Posted on 05/18/2008 5:15:21 PM PDT by Dawnsblood
There is a lot of anguish among Republicans as they look at the dismal polls and the even more depressing performance of their candidates in various preliminary House races. New books and prophets forecast an end to conservatism, and a need to formulate a new sort of muscular liberalism to meet new challenges. Expect more such nostrums if Barack Obama wins in the fall.
What mystifies is the paralysis of Republicans and their impotent protestations that “Bush did it”. The truth is that Congressional Republicans, responsible for turning principles into governance, deserve to lose—unless they craft clear positions that won’t be compromised and then offer them as alternative choices to the voters this fall. Here are some examples:
Spending: a balanced budget, no exceptions. Voters are tired of hearing that this or that projection assures a balanced budget in 2, 3, or 5 years. Revenues continue to soar after the tax cuts, so the problem is too much going out, not too little coming in. Surpluses are preferable to deficits, since we want to retire, not add to out foreign debt. Just say no—or better yet “Please pay for it” — the next time a new entitlement is introduced.
The War: Afghanistan and Iraq have radically improved. Anti-war hype and slurs are a year out of date. We are finally on the edge of having done the impossible: removed the most odious regimes in the Middle East and fostered constitutional governments in their places. Spending on general defense and the war still run at only 4% of GDP, not high by historical levels. The reforming Petraeus army is stronger and wiser, despite the toll of war, for our ordeals in the Middle East. As troops slowly begin to come home next year, let everyone take credit for it.
Energy: Drill, explore, conserve. The answer does not lie in any one area, but in the willingness to produce more energy in all of them. We must ensure more oil, coal, and nuclear power, conserve more energy as we produce more—to prevent going broke while we transition to next-generation fuels.
Why should others abroad, who are far less careful, extract oil for us in areas of the world more fragile than our own? We must end the notion that ANWR only yields a million barrels a day, or the coasts only 2 million, or tar sands or shale only a million, or nuclear power and coal only so many megawatts of power. To paraphrase, Sen. Dirksen—‘a million barrels a day here, a million there, pretty soon it adds up to real production.’
Economy: We are in a natural down cycle, not the Great Depression—interest rates, unemployment, economic growth, and stock prices do not reflect a recession. Use this downturn as a warning not to spend what we don’t have when things rebound.
Immigration: Close the border, and then, and only then, argue over what’s next. Stop illegal entries, while we promote assimilation, the English language, integration, and education in American civics. Do that and most of our seemingly insurmountable problems will shrink as we endlessly bicker over amnesty, guest workers, and legal quotas.
Trade: free and supervised trade creates more jobs, makes us more competitive, and fosters alliances. Protectionism does the opposite. Americans like to compete and usually win—when they know the rules of the contest are fair and clearly explained to them.
Foreign Policy: Neither provoke nor talk to our enemies in the Middle East, Asia, or South America. Instead, cultivate our allies, build our defenses—and be ready for anything.
Homeland Security: the framework is in place. Let the Democrats try to repeal it. Let them make the argument that the Patriot Act and Guantanamo haven’t made us safer.
Ethics: Warn Republicans that in matters of sex, influence peddling, and graft, the Party of family values suffers the additional wage of hypocrisy. So the tolerance level for these sins is zero.
If Republicans could adopt such a simple message, stick to it, and find the most articulate spokespeople, they could still win.
The Alternative
Why? Because for all the charisma, Barack Obama advocates antitheses that most in most years would not otherwise choose—higher taxes, more government spending; pie-in-the-sky promises of wind and solar while gas hits $5 a gallon; more government intrusion into the economy that leaves us with more obstacles after the economy improves on its own; more illegal aliens as we talk in lofty terms of “comprehensive immigration reform,” a de facto euphemism for open borders; a protectionism that only antagonizes friends, drives prices higher, and insulates us from reality; and a multilateralist foreign policy, patterned after UN leadership, in which we deny rather than confront challenges.
In short, the Republicans’ problem? They forgot who they were and can’t explain what they might be. They need to go back to basics, adopt conservative principles to confront new challenges, and then find the most effective spokesmen they can to explain their positions—hourly.
Sorry, Victor. The problem is that the country has gone too far Left. This is due to a number of things: multiculturalism, moral relavitism, the decline of religion, leftist hijacking of the educational system, creeping socialism, and rampant materialism. Most Americans now think that all their problems can be solved by big government. Everyone wants their entitlements, earmarks, and assorted free stuff—no one cares what the real cost is or how we will pay for it. Sadly, to these people, Barack Obama REALLY IS the savior. Are the Dems mostly to blame? Yes—but the RINOs and GWB are just as guilty.
I am convinced the only thing that can change this is a total breakdown of the system—another great Depression or worse. No one wants that, but eventually, that is the dead end that this whole liberal parade is heading toward.
Neutered conservatives are the GOPs biggest problems.
The old “dimes worth a difference” cliche is truer than ever lately.
I may vote Barr as a protest vote.
btt
You forgot get off foreign oil so the Saudi influence is diminished.
Who is "they"? Some people have this insufficient notion that the problem is "them". And that if "they" would only get their act together that would solve the problem.
That is NOT the root problem. The root problem is the voters. It's true that effective leadership can convert voters but that cannot be relied upon unless you have an army of "Reagans" and we don't and never will. Also - personalities and people come and go. So the problem is not solely with "them" but also with "us" - the voters. We have to find ways to educate the voters on the merits of conservatism so that a majority of voters themselves want to elect more conservatives.
On Fox News tonight the panel had two major statements.
1. The three Democratic wins in the special elections were because they ran on the Republican platform, i.e., lower taxes, less government, more accountability, etc.
2. For the Republicans to win in November they must run on the Democratic platform, i.e., more taxes, more entitlements, more spending, etc.
So how can you win with that kind of attitude? Wouldn’t it have been better if they were to have said the Republicans would win if they ran on the Republican platform?
I am deciding not to vote for ANY incumbent at any level.
Conservatives are a small percentage of the population, hence our electoral impotence. The media and public education have teamed up to minimize the number of future conservatives. More’s the pity, but there it is.
I too am pessimistic about the future ever more leftist and socialist America. How bad can it get? East Germany or Cuba are examples. We conservatives seem to be a less than a quarter, perhaps less than ten percent of the electorate. We and America are screwed.
The voters handed it all to the Republicans in 1994:
Excerpt:
Republican Revolution
The Republican Revolution of 1994 is what the Republican Party of the United States dubbed their success in the 1994 U.S. midterm elections, which resulted in a net gain of 54 seats in the House of Representatives, and a pickup of eight seats in the Senate. The day after the election, Democratic Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama changed parties, becoming a Republican.
The gains in seats in the mid-term election resulted in the Republicans gaining control of both the House and the Senate in January 1995. Republicans had not held the majority in the House for forty years, since the 83rd Congress (elected in 1952) under Republican Speaker Joseph William Martin, Jr..
Large Republican gains were made in statehouses as well when the GOP picked up twelve governor seats and 472 legislative seats. In so doing, it took control of 20 state legislatures from the Democrats. Prior to this, Republican had not held the majority of governorships since 1972. In addition, this was the first time in 50 years that the GOP controlled a majority of state legislatures. (snip)
This should be the platform of the new National Conservative Party—it sure will not be picked up by the present Republicans—or if they do it will only be lip service.
Conservatisms greatest weakness is that it is stuck with the Republican party. If conservatives want to win in the long term, then they must make a concerted effort to infiltrate the Democrat party with conservative candidates.
This would take people with great intestinal fortitude, willing to pretend to be liberals for 20 years or more, until they had built sufficient numbers to hold their own ground in that party. Until that time, their purpose would be a delaying action, not to advance the conservative agenda and unmask themselves, but to prevent ultra liberals from destroying the country.
And I am very literal in this. They would have to play the liberals game, up to the very point where it endangered the security of the United States.
Such things could be in the near term, such as abandoning the national missile defense, or surrendering to an enemy or giving national sovereignty to a foreign power or the UN.
In the mid-term, it could mean derailing unconscionable treaties, preventing economic policies that could cause a depression, or the passing of some bizarre constitutional amendment.
Hoping to save the United States at the ballot box alone is asking for disaster. The Republicans alone cannot prevent a radical leftist Democrat Presidency or Congress, and having had two serious national disasters, Carter and Clinton, conservatives should act to prevent a catastrophe.
But to achieve the goal of infiltrating the Democrat party with conservatives would be a double victory for conservatives.
No longer would they be compelled to support a liberal RINO as the lesser of two evils. And they would be able to play the two parties against each other for the conservative agenda.
Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who are conservatives would make the best choice, as they would stand a much better chance of getting elected most anywhere but a Moonbat city.
And by pretending to be liberals, they might even get the support of the Democrat party in running against a liberal Republican.
A lot of Republicans are looking at this as if it were the coming of the Four Horsemen (not the rasslin' guys, the Revelation guys). Put yourself in the place of a real Democrat for a moment - you know, an old-time Hubert Humphrey, Harry Truman Dem who has watched his party being systematically subverted, inverted, and perverted. A Victor Davis Hanson. How lonely is that? Yes, something like that has happened to the Republicans. No small government. No balanced budget. No skepticism toward environmental hoaxes. No proper differentiation between legal immigration and alien invasion. No resistance to the multicultural nonsense that has so enervated our universities, corporations, and government. No fury at the methodical deconstruction of a culture that has given the deconstructors so much, including the freedom to deconstruct. That's all been sidelined, marginalized.
A pretty ugly picture, yes? Yes, it is. There is a failure at the top, and I do not except George Bush, however I admire his grit. The remedy must come from the bottom. That's us. It's our charge. This needs to come up from the grassroots because it's certainly nowhere to be found at the - should I really call the likes of Hillary Clinton, Barack Hussein Obama, and John McCain the "heights"? I think not.
What we can do - get involved locally first. A school lien "for the children" that contains funding for environmental hokum and multicultural mind control needs to be defeated. County assessors who raise property taxes on the same basis need to be defeated, and told why they're being defeated. School boards convinced the the children need to be molded into some weird New Age ideal citizenry whether they want it or not need to be shown the door. State representatives, Governors - these people need to be forcibly reminded that the unstoppable progress of history toward some millenarian goal is not only false but unacceptable to the people paying for it and their salaries too.
This is within reach of the average outraged citizen. We don't have the millions - no, the hundreds of millions - to elect a candidate for President. This time around there's nobody to give our conservative pennies to anyway to make up those hundreds of millions. So don't.
We need to pick our fights where we can win them and do so. What we don't need to do is give up. And we really don't need to believe the manipulative garbage foisted on us by mediots who aren't smart enough to tip their valet parkers so their hubcaps don't get ripped off while they're schmoozing with The Great. The Great...aren't. And the mediots aren't either. And all that reflected glory counts toward the progress of the country as the yapping dog out in front of a parade who's convinced himself he's leading it.
“Mutiny at the Convention: The Last, Best Hope for Conservatives in ‘08”
Organizing a mutiny at the grassroots level shouldn’t be all that hard to jumpstart.
I don’t know how it is in other states, but in Tennessee, the names of the delegates were on the primary ballot under each candidate’s name. A lot of those name are familiar, as I am sure they are for others in each state.
The starting point would be to CONTACT THOSE PEOPLE...EN MASSE...and let them know how you feel. If there are mass abstentions on the first ballot at the Convention, McCain won’t get the votes he needs.
What I’m getting at here is to do what it takes to GET THE NOMINATION PROCESS TO THE SECOND BALLOT. If that could happen, then all bets are off, a “raucus caucus” ensues and the true fight for the “heart and soul” of the GOP can really begin.
It’s not impossible. We know who our delgates are...CONTACT THEM.
This country is done.
I realized that sometime after the Repblicans somehow got control of th House in 1994, the Senate shortly thereafer, the Presidency for the past 8 years, and then didn't do anything about it.
So your answer is sit back and wait for some “1994” event? And what was the event before that? 40 backs before? That is exactly one of the largest problems we have is in that sort of naive “hail Mary” type thinking.
Then don't get pi$$ed when Obama or Her Heinous push their Socialist agenda, and get it passed, because you will have helped enable it, just like the Ross Perot voters did in 1992.
Yep, may end up being another Revolutionary War.
Chuck Baldwin is probably the closest to Duncan Hunter in political philosophy, the stance against Iraq notwithstanding, and he’s actually running.
Dumbsh*ts.
The candidate in Mississippi as a conservative. He didn’t win because the democrats ran a conservative, they lied about our candidate, and apparently our side spent most of it’s money trying to tie the democrat to Barack Obama rather than selling our message of conservatism and explaining that even a conservative democrat is voting with Nancy Pelosi.
The people don’t like republicans anymore, and we aren’t going to win by trying to make them dislike democrats. We have to convince them that OUR NEW REPUBLICANS aren’t “republicans”, but are good conservatives with ideas to make this country stronger.
So are gays, but they keep getting their way time after time after time. Maybe we need to be more vocal and get better lawyers to argue our side in court cases.
Bs, much of this is nothing but saying you have done a bad job now say you will do better. And the amnesty part is plain and simply amnesty.
I disagree. The problem is the timing. The time to push the conservatives is when we can get a conservative into the election. We failed, and now we have to choose between McCain and Obama. People who can’t vote for either can vote for someone else, but those who make the argument to vote for McCain are not undermining conservative principles, they are simply using a different calculus and trying to solve a different problem.
I bet Duncan Hunter is not writing in Duncan Hunter.
They are right on point 1, but if they said point 2 they are idiots.
The answer is for OUR candidates to run on point 1, and to note that congress under the democrats is DOING point 2, not point 1.
If I were running against one of these so-called “conservative democrats”, I’d make a commercial with the same conservative statements made in 2006 by some of the conservative democrats. Then I’d show how Pelosi made them vote for liberal things, and say “why would XXX be any different — if you want a conservative agenda, elect the conservative that won’t have to answer to Nancy Pelosi”.
Step 1: Stop cooperating with the enemy.
The enemy within.
I would put conservatives at about 30% with another 10% right-leaning moderates. The problem is that 40 years ago, it was more like 50% conservative with another 20% leaning right. I would guess that liberals are currently 25% with another 25% leaning left. And demography is not in our favor—even old people go left due to their obsession with entitlements. Just think, the West (including CA) was reliably Republican until 1992. Once CA went blue, I knew it was just a matter of time.
The shocking thing to me is that 9/11, nearly 6 years later, seems to have accelerated our leftward trajectory. Most Americans just don’t have the stomach for anything but collecting a Government check anymore.
I agree, yet I would change the word Republican with the word Conservativve...
Might as well start now with that concept...
I believe Victor would agree...
1. Egos
2. Greed
I really don't know if we can be successful at convincing our Republican Elected Officials that Conservatism does not mean puffed up egos and opportunistic greed.
What we need are patriots who can see beyond the end of their noses. People who believe that their 'Self Interest' is better served by doing what is 'Right' (not a reference to 'Wright') and not trying to make a killing and quickly move on to try to make another killing as so many CEO's seem to be determined to do.
What happened to the Church going, hard working managers, owners and CEO's that felt that their self interest was best served by building, creating, inovating and decently profiting for the long term risks they took, and felt that part of that success was due to the loyal partners, employees and their families who also sacrificed to help achieve those goals.
I am convinced the only thing that can change this is a total breakdown of the system—another great Depression or worse.
I fear you are absolutely correct. I don't see the party changing as they need to.
Who is the “enemy”, who is supposed to stop cooperating with this so-called “enemy” and then what does that have to do with influencing voters to vote for stronger conservatives?
VDH bump
I refuse to vote for “Democrat Lite”. I’ll stay home. They had eight years controlling both the House and Senate with a GOP Prez and Tim McVeigh did more to reduce the size of the Feral Govt than they did.
More specifically, the Democrats did their best to tie him to the KKK.
might wanna buy your guns now, just in case the next president says you can't.
>The problem is that the country has gone too far Left.
No, the problem is that too many congressional Republicans are more corrupt than the Democrats and are for sale to the highest bidder.
We will see if conservatives are conservatives come November. For most of them, it will be their first and only statement they get to make this election. My bet is that they will vote for *crickets*.
The governor of CA, for example.
I used to be on his e-mail list, but they were filled with so much vitriol for the president; he practically called him the anti-Christ.
I’m not thrilled with Bush all the time, but you would think a Christian pastor would not be filled with such overwhelming negativity, so I asked to be removed from his list.
PING for later analysis.
There is a lot of soul-searching going on in GOP-land. This looks like a good analysis.
BRILLIANT POINT! All these stamp-your-feet protestations to move the party right dont do a lick of good if *there are not enough voters there*. There is a 3-fold issue: Conservative values among voters, conservative agenda and , and three - the marketing and articulate rigorous expression of that agenda. ALL THREE NEED TO BE THERE. - some demand the agenda, not enough - some realize that we fail to *articulate* the conservative agenda and without that, we are lost from the start - the third element is key; we need engaged, patriotic *citizens* who are turned on to conservative agenda, values and ideas.
A forth element is a proven track record of success. success that ideas worked, and didnt fail. somehow the liberals can have a program X that fails to fix a problem and they get re-elected on it. Conservatives get no such break. We only win if our ideas succeed, so it is dreadful to push half-baked or wrong reforms.
Naive foolishness. The rules are such that delegates are *bound* to vote for the chosen nominee on the first ballot.
McCain is our nominee.
Take such harebrained fantasies from your mind.
The next president will be Obama or McCain, nobody else.
Who is your preferred choice?
but those who make the argument to vote for McCain are not undermining conservative principles, they are simply using a different calculus and trying to solve a different problem.
I bet Duncan Hunter is not writing in Duncan Hunter.”
Well said. Writing a 3rd party candidate is useless. Vote the major party guy closest to your views.
Look, even the Communists have it figured out ... kill the right-wing conservatives off by getting obama elected ...
http://travismonitor.blogspot.com/2008/05/obama-naive-and-wrong-on-military.html
Another endorsement for Obama: Young Communists for Obama - “As Communists, we have to finish the task of isolating the ultra-right and completely removing them from power—using the Democrats to finish the job. ... In Chicago YCL members were very active in the Youth for Obama efforts.”
The only problem was that immediately following that success a group of republicans got together to undermine the legitimately elected majority. These shadow groups have undermining the Republican agenda and President Bush ever since.
The November 1994 mid-term elections were commonly referred to as the "Republican Revolution." Given the great gains made by Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, a group of moderate House Republicans began informal meetings to discuss ways to further a centrist, pragmatic Republican agenda -- one that could accommodate bipartisan legislative results. At that time, there was great concern that a dramatic shift to the right was quickly approaching, given the new congressional leadership. The discussion group began to craft a moderate Republican agenda with a fiscally conservative background.
They became The Republican Main Street Partnership which was founded in 1998 to promote thoughtful leadership in the Republican Party, and to partner with individuals, organizations and institutions that share centrist values.
Be sure to examine the drop down menus on the "About Us" and "What We Stand For" tabs. Most interesting reading. Also note, John Mccain has always been a prominent member.
There is also the Senate Centrist Coalition:
In a March 3, 2005, press release, Antonia Ferrier, Senator Snowe's press secretary said that "'The coalition was started after partisan conflicts between a Republican Congress and President Bill Clinton over balancing the federal budget briefly shut down the government in 1995. Since then, the group has generally met weekly to 'exchange ideas' and have 'open and frank conversations' in a civil manner about complicated issues ... The group does not have an official membership, but a core group of about 15 senators usually attends,... In past years, the coalition has come up with alternative budget programs,' Ferrier said.
Once again, John Mccain is not only a member, but also spoke at the Third Way/Force Shadow Party convention.
Then there is McCain's Reform Institute that is funded by George Soros.
“I refuse to vote for “Democrat Lite”. I’ll stay home. “
And let the Marxist-lite candidate win. Brilliant plan, way to save America. (/sarc)
donna
“The voters handed it all to the Republicans in 1994”
NO THEY DIDNT. Clinton had the White House, and he vetoed tight budgets and 2 welfare reform bills and tort reform and other conservative stuff besides.
The GOP had effective majority control only from 2003 to end of 2006.
The point on the moderates is well-taken. Even when we had a Republican majority, we did not have a conservative majority.
“What we can do - get involved locally first. A school lien “for the children” that contains funding for environmental hokum and multicultural mind control needs to be defeated.”
We have to fight multi-culturalism and eco-fascism.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.