The internet’s Conservative Blogosphere has their proverbial panties in a wad over Jeb Bush’s comments recently where he said;  

“Ronald Reagan would have, based on his record of finding accommodation, finding some degree of common ground, as would my dad — they would have a hard time if you define the Republican Party — and I don’t — as having an orthodoxy that doesn’t allow for disagreement, doesn’t allow for finding some common ground.”

Oh, Jeb, I could not agree with you more, which is why I have said the same thing for years now. 

The truth is that today’s definition of what a conservative is has swung so far to the right that the people who inspired the conservatives today (or so they claim) wouldn’t have a fighting chance in today’s Republican Party. 

Reagan raised taxes, he cooperated with both parties, and he was against the government stepping into social issues and our personal lives.  Bush Senior wasn’t even close to the Bush ‘W’ we knew, which is probably why H.W. was so critical of his son.  If you look at the absolutely insane amount of over spending from George W. Bush, de-regulations that in part led to the financial meltdown, the off the books wars, the complete disregard for the courts and constitutional rights with programs like the Patriot Act that would give McCarthy a raging hard on, you would see that ‘W’ is the farthest thing from a conservative.

Yes, George W Bush was closer to a liberal than Obama is today. 

The Democratic “liberals” are more like the traditional conservative party than you may like to acknowledge and today’s Republican “conservative” party is so far to the right that nothing is being accomplished.

I am fiscally conservative and socially liberal, mostly because I do not believe the government has any place in our personal social lives.  So when I do not believe the Government should define marriage (one way or the other) I was called a liberal atheist who hates god and had one conservative listener even go so far as to call me a “fag.”

How can we move forward as a people when we’re so obsessed with these trivial insults and 5^th grade finger pointing?

This used to be a country where you could disagree but now I find backlash when I question anything.  If I don’t agree with everything Rush says, if I question something as simple as “Is Mitt Romney the best man for the job?” I am attacked for it.  When I question both Obama and Romney in the same breath, people only heard me question Romney and said I’m just a “Liberal supporting Obama’s socialist agenda” from one listener, despite being equally critical of both candidates.

When we can’t even ask basic questions nor have a healthy discussion without open minds we are in serious trouble. 

My back porch discussions at the station with the ‘boss’ turn into broad generalizations without even listening to my points. I was recently told on the back porch that Obama is the worst president in the history of the United States and has single handedly ruined this country, therefore anything I might say to the contrary has no credibility. 

Do we not remember when the left did the same thing with George W. Bush?  Do we not learn any lessons?

So I applaud Jeb Bush for his courage and fearless comments that were honest, genuine and deserve respect from the party he represents.  I hope he stands by his comments, even though he is already started to back track away from them, because he is the true leader that the Republican Party needs today. 

Politics has been filled with so much hatred today and that is not healthy for our country.  Discussions that used to be civil have become so heated people don’t even want to bring politics up with friends.  In our recent poll, a vast majority said they are voting for Mitt Romney simply because they want Obama out of office, not because he’s the best man for the job. 

Hate is a powerful thing but hate never solved anything.  Take a tip from the dead, from those boys who gave their lives in the Civil War and those who lost their lives in the Civil Rights movement…There is nothing “civil” about hate.  The only thing hate will do is destroy our great country, if it hasn’t already began to do so.

Jeb Bush is on to something here.  Let’s all open our minds and listen to the other side, listen to other people’s beliefs and stop regurgitating hatred we hear from pundits and talking heads.  Let’s start loving our country again, not just certain parts of it but everything from sea to shining sea.  It’s okay to disagree because in the end, we’re all on the same team here.