tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428824763182540039.post5748494451295371294..comments2024-01-17T09:33:57.158-08:00Comments on Brain Rage: Election Legitimacy: 2000 vs 2008JBWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13293642610215334516noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428824763182540039.post-83263238085144128142009-11-22T17:47:59.571-08:002009-11-22T17:47:59.571-08:00You're absolutley right, JBW. I've been tr...You're absolutley right, JBW. I've been trying to distinguish between the conservative and the right-wingers for some time. Poor choice of words on my part. I hope you're wrong about gaining ground in 2010.Leslie Parsleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13743778482517634823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428824763182540039.post-64625969869629958732009-11-22T06:12:17.038-08:002009-11-22T06:12:17.038-08:00'The GOP was actually a somewhat intellectuall...'The GOP was actually a somewhat intellectually honest party at one point but their current incarnation has fallen far short of that.'<br /><br />I have been something of a pain on this blog in the past, but I actually do agree with James here. Ronald Reagan's most vocal and intellectually honest critic in his three presidential campaigns was Republican congressman John Anderson of California and Anderson even broke party ranks to run against Reagan as an independent in 1984.<br /><br />I've spoken before about the liberal Republicans to whom liberal reformers of the 1950s and 1960s were indebted... if they had need to rely on Democratic votes then Southern Democrats (many of whom became Republicans, such as Strom Thurmond and Jesse Helms)with violently conservative leanings would have successfully blocked everything. Ditto civil rights.<br /><br />We owe Republicans as much on this issue as we do Democrats, and many of the Democrats who sponsored the reforms of the Johnson era had liberal Republican co-sponsors.<br /><br />While conservatism is not new, much of the political strategy has its origins in the Nixon Era and most of the actual business of fulfilling the promises behind the right wing rhetoric takes it origins from the Reagan Era.<br /><br />This is not to say that I think Robert A. Taft or Barry Goldwater were /right/, but they were intellectually honest and men of integrity.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428824763182540039.post-23424005462922668822009-11-21T22:45:20.090-08:002009-11-21T22:45:20.090-08:00I have to disagree, Leslie. The GOP was actually ...I have to disagree, Leslie. The GOP was actually a somewhat intellectually honest party at one point but their current incarnation has fallen far short of that. And unfortunately I fear that they'll gain some ground in 2010.JBWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13293642610215334516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428824763182540039.post-4400960230269882612009-11-21T19:38:30.508-08:002009-11-21T19:38:30.508-08:00Good post. I don't think the GOP politicians o...Good post. I don't think the GOP politicians or their supporters have ever been concerned with facts, truth or reality. Hopefully, the scallywags will be voted out of office.Leslie Parsleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13743778482517634823noreply@blogger.com