Republican former Rep. Adam Kinzinger at DNC: GOP is “no longer conservative”

https://www.axios.com/2024/08/23/adam-kinzinger-dnc-speech-harris-trump

37 Comments

  1. Authoritarian with a twist of fascism, topped off with an unhealthy amount of putinism.

  2. More people need to reflect about what conservatism itself at its core is first, because as long as it’s considered a valid ideology in a democracy, it will continue to generate and nurture anti-democratic culture.
    And yeah, economic systems do not define ideologies, they are merged with them. So fiscal conservatism isn’t an excuse.

  3. If Kinzinger runs for president in 28 there might be a split along swing voters and he deserves it.  Not that it will happen but some normalcy would be nice

  4. 1000%. Its the Trump party. When you have a guy running who attacks anyone who even tries to take the spotlight from him, thats what you get.

  5. That was a powerful speech. “To my fellow Republicans, Democrats are just as patriotic as we are…”
    “Our policy differences pale in comparison to our bedrock principles”

    He’s in the big tent and there’s plenty more room.

  6. Once Trump is out of the picture, conservatives will need to beat back the Christian nationalists and reclaim control of their party.

  7. recurrenTopology on

    Trump is the natural conclusion of the Republican project since Nixon’s southern strategy. Republicans who are repulsed by Trump’s authoritarianism need to reflect on how the ideology, rhetoric, and political strategy they ascribed to was responsible for setting the stage for a Trump-like figure.

  8. ArchibaldPStrutter on

    Kinzinger crushed it. God damn what a breath of fresh air from a sane Republican. Someone that fundamentally gets that it’s way more important to be an *American* rather than a partisan hack

  9. notallshihtzu on

    I simply loved that he called Trump weak, about 10 times. Hopefully the start of something. Simply the best insult you can give Trump.

  10. Legendary speech. I hope this has legs and might be looked at as a landmark moment, beacon of light as America claws its way out of the muck. He had some great quotes in there.

  11. The only way a democracy works is if the Republican party is rehabilitated. They can’t be eliminated, therefore they must find the path back to policy.

  12. As a fellow Conservative I have been saying this for years. I don’t 100% agree with the Democratic platform but they are way more family focused, limited government, economically sound, and pro law and order than the GOP has been in decades.

  13. SuperChimpMan on

    That’s what I’ve been saying for years! How can it be considered conservative to blatantly destroy the planet? A conservative approach would be to guard it against damage and take it super slow when introducing new chemicals or technology like fracking. But these guys aren’t conservative, they are lackeys for unscrupulous business magnates. They don’t even follow their own ethos anymore it’s just blindly follow dumbass agent orange into oblivion.

  14. I turned to Fox Hides the News, and they cut to their dipshit Whitehouse reporter for some rambling update while fading out Adam’s entire speech.

  15. Charming_Cry3472 on

    He delivered a great speech! My husband and I were republicans but 2016 opened our eyes to see how far gone the gop was. We will not go back!

  16. My in-Laws and my mother are life long republicans and are defecting in this election because as Adam says, the maga cult has infected the party and ensuring the future of America is more important than policy points

  17. Yes, they are regressive. They aren’t conservative, they want to change things in a regressive manor, that’s not conservative in any way.

  18. There is no mainstream conservative party.

    One wants big government to regulate businesses. One wants big government to regulate bedrooms.

  19. MikeFrancesa66 on

    It’s 100% true. I often think about all the Republicans that the MAGA people call RINOs. It’s literally the who’s who of conservatism prior to Trump. Cheney, McCain, Romney, Paul Ryan, McConnell. The only ideal that matters to them is loyalty to Trump.

  20. No_Weekend_3320 on

    MAGA is a populist party. A conservative party is generally defined by their adherence to the traditional values, incremental change, often small government, individual freedoms and strong defense. Their secondary principles are trade liberalization, free movement of capital and labor. MAGA is none of them. They are nativist know-nothings.

  21. whoisthatgirlisee on

    Watching these swindlers try to launder the republican party’s calamitous effect on the world over the last half a century is infuriating. Democrats aren’t “just as patriotic” as republicans, given republicans have explicitly hated our country and its values ever since they were trying to destroy it by “starving the beast.” Certainly the Clinton impeachment, blatantly stealing an election, letting 9/11 happen, then lying to the world about WMDs in Iraq made it clear these were radical regressives, not people with anything remotely resembling American values.

    Still, there are people who bought in to the lie that there was something positive about the republican party at any point post-Eisenhower, and if they can be pulled back to political sanity by playing along with their fantasy version of reality then I’m happy to see it happen. Just don’t know why it had to be at the DNC.

  22. Trump killed the party and my thought of being independent. Democrat for life after Trump.

  23. Conservative politic is also shit but not as shitty as whatever Trump and his fan club wanna do.

  24. jaguarsp0tted on

    uh….yeah they are lol, the gop is nothing but conservative. they don’t get to escape the shittiness of being a conservative just because they hate MAGA.

  25. MaligatorMom2 on

    I left the Republican Party in 2016 when they gave Trump the nomination. I don’t agree with all of the policies of the Democratic Party, but I damn sure don’t agree with ANY of the BS coming from the MAGA party. Adam Kinzinger is a true patriot and I was so glad to see him being welcomed at the DNC.

    I watched all 4 nights of both conventions and the difference between the two is so striking. The RNC was full of demonizing immigrants, trans and gay people. Talking about how awful the USA is and all about stroking the ego of one small, petty man. The DNC was full of diversity, fun and hope. It was a celebration of this country and encouraging us all to work together to lift each other up, not tear each other down.