Free Republic

Ronald Reagan once said that Americans spend too much of their time second guessing themselves and their values. Of course he was absolutely right, and a cursory look at the state of our culture underlines that fact. Most of the “second guessing” and criticism of traditional American values comes courtesy of the modern progressive (read “liberal”) movement, its politicians and its cheerleaders in the mainstream media. But does this give conservatives the right to wallow in negativity and act defeated? And just what exactly does it accomplish when they do? Whether it’s talk radio, Fox News or online, you don’t...

Every time you turn on the news or open a newspaper anymore you’re treated to updates on America’s latest “crisis”: bullying. From breathless accounts of how someone posted mean stories about someone else on Facebook, or how one kid teased another for being ugly or otherwise different, to national public awareness campaigns complete with websites and taxpayer funding, it’s everywhere. If one didn’t know better it would be easy to think that America’s children have suddenly been infected with some new virus that’s running rampant throughout the population and that doom lies ahead. But like so many other things in...

If you've been paying attention to politics for any length of time you've probably noticed that there are several different types of elected officials. Not just in terms of partisanship or ideology, but in the sense of how active or vocal they are. If you've ever done any lobbying, you've noticed a difference in how reliable they are in terms of their vote and how hard you have to work to nail them down. Here's a shorthand way to categorize elected officials: Hopeless: These are the guys (and gals) that are so far on the other side of the street...

It’s a truism in politics to say that “all politics is local”, but truisms are truisms because they’re usually true. In this case it’s right on the money. The precinct is the most “local” unit in American politics. If you're not familiar with it, put simply, a "precinct" is essentially your neighborhood. It’s a geographic area with specific boundaries, (usually defined by your state), that surrounds the place where you go to vote. The name of your precinct is listed on your voter registration card. There are more than 203,000 precincts in the United States, each with an average of...

If you really want to have an impact on something you stand a much better chance if you're prepared. The same goes for party activism. I've written quite a bit about the importance of getting involved in a political party, and about how parties are organized. But how do you go about trying to be effective over the long haul? What should you do? What should you focus on, and why? The Boy Scout motto "Be prepared" comes to mind in the sense of being prepared ahead of time for the situations they may face. It's a good application for...

“Remain calm.” So said Nancy Pelosi in response to the Great Democrat Panic of 2013 over the general public’s reaction to the realities of Obamacare. Democrats are in a tizzy, feigning shock and indignation because the law is doing precisely what it was designed to do – kick people off of their existing insurance plans in order to subsidize the new government insurance scheme, despite Obama’s promises to the contrary. Worse, the same government that managed to put a man on the moon (several times) and can read your emails, text messages and listen in on your phone calls can't...

Whether you like it or not, in politics, the aggressor usually shapes the debate. This means that, in terms of political messaging, it’s best to be on offense so that you can advance your agenda on your own terms and on your own schedule. The reverse scenario is that you get blindsided and are forced to respond to your opposition. The more unprepared someone is to respond, the less effective their response will be, and the more likely that they’re constantly playing defense. In American politics, liberals (excuse me, “progressives”) are usually the aggressors. Generally speaking, it's liberals who want...

As I've mentioned before, getting involved in a political party is one of the best ways to have an impact on the things you care about. And for conservatives, that means getting involved in the GOP.However, many people don't get involved simply because they don't know much about it, and a lack of information intimidates people. So, for those who have never been involved, here's a rundown on pretty much all you need to know and where to begin. Structure of Political Parties Political parties are structured in the form of a pyramid, with national elected leaders at the top...

There’s an old saying that you can’t control what other people do or don’t do, but only what you do. It’s true in politics as with most other things in life. For decades conservatives have lost ground in the fight over religious liberty, primarily via our nation’s courts. But you can’t blame liberals for fighting in venues that play to their strengths (liberal judges), and avoids their weaknesses (public opinion). How conservatives “feel” about it however won’t change anything. Only raw political power does that. For opinion to become political power it must be focused and organized, and currently for...

Like some cheesy infomercial that tries to convince you of how great its product is, the Obama administration continues to tell us about the wonders of Obamacare. But a critical difference between Obamacare and the “as seen on TV” product is that the sales number and website for the latter always works, (even if the product doesn’t). That’s the first insult of the government’s healthcare site: it can’t competently sell you what you’re being forced to buy. So, how did we get here? Because Obama and other Democrats made political promises that were necessary in order for the bill to...

Ever sit at home and watch the evening news or read the paper and see a story about some elected official who does something so incredibly stupid that it makes you mutter (or yell) to yourself, "How did that idiot get elected?" If so, you're not alone. So how did they get that job? The short answer is usually, "he (or she) showed up" – plus “apathy”. They went to the meetings nobody else wanted to go to.They volunteered to do the things nobody else would do.They were then asked to serve on some committee.Eventually they were put in charge...

An old Chinese proverb says that "To know and not to do is not to know". The whole point of identifying and informing conservatives politically is so that they can ultimately have an impact on something they care about. It's one thing to get people riled up about something, but it's another (more effective) thing to point them towards an outlet. In other words, mobilizing conservatives for a specific shared purpose. Organize to Mobilize:An essential element of mobilization is organization. Once you've got a group of people identified and informed around a particular issue, the larger the group (or the...

What if they threw a shutdown and nobody noticed? Despite Obama’s best efforts and dire warnings of what would happen if Republicans didn’t give him what he wanted, 80% of Americans in the latest AP poll say they’ve felt no impact from the shutdown. The problem Democrats have is that the shutdown only impacts a small part of the budget, since debt payments, Social Security and Medicare are all mandatory spending. That’s why Obama has been reduced to ruining family vacations by ordering the National Park Service to “close” access to otherwise open-air monuments. Another problem is that Democrats are...

Fellow conservative, Do you think Congress should be exempt from Obamacare?Do you think they should be able to keep their current insurance and not have to live under the massive health care law they passed without the country's support? That's exactly what a ruling from the Obama administration will let them do. Even the labor unions - led by the AFL-CIO - who campaigned FOR Obamacare are now asking for exemptions and waivers. Let your members of Congress know that you don't support ANY changes or waivers from this law - unless it's a "waiver" that involves repealing or de-funding...

Where the culture goes, so goes the electorate and then eventually self-government. So where does that leave us? Apparently “twerking” before the ruling class. For the newly initiated, “twerking” is described as a “low squatting dance” that involves “moving ones buttocks in a circular, up-and-down, and side-to-side motion; basically a slutty dance derived from strip clubs”. Miley Cyrus demonstrated on national television recently by grinding her rump up against her male co-star on stage. Real classy. With each passing year, what passes for popular “culture” has become progressively more low-brow and increasingly sexed up. So-called “celebrities” are usually just famous...

Given that we all usually have room for improvement in our lives, resolutions are always a good idea.  They are even more important when there is so much to be gained (or lost) for not bettering ourselves.  So it is with this coming election year for conservatives.With that in mind, the following resolutions are offered up for conservatives everywhere in 2012:#1) Don't be a cannibal.  No matter who you are for in any given race, don’t “go cannibal” on fellow conservatives over who they support.  You might win for the moment, but you’ll lose productive relationships in the long run.As...

 Fellow conservative,For the past several months, liberal mobs have been on a glorified camping trip, "occupying" various public spaces and raging against, well, they're really not sure about "what", but pretty much anything that looks like America.Throughout the media's coverage of these "protests", (versus their coverage of the Tea Party), there hasn't been very much real information about these people, what they're about and what they're up to.That's why we set up a site dedicated to the facts: OccupyTruth.net You can help spread the truth about the Occupy "movement" by posting any of the dozens of messages on Twitter or Facebook. ...

One of the great things about American politics is that it often doubles as entertainment.  Given that most of network and cable television has devolved into so-called reality TV, it is getting pretty hard to distinguish between “entertainment” programming and political “news” coverage – especially where the occupy Wall Street protests are concerned.On one hand we have strangers living in a house together with hidden cameras, arguing and having casual sex, and on the other we have what looks like a bunch of camping trips gone bad – complete with no showers, drugs and casual sex.The former are usually paid...

To all of the current (and potential) Republican Presidential candidates, here’s a tip: focus on Obama.  When we do, we win.Remember, we are living in a country that is rejecting Obama and everything he stands for.  Poll after poll show him at the lowest ratings of his career, and election results from Scott Brown’s upset Senate win in Massachusetts, to November 2010, to the recent special elections in New York and Nevada prove that over and over.Just as they say that the number one rule in real estate is “location, location, location”, the number one focus of this election should...

As every element of modern life moves towards more customization and individual empowerment, government stands alone as the only major entity moving in the opposite direction.  And liberals, (i.e., Democrats and some Republicans), are its only salesmen.Innovation and new technologies have led to increasingly rapid advances in products and services that are centered around consumers and their personal preferences.  These changes in turn have upended existing industries and business models and created new ones, the result being that many of today’s biggest and most innovative companies or services, (such as Facebook, Google, i-Tunes, YouTube, etc.), didn’t even exist (or just...