# What can moderate Republicans do to get their party back? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 2, 2013, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-moderate-republicans-do-to-get-their-party-back/670191 "2013-10-02T16:18:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-moderate-republicans-do-to-get-their-party-back/670191/81 "2013-10-02T22:00:20Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Not only do I not want the moderates to take over the Republican party, I want the moderates to go away completely. Of course, you mean, “from the party,” not “from the country/world.” Right? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-moderate-republicans-do-to-get-their-party-back/670191/82 "2013-10-02T22:04:05Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > I don’t think we’re in disagreement. I think we’re just defining terms a bit differently. When I say “fiscal issues” I’m thinking of reducing the size of government. But if your agenda is on that scale, that is **not** something that can be dissociated from social or cultural politics. Remember, the effects of, e.g., eliminating affirmative action or food stamps or HEAD START also come under the heading of both social and cultural politics. And nobody’s gonna believe, either, nor should believe, that you’re eliminating such things **just** to reduce the size of government. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-moderate-republicans-do-to-get-their-party-back/670191/83 "2013-10-02T22:06:42Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Guys like Nixon, McCain, Romney, Dole, Bush in '92, and even W get nominated because of the ridiculous thing called the primary election. And Reagan. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-moderate-republicans-do-to-get-their-party-back/670191/84 "2013-10-02T22:08:07Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Of course, you mean, “from the party,” not “from the country/world.” > > Right? What we need is some way to get them out of the party for good. A “_final solution_” if you will. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-moderate-republicans-do-to-get-their-party-back/670191/85 "2013-10-02T22:08:45Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > So your answer to the question of how moderates can take over the party is, “I don’t want them to!” Do you go into threads about how to bake pizza and tell people that pizza gives you gas? > > Talk about non sequitur posts. Don’t try to box him in with your nanny-state, squish, establishmentarianism! ---
**Author:** ![Conservian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@Conservian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Conservian)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-moderate-republicans-do-to-get-their-party-back/670191/86 "2013-10-02T22:21:08Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > I think that contract backs up what I’m saying. > > Looks fiscally focused to me. Nothing about abortion. Religion. SSM. LOL. Nicely done. I love it when folks from the opposite end of the political spectrum make your point for you. ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-moderate-republicans-do-to-get-their-party-back/670191/87 "2013-10-02T22:28:52Z")
> [@Conservian](#): > > LOL. Nicely done. > I love it when folks from the opposite end of the political spectrum make your point for you. Yet somehow, your [leaders](http://onfaith.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists/Jordan_Sekulow/2010/09/social_conservatives_lead_the_tea_party.html) seem to be social conservatives. This piece is from 2010, but nothing has changed as far as this is concerned. > [@](#): > > As a social conservative activist myself, I’m tired of the media dividing social conservatives and Tea Party activists in an attempt to conquer the broader “conservative” movement. There were articles following last weekend’s Values Voters conference about social conservatives trying to stay relevant in the age of the Tea Party. > > Is the media that dense? Palin, DeMint, Pence, O’Donnell, and Bachmann are social conservatives. We, social conservatives, are leading the Tea Party in the court of public opinion. Sure, the focus on issues may be a bit different now, but that’s because we are a more sophisticated, diverse movement that understands when economic times are tough, people want to shake things up. This does not make us any less concerned about abortion or other traditional social issues. In fact, the people actually concerned are the Democrats and establishment Republicans that social conservatives have fought since the founding of the Moral Majority and Christian Coalition. ---
**Author:** ![Conservian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@Conservian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Conservian)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-moderate-republicans-do-to-get-their-party-back/670191/88 "2013-10-02T23:08:43Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I want Republicans to lose. But that’s not what I’m asking. I’m asking what it would take for moderate Republicans to take back control of the party from the extremists like you and **Debaser**. Again, it’d be best for our country if the party were abandoned to y’all and consistently lost all elections, but I’m not much interested in discussing that. What it would take is something the “moderate,” by definition, does not possess. In fact, the reason so many on the left are sometimes willing to speak well of the “moderate” is simply because they easily bend in the direction of forceful political winds. They cannot endure demagoguery, which is a major tool of the left. Appeasement - it is inherent in their nature. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-moderate-republicans-do-to-get-their-party-back/670191/89 "2013-10-02T23:13:33Z")
> [@Conservian](#): > > What it would take is something the “moderate,” by definition, does not possess. > In fact, the reason so many on the left are sometimes willing to speak well of the “moderate” is simply because they easily bend in the direction of forceful political winds. They cannot endure demagoguery, which is a major tool of the left. > Appeasement - it is inherent in their nature. No, what characterizes the “moderates” is **not** easily bending in the direction of forceful political winds. What characterizes the “extremists,” left and right, is **blowing** those winds. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-moderate-republicans-do-to-get-their-party-back/670191/90 "2013-10-02T23:20:14Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > I don’t. But I also don’t want a party that is chock full of pols who stand closer to the Democrats than conservative Republicans. In that case the pol might as well be a Democrat. > > Not only do I not want the moderates to take over the Republican party, I want the moderates to go away completely. The trouble is, the moderates are the well, or at least better informed. The hard-liners are generally horribly misinformed by RW media lies and misinformation. Leaving a party primarily composed of delusional people who are driven by a false version of reality isn’t good for the country. ---
**Author:** ![Conservian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@Conservian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Conservian)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-moderate-republicans-do-to-get-their-party-back/670191/91 "2013-10-02T23:24:48Z")
> [@computergeek](#): > > The Tea Party might claim they are about fiscal matters but too many of them focus too much on social issues. Let’s see if we can make a connection here: Fiscal morality - that politicos would conduct the “peoples business” in a way that preserves their hard earned tax dollars for justifiable causes, away from corrupt cronyism. ‘Character’ is paramount to responsible and dependable leadership. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-moderate-republicans-do-to-get-their-party-back/670191/92 "2013-10-02T23:28:32Z")
> [@Conservian](#): > > They cannot endure demagoguery, which is a major tool of the left. “Look, we saw in Britain, Neville Chamberlain, who told the British people, ‘Accept the Nazis. Yes, they’ll dominate the continent of Europe, but that’s not our problem. Let’s appease them. Why? Because it can’t be done. We can’t possibly stand against them.’ And in America there were voices that listened to that. I expect those same pundits who say it can’t be done, had it been in the 1940s, we would have listened to them.” -Ted Cruz, a major tool on the right. ---
**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 2, 2013, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-moderate-republicans-do-to-get-their-party-back/670191/93 "2013-10-02T23:34:50Z")
Nothing. There **is no** party. Only a crater. New party needed, apply within. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-moderate-republicans-do-to-get-their-party-back/670191/94 "2013-10-02T23:43:58Z")
> [@Conservian](#): > > Let’s see if we can make a connection here: > > Fiscal morality - that politicos would conduct the “peoples business” in a way that preserves their hard earned tax dollars for justifiable causes, away from corrupt cronyism. . . . OK, nobody would argue with that so stated. But it has nothing to do with balancing the budget. It has nothing to do with generation of revenue. And it has nothing to do with eliminating or reducing any particular government expense or program or function. > [@Conservian](#): > > ‘Character’ is paramount to responsible and dependable leadership. See above. So just where is the fiscal conservatism (not at all the same thing as your “fiscal morality”) here? ---
**Author:** ![Conservian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@Conservian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Conservian)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-moderate-republicans-do-to-get-their-party-back/670191/95 "2013-10-02T23:45:10Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > No, what characterizes the “moderates” is **not** easily bending in the direction of forceful political winds. > > What characterizes the “extremists,” left and right, is **blowing** those winds. Mischaracterized, on both counts. Moderate - average, nothing extraordinary in him to remain ‘steadfast’ when tested. Therefore, he is coddled by the more ‘extreme’ for he is perceived to be, for lack of a better term, ‘in play.’ “Extremists” are the winds! Blowing - the temperament of political rhetoric… ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-moderate-republicans-do-to-get-their-party-back/670191/96 "2013-10-02T23:49:59Z")
> [@Conservian](#): > > Mischaracterized, on both counts. > > Moderate - average, nothing extraordinary in him to remain ‘steadfast’ when tested. Therefore, he is coddled by the more ‘extreme’ for he is perceived to be, for lack of a better term, ‘in play.’ > > “Extremists” are the winds! > Blowing - the temperament of political rhetoric… Nixon was (by the standards of today’s GOP) very moderate, and very steadfast. (Which does not necessarily speak well of steadfast.) ---
**Author:** ![Conservian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@Conservian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Conservian)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-moderate-republicans-do-to-get-their-party-back/670191/97 "2013-10-03T00:16:59Z")
[quote=“BrainGlutton, post:94, topic:670191”] . . . OK, nobody would argue with that so stated. But it has nothing to do with balancing the budget. It has nothing to do with generation of revenue. And it has nothing to do with eliminating or reducing any particular government expense or program or function. [QUOTE] REALLY? I’m starting to you believe you don’t get it at all. [QUOTE] [See above.QUOTE] Reading it once was plenty. But maybe I missed the punch line or something… What you need to do is read some real American history - Calvin Coolidge and what his administration accomplished during his term in office. It takes far more than brains and wise counsel to accomplish what really needs to be done with America’s budget. It take someone with real guts and honesty to tell the American people the truth: unless we take harsh measures and cut government spending - DRAMATICALLY ACROSS THE BOARD, we will experience what it’s like to become a third world country. ---
**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 3, 2013, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-moderate-republicans-do-to-get-their-party-back/670191/98 "2013-10-03T00:21:08Z")
Okay, add Conservian to those who didn’t read the OP. Again, we know many of you think moderates are poopyheads, and others think that all Republicans are vampires. You’ve let us know that before. That’s not the OP’s question. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-moderate-republicans-do-to-get-their-party-back/670191/99 "2013-10-03T00:21:39Z")
My guess: the tea partyists will continue to purge all the sniveling compromisers, who will either swell the ranks of the Democrats or (more likely) turn independent. At some point, there will be so many unaffiliated moderate conservatives that they will start fielding candidates, hopefully under a new name (I suggest The Moderate Conservative Party), and many conservative Democrats will join it. The Republican Party will shrivel into a third party gadfly organization. Can’t come too soon for me. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-moderate-republicans-do-to-get-their-party-back/670191/100 "2013-10-03T00:21:41Z")
> [@Conservian](#): > > What you need to do is read some real American history - Calvin Coolidge and what his administration accomplished during his term in office. You brought him up, you tell us. > [@Conservian](#): > > It takes far more than brains and wise counsel to accomplish what really needs to be done with America’s budget. It take someone with real guts and honesty to tell the American people the truth: unless we take harsh measures and cut government spending - DRAMATICALLY ACROSS THE BOARD, we will experience what it’s like to become a third world country. Look around the world at the **First** -World countries, the fully industrialized ones, the places where things in general mostly go as well as or better than in the U.S. One thing you won’t find in **any** of them is minimal government. That’s something you’ll find in some Third-World countries whose governments are minimal because they are ineffectual. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-moderate-republicans-do-to-get-their-party-back/670191.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-moderate-republicans-do-to-get-their-party-back/670191.md?page=6)