General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums"At CPAC, conservatives still can’t admit they have a problem"
At CPAC, conservatives still cant admit they have a problemPosted by Jamelle Bouie at the WP
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/03/15/at-cpac-conservatives-still-cant-admit-they-have-a-problem/
"SNIP................................................
Yesterday at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Texas Governor Rick Perry made a claim that goes a long way toward explaining the current state of the Republican Party. When speaking to the crowd at CPAC, he hit back against the idea that the Republican Party needs to change its ideas if it wants to appeal to a wider swath of voters. The popular media narrative is that this country has shifted away from conservative ideas, as evidence by the last two presidential elections, said Perry. That might be true if Republicans had actually nominated conservative candidates in 2008 and 2012.
Its hard to overstate how much this flies in the face of what we know about the previous two presidential elections. Relative to the current GOP and the platform Mitt Romney ran on the John McCain of 2008 looks like a moderate. But at the time, even McCain was well-positioned on the right of the Republican Party. In addition to choosing then-Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate who would soon become a conservative icon he ran on a platform of tax cuts (he pledged to permanently extend the Bush cuts and lower corporate rates), partial Social Security privatization, opposition to Roe v. Wade, support for school vouchers, and a plan that would provide tax credits to families to purchase health care.
Romney, as we know, moved far to the right of McCain over the course of his campaign. He touted Paul Ryans fiscal framework (which would slash taxes on the wealthy, make deep cuts to existing social services, and turn Medicare into a voucher program) endorsed personhood amendments (which would make abortion and many forms of birth control illegal) and opposed all efforts to deal with climate change, from cap and trade (which was endorsed by McCain) to new emissions standards.
In other words, theres no way in which the most recent Republican nominees for president havent been conservative. They may not have originated with the right-wing of the Republican Party, but they did their best to represent it, with Romney going as far as to choose the architect of the GOPs radical budget policies as his Veep candidate.
...............................................SNIP"
House of Roberts
(5,208 posts)So Rick Perry thinks Obama was considered more conservative by the voters than McCain and Romney?
Because that's the only way his statement can be taken, if it is to be considered valid.
Skittles
(153,431 posts)I live in Texas so I know. Aw hell, he ran for president so now EVERYONE knows he is a fucking idiot.
PatrynXX
(5,668 posts)Course now we have a picture of Palin drunk on sugar from her oversized cola...
Cha
(298,319 posts)Before the primaries ..I kept hearing about this "gov good hair" in Texas.. what a farce.
Keep digging, Perry.. and keeping company with your buddies, the mushrooms.
freshwest
(53,661 posts)Honestly, we can't let such enthusiasm go to waste. Keep on talking, Ricky!
Cha
(298,319 posts)Grassy Knoll
(10,118 posts)Low informed idiots.
Brother Buzz
(36,523 posts)"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake."
sofa king
(10,857 posts)Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)Mainly because we don't HAVE anything like this and if we did they couldn't cover it because it would be wildly popular with the American People.
Kick in to the DU tip jar?
This week we're running a special pop-up mini fund drive. From Monday through Friday we're going ad-free for all registered members, and we're asking you to kick in to the DU tip jar to support the site and keep us financially healthy.
As a bonus, making a contribution will allow you to leave kudos for another DU member, and at the end of the week we'll recognize the DUers who you think make this community great.