Susan Eisenhower Leaving GOP For Good, Cites McCain's "Rove-Style" Politics
By Logan Murphy Thursday Aug 21, 2008 11:50am
I have decided I can no longer be a registered Republican. For the first time in my life I announced my support for a Democratic candidate for the presidency, in February of this year. This was not an endorsement of the Democratic platform, nor was it a slap in the face to the Republican Party. It was an expression of support specifically for Senator Barack Obama. I had always intended to go back to party ranks after the election and work with my many dedicated friends and colleagues to help reshape the GOP, especially in the foreign-policy arena. But I now know I will be more effective focusing on our national and international problems than I will be in trying to reinvigorate a political organization that has already consumed nearly all of its moderate “seed corn.” And now, as the party threatens to trivialize what promised to be a serious debate on our future direction, it will alienate many young people who might have come into party ranks.
My decision came at the end of last week when it was demonstrated to the nation that McCain and this Bush White House have learned little in the last five years. They mishandled what became a crisis in the Caucusus, and this has undermined U.S. national security. At the same time, the McCain camp appears to be comfortable with running an unworthy Karl Rove–style political campaign. Will the McCain operation, and its sponsors, do anything to win? Read on...
Eisenhower obliterates the media narrative that John McCain is strong on national security and foreign policy and shows the growing distaste within the GOP for the destructive Rove/Bush, scorched earth politics the McCain camp has unfortunately chosen to adopt. Susan believes the GOP has lost its way and has finally awakened to the destructive nature of the Bush regime - the one her grandfather warned us about all those years ago.
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Uh, who is she? I've never heard of her before. It's great she's leaving the GOP but does anybody know who she is?
Kudos.
Republicans - Losing the hearts and minds for the future. Excellent. Now if only the Democrats in the House and Senate would grow a spine and finish them off for once and all. Strike them when they are down. Grind the fascists into dust.
She's probably a disgruntled employee trying to sell a book.
I like IKE!
Good for her!
richard @ 1:
She is President Eisenhower's granddaughter. Read!
What a wonderful commentary. Civil, direct and focused on the issues. No name calling, demagoguing or half truths.
A polite slapdown that speaks volumes with its even tempered delivery.
This is how it is supposed to be done.
This is someone that I may not agree with on many issues, but can hold a decent conversation with and seek common ground and respect one another's differences.
Jo @ 6:
I saw that. Other than being Ike's granddaughter, has anybody heard of her before.
If only these kind of Republicans had come out years ago when they saw their party beinig hijacked by this criminal organization, maybe this country wouldn't be in the condition it is in now.
I'm sure she is sincere now, but she saw this happening at the beginning just like a lot of the American people did. She and the other Republicans who think like her should have spoken up then.
Good for her
Her grandfather would have done the same. He was a different kind of Republican.
richard @ 1:
Are you serious?
I guess coming over to the Dems would be too much, but it's a good piece, and a great critique of Bush, McCain, Rove and the gang...
richard @ 8:
Look at her credentials. Everyone who is anyone knows her.
So basically, she's decided to climb out of the pig sty now that the shit's gotten to be neck deep.
Well, better late than never but please, take a bath in Lysol before I agree to shake yer hand.
The new conservatives are Democrats.
If Obama wins, it will be because republicans voted for him.
Republicans today are a bunch of out-of-control radicals. This becomes more obvious every day.
IKE was a lifelong Democrat until he switched to run for Prez.
Makes sense from a woman whose grandfather once said: "The only way to win World War III is to prevent it."
Geeez, I guess that the McCain camp will now attack her as an "out of touch" elitist.
And she voted for Bush in 2004 WHY?????
She is the granddaughter of former President Eisenhower.
So if the Obama campaign were smart they would approach her for a sharp, powerful, hard hitting ad on this subject and then play it OVER AND OVER AND OVER and make it controversial enough so the boobs in our media show it for FREE on their repetitive braindead programs.
let's be fair about mccain's negative campaigning. you can't be that hard on him.
after all, that is all he has to run on.
Good for her. Today's Republicans are a far different group than those led by her grandfather.
May millions of others follow in her footsteps.
I SEE her endorsing barack, but not denouncing the republican platform. she really needs to examine the deeds and misdeeds of her party for the past 8 years and then come out with a full denunciation or approval of her party. as it is it is only a half ass declaration. nice, but we need more insightful and ethical republicans to proclaim loudly and clearly. the country's in trouble. big trouble. China is one to be feared, they own us.
Can O' Whoopass @ 16:
Interesting, I didn't know that having lived in Germany during the war years.
Thanks.
Obummer @ 21:
The suggestion that a man who spent 5 and 1/2 years as a POW only has that to run on is insane
Just remember, it was Ike who warned about the dangers of the "new" Military Industrial Complex. When weaponry and military equipment became big business.
How preceint was that president.
PEACE
Interesting that people in position to know the working of Washington understand that the corpse of the GOP is rotten and maggot filled and smelling to high heaven, but there is still that rather large group of empty headed right-wingnuts who still stay with the party as if they had no choice or no brain to make that choice with.
I'm happy that at least Ms. Eisenhower can smell the stench and see the maggots.
no longer a proud american @ 23:
if you read the article below the fold I think she just did that, but she only said the last 5 years have been totally disastrous.
Will she breed with democrats to create a new species called "ethispines"?
She's got some of her Grandfather's spirit. And Richard@1, I'm willing to bet you know who won American Idol last year.
Left&Left @ 30:
LOL, I think your right.
I've been hoping the GOP had gone to the "destructive Rove/Bush, scorched earth politics" one too many times.
Let's hope they keep it up & others follow Ms. Eisenhower's example
Can O' Whoopass @ 16:
As governor of California Regan's policies matched those of Democrats.
This is ignorant Amerika. Those tactics work, kinda, so that's why theydo it. the Stupid American doesn't care about issues.
Unbelievable that some of you don't know who she is...or care. Here is a bona-fied, nationally recognized Republican, with impeccable credentials and a renowned pedigree, who is denouncing her party and publicly supporting Barack Obama - in print no less...and somebody eithe says "bathe in Lysol before I'll shake your hand," or "and she is who?"
That is nothing short of amazing, and the epitome of stupidity and ignorance. And some of you will read this, and wonder why "they" (meaning Republicans) hate we Democrats so much. Listen carefully: The only way to be better than the Republicans you all loathe so much is to actually BE BETTER than the Republicans. Do you understand that, you idiots?
Good for Susan Eisenhower. She demonstrates integrity, reason and intellect. I have been volunteering in Denver Colorado where similar former Republicans have jumped ship. Realizing that the Republican party has been hi jacked by right (wrong) wing radicals.
Kevin Phillips, Bruce Fein and many others are questioning the direction of their former party.
Hopefully Susan can help us push our Democratic Reps to hold the Bush administration accountable so that our nation can truly move forward.
Better late than never.
It would be great if she would speak at the Democratic convention but that doesn't sound very likely.
The Military Industrial Complex Ike warned against is certainly now in full swing thanks to Darth Vader and Monkey Boy.
JimboSlice @ 25:
Did he ever receive any psychological rehabilitation after being a POW. I am sure there are some former POW's who live on the streets or in the woods because they didn't get the halp they needed! Did McCain ever see a psychiatrist? A Mentally unhinged person should not be allowed to have any kind of power.
Come on, Richard, we need thinking people here. Her last name is Eisenhower and she speaks of politics in her grandparent's time. Ergo, she is the granddaughter of Ike. Sometimes it is better to be thoughtful than to be first with a dimwitted response.
Can O' Whoopass @ 16:
Really? I'd never heard that. Interesting.
Next year marks 40 years since Ike left us. His "military-industrial complex" speech, delivered nearly 50 years ago, was uncannily prescient. He would not recognize today's Republican Party. It is no longer the "party of Lincoln"; it is instead a malignant cult that is hell-bent on destroying the country.
The GOP will now try to "Swift Boat" Ms. Eisenhower's grandfather.
Jo @ 3:
Hell yeah! Strike the hammer while the iron is hot MOFO's!
ya know @ 9:
There has always been a criminal element deep within the Republican Party, at least since World War Two.
War Criminal Prescott Bush helped get Eisenhower nominated and elected in 1952, then stacked Ike's cabinet with friends of the very Military Industrial Complex that Ike later warned about. They overthrew Iran's democratically elected government, spawning the last 60 odd years of US-Iranian conflicts. They set the stage for the Vietnam War. Their machinations in Latin America reverberate today. They set up Hungary for the Soviet invasion. And they created the Interstate Highway & Airplane Transportation System that destroyed our National Passenger Railway System and greased the hands of every local politician on the take in the USA.
And through it all Ike smiled and told us everything was OK.
Ike was used.
Aside from the fact that McCains so called foreign policy experience is, was, and has always been total bullshit.. Frankly my personal foreign policy experience is probably better than that old mans... I at least practiced good citizenship part of the time when I was overseas...We were always instructed that we were 'ambassadors' for the country when we went on liberty. Truth is I might have chased a hooker here or there but so was most everyone else and it all seemed pretty standard and routine. Consenting adults and commerce etc.. In any case I wasn't trying to bomb my way to a medal and failing at it..and I didn't chase hookers and drink all the time either. I interacted with numerous foreign cultures in a responsible and appropriate manner many many times while serving. I just don't believe wrecking fighter jets, and spending time in a P.O.W. camp necessarily qualifies anyone as an expert on anything save possibly the habits of vermin and recognizing torture when they see it.. And clearly McCains current fence sitting backing of the Bush administration interrogation techniques indicates the Hanoi Hilton experience left no lasting lessons he would put into practice today... So much for the wisdom of experience....
I find it pretty amazing but not particularly surprising that a granddaughter of Ike is bailing. We can never know, but I suspect anyone of Ike's generation who embraced the republican party of mid-twentieth century would spit at this current iteration of that party. My own parents were total Goldwater type repubs when I was a kid, and tended to be independents during the 70's, 80's and 90s'... They always sort of just shook their heads at my more progressive/liberal/democratic leanings but they didn't make my political persuasion some kind of litmus test before I could come in the backdoor and sit at the kitchen table.. Thing is, they have stated numerous times in recent years that they will never vote for another republican. This is a direct result of the Rove driven Bush administration policies... These are policies regardless of tagline that has, and is, turning people off to the so-called republic brand name, (what a phrase.. brand name, fuck it, I don't even want to go there in this rant)....
Perhaps the RNC and its party ought to be placed on the endangered species list.. Oh wait.. These cretins in power are in the process of gutting that too. Gutting logical protections of nature and health, screwing up the national reputation and burning thru the nations wealth and resources, pursuing failing private sector remedies applied to inappropriate sectors of our nations infrastructure, ignoring inadequacies in market driven ideas as solutions that are provably damaging the nation and ignoring white collar crime.... Yep that's this nations republican party in a nutshell.. Not to mention the pursuit of imperial designs on world natural resources using our military in wholly immoral and illegal ways which do nothing but get people killed and maimed in order to make some flowchart in some oil corporate boardroom trend upward... And they ain't even getting that right either...
In short, these people are fuckups who can't govern, won't admit a mistake and will continue to go on doing the only thing they seem to be good at (which is evidently wrecking the nations infrastructure, turning people against one another over bullshit ideological differences, and ruining our countries reputation and ability to defend itself should we have a real crisis, along with mismanaging our national wealth) They will continue along this path unless they are thrown out of power, either at the end of a voting process or the end of a lawmans badge and gun..... No, I'm not surprised at all at an Eisenhower bailing on these pricks.. The only open question is why the hell is it taking so long for the kool-aid hangover to wear off.... It's not like these bastards just started screwing shit up last week now.....................JD
So she was fine with Bush and Rove for all these years but now with McCain it is too much? Where has she been the last eight years and why should we give a shit that she's now all of a sudden fed up. Georgia was the last straw? There's chimp shit all over the Constitution, the economy is a shambles, and we are stuck in two quagmire wars. But a podunk country gets invaded and that is too much? She's just another fool trying to ease her shame over what the GOP has become.
the neo-nuts will begin their slime campaign of Ms Eisenhower in 3,2,1...
Sounds like a thoughtful, intelligent person. Too bad it took her so long to speak out about the bush crime family.
"The last time the United States had an open election was 1952. My grandfather was pursued by both political parties and eventually became the Republican nominee. Despite being a charismatic war hero, he did not have an easy ride to the nomination. He went on to win the presidency -- with the indispensable help of a "Democrats for Eisenhower" movement. These crossover voters were attracted by his pledge to bring change to Washington and by the prospect that he would unify the nation.
It is in this great tradition of crossover voters that I support Barack Obama's candidacy for president. If the Democratic Party chooses Obama as its candidate, this lifelong Republican will work to get him elected and encourage him to seek strategic solutions to meet America's greatest challenges. To be successful, our president will need bipartisan help."
what goes around comes around....
If the GOP resembled her, I wouldn't be so afraid of that party!!!!!!!!
Who is this "Ike" you all are talking about? Wasn't he married to a woman named "Tina" once? /snark off
personaly i didnt think much of ikes whitehouse, he spent more times playing golf then getting anything done, and thier were charges he left some eight hundread american pows behind after the seace fire and prisoner exchange and he knew they were there!
that was the korean war!
Vicious attacks from Republican sources on Susan Eisenhower's motives and character starting right... now.
"It was not easy taking this step, since politics, like religion, is something learned on the knee of one’s parents and grandparents. And like anything else inherited, it is imbedded in one’s own identity. This makes leaving even harder."
huh.
JimboSlice @ 25:
Noun, verb, POW.
O.K., disgruntled Republicans... next!
Jack Damage,
Re: "Truth is I might have chased a hooker here or there..."
So you DO have something in common with McCain, except your hookers probabaly weren't worth $100 million. (Just guessin')
she is dead on. we dont need another rove in the white house
Second Obama Ad Hitting McCain on House Gate
gus smith @ 39:
Let's run this woman for VP.
Don't be hard on John McCain. You probably don't know this, but he was a POW. Oh, wait, right, McCain tells us that he was a POW twice a day.
Damn, Obama/Eisenhower, talk about a ticket with name recognition.
Headline should have read, "Eisenhower Backs Obama."
Kind of a blast from the past, but sweet anyway.
This would be a lot more damning if the Eisenhower name meant anything to today's Republican.
Remember too that the Repub talking air heads are PAID to spew their crap. True, traditional Republicans have to feel very uneasy/disgusted with their Party and having to defend the Bush record. Maybe some of them will try to take back the Party and start over again.
tyree @ 50:
yeah at least bush gave up golf for the troops....or did he.
i wonder who took more vacation time ike or g.w
Obummer @ 21:
let’s be fair about mccain’s negative campaigning. you can’t be that hard on him.
after all, that is all he has to run on.
The suggestion that a man who spent 5 and 1/2 years as a POW only has that to run on is insane
PLEASE tell me wtf being a POW has to do with being POTUS!? It has not one god damn thing to do with it!! Hannity's claim that everything he's done wrong in his life can simply be wiped away with the "He was a POW" excuse is pure unadulterated BULLSHIT!
McCain is borderline senile and shows many signs of PTSD and has no fucking business even running for office, much less holding it. Open your god damn eyes and see the MAN.
Mark @ 63:
If they taught American History in schools anymore then there wouldn't be such ignorance about this.
I would venture to say that people in Thailand, people in Germany, People in Great Briton and all of Europe know more about American History than most of today's young Americans
Obama/Eisenhower, talk about a ticket with name recognition.
What BS. She left the GOP because of Rove-style politics? Rove-style politics are not new. Where has she been the last eight years? She sprouts a brain and suddenly she should be the Dem's VP? Bullshit. She should be asked why it took so long to find her conscience.
Better late than never, but I suppose by definition, a conservative would tend to take a fair amount of time to make such a (for them) radical move.
Get her a speaking slot in Denver.
Jo @ 3:
Hear hear!!
Matt@56;
No, didn't cost that much... I doubt his did either... However if he paid that kind of money, be it long or short time, just shows us another example of how stupid he is/was... But never mind my truth in advertsing moment, I refer you to my comment regarding being a P.O.W. and wrecking millions of dollars in U.S. military aircraft... As regards McCain, THAT is the relevant point to consider in adding up the pluses and negatives of backing someone like John McCain... That he chased hookers and cheated on his wife??? Not very nice, and maybe Rick Warren gives a rats ass, but I don't particularly care either way.. But this supposed foreign policy expertise? Given his actual history?? Yea, that's pretty relevant to what his quals for the job are.... After all that's one of the things he's touting in his campaign...
And for my money, it's bullshit, truth is he ain't got much in the ways of quals really... Certainly none based on experience.
But in a fundamental way it doesn't matter... The repub party as institution is so freaking corrupt now, that McCain could have been a ligitimate medal of honor winner and goddamned choir boy of an officer while he served and he'd still be getting sucked down into the cesspool of this parties current focus and games...
But as it turns out, he's as big a sellout as any of the rest of them, and as such, is perfect for that party... For the nation though? Not so much.... So, all I can say in closing is do the homework and vote accordingly... Obama ain't perfect, far from it and I ain't all that sold on him.. But compared to McCain?? Obama IS a freaking choirboy next to that old fart...........JD
☻Bangkok Bob ☻ @ 67:
I would venture that you're right. In fact, most American students couldn't point out any of those countries you mentioned on a map.
One has to stay optimistic and assume that her intentions are nothing but genuine. I applaud anyone who can acknowledge the failings of its own pathetically inept party no matter how late in the game it is.
My mother was Ike's secretary during WW2 at the Pentagon. She left the Republican party during the Reagan years because of all he hate-speak filled speeches. Dad was an Airforce combat pilot, he stayed true to the party until the end, although he did a lot of head scratching as Bush policy took hold.
Eisenhower was the last true Republican. He warned of all that has come to pass with the Military Money Machine™.
If you are a true Republican please kick the Neo Cons to the curb, see how long they last as an independent party. I would give them less than 6 months before people turn away.
JimboSlice @ 25:
What's insane is believing that being a prisoner of war qualifies someone to be President. And he's not a hero- he's a survivor, big difference.
Good for her!
I guess aside from all my nasty remarks and insults to the followers of the repug/neocon/fascist party, this is my real deep seated hope; that those with a conscience and who wish to follow the true platform of the Republican Party of old will either take the reins away from these mad men, or begin a new party that brings back what is good for the people and the nation - not what makes a GD dollar at the expense of the worker, what makes a bigger and better profit, and screw the earth, air and water - so long as I get my almighty profit.
The GOP of Eisenhower is dead and gone, or at best, asleep and overwhelmed. Today, the party of old has morphed into this monster of rovian/cheney mentality, where there is no sewer low enough, no shame visible at all. It's simply do anything to get your way to get your dollar. Shameful, disgusting and criminal.
They are the cancer of this nation.
richard @ 1:
They may know who Chuck Hagel is, though--or they will.
I think a "middle way" party is emerging. It needs to. One that speaks for adhering to the Constitution (especially maintaining our civil liberties), living within our means (a balanced budget and debt reduction--something "old-style conservatives" were once in favor of), a foreign policy based on diplomacy and recognition of sovereign states, energy policy that recognizes we are past the point of peak oil (instead of the magical thinking that goes with the notion that oil has somehow replenished itself over the last 160 years of drilling, and if we just drill in downtown Minneapolis we'll hit a gusher), a smaller world-wide role for our military--thereby saving lives and billions of dollars--and getting the hell out of our bedrooms.
It also needs to be able to work with members of the "legacy" (i.e. "lumbering, slow-to-respond, slow-to-change, ineffective") Democratic and Republican parties to broker compromises on issues that have been, up to now, seemingly irreconcilable...because some people are simply too entrenched and rusty to be able to respond to changing times.
If it takes a split-ticket to create a new national dialogue, I'm for it. Nothing will change unless we change our expectations of leadership.
MountainMan23 @ 43:
And they gave us Richard M. Nixon. Ike should have spent less time on the golf course and spent more time checking out what his cabnet was up to.
History always repeats itself. Everything you see the Cons doing today, they've been doing since the first white guy stepped foot on the continent. But you can only see the parallels if you know the history of our country. That's why the Cons are always trying to keep people from learning history. At the very least, they're always trying to revise our history books. But no matter how hard they try you can still see that nothing has changed about conservatives. The hatred is still there. The greed is still there. The overwhleming need to rule others with a thundering fist is still there. Trying to squash dissent is still there. The lies and dirty tactics are still there. Ignorance of their followers is still there. They have always been, and will always be, the greediest, hateful bunch of lying cretins to ever inhabit the earth. I fear the human race will never reach its full potential as long as there are Conservatives in the world.
richard @ 1:
Look up past presidents. Her grandpa was PRESIDENT OF THE U. S. A. around 50 years ago.
Hulk @ 76:
Agreed.
No "party" will ever be conscientious, just as no corporation will ever be--conscience cannot be exercised by a nonliving entity like a party or corporation. I do believe--I do HOPE, at least--that there are still some Republicans (conservatives, what have you) of the Dwight D. Eisenhower mold out there who are as dismayed by what the neocons have done to our country as many left-wingers are at what people like Nancy Pelosi, Mark Penn, James Carville and (for god's sake) Joe LIEberman have done to the reputation of the Democratic party.
(And yes, I know, LIEberman isn't a Democrat...though you wouldn't learn that by watching what passes for news in this ill-informed country, two other major problems.)
Jack Damage @ 44:
Well said JD.
Wow, she's a republican who believed that the values of her party included "...a respect for the constitution; the defense of civil liberties; a commitment to fiscal responsibility; the pursuit and stewardship of America’s interests abroad; the use of multilateral international engagement and “soft power”; the advancement of civil rights; investment in infrastructure; environmental stewardship; the promotion of science and its discoveries; and a philosophical approach focused squarely on the future."
Oh gee, I guess I can understand why she's leaving. Although I can't understand why she didn't leave earlier. Was she waiting for them to trample on ALL of those beliefs? Because I think they're all checked off now!
John F A @ 75:
I'm sure that those who lost their loved ones i