tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214951.post4452333743574965394..comments2024-03-17T08:07:12.695-05:00Comments on Between The Lines: LA GOP does better by keeping primaries closedJeff Sadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03972004592729833310noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214951.post-85163717583870307132009-01-28T14:37:00.000-06:002009-01-28T14:37:00.000-06:00Age wasn't McCain's problem, Bush was. He certain...Age wasn't McCain's problem, Bush was. He certainly appeared at one time to be more midle of the road and electable, but he supported the idiotic Iraq policy, and did not distance himself from Bush enough. Everyone was afraid of 4 more years of Bush, hence the moniker "McSame". His selection of Palin was simply evidence of his kowtowing to the uberconservatives, which he did not have to do. Who else were they going to vote for? Palin is very similar to Bush, dumb and not interested in learning, and she would be used just like Bush, by the corporate lobbying interests, to drive the country further in the hole. If you think she is the future of the party, look for another 4 years of Democrat control of the White House.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214951.post-34496368669753438402009-01-27T09:25:00.000-06:002009-01-27T09:25:00.000-06:00But how would that explain 2008? The Republican Pa...But how would that explain 2008? The Republican Party in Louisiana was quite successful in national elections when conservative candidates ran as conservatives "cater[ing] to the extreme fringes of their party activists]," with the notable exception of failing to defeat Landrieu when her opponent lacked a history of conservative "extrem[ism]." The national republican party ran a candidate who notoriously was middle of the road (McCain Feingold, McCain Kennedy, etc.) and partnered with Democrats on major legislation. Combine that with an electorate who thinks it's more socially acceptable to vote against someone on the basis of age than the basis of color, with a Republican candidate who took nearly every opportunity (besides about half an hour out of a single debate) to describe how much like his opponent he is, and the verdict would appear to be a failure of strategy. <BR/><BR/>The Democrats never bothered to attack McCain, he was never a threat to them. They poured animosity and rage on Palin and her daughter because she is a threat to them, she stood up for the party activists and actually believed it mattered whether somebody voted Republican instead of voting Democrat. The lesson here is to return the favor they bestowed unto Bush for eight years, to polarize the opponent, which should be easy considering Obama is in fact a radical pro-abortionist doing everything possible to bring socialist health care and advance the welfare state, to advance the rights of the state at the expense of individual liberty, except in cases of terrorists.<BR/><BR/>Republicans took the wrong tack, and if this is what you're talking about you may be right, in circulating emails calling Obama the anti-Christ, but I doubt there were many principled people who voted against McCain because they didn't want to be like those wacky evangelists, a principled person wouldn't let that matter one way or the other. We lost, if you look at the Zogby poll, to Obama supporters who for the most part didn't even know who was running Congress, but who almost universally knew about Palin's daughter, because the media is in the hands of ultra leftists in Hollywood. The problem isn't being conservative, it's finding ways to teach people the difference it makes, why it matters that they're not middle of the road, or to the left of the road, and we may see Palin communicate that difference in a couple of years.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214951.post-81134694158210404262009-01-26T15:11:00.000-06:002009-01-26T15:11:00.000-06:00The problem for both Repubs and Dems is that they ...The problem for both Repubs and Dems is that they cater to the extreme fringes of their party activists. Allowing the middle of the road independants to vote in their primaries might produce a more electable candidate for the general election.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com