What would you change about your party?

[DunnersGrl44]

Are you sure?

Ugh.... Worst day of my life when he got banned. At least when he was bashing me on RZ, he wasn't talking to me outside of it. He won't stop talking to me now.
LET HIM BACK PLEASE! :runawaycr

[REDREAD]

If Either party could do this, they'd win me over.

1. Balance the freaking federal budget.. Stop ruining my children's future.
2. Stop rewarding coorporations at taxpayer expense. Stop taking coorporate bribes.
3. Do something to help the working poor. Something legitimate, not a BS thing.. like a taxcut on the first 30k earned.

[ochre]

Ugh.... Worst day of my life when he got banned. At least when he was bashing me on RZ, he wasn't talking to me outside of it. He won't stop talking to me now.
LET HIM BACK PLEASE! :runawaycr

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[DunnersGrl44]

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[Johnny Footstool]

The Democratic Party needs to be firmer in it's convictions. And stop trying to move to the middle every election, because then people think you're just pandering.

I think a move to the middle would benefit both parties.

Moderation is the key to compromise, which in turn is the key to the success of this country.

[Redsfaithful]

If Either party could do this, they'd win me over.

1. Balance the freaking federal budget.. Stop ruining my children's future.
2. Stop rewarding coorporations at taxpayer expense. Stop taking coorporate bribes.
3. Do something to help the working poor. Something legitimate, not a BS thing.. like a taxcut on the first 30k earned.

If Republicans did those three things I'd probably vote Republican. I really couldn't care less which party pushes the issues that I feel are important, so long as they get pushed. Right now they really aren't.

[Redsfaithful]

I think a move to the middle would benefit both parties.

Moderation is the key to compromise, which in turn is the key to the success of this country.

I disagree, but I'll leave it at that.

[paintmered]

I think the republican party needs to go back to the days of fiscal responsibility instead of just talking about it. They've got nobody to stop them from spending money - it doesn't mean that they should.

[RBA]

I think the republican party needs to go back to the days of fiscal responsibility instead of just talking about it. They've got nobody to stop them from spending money - it doesn't mean that they should.

When were those days? I don't recall a republican administration balancing a budget.

[Big Donkey]

I wish the Democratic Party would grow some balls and stop taking so much crap from the other party.

Amen.

[Rojo]

There are some interesting things going on in both parties that will start to bear fruit in 2006. The Democrats are embroiled in a war between the Democratic Leadership Conference and an emerging Blogger/Activists wing. Howard Dean's ascendency to the head of the DNC is emblematic of this struggle.

These two groups are further apart on strategy and tone than they are on ideology. The DLC would like to paint the Dean wing as latte-sipping city folk who will continually lose because of their percieved "soft" foreign policy and secularism. However the Blogger/Activists point out that the DLC strategy doesn't move the progressive agenda forward, even if we do get a Clinton every once-in-a-blue-moon. Right now the Bloggers are winning. Democratic pols are taking a look at the kind of money generated by MoveOn and are starting to see the light. And the "latte-sipper" label is plain wrong. The Bloggers have embraced Harry Reid, a pro-life Red-stater, simply because of his fighting stance (Daschle would have offered an "alternative proposal" on Social Security that would've completely sceded the argument).

The GOP coalition is also starting to come apart. The Schiavo case and Tom Delay's troubles aside, there's emerging dissatisfaction with the Bush Administration in California and the Southwest over illegal immigration. The Bushies are trying to emulate the Reagan/Kemp/Big Business position of open borders being good for business. Westerners are taking a Buchanian stance.

There's also a split on the budget. My feeling is that most rank-and-file Republicans vote for their party because they see it as being a sober and responsible alternative to "tax-and-spend" Democrats. They expect the party to balance the budget first, cut taxes second. The Party/Wall Street don't really care about the former. Deficits just mean more bonds for Salomon Bros to sell.

Another splinter group are Libertarians who are upset with the War, deficits, fundamentalism, federal overreach (Shiavo case) and the GOP's shoveling of money to favored economic sectors (agribusiness, pharmaceutical companies, drillers, HMOs, military contractors, airlines, etc..)

Moderation is the key to compromise

I don't think you need moderation to get compromise. In fact, we need a variety of opinions expressed in order to get to a truly worthwhile governing compromise.

For instance, are we well served by having BOTH major parties dedicated to NAFTA/GATT? Are we well served by having BOTH major parties dedicated to unchecked immigration?

[Rojo]

I think the republican party needs to go back to the days of fiscal responsibility instead of just talking about it.

I alluded to this perception in my lengthy tome above, but this has almost never been the case. The only GOP budget-balancer was Ike and he was considered too "liberal" - so liberal in fact that the Republicans went with Goldwater in '64.

[Big Donkey]

If Republicans did those three things I'd probably vote Republican. I really couldn't care less which party pushes the issues that I feel are important, so long as they get pushed. Right now they really aren't.

I couldn't agree more, with Redsfaithful and REDREAD who made the original post. I do think one party is more likely to push these issues than the other, but they haven't really made much of a stand in a few years. Whichever party does it, would be the one I would be impressed with. I just don't think they're being viewed as important in either party as some of us would like.

[Johnny Footstool]

I don't think you need moderation to get compromise. In fact, we need a variety of opinions expressed in order to get to a truly worthwhile governing compromise.

A variety of opinions is necessary, but unless you can find a middle ground, nothing ever gets done.

[Rojo]

A variety of opinions is necessary, but unless you can find a middle ground, nothing ever gets done.

The Republicans have gotten plent "done" without moving to the middle.