Posted on 04/20/2012 8:09:50 AM PDT by xzins
Fourth, Remember the Difference Between Republicans and Conservatives.
Conservatives look at the endorsements Mitt Romney has garnered from such establishment figures as former President George H.W. Bush and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, and most importantly from business-as-usual Washington insiders, such as lobbyist Ed Gillespie, and they see advocates of positions they often opposed, not friends of the transformational agenda that won the Tea Party wave election of 2010.
Surveying Romney’s record and agenda, and most importantly the people he is likely to bring to Washington to implement his agenda, movement conservatives see little likelihood a Romney administration will differ from a Bush administration, or a McCain administration, or a Dole or Ford administration.
This is why conservatives remain so deeply skeptical of Mitt Romney’s candidacy for President. They look at his record as Governor of Massachusetts and the policies he espouses and see no commitment to the kind of transformational change the conservative movement has been working for the past 50 years to achieve.
Republican Party insiders still can’t come to grips with the reality that the rebellion of the small government constitutional conservatives of the Tea Party is as much a rejection of their stewardship of the government – the earmarks and massive spending and debt of the Bush years – as it is a rejection of Obamacare and Obamanomics.
Let’s be quite clear – there is a difference between Republicans and conservatives. The goal of the Republican political party is to elect its candidates to control the levers of government power. Conservatives should not get so swept-up in the Republican Party’s campaign for power, that they loose sight of the fact that the goal of the conservative movement is to hold the government to constitutional principles, no matter what political party is in power, and in the process rejuvenate our society and culture.
Fifth, Don’t Get Suckered into Supporting the Republican Party.
If the difference between conservatives and Republicans is based in the conservative movement’s commitment to holding the government to constitutional principles, no matter which Party is in power, then one of the most important things conservatives can do is to support organizations that are committed to that same goal.
This also means declining to support organizations, including the national, state and local Republican Parties if they are not committed to holding the government to constitutional principles.
The folly of conservatives supporting the Republican National Committee, and many state Republican Party committees was made readily apparent during the presidential primary. In state after state the establishment GOP did its best to thwart the will of the grassroots conservative voters by using its power to tip the scales toward Mitt Romney to the disadvantage of the conservative candidates in the race.
In the same vein the Republican National Congressional Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee have become virtual incumbent protection rackets – appearing to sell influence and access in return for donations to keep incumbent members of Congress in power.
Thanks in part to the ability of the new and alternative media, especially the internet, to empower grassroots activists it is now possible to bypass the establishment Republican Party. There are now dozens of sound organizations committed to constitutional conservative principles that are doing everything from training volunteers in grassroots campaign techniques to recruiting and training conservative candidates to run for Congress and their state legislatures.
Just because an organization has conservative in its name doesn’t mean the organization is actually conservative – especially if it is headquartered in Washington DC. Too many Washington-based organizations, even ones that began with the intention of fostering conservative government, have become part of the inside-the-Beltway Republican establishment.
Very often the best organizations to support are not the state parties and national committees, but the local groups; County Republican Committees and Tea Party organizations who share our values and are doing the hard work to elect conservative candidates to office up and down the ballot. By supporting these local organizations, which are always struggling to raise money, it is possible to know their leadership, know whether or not they share our values and determine whether they are accountable and effective.
During the Bush – Hastert – Frist years too many Washington-based policy organizations sold their souls for a few tickets to the White House Christmas party or a seat at the State of the Union Address. They failed in the real test of whether they were effective advocates of conservative policy – holding the government to constitutional principles, no matter which Party is in power.
Don’t get suckered into supporting the Republican Party’s incumbent protection racket. Donate only to small government constitutional conservative organizations and committees dedicated to holding the government to constitutional principles, no matter which Party is in power, and electing small government constitutional conservatives to office. Avoid establishment Republican-oriented organizations and Party committees that don’t hew to conservative principles, and work against conservative candidates and blindly support Republican incumbents even when they oppose conservative policies.
Sixth, It’s the Primaries, Stupid – Support Small Government, Constitutional Conservative Candidates
If 2012 is another big wave election, like 2010, but it sweeps into office the usual big-government, establishment Republicans, then we will have missed the opportunity of a lifetime.
Supporting small government, constitutional conservatives, no matter how far down the ballot they are is crucial to our long-term success, and running for any office, no matter how far down the ballot, is worthy of your efforts.
If constitutional conservatives are to govern America, we must not only elect a President and a Congress, but also city council members, school board members, state legislators, Secretaries of State, Lt. Governors, etc.
Of course, there are many good candidates already running who are with the Tea Party movement. However, the vast majority of positions on the ballot this year do not have small government constitutional conservatives running, and many will have incumbents who have not faced a contest in years.
We who want constitutional, small-government should be running candidates even when it appears they have little or no chance of victory. The mistake of assuming good candidates will emerge from the regular party process does not work most of the time because the establishment Republican Party has no real interest in the kind of transformational change sought by conservatives.
Do you really trust Party leaders like Mitch McConnell and John Boehner to build a Republican majority of small government constitutional conservatives? If we leave it to the national congressional and Party leadership to recruit the candidates we will end-up with a Congress just like them; incumbents such as Bob Bennett and establishment figures such as Charlie Crist, and Trey Grayson.
When making decisions about where to put their financial support, conservatives should remember that if the national Republican committees had their way, such now-stalwart conservative Senators as Rand Paul, Marco Rubio and Mike Lee would never have been elected.
The only time we are guaranteed to lose is when we don’t compete. In today’s volatile political environment, no establishment candidate is truly safe. The American people want the chance to take out the big-government, establishment politicians; put your money and your hard work directly behind those candidates who are committed to small government, constitutional principles.
Of course it is. If other peoples' votes weren't our business, nobody would campaign or try to convince people how to vote. And if you're going to say that it would be much better for conservatism if Obama won, then it is perfectly legitimate for others to point out that the logical conclusion of your position is for conservatives to vote for Obama, thereby advancing the cause of conservatism.
If you don't have a rebuttal to that argument, I'd suggest you check your premises.
Over the last 60 years, the GOP has controlled the White House about 60% of the time. Yet, the GOP has not significantly slowed the growth of government - which is our biggest problem. In fact, some of the most egregious big-government legislation has been passed under GOP Presidents.
So, in practice, both parties' programs are closer to Karl Marx than to the constitution.
The only edge I could give to the GOP is that a GOP President seems to appoint Supreme Court Justices that are more conservative, although that has in some cases backfired.
The test will come in June when the Supreme Court delivers its verdict on Obamacare. If the Court doesn't at least find the Obamacare mandate unconstitutional, I'll know for certain that there's not a dime's worth of difference between a GOP and a Rat presidency. If that's the case, I will certainly not vote for Romney.
A case could be made that it might be better for our country to have GOP House and an Obama Presidency. The resulting gridlock would better keep the bastards in both parties in check.
I wouldn’t presume to “tell” another how to vote; a write in ballot is always perfectly acceptable, however.
Any logician should be able to clearly perceive that a Republican Congress with a Romney presidency is more damaging to the Conservative Cause than ANY alternative in the White House.
Count me in too if the Conservative party promises to withdraw all combat soldiers from wars that have not been Constitutionally formally declared by Congress. No Presidential work-arounds on UN resolutions.
So instead of saying people who do this are wrong, I want to give them something to think about. Perhaps it will help them see things a little differently.
What we have been trying hasn't worked. We slide farther left every single year. At some point this has to stop, or we lose the nation we love no matter which party is in power.
I don't find anything wrong with that argument as written, but it certainly implies a causal link that hasn't been proven. Namely, that the reason the country has slipped to the left is because conservatives or Republicans are willing to vote for the lesser of two evils. But I don't think that has anything to do with it.
The problem isn't conservatives voting for the lesser of two evils. The problem is that the horde of liberals and mushy-minded moderates all get to vote too, and they don't want the same people we do. The stark reality is that conservatives are not the majority in this country. So if we want conservatives to win Presidential elections, we have to be fortunate enough to either 1) be running against a really crummy, uncharismatic Democrat, or 2) have a truly great conservative candidate.
Unfortunately, neither of those was available to us in this campaign cycle. I don't see that as a justification to give up on opposing the greater of two evils because of the greater damage that can be done by that greater evil. And, it seems obvious to me that conservatives are certainly going to have more influence over a GOP President than a Democrat who will be pandering to his base heavily his entire second term.
Just because the President is a Republican doesn't mean conservatives can't loudly and strongly oppose his policies with which we disagree. As much of a squishy moderate as Bush was on some issues, I think most of us would agree this country would be in even worse shape if Gore of Kerry had been elected in his stead. And it does us no good if the patient dies before we can find the right doctor.
You say: “If you want to dump the GOPe....you should be taking OVER THE GOPe!!! Are you a Precinct Committee person? Do you go to their meetings, help elect conservative PCP’s? If not, then you’re just talking trash.”
Response: “I am in a precinct, but how will that change the higher ups? Hm?”
Guess you better try getting Civics reinstituted as a subject taught in the public schools before trying to get people to understand that we are where we are because conservatives abandoned participating in the process,
As I've said before, unfortunately, in the unlikely event Romney should get the presidency, he will become the head of the Republican party and will therefore put those individuals of like minds in key positions. Just going by his past history pertaining to his conduct in and out of office, it will take decades, if ever, for the conservative movement to again gain the foothold and the power that it now has. Among vast number of conservative Republicans (I use that term advisedly) there will be such a "wailing and gnashing of teeth" lamenting how could this have happened to us and this great country of ours? My retort will be...... look in the mirror! The "Republican Establishment" is playing a successful game of rope-a-dope.
As for myself, I'll no longer vote for the lesser of two evils because evil is still evil no matter how much lipstick you put on it. My word, I've gone down the voting list from Sarah Palin to Newt and I'm going no further. I'll not vote for someone who should actually be running on the Democrat ticket as a moderate Democrat. That's how we got into this mess! Let'r rip!
So the dangerous man socialist can take his place? (Romneycare, gun grabber) I don't think so. Not a spit of difference between them and don't go saying it's about the judges. Romey put in judges that were just as liberal as the Obama picks.
I will never vote for Romney. He does not hold one value that I do. He may reluctantly claim that he is a Republican but he is no conservative.
No, but the tea party does and that's who we should be supporting, not the Republican party.
Obama himself insured that he is a one term president. The Republican party has taken it upon themselves to make Obama is a two-termer. I have no intentions of helping the GOP defeat Obama. None whatsoever. They stabbed the tea party in the back so ef'em.
The only thing the Constitution Party is good for is a protest vote. Depending on the polls here, I may go that way for president, but what is more important is to make sure there are good republicans nominated for the downticket offers. Tim Walberg is usually good for congress. Most of the US Senate candidates in my state are acceptable, although some are better than others.
As my tagline states, the Republican Party is bigger than the presidency. Because the presidential nominee is unacceptable, doesn't mean that we should toss the good guys under the bus. Those that do are idiots.
I was a Republican before Romney was first elected to anything. I'll be here long after he's gone. The party is bigger than Mitt.
“Time after time during the Republican primary election cycle grassroots conservatives and Tea Partiers saw establishment Republican Party officials put their thumb on the scale to tip the balance in Mitt Romney’s favor.
From the arbitrary abuse of the winner-take-all rules in Florida and Arizona, to the post-election delegate allocation changes in Michigan, to the burdensome ballot access process in Virginia the establishment Republican Party did everything possible to thwart grassroots conservative activists and keep the power to choose the Republican nominee in the hands of Party insiders.
To prevent this from happening again, and to build a Republican Party leadership that truly represents its conservative base, Tea Partiers and grassroots conservative activists must redouble their efforts to take over the Republican Party.”
http://www.conservativehq.com/article/7603-where-do-conservatives-go-now
That's OK, at this point, I really don't care how you, or anyone else votes. That is your prerogative.
I will say this, if obama is re-elected and ANYONE complains, or posts something negative about him, his policies, his wife, his administration...anything, my first question will be "Who did you vote for?" If the answer is I didn't vote for the president, because I hate the GOP and/or Romney, my reply is going to be "Oh really, STFU then."
>>Don’t Get Suckered into Supporting the Republican Party
Oh, heavens, no! Let’s run a 3rd party that will give a nasty, sneering Obama an easy second term! You are very stupid, Richard.
No problem. In turn, I’ll blame you for wasting your vote on Romney and losing the election that could have been won with a credible candidate.
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