Colin Powell: “I’m Still A Republican”

Proof • May 24, 2009

Which is all well and good, I guess. He can call himself a Republican all he wants. Lots of very liberal people do, from John McCain to John Huntsman (Utah governor recently turned Obama’s ambassador to China) to Lindsey Graham and (until recently) Arlen Specter.
That doesn’t change what he really is.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Former Secretary of State Colin Powell struck back Sunday at critics of his decision to support Barack Obama’s presidential candidacy last year.
Calling for his divided party to widen its ranks, Powell declared, “I am still a Republican.”
In an appearance on CBS’ Face the Nation, Powell responded to attacks from former Vice President Dick Cheney and talk show host Rush Limbaugh, saying they are “not members of the membership committee of the Republican Party.”
“Rush will not get his wish, and Mr. Cheney was misinformed. I am still a Republican”, he said. “I would like to point out that in the course of my 50 years of voting for presidents, I have voted for the person I thought was best qualified at that time to lead the nation. Last year, I thought it was President Barack Obama. For the previous 20 years, I voted solidly for Republican candidates.”

I am tired of the debate over political labels. I really don’t care about whether or not a given politician is a Democrat or a Republican or anything else. What I care about is what people believe in. I want politicians who will promote limited government, national security, lower taxes and increased liberty. If the politician who does that is a Republican, great. I’ll vote for him/her. If it’s a Democrat, equally great. I’ll vote for him/her.
In general I think that people who call themselves Republicans should actually promote limited government, national security, lower taxes and increased liberty. Because that’s what the party’s platform is all about. If Republicans were serious about promoting their own platform they’d tell people like Colin Powell that they shouldn’t call themselves Republicans since they don’t actually believe in the ideals Republicanism is supposed to be predicated on.
But Republicans won’t do that. Because they’re more concerned with winning political football games than promoting an ideology.

Tags: Asshats, Domestic Issues, Politics

http://Array AR-15

republican does not mean conservative. and thats why they lose and will continue to lose for the foreseeable future.

You’re correct JP. Thats why RINO’s like Powell must be cleansed from the party before it can make a comeback. If it takes 10 years who cares, we’re not going anywhere anytime soon. Purge the tanks my fellow Conservatives!
robert108

Still no counter argument, Rob! Just the same old lying smear.
I know you would make an argument, if you could.
What’s your affirmative argument for homo marriage, Rob? You’ve had plenty of time to come up with an answer, so where is it?
As far as your lie about me is concerned, I didn’t vote for Obama, like CP did, and I didn’t vote for Gore, like you did.

So, your lie is refuted, yet again.
HG

That Powell feels more at home in the republican party while simultaneously voting for Obama, especially given the Presidents record so far, and that he thinks “Americans want more government”, tells me the republican party has completely lost its way. Powell can stay if he likes, but he is far from anything remotely conservative. As far as I’m concerned Powell is a big part of the problem and his support for Obama was, is, and will continue to prove totally ignorant. If he had any political aspirations, they won’t be realized as a republican.
pparets

Many of the comments on this thread – some of them excellent – none-the-less reveal why we will be a minority party for years and years to come.
http://www.dartemis.net/blog/ sayanything-42

Colon who?
AR-15

Until this Guy comes out and tells the truth why he voted for Obama (because he is black) what he says doesn’t mean shit to me.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Petraeus Last Best Hope

Powell, unlike Obama, has earned his place. As a former Chairman of the JCS, this man has credibility that cannot be denied. He championed our Iraq attack as head of STATE.

His efforts in Gulf War One where exemplarity.
http://www.dartemis.net/blog/ sayanything-42

Nor is party affiliation reserved for elected officials.
http://insanereindeer.blogspot.com/ Kenny

Jim Jeffords was republican too – he went independent and not Democrat.

Jim Jefford’s statement on leaving the party:

“I will make this change and will caucus with the Democrats for organizational purposes once the conference report on the tax bill is sent to the president. I gave my word to the president that I would not intercept or try to intervene in the signing of that bill”.

Soooo, once that bill is sent, I am a Democrat and will caucus with them.

As Wikipedia notes:

The independent status of Jeffords changed the Senate composition from 50-50 (with a Republican Vice President, Dick Cheney, serving as President of the Senate to break tie votes) to 49 Republicans, 50 Democrats, and one independent. Jeffords promised to vote for Democratic control after being promised a committee chairmanship by Democratic Leader Tom Daschle. He then handed his chairmanship of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, which he had held since 1997, to Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and was given the chairmanship of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which would have been occupied by ranking minority member Harry Reid. Jeffords held this committee chair until the Democrats lost control of the Senate in 2003 following Congressional elections in 2002.

Jeffords made a deal with the Democrats according to which he would vote with them on all procedural matters except with permission of the whip, which would be rarely asked and rarely granted, in exchange for the committee seats that would have been available to Jeffords had he been a Democrat during his entire Senate tenure. He was free to vote as he pleased on policy matters, but more often than not he voted with the Democrats.

Much like the lie that Bernie Sanders (the self described Democratic Socialist) is an independant…this one is provably false.
jimmypop

The man has never been elected to office. How does this qualify for being labeled a CONSERVATIVE?

republican does not mean conservative. and thats why they lose and will continue to lose for the foreseeable future.
Jackass Jimmy

Well… you know what they say: “If you have to say you are something, you probably aren’t.”
http://www.rabidamerican.net/ Rabid American

Mr. Powell,

You may be a Republican, but you are not a conservative. You are a “moderate”, as is McCain…

You, sir, are a RINO! You are a leach, you are a democrat in a RINO costume…..

above all, you and your type are what is wrong with the GOP…….
http://sayanythingblog.com/readers/entry/homosexuality_is_wrong_-_a_compendium move_zig

I could never quite identify what about Colin Powell just what it was that actually ever revealed that he was a Conservative.

There’s no blood test, on the other hand, to become eligible to join the Republican Party — that is, anyone can say that they are Republican.

By supporting Obama, however, and with the track record Powell has otherwise established, he qualifies to be the poster child of the RINO party.

There is nothing wrong with the Republican Party that a good RINO-culling won’t cure. With the re-introduction of principled and truly Conservative leadership, the GOP will come roaring back.

The one-two punches the electorate have handed Leftards in California show this to be true:

Special Rights for Homosexuals? - Voters say NO!

Additional Leftard Spending? - Voters say NO!

…. and you don’t get much more Leftard than in California.

Where there is smoke, there is fire.
brain trust

He is still a liar about claiming that people were yelling “kill him (Obama)”
robert108

As with so-called “gay marriage”, saying it doesn’t make it so.
dfwpike

Colin Powell voted for Jimmy Carter. Hello?
tothestars2

The man has never been elected to office. How does this qualify for being labeled a CONSERVATIVE?
http://sayanythingblog.com robport

As with so-called “gay marriage”, saying it doesn’t make it so.

You’re as liberal as Powell is, r108. You’re just not smart enough to realize it.
http://sayanythingblog.com/readers/author/sparkiearbuckle sayanything-81

Jim Jeffords was republican too – he went independent and not Democrat. You guys seem to be confusing the Grand Old Party with whatever variant you are now onto… the Grand New Party perhaps?
http://sayanythingblog.com/readers/author/sparkiearbuckle sayanything-81

Soooo, once that bill is sent, I am a Democrat and will caucus with them.

No, you made that part up. Jeffords went independent. He can caucus with whoever he wants at that point. Much like Bernie Sanders, the independent who self-describes as a socialist. There have been independents who caucused with the GOP, but it didn’t make them GOP. Your narrow either/or mindset is getting between you and the facts about party affiliations. Spectre, I believe, switched to being an actual Democrat. That is different, do you see? Spectre wants the money. He knows he can’t get elected on his track record or on honesty, as Jeffords and Sanders can. He needs the money.

And the GOP is a used up ole condom, lying on the ground in the park, disgusting those who wander too near.

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Colin Powell: “I’m Still A Republican”

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