2007-03-15 01:58:52 -
MANASSAS, Va., March 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In response to the March 13 New York Times article, "GOP Voters Voice Anxieties on Party's Fate," which reported on the results of a national poll indicating that Republican voters are not satisfied with the choice of candidates seeking the presidential nomination, Richard A. Viguerie, author of Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause, released the following statement:
"There is very little in this poll that would lead the Bush Administration and Republicans in Congress to
think they are on the right track. It showed that just 34 percent of all respondents had a favorable view of the Republican Party and, by a 20-point margin, voters would favor a Democrat over a Republican for president.
"If the present situation continues and America is still fighting in Iraq next year, Republicans will be swept out of office all the way from the courthouse to the White House.
"As a result, Republican primary votes are looking for -- but have not found -- an effective conservative leader. Over the last 10 years, no Republican has stepped forward as a conservative leader. While all of the GOP presidential candidates but Rudy Guiliani claim to be a conservative, none of them have consistently spoken out against the liberal excesses of President Bush and the former Republican-controlled Congress, with the exception of Ron Paul.
"It appears most of the GOP presidential candidates believed that, to get along, they had to go along with the Republican Establishment. While some of the candidates are better than others, none of them have interested, much less excited, even a significant minority of conservatives. It's possible one of the existing candidates will catch fire with conservatives but not likely.
"President Bush's legacy may be to preside over the GOP's demise. In the 1993 elections in Canada, the ruling Progressive Conservative Party suffered a disastrous defeat and was left with a grand total of only two seats in the House of Commons. The party never again won more than 20 seats, out of 308, and officially dissolved in 2003. However, it was replaced by the new Conservative Party of Canada, which is led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
"If the Republican Party continues on its present course, it will follow in the footsteps of the Progressive Conservative Party in Canada. Then, perhaps out of the ashes of the George W. Bush GOP, a new phoenix will arise to lead the U.S. in a conservative direction."
NOTE to EDITORS: Richard A. Viguerie pioneered ideological and political direct mail and has been called "the funding father of the conservative movement" for his role in helping build dozens of conservative organizations. He is the author of Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause (Bonus Books, 2006).
CONTACT: Margaret Wright, +1-703-396-6974, or Nancy Bakersmith, +1-703-209-6190, or +1-571-292-1817, both of ConservativesBetrayed.com
Source: ConservativesBetrayed.com
