It's not wasted time, it's a good point to set the table on where the GOP goes. Do they follow the advise of the Democrats?
The Associated Press: Democrats: GOP should be more like their party
Yeah, or do they go back to what garnered them success in the 80's and 90's?
The lefties and so called moderates around here will tell you the GOP needs to go socially left. When your ideological opposites tell you what to do, you don't.
Its foolish not to do something on no other basis than just what the enemies says.
If the enemy in Iraq had said "Keep bombing us" should we have stopped?
Its not about "going more to the social left", its about not making social issues the top and primary point of the platform with fiscal and governmental issues a far off idea that's given lip service at best.
Its not "bring the social pillar to the left" IE "make republicans pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, and pro-open boarders". Its making it so that its not "pro-life, anti-gay marriage, strong immigration................................................oh and small government and fiscal responsability as well unless its for security or enforcing our moral code".
Uphold conservative values, stand against a federal mandate of gay marriage but also don't tell the states they can't do it.
Uphold conservative values, stand against bills on a national level that seek to do late term abortions or give funding for such things but don't try to legistate a state issue away at the federal.
Some of those YOU claim as Moderates, such as you routinely try to claim with me, are not saying "Go to the left" in regards to the Social side of Conservative. We're saying tone it down while pumping up the rest.
1998 and again after 2001 is when the party started focusing more and more on Social issues and Security issues (in the latter case) while starting to give only lip service to the notion of fiscal responsability and government size. Not surprisingly, that was when it started declining after sweeping in in the early 90's, Reagan winning landslides, and in general conservative views winning out majorities in presidential elections (With the 3rd party candidate in 1992 being more conservative than liberal).
Those in control of the party has turned it into an unbalanced facade of what the party once was, giving lip service to fiscal responsability and lack of government involvement while touting Social issues as some kind of King on the Mountain, so important that it can impeed on other portions of conservative philosophy to reach its goals.
Its not about taking the social side of conservatism to the left, its about bringing it into balance with the rest of the platform instead of making it King and every other issue the subjects.