For quite some time I have been concerned about the nasty attacks that are being made by "Republicans" against Republicans who do not meet their ideological requirements, thereby violating one of Ronald Reagan’s most important commandments, “Thou shalt not speak ill of your fellow Republicans.”  This past week a series of posts over at GOP Progress  and conservative attacks on Liz Mair have only illustrated the problem.  Until recently, I’ve never known Republicans of any ilk (liberal, moderate, or conservative) to be attacked so viciously by others who claim to be Republican.  Until recently there was never a cult-like ideology where anyone who claimed to be a Republican must pass a litmus test.

 

You can’t run a political party or entice voters that way.  It reeks of the foul stench of a cult.  In a cult people are brainwashed, harassed, and sometimes tortured until they agree with the views of the self-proclaimed leader.  Unfortunately this is what appears to be happening with various and sundry ideologically RIGHT conservatives who have decided they are the true Republicans and anyone who disagrees with them needs to be excommunicated from the party.

 

This is a recipe for electoral disaster.  We saw it in November when we lost the House and the Senate.  If we are not careful and if all factions of the GOP do not grow up and behave like adults, we’re going to be losing elections for a very long time. 

 

The Republican Party is a “Big Tent Party” where many views are allowed and based on party principles, people are allowed freedom of thought, assembly, and speech.  To constantly harass and threaten those who do not 100% agree with an ideology is not what the Republican Party stands for at all. The very act of doing so makes one wonder if the party doing the harassing even knows what it is to be a Republican.

 

The Republican Party stands for freedom.  To disallow that very practice within the party is disaster, abject disaster.  It is time for those individuals and groups who feel we are not RIGHT enough for them to sit back, take a deep breath, and get a grip on life.  If you do not begin using your head to think things through in a logical intelligent manner, you are doing nothing but helping Howard Dean liberals.  Maybe that is what you want.  I don’t know.  I do know we have a serious problem and it isn’t coming from GOP members who are liberal, moderate, or Reagan Conservatives.  It is coming from people who have usurped the party and turned it into something Ronald Reagan would never allow.

 

“…And just to set the record straight, let me say this about our friends who are now Republicans but who do not identify themselves as conservatives: I want the record to show that I do not view the new revitalized Republican Party as one based on a principle of exclusion. After all, you do not get to be a majority party by searching for groups you won’t associate or work with. If we truly believe in our principles, we should sit down and talk. Talk with anyone, anywhere, at any time if it means talking about the principles for the Republican Party. Conservatism is not a narrow ideology, nor is it the exclusive property of conservative activists….”

Last Sunday I began the Pink Flamingo posting with this quote and ended with the following comment:  Okay, what idiot would be so brazen as to say something like that?  Would you believe Ronald W. Reagan on Feb. 6, 1977?

                                                                    

Unfortunately during the past few months a battle seems to be growing within the Republican Party. It is between the ranks of those who feel they are the heirs of the message of Reagan and the keeper of the flame and everyone else.  The perfect illustration of the problems we are now experiencing is a comment that was posted over on The Pink Flamingo the other day.  I am not revealing the name of the woman who posted it.

 

“Lindsey Graham is a big moderate. He wants media adulation, like McCain, on fact his main goal seems to be to impress McCain: he says whatever Mcain (sic)  does. There are many instances of Graham RINO'ing it up: Gang of 14, the torture bill, this summer on military tribunals, etc. He's pretty spineless on most things- not a true conservative. Rush does the same thing to McCain, because you can't respect them as conservatives.”

Kristin’s comment proves my oft stated point that today’s RIGHT conservatives who claim to be Republican have no earthly idea just who or what Ronald Reagan was and what  he actually believed.  In the same Feb. 6, 1977 (The Shining City on the Hill speech) it is though Reagan knew his version of Conservativism would be perverted into some sort of a cult.

 

 “…One thing that must be made clear in post-Watergate is this: The American new conservative majority we represent is not based on abstract theorizing of the kind that turns off the American people, but on common sense, intelligence, reason, hard work, faith in God, and the guts to say: "Yes, there are things we do strongly believe in, that we are willing to live for, and yes, if necessary, to die for." That is not "ideological purity." It is simply what built this country and kept it great.

 

Let us lay to rest, once and for all, the myth of a small group of ideological purists trying to capture a majority. Replace it with the reality of a majority trying to assert its rights against the tyranny of powerful academics, fashionable left-revolutionaries, some economic illiterates who happen to hold elective office and the social engineers who dominate the dialogue and set the format in political and social affairs. If there is any ideological fanaticism in American political life, it is to be found among the enemies of freedom on the left or right -- those who would sacrifice principle to theory, those who worship only the god of political, social and economic abstractions, ignoring the realities of everyday life. They are not conservatives. 

 

Our first job is to get this message across to those who share most of our principles. If we allow ourselves to be portrayed as ideological shock troops without correcting this error we are doing ourselves and our cause a disservice. Wherever and whenever we can, we should gently but firmly correct our political and media friends who have been perpetuating the myth of conservatism as a narrow ideology. Whatever the word may have meant in the past, today conservatism means principles evolving from experience and a belief in change when necessary, but not just for the sake of change…”

 

Now, do you understand the words of Ronald Reagan… “If there is any ideological fanaticism in American political life, it is to be found among the enemies of freedom on the left or right -- those who would sacrifice principle to theory, those who worship only the god of political, social and economic abstractions, ignoring the realities of everyday life. They are not conservatives…” 

Reagan understood that ideological conservatives from the far right were just as dangerous to the freedom of this nation as the ideological liberals from the far left.  They are on in the same.  The only difference in their cult-like adherence to an ideology is the fact that one is left and the other is right.

I'm a Republican Because...

I BELIEVE the strength of our nation lies with the individual and that each person’s dignity, freedom, ability and responsibility must be honored.

I BELIEVE in equal rights, equal justice and equal opportunity for all, regardless of race, creed, sex, age or disability.

 

I BELIEVE free enterprise and encouraging individual initiative have brought this nation opportunity, economic growth and prosperity.

 

I BELIEVE government must practice fiscal responsibility and allow individuals to keep more of the money they earn.

 

I BELIEVE the proper role of government is to provide for the people only those critical functions that cannot be performed by individuals or private organizations, and that the best government is that which governs least.

 

I BELIEVE the most effective, responsible and responsive government is government closest to the people.

 

I BELIEVE Americans must retain the principles that have made us strong while developing new and innovative ideas to meet the challenges of changing times.

 

I BELIEVE Americans value and should preserve our national strength and pride while working to extend peace, freedom and human rights throughout the world.

 

FINALLY, I believe the Republican Party is the best vehicle for translating these ideals into positive and successful principles of government.

 

I think one of the problems we are facing within the Republican Party is the fact that people have lost sight of just what/who is a “real” Republican. Maybe we need a primer on just who Republicans are and what we stand for. 

 

Let’s start with the History of the GOP. 

 

”The Republican Party was born in the early 1850's by anti-slavery activists and individuals who believed that government should grant western lands to settlers free of charge. The first informal meeting of the party took place in Ripon, Wisconsin, a small town northwest of Milwaukee. The first official Republican meeting took place on July 6th, 1854 in Jackson, Michigan. The name "Republican" was chosen because it alluded to equality and reminded individuals of Thomas Jefferson's Democratic-Republican Party. At the Jackson convention, the new party adopted a platform and nominated candidates for office in Michigan.

In 1856, the Republicans became a national party when John C. Fremont was nominated for President under the slogan: "Free soil, free labor, free speech, free men, Fremont." Even though they were considered a "third party" because the Democrats and Whigs represented the two-party system at the time, Fremont received 33% of the vote. Four years later, Abraham Lincoln became the first Republican to win the White House.

The Civil War erupted in 1861 and lasted four grueling years. During the war, against the advice of his cabinet, Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation that freed the slaves. The Republicans of the day worked to pass the Thirteenth Amendment, which outlawed slavery, the Fourteenth, which guaranteed equal protection under the laws, and the Fifteenth, which helped secure voting rights for African-Americans.

The Republican Party also played a leading role in securing women the right to vote. In 1896, Republicans were the first major party to favor women's suffrage. When the 19th Amendment finally was added to the Constitution, 26 of 36 state legislatures that had voted to ratify it were under Republican control. The first woman elected to Congress was a Republican, Jeanette Rankin from Montana in 1917.

Presidents during most of the late nineteenth century and the early part of the twentieth century were Republicans. The White House was in Republican hands under Presidents Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Bush. Under the last two, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, the United States became the world's only superpower, winning the Cold War from the old Soviet Union and releasing millions from Communist oppression.

Behind all the elected officials and the candidates of any political party are thousands of hard-working staff and volunteers who raise money, lick the envelopes, and make the phone calls that every winning campaign must have. The national structure of our party starts with the Republican National Committee. Each state has its own Republican State Committee with a Chairman and staff. The Republican structure goes right down to the neighborhoods, where a Republican precinct captain every Election Day organizes Republican workers to get out the vote.

Most states ask voters when they register to express party preference. Voters don't have to do so, but registration lists let the parties know exactly which voters they want to be sure vote on Election Day. Just because voters register as a Republican, they don't need to vote that way - many voters split their tickets, voting for candidates in both parties. But the national party is made up of all registered Republicans in all 50 states. They are the heart and soul of the party. Republicans have a long and rich history with basic principles: Individuals, not government, can make the best decisions; all people are entitled to equal rights; and decisions are best made close to home.

The symbol of the Republican Party is the elephant. During the mid term elections way back in 1874, Democrats tried to scare voters into thinking President Grant would seek to run for an unprecedented third term. Thomas Nast, a cartoonist for Harper's Weekly, depicted a Democratic jackass trying to scare a Republican elephant - and both symbols stuck. For a long time Republicans have been known as the "G.O.P." And party faithfuls thought it meant the "Grand Old Party." But apparently the original meaning (in 1875) was "gallant old party." And when automobiles were invented it also came to mean, "get out and push." That's still a pretty good slogan for Republicans who depend every campaign year on the hard work of hundreds of thousands of volunteers to get out and vote and push people to support the causes of the Republican Party.”

“Once again the Republican Party was the vanguard in relation to women. In 1917, Jeannette Rankin, a Montana Republican, became the first woman to serve in the House. Committed to her pacifist beliefs, she was the only member of Congress to vote against entry into both World War I and World War II.

Shortly after Ms. Rankin's election to Congress, the 19th Amendment was passed in 1919. The amendment's journey to ratification had been a long and difficult one. Starting in 1896, the Republican Party became the first major party to officially favor women's suffrage. That year, Republican Sen. A. A. Sargent of California introduced a proposal in the Senate to give women the right to vote. The proposal was defeated four times in the Democratic-controlled Senate. When the Republican Party regained control of Congress, the Equal Suffrage Amendment finally passed (304-88). Only 16 Republicans opposed the amendment.

When the amendment was submitted to the states, 26 of the 36 states that ratified it had Republican-controlled legislatures. Of the nine states that voted against ratification, eight were controlled by Democrats. Twelve states, all Republican, had given women full suffrage before the federal amendment was finally ratified.”

Currently 

“The Republican Party is comprised of many informal factions, which often overlap but do not necessarily agree. For example, there are Fiscal Conservatives, Evangelicals, Social Conservatives, Neoconservatives, Paleoconservatives, Libertarians, Moderates (sometimes derided as Republican In Name Only, or RINOs, by more conservative Republicans), and Log Cabin Republicans.The Republican Party is the more socially conservative and economically libertarian of the two major parties, and has closer ties to both Wall Street (large corporations) and Main Street (locally owned businesses) but has little support among labor unions. The party supports lower taxes, limited government on economic issues, and favors business; it supports government intervention in some social issues such as abortion.[1] In his 1981 inaugural address, Republican President Ronald Reagan summed up his belief in limited government when he said, "In the present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem."[2] Since 1980, the GOP has contained what George Will calls "unresolved tensions between, two flavors of conservatism -- Western and Southern." The Western brand, says Will, "is largely libertarian, holding that pruning big government will allow civil society -- and virtues nourished by it and by the responsibilities of freedom -- to flourish." The Southern variety, however, reflects a religiosity based in evangelical and fundamentalist churches that is less concerned with economics and more with moralistic issues, such as opposition to abortion and homosexuality.[3] There is of course a strong Christian evangelical Republican movement in the Western United States; and in no way should these two movements—economic libertarianism and social conservatism—be considered mutually exclusive, since, especially within the Republican Party, they often overlap.”

Today, many of the most vocal supporters of the RIGHT wing of the GOP have associations or are talking talking points from the CofCC.   I am truly concerned that today’s RIGHT conservatives have been hoodwinked and led astray by organizations such as the Council of Conservative Citizens (CofCC) and endorsing their ‘principles’.  The CofCC (as this ADL link shows)   evolved out of the old White Citizen’s Council.   There have been accusations of racism for years.  The SPLC has an excellent profile of Gordon Baum, the leader of the CofCC. 

Kirstin, mentioned above, is parroting the words of the SC chapter of the CofCC as they attempt to have Senator Lindsey Graham removed from office because he does not meet with their standards of ‘conservative purity.  Strangely enough, many of the RIGHT attacks of John McCain also parrot the language the CofCC uses.  Is the CofCC calling the shots and the truly RIGHT branch of the GOP is being sucked into their on special version of racism and hate?  I truly hope not, but there are signs this is indeed happening. 

“…The Council's state chapter president, Kyle Rogers, said the rally's purpose was to convince state congressmen to vote against guest-worker programs and amnesty. "We got to put pressure on the House Republicans," Rogers said. "President George W. Bush is pressuring them to accept amnesty. But the whole state of South Carolina will turn against you (senators). "The state is already furious at Lindsey Graham. His career is shot." Citizens speak out Protest participants lined the entranceway of the Channel 4 news station with flags and signs that read: "Lendsey (sic) Graham is a traitor," and "Stop the Invasion."Passing motorists honked their horns and shouted out "America!" as they drove past the rally. The location of the protest was ideal for Greenville city traffic visibility, and it also blocked the entrance to the news station. "WYFF said that we had dozens of people at the last protest," Rogers said. According to Rogers, there were at least a 1,000 people in attendance. So standing in front of the news station was "symbolic." "Most conservative events don't draw the numbers the left wing does because of the media," Rogers said. "But we're going to keep going despite of them." The small numbers didn't fetter the enthusiasm participants had for their cause…” 

 

This is also important for yet another reason.  Kyle Rogers was active in arranging the infamous appearance of Colorado’s Tom Tancredo at a CofCC and League of the South event in Columbia last summer.   Or as the Denver Post peged it, Tancredo Sings with Bigots. 

 

Baum's associates include former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr.

"A personal injury lawyer specializing in auto accidents and workmen's compensation claims in St. Louis, Baum formed the organization in 1985 based on the mailing lists of the segregationistWhite Citizens Councils for whom he had been the Midwest field organizer. It grew to include some 15,000 members, mostly in the deep South, and to have genuine political power — power that could be glimpsed when the group's links to Lott and then-U.S. Rep. Bob Barr (R-Ga.) were exposed...." 

There is a spider's web of dots to connect including the fact that the CofCC meets with Stormfront when they have national conferences.

 

Or try this piece about Stormfront and the CofCC.  I hope you are getting this.  Jeffrey Feldman has discovered the following:

"...Members of the IKA including an Imperial Officer attended the June 16-17 Council of Conservative Citizens conference in Louisville, Kentucky. There were many exemplary speakers at this event (Don Black, Paul Fromm, Sam Dickson, Col. Robt. Slimp, Dr. Ed Fields, James Edwards, Dr. Brent Nelson, Kevin Lamb, and others) and there was music to enjoy as well. Don't let the word "Conservative" or the formal attire give you the wrong idea – these gentlemen aren't your typical conservative buffoons. The speeches given were absolutely revolutionary and quite informative. The IKA made many important contacts networking at the conference which will prove beneficial to future endeavors. The conference was a fine experience and we would like to extend our thanks to the organizers and attendees of this event for their warm welcoming and hospitality.

WHITE UNITY!

–Imperial Godi, Imperial Klans of America..."

Have you ever smelled a rat?  Try misogonist Carey Rogers and his anti-feminist life’s work.  Evidently he doesn’t like women, unless they are silent, barefoot, and pregnant.  He especially doesn’t approve of them in conservative politics, and feels the presence of women such as myself have corrupted the Republican Party.  More power to him!   (Oh, FYI, he also believes more women commit violence against men that men commit violence against women.  Bet he also doesn’t believe men rape women, either.   Guess the little ladys  just askin’ for it.)  I just love the way RIGHT conservatives twist and misuse facts then say only liberals do it. 

 

“…Thankfully, some in the conservative ranks have bravely spoken out against the rad-fem jihad, including Phyllis Schlafly, Ann Coulter, Laura Schlessinger, Catherine Seipp, Kathryn Jean Lopez, and Myrna Blyth. But why are there only six, not 600 conservative women on the list? And what about conservative men? Are the conservative no-shows intimidated or merely complacent? Why haven’t the mainstream conservative organizations come out four-square against radical feminism?  To be sure, one reason is that the conservative movement has become beholden to the electoral imperatives of the Republican party, fearing that any criticism of feminism might stir a backlash on election day. This fear is misplaced, however, as only a quarter of American women call themselves feminist, and 22% of women say that being called a feminist would be an “insult.” Another reason is that many conservative men – especially politicians and newspaper editors—confuse ladies-first chivalry with becoming water-carriers for the latest feminist myth-de-jour. It’s time that these guys wise-up to the feminist bait-and-switch. These gals claim to be the complete equals to men. But voice any doubts about their ideology, and they lapse into a pathetic cocoon of hurt feelings. And then there are those ladies who claim to be straight-laced conservatives, but bristle with an anti-male hostility or spread poisonous gender myths….”

 

Why do I digress?  It is quite simple.  For months I’ve been trying to unearth the roots of this very nasty strain of RIGHT minded conservatives who think they own the Republican Party.  I keep finding some interesting little tidbits here and there.   You need to connect the dots.

 

Carey Roberts writes his wonderfully enlightened material for a number of good conservative RIGHT publications.  One of them is Aeonweb that is run by Move Off.com.MoveOff. Com is a part of the New Media Alliance. The New Media Alliance is owned by Heritage Media Partnerships. Heritage Media Partnerships is part of Reality Check. org.   There are a number of umbrella organizations all spewing the same bait and switch.  Gary Schneider   is the front name for the IRS reports. The New Media Alliance works in conjunction with Townhall.

 

Part of the New Media Alliance web includes the American Daily. One of the top contributors to the American Daily is Daneen G. Peterson, Ph.D. Peterson has, in my humble opinion, penned some of the most bigoted, hate filled, misrepresentations about the Hispanic people I've ever seen.  Then there is Timely Topics. Another publication is the UsaSentinel. I have no idea what RTPX is. North America Views is another part of the spider web.  Then there is Moveoff Us.  You should note that this site links to the Constitution Party.  I keep saying we're not dealing with actual Republicans here, but people who are conservative who pretend to be Republican.  Then there is the Conservative Press. MoveOffWs is also part of the problem.  Then there is News by Us.  Truth in Conviction   The View from 1776Conservative Crusader

 

Now we come to Republican Voices  by Emil Levitin, who is a member of GOP Bloggers.  And there is the New Media Journal that claims to be Republican. The PubliusForum is part of the group. And then we have Frosty Woodbridge, who defies description.  I would love to call him the Cindy Sheehan of the whacked out right. There is Time to Vote.  And they have the Capital Hill Coffeehouse. The most fun is the only Republican political figure you see any of these organizations linking to is Tancredo.  Great Minds Think Right  How about Mad as Hell.

 

The Roberts article that started all of this is from News With Views that is ultra conservative and terribly unGOP