Here’s the Conservative Paradox...First we need to WIN to change things...Why aren’t we winning...because we are proposing social engineering in our National platform when that is not what we should be about. We need to be more inclusive and appear less imperious.
We need to be more Libertarian, not Liberal, to be more inclusive. Most people ARE generally conservative by nature. We all know that Conservative principles are sound, founded upon tradition and universality.
The single issue that, IMHO, hurts us the most is our appearance of being monolithic (at least that’s the perception) in preaching about birth control and abortion . Yes...I know...51% of the population believes abortion is wrong but in every election that issue is used to beat us over the head. Murdock lost in Indiana because of his rape comment;same with Akin in Missouri. That would have been two more Senate seats. It has to be worth 5 points nationally.
Why do we lose among young single women? Married women? Hispanic women? Why should there be a gap? Exit polls say that their “Perception” of the Republican position IS monolithic. We give our enemies an issue when there doesn’t have to be one. We are the party of freedom; we believe in the Bill of Rights. So if we refuse denial of our right to keep and bear arms, for instance, how can we say that it is OK to deny the freedom one has over there body. We have to be consistent...AND TAKE THE ISSUE AWAY FROM THE OTHER SIDE.
New Republican plank on Abortion and Birth Control:
The Republican Party believes that Abortion and Birth Control are within the realm of one’s freedom and right to make decisions about their own body and that this is consistent with the support and belief in the Bill of Rights and all other indivdual freedoms as well as responsibilities. We also respect the religious choices of indivduals in regard to this freedom. We believe , therefore, that Federal government has absolutely no role in financing, determining, supporting, opposing or legislating for or against birth control or abortion one way or another. We further believe that the states should be responsible for providing the usual guidelines protecting the health of individuals.
The rest of our issues DO resonate with the electorate. This isn’t abandoning principle...it is a restatement of principle....Individual Freedom...which is exactly what the founders wanted.
I don’t much like Ron Paul, but I do like the concept of a “Liberty” movement. I like your idea of branding us as the party of freedom and attacking abortion from a fiscal angle. If we can get the government to stop paying for it as a domestic economic matter, it would be a heck of a lot more progress than we’ve had fighting about it as a moral issue.