The Emerging Democratic Majority

GOP Future

The GOP, as epitomized by Sarah Palin, seems to be pitching itself more and more to the lower education, lower information white voter.

Intelligent, circumspect conservatives like Peggy Noonan, Tucker Carlson et. al. had better reassert themselves lest the likes of Rush Limbaugh Sean Hannity & Bill O'Reilly lead the GOP over a cliff where its bones will join those of the Whigs & the "Know-nothings"

The Emerging Democratic Majority

I remember well how the Republicans and the media mocked Judis and Teixeira. More fools them, because while they were laughing at the book, Barack Obama and David Axelrod were reading it.

Very Proud of Senator Obama

As a economic conservative, moderately strict constructionist of the Constitution, and Christian social moderate/conservative who voted for McCain (and Bush in 04), I'm extremely proud of Senator Obama and hope he handles this historic opportunity with dignity and unity. His victory speech was the greatest thing I've heard from him since he came to the national stage. I hope he does well.

I believe that the way in which Bush-Cheney handled things after 9/11 was nothing short of disgraceful. They essentially used their 9/11 political capital and high approval ratings to exploit and extract support from the economic and social conservative bases of the Republican party to do extremely anti-Conservative things - such as misleading the country into a poorly planned war. Bush claimed to strictly interpret the Constitution, but failed to interpret it in a consistent way. In terms of audacity, he had an aweful lot of it -- especially in essentially ignoring the Geneva Conventions and other ratified treaties and Unconstitutional practices such as signing statements. It is understandable that he was given a difficult hand, but he made it worse for himself by relying on the so-called Neo-"Conservatives" led by Cheney, Rummy, Wolfowitz, and others in the Administration, the press, and acadamia.

Right now, I believe that the values harbored by economic and social conservatives are alive and well in this country. Contrary to Keith Oblerman's giddy rhetoric, nearly half the popular vote did not vote McCain because it is bitter or racist, but because we value the principles of moral values and free enterprise that have been in the heart of the political culture of this country since before its founding. If the Republican party is to pick itself back up - and it will - it will return to its philosophy of fiscal discipline and the delegation of most social issues to the states. The values of social conservativism are paramount to this country's morality and are best shown in leading by example rather than by public policy.

It is true that the Republican party must do some soul searching, but it is also true that President-elect Obama must keep to his pledge of unity. A good number of people who voted for Obama were fiscal conservatives and social moderates who just wanted a change from the destructive policies of the Bush Administration - which McCain was (unfairly) linked to. He would follow a far left agenda of radical change at his peril. Our Federal and Constitutional Republic has always gone down the path of incremental reform and change and progress; this has kept this country free of being ruled by tyrants of the extreme collectivist philosophies of fascism and socialism.

Best wishes to outgoing President Bush, President-elect Obama, and Senator McCain!