Hamlet’s soliloquy, adapted version
To moderate, or purify. That is the question.
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to stay conservative,
and by staying pure to suffer the slings and arrows of continued exile,
Or to take arms against the likes of Limbaugh and toward the center move,
And by moderation perchance end that exile?
‘Tis a consummation devoutly to be wish’d.
For now, alas, Republicans must bear the scorn of voters,
The pangs of power lost, of laws unpassed,
The insolence of liberals and the dread of something worse,
The thought that America, that undiscover’d country hath so thoroughly changed
while conservatives ponder and lose the name of action.
It makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of.
Must irrelevance make cowards of us all?
Or, maybe you would prefer the version by the Associated Press:
WASHINGTON — Dick Cheney and Rush Limbaugh contend the Republican Party needs less moderation and more conservative backbone to win back voters who have been abandoning it in droves.
Leaders of the party’s 2010 election efforts are showing they don’t think ideological purity is the answer.
In the latest example, key Republican senators jumped this week behind the Senate candidacy of centrist GOP Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida, picking sides a year before the party primary even though another well-established candidate, former state House Speaker Marco Rubio, has stronger conservative credentials.
In other high-profile Senate races, party leaders have encouraged or recruited centrists such as Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania, Rep. Mike Castle of Delaware and Rep. Mark Kirk of Illinois.
The outreach to more moderate candidates is angering many in the party’s conservative base, further exposing a rift over the direction Republicans should take after disastrous election losses in 2006 and 2008. Republican leaders such as Limbaugh, the conservative radio host, and Cheney, the former vice president, have warned the party against moving toward the middle as it tries to regain the congressional majorities it enjoyed in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Almost immediately after Crist launched his campaign Tuesday, an influential conservative blogger, Erick Erickson, asked readers to join a new Web-based group called “Not one penny to the National Republican Senatorial Committee.”
Erickson explained his reasons on redstate.com: “Getting behind Crist in the Florida primary is wholly unacceptable.”
“I think the party is continuing to not get it, and they’ll continue to lose elections if they keep acting in bad faith like this,” said John Stemberger, a conservative activist who runs the Florida Family Policy Council. “This race in the primary is really going to be a battle for the heart and soul of the party.”
In Florida, Rubio immediately aired a Web video showing Crist and President Barack Obama standing face to face earlier this year promoting Obama’s $787 billion stimulus bill, even as more conservative Republican governors were threatening to refuse the federal money on ideological grounds.
But on Capitol Hill, Republicans such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and former presidential candidate John McCain of Arizona joined NRSC Chairman John Cornyn of Texas in singing Crist’s praises. Sen. Mel Martinez, the retiring Florida Republican whom Crist would replace, went so far as to encourage Rubio to get out of the race.
Cornyn, the NRSC chairman, said the group’s primary goal is to win seats and that it is pursuing candidates who best fit their states. Although the organization rarely takes sides on competitive primaries, he said it wasn’t establishing a new precedent by weighing in so early on Crist. He said the group would decide case-by-case whether to offer public support in other races.
Republicans, Cornyn said, must “get away from this attitude that people who disagree 20 or 30 percent of the time somehow are not welcome in the Republican Party, particularly if we’re going to maintain our relevance and grow our numbers.”
Roger Stone, a Republican political consultant, said the party’s choices are being dictated largely by the states that are in play and by the candidates available. He said GOP leaders are taking the right approach by focusing on election results over ideology.
“Our party has the problem now that (Democrats) had in the 1970s, and that is our party base nominates candidates that are too far away from the electorate and cannot win,” Stone said. “You can’t win with just the right wing.”
“I would rather have 51 percent of the Senate and get 70 percent of our agenda done, whereas conservatives sometimes would rather be 100 percent pure and get nothing done,” he said.
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80 comments Add your comment
Taxpayer
May 15th, 2009
2:37 pm
Well, have I mentioned lately that I think that the Republicans are doing a great job. They are staying true to their beliefs, their principles, and that is good.. It’s good for the soul. Listen to your new leaders. Cheney, Gingrich, McCain, Limbaugh, they know what is best for the GOP. Don’t stray. Don’t moderate. It’s a sign of weakness. Don’t be a GOPanzie and compromise. Vote Gingrich. Vote Palin. Vote Oxendine. Vote Cheney. Even get yourself another Bush, Jeb perhaps. Be true to yourselves, GOPers. Don’t change a thing.
Redneck Convert
May 15th, 2009
2:45 pm
Well, us real Conservatives got hold of the party back in 1980 and we’re going to hold onto it even if it kills all of us. We don’t need no wishy-washy Moderates. Just send all them to vote Democrat. Same thing goes for how we feel about what’s going on in Washington. If we can’t have things our way then we need to break off and form our own country. That’s the Patriotic thing to do.
Have a good p.m. everybody.
AmVet
May 15th, 2009
2:46 pm
Nicely done, Mr. Bookman.
Tis a question that needs to be asked. But for the feint of heart will not be answered.
The Pup Tent Party’s new credo: Give me ideological purity or give me death!
Brad Steel
May 15th, 2009
2:47 pm
Yeah…. yeah! That’s a real good idea – that is follow the advice of Cheney and Limbaugh. You may want to reach out to Rove, if he’s not too busy taking the 5th, and Rumsfield for advice too.
te he he he
WhoCares
May 15th, 2009
2:50 pm
Jay I don’t think there’s much future in poetry for you. Maybe you should try teaching. I hear UGA is looking for a Marketing professor.
DB, Gwinnettian
May 15th, 2009
2:51 pm
Good stuff, Jay.
Although as Hamlet parodies go, it’s going to be tough to top this one.
George American
May 15th, 2009
2:52 pm
Dick Cheney gets results! This country has been safe after his fearless and strong war on the IslamoFascist.
Limbaugh, Hannity and Coulter, as mouth-pieces for the Republican leaders are right too. Giving into the moderates and RINOs is just another step into eternal socialism. I support those who are fighting the good and righteous fight.
Tom
May 15th, 2009
2:53 pm
Having lost at all else, Republicans have redirected their purpose against that old winner, “ABORTION.” Them “libruls” who “kill babies,” eat live kittens for breakfast, and join in the horror of teaching women to get informed and take charge of their own health and sexuality, lest they get pregnant and give birth to even more right-wing zealots who never have sex. More angry “conservatives” who wouldn’t know a vulva from a rototiller. Abortion is ALWAYS the last-gasp issue used to once again prod and provoke and enflame what remains of their burned out flock of the rancid masses. So the Repugs must resurrect/continue the work of Reagan, Bush, BushDrunk and all the other inbred right-wing misogynists that have dirtied the White House for the past 50 years.
Their OTHER call-to-arms begins this very day! The NRA meeting. The nations hilljacks – paranoid, losing, nutballs racing out there to buy yet more ammo before going on more murderous rampages. (Fortunately they come not near ME – my Glock aims straight and true, my eye even better.)
The Repug Party, that quivering mass of ignoble sadness and blighted phlegm – will continue on its natural way. As always.
Susan Myers
May 15th, 2009
2:53 pm
I love the way the Republicans are conducting themselves. They’re doing one heckuva job. I hope they keep it up.
King Rush, long may he reign.
WhoCares
May 15th, 2009
2:59 pm
Got any ammo for that Glock?
Mrs. Godzilla
May 15th, 2009
3:03 pm
dedicated to dick and co.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2a8w1_billy-joel-just-the-way-you-are_music
DB, Gwinnettian
May 15th, 2009
3:04 pm
I certainly hope that Erik the Son-of-Erik continues to have an important place in the Republican brain trust.
Bosch
May 15th, 2009
3:05 pm
Tom,
Eat live kittens? That’s just plain sick, but yes, I could see Rush with a little fuzzy kitten tail hanging out of his mouth – he’s getting more and more Jabba the Hut looking.
Is George American the renamed Right Wing Nut Job in Full Glory? I miss that guy/gal.
Mrs. Godzilla
May 15th, 2009
3:12 pm
Bosch
Would Limbaugh eat live kittens with Dijon mustard?
say what?
May 15th, 2009
3:13 pm
“Leaders of the party’s 2010 election efforts are showing they don’t think ideological purity is the answer.”
Then obviously, those leading election efforts are still not listening (I I suppose thousands showing up for tea parties across the country as well as Republican congressmen showing even greater unity on bills in Washington isn’t loud enough). The democrats have gone full-blown towards statism and government dependency, and the time is more ripe than ever for the Republican party to once again be that clear alternative to the democrats.
The problem with moderates in the Republican party is that over time, they begin to cave into pressure from their democratic counterparts in Washington who want them to “play nice” and “listen to the opposition” (even though those are traits which most of them are clearly incapable of). As this happens, the voice and will of the people who put them into office becomes ever more supressed.
Yes, winning elections is important. Yes, shifting the majority away from democratic control would be a good thing. And the best way to accomplish that goal is offering voters a clear contrast, not shifting ideology so much towards the center that it begins to sound “democrat-lite”. When that’s the case and many candidates begin to sound more like democrats, it’s no wonder that many independents voted in favor of democrats.
George American
May 15th, 2009
3:13 pm
Look, Bosch, it’s those nut jobs delivered in full glory to the American haters at Camp Gitmo that have keep this country safe!
Like him or not – Cheney’s policies have been effective and kept America safe!
Mrs. Godzilla
May 15th, 2009
3:15 pm
George A…
Cheney did a hell of a job after missing that first one don’t ya’ think?
Susan Myers
May 15th, 2009
3:15 pm
Cheney Is Hurting The Party, Say Republican Insiders
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/15/cheney-is-hurting-the-
par_n_203872.html
I vehemently disagree. I believe Cheney is doing a marvelous job for the Republican party. He is out there most every day, making the rounds of the news and talk shows. He’s really showing some mettle. I sincerely hope he will continue on the path he has chosen. I believe he will point the Republican party in the way it is meant to go. If the Republicans will only heed his call and do as he says, I am totally convinced the Republican party will prosper and grow.
Brad Steel
May 15th, 2009
3:17 pm
say what? enlightens the world with this nugget:
“..shifting the majority away from democratic control would be a good thing. And the best way to accomplish that goal is offering voters a clear contrast…”
That contrast strategy seems to be working really well.
AmVet
May 15th, 2009
3:21 pm
say what?
I personally love it when someone uses that idiotic technique of capitalizing the word Republican and using a lower case d in Democrat.
It reminds me of those racist tracts from last century where the word white was always used with a capital W and the word black (and repulsive variations therrof) always started with a lower case b, etc…
Really lends a lot of credibility to one’s argument…
George American
May 15th, 2009
3:24 pm
Godzirra,
Come on. Blame for the 1st 9/11 lays squarely on the Clinton administration and Democrat-controlled congress appeasement policies.
Once some sensible policies were put in place by Bush/Cheney that recognized the danger on the Islamic world’s anti-Americanism we’ve been much safer. Ever, notice there’s been no 2nd 9/11?
say what?
May 15th, 2009
3:25 pm
Susan Myers,
Glad to see you’re finally admitting to the good Cheney’s doing!
And btw, that contrast strategy will sound even better soon enough once people begin to understand the damage that obama and company’s new policies will have on the country as a whole.
Midori
May 15th, 2009
3:26 pm
no Bosch. your’e wrong.
Rush looks more like Pizza the Hut.
ty webb
May 15th, 2009
3:27 pm
Another torture blog followed by another republican party in turmoil blog. Anybody got anything else? Is anything new going to be said by either side. Surely there is something out there we can discuss. I know there’s something out there. Some worlwide problem, that if we put our collective heads together(left and right), we could solve. Anyone?
md
May 15th, 2009
3:28 pm
Tom sounds like he needs to marry one of them thar right wingnuts, and between the 2 of them maybe they could produce something a little more sane.
Doggone/GA
May 15th, 2009
3:28 pm
“Ever, notice there’s been no 2nd 9/11?”
Ever notice that 9/11 WAS the *2nd* attack on the World Trade Center and it didn’t happen UNTIL Bushco was in power?
Mrs. Godzilla
May 15th, 2009
3:29 pm
George A
You are dead wrong. 3500 dead wrong.
They blew it and they and there supporters have never had the cojones
to admit it.
Ever notice there was one big 9/11 and it happened because George W. Bush and company were asleep at the wheel.
say what?
May 15th, 2009
3:29 pm
AmVet @ 3:21,
Fine, I’ll give you that one for the sake of argument. I’m sorry you missed the point of the post due to a minor detail.
Mrs. Godzilla
May 15th, 2009
3:30 pm
blast!
their their their
N-GA
May 15th, 2009
3:31 pm
Jay,
Here’s some drivin’ home poetry:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lEwOQmpcGI&feature=related
Susan Myers
May 15th, 2009
3:33 pm
Sarah Palin is another person who I feel could be of great benefit to the Republican party. She has intellect, ability, compassion and understanding for all people everywhere. She is a class act whose time has come. Each time I see her I am more impressed with her abilities. She is well read and well rounded. It is my desire that she get out there more and make herself known to everyone all over our country.
I believe her husband Todd could make a huge difference as well. He has shown great good sense and savvy. I have not heard him speak often, but the times I have I was very impressed. He shows an intellect far beyond his years. I feel that if he were put center stage he could be a shining star in the Republican party, the same as his knowledgeable and forward thinking wife.
Paul
May 15th, 2009
3:36 pm
Hey N-GA
From yesterday or the day before re. Irvine: a couple years ago. Headed to LA next week, San Diego next month. Any particular reason for asking?
Paul
May 15th, 2009
3:38 pm
Susan Myers 3:33
And don’t forget, Palin’s other wonderful quality is she brings out the absolute best in the farfarLeft, holding them to their credo of “attack policies, not people.”
Susan Myers
May 15th, 2009
3:38 pm
say what @ 3:25,
As I said, and may I reiterate, Cheney is doing a splendid job and is to be congratulated. I hope he will continue in his endeavors. I am confident he will succeed.
Susan Myers
May 15th, 2009
3:39 pm
Paul @ 3:38,
O:)
N-GA
May 15th, 2009
3:48 pm
Yo Paul,
You had posted something about California being liberal or some such remark. It kinda surprised me since you rarely (if ever) generalize. But somehow California got a Republican governor (kinda). Also, every time I go into a bar in Irvine (or thereabouts) I can quickly wear out my welcome with one or two remarks at the bar. They have no interest in discussing issues. Most folks I met there have a broad knowledge base…unfortunately it’s only about 1/2 inch thick.
I was amazed at how many folks there rent/lease almost everything…..automobiles, houses, even clothes! Strange…..
sane jane
May 15th, 2009
3:49 pm
George American says 9/11 happened 8 months into GWB43’s administration and yet it was still Clinton’s fault.
Meanwhile, Obama’s been in office for a third of that time and the economy is ALREADY his fault.
Inconsistent much?
(And what about that report, “Bin Laden Determined to Strike US” – wasn’t Condi holding up that report back in, like, May 2001?)
Having said that, George A., your “Godzirra” WAS pretty funny.
sane jane
May 15th, 2009
3:52 pm
Midori, be careful, or else PIZZA will send out for YOU.
ty webb
May 15th, 2009
3:53 pm
I’m pretty sure that 9/11 was Al Qaida’s fault. Just a thought.
Paul
May 15th, 2009
3:53 pm
Y’know, Susan, McCain isn’t the first person to get snookered by a pretty face, to wake up a few days later, look in the mirror and ask “what was I thinking?”
Not to excuse the treatment she received from much of the press and the Left. She wasn’t quite ready for prime time, I think, but they didn’t have to use those tactics to make the point.
sane jane
May 15th, 2009
3:54 pm
N-GA, didn’t I also read recently that California has exactly ONE Democrat judge on their state supreme court? (and that individual is apparently on BHO’s short list, so it could actually get down to ZERO)
That plus the Governator are some pretty decent conservative bona fides for such a “libtard” state, huh?
Midori
May 15th, 2009
3:56 pm
sane jane,
sane jane
May 15th, 2009
3:56 pm
Might be my first time agreeing with Ty, but he’s right. Let’s not forget whose fault 9/11 really was: AQ.
Although one wonders… if 15 of 18 hijackers were Saudis… why didn’t we pay more attention to the Kingdom?
Mrs. Godzilla
May 15th, 2009
3:58 pm
Paul
Which tactics?
sane jane
May 15th, 2009
3:59 pm
Midori, I left the blog for a while – did I win the Low Dow Sweepstakes? I can’t even remember what happened there. I think my guess was 6650, since the Rs were pretty concerned that BHO might have the mark of the beast.
ty webb
May 15th, 2009
4:00 pm
sane jane,
We probably agree on more things than we think we would.
N.J,
May 15th, 2009
4:01 pm
This is the usual Republican modus operandi. screw things up for everyone but the top two percent and then start diversions, changing the topic anything to blame someone else for the damage they are totally responsible for.
Even in this state that is not unusual. It seems that this state was in fiscally good shape under the last governor, at least according to the Libertarian/Ultraconservative Cato Instutute which indicated that the last governor managed to cut property taxes, cut spending by 2 percent, and was called nearly the best governor in the United States by this conservative think tank.
This first Republican governor since the 1870’s has taken a state which was in very good shape according to even the most conservative organizations and created a huge deficit. Something which seems to be the thing that Republicans at any level of goverment have a talent for.
sane jane
May 15th, 2009
4:01 pm
“I am your father’s, brothers, cousin’s, uncle’s former roommate.”
“So what does that make us?”
“Nothing. Which is what you’re about to become.”
Paul
May 15th, 2009
4:03 pm
Hi Midori!
N-GA
Sometimes I do fire for effect… not often, but occasionally. The point I was making was, I believe, Calif used to be a Republican state. We had Democratic governors but the state had its share of progressive Republicans and a heavy Republican influence. My impression is the state has been solidly Democratic for some time – a few areas of Republican influence – and it was pretty amazing when Arnie was elected – progressive credentials or not.
If I recall – Irvine area – Orange County – used to have a Congressman also a member of the John Birch Society!
And when I go back my impression mirrors yours – which makes the Legislative and policy makeup all the more perplexing.
Just talking to a friend last night in N. San Diego county. Before the bubble burst the median house was $600k. She said she didn’t know anyone who could not get a loan. No one.
Vehicles used to be leased like crazy around here, too (I was never a fan of financing depreciation). Guy at the Cadillac dealer told me most of their sales used to be Escalades, most leased. Leasing’s dried up (GM got burned on residuals) and people are shocked that financing payments are 80 percent higher and they don’t qualify. He said they’ve been washing them through the loaner fleet and heavily discounting them to keep’em moving.
sane jane
May 15th, 2009
4:04 pm
Well, Ty, my general disposition is to mock everyone and everything. I enjoy my sacred cows served medium rare. So if you can get down with that, we’ll be pals.
Read one comment of mine one day, and you’ll be convinced I’m a lib. Read another the next day and you’ll think I’m an R. Read me for a month and you’ll realize I hate all politics and politicians.
(Shamelessly stolen from the KC Star’s Big Sexy Jason Whitlock – even as a paraphrase, it’s a great quote. After Kornheiser and Wilbon, Whitlock is my favorite sports columnist)