# What are Conservative Republicans Thinking? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 24, 2012, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-conservative-republicans-thinking/613883 "2012-02-24T22:13:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-conservative-republicans-thinking/613883/1 "2012-02-24T22:13:33Z")
It seems to me that in order to win the Republican nomination the candidates have to out-Right Wing the next guy or gal. Is this because the Republicans actually think this kind of candidate can defeat Obama, or is it because they feel that they are the last bastion of ideological purity and won’t compromise. Now granted there is still plenty of time from now until the election, but unless these guys moderate their rhetoric and improve their campaign this is not even going to be close, whcih won’t bother me at all. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-conservative-republicans-thinking/613883/2 "2012-02-24T22:24:29Z")
I’d wager that the great majority of “ultra-conservative” Republicans apart from Michele Bachmann don’t believe most of the craziness they put out. They’re kowtowing to about four or five filthy rich, batshit insane donors. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-conservative-republicans-thinking/613883/3 "2012-02-24T22:48:07Z")
First of all, Bill Buckley is gone, so “thinking” and “conservative Republican” hardly belong in the same sentence. However these people are seriously convinced that most of the country (outside of the socialists living in New York and California) are with them. All their friends agree. Rush agrees. Fox News agrees. Remember. after well over 50% of the country voted for Obama, these people talked about taking their country back, as if it got stolen by a small minority. Plus they are right, so compromise is evil. Here is an example from the paper this morning, at the state level. There is a Republican convention in California (Newt is keynote - oops). Republican registration has been dropping precipitously and is now at 30% (compared to 43% of Dems.) They barely control 1/3 of the legislature, and will probably lose that in November thanks to redistricting. Demographics are not going their way. And it seems that some of them are now thinking about maybe being willing to compromise in order to not be totally irrelevant. I suspect that one big reason is that a lot of them are in districts full of fanatics, and they seem unwilling to take the risk to educate their constituents about the way things really work. Hell, at the debate Santorum gave a very rational justification for his votes - and got booed. When he seems reasonable as compared to the base, they are in trouble. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-conservative-republicans-thinking/613883/4 "2012-02-25T05:06:49Z")
**What are Conservative Republicans Thinking?** AAAAAaaarrgh! AAAAAaaaargh! Jesus! Fucking Jesus Fucking Christ Fuck! They can’t…we can’t…Fuck! Fuckity fuck cocksucker! Aaaaarrrgh! ---
**Author:** ![CJJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecc23a/32.png) [@CJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-conservative-republicans-thinking/613883/5 "2012-02-25T06:22:24Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > It seems to me that in order to win the Republican nomination the candidates have to out-Right Wing the next guy or gal. I think it’s important to specify exactly how the candidates are “out-Right Winging” each other. IMO if we lump right-wing positions into two general categories–economic and social issues–the base sees the presidency as far more important regarding social issues than economic ones. Here’s why: Grover Norquist and his _Americans for Tax Reform_ are probably the undisputed champions of conservative economic policy–they are to economic issues what the Moral Majority were to social issues in the 1980s. While he clearly wants to see Obama defeated, he [pretty much thinks any Republican president can then implement the economic portion of their agenda](http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/02/13/grover-norquist-speech-cpac.html?): [QUOTE=Grover Norquist] "All we have to do is replace Obama. … We are not auditioning for fearless leader. We don’t need a president to tell us in what direction to go. We know what direction to go. We want the Ryan budget. … We just need a president to sign this stuff. We don’t need someone to think it up or design it. The leadership now for the modern conservative movement for the next 20 years will be coming out of the House and the Senate. “Pick a Republican with enough working digits to handle a pen to become president of the United States. This is a change for Republicans: the House and Senate doing the work with the president signing bills. His job is to be captain of the team, to sign the legislation that has already been prepared.” [/quote] So IMO there is nothing the current GOP presidential candidates can do to impress the economic wing–they’re all basically interchangeable pen-holders. This magnifies the importance of social issues in the GOP primary–if economic issues are a wash, social issues are the only ground where one candidate can outflank the others. I think Mitt Romney’s lukewarm support is directly related to his failure to appreciate how little ecomics matters to the base, but more importantly the base failure to appreciate how unpopular their social agenda is will doom them in the general. If you mistakenly believe all foods are taste-equivalent and over-emphasize the role of color on the plate, you’ll end up believing that your plate of rainbow pasta with a side beets is the best possible meal a person can eat. Fine, but don’t be surprised if the rest of the table orders steak for dinner. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-conservative-republicans-thinking/613883/6 "2012-02-25T06:44:01Z")
In [this Thursday’s _Daily Show with Jon Stewart_](http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/thu-february-23-2012-paul-rudd), Jon interviews his senior political analyst (John Oliver) who explains that Santorum is “too open and honest.” His ideas are what Republican voters want, but Santorum needs to cloak them with code words. This (the show’s 2nd segment) is hilariously funny but, I guess, has some truth. The same show’s 1st segment shows excerpts from the recent debate and is also hilarious. During the debate, the other candidates attack Santorum not for being right-wing, but for not being right-wing enough! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-conservative-republicans-thinking/613883/7 "2012-02-25T07:01:05Z")
Keep in mind that conservative Republicans are not a monolith. In my opinion, the faction that really runs the conservative movement is the corporate crowd. They’re the ones who get results not just promises. Conservatives who’ve been elected may not have outlawed abortions or shrunk the government but they damn sure cut taxes for the wealthy and slashed business regulations - which shows where the real power is. So the business crowd is mostly happy. They received their bounty during the Bush years and Obama hasn’t made any serious attempts to take things back. They’ll wait another four years before the next round of special favors. They’ll even let the ideologues pick this year’s Republican candidate. It’ll make the other conservative factions happy that they got to run one of their own. And when he loses - which he probably will - that’ll fire up the base for 2016. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-conservative-republicans-thinking/613883/8 "2012-02-25T08:58:28Z")
\*\*What are Conservative Republicans Thinking ? \*\* OBJECTION ! Assumes facts not in evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-conservative-republicans-thinking/613883/9 "2012-02-25T11:35:06Z")
Be afraid. Be very afraid. No, more afraid than that. Come on, you have it in you. Man up and be fucking afraid. Your country needs you to be pants-shittingly afraid. OK, now front. Front like it’s nobody’s business. Say it’s all for america and prosperity and freedom and god and shit. Your country needs this massive disingenuousness. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-conservative-republicans-thinking/613883/10 "2012-02-25T12:18:22Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > \*\*What are Conservative Republicans Thinking ? > \*\* > OBJECTION ! Assumes facts not in evidence. Sustained. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-conservative-republicans-thinking/613883/11 "2012-02-25T12:46:55Z")
> [@CJJ](#): > > So IMO there is nothing the current GOP presidential candidates can do to impress the economic wing–they’re all basically interchangeable pen-holders. This magnifies the importance of social issues in the GOP primary–if economic issues are a wash, social issues are the only ground where one candidate can outflank the others. Not true; each could promise to cut taxes more than the others. Romney has set the bar at 20%. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-conservative-republicans-thinking/613883/12 "2012-02-25T17:39:57Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > In [this Thursday’s _Daily Show with Jon Stewart_](http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/thu-february-23-2012-paul-rudd), Jon interviews his senior political analyst (John Oliver) who explains that Santorum is “too open and honest.” His ideas are what Republican voters want, but Santorum needs to cloak them with code words. This (the show’s 2nd segment) is hilariously funny but, I guess, has some truth. > > The same show’s 1st segment shows excerpts from the recent debate and is also hilarious. During the debate, the other candidates attack Santorum not for being right-wing, but for not being right-wing enough! :smack: Sort of, yes. But if you look at what he was actually being booed for, it was for acknowledging the reality of politics in DC, and that, yes, you do actually have to give and take with the other party. Republicans in this primary seem to want Captain Conservative who’ll sock Democrat Hitler in the jaw. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-conservative-republicans-thinking/613883/13 "2012-02-25T18:28:42Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > **What are Conservative Republicans Thinking?** Is the first word strictly necessary? ---
**Author:** ![degan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@degan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/degan)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-conservative-republicans-thinking/613883/14 "2012-02-25T21:29:02Z")
They’re thinking about presenting a clear contrast to the fascist policies of the Obama Administration. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-conservative-republicans-thinking/613883/15 "2012-02-25T22:20:36Z")
> [@degan](#): > > They’re thinking about presenting a clear contrast to the fascist policies of the Obama Administration. I don’t think that word means what you think it means. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-conservative-republicans-thinking/613883/16 "2012-02-25T22:27:38Z")
> [@degan](#): > > They’re thinking about presenting a clear contrast to the fascist policies of the Obama Administration. So conservative Republicans are offering a communist alternative? Boy, this is a confusing election. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-conservative-republicans-thinking/613883/17 "2012-02-25T22:28:30Z")
“The only rule is to win” -‘Wild Bill’ Donovan (founder of the OSS, predecessor to the CIA) To this extent, what the Republican candidates are doing is simply having the political equivalent of a beauty pagent, seeing which candidate proves the most popular. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2012, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-conservative-republicans-thinking/613883/18 "2012-02-26T01:08:23Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Keep in mind that conservative Republicans are not a monolith. Of course not. Monoliths make people _smarter_. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2012, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-conservative-republicans-thinking/613883/19 "2012-02-26T02:18:38Z")
Nicely done, **Trihs**. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2012, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-conservative-republicans-thinking/613883/20 "2012-02-26T03:32:25Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Of course not. Monoliths make people _smarter_. 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-conservative-republicans-thinking/613883.md?page=2)