I think the Specter GOP exit is going to be the beginning of a Republican moderate exodus

[zulchzulu]

I work with someone who has been part of the RNC leadership in DC and he has been completely disgusted with how the Religious Right has overtaken the party. He thinks Palin is a stooge and that the GOP is f*cked for at least three election cycles based on how they are so out of touch.

I talked with him briefly today about the Arlen Specter exit and he said it's pretty obvious that a LOT of moderate Republicans are just waiting to get off the bus. All the top names in upcoming "leaders" in the GOP are all out of ideas, catering to the Religious Right/Evangelical Right and Obama is becoming more appealing to them as they see people like the Teabag flock embarrass the RNC leadership. A lot of moderates think Limbaugh, Hannity and O'Reilly are just plain stupid. My friend doesn't remember the last time he listened to Limbaugh... As mentioned here on DU, people like Olympia Snowe and others are or have been indicating that the GOP is headed for political extinction.

So let it begin. The GOP is headed to be a White Bubba Bible Belt Hate Club... more and more every day. The more the whining blowholes who see Specter leaving as some tinfoil hat conspiracy, the more the moderates will bid adieu. I only hope the GOP "leaders" like Cantor, Bachmann, Bond and the rest of the clowns keep whining! What a perfectly set trap.

[CreekDog]

1. It's the end not the beginning

there are almost no moderates left in the GOP.

[zulchzulu]

4. I'm talking about citizens who are GOP moderates

You are correct that a GOP moderate in the House or Senate is becoming as rare as a pierced vegan NRA member who plays the didgeridoo at the local Baptist pancake breakfast.

[uponit7771]

2. I didn't know reThugs had any more moderates, mostly KKKons are fundie nuts with a few fiscal...

...conservatives tryin to make a go at the thing.

[Number23]

3. On one hand, I actually hope that doesn't happen

I think moderates are desperately needed in BOTH parties and that "purists" on both sides of the aisles need to take a look at what being ideological hard @sses is doing to their respective parties.

But on the other hand, I believe the current Republican party is so foul I can't understand why anyone would want to be associated with it, so maybe it's a good thing that it's dying out. The Republicans need to grab all five of their moderates and hold on like grim death because if they don't there is no doubt that the party will be gone within a decade.

Smart Democrats, I think, would be wise to heed that example.

[genna]

6. I whole heartedly disagree with you.

What we should take note of our conservaDems followed the far right of the Republican party. Bill Clinton continued to give the Republicans their way with how many compromises on basic Democratic principles. Where did that get us?

Don't Ask Don't Tell. Morally indefensible.

Deregulate everything so big business regulates itself. Economically indefensible.

3 Strikes and You're Out. Economically indefensible. 2 million and counting inmates.


Moderate does not mean reasonable. If we want to do things in stages, I'm all for that so long as Health Cares 40 year history is not the model.


I think the Club for Growth's strategy worked in Democrats favor. Are you comparing Move On for the Club for Growth?

[Number23]

10. Really? Your WHOLE heart???

I think that Clinton tried to do the best that he could with what he had to work with. DADT was and still is garbage, but I think most concede that Clinton had few choices on this.

Most of the rampant deregulation started decades before Clinton ever took office.

3 strikes and you're out was a capitulation to the right wing, no question, but I find it interesting that you seem to object more to its economic consequence than its ethical one. I'm all for 3 strikes on certain crimes; others are not quite so cut and dry and that's where the moral questions come in.

I never asserted that "moderate meant reasonable." What I am saying is that the vast majority of people in this country, for a million different reasons, are neither "cold-hearted conservatives" or "bleeding heart" liberals. They are somewhere in the mushy middle. And it's the "purists" of both parties that run the risk of driving the parties so far beyond the reach of average Americans that they have no interest in either one of them. For example, I find it fascinating that despite the fact that it is WIDELY acknowledged that Obama won the election by garnering the votes of the most widely diverse patch of Americans in modern political history, there are still loud cries from progressives that he needs to follow their ideals more because "we're the ones who voted him into office." That's just not true. Lots of folks, Dems, Indies (of which I am one) and even a large smattering of conservatives put Obama into office. And the fact that Obama understands and seems to respect that is what I believe has led to some disappointment from some of his more liberal supporters.

[noiretextatique]

12. what is a moderate position on abortion?

i am talking about a legal and a social policy position. i don't think there is one. either it's legal (which seems to me more the sane position than fitting into any political camp) or it isn't. clinton stated it clearly just yesterday: no more capitulating to the rw on the abortion issue.
i am a green party member, and i voted for obama. in addition to moderates, obama also attracted people who might have voted for cynthia mckinney. i am not one of those people, btw. the more liberal supporters of democrats have been disappointed and marginalized by the party for years. personally, i am pleased with most of what obama has done thus far, including proposing the most liberal budget in decades. it's totally what the country needs: a sane policies, regardless of where they fit on the political spectrum.

[damonm]

13. Simple.

Reduce unwanted pregnancies in the first place - this is called common sense.

[noiretextatique]

14. that's not "moderate" is it?

supporting birth control and sex education. or maybe it is...it seems the hard right position is always the insane one.

[Number23]

15. I agree, Noire

And I had no idea that you were Green Party! That's so interesting.

I don't know what the "official" moderate position on abortion is, but I think common sense is that most moderates believe that it is legal and support a woman's right to choose. And if Clinton is saying no more capitulation to the right wing, it's likely that they are moving towards the more moderate view on abortion.

[noiretextatique]

18. yes, i suppose so since the RW skewed the debate

and policy so far to the right.
i joined the green party after clinton punked out on lani guinier and jocelyn elders and after the democrats punked out on anita hill.
notice a pattern? :7

[Orangepeel]

20. Roe v. Wade

that's a "moderate" compromise.

[noiretextatique]

21. the right does not consider row v. wade a compromise

legal abortion is a fundamentally liberal position. compromises are waiting periods, mandatory counseling, etc.

[Orangepeel]

22. true. but it is.

making abortion legal in the early part of a pregnancy (assuming you can find a provider) and subject to restrictions in the latter part (except when a woman's health is in danger) is a moderate position. I don't think the fact that the right doesn't accept it as a compromise changes that.

The right doesn't accept a lot of things that moderates consider to be reasonable compromises -- on abortion, gun control, civil unions. Sometimes, the left is too willing to accept them.

[genna]

5. There were only 3 moderates in the Senate to begin with.

How many NE Representatives are in the Northeast?


I'd take a guess that the state representatives are the real people to watch.

When the Tea Party folks were moving on camera saying the most uneducated things in the most divisive ways, I knew there was no way (I know this is a little uppity of me) that people with a large number of years in formal education would be able to stomach those ideas. If there is a sports team mentality (pride) out there where you stick with your team regardless of what losses it takes, there is a dividing line where people cannot return from.

Blatant racism is no longer acceptable. It might be felt deeply but saying ignorant stuff to racial minorities is deeply shameful for most people. If it is racial material that is on the line, most people can find a way around it. But that Tea Party stuff was pretty blatant, it is hard to ignore the awfulness of the whole thing.

The other issue which will bust up the Republican moderates is the problem of torture. They were willing to wink and nod to the horrific idea of waterboarding when it was still a quaint Hollywood fairytale. You put the camera on Abu Gharib or any other U.S. facility out there and show our military and intelligence people being forced into doing indecent, inhumane stuff...the Republicans responsible (and the Democrats who went along with it) are out of office and possibly in jail.

It is the Fox News Shepard Smith situation. He said something like: If the U.S. government is torturing, I want off this train. Sure, all of us can be arm chair generals until we have the moral strain of taking lives. When it comes to sacrifice a human life for whatever cause (more importantly the Michael Moore point when he took his camera to Congress and asked each person were they willing to donate their children's lives to the effort), Americans want to know the cause is just.

The Republicans stand to lose more than 21% on the torture stuff especially as they sound more and more radical about sleep deprivation for over 11 days not being something which shocks the conscience.

[ProSense]

7. I'll take Olympia Snowe

She is literally to the left of Ben Nelson and a couple of others.

[zulchzulu]

16. She also has such a cool name

Why she is still a Republican is beyond me...

[Cha]

8. If bachmann and limpbaugh are religious..

I'd like to know who they worship..'cause it ain't the Teachings of Jesus.

[cascadiance]

9. We still have way too many corporatists in both parties that won't be solved through defections...

It will only be in primaries or in the general where we can get some true populist candidates to expose them for the corporate serving bastards they are and vote them out (Rethug or blue dog Democrat).

We should really be planning on making some serious primary challenges in 2010. I think that will be where the real battles take place to take back the government from the corporate sector.

[sandnsea]

11. Perfect opportunity for a Logical Left

*sigh* I keep saying.

[Barack_America]

17. I think it effectively ends PA's classification as a "swing state". nt

[tabbycat31]

19. besides the two Maine senators

how many moderate Republicans are left in the party?