You have no use for GWB? Slap yourself, New Hampshire is starting to seep into your brain. Just say no to that crap Sparky.
In so many words, no, I don't. Again, Bush had more than ample opportunities to use the Bully Pulpit and to actually GOVERN as a conservative, but time and again, "reached across the aisle" for stupid ideas such as NCLB, the bailout, etc., to name a few.
NH is NOT "seeping" anywhere, and for someone from Massivetwoshits to lecture ME about conservatism is frankly, quite laughable. I've grown tired of the moderate "mushy middle" RINO's like the GOP leadership in this state. I've publicly called for the ouster of Fergus Cullen and the rest of the state GOP leadership on several occasions on this and other boards.
NH is a microcosm, but shows the same problems the national GOP has--for too long they've sat back and simply assumed the base would be there regardless of who they ran. 2008 is just one more example of it. What we (you in MA, me here, everyone wherever they live) need to do is to start at their local and state levels and DEMAND that we become a conservative party again. I don't know how many times I was in the local office talking to folks WORKING there and visiting to pick up materials who said they were more conservative, less Republican.
We are a party who has lost its way, who in trying to create that "big tent" left the people who made the GOP great out in the cold. The last eight years were in fact "Democrat-lite". If a major political candidate said we needed to cut spending, minimize government, defend our interests with a strong military, etc., without sounding like a complete Ron Paul whackjob, they should get the votes. Period.
I voted for Thompson, even though the guy looked like he never wanted to be there in the first place, and likely never did. I looked at the entire stage of the GOP debates and he was the only one who didn't make my stomach churn for one reason or another, but the idiots up here wanted the "moderate" McCain. Cullen bad-mouthed Thompson when he didn't suck up and declare a couple of days sooner. For that he (Cullen) gets nothing but my scorn and derision. Paul ****ed up the works in the primaries just enough to screw over enough people to get McCain in.
The friction between Bush and McCain was there, and it was palpable. To have that kind of disunity in an election year is unforgiveable. Neither one of them is worth crossing the street to piss on if they were on fire. Neither one of them was ever, will ever be considered, as conservative in my book. Ever. Bush may not have been able to control the economy, but he certainly could have seen what was coming and pressured the Congressional leadership to do more about it, and failing that, sound the alarm. None of this was done. Couple all this with the disloyalty of the McCain staffers, the utter lack of balls on the part of RNC leadership, and the fact that they wouldn't challenge the media, they DESERVED (yes, deserved) to lose.
One bright spot out of all this, is that perhaps by 2010 and 2012, we MIGHT have found our way again. There are several names I can think of who might be good leaders if the RNC will get off their dead asses and covet the CONSERVATIVES in this country.
Again, from the words of Reagan:
Our people look for a cause to believe in. Is it a third party we need, or is it a new and revitalized second party, raising a banner of no pale pastels, but bold colors which make it unmistakably clear where we stand on all of the issues troubling the people?
Read the entire speech
HERE