Palin, Limbaugh, Beck ... now it's republicans seeing the downside

[Political Junky]

http://features.csmonitor.com/polit...k-…-now-it’s-republicans-seeing-the-downside/

Palin, Limbaugh, Beck … now it’s Republicans seeing the downside
Some moderate conservatives see danger in the vociferous right, especially among broadcast pot-stirrers. They want to advance the GOP by changing the tone.

By Brad Knickerbocker | Staff writer/ October 3, 2009 edition

“I am not a member of any organized party,” Will Rogers famously quipped. “I am a Democrat.” Then there were those old jokes about Democrats forming “circular firing squads.”

But these days, it seems like Republicans are the ones duking it out with each other … or at least examining where they are and where they should be headed after recent electoral drubbings.

Mainstream Republicans are looking at the loudest of the conservative voices — Sarah Palin and the most prominent of the talk-show types (Beck, Limbaugh, Hannity, et al) — and concluding that the GOP needs to do something different if it’s to succeed.

Steve Schmidt, former campaign strategist for John McCain, said Friday that nominating former Alaska governor Sarah Palin for president in 2012 would be “catastrophic” for the party.

“In the year since the election has ended, she has done nothing to expand her appeal beyond the base,” Schmidt said at a forum sponsored by The Atlantic magazine and web site.

“The independent vote is going to be up for grabs in 2012,” he said. “That middle of the electorate is going to be determinative of the outcome of the elections. I just don’t see that if you look at the things she has done over the year … that she is going to expand that base in the middle.”

Meanwhile, Schmidt’s old boss “is working behind-the-scenes to reshape the Republican Party in his own center-right image,” reports politico.com. That means recruiting candidates, raising money, and campaigning on their behalf.

“Those familiar with McCain’s thinking say he has expressed serious concern about the direction of the party and is actively seeking out and supporting candidates who can broaden the party’s reach. In McCain’s case, that means backing conservative pragmatists and moderates.”

 

[BasicGreatGuy]

How about advancing by walking the walk, instead of being hypocritical authoritarians? Party loyalty talk for the sake of party power is repugnant to me. It is not what this Republic is about. At least it shouldn't be.

 

[Qhz]

I'm so tired of liberals playing this game. They hang onto every word Limbaugh and Palin have to say, report it as if it's a news story, run it into the ground, and then bitch about right-wing extremism being the face of the party. The media has always been more obsessed with those two than the voters.

 

[rdean]

I'm so tired of liberals playing this game. They hang onto every word Limbaugh and Palin have to say, report it as if it's a news story, run it into the ground, and then bitch about right-wing extremism being the face of the party. The media has always been more obsessed with those two than the voters.

Actually, it's the Republican base that turned Sarah and Rush into media starts. You don't really think that liberals will be buying Palins book? Some will, just to get a cheap laugh.

 

[Political Junky]

I'm so tired of liberals playing this game. They hang onto every word Limbaugh and Palin have to say, report it as if it's a news story, run it into the ground, and then bitch about right-wing extremism being the face of the party. The media has always been more obsessed with those two than the voters.

I haven't seen republicans that were willing to criticize those media whores who have come to represent the right.

 

[Varth Dader]

I'm so tired of liberals playing this game. They hang onto every word Limbaugh and Palin have to say, report it as if it's a news story, run it into the ground, and then bitch about right-wing extremism being the face of the party. The media has always been more obsessed with those two than the voters.

I haven't seen republicans that were willing to criticize those media whores who have come to represent the right.

Maybe we can sell you a Club Gitmo shirt? Or maybe a copy of Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto?

 

[VaYank5150]

I'm so tired of liberals playing this game. They hang onto every word Limbaugh and Palin have to say, report it as if it's a news story, run it into the ground, and then bitch about right-wing extremism being the face of the party. The media has always been more obsessed with those two than the voters.

I haven't seen republicans that were willing to criticize those media whores who have come to represent the right.

While I believe this to be true of both sides, in this case, it is particularly true of the right.

 

[wethepeople]

Obama will do the perp walk out of our whitehouse!! Good bye!! Non citizen muslim commie!!!

 

[LibocalypseNow]

Nah sounds like wishful thinking to me. Something tells me that the original poster of this thread is a loyal Democrat therefore this thread cannot be taken seriously. It really does sound like wishful thinking to me. I think the Republicans are now fully united against the Socialists. Hopey Changey has actually managed to unite the Republicans with his disastrous Socialist agenda he has forced on the nation. I think 2010 could be a great year for the Republicans. So i just can't buy your spin on this one.