The Republican
Party, particularly in Arizona, is
engaged in a political food fight.
State Chairman Randy Pullen alerts
the media about Republicans tearing
up party cards over Sen. Jon Kyl’s
position on immigration, while State
Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, demands
Sen. John McCain resign over high
absenteeism caused by presidential
campaigning.
Speaking from the right side of the party, hang on everybody. We’ve come a long way.
Like many of my generation, I got into this game somewhere between Bob Taft and Barry Goldwater. The GOP was then dominated by eastern moderate-to-liberal Republicans who were big government, high-tax, foreign interventionists content to accommodate the New Deal and contain — not defeat — world Communism. Conservatives (and there are more sub-categories than I can describe here) were generally outnumbered at most levels. Many were involved in changing the permanent minority status of conservatives in the party to a dominant force, but three stand out: Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan and Newt Gingrich.
Goldwater proved in 1964 that the conservative coalition could actually nominate a presidential candidate. Forgetting later transgressions, he gave us an agenda. “The Conscience of a Conservative” should be required reading for anyone claiming to be one. Barry gave us more than framework. Ronald Reagan’s political future was born in the 1964 Goldwater campaign. Conservative Democrats noticed there was finally a reason to leave their party. And the treachery of many liberal Republicans, who lived off conservative votes, defined RINO for the next 50 years.
Arizona Republicans unhappy with Sens. McCain and Kyl should look back at the real flakes Republicans were stuck with in the 1960s: Kuchel of California, Javits of New York, Case of New Jersey and a virtual cavalcade of other gutless mushmouths.
The American Conservative Union wasn’t born yet, but its predecessor, Americans for Constitutional Action, told us just how bad the voting records of most Republicans were. Suffice that McCain and Kyl, rated at over 70 percent and 90 percent, respectively, by the ACU, are way ahead of their 1960s GOP counterparts.
Tearing up your party card and registering independent or forming some Mickey Mouse Third Party doesn’t cut it. Hang around and wait for the next primary. Kuchel, Case and eventually Javits went down in theirs.
I learned the hard way in 1976 when Ford beat Reagan for the nomination after Nixon’s resignation. Nixon was by any measurement the most liberal of Republican presidents. I recall one well-known conservative columnist proclaiming that the right should simply accept that Ford was the most conservative president we’d ever have.
I was dumb enough to believe that and went off into the wilderness for several cycles with the Libertarian Party, an outfit whose individual members always exceeded its collective accomplishments. Could be because Libertarians are lousy at doing “collective.”
Meanwhile, Ronald Reagan was winning the Cold War and leading the GOP to pre-1932 heights by re-taking the Senate.
No one ever believed the GOP could re-take the House until Newt Gingrich did it in 1994, again with a basically conservative agenda. Before Newt, there were decent GOP House leaders like Arizona’s John Rhodes, but none thought they could win a majority. Matched to post-1994 House members, Jim Kolbe was a squishy moderate. By 1960s standards, he was a solid conservative. The center has moved.
Some advice from somebody who’s been there, done that: hang tough. For Chairman Pullen, it’s your job to put out fires, not enlarge them. For Rep. Pearce — get real! If McCain leaves, his seat gets filled by the Republican the governor picks. Whoever that is would vote MUCH worse than McCain. Think Sen. Pete Hershberger.
Politics is often a matter of compared to what. It’s also a lot like poker. There’s another hand waiting just on top of the deck.Which is why conservatives should all keep their party cards.
Speaking from the right side of the party, hang on everybody. We’ve come a long way.
Like many of my generation, I got into this game somewhere between Bob Taft and Barry Goldwater. The GOP was then dominated by eastern moderate-to-liberal Republicans who were big government, high-tax, foreign interventionists content to accommodate the New Deal and contain — not defeat — world Communism. Conservatives (and there are more sub-categories than I can describe here) were generally outnumbered at most levels. Many were involved in changing the permanent minority status of conservatives in the party to a dominant force, but three stand out: Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan and Newt Gingrich.
Goldwater proved in 1964 that the conservative coalition could actually nominate a presidential candidate. Forgetting later transgressions, he gave us an agenda. “The Conscience of a Conservative” should be required reading for anyone claiming to be one. Barry gave us more than framework. Ronald Reagan’s political future was born in the 1964 Goldwater campaign. Conservative Democrats noticed there was finally a reason to leave their party. And the treachery of many liberal Republicans, who lived off conservative votes, defined RINO for the next 50 years.
Arizona Republicans unhappy with Sens. McCain and Kyl should look back at the real flakes Republicans were stuck with in the 1960s: Kuchel of California, Javits of New York, Case of New Jersey and a virtual cavalcade of other gutless mushmouths.
The American Conservative Union wasn’t born yet, but its predecessor, Americans for Constitutional Action, told us just how bad the voting records of most Republicans were. Suffice that McCain and Kyl, rated at over 70 percent and 90 percent, respectively, by the ACU, are way ahead of their 1960s GOP counterparts.
Tearing up your party card and registering independent or forming some Mickey Mouse Third Party doesn’t cut it. Hang around and wait for the next primary. Kuchel, Case and eventually Javits went down in theirs.
I learned the hard way in 1976 when Ford beat Reagan for the nomination after Nixon’s resignation. Nixon was by any measurement the most liberal of Republican presidents. I recall one well-known conservative columnist proclaiming that the right should simply accept that Ford was the most conservative president we’d ever have.
I was dumb enough to believe that and went off into the wilderness for several cycles with the Libertarian Party, an outfit whose individual members always exceeded its collective accomplishments. Could be because Libertarians are lousy at doing “collective.”
Meanwhile, Ronald Reagan was winning the Cold War and leading the GOP to pre-1932 heights by re-taking the Senate.
No one ever believed the GOP could re-take the House until Newt Gingrich did it in 1994, again with a basically conservative agenda. Before Newt, there were decent GOP House leaders like Arizona’s John Rhodes, but none thought they could win a majority. Matched to post-1994 House members, Jim Kolbe was a squishy moderate. By 1960s standards, he was a solid conservative. The center has moved.
Some advice from somebody who’s been there, done that: hang tough. For Chairman Pullen, it’s your job to put out fires, not enlarge them. For Rep. Pearce — get real! If McCain leaves, his seat gets filled by the Republican the governor picks. Whoever that is would vote MUCH worse than McCain. Think Sen. Pete Hershberger.
Politics is often a matter of compared to what. It’s also a lot like poker. There’s another hand waiting just on top of the deck.Which is why conservatives should all keep their party cards.
