If you were forced to choose a republican which one would you pick?

[julialnyc]

Poll question: If you were forced to choose a republican which one would you pick?

I was just having lunch today with a republican relative and we both had to pick out of a list of the opposite party. Out of my list of democrats that he had to choose between he picked Warner (the list was Hillary, Kerry, Clark, Edwards, Obama, Biden and Warner). This is the list he gave me (I'm just curious who.... if you HAD to)

[Conker]

1. How conservative is your relative?

You should try swinging him to vote Democrat.

[julialnyc]

3. Oh, I try..... he's hard core

not a religious fundie type, but more of a hawkish type.
We both try to sell each other, but neither one of us is budging.

[Conker]

5. So he's far-right?

[julialnyc]

8. only on some issues

he's not a religious wacko, but he thinks Cheney is just brilliant with the war in Iraq

[skipos]

24. Cheney "brilliant?!?" Holeee shit. The repubs I know,

even the ones who wouldn't vote for Jesus Christ (D) if he was to run, think this administration is mediocre at best.

[skipos]

25. Can't... bring... myself.... too....

vote... for... any of them. I am trying but... ugh... my finger... is resisting...

[julialnyc]

37. Oh, he doesn't think Bush is that great...... but he knows Cheney is

running things and he thinks Cheney is a genius.


Like I said, he isn't a very religious rightie, he is a world domination rightie (where I live the righties tend to be the neo-cons or the wealthy tax cut voting republicans)

[leveymg]

2. Lincoln eom

[Conker]

7. Lincoln was a moderate, right?

[leveymg]

22. Today, he'd be a Democrat eom

[FloridaPat]

4. Scott Ritter. I'm tired of lying, bought and paid for politicans

[lovelaureng]

6. Hagel, he seems to be pretty moderate for a

republican.
:scared:

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

10. yeah, but his PNAC background really worries me. n/t

MKJ

[lovelaureng]

17. I have to agree with you 100%. nt

[Booster]

23. Isn't Hagel the one that was involved with the voting machines, or

am I thinking of someone else?

[AntiCoup2K4]

34. Hagel was the former CEO of Election Systems & Software

His first election in Nebraska was described as a "stunning upset", and 80% of the votes were counted by ES&S machines. Go figure.

While Hagel certainly seems more moderate and even more sanethan the neocon shitbags currently running the government, I'm not so sure that electing one of the architects of voter fraud would be a huge improvement for the direction of this country.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

40. You're right, Hagel had some sort of stake or ownership of ES &S

which is a voting machine company.

And, he has a hitory with PNAC, prior to winning his senate seat. MKJ

[Booster]

43. That's what I thought. They've got it planned on into the next

century if something isn't done about voting fraud. Without fixing the voting in this country, we will have the America we all grew up in. God, we need Andy.

[Tactical Progressive]

47. Hagel has one of the most right-wing voting records in the Senate

I heard him say that on an interview recently, trying to promote his Republican credentials.

[JerseygirlCT]

50. Yeah, I don't get all the Hagel love

This is no moderate, folks. Just because he's been occasionally willing to diss the almighty Bush doesn't make him any friend of ours. He's quite conservative.

[aquart]

9. For what purpose?

As a target for throwing soft fruit? Too many to choose.

[julialnyc]

12. I thought it was an interesting political question to ask each other

At first he was going with Obama and then changed his mind (he did love Obama's convention speech).

It is interesting to know what the other side thinks.

[aquart]

28. Going for Obama for WHAT?

[julialnyc]

38. for the democrat he would pick

You can read my original post

[aquart]

53. uh huh. read it. pick for what?

[mikelewis]

11. Like "if they were going to shoot me if I didn't" HAD to?

Just shoot me.

[julialnyc]

14. I would never consider voting for any of these people

but I personally find Hagel the easiest to tolerate out of the usual suspects that do the Sunday talk show rounds (that's all that I meant by the question)

[mikelewis]

15. It's the same as picking which pile of shit you want to eat off of...

I'm not that hungry.

[julialnyc]

16. I think of it more as pick your pain

If I had to choose between being stung by a scorpion, eating an alligator eye ball or walking around my neighborhood in the nude I think I would go with the alligator eye ball.

[mikelewis]

18. At some point....

It's best to just not play the game and leave, especially if these are my choices. (Either list)

[julialnyc]

19. I don't mind hypothetical games if they stir up conversation

Real life choices are quite different than a little dialog (and with family politics getting very hostile many times I welcome a more respectful conversation with this relative).

I was just wondering what other people would have answered

[terrya]

13. Out of that group...Hagel.

But that's the best of a really bad list...

[Ian David]

20. They all frighten me for many, many reasons.

I'd vote for McCain in the primary but only for this reason:

It would be so easy to run attack ads against McCain just by plagiarizing the ads George Bush ran against him.

You'd have to be running a very poor Democrat to convince me to vote for any of those guys.

Perhaps if you were running Lieberman, Biden, Zell Miller, or Al Sharpton, I might vote for McCain or Hagel. Might. I'd even vote for Hillary against one of those guys.

But if Colin Powell hadn't lied about the WMDs and helped mislead us into the war, I would have said-- without reservation-- Powell would be at the top of my "Republicans I'd Vote For" list.

I'd just as soon kick him in the nuts as cast a vote for him.

[Ian David]

21. Google Search: "Most Liberal Republican"

Why is this one election so important? If reelected, Arlen Specter is set to assume the chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2005. That’s right – one of the most liberal Republican senators will be responsible for shepherding pro-family, pro-life legislation through one of the most important Senate committees and for confirming the president’s conservative judicial nominees.
http://www.cwfpac.com/spotlight_toomey_04.htm



Connie Morella, until this January my representative in the House, has been appointed by President Bush to be Ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris, the Washington Post reports. Morella represented my district, in the Maryland suburbs of Washington D.C., for sixteen years, until the Democrats re-districted her into forced retirement. She was probably the most liberal Republican in the House for most of that time, as she had to be in order to survive. I'm happy for Morella because she is a gracious lady who provided excellent service for her constituents and was very nice to my daughter when she interned for her. In addition, there is not much question that she has the competence to do the job. Still, I find it a little puzzling that this plum job should go to someone who so rarely voted with her party and who was one of only five Republicans in the House who voted against the impeachment of Bill Clinton.
http://powerlineblog.com/archives/004056.php


Another explanation is opportunism. The liberal views of Kevin Phillips have greater market value because they can be presented to the public as startling Republican apostasy. Ralph Neas, who for many years ran the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, always identified himself as a Republican; he dropped the pretense only when he ran for the House last fall as a Democrat in liberal Montgomery County, Md., losing to Connie Morella (the most liberal Republican in Congress). In Vermont, liberal challengers to independent Rep. Bernie Sanders have no choice but to run in the Republican primary, since Sanders has co-opted the state's Democratic Party.
http://www.slate.com/id/11201/


In 1998, Neas ran for Congress as a Democrat, but he was trounced by Rep. Constance A. Morella of Maryland, who is arguably the most liberal Republican in the House.
http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=2569


There has been much talk recently about growing political polarization in Washington and the collapse of the bipartisan center where important compromises once were hashed out. For the first time in the 19 years that it has analyzed congressional voting patterns, National Journal found a clear liberal-conservative divide between Senate Democrats and Republicans in 1999. In previous years, there always had been an overlapping cluster of a dozen or so conservative Democrats and moderate Republicans who formed a centrist bloc. But last year, the most liberal Republican was rated to the right of the most conservative Democrat.
http://www.govexec.com/features/0500/0500polworld.htm

True to His Principles
It can be said in Jeffords's defense that his party switch does not amount to an abandonment of his principles, for Jeffords never subscribed to the conservative principles that have guided the GOP. As Max Schulz writes in The American Spectator Online:

Jim Jeffords has been the most liberal Republican in the United States Senate since being elected in 1988. Before that he had the distinction of being possibly the most liberal Republican in the House. And even to say he's been a "Republican in name only" is to overstate the case. Because when something important is on the line, when his vote is needed most, it can almost always be found in the Democratic column.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/best/?id=95000518


Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R.I.), in the tradition of his father John, is probably the most liberal Republican in the Senate. Olympia Snowe (Maine) is a leader of the bipartisan centrist club. Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) sides with Democrats on pro-choice legislation. Sen. James Jeffords (Vt.), tends to be less hard-line on social issues. Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.) took a stronger stand against the impeachment of President Clinton than many of his fellow Democrats did. He also voted against the nomination of Republican colleague John Tower as Defense Secretary at the outset of the first Bush administration. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (Ill.) has veered to the middle after being elected on a right wing platform. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, has carved out a reputation as an independent-minded straight-talker who has diverged from the party line on matters of campaign finance and regulation of cigarette companies.
http://speakout.com/activism/opinions/5638-1.html

More:
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=mozclient&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&q=%22the+most+liberal+Republican%22

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

26. Other: Rep. Christopher Shays of CT (though I don't agree w/ him.

on Iraq).

http://www.house.gov/shays/bio/index.htm
<snip>

Designated an “Environmental Champion” by the League of Conservation Voters, Christopher is steadfast in his commitment to protecting our precious earth. He fights to conserve our resources, diversify our energy sources, limit greenhouse gas emissions, and protect the integrity of federal laws that guard our air, land and water. As Chairman of Global Legislators Organized for a Balanced Environment USA, he joins with legislators from around the world to overcome barriers to progress on important environmental issues, such as climate change.

A leader among centrist Republicans, Christopher is an advocate of socially moderate views. He worked with the former Administration to establish the successful COPS program, which has helped reduce crime through the United States. He leads the charge to end racial profiling and sexual discrimination in the workplace. He is an ardent supporter of a woman’s right to choose. He helped author the 1993 Gun Control Act and advocates a sensible assault weapons ban reauthorization bill. A former Peace Corps volunteer, Christopher helped establish the AmeriCorps national service program and co-founded the Congressional National Service Caucus. He is Co-Chair of the Congressional Arts Caucus, the Congressional Friends of Animals Caucus and the Nonproliferation Task Force.

<snip>

[julialnyc]

30. Although I don't agree with Shays on many things

he's not too bad (but I will vote against him in 06)

[julialnyc]

31. Interesting

thanks

[NewJeffCT]

27. Chuck Hagel would NOT be my choice - rated 100% by the Christian Coalition

Not even counting the voting machine involvement.

This guy has a 0% score from NARAL and the LCV (Leauge of Conservation Voters) and a whopping 8% by the AFL-CIO.

On the flip side: 100% from the Christian Coalition, 92% from the CATO institute on trade issues, A by the NRA

http://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Chuck_Hagel.htm

[saltpoint]

29. Hagel, I guess, sort of. He's no Lincoln, though.

I'd consider voting for Lowell Weicker of Connecticut, a former U.S. Senator defeated by Joe Lieberman some years ago.

Weicker was the Republican on the Watergate Committee who told Chuck Colson he could most certainly NOT count on his vote in support of Nixon's misdeeds.

He's a good man.

[Fescue4u]

32. If you had to poke out one eye....Which would you choose?

Which is your least favorite eye? Left or Right?

[julialnyc]

33. Left eye

My right has better vision
:)

[rucky]

35. You don't need to choose Hagel...he can choose himself.

maybe he fixed this poll?

:shrug:

[carpetbagger]

36. Powell. His one fault is loyalty to GOP superiors above morality.

However, I think he'd do well in any position where didn't have to deal with his instincts to suck up and provide cover.

[Pushed To The Left]

52. If Powell had been President

I don't think America would have gone into Iraq in 2003.

[LWolf]

39. None.

I wouldn't have picked any of those democrats, either. What if you both had to pick from a list that didn't contain any democrats or republicans? Independents all?

[triguy46]

41. "Comrade, do you prefer the rod or the rubber hose?"

Is a tortured answer a legitimate measure? None for me, nada.

[julialnyc]

45. this is hardly torture

just trying to spark a conversation

[triguy46]

58. for me having to choose a repub is torture.

[La_Fourmi_Rouge]

42. A Dead One! n/t

[LostinVA]

44. Olympia Snowe

[graywarrior]

46. Agreed.

[Tactical Progressive]

48. I voted Frist

for any Republicans monitoring this board to see who might have broad, cross-party support. I fully support their nomination of Bill Frist.

[Vinca]

49. With Delay for VP? We could make a dent in the deficit by

closing the White House and setting up shop in the cell block.

[JerseygirlCT]

51. I'd say of that list, Powell is the least offensive

Please don't construe that as any sort of support for him, however.

[ingac70]

54. McCain is a whore....

Lets not forget he was caught up in the S&L scandal, and is lucky he didn't get put away like his mentor Keating.

[LincolnMcGrath]

55. I would abstain......

[ConsAreLiars]

56. The Hagel & McCain votes prove that gullibility is not limited to

right-wingers. Or maybe that a lot of people here really like the Christian Coalition platform. Or that ignorance crosses party affiliations.

[Rhiannon12866]

57. I used to like John McCain, since he was more critical of Bush*

than the Democrats. But his loyalty to Bush*, despite everything, totally baffles me...:shrug: