Regarding National Unity Meeting at University of Oklahoma

Talk to Karl Rove and Dick Cheney and the Republican consultants who accused Max Cleland of being unpatriotic.

Talk to all your Republican colleagues from the Bush cabinet who demonized anyone who opposed the Iraq War as "traitors".

Talk to your national Republicans who, at a time you were interviewing to be Dole's VP nominee, were spending millions of taxpayer dollars on fake investigations that went nowhere against Bill Clinton.

Talk to Richard Scaiffe who gave millions to build a right wing echo machine in the media and "think tank" worlds to blast Clinton for cheating on his wife, and admitted this week that he has cheated on both his wives and believes in open marriages.

Talk to the alleged Christian leaders like Pat Robertson who accuse anyone who disagrees with him of being in league with Satan.

Talk to the Swift Boaters who savaged John Kerry with little more than innuendo and lies, yet were never publicly disavowed by anyone in the Republican party but John McCain.

Talk to Republican media supporters like Savage and Limbaugh and Fox News who still torture Vince Foster's family with accusations that he was murdered at the behest of Hillary Clinton, accusations that were debunked by at least two Republican special prosecutors.

Talk to Lee Atwater and the rest of the consultants who sent Ronald Reagan to Philadelphia, MO to talk about "states' rights".

Talk to Todd Blakely and Jamestown Consultants -- a person and a consulting firm who worked for you -- who used voice actors to spread racist fears in Rush Holt's 2000 election against Dick Zimmer.

And even talk to your daughter who was the communications director for the New Hampshire Republican Party when they illegally jammed the NH Dems' phones on election day 2002.

If you want to know why things are so polarized and divisive, look to your own fricking house and stop pretending there is equal blame.

Yeah, Dems and the left are currently polarized and vehemently opposed to Republicans, but after the 100th time Lucy pulled the ball away we are now smart enough to see it coming and kick her instead.

Though I give Gov. Whitman high marks on environmentalism and a woman's right to choose, I openly question her commitment to the Republican Party as an agent of of change and for its (in)ability to incorporate moderates. Quite frankly, what on earth is a pro-environment, pro-choice moderate doing in a Party that has a pro-life stance in its national platform? Though I haven't read many of Whitman's thoughts on the war in Iraq, I would imagine that she would promote a much more balanced, less unilateral (no open commitment) policy there that, while not exactly progressive, is more Democratic than Republican.

I mention this because I think it highly unlikely that the national Republican Party will take a moderate swing in the direction of Whitman and her beliefs; her faith that it will or that the Republican Party will become more inclusive are quixotic at best, delusional at worst. Besides Giuliani, who looks less and less like the GOP nominee every day, who could Whitman support in good faith? Each Republican presidential candidate is almost an exact replica of Bush on international and domestic policies, except for the immigration issue. These are the major players of the national GOP; there is no room whatsoever for moderates. If Whitman wants a glimpse of what her Party is truly like, read some of Michael Patrick Carroll's bizarro postings on abortion and other social issues; he represents the Republican mainstream.

Rather tellingly, at two recent conventions, national Democrats allowed a table for pro-life Dems while national Republicans wouldn't allow one for the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay rights group. Understandably, Whitman was at the Unity Convention, since there is no room for moderates in her own Party.

I would argue that there is a good number of Moderate Republican politicians here in New Jersey. It just so happens that outside of Governor Whitman, none of them write for this site.

I can start rattling off names like Baroni, Beck, Allen (much to your chagrin Martin), Chris Smith, Frank LoBiondo, Kean Jr., Handlin, Sean Kean, etc.

When I think of moderate democrats in New Jersey I often run into a wall. Only one that hits my head is Van Drew.

As far as the national stage goes I would argue that John McCain is definately more moderate then most of the other nominees outside of Rudy. I think the fact that there is a large number of hard conservatives that do not like him at all proves that. On campaign finance, immigration reform, and strategy in Iraq among other issues McCain isn't afraid to take independent stands. Let's not forget that McCain was ripping Rumsfeld's strategy from the  beginning and he was completely right. McCain also takes an honorable stand on corruption and excessive  spending and earmarks by both parties.

As far as National Democrats who are moderates I can name a few here and there, but they come from states like Virginia or Montana, where winning a statewide election and being liberal is pretty much impossible. Let's not forget what Conneticut Liberals tried to do to Joe Lieberman.

I think it's unfair to say anyone in particular represents the "Republican mainstream". That's like saying someone like Nancy Pelosi represents the "Democrat Mainstream".

I'm glad Formerly and PSJ were so willing to provide crystal clear examples of why the sort of effort Whitman has joined is needed.  Folks on both sides have taken to the rhetorical rearview mirror approach to governing and political conversation.  If we don't move past this, we're not going to move forward.  Ajjan has a point about the need for substantive disagreements. 

However, Washington politicians and pundits have created a bloodbath of name calling that would make most pre-school playgrounds blush with envy.  With every slam by one there seems to be a fundraising e-mail and counter-slam.  It's a vicious cycle.  While it's important to learn from history, we've been standing still as a nation for too long.  It's time to stop looking behind us and put the nation in drive. 

The odd thing is that the Democrats say the same stuff about you guys.  Yet neither end of the extreme sides seems willing to talk to the other, and that is where the problem is. 

Howard Dean, at least according to his old campaign manager, is pro-life and against gun control.  Republicans pushed for the resolution against the New York Times for exercising their constitutionally guaranteed right of free press.  There are so many examples like that I won't be able to list them all. 

What you also neglect to recognize is that the 9th Amendment was intended by the Founder's as an acknowledgement that they could not possibly articulate every right we as a people should have; and that we as a people would be making constant evaluations of what needs to be done.  A child's right to an education comes to mind.

The soul of the nation is where it's always been:  wanting a better tomorrow for future generations.  Sure, there are different beliefs on how to get things done.  However, the hyper-rhetoric serves only those who make money off of promoting it. 

We need less assumptions and more listening.  It's good for talk radio and the special interests that we don't do that, because they can raise money off of the assumptions and mistruths, but if stuff is getting done and we're moving forward they're pretty much neutered. 

IS so right!  

Madam Governor,

The opposition to you isn't about how liberal you are. The vitriol comes from your sheer incompetence and the way you chose to use your political capital picking fights with the right. It is one thing to call for a "big tent" it is another to attack anyone that doesn't agree with you as extremist.  You got elected because you weren't Jim Florio, you became a national star when the GOP wanted a moderate voice from the North East, the fact that you were a female helped too.  Then somehow you deluded yourself into thinking that  you were popular because of who you were instead of what you were. You filled a void for the GOP at the time.

You almost lost in 1997 because you campaigned as yourself - the self-absorbed, imperialist, far left-wing patrician that allowed her husband to rob the taxpayers blind. 

Your fifteen minutes has been up for a long time. If not for this website no one would know what you were up to and certainly no one would care enough to find out. 

One last thing. How does it feel to know that Jim McGreevey is more popular than you! 

Jim McGreevey does have her beat in popularity, but only at the highway rest areas.

"The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything."
                --Theodore Roosevelt--

Christie had major majorities in both the NJ Senate and Assembly and did nothing to build the republican party in NJ because what it would have taken and what was needed to be done was "too political".

 How do you think you go elected you idiot.  You are one of the worst things that ever happened to the republicans in NJ.  How you can claim to be a republican is a total farce. 

And as another commenter wrote, Jamestown Associates is another disgrace.  You should all burn for what you did to the republican party in NJ.  Bring back John Dorsey and Chuck Haytaian.  They did it right and were not some liberal weeney in republican clothing.

The only remaining question is why this site continues to give you and Bob Torricelli space.  Maybe they figure that two people who are embarressments to their respective parties belong together?