Reagan: The Balkanization of the Grand Old Party

[Terri]

By Michael Reagan
November 21, 2008

Before the Republican Party even begins to think about curing what ails it, members have to recognize the fact that the party is Balkanized.

We are never going to win elections if we remain broken up into separate factions, sometimes barely speaking to one another. Bizarre as it seems, each group within this Balkanization of the GOP is united in the belief that Ronald Reagan is its standard bearer.

This, they tell us, is the man they want to follow. Ronald Reagan was not someone who found ways to disagree with you, but spent most of his life trying to find ways to agree with you.

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[thomas]

Like Zel Miller said, I didn't leave the party... after the election I updated my affiliation to independent. McCain, Schwatz..., Snow, Collins, and others who call themselves republicans but don't walk the walk, well, I'm all done with them. They have allowed the inmates to take over the asylum and I no longer support them. What will be, will be. Oh! An unintended consequence since I no longer listen to TV shows I have rediscovered reading. Thanks. I weep for our nation and our children!
The Old Chief

[rthom]

While the logic of Mr. Reagan is sound the result of this approach is best told by the first Reprblican President: ""To effect our main object we ......must hold conventions, adopt platforms, select candidates, and carry elections. At every step we must be true to the main purpose. If we adopt a platform, falling short of our principal, or elect a man rejecting our principal, we not only take nothing affirmative by our success; but we draw upon us the positive embarrassment of seeming ourselves to have abandoned our principal."

Abraham Lincoln, Notes for speeches at Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio (Sept. 16-17, 1859).--Basler, Roy P., Ed. The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. V. III. New Brunswick: Rutgers
University Press, 1953.

The late election is "the positive embarrassment of seeming ourselves to have abandoned our principal." The GOP is (or was) dedicated to life, traditional values, limited gov't. Too many in the GOP do not share those values. As an Alaskan I am relieved that one such, Ted Stevens, is no longer. I hope Sen. Lisa Murkowski is next to go.

"We must be true to the main purpose" life, traditional values, limited gov't. Any who reject these principals should be encourage to run under an alternative banner.

[RiverGirl]

The “balkanization” of the Republican Party is nothing more, really, than the same kind of hyphenization that has gripped all of America. There are no longer any “just plain Americans” but rather Italian-Americans, African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Polish-Americans, etc., etc., etc………. It’s no wonder we can’t seem to find a way to get along, when we’ve been taught all our lives that our individual identities are the most important thing. So now we have a party of hyphenated “-ites” who can’t get past their “ite”-ness long enough to actually accomplish anything.

It’s way past time to get over this silliness and figure out why in the world, with the field of very able Republican possibilities, John McCain was the best this party could come up with as its Presidential nominee. The nominating system is broke, I think, and we better find a way to fix it before 2012. In the meantime, 2010 looms nearer each day and there’s a lot of work to do in Michigan, so I better quit talkin’ and get to it! Just can’t bring myself to give up.

[makamends]

Another broken brand attempting to blame the customer.

[Quixote]

Ok,
I've counted to ten several hundred times, found a contact email address for Michael, and sent him my 2 cents.

sorry to impose on you folks, but like I said... He got my dander up.

[SewingSusie]

when we’ve been taught all our lives that our individual identities are the most important thing. So now we have a party of hyphenated “-ites” who can’t get past their “ite”-ness long enough to actually accomplish anything.

And how interesting, der ein is telling us that we are not individuals but a "collective".
We were a nation of rugged individuals, who took care of ourselves and yet banded together to build a great nation. Then the libs tore us all apart into separate groups, only to re-unite us under the banner of "collective", which is a commie term.
Rather than being a nation of self-reliant "rugged individuals" standing together to build and protect a free nation, now we are being told that we are all helpless and all of us "ites" must band together in a "collective" for the gov't to take care of.

[Terri]

sorry to impose on you folks, but like I said... He got my dander up.

Where did you say it?

[FlaJim]

This will be the first time I've disagreed with Mike Reagan. The GOP house needs a good sweeping and those who aren't even close to being true to the GOP message (RINO's) have no place in diluting our message and making us indistinguishable from our implacable socialist opponents.

Ronald Reagan once said the first commandment was to speak no ill of any Republican. Then he went over the heads of recalcitrant Republicans, gained the trust of the American people, and coopted them. They didn't dare step out of line.

Agreed, Republicans who quibble about a single issue and support our socialist enemies are acting purile and need to grow up and view the big picture. Look what happened in 06 when they got in a snit and decided to 'teach the GOP a lesson.'

However, we should not be embracing or supporting the RINOs who have cost us big time for far too many years. No more compromising McCains, unprincipled Specters, or Bushes who are weak on domestic and social policies. No more Democrat-lite Republicans. It doesn't work.Conservative Republicans turn away in disgust and the bums flock to the Dems to get the larger handouts promised.

Rather than consider us Balkanized, think of it as shedding unprofitable colonies.

[Quixote]

LOL,
Sorry Terri, I edited and delete it…
I was venting at stupidity, and the group didn’t deserve to be the victim of my tirade.
I found an email adrs to MR, and sent it to him.
He ticked me off insinuating we were not good little troops that took whatever our leadership threw at us.
Basically I didn’t say anything that everyone else isn’t saying, I just did it from a “right between your eyes” attitude.
(diplomacy is not one of my stronger attributes).