I've actually been sitting on this post for a couple weeks, as it was more of a "blowing off steam" type, but, what the hell.
I must say, I am a little tired of reading all the naysayers in the Right-O-Sphere, as well as those who are offering up all sorts of little tidbits of why the GOP lost the 2006 midterms, and what they can do to fix it.
They say that blogs on the Right must join together, like the nutroots folks did, to give a consensus message. Nope, sorry, we are unique folks, who have unique points of view, and, quite frankly, I never thought that we were part and parcel to raise money for Republicans and their causes. We are not their talking points memo's. If anything, it is to push Republicans to act in a more Conservative fashion. They are there to support us, not vice versa.
Speaking of acting in a more Conservative manner, that can certainly help, but, that will only go so far.
You want to know why the GOP lost? It is simple. For 6 years, the Democrats at the national level were allowed free reign to run wild with their smears, slurs, incredibly BS allegations, surrender monkey attitudes, and anti-American propaganda.
And rarely did those in the national GOP respond. Not President Bush, not the GOP Congressional leaders, nor the rest in Congress, nor those in positions of power in the GOP. A few shots across the bow now and then, but, nothing sustained. They never got down in the mud and wrestled with the donkeys.
The insane talk about 9/11 being an inside job, about "domestic wiretapping," national security leaks to papers like the NY Times, Islamic terrorists mirroring Democratic talking points, etc, and so on. You know all the issues.
Rarely countered by the GOP.
It is human nature to wonder about people who do not reply to allegations. Our friends on the Left gave the American people plenty to wonder about. The GOP did not answer the allegations, which led to a continuous downward spiral in approval ratings. And the midterm loss.
There is also alot of nail biting here in the ROS. For years, folks have been wishing that Republicans at the national level would fight back. When one fires a shot, the ROS cheers! But, when one gets down in the mud, like the Allen campaign bringing up the subject of Jim Webb's books, or the Harold Ford Playboy commercial, many in the ROS were horrified. "How could we lower ourselves to that level," they said. Well, politics has always been, still is, and will always be, a nasty business.
Staying up on your moral high horse will not get you anywhere when you allow people to accuse your President of being involved in 9/11, or starting a war for oil and/or revenge, or wiretapping American citizens. Pick a topic the Dems have tried. I have seen folks in the ROS attack the Left on those topics. Why can't the national GOP?
We certainly do not have to sink to the level of the Dems, but, the national GOP damn sure needs to respond, and respond continuously, not simply ignore the problem and hope it will go away. Respond not just with facts, but call Democrats crazy. Call them terrorist supports. Show what they are really all about.
You want to win in 2008? Get the national GOP critters to open the mouths and respond to the Democratic insanity.
Beth, at Blue Star Chronicles, has an interesting take on why, which jibes well with my belief on the midterm loss and how to win in 2008. Definately, read it, especially since it is not one of the whiny, oh woe is me, we have to change everything we have been doing, type posts that were prevalent after the midterms.
There’s a lot of reasons, and no one single explanation. But I think some of the results can be traced back to the RINO situation. Once you start calling out your allies for not being ideological pure enough to be in your party, you run the risk of the other party courting them. Which is exactly what happened, many of the Dems that were elected are somewhat to relatively conservative.
The question is, would you prefer to have that middle of the road wishy washy politician to have an R or a D after their name. It’s the difference between majority and minority status. I think many in the Republican party forgot why those people were courted/invited into the party in the first place.
Good points. Those of us who are very Conservative often forget that not everyone is. Most AMericans are generally moderate, which explains why someone like McCain is popular.
I just think that Republicans need to stand up for themselves, and the Party, and the base, in a continuous manner.