E.J.

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Republicans are fine with their members being for abortion rights if that's what they have to tell voters to hold their seats. But such Republicans can expect only resistance if they dare to rise to the top and expect any meaningful influence on the issue.

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Article.

By the midterms of '06, I doubt there will be any such thing as a moderate Repbulican or a classic Conservative in the Party. With the Neocon dominance, the centrists will be squeezed out or converted. That's why I don't agree with Democrats who are happy with Harry Reid (D-NV) being selected as Minority Leader.

I want a guy like me there. A guy who'll lay it on the line to that bastid Bill Frist and say 'if Bush sends us any Jesus freak judges for confirmation, they'll be met with a filibuster'. Who cares if you're labeled 'obstructionist'? They need us to get shit through. We don't need Ol' Harry trying to play nice. They want to destroy us.

We do not need to be changing to appeal to those who are so far right they will never accept anything with a Democratic taint. What we need to do is reinforce our values. Inclusion, the rights of people over their own bodies, the rights of people to love whomever they want to, so long as they're both consenting adults, the insistence on fiscal sobriety, the protection of our forests, skies, and waters. The moderates and fiscal conservatives will come to us when the GOP no longer tolerates debate on these issues from within.

Remember this, the Republicans own everything they've broken. Bad Karma, man. If things turn out well, I'll be a happy camper, but odds are it won't and they're gonna have to explain this mess in '06 and '08. You can only piss on people so many times before they realize it ain't raining.