Will we ever have another non-wingnut Republican president?

[ButterflyBlood]

The last one who had any redeeming value at all was Ford, but he had never stood election for national office before and probably wouldn't have won the primary in a traditional election, plus he was only in for two years, so he was basically a fluke.

So you have to go all the way back to Ike after that to find a real elected Republican president who wasn't utterly terrible. Will we ever have another one again?

[K-W]

1. The republican party is in a very ugly phase.

But yes, this too shall pass. We just have to keep fighting. They are on the wrong side of history.

[Nevernose]

2. John McCain in 2008

My prediction: Kerry this year. Bush family and the neo-cons are largely persona non grata with the RNC. They back a winner w/ McCain in 2008, and Kerry will have a hell of a time beating him, even after four successful years (God willing).

[ButterflyBlood]

4. I don't think he'll run again

he'd be a little too old and has skin cancer. Plus he'd a have a tough time being nominated.

[BJ]

3. No

After the defeat of Lowell Weicker by Joe Lieberman the liberal-to-moderate species of Repiglican became extinct.

[calico1]

5. There are only a handful of Moderates

left in the Party---most of them from the North East. I think what has to happen is the public that has been duped for so long has to come to the realization that the GOP is not taking care of their needs. But unless the platform is rejected nothing will change. Starting with Nixon, the GOP has become a platform for the religious right. And its just gotten increasingly worse since then. There actually used to be quite a few Moderate Republicans in Congress. Interestingly, one of the things Ford was worried about before his term ended was that his Party was veering too far to the right. He didn't think that was a good thing. I think he is a decent guy. He was not the best President but he was not a wingnut.

[napi21]

6. I heard the major change to the Pub party occurred in the 70's.

when womens' lib, the pill, abortion, and desegregation all became legal. I really don't remember what the campaign issues were before that, but it sure seems like they have been strong Pub issues ever since. If this statement is true, the only way I can see this changing is TIME...a long time! Things do change aftrer several generations, but you have tow ait for the old ones to die off.

[calico1]

9. I didn't notice a major change until

the 80's when Reagan was elected. It was then that all the religious groups really took hold of the party.

[JohnnyFianna1]

7. Ford and Nixon were the only ones that had principles and gave a damn

about the country anyway. You might have hated Nixon, but (most importantly) he did his best to fight the overclass (and unlike Clinton, he beat the overclass in battle after battle) , ended the war in Vietnam and (in the end) he became a small government Liberal. Also had Ford won in 76 we wouldn't have had to deal with the nightmare of Reagun in 80.

[ButterflyBlood]

8. I don't hate Nixon for Watergate as much as his role in McCarthyism

and all his red baiting, and while he did get us out of Vietnam it was only after expanding operations in there, he did it 4 years too late. But yeah, even Nixon looks good compared to what we have as Republicans today.

[UdoKier]

10. I hope not.

As long as the GOP is so far out in right field, they don't deserve to have a president or majorities in the congress.

[Democat]

11. Maybe Arnold, if they change the constitution

He is not really a social conservative.

[Lerkfish]

12. Well, you know they too far gone when Buchanan looks reasonable...

The republicans are too entrenched to the severe right to easily change, at least not within the next few election cycles.

They've tapped in too well to the bigotry and prejudice of the religious right, the KKK and similar, and are completely owned by corporations. The only way they could change now would be a schism in the party, the extreme right will always exist because those groups are always going to want to have their fingers in the political pie: religious right, bigots, and corporations, AND they all insist on their agendas being addressed, and they all put their money and their votes where their mouth is.

Its because those groups have identified the crack cocaine that addicts politicians and are willing to supply it: votes, influence, money.