Posted on 03/26/2008 7:46:38 PM PDT by 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:
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.
At this point in the year 2000, George W. Bush didn't know who the president of Pakistan was, but Al Gore did. Who would have been the better Commander-in-Chief?
McCain made a minor mistake, the kind of "misspeaking" Hillary claims she was doing when she claimed to have been under sniper fire in Bosnia and the kind i hear commentators and experts make all the time when talking about the region, because it's hard to keep all the crazies straight. But he does understand crucial things about wars (like, it's a good idea to win them) that are beyond either of his opponents. They both want to withdraw from Iraq precipitously, fail to conduct good intel, and treat the most dangerous thugs on the planet like honored guests. These morons really believe that not kissing up to Mahmoud Ahmadinajad is a real foreign policy failure.
To continue the dog metaphor, we're auditioning guard dogs and we have a choice between two chihuahuas and a Rottweiler who whizzes on the carpet occasionally. I'm taking the Rottweiler.
The problem with this particular Rottweiler is its strong inclination to attack its master.
See post #37
If you refuse to include Christians, then McCain is for you.
I understand your position, and find your passion admirable. However, if you review the materials collected and linked in my initial message, I believe you will come to understand, as I did, that the good in McCain is illusory, a product of wishful thinking, and based only in undeserved inference by the party tag he deceptively wears.
So, let me get this straight: Even though such a grass-roots, bottom-up approach is exactly how we took the party away from the country clubbers back in the days of Gerald Ford, we should only try it now if we have a Democrat in office? We have to do it whether McCain wins or not, so why not get a guy with a clue about the war?
In my opinion, it will be easier to do this if the Witch is the Rat nominee, many more people in the red states fear her than Obamanation. We need to recapture the seats in the House that went Rat in the last couple of elections, especially in the red states that have the most to lose from a DemonRat administration. When the Beest has to fight both the united Republicans who have shed their RINOs, and the powerfully disgruntled moonbat left that is the Obama base, she won't get squat done.
Sometimes you have to go through a Jimmy Carter to get to a Ronald Reagan.
Thanks, I will check out that site tomorrow!
If I could prove to you that McCain’s top priority is not the war, but global warming, would you then consent to at least review the remainder of the information?
There’s no way it’s going to happen. If we want conservatives we need to focus downticket.
I understand your approach, but I am not sure that the GOP can be saved any more. It will take too much time to try to start from the bottom and move up... that would, in reality mean starting at the state level. There isn’t enough frustration at that level for people to be moved to action. Trying to take it back in DC in the House and Senate, again...means you have to have enough people upset about those who are currently representing them. I don’t think it can be saved that way...though I understand your approach. I think the message needs to be sent LOUD and CLEAR, NOW that we are fed up with the GOP and their pseudo-options, MHO.
This may be news to you, but one of the following people will be the President of the United States at this time next year: John McCain, Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.
In other words, we will have a president next year who was in favor of the McCain Amnesty last year. That won't be a change.
So, we can either have a president who believes in amnesty, victory over terrorists and the homeland security methods that have been working so far (like wiretaps) or we can have a president who believes in amnesty, losing to Al Qaida abroad, making nice-nice to people like Ahmadinejad and throwing terrorist surveillance in the round file.
BTW, based on your second paragraph, I'm beginning to think you're probably one of the seminar posters we've been seeing on the site lately who are trying to run a mirror image of Limbaugh's Operation Chaos over here on our side of the house. Sorry, not buying it.
The options are not mutually exclusive. I suggest we pursue both.
One thing to keep in mind is that the downticket races will be negatively affected in the extreme by a candidate at the top of the ticket who opposes all they stand for. It will be a very difficult election season if all our House candidates have to spend the entire time arguing against their own candidate for President.
I think I see where you’re coming from. Like I said, I highly respect Dobson, I just think he really messed up.
On the presidential level this year, I will be voting for a republican, but not for a Republican.
Down ticket, there will be some Republicans that earn my support, because they are republicans. I will help them in spite of their party registration, not because of it.
I’m done with the Republican Party. It is no longer a vehicle to promote the principles this republic was built on. Instead, it’s now owned and operated by George Soros and his minions.
But I will always be a republican until my dying day.
Maybe we can get Nyarlathotep to be his running mate?
There should be a national clearinghouse for people to support conservative candidates across the Country. I would rather spend my money to get a conservative elected in another state than a RINO in my own. We must think nationally, much like Soros and the liberals do, and support those who believe as we do wherever they are.
Only by getting more conservatives into office will we be able to change the course of our Country. Our present state of affairs is proof of the foolishness of supporting Republicans even if they're liberal. We all have limited resources and they must be used in a coordinated effort to "keep" our Republic.
That said there is a 10% Chance I will vote for McCain your logic you stated, but a 90% Chance I won't because of all the Un-Conservative RINO things he's done and continues to say/do!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.