I don’t know any longer, Tom.
Please tell me ahead of time which of these Republicans are unacceptable and which are acceptable.
And…what CONSISTENT criteria we can use to judge, not after the fact “principles of convenience”.
Chris Christie? Nikki Haley? Susana Martinez? Marco Rubio? Allen West? John Thune? Tim Pawlenty? Eric Cantor? Bobby Jindal? Haley Barbour? Rick Perry? Newt Gingrich? Mitt Romney? Kristi Noem? John Kasich? Ann Coulter? Charles Krauthammer? Brit Hume? Rich Lowry? Our host, Roger Simon? Ace of Spades? Allahpundit? The guys at NRO? The folks at Commentary? Stephen Green? Ed Driscoll? Ron Radosh? Rick Santorum? Mark Steyn? Mitch Daniels? Paul Ryan?
By the standards of what purity would you throw all of them out of YOUR “Republican Party”.
Since at one time or another I have heard folks who seem to have the code book on this “RINO and pundit” offender catalog include EVERYONE in the above paragraph…please let us know what qualifies and what disqualifies each.
Former Democrat pal and endorser…person who advances their causes? Get rid of Perry and Gingrich out of the gates.
Votes inconsistently and supports suspiciously on “Democratic” issues? Dump Santorum and Christie.
Has some amorphous and ambiguous “squishy” attitudes toward social issues? Get rid of EVERY author with a by-line here at PJM. They are all center right, but live and let live on social issues from what I can tell.
Frankly, there is NO Republican Party without the center-right. At all. In America.
If you want to throw them out of the party, you have no party. If that’s fine with you…if you wish to form a DIFFERENT party…then, maybe it’s time.
Form a party of righteous purity, where nobody who differs from lockstep fealty is welcome. You will mirror the Democratic Party, who are throwing out their “squishes”…the Blue Dogs.
And you will eliminate virtually all of those listed who are the future of the Republican Party. Go for it.
Split off and form your own party. You will have all the loudest and angriest voices.
Probably could steal away some of the Ron Paul neo-nazi thunderings…or maybe form a coalition party, if you can buy into the isolationist, blame America mindset. Not likely you would get West, Jindal, Haley, Cantor, Rubio, Martinez to buy into the Jew hating, black hating, Hispanic hating of the Ron Paul newsletter crowd, however.
And, you aren’t going to garner the votes of the center-right…which makes up the LARGEST bloc.
So…throw out ALL the “squishy” middle you so despise.
You form your own party, they form their own party. The “establishment” and all the best center-right thinkers in the “punditry”.
Who wins ultimately in that scenario?
America? Clearly not.
Your pure party? I would bet heavily against it.
This mentality of blaming some mythical “establishment” and some tinfoil hat “conspiracy” by the “punditry” with them…is sour grapes mixed with pixie dust.
You can’t name a standard by which someone is acceptable until after the fact. And, if virtually EVERYONE in the REPUBLICAN PARTY is unacceptable who is currently IN or WRITING IN SUPPORT OF the Republican Party because they are too center right for you…then who is the Republican In Name Only…the ones who make up virtually everyone…or those who don’t?
We either have to build this bridge or burn it. From the loudest and angriest voices agreeing with you…they are shouting “burn it!!!”
Your choice.
Either way, so be it.
