[lit-ideas] Re: !!! Patriarch of US conservatives urges followers to halt Rep financial backing
- From: Carol Kirschenbaum <carolkir@xxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 21 May 2006 14:15:37 -0700
There's another top conservative--no, THE top guy--and lil' ol' me, the
mainstream news junkie, never even heard of him? Huh. That's pretty telling.
But am I the measure of Viguerie's vagaries? I'm reminded of the last fellow I
dated--the one who appropriated and then mauled the quote, "No man is an
island..." Being me, I asked if he liked Donne. (Two rounds of "Who's on
first?") When it was established that I was referring to John Donne the poet,
this fellow asserted, in all seriousness, that since his high school textbook
had not "covered" Donne, the poet had not "passed the test of time," and aren't
I quaint, heh heh.
That idiot is the best argument for celibacy I've encountered. Viguerie may be
the best argument against believing mainstream news media.
But-but-but...should we trust the Washington Post now, which is telling us that
he's the big shot of biggies?
It's Sunday. I'd rather do laundry.
Carol
----- Original Message -----
From: JimKandJulieB@xxxxxxx
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Sunday, May 21, 2006 11:22 AM
Subject: [lit-ideas] !!! Patriarch of US conservatives urges followers to
halt Rep financial backing
Click here: In open split with Bush, top US conservative calls for
independent movement - Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/usvotepoliticsconservatives;_ylt=Am8jjTSR20.ButVFPgHfAmYDW7oF;_ylu=X3oDMTBhcmljNmVhBHNlYwNtcm5ld3M-
In open split with Bush, top US conservative calls for independent movement
by Maxim Kniazkov Sun May 21, 6:13 AM ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The patriarch of US conservatives has urged his followers
to halt their financial support of the Republican Party and start an
independent movement, signaling a major political shift that could result in
heavy losses for the US ruling party in upcoming elections.
Richard Viguerie, who was instrumental in cementing the winning coalitions
behind Ronald Reagan in 1980 and George W. Bush in 2000, declared that
conservatives were "downright fed up" with both the president and
Republican-controlled Congress.
"At the very least, conservatives must stop funding the Republican National
Committee and other party groups," Viguerie wrote in a lengthy essay in The
Washington Post Sunday.
He suggested conservatives "redirect their anger into building a third
force," which he defined as a movement independent of any party, and laying the
groundwork for the 2008 election campaign.
Traditional conservatives, who abhor big government and excessive spending,
equate abortion with murder and emphasize individualism over collectivism, have
always formed the so-called "base" of the Republican Party and determined its
viability as a political organizations.
The integrity and loyalty of this core is considered key to the party's
success in any election.
The defeat of George H.W. Bush, the current president's father, in the 1992
election is largely attributed to being abandoned by conservatives.
Viguerie's public outburst and his suggestion that conservatives should sit
out the next election is seen as another ominous sign for the party less than
six months before the November congressional vote.
A Washington Post-ABC News opinion poll released last week found that
Republican disapproval of Bush's presidency had increased from 16 percent to 30
percent in just one month.
Viguerie acknowledged that a conservative boycott in November will likely
spell defeat for the Republicans, but insisted it would be for the long-term
good of the conservative movement.
"If conservatives accept the idea that we must support Republicans no matter
what they do, we give up our bargaining position and any chance at getting
things done," he reasoned. "Sometimes it is better to stand on principle and
suffer a temporary defeat."
Conservatives have privately grumbled about some of Bush's decisions, but his
immigration reform, announced in a nationally televised address last Monday,
appeared to have marked the breaking point.
The plan calls for a series of measures to bolster security at the US-Mexican
border, including deploying up to 6,000 National Guard troops.
But Bush also called on Americans to allow many of the estimated 11.5 million
illegal immigrants to eventually become citizens, a move that most
conservatives see as tantamount to a presidential pardon for lawbreakers.
Viguerie insisted that Bush only "talked like a conservative to win our votes
but never governed like a conservative."
He lamented that the conservative movement has been rewarded by the president
for its support with "an amnesty plan for illegal immigrants."
"We've been rewarded with a war in Iraq that drags on because of the
failure to provide adequate resources at the beginning, and with exactly the
sort of 'nation-building' that candidate Bush said he opposed," the
conservative patriarch went on to say.
He also called congressional Republicans "unprincipled power brokers", whose
agenda "comes from big business".
Often referred to as "the conservative voice of America", Viguerie gained
prominence in the 1960s and 1970s when he pioneered political and ideological
direct mail, an innovation that helped conservatives organize and gain their
voice.
He is the author of numerous books and credited with forming dozens of
political organizations.
Other related posts:
