April 08, 2005
Clearing the air

I've got a couple of things I need to say.

Because I have commented about Rathergate, and because I commented on Terri Schiavo (although not the Martinez memo), I feel compelled to post this:

The Republicans were wrong on this issue.

GOP-leaning bloggers need to issue a mea culpa and let it go. Pointing out that lefty bloggers (and media figures) have never let go of the CBS memos (or any of the whole Bush TXANG lie) is irrelevant. I don't wish to lower my standards to their level, and trying to equate the two is pointless. I respect the guys at Power Line, and Michelle Malkin, and several of the others who led on this issue, but we have conclusively identified who wrote the memo. He admitted it, he was canned for it, and he was one of ours. Any talk of this being a setup or a conspiracy makes us look like we need to be fitted for our tin-foil hats.

I agree with Instapundit's assertion that the media are willing to run with poorly-vetted material if it hurts the GOP, but this was not poorly vetted (at least not by ABC; the Washington Post was not nearly as careful). I think the media did learned a lot from Rathergate, and now it is time for the right side of the blogosphere to learn from this incident.

John Cole has written the definitive post on the subject. I'm not nearly as pissed off as he is about everything that has happened, but I'm heading there. I'm getting plenty tired of hearing more social-conservative rhetoric on gays and right-to-life (I'm not talking about abortion), coupled with runaway federal spending and now this scramble to cover up butts that should never have needed to be covered. I would have voted for Martinez had I still been registered in Florida (even with his gay-baiting in the primary), but I would have deeply regretted that vote now. He needs to be reined in quickly, before he becomes an even bigger liability to the party. Tom DeLay needs to be thrown over the side, and someone please slap a muzzle on Rick Santorum.

I was driven out of the Republican Party in 1992 by Pat Buchanan's "holy war". He's gone now, but it sounds to me like his legacy is making a big comeback. I'm more than willing to stop voting for Republicans (again) if they don't start practicing the small-government philosophy in which they allegedly believe. Small government includes an absense of government regulation of private lives, and federal intervention in issues that the constitution guarantees to the states.

Democrats and Libertarians need not celebrate my conversion, as I refuse to vote for either of their parties. The Libertarian Party's position on the GWoT is deeply unserious, and I cannot endorse it. The Democrats have their ideological mirror-images of DeLay and Santorum with idiots such as Jim McDermott (with his ethically-impaired past) and Cynthia McKinney (who is rabidly anti-semitic). If I can't find a party I support, I will not vote.

posted on April 08, 2005 09:07 AM



Comments:

Liberal/Rockerfeller Republicans have again shamed the entire party. It is a black day for conservatives. This big government foolishness will cost the Republicans dearly. Mel is a dolt. 06 could be a rerun of 92 when Reagan Democrats left the Rep Party to try and find a true conservative party. The big government Republicans have given the MSM a weapon to bludegon all Republicans with; and the MSM is doing just that!

posted by Rod Stanton on April 8, 2005 11:12 AM





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