Republicans United (Far From It)

Let me tell you the story of what once was an up and coming site for moderate to liberal republicans . It was our own place to get together, to talk about issues, and how we can make the GOP more inclusive.  The site was known as “Progressive Republicans.” Sadly, the site has gone underneath one ridiculously idiotic name change, seemingly endless negative pieces about the Republican Party, released a “where we stand” statement that is more ambiguous than Ace and Gary. The last straw for me is their support of some no-named candidate for Congress from Montana and adopting a similar stratey for the Club for Growth.

I will continue to read some of their bloggers (Dennis S.) but I can not to support the site as a whole any more.

Time to Take a Stand…

As the end of 2009 comes to a close, there will be renewed focus for Republicans to build a grassroots fever for the midterm 2010 elections. That fever will start in February at the 2010 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Now this conference is for all the “bright” minds of the conservative movement to get together and generate some support in the grassroots. This is not the place for a policy/issue discussion nor a planning session for the upcoming election year. CPAC is strictly a political rally that is stretched over multiple days. CPAC is put on by one of the premier conservative organizations in the US, the American Conservative Union (ACU)

Because of the importance of 2010 and CPAC, the American Conservative Union should have plenty of sponsors and co-sponsors who want to have their hand at the table. And just take a list of their cosponsors on their website and you will see the traditional of “bright” conservative thinkers such as David Horowitz, Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty, and even Focus on the Family. This list usually is not a friendly place to moderates in the GOP. However, there is a name of the list that should be a source of pride. GOProud, a conservative group that supports same-sex marriage and more, is listed as an official cosponsor.GOProud has their own conservative agenda, applying limited government and some common sense reforms to end hate in this nation.

GOProud’s Conservative Agenda

1 – TAX REFORM - Death tax repeal; domestic partner tax equity, and other changes to the tax code that will provide equity for gays and lesbians; cut in the capital gains and corporate tax rates to jump-start our economy and create jobs; a fairer, flatter and substantially simpler tax code.

2 – HEALTHCARE REFORM – Free market healthcare reform. Legislation that will allow for the purchase of insurance across state lines – expanding access to domestic partner benefits; emphasizing individual ownership of healthcare insurance – such a shift would prevent discriminatory practices by an employer or the government.

3 – SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM - Bringing basic fairness to the Social Security system through the creation of inheritable personal savings accounts.

4 – DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL REPEAL – Repeal of the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy.

5 – HOLDING THE LINE ON SPENDING – Standing up for all tax payers against wasteful and unneccessary spending to protect future generations from the mounting federal debt.

6 – FIGHTING GLOBAL EXTREMISTS – Standing strong against radical regimes who seek to criminalize gays and lesbians.

7 – DEFENDING OUR CONSTITUTION – Opposing any anti-gay federal marriage amendment.

8 – ENCOURAGING COMMUNITY ENTREPRENEURSHIP – Package of free market reforms to encourage and support small businesses and entrepreneurship in the gay community.

9 – REVITALIZING OUR COMMUNITIES – A package of urban related reforms; expanding historic tax preservation credits; support for school choice.

10 – DEFENDING OUR COMMUNITY – Protecting 2nd amendment rights.

The fact that these people have a place at the table at CPAC is a step forward. However, I am proud that CPAC is giving some inclusiveness to their “conference.” The fight will not be easy for GOProud. Already, some CPAC co-sponsors are clamoring for a boycott,  If we want 2010 to be a banner year for the GOP we need inclusiveness and that starts with opening of the grassroots. So instead of just sitting on your hands, let’s do something to support  this openness.

Call or write CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) Chairman David Keene of the American Conservative Union (703-836-8602, ext. 19) and urge him to keep the far right from corrupting CPAC’s conservative message. E-mail: cpac@conservative.org. Urge Keene to keep GOProud as a CPAC co-sponsor and drop the Liberty Counsel because GOProud supports real conservative values that promote limited government and freedom, while the Liberty Counsel wants to limit people’s rights and freedom.

Teapocalypse in Ohio

Its good to see that the Tea Party movement in Ohio is going “strong” . And I still would love to hear an answer to what the hell are the tea parties for?

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