HARD RIGHT TURN: How The GOP Destroyed Its Moderates

[auditor0007]

Yet, You are completely Blind to the fact that the Far left runs the Dem Party.

Gibberish and cliche - there is no real "Far left" in the US.

It's not that there is a far left; it's just that what is considered to be left is so far away from the extreme right that it seems far left to the extreme right.

 

[auditor0007]

By Jonathan Chait

Rule And Ruin: The Downfall of Moderation and the Destruction of the Republican Party, from Eisenhower to the Tea Party.

MITT ROMNEY HAS BEEN running for president as the Republican nominee, de facto or de jure, for eight months now, and the grand historical joke of it has not yet worn off. A party that has set itself to frantically, fanatically expunge its moderates, quasi-moderates, suspected moderates, and fellow travelers of moderates chose as its standard bearer the lineal heir, biographically and genealogically, to its moderate tradition. It entrusted its holy crusade to repeal Barack Obama’s hated health-care law to the man who had inspired it and run, four years before, promising to do the same for the rest of America. The man and his historical moment could not be more incongruous. It was as if the Mongol tribes of the thirteenth century, setting out to pillage their way across the Asian steppe, had somehow chosen Mahatma Gandhi as their supreme khan.

Romney’s capture of the nomination required an incredible confluence of good fortune. Any one of several Republicans—Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Paul Ryan—could have outflanked Romney in both grassroots enthusiasm and establishment support but chose not to run. The one candidate with the standing and financial reach to challenge him who did grasp for the prize, Rick Perry, performed his duties with such comic, stammering ineptitude that his final oops-de-grace by that point was not even startling. What remained to challenge Romney was a gaggle of third-raters lacking the money or the rudimentary organization even to get their name on the ballot everywhere. Still, running even against the likes of Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum (which is to say, running essentially unopposed), Romney still trudged laboriously to victory after endless weeks.

But there is another way to make at least some sense of the Romney nomination.

IT HAS TO DO WITH the strange and sad fate of Republican moderation. After all, moderates, or at least relative moderates, do continue to exist in the Republican Party. They merely do not exercise power in any meaningful, open way. They provide off-the-record quotations to reporters, expressing unease over whichever radical turn the party has taken at any given moment. They can be found in Washington and elsewhere rolling their eyes at their colleagues. The odd figure with nothing left to lose—say, a senator who has lost a primary challenge—may even deliver a forceful assault on the party’s uncompromising direction.

For the most part, though, Republican moderation is a kind of secret creed, a freemasonry of the right. It lacks institutions that might legitimize it, or even a language to express itself. And since conservatism is the only acceptable ideology, the party has no open arguments with itself. Thus the “debate” in the Republican Party is entirely between genuine ideological warriors and unwilling conscripts, with intraparty skirmishes generally taking the form of hunts for secret heresies.

In this sense, Romney’s capture of the nomination is perfectly emblematic of the state of the party. Conservative activists spent months resisting Romney, sometimes furiously, despite the fact that he was defending no positions that they disagreed with. Across the entire ideological spectrum—in social, economic, and foreign policy—Romney stood shoulder to shoulder with his party’s reactionary wing. When Romney took on his hapless opponents, he assailed them from the right, as soft on immigration or anti-capitalist. The sole point of hesitation centered on conservatives’ suspicion that Romney did not actually believe what he was saying.

FIFTY YEARS AGO, the conservative movement, far from holding a monopoly on acceptable thought within the GOP, was merely one tribe vying for power within it, and not even the largest one. Geoffrey Kabaservice’s fine book tells the story of the slow extinction of the party’s moderate and liberal wings. The conservative movement, he shows in often gruesome detail, took control of the party in large part due to an imbalance of passion. The rightists had strong and clearly defined principles and a willingness to fight for them, while the moderates lacked both. Meeting by meeting, caucus by caucus, the conservative minority wrested control of the party apparatus. Sometimes this happened through physical force or the threat thereof. (Anybody who recalls the “Brooks Brothers riot” during the 2000 election imbroglio in Florida, when a Republican mob shut down a vote recount in Dade County, will find many of Kabaservice’s scenes familiar.) More often, the conservatives won out by packing meetings, staying until everybody else was exhausted, and other classic methods of organized fanatics. The moderates lacked the ideological self-confidence to wage these fights with equal gusto, and battle by battle they lost ground until finally there was nowhere left to stand within the party.

Much More: How The GOP Destroyed Its Moderates | The New Republic

Yet, You are completely Blind to the fact that the Far left runs the Dem Party.

Gotta love Blind Partisans.

You just can not see the Reality before you.

You claim the GOP destroyed the Moderates in it's party. Yet Romney is a Moderate. Always has been, and he is our Nominee.

The Extremes in Both parties have to much Power if you ask me, But the Dem party is by far the worst right now. While the GOP is Nominating Moderate Republicans who passed things like Romneycare, The Dems continue to Put the Far left in charge of their show. Obama Despite the Common Sense that said he should have moved more to the Middle after getting his ass handed to him in 2010, Decided to Move even Further left, Be even more Partisan.

If a Moderate is what you want, There is only 1 choice in this Election, and it sure as hell is not Obama/Biden.

The Premise of the Article you posted is proven wrong by the title.

The Destruction of the GOP? What the hell is the stupid Bitch Talking about, was she even awake for the 2010 Mid Terms?

Pure Delusional, Wishful Thinking.

Here is what is funny about what you just said. You state that moderate Republicans passed Romneycare, stating this as a case for moderation, yet Obamacare, which is virtually the same thing as Romneycare is a far left wing radical piece of legislation? Obamacare is the only real thing Obama has supported that could even be considered left of center. The stimulus he passed was supported by many Republicans and GW, so it can't really be considered far left. Obama has also supported keeping most of the Bush tax cuts, but because he wants to let the tax cuts expire on the top income earners, this supposedly makes him a far left wing loon and Communist.

Sorry, but I can't wrap my arms around the idea that Obama is far left, because there just is no evidence at all to support that idea.

 

[Saigon]

Yet, You are completely Blind to the fact that the Far left runs the Dem Party.

Gibberish and cliche - there is no real "Far left" in the US.

It's not that there is a far left; it's just that what is considered to be left is so far away from the extreme right that it seems far left to the extreme right.

I totally agree.

Some of ours posters here rally are so extremist in their attitudes than many Conservatives look like Marxists to them. That is fine - but I do think we should all recognise where our bias lies and be able to be honest and objective about where we sit on the political spectrum.

You can't suppport a flat tax rate of 10% or compulsory prayers in schools or want to invade Iran - and then claim to be a moderate.

 

[auditor0007]

Romney might be a moderate - but tens of millions of people who will vote for him are not moderate at all.

Ryan is not a moderate - I wouldn't even call him a conservative.

I do think all Americans - particularly conservatives - should be concerned about how strong the hard right wing of the GOP is, and should do what they can to ensure the party stays in touch with reality. A lot of the zero tax, Ayn Rand fans really are way out into There Be Demons territory.

Perhaps your definition of moderate is as skewed as the view expressed by the original post.

Is fiscal restraint a hard right concept?
Is a limited federal government a hard right concept?
Is respect for the law a hard right concept?
Is respect for individual initiative a right wing concept?
Is respect for self reliance a hard right concept?
Is respect for the original interpretation of the Constitution a hard right wing concept?

BTW, most of those Ayn Rand fans call themselves Libertarians, not conservative. And, there are a bunch of anachists who also want to be called libertarians. But, they are mostly left wing nuts.

The problem with most conservatives is that they continue to deny that there is any revenue problem at all. Conservatives believe that spending is the demon and it is the root cause of all of our problems. This belief comes even though the numbers tell us a very different story. Federal revenues have been around 15% of GDP for the last three years, which is about 19% below average revenues for the past fifty plus years, and 27% below what Clinton had his last year in office. It is also over 20% less than Reagan had in his first few years in office when the economy was in shambles.

As for spending, yes it is higher than it has ever been. Just as revenue is down due to less people working, spending is also higher due to those same people being unemployed and needing government assistance. Conservatives are no longer fiscally responsible. They don't even pretend to be. If they were, they would be working to find a way to increase revenue while reducing spending at the same time. And for God sakes, do not tell us that is Romney's plan by reducing taxes. Our revenues have already been decimated. We already have the lowest tax rates in over 60 years. Reducing taxes further is not going to increase revenue.

 

[Erand7899]

Erand -

Opposing the seperation of church and state IS a hard right topic, IMHO.

I also think pouring money into the military when the US already spends more money on arms than the next 25 biggest spenders combined is a policy closer to Nationalism than Conservatism.

I am not suggesting that everything the GOP says and does is far right, because obviously there are plenty of moderates within the party, too.

Well, your opinion is wrong. The separation of church and state was created by the supreme court from one statement made by Thomas Jefferson, who had nothing to do with writing or adopting the Constitution. The actions by our first congress is proof positive that they had no concept of separation of church and state.

Again, you are wrong. We have learned over the last ten years, that our military was not large enough to fight two regional wars for a sustained period of time. We are also looking at China's effort to build a blue water navy that can prevent us from defending Japan and Taiwan. A strong military is the best guarantee that adversaries will not be tempted to attack us.

Forty percent of the American electorate self identify themselves as conservative. Only twenty percent self identify themselves as liberal, but our country has been governed by liberals for far too long.

Have you ever noticed that liberal Democrats sound more conservative than conservative Republicans at election time. They know where the country is.

 

[Saigon]

errand -

My opinion is not wrong - we merely disagree.

The needs desperately needs to learn how to avoid getting dragged into pointless wars; the US also needs to learn how to fight wars in a way that preserves US lives and limits spending.

Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan have all been an appalling waste of resources.

Avoid conflicts of that kind, and the US could slash 25% of its military budget and still spend more money than China does to maintain an edge. The US spends more than triple what China spends.

To me - that is what a genuine conservative might suggest.

 

[Stephanie]

Funny we never see any of the liberals here worry about THEIR PARTY and how far left they have drifed..how many Socialist they now have in the Democrat party..


DSA-Members: American Socialist Voter - Democratic Socialists of America - 10-1-09

 

[jillian]

^^^^ case in point ^^^^

 

[Mac1958]

.

Pretty difficult to take a winger seriously when they claim to know what the other "side" is thinking. I'm actually amazed they even try, but such is the ego of a partisan ideologue.

.

 

[jillian]

Erand -

Opposing the seperation of church and state IS a hard right topic, IMHO.

I also think pouring money into the military when the US already spends more money on arms than the next 25 biggest spenders combined is a policy closer to Nationalism than Conservatism.

I am not suggesting that everything the GOP says and does is far right, because obviously there are plenty of moderates within the party, too.

Well, your opinion is wrong. The separation of church and state was created by the supreme court from one statement made by Thomas Jefferson, who had nothing to do with writing or adopting the Constitution. The actions by our first congress is proof positive that they had no concept of separation of church and state.

Again, you are wrong. We have learned over the last ten years, that our military was not large enough to fight two regional wars for a sustained period of time. We are also looking at China's effort to build a blue water navy that can prevent us from defending Japan and Taiwan. A strong military is the best guarantee that adversaries will not be tempted to attack us.

Forty percent of the American electorate self identify themselves as conservative. Only twenty percent self identify themselves as liberal, but our country has been governed by liberals for far too long.

Have you ever noticed that liberal Democrats sound more conservative than conservative Republicans at election time. They know where the country is.

1. if the supreme court says it's law -- it's law.
2. everything the founders did, was to make sure that government and religion weren't interconnected.
3.of the people who "self-identify as conservatives", most are radical reactionaries.

it isn't 'conservative' to want government involved in the most intimate decisions of the populace.

 

[California Girl]

Gibberish and cliche - there is no real "Far left" in the US.

It's not that there is a far left; it's just that what is considered to be left is so far away from the extreme right that it seems far left to the extreme right.

I totally agree.

Some of ours posters here rally are so extremist in their attitudes than many Conservatives look like Marxists to them. That is fine - but I do think we should all recognise where our bias lies and be able to be honest and objective about where we sit on the political spectrum.

You can't suppport a flat tax rate of 10% or compulsory prayers in schools or want to invade Iran - and then claim to be a moderate.

Of course you agree... you're both ridiculously partisan. Anyone who disagrees with the messiah is 'far right'. The problem is one of credibility... in that you have none.

Your problem is that instead of actually listening to Romney, you instead rely on your media to explain what he said.... and they lie about what he says. That's your fault - you allow your media to lie to you. Twits.

 

[editec]

There is abundant evidence (see the legislation the GOP voted for in those days) to support the notion that the GOP of 1962 and the GOP 2012 are not remotely on the same political philosophically page.

So refusing to acknowledge that there have been changes in basic social philosophy of the GOP (AND the DNC) is rather silly.

Describing thr GOP's change a change to the RIGHT is entirely arbitrary, unless one wants to suggest that the GOP of 62 was filled with leftists of some kind.

 

[Mac1958]

.

"Oh yeah, those guys over there, they're all radical extremists. Our side over here, we're just fine, we have it all figured out."

"Oh yeah, I agree."

 

[Saigon]

Of course you agree... you're both ridiculously partisan. Anyone who disagrees with the messiah is 'far right'. The problem is one of credibility... in that you have none.

Your problem is that instead of actually listening to Romney, you instead rely on your media to explain what he said.... and they lie about what he says. That's your fault - you allow your media to lie to you. Twits.

I think you just provided a very sound example of ridiculous partisanship looks like.

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

IT HAS TO DO WITH the strange and sad fate of Republican moderation. After all, moderates, or at least relative moderates, do continue to exist in the Republican Party. They merely do not exercise power in any meaningful, open way. They provide off-the-record quotations to reporters, expressing unease over whichever radical turn the party has taken at any given moment. They can be found in Washington and elsewhere rolling their eyes at their colleagues. The odd figure with nothing left to lose—say, a senator who has lost a primary challenge—may even deliver a forceful assault on the party’s uncompromising direction.

And the sad fact remains that the extreme right and TPM refuse to listen to these voices of reason, the very people needed to return the GOP to respect and relevance.

 

[Stephanie]

IT HAS TO DO WITH the strange and sad fate of Republican moderation. After all, moderates, or at least relative moderates, do continue to exist in the Republican Party. They merely do not exercise power in any meaningful, open way. They provide off-the-record quotations to reporters, expressing unease over whichever radical turn the party has taken at any given moment. They can be found in Washington and elsewhere rolling their eyes at their colleagues. The odd figure with nothing left to lose—say, a senator who has lost a primary challenge—may even deliver a forceful assault on the party’s uncompromising direction.

And the sad fact remains that the extreme right and TPM refuse to listen to these voices of reason, the very people needed to return the GOP to respect and relevance.

the Gop is so not respected and irrelevant they pulled off a historic upset in 2010
Democrats should worry about the radicals infiltrating THEIR PARTY, but they NEVER question anything they do, only the OTHER PARTY...that is the sad facts

 

[Freewill]

Oh gad another thread dedicating to the liberal fairy tale story line more then reality. Another liberal trying to define others and not themselves. Being a life long Republican the truth is that I am disgusted, not with the turn to the right, but the turn to the left that the Republicans have taken. Of course considering that the left has gone so far left it is unrecognizable from the party of JFK it is not surprising that the right is swinging to what used to be considered the left. "Ask not what your country can do for you..." was the mantra of JFK not that many years ago. Can anyone say that it is now a slogan expressed by anyone on the left?

So as usual with the left what they say and reality is always in opposition.

 

[LadyGunSlinger]

ROFL!!This must be this week's liberal CLOWN thread. Less than 21% of the population claim to be liberal.. of that, less than half you far left KOOKS who post here which makes you just at 10% of the population and you post a thread like this????????????????? OMG.. The liberal CIRCUS hour..

I think these whackjob liberals believe that just because they come on a forum and blabber lies all over the place that somehow that makes people believe there's more of them than there really are..

 

[Mac1958]

ROFL!!This must be this week's liberal CLOWN thread. Less than 21% of the population claim to be liberal.. of that, less than half you far left KOOKS who post here which makes you just at 10% of the population and you post a thread like this????????????????? OMG.. The liberal CIRCUS hour..

I think these whackjob liberals believe that just because they come on a forum and blabber lies all over the place that somehow that makes people believe there's more of them than there really are..

I have a problem with those figures. It's been my observation that conservatives are clear and proud to self-identify as conservatives. But I think that there are many liberals who consider themselves absolutely mainstream, and therefore don't self-identify in those studies as liberals, including those who lean WAY the hell left. Why that is, I couldn't tell you.

So my guess is that more than 21% of the populace is liberal, I'd toss out maybe 30%, 35%. Roughly the same amount conservative, the rest indy.

Wild-ass guess.

.

 

[Freewill]

ROFL!!This must be this week's liberal CLOWN thread. Less than 21% of the population claim to be liberal.. of that, less than half you far left KOOKS who post here which makes you just at 10% of the population and you post a thread like this????????????????? OMG.. The liberal CIRCUS hour..

I think these whackjob liberals believe that just because they come on a forum and blabber lies all over the place that somehow that makes people believe there's more of them than there really are..

Sadly, they know if they repeat the same old story line long enough the lemmings will believe. What they can't stand is that they have swung so far left that they have left most thinking people far to their right. Thus they must invent the story line that it was the right that moved, not themselves. Disingenuous as hell but that is what we get from the liberal left these days.