There has been a lot of talk and excitement regarding breaking the liberal Democrats’ complete control of Congress in 2010. This is a great thing to see going through conservative circles in the social media world. However, this is only talk. Without some drastic measures taking place there is little chance that things in Congress will be much different after November 7, 2010 regardless of who is in control of Congress. If the Democrats retain control, America will be headed down the road to socialism at a breakneck speed that will exceed what we see today. If the Republicans take over, with many of the same politicians that are there now, the trip will be down the same road only at a little slower speed. Don’t believe me? Look at the so-called Republicans that have sided with the Democrats in the House on cap and tax and in the Senate on the cloture vote over the Cass Sunstein confirmation. With Republicans like these, a Republican majority will do little good. These RINOs are more afraid of being called names by their Democratic peers and the media than they are of their constituents and the majority of Americans who don’t like seeing the direction America is going. Oh sure, they will provide a great deal of excuses and evading statements but it is nothing short of selling out America and its founding principles. We conservatives have a great opportunity as the liberals have completely exposed themselves only to find out that they are the ones out of step with the American voter. If you don’t believe me, look at approval numbers for Obama, Congress, and their agenda for proof.
The first thing that has to happen is the state parties need to stop listening to the media and the national party know-it-alls and the national party needs to stop sucking up and listening to the mainstream media. Everyone needs to be loved, but come one. No matter what the Republicans do they will never get any serious positive coverage from the mainstream media and it is time to put a stop to this grade school crush Republican leadership has with the media. The whole argument that Republicans need to stop listening to their “right-wing” and be more moderate and inclusive is nothing more than a lesson in defeat. This has been the mantra of the national party for several years and it hasn’t worked. Look at 2008, the choices for President was Obama who would take America by bullet train to socialism and McCain who would take us via steam train. Either way America was headed down the wrong road. In Congress, it was the same story with “moderate” Republicans being swept from power by liberal Democrats. Other advice lovingly offered by the media and their pundits, again parroted by those in the national Republican party, is that a true conservative cannot win a national election or consistently at the state level. Also along these same lines, conservatives are told that voters don’t want conservative candidates and won’t vote for them because they are out of step politically with the electorate. Look at the 1980, 1984, 2000, and 2004 Presidential election cycles. The candidates that won were either staunch conservatives or put up the façade of being conservative. The Gingrich revolution in the 1990s is an example of this congressionally. So that advice is complete bunk as well. Besides, in the past several election cycles, there have been little in the way of national or congressional candidates that were either true conservatives or stuck to their conservative values once elected. Those candidates, who either were or appeared to be conservative, running at the national level were ridiculed by their own party and the “moderate” (read liberal) wing of the party until these conservative candidates were ran off leaving us with the option of voting for the lesser of two evils rather than a candidate that conservatives could truly support. What the Republican parties at the state and national levels need to understand is that it is through putting up a candidate that offers a diverging opinion is what the election process is all about. Trying to get a candidate as close to the other guy in their positions as possible is a sure recipe for defeat. Besides, many of the Democratic candidates go through amazing gyrations to look conservative while the media is beating up on the Republican for having conservative (at least some) values. If the Democrats and their liberal media allies are trying to make their candidates look at least a little conservative and ridiculing the Republicans for appearing the same way should tell the Republican strategists a great deal. But it doesn’t and Republicans continue to be told that only “moderates” can win.
Second, the fervor currently seen among conservatives must be transferred to the elections. True the Republican Party has violated our trust time after time, but it unfortunately still is the best vehicle to get conservative candidates elected. There has been a lot of talk about forming a third party, but that has been tried by both the right and left several times to no avail. There is no other nationally organized party that has the ability to do so. Conservatives should take a lesson from the liberal wing of the Democratic Party who have taken control of the party and eventually led their party to total control of the legislative process of the federal government that we have today. There is no need to reinvent the wheel. We conservatives need to take control of the Republican Party from those who want candidates to mirror the beliefs those of the Democratic Party solely to be “inclusive” and loved by all. For proof of what moving towards a more “moderate” position will do for the party, look at what happened electorally after Teddy Roosevelt and the Congressional Republicans went “moderate” and later refused to support a conservative candidate and 2008 with Bush and Congressional Republicans as they were looking more like Democrats than Republicans.
Third, this fervor must be maintained in the long term. Those in the media, the Democratic Party, and the Republican national party understand that the conservatives of the country periodically wake up and raise complete hell when things get bad enough but then lose interest and go back to their daily lives of working to feed the insatiable appetite of the federal and state governments. So if the conservatives can be patted on the head and endured long enough or cowed by being called racists, bigots, homophobes, etc. they will go away and then things go back to the way it was. (Remember opposition to healthcare reform and the tea parties have also garnered ridicule and derision from some in the Republican Party as well as the Democratic Party apparatus.) The most radical of liberals have been extremely patient and look where it has gotten them. A President and Congress who believe like they do and are willing to push their agenda regardless of what the majority of Americans want. This is a lesson that conservatives need to learn. The country did not get this way overnight and therefore things will not change overnight. It will take time with setbacks and disappointments along the way. But only by staying the course will we be successful.
You may be saying this is all well and good but how do conservatives go about accomplishing this and turning the direction of the country back towards what the Founder’s had intended and is in line with the Constitution.
First of all, you and all of your conservative friends need to become very active in the local party. Don’t know of any? Then maybe it is time to get to know your neighbors, friends, and co-workers on a political level. You don’t have to walk up and say something like, “hey George, what are your political beliefs” or “what is your opinion on healthcare reform?” This can cause some awkward moments and potentially turn off the individual or cause an unnecessary argument should they be a liberal. If you talk to someone long enough you can generally tell what they believe from comments they make whether or not it is regarding political issues. You may be surprised how many around you are conservative but keep that fact to themselves out of fear of ridicule and derision from others. Once you start finding the conservatives around you then get together and become highly active in the local political world. Start out at the county level first and then focus at the state level. Yes this will take some time out of your already busy schedule, but if you think something is important enough you will find the time. While you are at it, make it a family affair. It is never too early to get your kids involved in learning the political process. It is a good way to counter the indoctrination that they will receive at school and from Hollywood. Remember that the Republican Party is still a bottom up organization. If enough county and state parties can be brought around to return to conservative principles then it will flow up to the national level. This includes making sure those who are elected to the executive boards of these county and state parties are of a type that can be effective in a public relations role. Remember that the impression that the leader presents flows over the entire organization. If the voters truly understood what conservatives believe rather than the intentionally misleading image presented by the media, many would realize that they agree with conservative principles more than that of the liberals.
Second, those in the state parties should not be afraid to recruit conservative candidates to run in the primaries against an incumbent that is out of step ideologically with conservative values or cannot stand solidly on their values after election. One way the ruling “moderates” of the party maintain power is to admonish/threaten the state and county parties not to have challengers to the incumbents or to put forth too conservative of a candidate. The argument is that by having a robust primary election it will damage all of the candidates to the point that the winner in the primaries will not be viable in the general election or that it will appear that the party is in disarray. You bet the party is in disarray! Those who we have elected to take our values and concerns to Washington D.C. have done nothing but stab us in the back repeatedly and we are TIRED of it! By taking this advice from the national party, it keeps their friends and themselves firmly in control of the party apparatus which means nothing will change. Therefore, it is imperative that the executive committees at the country and state levels are of such a character that they will do what is right and not cave to the self-serving interests of those at the national level.
Third, don’t get frustrated and quit if things don’t change right away. Remember that, like Rome, the situation we are in currently wasn’t built in a day. If you don’t get the perfect conservative candidate the first go around, support the best candidate available and then hold their feet to the fire. If they produce acceptable results, re-elect them. If not, get someone else to do the job. The trick to this is to be consistent. One time of letting things slide will open the door to going back to the way things were whether it is caving to national or re-electing someone that did not hold up to conservative ideals. If a candidate or the national party sees consistency in holding the line then they are more likely to tread lightly. There is nothing more worrisome to a candidate than knowing what the consequences will be should they do something that their constituents and supporters are not happy with. On the other hand, there is nothing more liberating to a candidate than knowing that regardless of what they do their constituents will re-elect them anyway. Why do you think some of those in Congress feel safe in ridiculing and attacking their constituents when they speak up in opposition to proposed policies or legislation?
The same goes for changes in direction in policy. Again America got to where it is over many decades and it won’t turn around in a day, year, or a single election cycle. It will take time and patience. As one looks at the political history, the liberal factions of this country have done a good job advancing their agenda through patience and longsuffering. It started with Wilson, continued with FDR’s New Deal, Truman’s solidifying New Deal programs permanently, LBJ and his Great Society, Clinton who made some strides for the liberal agenda but failed on healthcare, and now Obama who may just be the one to get many of the past policy failures put into place due to having liberal Democrats control Congress. Liberals know they will not get it all at once and are willing to wait years to make the next policy or program implementation or advancement of their agenda.
Another reason for patience is because of the special interest lobbies and the bureaucracy involved at the federal level. Special interest lobbies, while in many ways are a necessary evil, are well funded and enticing to elected officials to fall into line. Some of this issue can be dealt with through some common sense campaign finance reform. Then there is the bureaucracy problem. The bureaucrats know that the elected officials will one day be gone or distracted by another pressing issue and if they drag their feet long enough they won’t be forced to change anything they do. If that doesn’t work, then the old excuse generator goes to work long enough to wear down elected officials to the point that they give up.
Finally, this country has become so dependent on handouts from the federal level, whether it is welfare for individuals/families or welfare for the states that shutting off the money spigot all at once will cause some major economic issues nationally. But a slow, organized, and deliberate reversal of the welfare state can be accomplished. The only caveat is that there must be a very well organized campaign to explain to the American people why this needs to be done and who will be affected. There must already be in place rebuttals when the left and their media allies start the personal attacks about how conservatives are trying to kill old people and starve children. If it is done correctly, I believe that it will work over time. In conjunction to this, there must be jobs or educational opportunities available for those who will be displaced off of the welfare rolls. I would rather see a Civilian Conservation Corps than just regular welfare payments sent to those who are capable of working and/or going to school. What should be left is the infrastructure to help those who are truly in need or unable to provide for themselves. Oh by the way, just because someone has a handicap doesn’t automatically mean they are unable to provide for themselves. I have a deaf sister and hard of hearing brother-in-law who currently make more than I do. They refuse to let the fact that they have hearing issues stop them for succeeding.
The time is right for another conservative revolution in Congress. But it is up to us conservatives to see that it happens effectively. Should candidates or incumbents that do not hold up our values be sent back to D.C. nothing has changed. Is it better than what we have now? Maybe, but America will still be going down the same road just a little slower. What is needed right now is for those who ascribe to conservative values and beliefs to step forward and be willing to do what is necessary to begin changing the course this country is on and steer it back in the direction that the Founding Fathers had intended when they fought for their independence from Great Britain and later in drafting the Constitution we enjoy to this day.
One last thought, when things get hard and there are setbacks, and it will happen, remember that the creation of this great country was a long and arduous journey. The last sentence of the Declaration of Independence reads: “And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.” Those who signed this great document and those who drafted and fought for the ratification of the Constitution willingly sacrificed a great deal and persevered against nearly impossible odds to accomplish these feats. We, as conservatives, must also be willing to make the same pledge to each other, be personally determined to persevere to the end, and rely “on the protection of Divine Providence” as well in order to labor as needed to return this great country to the direction and values that the Founding Fathers intended.
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