12 @ 5:12PM
The chose Romney because "the media" wouldn't stop talking about Newt's marital past. That said, Romney would have been, hands down, much better than we have now.
JmsA| 11.27.12 @ 5:13PM
Oops: Meant to write what we have now.
Matthew Quigley| 11.27.12 @ 7:35AM
Oh, geeze...not more Bsh crap again!
Yes, GHW and GW were and are good, honorable men...BUT THEY'RE FRIGGIN' STATISTS! NO MORE BUSHES!
Matthew Quigley| 11.27.12 @ 7:36AM
*Bush, not Bsh...pardon the spelling error.
SUBVET| 11.27.12 @ 9:14AM
The Bush's are members of the Secret order of "Skull & Bones".
Novus Ordo Seclorum
Martin kzovich| 11.27.12 @ 7:45AM
If the Republcan Party nominated Jeb or any other Bush or Romney-like then that Party is useless as I now believe it is. This is the last time I will vote for a Republican as a vote against--I want some one to vote FOR. It could be that the time has come to reconsider the viability of being allied with or even a member of the Republican Party.
Martin kzovich| 11.27.12 @ 7:48AM
One other minor point:could it simply be that the Republican Establishment have always been in bed with the Communists and we are and have been played for suckers ? I think so.l
JP| 11.27.12 @ 7:54AM
The GOP will go the way of the Whigs. I will not support any Moderate. The Republicans can keep their Lindsay Grahams, John Boehners, and John McCains.
C. Vernon Crisler | 11.27.12 @ 8:39AM
Dittos.
GobBluthe| 11.27.12 @ 8:45AM
Stop the Whig nonsense. That was 150 years ago. There is a much more recent example of a party that was suppose to be center right, acted center left, was corrupt and disappeared. It was the Canadian Progressive Conservative Party that disappeared after the disasterous 1993 federal elections when they lost all but 2 of their 160 seats in parliament.
Quartermaster| 11.27.12 @ 9:08AM
The GOP is just a reorganized Whig party. The Whigs never went away, they just changed their name.
Warrior| 11.27.12 @ 1:47PM
Sad, but true. Look at Kyl and Hutchinson trying to introduce the Republican DREAM Act.
Occam's Tool| 11.27.12 @ 3:57PM
Yes, Lincoln was originally a Whig.
loulou| 11.27.12 @ 11:09AM
Amen.
Indy| 11.27.12 @ 8:08AM
Good grief, no more Bushes. The last conservative to run was Reagan. I've had it with progressives in either party.
Jeb bashes conservatives often. I have a hunch he played a role in FL redistricting with the sole purpose to boot Allen West from Congress. You would think the GOP would embrace minority conservatives but no, they only support those who bow at the alter of the establishment.
At first I was a supporter of Rubio, now I am watching with caution, he's too hawkish. we had no business getting involved in Libya or Syria or sending more troops to Northern Africa. Rubio is making a huge mistake by following the path of McCain, Graham and Bush on foreign policy.
No more Bushes
No more progressives
No more moderates
No mas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hrh| 11.27.12 @ 10:03AM
Rubio is a Bush client.
See him parrot the Bush Way.
Don't trust Rubio.
GobBluthe| 11.27.12 @ 10:25AM
Rubio is far more conservative than Bush except maybe on immigration where they are both on the left
loulou| 11.27.12 @ 11:11AM
Rubio is better that a Bush but he is pro amnesty. Furthermore, he is not eligible to be POTUS as he is not a "natural born" citizen. Rubio is a "native born" citizen--his parents were not yet US citizens at the time of his birth.
GobBluthe| 11.27.12 @ 12:02PM
Rubio is eligible and stop the crap.
loulou| 11.27.12 @ 1:04PM
You're in denial.
Just because Obama's ineligibility was overlooked does not mean Rubio's will be allowed.
Don't be stupid.
frino| 11.27.12 @ 8:09AM
Leaving means you all must leave.
so go, beat it already and then the GOP can be the GOP-a pragmatic party that can win. It was better under the Bushes you dun axe me. They dun beat dem Bushes and now we be dying in dat heat of demcrat hate and vengence. You'll go now and a be be true red consertib party.
we be picking the pieces and form up a winnin GOP, can get to 270 and all dat. Or else we all gonna go, we FRINOS-dat be former republicans in name only and we get us a new party. And, win us some electshuns. So make up yo minds. What it gonna be ? Soon now. Cuz I'm sicka y'alls crap !
Drunken Sailor| 11.27.12 @ 10:57AM
Is this your attempt at Ebonic humor? Have any thing to add in even half ass english?
Pecos Pete| 11.27.12 @ 8:09AM
Who will be the democrat party nominee? Let's answer that question first. Hillary or Michelle?
So anyway, what will be the economic condition of the USA four years from now? The answer to this question will lead us to the eventual Republican nominee. It sure as hell won't be another Bush.
frino| 11.27.12 @ 8:22AM
Sharpton/Paul-dat Rue not Ron. Beat any conservtib !
loulou| 11.27.12 @ 11:12AM
Barry Hussein will get rid of term limits and will be installed for another term.
Albert Constantine Jr.| 11.27.12 @ 8:19AM
I do not think that we are likely to see another RWR emerge today, but I am not certain that such would be the only path to victory. I believe we have talented and principled leaders in greater supply than the left does. I also believe our standards are generally higher, which too frequently causes us to focus on the flaws of those might achieve high office for us. While I don’t want to do what the Left has done and try to advance an ideological empty suit to mass market our appeal to the various constituencies that make up their base and glom on to enough of the uncommitted to achieve a slight majority of the electorate, there is little consolation in losing.
We need to be able to develop a process by which we can polish and develop our pool of potential candidates without destroying so many in so doing. Up to this point, it seems our fratricide is only benefitting the Left. In achieving his successes, it is important to recall that Ronaldus Magnus articulated a number of rules, one of which was his 11th Commandment: “Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican”.
I don’t think we need to keep our mouths shut or settle on who the Republican establishment tries to thrust upon us. I do think our objections to Jeb Bush and others should be without vitriol, and include why we think he is not likely to win, as well as govern conservatively, and who any of us think could do both better.
TLP| 11.27.12 @ 2:01PM
Demographics.
The TV GUIDE.
Pavlov's Dog.
Public Education.
Hollywood.
Blacks on the Liberal Plantation for the last 50 Years.
The Media, and The Big Lie.
Until every Democrat Sychophant is eating out of a DUMPSTER?
Nothing's gonna Change.
Period.
Maxwell| 11.27.12 @ 8:21AM
Oh, what a way to start the morning. Someone has got to be kidding!
Nancy in NC| 11.27.12 @ 8:23AM
Jeb must be doing crack if he thinks a Bush can get elected in this country. At this point it will be difficult to get any conservative elected with half the country wanting freebies and a free ride.
Mike G| 11.27.12 @ 8:42AM
However, given that Jeb is NOT a conservative, it's it's quite possible the half that wants the freebies would elect him.
loulou| 11.27.12 @ 11:13AM
Jeb may not be doing crack but his daughter is a druggie.
TLP| 11.27.12 @ 2:25PM
Shame on you loulou.
I did Cocaine for 25 Years.
As Joel Olsteen once said, in conjunction with how we should live our lives, and what GOD expects from all of us: "GOD doesn't care what you did, before. He only cares what you do NOW, and in the FUTURE. Think of GOD as your Automobile. There's a reason that the Windshield is So Big and the Rear View Mirror is so small. To GOD, it's more important where you're Going, then where you've been."
Indeed.
Occam's Tool| 11.27.12 @ 3:59PM
TLP. Correct as usual. And G-d Bless you, sir. My son turns 9 today. May he have your views when he is 30. (Sans the pain of getting there)
frino| 11.27.12 @ 5:03PM
LOuLou she be real conservtib-she kick em when dey be down. hate them poor folk,them weak headed folk.
spit in their face-that the conservtib way . you an dat mr joe got heart-care bout thems aint got it so good. Time ya'll be a frino. You kin do dat-getta out that right wing jail. Kick warden Rush in the balls on yo ways to FREEDOM !
JmsA| 11.27.12 @ 3:13PM
Don't pick a fight with TLP, loulou; he's not afraid of the truth.
TLP| 11.27.12 @ 4:23PM
She's not picking a fight with me.
I love loulou.
I just wish she'd come to The Contest on Fridays, more often.
PJ| 11.27.12 @ 8:32AM
Jeb should have been the Bush who was elected in 2000 & 2004. That said,
NO MORE BUSH!!!!!
Jeffrey Lord---- don't become irrelevant like Morris & Barone & Weekly Standard writers.
LarryK| 11.27.12 @ 8:35AM
STAY OUT THE BUSHES! STAY OUT THE BUSHES!
Louis Jenkins| 11.27.12 @ 8:39AM
It is too early to look at who the Republicans will give the nod to. However, I honestly didn't think it would be Romney, and now I honestly don't think it will be Bush. If it is I'm finally going to break with the party and go independent. Bush I, Bush II, and now Bush III? I'm getting a headache. Sounds like a Starwars triology. Does Jeb have a son too?
righthook38 | 11.27.12 @ 8:56AM
Yes, he does, and he's already been commenting on Marco Rubio's comments on creation. Like father like son, I guess.
Martin kzovich| 11.27.12 @ 8:43AM
I think frino is a troll-don't you ?
frino| 11.27.12 @ 8:50AM
We be da ones gonna save da day.
Albert Constantine Jr.| 11.27.12 @ 9:27AM
Sometimes (or as of 8:50 am), the question answers itself.
righthook38 | 11.27.12 @ 8:54AM
I have a lot of respect for George Bush, but we cannot afford another Bush in the White House. This is why we've lost the last two elections...we keep running moderates. We need a true conservative, and Jeb just isn't one of them.
loulou| 11.27.12 @ 11:14AM
Why do you have a lot of respect for George Bush? Just wondering.
TLP| 11.27.12 @ 2:13PM
Let's see.
He was a Good Man, who didn't insult our Intelligence everytime he opened his mouth, with one Lie after another.
He Killed our Enemies, after they Killed our people.
Did you know that his Prescription Drug Plan works, and is Under Budget?
He LOWERED the Tax Rates.
He Loved our Military.
He didn't excuse our Enemies, or Screw our Allies, by Reneging on a promise to install Radar Systems in Poland and the Czech Republic, or by giving Russia the exact number of Britain's Nuclear Arsenal, as well as their Serial Numbers.
He never threw one of our Main Allies under the Bus, thus recreating the whole Jimmy Carter/Shah of Iran/Ayatollah Khomeini Islamic Jihad debacle, like just happened in Egypt.
Do you need more?
Cause I've got more.
TLP| 11.27.12 @ 2:29PM
Did I mention that Unemployment was 4%?
And 5 something % when he left Office, and that Gasoline was $1.85 a Gallon, and Hamburger Meat was $1.75 a lb.
We have such short memories.
CJW| 11.27.12 @ 3:41PM
Tim,
I agree.
Occam's Tool| 11.27.12 @ 4:00PM
W was actually quite good. Did you mention that I SLEPT WELL AT NIGHT when he was President?
Every day under Obama I flinch when I turn on the computer.
Warrior| 11.27.12 @ 5:34PM
We'll never agree on this one. W was a decent man but no conservative. He chose Colin Powell to be his first affirmative action appointment. If we all believe Medicare is unConstitutional then how can we justify Part D? No Child Left Behind was another tax payer funded bloating of the education system. He created the TSA. W is and was a big government left of center President. He was only right of center when it came to social issues, which I hate to keep telling everyone...do not belong at the federal level. While he is head and shoulders better than the Marxist, he still did an awful lot of damage.
CJW| 11.27.12 @ 10:24PM
Warrior
I agree about the Education Act, but the alternative was President Algore or President Jean Kerry.
Warrior| 11.28.12 @ 11:05AM
Correct, we were left with no conservative choice. To rationalize that Bush governed with "r"epublican ideals is a farce. To keep saying he was better than the alternatives means we have beend dealing with a "Hobson's Choice" in each election for the last 25 or 30 years.
Indy| 11.27.12 @ 8:56AM
“I think Arne Duncan has done a good job,” the former Florida governor said in this CBS interview.
Sorry, Arne and Common Core = Race to Takeover and Jeb along with W supports Federal Education...no thanks.
G.S. Patton| 11.27.12 @ 8:56AM
This is why the GOP is epic fail at articulating and defending conservatism ..... and are being out-flanked by the Chicago marxist thug machine; Enough of the plastic-coated RIHNO's (Reagan In Name Only i say) The Bush's need to stay home.
Bill8472| 11.27.12 @ 9:06AM
What's the "H" stand for?
G.S. Patton| 11.27.12 @ 9:15AM
LOL .....ooops typo.
Bill8472| 11.27.12 @ 9:05AM
Please, whatever route the GOP follows in the future, NO MORE BUSHES!
Martin kzovich| 11.27.12 @ 9:10AM
Back at the ranch lets follow the Repyubiks like Graham and McCaine etc and see how tMcConnel as well. This will give us a clue where the GOP is going.
Dave Williams| 11.27.12 @ 9:31AM
If the Repubs put up another squish, it's time for a third party...one with the brains to hold correct economic and foreign policy principles, and the fortitude to STICK TO THEM. And yes, it is possible that they Powers That Be would be stupid enough to put up another member of such a fatally damaged brand.
BackToBasics| 11.27.12 @ 9:38AM
That Jeb Bush is being considered when millions of conservatives didn't vote for Romney shows that the Repubican party is finished. Even Rubio is not so conservative although he looks to be to the right of Bush.
I think viable 3rd party candidate could be nominated in 2016. If it causes us to lose, so be it. The r establishment will not allow a true conservative to get the nomination and we will lose anyway. I do not believe a Republican can win the presidency again, ever!
Doctor Right| 11.27.12 @ 9:44AM
I agree; there will never be another Republican President.
Joseph Valachi| 11.27.12 @ 9:38AM
Meet the 'New Bush' same as the 'Old Bush'.
Doctor Right| 11.27.12 @ 9:43AM
Quit the GOP NOW!
TODAY!!!
I'm done with them. They are weak, spineless pansies who are afraid of their own shadows and unwilling to stand-up to the bullying in the press and on the other side of the aisle.
Jeb Bush?!?!? Is this sick, or what?!?!?
I argued to support Romney because he was the nominee, but I'm NEVER doing that again.
EVER.
The GOP-establishment is getting ready to toss Conservatives overboard on taxes (witness the recent attacks on Grover Norquist), and they WILL cave on immigration in order to pander to Hispanics in the vain hope of attracting more votes in 2016.
This Party is adrift, with no principled leadership, and nothing to stand on.
Some counsel reforming the Party "from within." I say rubbish! The moderates and Liberals in the GOP-establishment will NEVER let that happen; they will kill the Party before they allow the Conservatives to steer the ship. Think I'm joking? Think "Dick Lugar," or "Arlen Specter."
Without Conservatives, the GOP is DEAD.
Let's hasten their pathetic demise. QUIT the GOP today.
frino| 11.27.12 @ 10:01AM
Now you talkin boy ! Get your true blue dead red conservtib party going, good boy. So we FRINOS we keep GOP make what we know can win, without you, fo sure-but we kin do it. Ya'll kin have at that L/L ticky-Limpaw an dat Levin-oh they'll sweet talk the ladies ta voting conservtib. I know they will, you bleeve dat, dontcha ?
Doctor Right| 11.27.12 @ 10:59AM
I'm not sure if you have a point; your grammar and syntax are horrendous.
Albert Constantine Jr.| 11.27.12 @ 3:56PM
When the Left adopts a minstrel show voice or puts on blackface, it is hip and edgy. When it is done by a conservative, it is racist.
C. Vernon Crisler | 11.27.12 @ 12:29PM
I'll wait until the next Republican candidate for president is chosen. If it's another moderate, I'm going Independent.
Riff Raff| 11.27.12 @ 1:53PM
I quit the GOP 15 years ago. They have yet to give me a reason to go back. We need a second Political Party, separate and independent from the Repulicrat-Democan Party. What we have now are two wings of the same entity: the GOVERNMENT Party.
RJ| 11.27.12 @ 9:55AM
Even from the depths of Obama Hell, it is depressing to think of Jeb Bush as the Republican nominee. We need real reform to which Jeb Bush does not even give lip service. Jeb will merely accommodate the expansion of the state and the decline of the nation.
drake1456| 11.27.12 @ 10:03AM
Might as well whistle in the wind as a very high ranking repuiblican comments that corruption is so rampant in Washington because of lobbyist money, that it really doesnt matter WHO is in the White House.I have that in personal communication with a member of the Senate.
Anthony| 11.27.12 @ 10:03AM
If memory serves, three strikes and you're out.
1) Dole: Strike One
2) McCain: Strike Two
3) Romney: Strike Three
What does the R establishment need to wake the hell up? How about a 95mph fastball to the head, that might shake up those sclerotic brain cells a bit?
Go ahead, put up Jeb and see how many are in the stands to watch. I think it's time to turn Washington back into the origional swamp that it was, as opposed to this man made stink hole.
JeMeRappelle| 11.27.12 @ 10:09AM
Why should Republicans waste time with a likely failure like Jeb Bush when they have proven failures like Bob Dole, John McCain and even Jeb's father? Why not propose Gerald Ford? The man may be dead, but is otherwise eligible to run for office .
loulou| 11.27.12 @ 11:02AM
The dead can vote so why not a dead candidate?
GobBluthe| 11.27.12 @ 10:22AM
The question is why does the GOP Establishment continuously outflank the conservatives?
Indy| 11.27.12 @ 11:57AM
They are part of the haves (DC insiders) and in leadership positions. We try to send conservatives (have nots) and they work hard to co-opt them and if they cannot do that, they work to defeat / marginalize them...to date they have had a lot of success. The GOP Establishment got rid of Allen West.
Who do you see in front of the cameras? McCain, Graham, Cantor, it is rare for conservatives to get air time. Fox is loaded up on Team Bush led by Karl Rove, yuck. More Ron Johnson, Mike Lee, Pat Toomey please.
GobBluthe| 11.27.12 @ 12:03PM
So if conservatives cant defeat the hapless GOP Establishment, how will conservative ever defeat the Rats?
Indy| 11.27.12 @ 2:00PM
For starters, find those who can articulate conservatism, i.e. Mike Lee, speak the truth & bring issues down to the kitchen table level. The Fed is robbing us blind by devaluing the dollar which drives up food, fuel, everything.
Get rid of political consultants, go to conservatives in the entertainment industry, there are some who could do a much better job of krafting messages. I recall in the 2010 elections a very good ad of a junkie used to illustrate our spending addition. Utilize youtube more than TV ads, go on the Daily Show, Leno, etc.
Get young conservatives out to college campuses Greg Gutfield, Steven Crowder, Katie Pavlich, Star Parker, Deneen Borelli, Jedediah Bila and others.
Scott Walker showed the way to win, run a campaign on principles, craft the message and drive it home to the voters. He warned Romney early in the campaign to be more assertive and run on principle.
Take Alinsky tactics and use it on the Left. Point out corruption on the Left and Right, expose the DC power base, most people have no idea how low the unemployment is in DC, how strong the housing market is compared to other parts of the country. And here's a novel idea, stand up for freedom, get rid of the TSA, warrantless wiretaps, drone flights in the US, EPA control over everything, return power to states. Expose the massive security complex being built in UT, and finish off by refusing to cede power to the UN...the plan has to be to play to win v. play not to lose.
Indy| 11.27.12 @ 8:10PM
Wilkow, a great example of someone who should be speaking to college students and others. Here is a clip of his discussion on statism. The Blaze needs to grow and others must follow this model, bypass the Democrat Media Complex.
http://www.video.theblaze.com/.....d=25507205
AKraver| 11.27.12 @ 10:28AM
What is so HILARIOUS to me is that Mr. Lord speaks of Reagan as a Conservative. He quadrupled the national debt!!! Not only that, but he tripled the size of the Federal Government. Just in terms of numbers on a page he is way worse than Obama.
Yeah, I've heard Reagan's speeches, and sure, they're charismatic, entertaining and sound on conservative principles. But that's where Reagan's strengths end. He was a conservative talker and a liberal spender.
Obama is good at talking and very good at exploding the size of government and debt too. They seem about equal to me. Conservative is as conservative does.
So, if you can figure out why YOU think Reagan was a conservative you will find the answer to the larger question posed by this article: Why did we get Mitt thrust upon us and why will continue to flakes like Rubio and Bush thrust upon us.
loulou| 11.27.12 @ 11:04AM
Reagan had to rebuild the military after it was trashed by Carter. Didn't you know that?
AKraver| 11.27.12 @ 11:31AM
cop out
Drunken Sailor| 11.27.12 @ 12:11PM
Fact, there was this thing called the Cold War.
AKraver| 11.27.12 @ 1:27PM
another stereotypical cop out.
Big Government is Big Government is Big Government
Riff Raff| 11.27.12 @ 1:49PM
Except that national defense IS a Constitutional expenditure. Welfare, Section 8 Housing, Food Stamps, Education, and a host of other social welfare spending programs are NOT Constitutional. The BULK of the deficits during the 1980's were from social welfare spending, not defense. This was the "Compromise" Democrats demanded and got. Reagan wanted to close the Department of Education (after all, it is not only wasteful, it is flatly unconstitutional) but it is still here. Why? Democrats will never let it go, no matter how much damage it does. It serves its intended purpose: it buys votes for Democrats.
AKraver| 11.27.12 @ 2:08PM
Well, you're right about the deficit spending being from social programs... but I think think the defense spending in the 1980s was just welfare for Industries associated with the Military.
To put it in modern terms, the Cold War was largely the same as George W. going into Iraq.
AKraver| 11.27.12 @ 1:51PM
And really, I should point out. There is nothing particularly conservative about the Cold War. Everyone assumes the Cold War (and Goldwater etc) were the purest manifestation of Conservative simply because the Bra-burning Bomb-throwing Hippy-Marxists infilitrated the Democrat Party.
But really, what is Conservative about the Truman Doctrine and the Cold War? What's Conservative about being entangled and over-extended in foreign affairs? What's conservative about giving Afghanis tons of fire power (see how well that worked Mister Conservative!??)???
In the end there are many progressives like Reagan/Obama on both sides who work to make American politics not about choices, but about tribalism. If you are the kind of person who doesn't want to merely vote along your preferred tribal lines, but rather upon real ideas you WILL have to question your opinion about Reagan.
irish19| 11.28.12 @ 12:25AM
And your preferred candidate is..........
AKraver| 11.28.12 @ 3:37PM
uh. well, hmm....
Who has conservative Bona Fides?
I think THAT is the question every conservative needs to ask himself. Who is it?
If you are a real Conservative you know that Liberalism is evil. If you have principles, you don't compromise with Evil. So, If you're a worthy candidate you are someone who will not compromise with Liberals
Furthermore, if a person won't compromise then it's pretty clear they won't pander to get votes. It just so happens that strong leaders don't change themselves to meet people. They draw people to themselves by teaching and inspiring people to believe their ideology. THAT is why Obama won.
People who don't compromise and inspire people win elections and get their preferred policy inacted. As much as I hate to say it, Obama and Team Pelosi are much much stronger than any Republican frontrunners, any Republican caucuses etc. Why? Because they don't compromise. They play for keeps. They inspire (however nefarious the methods) people. Barack Obama deserved to win this election because believes in his ideology and fights for it. You may not like his methods or his philosopphy, but he does not compromise.
The world has many times been troubled by bad people with bad ideologies who are none-the-less tough as nails and strong in their beliefs.
So we need someone like that with the Right philosophy... Rand Paul?
C. Vernon Crisler | 11.27.12 @ 12:33PM
Hello, Congress does the spending.
Drunken Sailor| 11.27.12 @ 12:56PM
You mean Tip ONeil wasn't a spendthrift? Imagine that.
JimP| 11.27.12 @ 10:37AM
As I think Einstein said: "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.", or something close to that. The estblishment GOP and the Bushes in particular are insane. Totally, completely and irrevocably insane. They may be "nice guys" personally but no sane person would continue with what Mr. Lord pointed out, and so many of us already knew about running Rockefeller/moderate Republicans. We must have a third party. Personally I am going to become more involved with my local Tea Party group and explore the possiblities of dumping the GOP once and for all. And, btw GOP I will NOT vote for another Bush. Ever. So run JEB, run. You WILL lose.
AKraver| 11.27.12 @ 2:09PM
right on
Grzmlyk| 11.27.12 @ 2:33PM
It won't matter, sadly.
Th Tea Party has been marginalized and successfully demonized thanks to the real power in this country - the popular culture as confected by the mainstream media.
None of this is going to change and please do not console yourselves with the mantra that has been a comforting pacifier to too many conservatives - that this country is really center-right (it most definitely is NOT); or hey, the mainstream media is collapsing (it most definitely is NOT).
We are in a death spiral; we are in the throes of utter delusion fed by greed, envy, corruption, sloth and moral vanity. We are witnessing the metastasizing of a Stage 4 cancer. We are experiencing the end game to which the nihilism of liberalism inevitably leads.
This will not end until the economy collapses utterly, which it should do anytime in the next few years - certainly once interests rise, as they must, it'll be over.
Then at least the death of the host organism will mean the death of the parasite.
In the meantime, the GOP will continue to throw cannon fodder up to the mainstream media, which will gleefully blow the latest nominee to bits. Because you may define insanity as the GOP doing the same thing over and over again; I define insanity as the liberal world view.
If and when we emerge from the rubble,and rebuild, and become successful, the same damn thing will happen again. Because human nature is immutable and entropy always wins in the end.
JimP| 11.27.12 @ 4:46PM
Wow. Grzmlyk. You need some prozac guy. I don't disagree with you totally, but I'm not giving up either. To hear you, you're ready to jump off a bridge. Good luck to you. I hope you find something positive upon which you can focus.
Grzmlyk| 11.27.12 @ 8:35PM
Hey, it's a natural reflex not to give up. Peter Schiff interviewed Emmett Tyrrell weeks before the election - Tyrrell was making the rounds promoting his book, "The Death of Liberalism.” Try not to laugh.
Anyway, Schiff tossed a slew of economic facts at Tyrrell - facts that prove that collapse is inevitable. Tyrrell parried as best he could, talking as good conservatives often do of Laffer curves and people waking up and a return to individual responsibility. Schiff kept at him - how are we going to get out from under this?
At last Tyrrell, utterly frustrated, said, "Well, what's your solution? To give up?"
Right there he conceded Schiff's main point. Schiff was looking for some scintilla of proof that we are not already over the cliff, that it’s not too late. Tyrrell couldn't come up with anything except changing the subject to whether Schiff wanted to give up or not.
Hey, if you're down 63-3 in a football game with :20 left in the fourth quarter, you may not give up. But the game is over.
So it is with America - and, by the way, we are moving further to the left at breakneck pace. We have taken leave of our senses. Even if we stopped now - or four years ago, for that matter, we'd still be doomed. But because we're doomed, our leaders are going pedal to the metal.
Give up or don't give up; stay and fight or leave the country. It's over. It's 63-3 with :20 left in the fourth quarter, and we don't have the ball.
loulou| 11.27.12 @ 11:01AM
To say that Jeb Bush is the next Mitt Romney is an insult to Mitt Romney. Yes, INSULT.
Surely Karl Rove isn't that stupid to try to shove that piece of moderate garbage down our throats.
JimP| 11.27.12 @ 12:05PM
I bet Rove knows his bread will be buttered by pushing JEB. I agree that Romney is not as bad as the Bushes. Nevertheless, he and his team ran as close to the 'textbook moderate GOP campaign' as anyone has for at least two decades.
I read today that there were 13.5 million fewer people who voted this year than in 2008. Is that accurate?
Grzmlyk| 11.27.12 @ 3:10PM
Rove gets paid no matter who wins. We need to get this garbage out of the GOP.
frino| 11.27.12 @ 5:13PM
I wuz gettin happy said you was leavin
gop to us pragmatic folks know how get ta 270=you don't.But now you gonna stay and throw me out ? Make up ya mind boy-we FRINOS gotta save the USA.
JimH| 11.27.12 @ 11:05AM
I can just see the campaign slogan: Third time’s the charm. Or maybe to quote Bullwinkle, This time for sure.
frino| 11.27.12 @ 5:15PM
hoe bowt we got ridda the knuckleheads ?
irish19| 11.28.12 @ 12:29AM
I'll help you pack.
7-08| 11.27.12 @ 11:07AM
Hey, be of light heart - Santorum threw his hat in the ring this morning.
spike59| 11.27.12 @ 4:45PM
..and?
Grzmlyk| 11.27.12 @ 8:39PM
I wanted to like Santorum. I really did.
But he's a very angry man, and he can't conceal it.
CJW| 11.27.12 @ 11:15AM
The NYT runs an article to create arguments among Republicans, quoting someone named Anna Navaro, who nobody has ever heard of, and Mr. Lord takes the bait. After two Bush presidents, what person really believes there would be a a third? Or more importantly, that Bush could win the primaries?
First, Mr. Lord should learn to write in paragraphs, with a topic sentence, and not write as if we wanted to read a speech.
Second, the voters in the primaries will select the nominee. Get involved in the primaries and caucuses of your state, and work for the conservative candidate. Stop compaining about an establishment forcing a nominee on you. Maybe we should have a smoke filled room of pols selecting the nominee as in the old days. But now you have primaries and caucuses in each state. Work early for your candidate. Ignore the NYT. The Tea Party proved this as a winning strategy in 2010.
Romney won the primaries. The more conservative candidates lost. Obama won because some of our voters stayed home. Bush got 64 million votes in 2004, more than McCain and Romney. If our voters would have turned out as they did in 2004 we would have won.
Remember Barry Goldwater's advice in 1964: Grow up Conservatives, take back your party.We do not have to give up our principles of lower taxes, strong defense, and limited government.
GobBluthe| 11.27.12 @ 12:07PM
Bush got 62.0 m in 2004 Obama got 64.8.
JEB will win if purists conservatives cant agree to a candidate and split their votes 3 or 4 ways
CJW| 11.27.12 @ 1:54PM
You are correct, I made a mistake on the popular vote. We also lost 1.5 million to third party Gary Johnson, and Virgil Goode, which should have been Rep votes. But we needed a better turnout in the battleground states, which were close. Romney did better than Bush in the battleground states except Ohio and Iowa.
Albert Constantine Jr.| 11.27.12 @ 4:57PM
It is difficult to know what to make of the percentages and raw figures from the 2012 election, because votes are still being counted.
While three weeks ago, it looked like fewer voted for Romney then voted for McCain, now the totals show he got more votes. While Obama got four million more votes than Romney, he got five million (so far) fewer than he got in 2008.
It is difficult to put a total on how many fraudulent votes were received, and how much a difference the lost and suppressed military ballots would have made (along with the votes for the Constitution Party and some of the Libertarian votes that you note), particularly in the swing states.
Still, while I think it is critical to remain the bearers of better principles and ideas, it doesn’t hurt to have a good ground game if we want to win elections.
CJW| 11.27.12 @ 7:05PM
Yes, we need to get the vote out. It is difficult to believe we got more votes in 2004 than in 08 and 12, especially with the stakes involved now. We want the perfect candidate,and will stay home or vote third party even if it means the Dem will win. Then we complain...Dems are better at politics. They will show up to vote for the Dem candidate, except in 2000 when Ralph Nader cost Algore the election.
Albert Constantine Jr.| 11.27.12 @ 8:16PM
In 2004 I was part of the ground game. I registered voters, did the house to house lit drops, rallied others, etc. While Bush did not win Delaware, he won my district, getting more votes than he did in 2004.
In 2008, McCain's people never did the outreach (Castle was his DE campaign chair). In 2012, I never heard from the party at all (except candidate's robocalls).
CJW| 11.27.12 @ 9:04PM
It seems the Romney team concentrated on the battleground states, but it was not enough. My Western Pa district went for Romney, we also re-elected a Rep congressman. I have done the "ground game" for local elections, and it seems to help. There were numerous robo calls from Mitt, Ann Romney, former Gov Tom Ridge, Clint Eastwood, and others in the last two weeks. Ohio, Virginia, Colorado, and Florida decided the election.
Grzmlyk| 11.27.12 @ 8:55PM
CJW, I respect what you have to say. However, the reason we get RINOs as our nominees - and have, ever since Reagan (Nixon was also a RINO) is that conservatism does not sell. We are NOT a center-right country, we are a left-wing country, moving further left each and every day. If you don't believe me, just turn on a random TV station and see what passes for entertainment today - that tells you where the culture is. And in two years, whatever you watched today will seem tame by comparison.
Our problem is that the critical mass of culture in America WANTS what's happened to this country.
It's really that simple; Republicans are outliers. Conservatives, a shrinking sliver of the Republican party, are going the way of the dodo bird.
Look no farther than Greece to see our future. Hell, look no farther than Detroit or Chicago.
CJW| 11.27.12 @ 9:50PM
Mr G
I also respect your opinions.
The popular culture is against us. It is easy to be a liberal, like a bad parent, give you children a new car, vacations, money, a credit card, then file for bankruptcy because you cannot afford it.
As conservatives, we expect to pay for or expenses, and saying no . This is not popular.
As for the election it seems over 3 million sat out the election or voted for the idiot Gary Johnson. The election was lost in Ohio, Florida, Virginia, and Colorado. We should have won those.
In Pa, we have a Rep governor, Senator Toomey, and the state legislature is Rep. On the local level many of the Dems are culturally conservative, but big spenders. But Philly provides the margin for the Dem presidential nominee
We are in a mess, and there will be no choice but to reform. California has a deficit of 200 billion and 10% unemployment. Detroit is a joke, Pgh and Harrisburg are in bankruptcy ("distressed" is the term). For example, in Allegheny County, Pa we had a Dem executive that cut 25% of the county jobs, and nobody could tell the difference. At the Recorder of Deeds office, a bastion of Dem patronage, they put a sign saying "we are sorry you have to wait for service because of the cuts." In fact, the workers now worked and the service is better than ever.
I am an optimist, but you are correct that it will get worse before better.
On the bright side, we can blame Obama and the Dems.
Grzmlyk| 11.28.12 @ 12:14AM
CJW, you make excellent points. The lack of turnout really goes to my point - if people don't care enough to rescue this country from destruction, what does that say? That we need a better Get Out the Vote initiative? No, these are de facto liberals; it says that Americans do not deserve the country our founders created.
Most major cities - and states, for that matter - are going belly up. And since most cities are bastions of liberal votes, that means Uncle Sam is going to bail out each and every one of these. And there's only one way to do this - PRINT MONEY.
That's what we're doing now, and that is what we'll continue to do. Americans are too damned busy bitching about the evil 1% not paying "their fair share" to notice that their own middle-class economic power is being drained right in front of their eyes via inflation, and they don't realize it. It is not the rich that the Dems are after; it is the middle class.
So I think it's going to get A LOT worse - and probably not a lot better after that; we are a third-world country in the making.
I also think there's plenty of blame to go around - from Nixon on, GOP presidents have presided over the expansion of government - even Reagan, though I take nothing away from him.
And, sadly, after it all comes crashing down, the popular culture will STILL blame Bush and the Republicans.
PCPSmokerII| 11.27.12 @ 9:13PM
What a fucking asshole you are. Get off the Bush train and go fuck yourself. Prick.
Crassus| 11.27.12 @ 11:17AM
You forgot to mention Jeb's pillhead daughter and nutcase wife who can barely speak English.
frino| 11.27.12 @ 5:20PM
Folks say GOP got a gender gap and a Latino gap-how dat be ?
Simon Templar| 11.27.12 @ 11:38AM
Conservative must meet and organize to develop a strategy to take this party over as the Left did to the democratic party. It can be done. We must have representation or we will never succeed at protecting and our freedoms and liberties.
pogybait| 11.27.12 @ 4:27PM
Fine, as long as those who challenge understand that the elites that control the party operate on the capacity to impose its will by withholding favors.
scotchieguy| 11.27.12 @ 11:55AM
How stupid is the republican party? They nominated the guy who lost to effin' McCain in 2008. Imagine that!
The problem with the republicans is they want it both ways--they want to pretend to be conservative to get the base out, and yet they act like RINO's to get the dems to like them. Neither of these scenarios work, and except for Reagan, we haven't had a conservative nominee since Goldwater.
How bad is is it really? Govt still grew under Reagan, all he did was slow our inevitable slide off the cliff for a few years. Wow. That's something to be excited about!
spike59| 11.27.12 @ 4:44PM
How stupid is the republican party? They nominated the guy who lost to effin' McCain in 2008. Imagine that!
----------------------------------------
In 1980, they nominated the guy who lost to Gerald Ford in 1976...imagine that! Did you have a point there somewhere????????????
RCV| 11.27.12 @ 12:10PM
I'm not sure why conservatives continue to blame the "GOP Establishment" for their own failures to effectively organize and win the nomination. 2012 was an ideal opportunity for conservatives. If you had united early behind a candidate, you could easily have captured the nomination, since the majority of GOP primary voters were always in opposition to Romney. But instead, Perry and Gingrich and Cain and Santorum and Bachmann wasted precious time fighting amongst themselves instead of coalescing behind a candidate who could defeat Romney.
If you can't even capture the nomination when you had everything going for you, why blame "the GOP Establishment"?
Drunken Sailor| 11.27.12 @ 12:13PM
For the same reasons Hillary supporters blamed the Democrat establishment.
RCV| 11.27.12 @ 1:56PM
Hillary WAS the Democratic establishment.
Drunken Sailor| 11.27.12 @ 2:07PM
Tell that to her supporters who think she got ripped off. I could not care less.
C. Vernon Crisler | 11.27.12 @ 12:35PM
Money tells....
RCV| 11.27.12 @ 1:57PM
Money didn't tell in the general. It was the lack of conservative cohesion.
C. Vernon Crisler | 11.27.12 @ 3:06PM
You were talking about the primaries.
frino| 11.27.12 @ 5:23PM
be more like a surplus of consertib delusion
Grzmlyk| 11.27.12 @ 8:46PM
Sorry, folks. My pet cat, Frino, keeps walking across my keyboard.
Bob Grant| 11.27.12 @ 8:58PM
You need to look at your cat and say: "you broke my heart Frino."
CJW| 11.27.12 @ 9:51PM
Frino is an improvement over Purp
Grzmlyk| 11.28.12 @ 12:16AM
Bob, I LOVE the reference! That was a three pointer. Thank you. :-)
Paul A'Barge | 11.27.12 @ 1:11PM
Yep.
Seek| 11.27.12 @ 1:16PM
A quick survey: On a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 meaning "no chance" and 10 meaning "a sure thing," how would people here rate Jeb Bush's chances of winning in the GOP nomination for president in 2016?
Norman Conquest| 11.27.12 @ 1:35PM
It really is time to form a new party. The Republicans have become the 21st century Whigs.
frino| 11.27.12 @ 5:25PM
you go fella, best dang thing fo everabuddy
Riff Raff| 11.27.12 @ 1:39PM
"Yes! Yes! Yes! A thousand times YES!!!" say all the Obama-Zombies (or at least they WOULD say that if they could speak beyond grunts and moans and gnashing of teeth.) Another BUSH?! Really?! TWO were not enough? Between "No New Taxes," the "Patriot Act," and "TARP," another Bush seems quite ridiculous (Don't forget: Bush the Elder gave us Clinton the Traitor.) But the ridiculous CAN happen! Evidence: the re-election of our dolt President. If the Republicans even THINK about putting up another Bush, the Party will collapse of its own dead weight and thinking Americans will go elsewhere. And of course the Obama-Zombies will grunt and groan and that will be interpreted as a mandate to elect our dolt President a THIRD TIME! What is to stop it? The Constitution? Since 80% or more of what Washington does is flatly UN-constitutional already, why stand on formality and restrict our dolt President from seeking a third term? Perhaps a new title: "Praetor Perpetuo."
frino| 11.27.12 @ 5:33PM
Da Bushes run fo times, win three ?
dat so bad ?
Grzmlyk| 11.27.12 @ 8:47PM
Frino, get off the counter. Bad, bad cat!
Hardcard| 11.27.12 @ 2:23PM
fagetabotit we are screwed, you can rant and rave but the sh*t ain't going away the moslem is in. The trash from the 60's is running the show with $$ from soros and friends, and now the moslem has more flexibility. prepare yourself!!
Who Knows?| 11.27.12 @ 2:28PM
Let’s see. Four years times 365 days per year equals 1,460 days, less 21 days---so, we have 1,439 days until the next orgasm, ‘er, election.
You do realize that each single DAY before the next scheduled vote is 24 HOURS within which a whole lot of sheiss can hit the fan, don’t you?
What’s that hoary phrase---Get a life!
I realize Jeff Lord HAS a life, which consists of spending HIS time researching regular political crap, like the MSM-spewed story about Jeb Bush, and spraying HIS own take out on this site. But, hey, men and women---Get a life!
Oh, wait; you’re probably like ME, in that you are Lord wannabes, eager to tell everyone what’s what, as YOU see it. What fun! Another four years to rake the muck sure to be emitted by the Obama machine!
Yes, in the political “garden”, there are many Chauncy Gardeners, a la Being There, who, out of boredom, have planted and tend, or put attention on, their own many seasons of political farming. Listen to ME!
Good old Nietzsche---“Memory said it was this way, pride said it was that way. Pride wins”.
MY memory plucks the DAY in 1959, when in high school, I really grasped, completely and for all my life, what the word “rationalization” meant. In short, that whatever one’s PRESENT condition, one (almost) always has “reasons” to defend it as “right”.
Yes---RIGHT ON, forever!
Jeff| 11.27.12 @ 11:15PM
Who Know?
Wait!!!!! I hav a life????
NOW you tell me!
nathan| 11.27.12 @ 2:39PM
I have a simple question for you. No really, a fairly simple question for you all. What is the single biggest threat facing us right now?
Bad guys who want to blow things up? No. They were never that big a threat to start with. I mean they only had 1K card carrying members. Next
Iran? Nah. No convincing evidence they really want to harm us and probably just need to be left alone. Next
Russia/China? Russia is losing population, China is looking at its own economic bubbles.
Next
I will suggest the single BIGGEST problem is the New Deal/Great Society entitlement legacy. ACA is part of that. But assume a GOP president in '16 with a GOP congress. Do any of you seriously think that he willl do what Reagan didn't, roll back/eliminate any New Deal/Great Society program? tic toc tic toc. No . . . And yet those programs pose the single biggest threat to the country, the entitlement programs cannot be sustained. But the last GOP president ADDED to them. I'm sorry folks but Reagan was the last chance to deal with this and he didn't. And honestly, I think the republic is dead and can't be fixed/won't be fixed. Sorry. Comments?
nathan| 11.27.12 @ 2:47PM
And if you think that the next GOP president is going to effectively deal with the New Deal/Great Society legacy that is now so deeply embedded in the heart and soul of this country then explain to the class why this one will from 2016-2020 when Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan, and both Bush's all at some point with working congressional majorities failed to make any real efforts to do so. Tell us why Newt, who talks big, his famous contract with America, him being speaker of the house, didn't get rid of ONE of those programs and re-baseline those entitlement programs to make it harder for democrats later to pass stuff like ACA. Tell us why the next GOP president is going to do what none of his GOP predecessors did, including the greatest "conservative" of the modern age. Make a case why those New Deal/Great Society programs aren't going to bury us. And why, since we're talking about it, that GOP president isn't going to bury us with more defense spending that in this day and time isn't justified and we can't afford. Tell us all this.
TLP| 11.27.12 @ 4:30PM
I feel sorry for your Parents.
CJW| 11.27.12 @ 7:07PM
Do you have any constructive suggestions to offer besides your daily rant that the world will end, or has ended?
Bob Grant| 11.27.12 @ 8:55PM
CJ,
He's got nothing. He and his ilk would never stick their collective necks out and give us their ideal candidate.
That requires defending a position, something foreign to them. And so they sit in the Political Peanut Gallery, throwing "I told you so"'s and "shoulda done it my way"'s and "he/she's not conservative enough"'s, etc.
Those are the ones who sat out the last two elections and indirectly voted for obama.
As a matter of fact, they are no better than the ones who voted for him; quite possibly worse!
Bob Grant| 11.27.12 @ 8:56PM
That would be "They are the ones..."
Dang it!
CJW| 11.27.12 @ 10:04PM
Bob
Excellent comment.
Maybe he and his cohorts will tell us who we should nominate.
I had a conversation with an acquaintace who complained about the stock market drop after the election. He then said he voted for Virgil Goode and complains about Obama but he could not seem to connect his stupid vote with the election of Obama.
There must be many dolts like this who do not understand the causal connection between voting third party, staying home, and Obama winning.
nathan| 11.28.12 @ 7:39AM
Gentlemen! I asked a relatively simple question here. Did any of you directly answer it? NOOO (Not that I expected you to.) You go off and attack me. Incorrectly at that. For the record CJ I've never voted for a democrat in any election at any level. And I've never missed an election. I stood in line for 90 minutes this time. How long did YOU stand in line?
If you disagree with me fine. I was actually hoping someone would and then make a "compelling" case why I was wrong. But no, you just want to call me names. But look at your post here. Did you refute anything I said? NOOO
And we note Ryan voted for Plan D which added 2 trillion to the deficit. And HE was going to REFORM Medicare? SURE NEXT
Medicare today is insolvent as we speak. And yet Ryan pandering to the boomers said, we're not going to touch your benefits. Well that was bold of him! These guys deserved to lose. With friends like these . . .
Five GOP presidents made no effort to reign in entitlements. Now again tell me why you think YOUR favorite GOP'er 4 years from now is going to be different. It's real easy, I'm not asking much.
fmm| 11.27.12 @ 2:51PM
Another great article Mr. Lord. Especially like the paragraph beginning "It is awash...".
dnha14| 11.27.12 @ 3:34PM
I'll vote for an Obama third term before I vote for Jeb.
TLP| 11.27.12 @ 4:31PM
And that, in one sentence, is why we lost.
frino| 11.27.12 @ 5:29PM
he be from MO. guess who he voted fo in primree.
Kingofthenet| 11.27.12 @ 6:17PM
Bush vs Clinton 2016, I like DEM odds.
CJW| 11.27.12 @ 7:08PM
Roger Clinton running?
Paul McGrath| 11.27.12 @ 7:10PM
Your very presence sullies this site. Far more so than the other imbeciles.
Indeed, your very presence sullies the earth.
Albert Constantine Jr.| 11.27.12 @ 8:28PM
I hope you will allow me to respectfully disagree, Mr. McGrath.
His royal highness is my favorite lefty troll. Unlike Purp, whose obnoxiousness knows no bounds, I believe the king takes most of the hits he has coming whenever he posts.
As I think I might have posted on the issue previously, I believe the trolls like "Purp" and some others are paid trolls. I believe the king gets nothing from anybody beyond the well deserved abuse that is directed back at him when he, like an annoyed monkey at the zoo, tries to hurl his feces at us here.
I'm not saying that I like him or the fact that he's here, or that you're wrong when you say he sullies the earth; however, if there's got to be one, for now, I choose the king.
Bob Grant| 11.27.12 @ 8:45PM
Al, I respectfully disagree. I will, however, consider changing my mind if you talk him into changing his handle to something more fitting, like Courtjester or dou**ebag112712.
Kingofthenet| 11.28.12 @ 6:32PM
Why thanks, Prince Albert.Whatever ANY of you NeoCons think of me, at least it's what I really believe.
E B | 11.27.12 @ 7:27PM
Jeb is definitely a moderate, Establishment dude. Not Mitt Romney. He may be too moderate for many, but definitely not Establishment - though he was favored of those running by the Establishment. Romney is too reformist and budget-cutting for the likes of the Establishment. Note they didn't rush to his support during the General Election.
www.conservativemormonmom.blogspot.com
PCPSmokerII| 11.27.12 @ 9:11PM
Lovely piece. So right too. And yet, come 2016, at the end of the NH primary, Bush "The Illegal", as opposed to Bush "The Idiot", will win the nomination. Republicans are generally stupid, and conservatives are normally stupid and cowed by fear. Sure, we'll get the pieces from Ann Coulter and Bill Kristol on how great this Bush is, and yet again, he, like the others will fail. I'm so glad I'm not part of this party anymore.
The Bruce| 11.27.12 @ 9:48PM
Looks like the Bushes figure they haven't screwed up the Republican brand badly enough yet.
Stevemmn| 11.27.12 @ 10:41PM
WHY IN THE WORLD IS ANYONE EVEN PAYING ATTENTION TO THIS AT ALL?
Look at the source: the NY Times. The same paper that trumpeted John McCain as the "Straight Talk Express" in the primaries and then smeared him viciously in the general election. The NY Times WANTS Republicans to nominate a loser.
CAN'T ANYONE SEE WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?
Stevemmn| 11.27.12 @ 11:15PM
This rag has endorsed the Democrat in every presidential election for the last 50 years, even landslide losers like Walter Mondale. Does anyone seriously think they are interested in anything other than sabotaging the Republican nominee??
Gothicreader| 11.27.12 @ 11:32PM
Right on Jeffrey!