To the editor:
Though the recent Republican Party defeat will once again be debated, those leading this party to extinction will go right on proclaiming the sky is falling over the usual emotional nonissues, while ignoring the real problems facing our nation.
The two-party system in America has a valuable, indeed a vital, role in providing necessary balance in politics, but having embraced localized, authoritarian philosophies without bothering to look any deeper than the pile of money and votes being delivered has warped the Republican message beyond credibility or even respectability, as in Karl Rove’s distasteful collection of huge sums of super PAC money, clearly intended to buy the election in return for gigantic favors.
The Republican spin now claims that demographics did them in, when in fact, it was their lousy message to the American people.
No, I am not a Democrat crowing over another Republican debacle. I am one of those elderly, white, angry, lifelong Republicans, fed up with the radicalized nonsense the leadership of my party continues to preach as though it was gospel.
Comments
kuguardgrl13 6 months, 1 week ago
Hi Unhappy Republican, I'm Raving Liberal. That being said, I'm happy to know that there are still traditional Republicans out there. We need more people like you to work with us to create balance in our government. These Tea Partiers want nothing to do with anyone who is not one of them.
cait48 6 months, 1 week ago
Dear Mr. Unhappy Republican,
I'm hard pressed to see why you are so unhappy, given that, despite the national level losses, you now live in a very unbalanced state with, for all intents and purposes, a one party system of government. You can't be all that unhappy, given the huge cuts to social welfare and the enormous tax breaks and cuts (and the resultant debt) being given to you by your governor. You should be rolling like a hog in wallow, living in Teapublican Paradise. I have no doubt that you not only voted for Mitt Romney, but also voted Republican at the state level.
Although your whine might be sincere, until you wake up and realize that you are just as much a part of the problem as your party, you're just going to sound like all of the other Republican pundits looking for someone to blame for the loss, no matter how nicely you put it.
Now, go massage your state tax return. Maybe it will make you feel better.
jafs 6 months, 1 week ago
That seems a bit over the top.
There are reasonable R, and moderate R, who aren't happy with the shift to the far right.
grammaddy 6 months, 1 week ago
This is what happens when you wage war on women....we win.
LarryNative 6 months, 1 week ago
What war exactly was waged on women? You bought into the moronic spin about some fictitious "war on women". Repubs have held the prez office for 27 years since abortion was legalized. In those 27 years, did any of them try to over turn the abortion law? No. So the abortion thing is myth. What other "wars" were waged on women?
dwendel 6 months, 1 week ago
Larry - Sorry, dude, but if you can't even begin to see why women were outraged over GOP-led assaults on women's rights during the last term, you really are living in an alternate universe. Please keep it up. You are the reason your party lost.
LarryNative 6 months, 1 week ago
I'm Independent. You have not given one example where the Republican party platform waged a war on women. Your sheep mentality allows you to regurgitate your parties rhetoric without facts. Rush Limbaugh is not the voice of the Repub party. He is an offensive windbag who acts like an ass to make millions.
beatrice 6 months, 1 week ago
Let us ignore the number of Republicans who are opposed to abortion rights in most instances. Maybe it was all those Republicans talking about rape, the refusal of the Republican party to support an equal pay for equal work as part of their platform, the refusal when directly asked of the Republican nominee to even say anything against Rush Limbaugh's verbal assault of a grad student, and the fight against something as simple as contraception as part of an individual's personal medical insurance plans that indicated a "war on women."
I can assure you, indicating that women are simple minded to buy into moronic spin, isn't helping your argument.
LarryNative 6 months, 1 week ago
I never stated women were simple minded, just you. You are talking about the remarks of two individuals and acting like the whole Republican party said those idiotic things. I believe that the Obama administration throwing Hillary Clinton under the bus for Syria is the biggest war on a women event I have seen in recent years.
cait48 6 months, 1 week ago
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2012/nov/13/advocate-lilly-ledbetter-discusses-fight-get-equal/#c2183556
LarryNative 6 months, 1 week ago
Sounds like Goodyear is to blame on the Ledbetter case. Clinton was in office when she worked at Goodyear so are demos to blame too? Why would repubs be blamed for the actions of a publicly traded co that has been in business for 100+ years during both parties prez holding office? Another spin.
daddax98 6 months, 1 week ago
Repubs have held the prez office for 27 years since 1973. In those 27 years, did any of them try to REDUCE THE SIZE OF GOVERNMENT? No. So the SMALL GOVERNMENT thing is myth.
LarryNative 6 months, 1 week ago
Ummmm, we are talking about the fictitious "war on women", not govt size. Focus, stay on track. BTW, I agree 100% with your statement and Repubs are also to blame for the deficit more then Obama in my opinion. Change the laws and bring back Bill Clinton. Make sure the new law allowing more terms also includes a "b.j. from interns are o.k." clause.
msezdsit 6 months, 1 week ago
Well, I have posted in the past about the siege of the republican party with Kansas being a model for everything that is wrong with the republican party. I am not surprised that their are republicans that are disappointed with this take over of the political process. However, every time I saw the tea partiers protesting they were protesting the policies that they had voted for and pretended that "somebody did this to me" and I am madd as hell.
A good place to start for the republicans is right here in Kansas. Boot Brownback out to Romneys retirement farm and start putting moderate republicans back in office. The country will see that the petri dish in Kansas was a contaminated disaster and is beginning to turn it back around so the people's best interest are represented and the "special interest groups" are forced back into the minority status that accurately represents them.
cait48 6 months, 1 week ago
Well said. And I still think the LTE writer needs to take some responsibility for what the state has become.
mom_of_three 6 months, 1 week ago
Can't believe how many jumped on this poor republican for admitting the mistakes of his party. Yes, their lousy message did them in. He knows it, and he isn't happy with how things are going either. A lot different than a lot of republicans I am related to, who blame the election on EVERYTHING else, and think that foxnews tells the truth ALL THE TIME.
LarryNative 6 months, 1 week ago
Mom, maybe you can teach Cait how to be sympathetic. I turned form the Republican party in 2000 for the same issues as the letter writer. I want religion and morals out of politics. Let the states play those games and if a person wants to be a married gay person living on welfare with free health care and their spouse has a living wage minimum wage job or any other social benefitting welfare program move to that state. If someone wants to keep all their money and not help the needy and sit on their pile of money, find that state. I want a balance budget and foregin policy form our prez and nothing more.
jhawkinsf 6 months, 1 week ago
I keep looking at my copy of the Constitution and nowhere do I find mention of Republican Party or Democratic Party. I cannot even find any reference to a two party system. We've been taken over, occupied, by these two parties. And while we fight amongst ourselves as to which of the two will best do our bidding, they reinforce their stranglehold on us all. Next time you vote, please remember that there are more letters in the alphabet than just "D" or "R".
kernal 6 months, 1 week ago
Totally agree with mom_of_three.
Lighten up people, we'll be in our 70's and 80's before we know it and the same thing could happen to us if we don't keep up!
The GOP needs to oust the crazy Tea Partiers immediately and quit taking money from the Koch Brothers, et al. Let's not forget many Republican voters expressed their distaste for the crazies by voting out Todd Akin, Michele Bachman and others like them.
oxymoron 6 months, 1 week ago
And I am hoping sane people in Kansas will kick our Koch-head governor to the curb in the next election.
cait48 6 months, 1 week ago
Michele Bachmann won.
Corey Williams 6 months, 1 week ago
But she only won by 4200 votes. Fairly poor results considering she won the Iowa straw poll.
chootspa 6 months, 1 week ago
For all her rhetoric about austerity, she was rather effective in bringing home the pork for her district. You might even say that the people who voted for her wanted more stuff.
yourworstnightmare 6 months, 1 week ago
While Ds and Rs are not mentioned in the constitution, the structure of our constitution makes the two party system virtually inevitable. An emergent property.
It is the winner take all aspect of our elections and political process that virtually guarantees a two party system.
The alternate is proportional representation, such as in a parliamentary system, which allows multiple parties to exist. This is not the structure of our government.
jhawkinsf 6 months, 1 week ago
You are absolutely correct. But must it be these two, for all time? Cannot a Whig Party exist, or a Bull Moose? Cannot the Democrats or Republicans fade into oblivion and be replaced with something new?
What seemed possible at one time, what actually happened, now seems impossible. Hence my comment that we've been taken over, occupied.
beatrice 6 months, 1 week ago
There are two levels of extremism with the Republican party today. One is the anti-government Tea Party radicals, and the other is the social conservativism. Combined, the two make for a scary organization. Will Republicans be able to oust Tea Party radicalism for simple fiscal conservativism, and can they dumped they social nannies for moderate views on social issues? Time will tell. In the meantime, they will continue to win off-year elections but are a long way from winning another national election. It is time for moderates to stand up to the bullies within their own party and time for Republicans to stop believing what the media tells them. Just walk away from Fox News already. It is nothing but lies and propaganda.
Agnostick 6 months, 1 week ago
Mr. Gayman writes, in part:
"The two-party system in America has a valuable, indeed a vital, role in providing necessary balance in politics..."
Political parties exist because we have been complacent in allowing them to exist. They have outlived their usefulness.
George Washington saw this coming, and warned us about it.
http://www2.ljworld.com/weblogs/agnostick/2012/nov/13/george-washingtons-warning-to-us-about-p/
OonlyBonly 6 months, 1 week ago
I'm sorry folks but the "Tea Party" is not a bunch of crazies. Just people like you and me who have come to the realization that the USofA cannot support our debt load. Something should have been done years ago but it wasn't now it's almost, if not, too late. If you can't see and understand the numbers trust us they are bad and getting worse daily.
cait48 6 months, 1 week ago
Hmmm. "Debt load". Was that why Bush II started his first term with a surplus? Seems to me if that were your real reason, you'd be all up in the Dems.
markoo 6 months, 1 week ago
"Just people like you and me who have come to the realization that the USofA cannot support our debt load"
It's just so gosh darn strange how the Tea baggers only came to this realization when a black man started running the Executive office while willfully ignoring the gigantic debt that was piling up at his feet by Republican predecessors before he even stepped into office. Too bad there's so many racists in the Party:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/17/opinion/crashing-the-tea-party.html?_r=1
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/04/25/are-tea-partiers-racist.html
http://colorlines.com/archives/2010/10/the_tea_party_is_racist.html
And people like you and me didn't come to this realization. The Tea Party was started by more than just folks like you and me:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/30/100830fa_fact_mayer?currentPage=all
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/oct/25/tea-party-koch-brothers
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/opinion/29rich.html
And please don't tell me it's a different party than that which supports the GOP:
http://www.gallup.com/poll/141098/tea-party-supporters-overlap-republican-base.aspx
Sell this B.S. to someone else, please.
caughtinthemiddle 6 months, 1 week ago
Wonderful sentiment.
Did you vote for Democrats?
roadwarrior 6 months ago
"We feel that the GOP infringement on personal liberty is more dangerous to the USA than any Democratic infringement on economic liberty."
Thank you. This is what steered my vote as well. I was shocked at my republican friends accepting choice of one over the other. Give me liberty or give me death.
bd 6 months, 1 week ago
I for one am learning to speak Texan!
Tea anyone??
chootspa 6 months, 1 week ago
I hear the best place to learn it is Texas. Please go and find out for us, would you?
headdoctor 6 months, 1 week ago
Nice idea wanting to vote in moderate Republicans. It is going to be very hard to trust anyone new that is claiming to be moderate. Only those few left in office who have a moderate track record can be trusted. Seems to me several of the moderates switched their drink of choice from coffee, or soda pop to tea. Some of those running this time tried to come off as moderate. Looking at what they were promoting and who endorsed or was supporting them made it pretty obvious they were anything but moderate.
bevy 6 months, 1 week ago
The hateful responses to this very well-thought-out letter are symptomatic of the problems our nation is facing. There is no such thing as a civil discourse - only disrespect and finger-pointing. In Kansas - a Republican has the guts to come forward and say he's unhappy with where his party is headed - in the newspaper in the most liberal part of the state. I say, good for him! There are probably many more like him. But if the responses he received, calling him everything but a gentleman are what can be expected, it is unlikely that others will follow his lead. Unless they do, we will get more of the radical, right wing Tea Party craziness. We need others like this man to MAKE THEIR VOICES HEARD! You should be applauding him, not deriding him.
JayCat_67 6 months, 1 week ago
Unfortunately, they've tended lately to alienate their more extreme bases and are finding it harder and harder to even get nominated.
mom_of_three 6 months, 1 week ago
and repubs dont??
JayCat_67 6 months, 1 week ago
Ironic post of the day.
Liberty275 6 months, 1 week ago
Another petition seeks to have anyone that votes in a poll for secession to have their citizenship revoked and tor them to be deported.
Some people are answering silly polls that mean nothing and fellow citizens think they should be denied citizenship (which is unconstitutional on it's face) for expressing themselves as protected by the first amendment.
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/strip-citizenship-everyone-who-signed-petition-secede-and-exile-them/ZbMjcwPf
With which side of that load of garbage do you want to share a philosophy? A bunch of sore losers that lost an election and complain peacefully or a group willing to deprive citizens of their most basic constitutional right for exercising a guaranteed right?
I'm with neither.
2002 6 months, 1 week ago
Interesting points unhappy. I agree with some of your concern, Years ago the Democrats chased me out of their party with economic policies that i felt were unproductive, dishonest environmental stances and a shortsighted social policy. I reregistered as a Republican and was never entirely pleased as a moderate, but more often than not I cast my vote for the Republican in less the Democrat candidate was extra impressive. I have now reached the point where I am ready to make another change as I have grown sick and tired of how the conservative wing or the party has hijacked the party on social issues. I think I'll be an Independent for a while.
Liberty275 6 months, 1 week ago
" it was their lousy message to the American people"
Regarding the presidential campaign, specifically what was lousy about Romney's platform. Remember, you are a republican.
Personally I didn't like him because I think the Mormon faith borders on being a cult and has worked too hard to deprive some citizens of equal rights. OTOH, Obamacare crosses the line because it compels me to buy some product simply because I'm a citizen that can afford it. It was easy call for me, but I'm a libertarian.
Maybe Romney's message wasn't exactly you's, but Obama's couldn't have been close if you are a true republican.
lunacydetector 6 months, 1 week ago
another letter to the editor authored by someone "claiming" to be a republican.....ho hum
Skyler2 6 months, 1 week ago
I
m a woman who was VERY offended by their war on women and was amazed that so many of my Republican friends said the same thing -- WHAT WAR on WOMEN??? These were smart women, or so I thought. How could you miss it? Besides not wanting equal wages for women, not wanting contraception to be covered in insurance plans, not agreeing in pro-choice, I thought the nonchalant talk about rape (as if it may or may not even exist) was the most offensive, shallow and almost inhumane views Ive ever heard. While its true that Romney did not endorse Todd Akins comments about womens bodies being able to keep her from getting pregnant in the case of REAL rapes, he apparently uses the same doctor Mr. Akin got this bogus information from whenever he needs to have medical questions answered. I believe the Mormon religion is a cult, and from what Ive read about it, they feel that women are second-class citizens which would explain why Romney may not have seen a thing wrong with his anti-woman platform. Not sure what Ryans excuse was for being soanti-woman.`JohnBrown 6 months ago
.Based on what I see in the news, it appears the the war on women stems from those having a deep faith-based belief that 1) life is precious, 2) life and personhood. begin at conception, and 3) they are justified in using government to force others to behave this way as well, come hell or high water.
Rationally, if "personhood" means that someone is an 'individual', they should be capable of at least some independent action . It's pretty obvious that while the fetus is in the womb it cannot act independently in any way. Rather, it is totally dependent upon the mother for everything, from warmth, oxygen, and food to water. It's obvious that God put the mother in charge, at least until the baby is born.
A woman carrying a baby is a person, capable of independent action. Government should not infringe on her right to BE that independent person.
JohnBrown
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