# A Disillusioned Republican! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 27, 2006, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-disillusioned-republican/378145 "2006-10-27T16:52:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-disillusioned-republican/378145/21 "2006-10-28T06:43:18Z")
I’ve been thinking… My youthful instincts were right. The world is heading in some ugly directions. Seems to me we as a species are far more likely to destroy ourselves than mature into a peacful civil well-educated world community. But my kids won’t be choking on exhaust fumes, or burning kilowatt-hours for that matter. Or killing or being killed in some bastard’s war. My descendents won’t be among the last human survivors to be run down by wolves. I don’t feel any particular obligation to the future of the human species. If termites take over it’ll be because humans fucked things up for themselves and no BFD. I won’t face any post-life retribution for my misdeeds in this life. I do not have a purpose in life other than what I choose. I am NOT my brothers keeper, and certainly not my neighbor’s keeper. Sometimes I feel like the world is my TV. Yup, I feel good! ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-disillusioned-republican/378145/22 "2006-10-28T06:45:49Z")
Oh, crap, I meant to start a whole different thread with my above post. Apologies for the interruption. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-disillusioned-republican/378145/23 "2006-10-28T07:20:07Z")
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim] I’ve been thinking… My youthful instincts were right. The world is heading in some ugly directions. Seems to me we as a species are far more likely to destroy ourselves than mature into a peacful civil well-educated world community. But my kids won’t be choking on exhaust fumes, or burning kilowatt-hours for that matter. Or killing or being killed in some bastard’s war. My descendents won’t be among the last human survivors to be run down by wolves. I don’t feel any particular obligation to the future of the human species. If termites take over it’ll be because humans fucked things up for themselves and no BFD. I won’t face any post-life retribution for my misdeeds in this life. I do not have a purpose in life other than what I choose. I am NOT my brothers keeper, and certainly not my neighbor’s keeper. Sometimes I feel like the world is my TV. Yup, I feel good! [/QUOTE] So, does that make you a Democrat or Republican? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-disillusioned-republican/378145/24 "2006-10-28T08:02:20Z")
Entrenchment. There will never be a change because we are apathetic as a democracy. We subscribe to Jingoism and Propaganda. Our Master is Illusion. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-disillusioned-republican/378145/25 "2006-10-28T12:20:35Z")
[QUOTE=ambushed] But I’m sure you conservatives and Republicans realize that both Nixon and Goldwater would today be considered far too **liberal** for the GOP. They would be run out on a rail by the Young Republicans, for example, and could never win a primary against a modern Republican. Hell, Nixon even started the EPA and environmental regulation, of all things, and Goldwater was a staunch pro-choice advocate! What pinko commies they’d be considered by today’s Republican standards! [/QUOTE] Well this Republican (not conservative) does realize this at least. This is one of the reasons I still very much like Rudy Giuliani as despite his flaws he appears to an old fashion Republican. Socially, I think he is to the left of Nixon in fact. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-disillusioned-republican/378145/26 "2006-10-28T12:57:33Z")
I am so sick of the “Bombs & Jesus” segment of the Republicans that I could, and do occasionally, scream. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-disillusioned-republican/378145/27 "2006-10-28T15:26:45Z")
[QUOTE=Least Original User Name Ever] Without this delving into a debate, do you think it’s even possible anymore? [/QUOTE] No, I don’t. Not without enormous uphevals, and I don’t think anyone wants that. Frankly, Americans are too fat and happy to get seriously worked up over government. It’s not necessarily the fault of politicians. It’s also the fault of the people, who would rather obsess about the Moral Panic of the Week than the serious issues facing our nation, and confuse “action” with “solution.” ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-disillusioned-republican/378145/28 "2006-10-28T15:34:06Z")
**Let all the poisons that lurk in the mud hatch out!** …_-I, Claudius_ ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-disillusioned-republican/378145/29 "2006-10-28T15:38:35Z")
[QUOTE=Lissa] No, I don’t. Not without enormous uphevals, and I don’t think anyone wants that. Frankly, Americans are too fat and happy to get seriously worked up over government. It’s not necessarily the fault of politicians. It’s also the fault of the people, who would rather obsess about the Moral Panic of the Week than the serious issues facing our nation, and confuse “action” with “solution.” [/QUOTE] You are giving the American public too much credit. We would collectively rather obsess about Unimportant murder trials[sup]1[/sup], American Idol or sporting events[sup]2[/sup]. Who has time for politics and Geo-political worries when So and so might lose out in the American Idol competition. Jim 1. How many people did OJ or the Mendez Brothers really affect? Why did so many people devote so much time to these and similar trials? It was another form of compulsive entertainment, not real or important news. 2. I am guilty of the Sporting obsession. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-disillusioned-republican/378145/30 "2006-10-28T15:39:02Z")
[QUOTE=Enter the Flagon] I never thought I’d live long enough to say the words “I miss Gerald Ford.” 😛 [/QUOTE] You and Chevy Chase. I think the real threshold is the “I miss Jimmy Carter” breakpoint, which I hit that about four years ago. [QUOTE=silenus] I want my party back, dammit! I want a party that stands for fiscal conservatism, small government, keeping their noses out of people’s private lives, and non-imperialism abroad. I never thought it would be the Democrats. ☹ [/QUOTE] Okay, that was Reagan cribbing from a Cato Institute pamplet (and then conveniently ignoring his own pleas for smaller government and privacy rights when it suited him). The Republicans haven’t been about that since Lincoln stopped shaving. You could support the Libertarian candidate for any particular election. Not that he or she has a hope of winning, of course, 'cause if you don’t vote for a viable candidate, the wrong lizard will get into office. (Let’s see if anybody picks up on that obscure _Hitchhiker’s_ reference.) Stranger ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-disillusioned-republican/378145/31 "2006-10-28T16:26:58Z")
I usually **do** vote Libertarian, for all the good it does me. But come the Revolution, comrade…things will be different. Not any _better_, mind you. But _different_. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-disillusioned-republican/378145/32 "2006-10-28T16:29:58Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] You are giving the American public too much credit. We would collectively rather obsess about Unimportant murder trials, American Idol or sporting events. Who has time for politics and Geo-political worries when So and so might lose out in the American Idol competition. [/QUOTE] That’s the “fat and happy” aspect to which I was referring. We have the incredible luxury of being able to cheerfully ignore whatever our government’s doing because we know that it’s unlikely to affect us. ---
**Author:** ![newcrasher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b3f665/32.png) [@newcrasher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcrasher)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-disillusioned-republican/378145/33 "2006-10-28T18:05:04Z")
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor] I am so sick of the “Bombs & Jesus” segment of the Republicans that I could, and do occasionally, scream. [/QUOTE] I completely agree. The whole “love your neighbor”, “turn the other cheek”, “pray for those who persecute you” thing seems to make bombs a non-starter. Go figure… :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-disillusioned-republican/378145/34 "2006-10-28T18:15:00Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] How about Dems control Congress and then the Senate for the next 4-8 years and McCain & Rudy Giuliani form the Next Admin beating out Hillary? [/QUOTE] Can I have the Republican of my choosing for Prez if we’re going to go with a Republican Prez? Either of Maine’s current Senators will do. They are true moderates. Look at their voting records. (They may be Senators but for these two it would be hard to bait them with their voting records). They speak well. They play well with others, in both parties. They’re both economic conservatives of the old-Republican variety, but on social-rights issues are not inclined to interfere with what folks want to do. Either of them could get Congress to unify and quit throwing mudballs better than most candidates for the job could. Including McCain, and definitely including Giuliani, neither of whom is really good at consensus-building, both of whom have a strong streak of “it’s my way or the highway” ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-disillusioned-republican/378145/35 "2006-10-28T18:42:14Z")
[QUOTE=AHunter3] Can I have the Republican of my choosing for Prez if we’re going to go with a Republican Prez? Either of Maine’s current Senators will do. They are true moderates. Look at their voting records. (They may be Senators but for these two it would be hard to bait them with their voting records). They speak well. They play well with others, in both parties. They’re both economic conservatives of the old-Republican variety, but on social-rights issues are not inclined to interfere with what folks want to do. Either of them could get Congress to unify and quit throwing mudballs better than most candidates for the job could. Including McCain, and definitely including Giuliani, neither of whom is really good at consensus-building, both of whom have a strong streak of “it’s my way or the highway” [/QUOTE] I know I could search for them, but how about you allow me some laziness and provide a few good links to them and their voting records. I mentioned McCain & Rudy as they have excellent national recognition and both have at least a small chance of getting through the primaries. I am open to any good moderates from either party. (Yes, I know John McCain is not really a moderate, I still like him and I thought he should have been the POTUS in 2000 and my god, how much better the world would be if he had only won instead of the **Bible thumpin’, rootin-tootin Axis of Evil** ). Jim ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-disillusioned-republican/378145/36 "2006-10-28T19:43:39Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] I know I could search for them, but how about you allow me some laziness and provide a few good links to them and their voting records. I mentioned McCain & Rudy as they have excellent national recognition and both have at least a small chance of getting through the primaries. I am open to any good moderates from either party. (Yes, I know John McCain is not really a moderate, I still like him and I thought he should have been the POTUS in 2000 and my god, how much better the world would be if he had only won instead of the **Bible thumpin’, rootin-tootin Axis of Evil** ). Jim [/QUOTE] Reasonable 🙂 OK, let’s see… [http://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2006/Info/senator-ratings.html](http://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2006/Info/senator-ratings.html) > **[Olympia Snowe on the Issues](https://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Olympia_Snowe.htm)** [http://snowe.senate.gov/public/](http://snowe.senate.gov/public/) > **[Olympia Snowe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympia_Snowe)** > > Olympia Jean Snowe (née Bouchles; born February 21, 1947) is an American businesswoman and politician who was a United States senator, representing Maine for three terms from 1995 to 2013. A lifelong member of the Republican Party, Snowe played an influential role in influencing the outcome of close votes in the U.S. Senate and in ending U.S. Senate filibusters. In 2006, Time magazine named her one of "America's Best Senators". Throughout her U.S. Senate career, she was considered one of On Feb... > **[Susan Collins on the Issues](https://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Susan_Collins.htm)** > **[Home | U.S. Senator Susan Collins of Maine](https://www.collins.senate.gov/)** > > The Official U.S. Senate website of Senator Susan Collins of Maine > **[Susan Collins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Collins)** > > Susan Margaret Collins (born December 7, 1952) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator for Maine since 1997. A member of the Republican Party, she is Maine's longest-serving member of Congress and the longest-serving Republican woman in the Senate. Collins has chaired the Senate Appropriations Committee since 2025. Born in Caribou, Maine, Collins is a graduate of St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York. Beginning her career as a staff assistant for Senator Wil... ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2006, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-disillusioned-republican/378145/37 "2006-10-29T03:16:55Z")
**AHunter3** , How did Maine elect two such solid Moderates. Collins sounds great, I love her voting record. I will have to try to follow her more closely. Thanks for cluing me in. I do not like Snowe as much an she has irritated me a little when I have heard her speak. I am not as happy with her voting record. I did not realize that was who you meant. I would gladly vote for Collins from what I saw on your links. BTW: the [2020 Senate races - OnTheIssues.org](http://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Senate.htm) is great. Thank you for the link. It is now a favorite. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Caridwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c89c15/32.png) [@Caridwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caridwen)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2006, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-disillusioned-republican/378145/38 "2006-10-29T03:22:23Z")
Not being a Republican, Collins would be acceptable. Another Republican who I think wouldn’t be a bad President would be Christie Todd Whitman. I didn’t vote for her but I think she did a fine job as governor although lots of people from NJ might not agree. I didn’t agree with her on every issue, but she was very fair. She really got the shaft from Bush and her party. I wonder how she’d be if she ever ran again. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2006, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-disillusioned-republican/378145/39 "2006-10-29T03:32:46Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] I want a party that stands for… keeping their noses out of people’s private lives… I never thought it would be the Democrats. ☹ [/QUOTE] (edited by me) That part hasn’t applied to the GOP in thirty years. You must have been angry awhile. [QUOTE=What Exit?] How about Dems control Congress and then the Senate for the next 4-8 years and McCain & Rudy Giuliani form the Next Admin beating out Hillary? [/QUOTE] Giuliani? Why? People seem to have forgotten that apart from his handling of 9/11, Giuliani’s tenure as MONY was pretty disastrous. His post-9/11 luster has pretty much worn off outside NY, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2006, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-disillusioned-republican/378145/40 "2006-10-29T03:38:29Z")
So who do you think will be the president that, in thirty years, will make us long for the days of W? Daniel [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-disillusioned-republican/378145.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-disillusioned-republican/378145.md?page=3)