Posted on 11/15/2014 3:20:41 PM PST by Hostage
TODAY'S CHALLENGE In the second week following the tsunami of mid-term elections in favor of Republicans, the possibility of the GOP Establishment setting the agenda of the next Congress against a backdrop of catfights between republican moderates and the Conservative base ... has obsured the source of this very significant victory which stems from the hard, bitter and agonizing choices taken by Conservatives in years past.
The awful Hobbesian choices (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobson's_choice) presented to Conservatives in the past 8 years have been painful and demoralizing to them but theyhave risen to the occasion to choose wisely and they were right.
GOP Establishment and Elites (GOPe) and their moderate faction are likely missing the historical significance of the Conservative stance in the past elections of 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014. Some Conservatives may also not see how wise their decisions were and how those decisions have resulted in the latest rout of only eleven days ago.
Sarah Palin brilliantly summed up the recent victory and wrapped it in a message to the GOPe:
Sarah Palin to GOP Establishment: 'You didn't build this!'
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/sarah-palin-to-gop-establishment-you-didnt-build-this/article/2555809
Today's challenge is to get the GOP Establishment out of the driver's seat and replace them with known and reliable Conservatives. In fact it is vital to do precise this.
BACKGROUND Starting in 2006, Conservatives had had enough of GW Bush and his Ring of RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) as he pushed for Comprehensive Immigration Reform and quipped "See you at the Signing!" when Congress was due back from recess.
The result of GW Bush's abandonment of his Conservative Base was in the melting down of the Capitol Hill Switchboard and fax machines by Conservative calls to their Congressional Members in opposition to the proposed amnesty of 10 to 20 million of illegal Latino migrants. This 2006 fiasco led to the democrats taking over Congress as a result of the mid-term elections Pelosi chosen as Speaker.
Conservatives shook their heads in anger as they felt betrayed by GW Bush whereas GW Bush and his people sulked in disbelief as they watched the 2006 election returns. The GOP Party had become a divided Party.
Which half of the divide was responsible? Were Conservatives responsible for allowing the likes of Pelosi to ascend to national leadership? Or was it Bush?
Bush had run as a Conservative. He talked the talk and seemingly at first walked the walk until his handlers steered him back to the New World Order meme of his father, Kissinger and apparently his very liberal wife. He abandoned Conservative principles that possibly he never really embraced to begin with. In other words, Bush had reneged on his promises to the Conservative Base. Some would say he lied.
Conservatives could not have felt worse as they walked away from GW Bush while all around them the media and democrats were chanting "Bush Lied! People Died!". It was hard to argue against the charge that Bush had lied to Conservatives. Maybe he hadn't. Maybe he just weakened and gave in to those around him. Whatever. His actions led to the fiasco of the 2006 elections. It wasn't the fault of Conservatives. They couldn't vote for more Bushies for Congress that would support Mass Amnesty and the New World Order that would see American freedoms supplanted by UN directives and treaties that were made by unelected policy wonks. Many Conservatives made the agonizing choice to sit home. Some held their noses but they were not enough in number to overcome the ineffectiveness of Bush's record in 2006 especially his nonsensical push for Comprehensive Immigration Reform. Democrats seeing the division within the GOP stepped right in and took advantage. Bush's fault? Unfortunately, yes.
Did the GOPe get the message from 2006? No. One would think they would have seen the overwhelming opposition from every corner of American society to any proposal for mass amnesty especially in light of the failure of Ronald Reagan's amnesty of 1986. But Ronald Reagan did not have hindsight; GW Bush and the GOPe did.
The GOPe wrongly thought the base could be fooled by running to the right and packaging moderates as conservatives. What mattered most to the GOPe were those with the 'Juice' meaning the money and secondarily those that would be sure to tow the GOPe line.
The licentiousness following repeal of Glass-Steagall had Wall Street swimming in illusory and dirty profits. Wall Street Stock Exchanges gave GW Bush standing ovations when he walked on their floors in 2006 and they put their money into GOP PACs that would keep their casino going.
In return GW Bush turned a blind eye to SEC enforcement of so many egregiously fraudulent banking and finance practices that later in 2008 would bring the nation to its knees. And of course the democrats exploited the weaknesses in banking regulation as opportunities for them to increase the severity of the coming crash.
Symptoms of the Crash were felt and seen in July 2007 when oil futures collapsed and it was reported that Goldman Sachs had gamed the market for their own purposes. Suddenly the focus shifted to Wall Street but not enough to wake up significant numbers of Americans. Still there was an air of something smelly going on in Wall Street banking.
As the 2008 presidential campaigns were ramping up, the GOP field was populated with Romney, McCain and a few other GOPe selections. McCain was selected by the GOPe. He never had rousing support from the base and Romney had practically none. But ... the GOPe thought the conservative base would just love a 'War Hero' story about McCain and, like throwing a dog a bone, they thought such stories would placate conservatives. They were wrong. Conservatives knew John McCain had refused to sign a confession guaranteeing his release from the Hanoi Hilton because Admiral Stockdale (also a POW and the Commanding officer of the POWs in the HH) ordered him not to. McCain was no 'hero', he was a survivor and a victim but not a hero. He deserved praise for his faithful service and sympathy for having greatly suffered for his country but the 'War Hero' media narrative was a ploy to get conservatives in line while the GOPe pursued its plan for the NWO, North American Union, Comprehensive Immigration Reform and all other subjects that were rarely spoken of publicly in order to keep the Conservative Base quiet and in the dark.
Conservatives saw through the deceptive tactics of the GOPe and this resulted in John McCain trailing in the polls throughout 2008 until McCain did the only smart thing of his entire campaign which was to choose Sarah Palin for VP. At once Conservatives were galvanized and excited by this rising star (and she truly was and still is). Suddenly the polls shifted for the first time in McCain's favor and the democrats were thrown into shock until Wall Street's impending collapse became evident.
The executive and moral reticence of GW Bush is his handing of the Wall Street Casino had come to the democrat's rescue and McCain played right into their hands with suspension of his campaign and recording a vote for TARP, the nearly trillion dollar bailout of Wall Street originally passed to stanch the subprime crisis but later directed wherever the powers over it (e.g. Bush's Secretary of Treasury Henry Paulson) decided it should be directed. It was clear that Congress had been bought and both sides of the aisle were involved.
The GOP Conservative Base had yet another soul-searching moment to either abstain from voting for Phony McCain or hold their noses. Just as in 2006 many of them stayed home and the 2008 election handed the country over to a socialist con-man named Barack Obama.
The legacy of GW Bush and the phoniness of John McCain were too much for the Conservative Base and their agony grew worse. GW Bush had betrayed conservative principles. John McCain was a known liar and phony. All that Conservatives wanted was a leader that they could trust to stay true to conservative principles. That leader was not expected to be perfect or to be as inspiring as a Ronald Reagan or even a great orator. The leader that was sought needed only elucidate the principles of conservatism and show by their actions their adherence to the principles.
Such a leader would have won the presidency handily in 2008 even in the backdrop of GW Bush's failures and the incessant media attacks on those failures. Conservatives registered as Republican or Independent significantly outnumber moderates and progressives. When these Conservatives are galvanized behind a candidate they can trust and believe, there is nothing to stop them. Asking them to hold their noses over GOPe selected candidates is a huge risk to success and does nothing to strengthen the unity inside the GOP.
RISE OF THE TEA PARTY Republican and Independent Conservatives rallied in 2010 when the socialist fruit and Chicago style tactics of the Obama people became known. The 2010 elections gave rise to a new force in American politics: 'The Tea Party', a state of mind among the GOP base and patriotic independents. The Tea Party 2010 mid-term election sweep had handed control of the House of Representatives back to the GOP and brought true conservatives to the US Senate with such persons as Ted Cruz and Mike Lee. And just as importantly and significantly, the Tea Party sweep had altered on a vast scale the state legislatures and governorships to the benefit of conservatism.
For a small time it seemed that Tea Party Conservatives had taught the GOPe a lesson and were gearing up to address the past wrongs of the Bush Presidency and the boneheaded decision to 'select' McCain for nominee in 2008. But in a lame and naive moment the new Tea Party minded members of Congress agreed to accept John Boehner as Speaker. Thus, the GOPe had their hands on the House leadership and began to tighten their control over the House committees and their chairpersons.
The division within the ranks of the GOP worsened.
ROMNEY In 2012 the GOPe was in the driver's seat with their 'selection' of Mitt Romney as the GOP Standard bearer for President. Romney was a liar of the first order and he knew how to sound 'conservative' when necessary. But his past caught up with him and Conservatives were not fooled. Romney tried to pull a McCain by selecting Paul Ryan as his pick for VP but again Conservatives were not fooled. Ryan was no Palin; not by a long shot.
But in 2012 socialism was on the march in the USA led by Obama and once again Conservatives were asked to 'hold their noses' as the alternative was four more years of Obama. The turnout was not enough to overcome those that stayed home. The need for Conservatives, especially Independent Conservatives, the Perot Blue Collar Conservatives. the Reagan Democrats, the plea for them to hold their noses was not enough for them to ignore the phoniness and lies of Romney and his ring of RINOs.
The key question a conservative had to grapple with "Was it worth it to turn down Romney, his lies and phoniness and risk real serious damage by the Obama people?".
The fact that Romney lost was a horrible realization to GOP moderates who could not fathom for an instant how it was that the Conservative Base would hand four more years to Obama. It was to them unthinkable that any rational voter would allow such an outcome.
But it was the outcome needed. It was not at all to support Barack Obama or allow him to act as the bull in the china shop. It was a decision made by Conservatives to prevent losing the Republican Party to people that had no allegiance to Conservative Principles and to traditional American values. The Conservative no-show in 2012 was a retreat to preserve the Idea that is America so that the Idea would survive to fight another day.
Conservative principles and traditional American values are more important than political party labels (which are just words). North Korea is known as the People's Democratic Republic of Korea. Does anyone believe there is democracy there? Words mean nothing without the values that underlie them. The Republican Party means nothing without Conservative Principles and traditional American values.
GETTYSBURG In America's Civil War, the War Of Northern Aggression or the War Between The States, however referred, the defining battle is generally agreed to as the Battle of Gettysburg and is recognized to be the turning point of that war.
The history of the Battle of Gettysburg is vast and can fill entire rooms of large libraries. There are parallels in decision making within the Confederate Command at Gettysburg and that of today's GOP that are informative.
The history of Gettysburg's decision-making among the Confederate Command is itself extensive just as the coming history of the decision-making between Conservatives and the GOPe over the next two years will be extensive and will likely lead to events of history with democrats that fills volumes on a Gettysburg scale.
What is different is the outcome of the 2016 grand battle is not known but it is believed that if the correct decisions are made, the outcome will certainly favor the GOP.
A comparison can be drawn with a perspective from the Confederate Command side and a few singular points can be raised to draw analogies for discussion. Civil War historians will have plenty to criticize in these very brief summaries. It is impossible to do this subject any sort of justice in a few paragraphs.
General Robert E. Lee was the commanding general of the Confederate Army at Gettysburg. The Confederate forces were well-trained and disciplined, valiant and courageous and more importantly they had been victorious but the length of the war was wearing on them and General Lee was war-weary as well.
It is important to understand General Lee was seeking a strategy to end the war as quickly as possible. This possibly sentimental longing of General Lee to find a way to end the war quickly was perhaps the biggest factor in bringing about the Confederate loss at the Battle of Gettysburg.
General Lee had presented to his generals a plan for a full frontal assault led by Pickett's Division which entailed 15,000 confederate soldiers running exposed over an open field about 3/4's mile in length. The assault came to be known as "Pickett's Charge".
Lieutenant General James Longstreet had argued this plan would be a disaster (it was) and laid out an idea to take a defensive position and let the Union forces come to them.
But General Lee proclaimed that his plan to charge the center of the Union defense was one where he "could see a path to Washington" and "end the war quickly".
Lt. Gen. Longstreet and others 'held their noses' and fell in line with General Lee's plan.
What if General Lee had been replaced before or after Gettysburg and Generals such as Longstreet had been promoted? Would such action have changed the outcome of that war? Very likely yes.
What was the view of Lee versus Longstreet? Lee wanted to attack and end the war. Longstreet wanted to defend and win battles regardless of a possibly protracted long enduring war because that is the way Confederate forces won battles.
TEA PARTY VS. GOP-E STRATEGY Perhaps more than any other issue, Tea Party minded Conservatives of both GOP and Independent voting blocs seek to reign in the federal government from its reckless course set to socialism, central planning, loss of personal freedoms and uncontrolled spending.
Tea Party minded voters want an era where their standard of living increases and the quality of their lives improves through choices of their own making. They want a federal government that controls and secures national borders and executes common sense foreign policies. Simply put, Tea Party Conservatives want more local control, they want the federal government's role to reset closer to that for which it was created and they want the US Constitution to be adhered to and revered.
The GOPe has only one goal and that is power. It embarks towards the same destination as democrats but follows at a slower pace in different lanes. Both GOPe and democrats seek greater control over the lives of ordinary citizens.
Tea Party conservatism is more in line with Longstreet's view to defend locally and win.
GOPe is more in line with Lee's view to win major battles and end the war with democrats ostensibly by becoming democrats themselves.
The deciding moment is already here. The next few weeks are the time when the leadership is chosen and the course is set. The GOP is encamped in a Gettysburg context and is now in deliberation about what course to set.
This is no time for Conservatives to stay quiet.
In an unintuitive way, the choice was a good one to sink McCain and Romney although ot gave Conservatives 8 years of Obama which according to the recent mid-term elections has left the democrat party in shambles.
In short, sinking McCain and Romney has left the democrat party in shambles. That’s not intuitive but it works.
If either McCain or Romney had been elected, it is certain that the issues that Conservatives are so firmly against would be in work today and there would be no place to go except to form a new party.
Obama has been good for the GOP Base. But the battle is not over. The GOPe are gathering to lay out an agenda that will be just as odious as that of the democrats.
They sank themselves.
Another important fact to note, in 2012 those registered as Independents were 24% of registered voters. In 2014 they are 42%.
It was GOP Tea Party Conservatives together with Conservative Independents that formed the tidal wave of the mid-term sweep.
Sarah Palin was spot on when she said to the GOP Establishment: ‘You didn’t build this!’
You don't call people you want to vote for you idiots.....
/johnny
BTTT
If you ever develop a ping list, please put me on it
something wrong with link thingies
The Republican Party means nothing without Conservative Principles and traditional American values.
These mid-terms was a bumper crop of RINO’s winning.
McConnell, Cochran, Perdue, Roberts, Susan Collins, Tillis, Graham, Alexander, Cornyn, etc all won with comfortable margins.
“The Republican Party means nothing without Conservative Principles and traditional American values.”
The Republican Party means nothing ....with the “Read my lips, no new taxes”....Gang Members.
And the democrat party means nothing without, more taxes, expand government, redistribute wealth from the hard working to the lazy or incompetent, socialized healthcare, abortions on demand, power to the unions, weak foreign policy, you did’nt build it, if you like your doctor you can keep him, if you like your health insurance you can keep it, open borders, amnesty to illegals....what did I forget?
So we can choose the democrats or the mushy republicans.
It is indeed a Hob-son’s choice.
Tillis and Perdue are untested on the national state, and Tillis (NC) the state I am from, only won by 1.7%, so not quite accurate,. my friend..
How about all the other RINO’s? I think they won on average by 10 points if my memory is right. Tillis was supposed to lose in most pre-election polls. But he won!
So instead of picking on ONE example we might be better served by looking at the overwhelming majority of results.
One other point that is crucial to absorb: Hillary Clinton is reported to be considering how to divide the GOP so that she can slide into office without a majority just like her husband did.
The GOPe vs. Conservative infighting must be settled and unity introduced for the 2016 fight. Hence, it is important now more than ever that Tea Party minded Conservatives grab positions of leadership and influence to prevent the GOPe from dividing the GOP further.
History proves the GOPe cannot unite the Party and importantly cannot persuade Independents to vote Republican.
Whereas, Tea Party GOP Conservatives are allied with Independent conservatives and together they form a bloc that creates landslides in elections.
And Independents now number 42% in voter registrations!
Indeed, those that stand for nothing will fall for anything.
That is one of the soundest arguments for standing by our conservative principles that I’ve ever seen posted here.
I and others here have made the same points thousands of times on this forum, but perhaps not at the same level of wordsmanship.
Thank you.
Happy Conservative Warrior Ping!
Great review. So, who is the GOPe’s General Pickett going to be this time?
No offense, but that’s over 2800 words detailing something that we already know.
Here’s the problem: Boehner and McConnell are between you and the goal. Given the GOPe is *FIRMLY* entrenched in the controlling seats, how do we get to the goal?
> “No offense, but that’s over 2800 words detailing something that we already know.”
I know that. It was written for some of the newer readers as a primer on the last 8 years of election history from the Conservative perspective and also what Conservatives face today.
How do we get to the goal? It must be reinforced by the Conservatives that are in office and who were just elected that Independents have a home with them, that they can be trusted. The goal for 2016 is reachable by those who capture the Independents.
The salient fact is that in 2012 Independents numbered 24% of registered voters. In 2014 they are at 42%. You can check that on the internet in many ways. Why isn’t this fact major news? It’s not something that is easily expounded on and is difficult to sensationalize in a 30 section news quip. Many major news stories are designed like soap operas and there is no head figure for Independents. But the numbers show that registered voters are leaving in droves from both major parties. So Independents are key to reaching the goal.
Independents will flock with GOP conservatives as long as GOP Conservatives stand up to the GOPe. The GOPe is simply not popular; they do not address or reflect the daily thinking, burdens and concerns of Conservatives and Independents.
I’ve posted a few times how Ted Cruz can win in 2016 by a landslide. It assumes he takes half of the Latino vote (he took 40% in Texas in 2010), he takes all the Conservative GOP Base, he takes all the Perot Blue Collar Conservatives and the Reagan democrats and he takes 2/3’s of Independents. Analysis shows Jeb Bush, Romney or Christie losing to Hillary Clinton because of suppressed Conservative turnout.
In the near term, the danger, and it is a red flashing light danger, is a legislative amnesty effort only it won’t be called amnesty but will be called Border Security Act or similar. As in the past, amendments will be added to make the bill into something more comprehensive, the border security provisions will be abandoned or buried and legalization will follow. This will, as Conservatives know, add millions and millions of democrat voters and it will happen almost immediately via Motor-Voter.
The way to stop this loss of voting integrity is to stop any sort of immigration bill until Conservatives control both chambers of Congress and the White House; hopefully that will be realized in 2016.
There is Legislative Amnesty and there is Executive Amnesty. Neither will allow it to be called amnesty or referred to as such but it will be amnesty. Legislative Amnesty is more dangerous that Executive Amnesty because the latter can be stopped temporarily (at least a year) by a preliminary injunction while its legality is sorted out. Legislative Amnesty becomes law and cannot be stopped by courts as by definition it is made as law and is therefore legal.
The way to get Boehner’s attention on the matter is for the incoming and returning group of Conservatives to repeat what has worked before which is to make Boehner face the reality that Obama cannot be trusted to enforce any new bill for immigration. Obama will do what he wants.
But Boehner is a real concern and is a loose cannon who has a track record of caving. Right now it is a good bet he is looking for any angle to get amnesty passed because that is what the powerful interests behind the US Chamber of Commerce want. But he is checked somewhat by members of his caucus.
Right now it is conceivable that Boehner could bring the House version of the Senate’s Comprehensive Immigration Reform to the House floor for a vote. He won’t do it but if he did, it would pass with all the current democrats voting for it and about 17 progressive republicans. But the majority of the Republican Caucus is against it but that did not stop Boehner when he decided unilaterally late last year to bring the vote to raise the debt ceiling to the House floor without support of his own Caucus. So he has the power in his Speakership to get amnesty passed.
The numbers of Conservatives that are new and returning to the House I think exceed the number in this lameduck conference so it should add more resistance to Boehner going around the Republican Caucus. We shall see but the fact that he can do it on his own is a major concern.
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