Is The Republican Party Worth Saving?

By Douglas V. Gibbs

After a lengthy discussion about "Climategate," the issue of globalism, and the current political establishment, came up on my radio show. During the discussion a troll decided to come out from under his bridge and try to hijack the Political Pistachio Radio Revolution. The troll of the same kind called back in later in the show and disguised his voice as another (I believe). He was worse than your typical liberal leftist troll because he was conservative, or so he claimed, that had bought into the same Bush Derangement Syndrome the left had fallen spell under. Most likely a Ron Paul supporter, this Los Angeles brain-twist had decided the Republican Party had become no different than the Democrats, and therefore did not deserve the support of conservatives at all.

He asked, "Are you a member of the Republican Party?"

I indicated, "I am registered with the Republican Party, but I am a Christian Conservative first."

He then asked, "Why are you a member of the Republican Party?"

"I originally registered to vote for Ronald Reagan. The Republican Party, more often than the Democrat Party, follows my line of thinking. That doesn't mean they always do, and I am aware that the Republican leadership right now has been infiltrated by progressives. So, right now a lot of conservatives don't want to call themselves Republican because the Republican Party has shown itself to be just another part of the political cesspool that is Washington DC. I'm a believer, and this is me personally, and I am not going to get into a big debate about it, I believe that the way the system is set up the money is in the parties, so a third-party candidate cannot win on a national level. That does not mean that independents cannot win, or shouldn't win, at a smaller level, such as what happened in New York 23 where a Conservative Party candidate, Doug Hoffman, actually made a darn good run for representative. And I was excited about it, and I was definitely in Doug Hoffman's corner and not the Republicans, because the Republican was, despite the 'R' after her name, Scozzafava was in every sense of the word a liberal. When it comes to liberalism, or the belief in big government, I just can't vote for that, I can't be a part of that because along with being a conservative, and a Christian, I also consider myself a Constitutional Originalist. In fact, the show I co-host prior to Political Pistachio on Saturday nights, Founding Truth, is all about the U.S. Constitution. Next question?"

The caller responded, "I don't want to misquote you, but you say the Republican Party is closer to what you believe than the Democrats. . ."

I interceded, "More often than not, yes. The principles that founded the party's, well, I shouldn't say 'founded,' but the principles that guided the party when I came to voting age was Reagan Conservatism, and I was fully on board with that at the time. As I have grown older I have watched the party head left. I'm not going to abandon the party, I believe it is salvageable. I believe it can be saved. A lot of conservatives disagree with me on this. A lot of conservatives would rather let the Republican Party go the way of the Whigs and create a new party; but all of the money that is necessary to get a candidate in place is in the parties. That's where the ability to raise the money is, unfortunately, and a third party candidate on a national level just cannot compete. It is as simple as that."

"Yeah, I know," said the caller. "What I was getting to is they have had power for what, six years? I don't think they were that conservative, they were much the same as the Democratic Party in my opinion. What I don't get is how many years have to go by before Americans become independent and stop supporting either party."

"But you are not going to get enough people to do that," I said.

Bob Rinear, the guest, after I asked his opinion, stated: "My feelings are normally obnoxious to people because I view both parties as being from the same mold. I equate it to football. You've got an NFL, and inside the NFL you have an AFC and an NFC. These guys might have different passing, and these guys might have different defenses. But guess what? They both march to the NFL. The NFL is the boss of both of those parties, so to speak. Look at the Republican Party and the Democratic Party, they're the same exact thing. They are both government working for the elitists. Now sure, you get the occasional guy that's a little bit better than the next guy, a little bit closer to what the Constitution might have said once, but, uh, for the most part, no. And frankly, the man just asked how long do we have to go before we are independent, et cetera, et cetera. The only way, and Doug mentioned it a few minutes ago when he was talking about the New York election, the only way to get rid of the standard, old boy, network, starts at the local level. You start with people at a local - even really local, I am not even talking about your governor, or county - and you guys know if you pay attention to what goes on in your own county, or your hometown, and you say, 'You know what, this guy over here would be really good working for my county.' And then if he does really good, it's a guy you might want to send to the state, and replace the idiot that might be there. And once he gets to that state, he might make a good representative, someday. That's how it has to happen, at the grass roots level, absolutely."

I then said, "Like I was saying earlier, when it comes to the national level you're just not going to get an independent in there. I mean, there's been a couple attempts, but it winds up putting a split in the vote. Whether we like it or not, the reality is that we have the two major parties. But, like I said, I don't vote party-line. I vote for the guy, and it seems almost every time it turns out the guy, or the gal, turns out to be a Republican. There's been a couple times I have voted independent, in certain elections - local elections, and so forth. And I am a firm believer that with the dissatisfaction with the GOP, and the anger against the Democratic Party, that in 2010 we are going to see more independents, or at least non-major-party candidates, win. I think we are going to see more wins for those other parties than ever before. I think that's a strong possibility, unless the Republican Party gets their heads out of their butts and turns back towards the Reagan-conservative level. The problem is the Republican leadership, and many of the people in the Republican Party, are as Bob just said: a part of the cesspool. They have the cesspool of Washington, and the cesspool of government, running through their veins. They are more concerned about re-election, or getting their agendas across, or gaining more power through bigger government, than they are about what's best for this nation, or adhering to the U.S. Constitution."

Caller: "So do you plan on becoming an independent then? Are you planning on not being registered as a Republican, and being an independent?"

I replied, "I am going to keep my registration as a Republican because of the parties that is the one that I still most closely identify with, and I still believe there is still hope to salvage the party. I am not going to abandon the party. I don't believe the party needs to be abandoned. I believe it needs to be returned to where it should be. . . the Republican Party is still my team. I am not going to abandon them for doing something stupid. The moment they do something stupid I don't just walk away [and throw my hands up]. I will stick to it, and keep pushing, and keep writing letters, and keep voting for who I think are the right candidates, and I keep speaking out. Eventually, if they keep heading in the direction they are headed I am going to have to give up, [but I believe it can be turned around and it won't come to that].

Caller: "How long are you going to give them?"

"I don't know," I honestly responded. "There is still hope there. I still see the Tom McClintocks, and the Michelle Bachmans, and the. . ."

Caller: "Using a team analogy, do you know why the L.A. Clippers suck every year? They keep sucking because people keep supporting them. . . I understand what you are saying, you don't abandon your team after one mistake, or two mistakes, or one year, or two years, but you keep going back and forth, 'vote Republican,' and they let you down. 'Vote Democrat,' and they let you down. 'Vote Republican,' and 'vote Democrat,' 'Republican.'"

I asked, "So how do you convince everyone to abandon. . . "

Caller: "I'll tell you. Number one, you tell them that all you people who complain about parties in general, how do you expect them to stay on their toes when people keep supporting them?"

I inserted, "You know, I've heard this argument over and over and over and over and over again, but here's the problem: You're not up against just parties. It's more than that. There is an establishment that is much larger than that. And we don't have the money outside those parties. We don't have the strength outside those parties to put up any candidates that are going to challenge the parties right now. That's the reason we have to start at the grass roots level. It is not something you just suddenly create. It is something that grows from the bottom. The Whig Party didn't just vanish over night. It took time. It took time for the Republican Party . . . "

Caller: "I understand all that, but think of it like this: if you take both parties, think of them as, uh, how about this, both parties spend money. Both of them build up government. Both of them didn't shut down the borders. And I can go on and on and on and on. But in the end you are saying, 'Yeah, they are both bad, but I have more faith in the Republican Party . . ."

I said, "I've got a question for you, then. If they are exactly the same, if they are basically the same thing, and there's no difference, then why hasn't the health care bill passed? Why didn't the Republicans just vote for it if there is no difference between the two parties?"

Caller: "Because there are people like you that won't abandon the party."

"That's not my question," I said. "You didn't. . . if they are no different from the Democratic Party, then why didn't they just vote for the health care bill?"

Caller: "Because not everyone believes they are what I am saying. They still believe there is a difference, like you."

"There is a difference," I said with a heightened voice. "Otherwise, they would have just voted for the health care bill as well. And they wouldn't have fought against Cap and Trade."

Caller: "So there's a difference. . ."

Me: "There's obviously a difference! There's obviously a difference! Obviously the Republican Party is right of center. There are problems in the party. There are. . ."

Caller: "The Republican Party is right of center?"

Me: "Absolutely."

Caller: "Would you like me to go down the list of all the non-conservative . . . "

Me: "You know what? Hang on a second, Mr. L.A., go ahead, Bob."

Bob Rinear: "I am listening to this, and I am enjoying it. It's classic. I just said a minute ago that there's no difference between the parties. Let me clarify that a little bit. . . What they need to do, beyond anything else, is stay a politician. Now, the Republicans have a history of being to the right, not going along with most of the socialist programs, this, that, and the other. Right now that is the proper thing to say to stay elected. That works, okay? So, he stands up and says no to Cap and Trade, says no to health care, with a whole lot of Republican rah-rahs saying 'yeah, baby,' 'yeah, baby.' The same Republican may be all for marching through Afghanistan for the next forty years doing nothing but spendin' money and killin' people. He might have his own pet agenda that still ends up being in the hands of the bankers, and the military industrial complex, et cetera, et cetera. Okay? So what they present to people as their platform to get elected - right now the hot bet is to say no to all this crap. No more spending, no more bail outs, no more cap and trade, no more health care - the guy that stands up and says all that is a prime candidate, and he's probably going to be a Republican, and people are going to say, 'That's my man!'. Now, what's he doing behind closed doors? Is he voting for, let's say, Afghanistan? More senseless wars across this globe? No other reason to enrich the Pentagon People? Probably. Is he all about whatever little pet projects he's got for his little hometown? Probably. Okay? So they still march to the same money backers. It's just right now when you are looking at issues, who do you want to have in power to head off the most egregious of them, and yeah, you gotta look at the Republican guys standing up against the really big hit agendas. That's how this has to work. Like you just said, if they were all tied at the hip on every agenda, health care would have passed unanimous, by all 545 of them, and it'd be done - bing, bang the gavel, and it's all over. But no, there is still enough phone calls from people saying if you vote for that you're out a job next year. Plenty won't vote for that one. He's gonna go along and look like the Grand Ol' Party, and say 'Yes, I'm standing on principle.' But you can bet, and I'll bet you any amount dollar-wise we'd like to wager, that he's got something else you are awfully against, that he's all for someplace else. And now with the political parties that's how it works. That's how the game works. So, are they built from the same mold? I will still stand on it, my friends, that for the most part, there's still an agenda, and it's money, and it's control. It just might happen to vary where those particular monies and controls are."

"And right after the break I'm going to ask Bob his opinion of Sarah Palin, because I believe she is the antithesis of what you just described, Bob. That's why she is so popular. . ."

Later in the program I give more of my opinion on Sarah Palin, Bob Rinear hands me his opinion, and another troll, possibly the same person, calls in, and then the discussion gets really heated.

We also address the Ron Paul factor, and one of my other listeners calls in to put into perspective why the Republican Party is worth saving, and how much it is unlike the party of the Democrats.

Catch the entire episode on archive at BlogTalkRadio.com/PoliticalPistachio.

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