The Hijacking of the Republican Party

[Anmar]

I think a lot of people on the right forgot what being a republican is really all about.

[redcliffsw]

It seems to me that the Republican Party is much like its base in the
1860's.  For a beginning study, read the "The Real Lincoln" or there's
other sources too.

The Reagan era is what Ron Paul remembers as conservative, but that's
not a good example of Republicanism because Reagan was not a real Republican. 

Otherwise, there's no conservatism to recall in the Republican party.

[Teresa]

Let's face it... conservatism is in crisis. The liberal media is gleefully pronouncing it dead, and President Obama and his Far-Left henchmen are doing all they can to make sure it is marginalized and silenced.I actually think a sweeping new conservative approach toward key issues including immigration, education, health care, the welfare state, the free market, and environmentalism... will get us back on the right road.  Above all, we need a return to the true principles of Federalism and the Constitution as the Framers intended it to be~~- a true conservative manifesto!
So distant is America today from its founding principles... that it is even hard to describe precisely the nature of our government as it stands. It's not quite a representative republic, not quite a constitutional republic, and not quite a federal republic. But conservatism is not just a political perspective, but a way of understanding life, society, and governance.
We need to get back to the true nature of progress (as opposed to the counterfeit "change" that Obama and the other hucksters in his Administration are selling to the American people). We need someone in there who.. ( unlike Obama) Will battle and take out the ever-expanding welfare rolls, environmentalist totalitarians, open-borders fanatics, and short-sighted peaceniks who would leave America weaponless and defenseless.
Let me once again remind you..... that freedom isn't guaranteed, but must be fought for and defended stoutly. We conservatives need to get busy.

[Anmar]

Teresa, i would argue that conservatives shot themselves in the foot by supporting Bush.  There will be an entire generation of Americans that will forever link conservatives with the Neo-Cons and big corporations that drove this coutnry into the ground over the last 8 years and trampled on the constitution.  You constantly complain about Obama, and claim to be a defender of the constitution.  But i don't see you speaking out against the IRaq war, which is unconstitutional, as is the war in Afghanistan, and now Obama's new war in Pakistan. 

[Varmit]

Anmar, what is unconstitutional about going after the terrorists that threaten our country? We have not declared war on any certain country, only a group of people, not a nation.  Also, the only way that "an entire generation will forever link conseratives with the Neo-cons and big corporations that drove this country into the ground over teh last 8 years and trampled on the constitution" is if that generation refuses to educate themselves about what it means to be conserative. 

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[Anmar]

Anmar, what is unconstitutional about going after the terrorists that threaten our country? We have not declared war on any certain country, only a group of people, not a nation.  Also, the only way that "an entire generation will forever link conseratives with the Neo-cons and big corporations that drove this country into the ground over teh last 8 years and trampled on the constitution" is if that generation refuses to educate themselves about what it means to be conserative. 

First of all, we invaded 2 countries and attacked a third, all without a formal declaration of War.  We deposed 2 governments, neither of which attacked us, and both were actually supported by the US.  Also without a declaration of War.  The taliban even offered to help the US by capturing Bin Laden for them, and we invaded their country anyway, without a declaration of War.

Regarding government spying, you don't have to talk about illegal activities to draw the attention of the government.  I apologize if it appeared that I implied there was something illegal going on.  That isn't how i meant it.  If you look back to the Bush years, they used the patriot act to spy on Anti-war groups, book clubs, anarchists, smaller political parties, and a host of other organizations and individuals there weren't doing anything illegal.  All they did was excercise their first ammendment right to speak out against the government, which is what so many people on THIS forum like to do.  What i'm saying is, the government now has the power to spy on you, without a warrant, for no damned good reason at all.  It's unconstitutional, and you've got the republicans to thank for that. 

[Warph]

Teresa, i would argue that conservatives shot themselves in the foot by supporting Bush.  There will be an entire generation of Americans that will forever link conservatives with the Neo-Cons and big corporations that drove this coutnry into the ground over the last 8 years and trampled on the constitution.  You constantly complain about Obama, and claim to be a defender of the constitution.  But i don't see you speaking out against the IRaq war, which is unconstitutional, as is the war in Afghanistan, and now Obama's new war in Pakistan. 

Come on.... what a bunch of dribble.  "There will be an entire generation of Americans that will forever link conservatives with the Neo-Cons and big corporations that drove this coutnry into the ground over the last 8 years and trampled on the constitution."  They said that about Nixon and his war.... and Reagan and his contacts with big business.  The truth is:  Voters don't give a crap about stuff like that in the long run.  It comes down to a) which person ran the best campaign and this time, Obama's camp came in first and b) after 8 years it was the repubs time to go.  The deRats might not make it that long this time but, if they do, it will be their time to go and enter in the repubs.  It's like watching a tennis match in slow motion.

And Teresa... don't worry about big brother spying on you... they are too busy spying on each other and besides, two-thirds of the internet would be prime suspects.

[Varmit]

Again we didn't declare war on a nation or country, we went after the ones that attacked us, and the groups that support them. 

There are 5 wars in which the United States formally declared war against a foreign nation, namely, the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II.

Using this strict definition of a declaration of war, the United States has not formally declared war with Iraq. However, the Iraq Resolution or the Iraq War Resolution (formally the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 [1], Pub.L. 107-243, 116 Stat. 1498, enacted October 16, 2002, H.J.Res. 114) is a joint resolution (i.e., a law) passed by the United States Congress in October 2002 as Public Law No: 107-243, authorizing the Iraq War- wikiAnswers

So, although they did not "declare" war, they did authorize it.

[W. Gray]

There was also no declaration of war when the U.S. invaded Korea in the 1870s.