Years in the WildernessThat, in my opinion, is what faces the Republican Party unless Barack Obama does indeed turn out to be another Jimmy Carter. John Hawkins revisits 2008 and comes up with a laundry list of suggestions, most of which are pretty sensible. But I had to
wince at this:
Additionally, Bush and his Republican allies in Congress systematically alienated their conservative supporters by almost totally ignoring their concerns on issues like spending and immigration, even to the point of gratuitously insulting conservatives who disagreed with them. The Party then topped this all off by choosing the single least popular man in the entire Republican Party with conservative activists, John McCain, as the party’s presidential nominee. This resulted in the GOP’s base becoming incredibly dispirited, which deprived the party of money, volunteers, and much needed defenders — particularly in 2008, a year when the mainstream media went ga-ga for Obama.
Well, gee, I can't think of anything I want more in my political party than the folks who get incredibly dispirited when the party nominates a candidate they don't like. Read him (and his supporters) out of the party! That's the way to victory!
Uh, no, it's not. There's an old joke about the easiest way to make a small fortune is to start with a large fortune and lose part of it. The easiest way to make a small political party is to start with a large political party and start kicking people out of it. If you want to know why I haven't been blogging much lately, it's because I spent the better half of 2007 and 2008 pulling arrows out of my back from my nominal allies. I no longer feel like the Republican Party (or the conservative blogosphere) has much room for me; and I backed the winner.
