Rush is apparently saying the Republican Party needs to be purged of non-conservatives. I think we need to go further.
The fact is, the Republican "brand" may be tarnished beyond redemption. From time to time in this nation's history, new parties rise up to address new issues with new language and new ideas. Now, perhaps, is such a time. Perhaps it's time once and for all to shed the Republican identity and start with something fresh.
I would be willing to bet that all three of us - Brian, Dave, and me -came to the Republican party because of the compelling logic and power of Ronald Reagan's argument. In fact, the "Republican" part was incidental; we came to conservatism.
I for one was always - and still am- uncomfortable with the country club republicanism as embodied by such as Christie Todd Whitman, the Maine sisters (Snowe and Collins), and the well-startched and self-satisfied sorts such as Richard Lugar. I also have always been skeptical of Republican institutional indifference to the excesses of corporate America. Big business and big government are way too cozy (as the recent turn of events in the economy demonstrates all too clearly).
There's plenty with Republicanism, in other words, that I've never embraced. I was willing to go along with it because it seemed expedient; we now see where expedience has gotten us.
So where are we? With a Republican party that has been rejected and, frankly, humiliated, perhaps now is the time for something fresh. Now is the time for a new movement, something as optimistic and sunny as a spring day.
As conservatives, we should no longer carry the baggage of "Republican"; let's start something new, something that says, Whether you're black, white, red, yellow or brown, if you believe in the fundamental principles laid out in the constitution, if you believe in the power of the American idea, if you are not looking for government to solve your problems, if you believe that you should be the captain of your destiny, if you believe that American not only can be, but must be, a shining city on a hill, then you're with us.
We may start out small, but we aren't going anywhere, and history will come around to us. Why? Because we're right. To paraphrase William Faulkner's Nobel address, "I believe that we will not just endure; we will prevail."
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Lugar, Whitmann, et al--totally worthless. Worse than worthless. They merely take up space. My wife and I are both unhappy being registered Republicans. We are ashamed of a party that has abandoned its principles. And I don't know if the party can be redeemed. I discussed with Dave yesterday looking at the Constitution Party. Yes, Ronald Reagan brought me to the Republican Party, when I was 17 years old. So loyal was I to the Gipper that I voted for Jimmy Carter because I resented that Gerald Ford, that Bob Michel Republican, took the nomination from Reagan. We have to find a home. And no, we're not going away.
As Brian says, I'm definitely unhappy as a registered Republican, mainly because Republicans no longer share my sympathies.
I've toyed around with becoming an Independent more than once. And I think it's clear that's the direction I'll take.
I know plenty of people think that a third party is "impossible" and a "waste", but it seems to me that since the Democrats and Republicans (Democans? Republicats?) are virtually identical--at least in practice--that Independents would only amount to a second party anyway.
Angelique
Angelique, I think your point is on target. We're not talking about starting a third party; we're talking about having a genuine second party. I suspect that the Republicrats (I like the sound of that better than Democans) are here to stay.
It strikes me that most of the existing third party options all have the liability of being viewed as the last refuge of losers, cranks, and crackpots. (Whether fairly or not). What's wanted, I think, is something truly new under the sun. Do I have an idea of what it would be? No. But I have a still not totally formed sense of its outlines.
I think we start out not thinking in terms of a party or early electoral success. I don't think we can expect any abrubt seismic shift in the power alignment that is biased toward Democrats and Republicans. What we start is not a party, but a movement - a movement that becomes a party that can down the road deliver electoral success. I'm clearly just thinking out loud here . . .
Bill:
Hey -- what's wrong with being a crank? :)
Angelique
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