You answered your own qualms in hoping that the GOP will move to the right and saying that you don`t believe in a utopian world.
What then is the minimum of agreement you would still support?
It is kind of a silly question I guess in that acceptance of less then perfect can shift when faced with the real life alternative but do you think this country has the time right now to sort all that out?
If no one can state how things can halt what we are seeing happening now in 2010 or 2012 then what point is there in talking about what may be 15 years from now?
That is my "honest" question and one that is immediate imo rather then speculating on ideals.
I went back and found this post, it is in response to Rich. To see what Rich said it will be his first post on either the first or second page of this thread. I wanted to respond to this directly in concept rather than post a response to Carl. So Carl no offense but Rich and you just happened to offer up the scenario, and its for everyone to think about. While some may be inclined to hit the reply button before you get to the 4th paragraph, please read this whole post for the beginning is a set up for a very important question, point and observation.
Rich made a point and I later basically made the same point yet coming from a different angle. In the end we both end up in the same place. We refuse to vote for a GOP president that is not worthy of being our candidate. Ok everyone put their eyeballs back in and put out the flames for the moment... cause I have more that might just set you on fire and I dont want you to miss anything.
Carl made a good point. When is conservative enough... well conservative enough? What criteria would or should determine the point at which any individual decides to vote or to not vote for a given candidate? Yet Rich's and my point can offer a circular argument in the question ... when is not conservative enough.. well not conservative enough? The circular argument, reasoning all comes back to personal perspective, desires and a LOT depends on how active one is politically as well. Typically I have found with those that I deal with politically the more active you are, the more you demand. Yet lets not get stuck here just yet either.. there is another bridge I would like to cross with this very same idea.
At what point through this political nightmare we have been living in is there enough pain for conservatives to actually stand up and do something? I am not talking about a tea party. Yeah its a great rally but it accomplishes nothing in real terms. I am speaking directly to your local area, your city, county and state level. Here is why I ask this very important question. While we are the conservatives of America, the reason why our conservative status is the way it is... well.. we failed. Too many sat back and became the silent majority and now most of them are semi-silent. They went to a tea party, got a few pictures taken and went "Already taxed enough" and so on. They then work with their online 9-12 groups or other conservative groups to create this idea of changing the system. My problem with it all is a matter of perhaps, too little, to late.
For those that continue to stick to a strict party line, they may find they have a hand in the destruction of our nation rather than its restoration. We have a unique ability in this United States of America to have a revolution every four years, quite literally, yet its via a ballot box. When I look at the government now, its unlike any other time in history. Every part has managed to be compromised despite all of the work the founders did in setting the checks and balances which were supposed to stop this kind of madness. Yet if we do not use the ballot box a our form of revolution, we may indeed find ourselves within a civil war.
I decided some time ago to forget the party, and vote the man. I am a conservative, yet if the man does not merit my vote, I will not give it. My reason is, I am tired of the game. If I am to change the game then two things must happen. First I must get involved. Secondly, I must quit playing the game they want me to play which is the lesser of the two evils. I can fully understand someone claiming that is the only choice they have, yet that also tells me much more about the individual. For starters they are not as active locally as they should be, if at all.
I hear so many symptomatic woe is me syndromes on the street and online its even more disgusting. Yet most all conservatives refuse to do two things... 1. Really get involved and then 2. They refuse to quit playing their game.
I worked in a variety of fields within the military and as a civilian contractor. I have seen the work of insurgents and counter insurgency. I have seen men fight for the freedom that we do not take seriously enough despite the fact it is evaporating in front of our very eyes. Revolutions are won from the ground up, not the top down. I just wonder how long until conservatives in America actually start fighting for their freedom in a revolution of the ballot box from the ground up once again. I am certainly afraid that if they do not start NOW, they may find themselves fighting for their very lives.