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txaslftist
11-09-2010, 03:34 PM
The GOP, after the misbegotten reign of W, was reeling from the sour aftertaste those ruinous years left in most of our mouths.

The GOP was complicit in the madness of King George, and should have been punished for at least 10 election cycles for the sins of 2000 - 2008.

But some funny things happened between 2008 and 2010. Mostly in 2008, a wing of the GOP came alive with energy, and that energy was focused on Ron Paul. With money-bombs and tea parties and unequalled enthusiasm, this obscure Texas congressman rose to national prominence with a specific message of limited government, personal responsibility and ethical governance. He happened to be a rogue Republican, but he could have been a Libertarian or even a rogue Democrat. With internet backing and money bombs, he snatched the Republican nomination from McCain in Nevada, but the GOP machinery there undid that electoral blip. Ultimately John McCain was nominated, and burned out spectacularly.

Fast forward to 2010. Riding on a wave of populism, the Tea Party (a movement intended to both mimic and incorporate the views of Ron Paul) manages to move the electorate enough to re-legitimize the GOP. This is, of course, assisted by Democratic failures and a crushing recession (depression). Along the way they picked up some garbage like Palin and Gingrich, who recognized an opportunity in the energy of this new wave. The House majority shifts to the GOP.

In the present day, GOP stalwarts, holdovers from the Bush years like Boehner, Tom Delay and Trent Lott, want to return to the Bush days of mad spending, foreign aggression and GOP business as usual. They fail to recognize that times have changed and that the nation has no interest in that kind of thing. They need to recognize that the promise of fiscal discipline is something they cannot renege on. The Ron Paul core of the Tea Party needs to assert themselves.

Which means they need to be disciplined themselves. The essential principles of the constitution should be the mandate, and if GOP congressmen and senators stray from those principles, such as limited federal government, a smaller world footprint, and massively reduced spending, a Tea Party challenger should be found for the primaries in those districts found wanting.

Just an idea...

Pericles
11-09-2010, 03:56 PM
Again, welcome to the RPF. I'd suggest that elections are referendums on incumbents, and in a system which tends to limit voters to two choices, there is only a decision to be made as to whether the known incumbent is tolerable compared to the unknown challenger.

txaslftist
11-09-2010, 04:15 PM
Which is why ousting the incumbent in a primary is a much better way to discipline ALL incumbents.

osan
11-09-2010, 08:29 PM
Again, welcome to the RPF. I'd suggest that elections are referendums on incumbents, and in a system which tends to limit voters to two choices, there is only a decision to be made as to whether the known incumbent is tolerable compared to the unknown challenger.

I'd say we need a mechanism for rapidly ousting non-performers. Impeachment at any time should be an option.

libertythor
11-09-2010, 09:42 PM
Again, welcome to the RPF. I'd suggest that elections are referendums on incumbents, and in a system which tends to limit voters to two choices, there is only a decision to be made as to whether the known incumbent is tolerable compared to the unknown challenger.

The primary elections are the most important IMO because there you determine who will be one of the two choices.

Theocrat
11-09-2010, 10:07 PM
You must be the member of Democratic Underground who wrote this piece (http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9484081). Welcome aboard.

As far as the Republicans needing to be disciplined, I agree. However, they hardly do what they promise to do when elected to office. They used the Tea Party to get back into office, but they will get back to their usual business, unless we become more proactive in holding them accountable.

Maybe we should be more serious about getting the "Father of the Tea Party," Ron Paul, to be Speaker of the House, since apparently it was the Tea Party Movement which helped get the Republicans back into office.

pcosmar
11-09-2010, 10:44 PM
Just an idea...

Though I am inclined to agree that the GOP needs to be disciplined (corrected), The option of voting in Democrats is even more frightening.

Voters need to wake up and throw both parties out.
Vote in Independents and Constitutionalists.
Unfortunately, most voters are hopelessly stupid, and will continue to vote for more of the same.
:(