GOP is urged to avoid social issues

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

A gay conservative group and some Tea Party leaders are campaigning to keep social issues off the Republican agenda.

In a letter to be released Monday, the group GOProud and leaders from groups like the Tea Party Patriots and the New American Patriots, will urge Republicans in the House and Senate to keep their focus on shrinking the government.

"On behalf of limited-government conservatives everywhere, we write to urge you and your colleagues in Washington to put forward a legislative agenda in the next Congress that reflects the principles of the Tea Party movement," they write to presumptive House Speaker John Boehner and Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell in an advance copy provided to POLITICO. "This election was not a mandate for the Republican Party, nor was it a mandate to act on any social issue."

The letter's signatories range from GOProud's co-founder and Chairman Christopher Barron — a member of a group encouraging ####### Cheney to run for president — to Tea Party leaders with no particular interest in the gay rights movement.

As of Sunday evening, the letter had 17 signatories. They include tea party organizers, conservative activists and media personalities from across the country, including radio host Tammy Bruce, bloggers Bruce Carroll, Dan Blatt and Doug Welch, and various local coordinators for the Tea Party Patriots and other tea party groups.

"When they were out in the Boston Harbor, they weren't arguing about who was gay or who was having an abortion," said Ralph King, a letter signatory who is a Tea Party Patriots national leadership council member, as well as an Ohio co-coordinator.

King said he signed onto the letter because GOProud seemed to be genuine in pushing for fiscal conservatism and limited government.

"Am I going to be the best man at a same sex-marriage wedding? That's not something I necessarily believe in," said King. "I look at myself as pretty socially conservative. But that's not what we push through the Tea Party Patriots."

That indifference is essentially the point of the gay conservative group.

"For almost two years now, the tea party has been laser-focused on the size of government," said Barron, who said his group and the tea partiers are part of the "leave-me-alone coalition."

"No one has been talking about social issues - not even the socially conservative candidates who won tea party support," Barron said.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/45110.html#ixzz15TXfn193

[Danno 1,228]

There are hundreds, no thousands of Tea Parties, that a few link up with gay activist and hand out recommendations is not meaningful in fact if you look at the list of folks who have signed on to their "push" you will find not one national figure.

The truth is, the Teas Parties are made up of many groups who have various agendas which gelled nicely before they won.....soon we will see a less harmonious Right as these struggles for direction take shape.

PJB Posted this today which addresses this very point.

Other than being the highest-profile Republican victims of Tea Party candidates, what do Lisa Murkowski, Mike Castle, Charlie Crist and Arlen Specter have in common?

Other than being tea party insurgents who routed establishment Republicans in high-profile primaries, what do Joe Miller, Marco Rubio, Christine O'Donnell, Pat Toomey, Sharron Angle in Nevada, Ken Buck in Colorado and Mike Lee in Utah have in common?

The answer, writes Tim Carney of The Washington Examiner, is that all the former are pro-choice on abortion, all the latter pro-life.

Tea Party types and pro-life conservatives seem to be twins separated at birth. Carney continues: "Almost without fail the strongest advocates of limited government in Congress are pro-life and vice versa. Think of (Jim) DeMint and (Tom) Coburn in the Senate and Ron Paul and Jeff Flake in the House. They top the scorecards of the National Taxpayers' Union and also have perfect scores from National Right to Life."

Carney's point: While all Tea Party insurgents and Tea Party-backed candidates seemed to agree on the economic issues -- deficits, debt, taxes, Obamacare -- they also seem united on other issues. Looking at the down-ballot battles in 2010, being pro-life is just one of them.

Three Iowa Supreme Court judges who ruled that the state constitution requires recognition of same-sex marriages were denied retention, and Gov. Terry Branstad campaigned for giving Iowans a referendum to decide if they wish to outlaw it.

Tea Party types and Iowa conservatives were not only opposed to the idea of men marrying men, they detest the idea of judicial dictatorship.

-Buchanan

Edited November 16, 2010 by Danno

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

If the GOP doesn't learn the lesson of 2006, and goes back to micromanaging peoples lives, then they are no better than the Democrats. Evidently, Danno missed the message of 2010 completely.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

If the GOP doesn't learn the lesson of 2006, and goes back to micromanaging peoples lives, then they are no better than the Democrats. Evidently, Danno missed the message of 2010 completely.

Such are the fissures of the Republican Party.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Such are the fissures of the Republican Party.

Growing pangs or death rattles. Time will tell.

[Danno 1,228]

If the GOP doesn't learn the lesson of 2006, and goes back to micromanaging peoples lives, then they are no better than the Democrats. Evidently, Danno missed the message of 2010 completely.

Explain that lesson of 2006 a little more please.

I should make note that I am well aware that many especially in the middle are not focused on social issues, but there is a sizable amount of americans who are also concerned about issues other than the budget, this includes immigration, abortion and Judges implementing social changes for which there is no desire.

Winning coalitions are seldom a mono agenda movement, there is absolutely no doubt... Without the social issues... the Right would be dead and the far Left would prevail unchecked.

So, Pick yur poison

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Growing pangs or death rattles. Time will tell.

Rove was a master at bringing together different factions of conservatives together under the GOP.

[mawilson 2,133]

Now that's a party I could get behind - if only they could keep their social conservative ####### to themselves.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Explain that lesson of 2006 a little more please.

I should make note that I am well aware that many especially in the middle are not focused on social issues, but there is a sizable amount of americans who are also concerned about issues other than the budget, this includes immigration, abortion and Judges implementing social changes for which there is no desire.

Winning coalitions are seldom a mono agenda movement, there is absolutely no doubt... Without the social issues... the Right would be dead and the far Left would prevail unchecked.

So, Pick yur poison

Actually, I agree with Danno on the point in red. Rove was the mastermind behind using wedge issues such as gay marriage and abortion to bring more Evangelicals to the GOP. The reality is though that even among Evangelicals, there are divisions over what issues are more important than others. Listen to Mike Huckabee, for example.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Actually, I agree with Danno on the point in red. Rove was the mastermind behind using wedge issues such as gay marriage and abortion to bring more Evangelicals to the GOP. The reality is though that even among Evangelicals, there are divisions over what issues are more important than others. Listen to Mike Huckabee, for example.

You agreeing with Danno proves the point. The Libertarians are sitting quietly in the middle, and those are the folks that decide the elections. Most Americans don't want their children to become gay haters, or or tree huggers.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Explain that lesson of 2006 a little more please.

I should make note that I am well aware that many especially in the middle are not focused on social issues, but there is a sizable amount of americans who are also concerned about issues other than the budget, this includes immigration, abortion and Judges implementing social changes for which there is no desire.

Winning coalitions are seldom a mono agenda movement, there is absolutely no doubt... Without the social issues... the Right would be dead and the far Left would prevail unchecked.

So, Pick yur poison

The lesson of 2006? Changing of the guard. People were getting tired of stem cells, gay marriage, and late term abortion, instead of fixing the budget, and bringing home the troops.

[luckytxn 2,265]

You agreeing with Danno proves the point. The Libertarians are sitting quietly in the middle, and those are the folks that decide the elections. Most Americans don't want their children to become gay haters, or or tree huggers.

Wrong. The Libertarians are on the fringe. It is the independents that decide elections. The way to get them to decide who to vote for is to offer them the most for their vote. Once it was less taxes that they saw as a way to bring in more money from the paycheck. Then it was what they perceived as free health care that was to be paid by the rich. Now they are swinging back to not being taxed and saw that a huge deficit meant they were going to have to start paying as no way even the rich can pay all that money back.

Want to win the election then offer the independents the most personally for their vote. The true Socialist thinking will always vote left and the most conservative will always vote to the right.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Wrong. The Libertarians are on the fringe. It is the independents that decide elections. The way to get them to decide who to vote for is to offer them the most for their vote. Once it was less taxes that they saw as a way to bring in more money from the paycheck. Then it was what they perceived as free health care that was to be paid by the rich. Now they are swinging back to not being taxed and saw that a huge deficit meant they were going to have to start paying as no way even the rich can pay all that money back.

Want to win the election then offer the independents the most personally for their vote. The true Socialist thinking will always vote left and the most conservative will always vote to the right.

That I agree with.

[luckytxn 2,265]

That I agree with.

Oh oh. I think we have entered an alternate universe.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Oh oh. I think we have entered an alternate universe.

Why? That part in red was straightforward and logical....not ideologically bent like most of your posts.