"A Republic, If You Can Keep It" - First Call

3/26/2008

[Content Provider]

There is a story, often told, that upon exiting the Constitutional Convention Benjamin Franklin was approached by a group of citizens asking what sort of government the delegates had created. His answer was: "A republic, if you can keep it." The brevity of that response should not cause us to under-value its essential meaning: democratic republics are not merely founded upon the consent of the people, they are also absolutely dependent upon the active and informed involvement of the people for their continued good health.¹

If I have called your attention to this message, I have reasonable grounds to believe, based on messages you have posted here, that you understand the dire situation that now faces the republic given to us by the founders of our nation. Specifically, you have expressed one of the following:

• that you would not vote for McCain under any circumstances
• strong opposition to a policy which McCain strongly supports
• referred to McCain pejoratively or with derision
• that you will not compromise core principles in the name of putting an (R) in office
• demonstrated a strong understanding of the current national and global economic situation

If I have erred in including you in this list and you do not agree, I apologize.

If you are yet to be convinced that McCain is just another Democrat and another socialist liberal regardless of the letter beside his name, this message is not for you.

This message is specifically for those who agree that an alternative to McCain, Clinton, and Obama must be found, or that the Republican Party, having emphatically objected the conservative agenda, is no longer a suitable vehicle through which our nation can repel the continued march of socialism.

It is time to do to the political elite's monopoly on power, what the grassroots has already done to the media elite's monopoly on information - to break the stranglehold of control by a privileged few.

The purpose of this thread in particular is to have a brainstorming session - I do not have, and do not represent myself as having, all the answers. What I do know is that our nation has made us prosperous beyond anything humanity has ever known before, and we owe it to our nation to repay that favor by acting to save it from "socialists of all parties"²

This is what I would like to do.

First, consolidate the case against McCain so that our fellow Republicans and conservatives can see the folly of holding their noses this time. A good deal of information is already assembled here and here. What you can do is add additional references, and help in the framing of the argument.

Second, if we’re to be serious, we need to find someone who knows how the game is played and can be convinced of the necessity of finding an alternative to the Big Three. I’m no politician, but I’ll bet that if we can put heads together we can use the tools at hand to find one or more champions to take this message to a broader group of people. Once we have the case above put together we present it as a petition to prospective champions. I would like to specifically avoid including those who ran campaigns against McCain this year so as not to have this effort misconstrued as payback for their losses. This is a positive effort, not a negative one. Some initial suggestions I can put forth who I believe would be sympathetic to a well-constructed argument: Thomas Sowell, Rush Limbaugh, Michelle Malkin, Ann Coulter, Tom McClintock. There is no such thing as too many champions, the more the better.

Third, put together an effor to derail the nomination of McCain at the convention. There is a reason why the candidate is chosen by delegates rather than by direct vote, and candidates like McCain validate the forethought of those who put such a system together. Just because the candidate was chosen by Democrats and other non-Republicans doesn't mean we have to consent to it. In this the advice of our champions and others among us with political experience will be of immense importance.

Fourth, and perhaps most importantly, I believe we can use the tools available to us in 2008, such as social networking and viral marketing, blogs, forums, and file sharing, to create an ongoing and enduring alliance between the disparate groups all working on specific elements of the conservative agenda. RKBA associations, pro-life organizations, third-party efforts and other groups may be focused on different topics, but the threat posed by the socialists afflicts us all equally. Rather than place all our eggs in a single third party basket, we should endeavor to get as many third parties on as many ballots as possible, so that in the future we are not held hostage to the Democrat/Republican government party. Our task would be gargantuan if created from whole cloth; by leveraging the power of existing groups, publications, and social networks, we could have millions of hands building a united front to preserve our Republic.

If you act, this can start right here and right now. Put an end to the helplessness, cast off your resignation - however much or little you have to contribute, bring it to the table. America was born as a free republic - it is time to reclaim our birthright as Americans. We have no guarantee of success, but if we place our trust in God, we may yet again regain His favor.

Please add your ideas as to how we can pursue the items above and pass this along to those who are also interested in seeing our nation free once more.

[Content Provider]

Your assistance and opinion is respectfully requested.

[Grunthor]

You are new here so you will catch a lot of flack but you are only saying what everyone is thinking. They want me to vote for the GOP nominee? Give me one worthy of my vote.

[The Spirit Of Allegiance]

Thanks for the thread.

I was suggesting similar discussion and efforts when I previously posted this:

---

Conservatives can still thwart this double-bind/ squeeze play/ Catch-22 of either an open borders RINO or a Democrat by forcing—via grassroots pressure—their Electoral College REPRESENTATIVES to vote for a write-in candidate like Duncan Hunter.

We cannot let the Liberals destroy the Electoral College by seceding—or let ourselves feel so desperate that we are willing to do it ourselves. The Constitutional Republic must be preserved.

The time for the PRESSURE of the POPULAR VOTE is coming soon, far before November and in advance of the RNC Convention.

The Liberals don’t have near the power over the entire process they want—or want us to believe.

And meanwhile, some prayer and fasting isn’t at all a bad idea.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1980506/posts?page=104#104

[Old Sarge]

[Ingtar]

I’m watching what Dobson, Keyes, and some others are doing at the moment, hoping they present us with a palatable candidate.

[The Spirit Of Allegiance]

Ping.

[Tennessee Nana]

Thanks for the PING

[henkster]

I’m afraid most of my comments will be seen as pretty pessimistic, and I have to admit they are.

1. The 2 socialist parties are entrenched in our society. Nothing is going to keep the operatives of socialist party B (GOP) from formally nominating McCain. Nothing short of McCain’s demise.

2. The GOP exists only as the stalking horse for the democrats. It is their cultural boogeyman. In reality, it is no different.

3. The socialists have programmed the great majority of Americans to abdicate their intellect in pursuit of vain empty materialism. They have also programmed the majority of Americans to sell their independence for the promise of security. In the end, they will be controlled.

4. Things will get far worse before they get better, if they ever do.

[Supercharged Merlin]

Me, I’d gladly pull spikes all night if necessary to derail McVain. God, the “major speech” he just gave was just frightening.

But talkshow hosts and commentators are NOT POLITICIANS. Asking one of them to BECOME a politician is like asking a movie critic to write a script.

Running a Government is just like running a very large business - no matter how right and bright the top man may be, he’s got to have a team of middle management and workers that know what they are doing. The top man has to know how to select people, give them a mission, negotiate conflicts, monitor results. THAT’S what doesn’t exist in the Libertarian party, which is why it’s such a failure.

We need a Tom Tancredo or a Duncan Hunter who is willing to take the chance. And then we’d need the money and management to build an organization that would have a chance to take over the Gummint successfully if we won the election. This is where the rubber meets the road, and why Dr. Paul fails so miserably. An organization of bloggers and malcontents does not make a political party.

How to coalesce a legion of genuine Conservatives who have management smarts around a third party is the problem.

I don’t know the solution. Wish I did.

[TigersEye]

I definitely agree with your assessment of the current situation. Your idea of a petition is a good one IMO. We need a candidate. A candidate would give the necessary focal point for a grassroots movement to coalesce.

[Content Provider]

If you don’t mind I will add you to the list of people to be included as this effort develops.

[mad_as_he$$]

The country has been infected by a worm that was introduced by a Trojan horse. The soul is already on life support. It requires a hard reboot to recover. BLOAT oh and store some food and water.

[penowa]

Thank you for the invitation. I wish I had something to add to help your effort, but I have to agree with henkster’s post # 9.

[Content Provider]

I should clarify one thing. By “champions” I mean people who are prominent and can communicate the message to many people. They may be politicians, but they don’t necessarily need to be.

[Mr. Silverback]

Welcome to FR.

It's not conservative to accept an inept Commander-in-Chief in a time of war. No number of histrionic claims that we can only stay true to our principles by helping the anti-Semitic chihuahuas is going to make it true.

[c-b 1]

If we are to save the Republic, our attention must be focused on the House of Representatives. All spending must originate in the House, like our fellow voters, most of those serving in the House don't understand that, or care. Without money the President, can do nothing.

Our time, and effort would be better spent electing people to the House who understand the process, and are willing to stand up for the Constitution.

[The Mayor]

"A republic, if you can keep it."

We've lost it already..........

[Mr. Silverback]

As much respect as I have for Jim Dobson, if you’re waiting for help from a guy who thought Fred Thompson was an unacceptable candidate because he didn’t go to church as much as he should, you are going to be waiting for a long time.

[grey_whiskers]

FRed.