ummm...could it be that they might just be men of Principle who believe they better Represent the Ideology of the mainstream within their Party and want to work to make things better within said Organization?

but then the Extremists couldn't belittle them and have something to whine about, i guess

or even have their political Agents spend a few million dollars in phone calls to South Carolina homes stating that a Senator that served in active duty and spent a few years as POW in a tiger cage with a broken arm "unpatriotic"

where would the Fun be in that?

Excelsior!

I find the phenomenon of labeling RINOs to be downright creepy. It smacks of a witchhunt.

That said, rooting out only the purest of the GOP/neocon/Bushist/religious right brotherhood will only serve to hurt the party in the end.

The whole RINO term makes me cringe. As far as I can tell McCain and Shays are as close to the core Republican values as most of the Neocons - maybe closer. IMO people like Delay are RINOs, because they put their religions beliefs - never a core Republican value - ahead of the primary Republican issues of individual responsibility, fiscal conservatism and free trade. These Neocons came from outside the GOP and are trying to make their bizarre statist theocratic philosophy the mainstream of the party, which it is not and has never been. The more people like McCain and Shays who speak out, the more people are reminded that the Delays and Frists are NOT the real Republicans.

Dave

"The more people like McCain and Shays who speak out, the more people are reminded that the Delays and Frists are NOT the real Republicans."

That's definitely something Republicans need if they want to stay in power beyond '06.

"Why switch? They get so much more attention being a "maverick." If they, or any other RINO, switched parties, the MSM would drop them like a hot potato. They would cease to be special. Don't believe me, ask Jim Jeffords (if you can find him, that is)."

I agree.

And Jeffords is retiring, you know... :-)

seems to me that there needs to be some kind of fight within the GOP as to the direction they want to go

and that's not a bad thing

as i've said before, i like more Parties, if the GOP split in two and the Dem's did too, we would all be better off as a Nation

hey, i can Dream...can't i?

Excelsior!

There will only be a serious intraparty fight in the GOP when they get knocked on their bottoms at the polls (See: The Dems '00, '02, and '04).

However, the '08 primaries on both sides are going to be fascinating... but possibly much more on the GOP side. It's possible H Clinton will wrap things up early-ish (no sure bet, however) leaving the GOP to a slugfest where a "moderate" and right-winger will end up going for blow-for-blow with the soul of the party as its prize.

Interestingly, a right-wing victory (Frist, Owens, etc.) is quite possible on the GOP side due to its core of primary-voters... where its pretty obvious that McCain would beat almost anyone in the U.S. today in a general election.

Bog forbid that Hilary is stupid enough to run in '08

most important will be the '06 elections

more than most folks realize will be hinging on it..

if the demlicans do not get control of either the House or Senate..then we, as a Nation are in some serious trouble

i find both Parties offensive, and fucked up..but a single Party rule is totalitarianism, by definition...and that's what we have at the moment..

all i Wish for is that one of the Branches of government is ALWAYS in the hands of the Opposition Party

think about it

Excelsior!

"single Party rule is totalitarianism, by definition..."

You need to look up "totalitarianism" in the dictionary, GM...

ok RJ..

here's the definition from dictionary.com

*1: a form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition*

stack the Supreme Court, and there goes the "constitution" part as well as "laws"

in a single Party Rule there is no "opposition"

so while i will freely admit to being a bit melodramatic in my prose...and wil say we are nto quite there yet

it is easy to see how close we are to being there, and that it is the avowed goal of Karl Rove to "leave behind a permanent Republican Majority"

scared yet?

Excelsior!

Scary, Gonzo. The only thing worse than permanent single party rule by the Republicans would be permanent single party rule by the Democrats.

Dave

well Mr Nalle..i refuse to attempt to judge which would be worse..

the thought of either scares the snot out of me

but i do know that we are perilously close to the GOP pulling off this putsch any day now

tuesday is an acid test, with the "nuclear" option set to go off in the Senate

may Bog grant the Moderates a touch of Sanity and Backbone to stand up to the fascist bastards who seek to achieve total Power for their Fundamentalist Agenda...

you see, when it comes to the Federal government, i prefer gridlock...

one can only Hope...

Excelsior!

Yep, Gridlock is good. Except that gridlock is what got the courts to setting policy because the legislative branch wasn't doing it. So there are some problems with gridlock.

Dave

"some problems with gridlock"

hurm..i dunno, i have always been of the Opinion that if there is not enough support for something to break a gridlock to to the votes of Moderates from both sides agreeing it is a good Idea, then it just shouldn't be done

silly of me, i guess...

and i still fail to see much in the way of evidence that the Courts are "setting policy"...if they are doing anything other than niterpeting and enforcing the Law than that particular Individual should be Investigated and Impeached as required and allowed by Law

far more Risk of "activist" behaviour from a Fundamentalist who beleives they are fufilling the Will of God no matter what the Law says than of a secular humanist going too far astray of codified precedence

but Extremeists should be weeded out ..no matter what "side" they are on, and the swing votes of sensible Moderates can accomplish that easily enough

that is the core of my concern over the present Crisis...the sensible Moderates in the GOP are being strongarmed into silence and compliance by the powerful minority within the GOP due to the simple fact of the crazies being the Leadership and abusing their positions to further their Agenda with obscene pressure on the rank and file

example...the restructuring of the Ethics committee after hauling the Majority Leader up 3 times last year for Violations...

anyone that has paid attention has seen countless examples...hopefully that will change this week in the Senate...

if not..dark times ahead...

Excelsior!