The Political Winds
Posted by Mike on May 25, 2006
If you ever want to know which way the political winds are blowing during an election year, watch the moderate Republicans. Under normal circumstances, these RINOs crave the approval of the media. During an election year, they seek the approval of the voters. The Democrat strategy for re-taking the House in November is to target blue state moderate Republicans. This is because that is where there are enough Democrat voters to unseat Republicans. Denny Hastert isn’t going to lose his seat.
Rep. Christopher Shays (RINO-CT) is your prototypical spineless RINO. Shays has been quoted in the Washington Times as saying: “I don’t want to see a bill come to the floor of the House that gives them a path to citizenship.” This recent moment of clarity is probably due to the fact that Congressman Shays regularly holds town meetings so he can figure out what he is supposed to believe. It appears that even the voters of the Volvo Republican districts of Connecticut oppose amnesty for illegal immigrants. It seems the message is starting to get through.
The House is key because they feel more pressure than Senators who only face re-election every six years. Shays is feeling the heat. Other RINOs like Sue Kelly are as well. Perhaps our borders will be respected after all.
Hat tip to The Laura Ingraham Show for drawing my attention to this article.
Axis of Right 
Chris said
Conservatives need to fight hard against the RINOs trying to take over the Republican Party…they (the conservatives) were successful in the withdrawal of Harriet Miers’s nomination and the ascension of Sam Alito to the Supreme Court. A true example of Conservatives saying “We’re mad as hell and not going to take it anymore.”
If they do not, what occurred in NJ could very well happen at the national level. In NJ, we’ve had a case of the RINO running the show in Trenton. They took back the legislature in 1991 and stayed at the center/left of the political spectrum…along came Christie Witless…I mean Whitman and her policies hurt not only the Republican Party, but also the State of NJ. As a result of her leadership, Republicans in NJ are powerless and irrelevant. There is no way that Forrester should have lost that election and if he would have turned to the right, we may have been calling him governor.
Republicans have had the opportunity to lead in Congress since 1994 and many a time, have led strongly and stuck to their conservative principles. The fact that the weak, spineless RINOs are getting their way highly worries me. I want to see the Republicans adhering to the Conservative values of their consituents and if they lose by doing that (they won’t b/c much of America agrees with them), so be it, they fought the good fight. Instead the RINO blips are having a negative effect on the party, country and could very well assist the Dems in ascending to power in November, rendering the Republican Party irrelevant…as happened in NJ. If that does happen, I worry about how the Dems will undo all the good the Republican Congress has done and how long it will take for the Conservatives to take back the Republican Party to overcome irrelevance.
rightonoz said
I am amused by the venom apparently aimed at moderate republicans. Even within a party there has to be room for shades of conservatism. The tolerance of individual expression is what makes a country great. Here in Australia we have the full specrum just as you do in the US, however it is the moderate wing that gives the right here it’s broad voter base and gives the government a more evenhanded approach, help the broadest base possible with tax rates, benefits etc, rather than aim more benefits at the top of town in a ‘trickle down’ policy shown to benefit the rich and widen the poverty gap (as one of our would be Prime Minister’s favours – if he wore a skirt he’d be Maggie’s twin (in philosphy)
From what I can see as an outsider, the republican party needs all the despised RINOs to secure a wide enough electoral vote. Hard right vote cathers such as law and order etc only get som much of the population behind you. You still need moderates who want a little less government with compassion.
Gauvin said
there really aren’t on that many RINO voters Oz. If you look at electoral history, pubbies who run as conservatives win. (W, Reagan, Bush 41 the first time, Nixon). Those who run to the left to appeal to “the broad voting base” lose (Dole, Bush 41, Ford).
I agree there should be shades of conservatism. It seems that you would stress the word “shades” while I would stress the word “conservatism>”
rightonoz said
Amen to that!
Just to see the record straight. I DEFINITELY want conservatism around the world – then we might actually achieve things together but am happy to encompass those who see things a little (emphasis little) to the left of where I stand.