Attn BobLoblaw: How the GOP destroyed its moderates

[_Jason Bourne]

By the way I am more moderate. I don't think I can call myself a conservative any more. But I don't feel liberal enough to be solidly in the democrat camp. Both parties have elements that appeal to me. Both have things that disgust me. Really I wonder if we don't need the rise of a strong third party. I know that rarely if ever works in the political system of the US. But it seems long overdue. Maybe this party would replace the republican party like the republican party did the whigs. Who knows. All I want is for both sides to compromise, give and take and work to solve our issues. Don't like Obama care? What are the options because yes the health care problem is a huge problem. Really the list could go on and on.

[_EAllusion]

Uh, Reid is a centrist Democrat. Very much so. Pelosi is center-left. The progressive wing of the Democrats is hilariously ineffectual in comparison to its rightwing equivalent. That's because true leftists are so pants-wettingly afraid of Republicans getting into office that their vote for Democrats is all but guaranteed no matter what they do. This allows the Democrats to run candidates that will move more to the center in an effort to capture votes. Obama is far to the right for a Democrat, especially on issues of foreign policy and civil rights, in actuality precisely because of this. If the left keeps this up, they're going to be voting for a Tim Pawlenty with a D after his name because they don't want a Michelle Bachman in office.

Democratic media surrogates love to focus in on and magnify the nutjobbery on the conservative side because 1) it gives them a strawman to argue against, but more importantly because 2) it keeps their left flank in check without having to bring them much in the way of legislative accomplishment. Democrats try to give those people a platform. It's easier to argue with someone who thinks the US census is a government conspiracy than someone who disapproves of Obama's belief that he has the authority to order any US citizen assassinated if he asserts it's a matter of national security. Since the right approves of the latter and the left won't make a stink about it, one gets media attention and the other does not. This symbiotic relationship is one of those factors that is serving to push conservatives rightward.

[_Morley]

I know there's a significant crackpot wing in the party, just as there is in the Democratic party. More than half of Democrats surveyed in 2006 said they thought it was likely Bush knew about 9/11 ahead of time. We all have our nutjobs.

Is this what you're talking about?

NYTimes.

[_EAllusion]

I know there's a significant crackpot wing in the party, just as there is in the Democratic party. More than half of Democrats surveyed in 2006 said they thought it was likely Bush knew about 9/11 ahead of time. We all have our nutjobs.

Is this what you're talking about?

NYTimes.

There was a survey I think he's referring to where a substantial portion of people stated their belief that Bush knew about 9/11 in advance. However, this survey was taken not long after information was pouring out that there was credible evidence that a 9/11 like event was brewing that penetrated the upper tiers of the administration, but did not get adequate attention for whatever reason. The survey question was attempting to get at the level of truther conspiracy thinking - that Bush literally knew 9/11 was going to happen - but may have gotten respondents mistakenly answering in the affirmative because of the "Osama Bin Laden determined to attack..." news of the time. It's not a great example for Bob to point out.

[_Morley]

There was a survey I think he's referring to where a substantial portion of people stated their belief that Bush knew about 9/11 in advance. However, this survey was taken not long after information was pouring out that there was credible evidence that a 9/11 like event was brewing that penetrated the upper tiers of the administration, but did not get adequate attention for whatever reason. The survey question was attempting to get at the level of truther conspiracy thinking - that Bush literally knew 9/11 was going to happen - but may have gotten respondents mistakenly answering in the affirmative because of the "Osama Bin Laden determined to attack..." news of the time. It's not a great example for Bob to point out.

When there are as many people who are openly 'truthers' in congress as there are congressional 'birthers,' I'll be convinced there is some kind of looniness parity.

[_EAllusion]

When there are as many people who are openly 'truthers' in congress as there are congressional 'birthers,' I'll be convinced there is some kind of looniness parity.

I'm on board with you. Outside of my broad policy disagreements, I of course see out and out nuttiness on the Democratic side. Reading the science section at HuffPo doesn't make one feel good. There is a difference in the scope and influence of this, however. The inmates are taking over the asylum over on the Republican side to a much greater degree and Bob appears oblivious to it.

I think the best thing people can do is vote in Republican primaries for good Republican candidates. I live in an open primary state and most of my votes are cast on the Republican end trying to be a influence on the direction of the party. I try to vote for libertarian-friendly candidates, as that's the direction I'd like to see the party go. But for those worried about the eventuality of a president Bachmann, your best influence would be to vote in those elections regardless of your party affiliation. The party needs to be fixed internally. The religious right is relentless and highly organized at this point. They will not stop. You can act as a check on that.

[_Bob Loblaw]

Here's what I was referring to, a Scripps-Howard poll in 2006. Here is the question:

"How likely is it that people in the federal government either assisted in the 9/11 attacks or took no action to stop the attacks because they wanted the United States to go to war in the Middle East?" the poll asked.

22.6% of Democrats said it was "very likely." Another 28.2% called it "somewhat likely."

[_Jason Bourne]

Uh, Reid is a centrist Democrat. Very much so. Pelosi is center-left.

Uh, Apparently we either define centrist left differently or our perceptions of these two are very different.

[_moksha]

We've always had people like the Eagle Forum and Focus on the Family, and from what I have seen in my personal experience, they aren't much more powerful than they were before.

Incumbent moderate Republicans have been losing primary bids to raving conservative Republican challengers and moderates have been singing in the choir of political crazies to stave off this happening to them. Who has the power?

[_bcspace]

There's no such thing as a "moderate" in this context.