What Happened To All Those GOP Ideas?

[Elmore Furth]

The GOP have become the party of 'no'. Their most prominent "idea" is to exploit public discontent over the economy -- tea parties, shouting matches at town meetings, insult matches.When the Republicans do have an alternative, they prefer not to discuss in any detail. They seem to be long on philosophy and short on facts.

Better luck when you reinvent yourselves. The revolution failed.

Does the Republican Party have any ideas? The query may have a familiar ring. Five years ago, the question of substance was demanded incessantly of the Democrats. Indeed, in one of those intellectual fads that periodically sweep through Washington, the political class became obsessed with the notion that conservatives had unambiguously won what everybody was calling "the war of ideas."

The notion was everywhere. The right gloated. ("Conservative thought," boasted right-wing foundation maven James Piereson, "has seized the initiative in the world of ideas.") Republicans scolded the opposition. (President Bush chastised Democrats in Congress: "f they have no ideas or policies except obstruction, they should step aside and let others lead.")

And Democrats internalized the accusation. ("It makes me realize," observed labor leader Andrew Stern in 2005, "how vibrant the Republicans are in creating twenty-first-century ideas, and how sad it is that we're defending sixty-year-old ideas.")

We don't need the benefit of hindsight to grasp how silly it was to claim that the Bush-era Republican Party had risen to power on the crest of policy ideas whose time had come, or that the Democratic Party lacked an agenda of its own. The taunts about Democrats' lacking ideas was less a serious analysis than an attempt to bully the party into cooperating with Bush's plan to gradually privatize Social Security. (Click here to read about the history of conservatives opposing insane progressive ideas, such as women's suffrage and child labor laws.)

What Happened To All Those GOP Ideas?

[MiniMe]

1. GOP ideas?

[BP2]

2. Epic fail on

Repug ideas on HCR.

But I'm not worried about the Pukes.

I am worried about Stupak's little tyrants in the House,
and the 4 moderate Democrats in the Senate if they can't see
the big picture here.

They don't exactly inspire confidence in the Conference process
next month in the House and the Senate.

[Enthusiast]

3. The GOP has ideas all right.

The ideas are: "You better believe in MY religion or suffer the consequences for all eternity."

"Stand aside while I express my greed and the greed of my greedy friends."

"You want food, clothing and shelter? You better get to work like my grandfather did when he earned my family's wealth because you aren't getting mine."

"No jobs? Tough shit. I already have my wealth."

"You want health care? Pay the insurance industry hugely inflated prices because my greedy friends must get their cut."

"We want a war, a big one, so my greedy friends can make some big money. Open your wallets and die for the effort."

[HillbillyBob]

4. You said what I was thinking..only my words were unprintable

I graduated in 1980 from high school. We are already feeling the pinch in WV, there were few jobs. .
No money for an education I went into the Navy to learn Air Traffic control. Got outed which disqualified me for the FAA, not legally mind you since I had an Admin under honorable discharge but since runnyraygun was such a phobe and had killed the union...worked shit jobs the rest of my working life. Every time I would get a little ahead with the thought of going back to school something would happen. When I was discharged in early 82 there were still no jobs....

I won't go into the whole thing, but the kkkreestian and the rpuke right have made my life hell for too long.
I hate kreestians and repigs with a passion, I wish I could be more Christian about it but I have been screwed at every turn.
The next one that tries to tell me the bootstrap bullshit will likely get lead poisoning ..then again my mace is handier.
My boots straps have been pulled on so much they are broken and so am I and now too disabled to go back to work crawling under houses doing electrical repairs.

I did everything from residential and to heavy industrial electrical construction and controls, w/o union protection it still only paid a few $ over minimum wage. I also did all the crap jobs in restaurants when there was no construction (or I had been found out as a fag and could not get a job).

They have lived for screwing everyone out of everything. Hope they all get raptured and get them the hell out of the way of progress. G'd knows all they ever had were ideas to enrich themselves by stealing from us.

[Enthusiast]

5. I would not worry about

being "Christian". Because many of the so-called Christians are not really Christians any longer. As if you didn't know. They have embraced the fascist ideology with real gusto.

I'm sure with you on the rapture part. Now that is a plan!

Merry Christmas.

[DisgustedInMN]

6. Frankly...

... considering what "our" (I use the term VERY loosely) Party has done when handed a huge majority in BOTH Houses and the Presidency...

I wouldn't be crowing about where we're at. JMNSHO

[Hydra]

7. I have a better question

Why was it ok that Obama(Smart man that we know him to be) claimed that they had "Good" ideas.

They have plenty of ideas, but they all have to do with taking advantage of the people around them.

[bvar22]

10. Republican Ideas:

*Mandate without a Public Option

*Local Co-Ops and Non-Profits

*Allowing Health Insurance Corporations to operate across state lines


Lots of Republican Ideas in the "Democratic" Health "Care" (LOL) Plan.

In fact, it is legitimate to say that the Democrats have passed a Republican plan (Romney Care) without the Republicans taking any risk at all.

There WILL be a BIG price to pay for this in 2010 abd 2012.

ONLY 33% of ALL Americans support Mandates without a Public Option.
Care to guess which Political Party that 33% belong to?

[Tutankhamun]

8. GOP ideas = oxymoron

(Except your typical Republican doesn't know what that is.)

[Doctor_J]

9. They have ideas. Better say Happy Holidays this year - it will be illegal a year

from now. Their idea is a state religion, with prison for heathens and Others.

[wackywaggin]

11. To be fair some ideas were presented .

One of the GOP ideas on health care that I happened to agree with was the idea of Tort(legal)reform in the health care industry. I don't know why but our democratics in the senate immediately shot the idea down. I thought it was a good idea to limit attorney compensation for victim injuries and to get rid of frivolous lawsuits that bog down an allready overwhelmed system. I know that some will attempt to twist this around to say that disallowing tort reform protects the victims. I don't agree, it only protects the attorneys and their big paychecks. Doctors also clearlt state that tort reform would save the system up to 25% of the cost of health care.

Heretic Wack

[Hydra]

12. You do know that lawsuits of any kind are the smallest of small percentages, right?

And if a doctor botches a treatment on someone(been misdiagnosed myself), why should he not be taken to the cleaners?

The repubs are predictable, however, not like our party. If the Pubs came up with it, it's usually because someone they know will benefit and someone they don't like will be hurt by it. Our party has good ideas, but occasionally gets some really bad ones, so you can't automatically say "Well, I trust them."