Frustrated Republican Base

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Last election the Republicans went against one of the laws of science; for every action there is a reaction. When the GOP wooed members of the Tea Party, members of the more moderate party wing became disenchanted. The party gained far right conservatives and lost much of their moderate base.

Moderates felt alienated as the Tea Party and other far right contingents became more vocal and prominent. The seeds of this disappointment began in 2008 as a desperate presidential candidate, John McCain, selected Sarah Palin as his running mate. It was obvious she was not qualified as McCain kept her in hiding for over a month after her nomination.

Over this past week  the Republicans did a good job of identifying why they lost so badly in 2012. In 1858 Abraham Lincoln made the following statement referring to slavery, "A house divided against itself cannot stand".  This is also true of a political party.  A party needs core values and therefore if they are to be successful  they must define themselves as either staunch conservatives or a conservative-leaning moderate party.  They cannot be both and win. They must choose and they are just beginning this process.

Below is an article written in June 2011 on the blog "Free Free Markets"  describing the feelings of one such frustrated moderate. More

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