We Are Republicans With a Plea: Elect Democrats in 2022

[CousinIT]

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/11/opinion/2022-house-senate-trump.html

To get around the damn paywall:
https://michael-in-norfolk.blogspot.com/2021/10/republicans-with-plea-elect-democrats.html

After Donald Trump's defeat, there was a measure of hope among Republicans who opposed him that control of the G.O.P. would be up for grabs, and that conservative pragmatists could take back the party. But its become obvious that political extremists maintain a viselike grip on the national G.O.P., the state parties and the process for fielding and championing House and Senate candidates in next years elections.

Rational Republicans are losing the G.O.P. civil war. And the only near-term way to battle pro-Trump extremists is for all of us to team up on key races and overarching political goals with our longtime political opponents: the Democratic Party.

Earlier this year we joined more than 150 conservatives including former governors, senators, congressmen, cabinet secretaries, and party leaders in calling for the Republican Party to divorce itself from Trumpism or else lose our support, perhaps by forming a new political party. Rather than return to founding ideals, G.O.P. leaders in the House and in many states have now turned belief in conspiracy theories and lies about stolen elections into a litmus test for membership and running for office.

Breaking away from the G.O.P. and starting a new center-right party may prove in time to be the last resort if Trump-backed candidates continue to win Republican primaries. We and our allies have debated the option of starting a new party for months and will continue to explore its viability in the long run. Unfortunately, history is littered with examples of failed attempts at breaking the two-party system, and in most states today the laws do not lend themselves easily to the creation and success of third parties.

So for now, the best hope for the rational remnants of the G.O.P. is for us to form an alliance with Democrats to defend American institutions, defeat far-right candidates, and elect honorable representatives next year including a strong contingent of moderate Democrats.

[Stinky The Clown]

1. Define "Moderate"

Barack Obama "moderate"?

Joe Biden "moderate"?

Bill Clinton "moderate"?

Zell Miller "moderate"?

Joe Machin "moderate"?

Kyrsten Sinema "moderate"?

No thanks, fellas and gals . . . . . we should be willing to help you rid your party of the crazies, but please don't infect ours with "moderates" that you find tolerable.

[DownriverDem]

3. Sorry

Focus on beating the repubs.

[Escurumbele]

12. How good is it to beat republicans while keeping people like Manchin and Sinema who act more like

republicans than Democrats?

The country needs progressives, even Theodore Roosevelt (R) who was a progressive was loved by the country and won. The USA is more progressive than people would like to admit, and we do need progressives to move the country forward.

"Stop calling Joe Manchin ‘moderate’ – he’s just a greedy reactionary"
[link:https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/oct/09/stop-calling-joe-manchin-moderate-greedy-reactionary|

[wryter2000]

6. If they remain Republicans

They can't vote in Democratic primaries, except in open primary states. (I have to say open primaries are a stupid idea.) So we'd pick the candidates we like, and they'd vote for them. Sounds like a win to me.

The only way they can get their party back is if it becomes clear that they'll never win another majority unless they clean up their act. The best way for that to happen is for everyone to vote Democratic.

Imagine what we can do if we keep the majority and pick up two Senate seats. Then, if we could continue for another four years, we could make changes that would take another Reagan to undo.

[pnwmom]

8. Christine Todd Whitman moderate. How about that?

We don't need their help in district's like AOC's or in states like CA. But we could use it in lots of R cities and states, where their votes might make a real difference.

I'm grateful to any Republican who wants to help us destroy the Trumpers.

[Stinky The Clown]

10. A "moderate" like her would be okay with me.

Maryland's Larry Hogan would be, too.

In fact, there are plenty of them.

I just find it a little off-putting to have Republicans trying to influence Democratic politics. I welcome their support. I fear meddling.

[IbogaProject]

15. Christine Whitman is no moderate

Christine Whitman is not a moderate, I'm from New Jersey. She is a spoiled brat like TFG, just she went to 'better' schools so she sounds nicer. As governor she & the R-s engaged in all kinds of budget fraud, leaving NJ deep in debt and w a very underfunded pension. She also did some shady things like having the debt have no interest payments for like 10 years and then a huge increase when the deferred interest came due. I think a similar set of R stuff has left Illinois deep in government financial hole.

She was EPA director under Bush. After 911 she forcefully said the air downtown "was very safe", an absolute self-serving lie that killed hundreds via painful illnesses.

Finally check out this PR pic she shot w the NJ State Police illegally frisking a random African American. Especially note her smile. That helped her reelection and lead to another four bad expensive years NJ is still paying for. [link:https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=&imgrefurl=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/christie-whitman-gets-frisky/&tbnid=haQnHRHFrvochM&vet=1&docid=6vNCSLz59jbjdM&w=1200&h=630&itg=1&source=sh/x/im|]

She is not a moderate whatsoever.

[DownriverDem]

2. Moderates

will help the Dems defeat the trump repubs. If folks do not focus on that, they are politically naive.

[Hortensis]

4. :) Skip the kneejerk terminology. Promote the common causes we all share.

The overlap is enormous once factional slants are removed and "generic" to-do lists remain.

Btw, I believe the NYT allows 20 free articles a month.

[UCmeNdc]

5. Agree 100%

We need common sense Democratic Party leaders in charge at all levels of government.

The Republicans are all crazy. And will destroy the United States with their craziness.

[wryter2000]

7. BTW

I understand the frustration with pay walls. They drive me nuts, too. But, in essence, you're asking them to make everything free. They do have costs. In the olden days, you would have had to buy a newspaper to get the column.

I write romance novels. If everyone demanded all books be free, I'd never make a cent. I'd probably lose money. So, let's have some pity for people who produce things like newspapers, music, and books. Be grateful for free content, but don't always expect it.

[pnwmom]

9. I agree. Reporters and editors need to be paid. Propaganda is free. n/t

[Stinky The Clown]

11. Agree on the paywall thing.

[mountain grammy]

13. I think this may be the only way to save America

with the gerrymandering that's going on and the voter suppression and voter invalidation laws being enacted around the country. Republicans have learned how to win by cheating and they will continue to win by cheating unless republicans vote for Democrats.

[Septua]

14. Ain't that what happened in 2020?

Trump lost the 2016 popular vote by 3M, then lost the 2020 popular vote by 7M. 2016 (IMO) was more or less, a referendum on Hillary...lot of people didn't like her, didn't trust her, maybe figured she would be a self-serving elitist...I don't know. The majority of Trump's votes were the white nationalists, racists, low-tax-small-government, gun toting bunch who never got over a Black guy winning in 2008.

But some voted for Trump thinking he would be better for the country than Hillary...the lesser of two evils. Come 2020, a lot of the non-Hillary voters (some Republicans?) realized they had elected the worst of two evils...so 2020 was a referendum on Trump.

Trump still controls the GOP brand, so 2022 will be another referendum on Trump...if he's the candidate in 2024, it'll be a referendum on Trump. If it's a Trump facsimile, it will be a referendum on Trump. The difference will be whether or not the '22 and '24 elections are truly rigged in his favor.

[joetheman]

16. They should begin by asking a few in the Senate to switch parties or become Independents.

That would be a good faith effort. After 2024 when the cretins are out of office they can return to the GOP or become Dems.