What the Republicans Party needs more of. Interview with Megan McCain.

[Darius11 12]

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/228068/may-18-2009/meghan-mccain


I think she gets it. Republican values have been hijacked by the crazy religious side, and most of their stands on social issues are antiquated. They are simply going to have to choose.


Oh and she is gorgeous.

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

[DougH 270]

I think a lot of people "get it".

I dislike the "christian right" and their agenda just as much as I dislike the liberal left and their agenda.

Unfortunately they are considered the "base" since your moderate voters don't bother enough about politics to go to primaries, etc.

I wish the "christian right" would get pushed out of the party.

I don't give two shits about abortion, gay marrage, religion in school, if it causes the party to keep losing ground and the country is getting destroyed in the meantime!

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[Darius11 12]

Quote

I wish the "christian right" would get pushed out of the party.

I don't give two shits about abortion, gay marrage, religion in school, if it causes the party to keep losing ground and the country is getting destroyed in the meantime!

I think most people agree. What I find fascinating is how we usually hear from the crazy right or crazy left.
Most people are in the middle.
We always tend to hear from the most extreem.


Its like our country is being sacrificed for TV ratings.

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

[Andy9o8 0]

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Unfortunately they are considered the "base" since your moderate voters don't bother enough about politics to go to primaries, etc.

Despite my SC persona, I'm a moderate, have occasionally voted for Republicans (if the Dem is enough of an ax murderer), and I've voted in almost every single primary election in whatever state I've lived in for the past 30 years.

[DougH 270]

I think your the exception, not the general rule.

Otherwise politicians, in my opinion, wouldn't pander so much to the Christian Right in order to win in the primaries.

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[wmw999 2,123]

I'm not so sure about that. I'd have to describe myself much as Andy does himself, except that I have missed the occasional primary.

But advertising in general prefers to find target groups, preferably ones that are either:
1. ones who would otherwise go for the opponent (so you get 2 for the price of one)
2. ones who would not vote/buy anything (1 for the price of one).

To get the #1's, you have to tell people they were wrong. That's OK when it comes to cigarettes or beer; the issues just aren't that complex, a single characteristic can do it. But with politics, the issues are complex, and it takes a whole lot more. That's expensive and unreliable.

To get the #2's, you really just need to convince them to vote, and preferably for your party. Find a good wedge issue and make it important. You're creating a whole new market.

So there's a lot of pandering to this new market. 30 years ago the Christian right didn't vote as much from what I've read. Now they're a very powerful force, mobilized in part by the "silent majority" description, and by the Christian Coalition.

Watch for the liberals to try to mobilize young people. They're already doing it by getting to the internet first. Hopefully the young people are comfortable enough with issues being complex that they'll understand there is more than one issue that's important. I'd really, really like to see more people agreeing that things are more complex than "taxes bad, money good" or "business bad, individuals good or "abortion bad, church good" or "rednecks bad, education good" etc. type of stuff.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[champu 1]

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What I find fascinating is how we usually hear from the crazy right or crazy left. Most people are in the middle.

This is an assumption that I'd really like to believe because it has the most promise to get us past the crumby political landscape we face, but I'm not sure I can.

It's true that most people are fairly quiet about political issues and we usually hear from the loud folks (and loud coincides with polar most of the time) but it's a mistake to confuse quiet with moderate.

[FallingOsh 0]

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I don't give two shits about abortion, gay marrage, religion in school, if it causes the party to keep losing ground and the country is getting destroyed in the meantime!

The conservative party cares heavily about abortion, gay marriage, and religion. I don't like where the Republican party is right now either, but not giving a shit about conservative issues pretty much aligns you with a different party.

--------------------------------------------------
Stay positive and love your life.

[DougH 270]

Find a way to get a viable third party and I am all ears.

I am a fiscal conservative first. I have stances on all of those issues, and they lean more towards the conservative view, but they are secondary to me.

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[Andy9o8 0]

Quote

Quote

I don't give two shits about abortion, gay marrage, religion in school, if it causes the party to keep losing ground and the country is getting destroyed in the meantime!

The conservative party cares heavily about abortion, gay marriage, and religion. I don't like where the Republican party is right now either, but not giving a shit about conservative issues pretty much aligns you with a different party.

I disagree with that point, and so does history. There are, and always (since early 20th Century) have been, Republicans who are conservatives on fiscal and national security issues and moderates on social issues. That is the brand of Republicanism that bred mid-to-late 20th Century Republican leaders such as Dwight Eisenhower, Tom Dewey, Nelson Rockefeller, William Scranton, and Gerald Ford - and they still exist very much today in the GOP.