I agree in principle. But I see nothing wrong with eliminating terminal naivete about the enemy's tactics as an operating philosophy. Conservatives allow themselves to be sucker-punched, sandbagged, kneed in the groin, rolled, sapped and brass-knuckled over and over again. They never see it coming! Why do they never have a back-up plan? Why can't they ever see more than a move or two ahead in the political chess game? Why don't they comprehend that the enemy plays by Lucifer's rules? They don't have to adopt the same corrupt rules to win but they have to play the real game.
Why am I, a citizen with an average I.Q., seemingly able to see Democrat tactics so clearly while Republican strategists set themselves up for troubles over and over and over? Whenever Lucy begs Republican Charley Browns to have another kick at the football they always naively oblige -- then wonder where it went at the last moment. The name Orrin Hatch comes immediately to mind but there are plenty of others.
There are people who don't learn from experience, and that's where the Stupid Party gets its name. Maybe we could start by sending copies of Alinsky's books to every member of the Stupid Party in the Congress and Senate.
"Know your enemy" is certainly one of our rules. But I think we'll have to consider the problems at a strategic level before we can do anything about tactics.
For one, politics is the enemy, not our salvation. The Republican Party is just as much in the politics business as the Democrat Party. It may have a less obnoxious philosophy, but its devotion to freedom is shaky indeed, and bound to disappoint. We cannot put our faith in men, laws or election returns.
Two, as noted by others here, the press serve as a Fifth Column for Democrats and the Left. It is very difficult to get a sensible message to the public through the press. That is the main reason the GOP looks like the Stupid Party -- it has no voice. For decades, conservatives had only a trickle of books, mainly from one publisher, and a handful of lightly read magazines. Only in recent years have we developed alternative communications. Rush Limbaugh was the first, showing the power of talk radio by his personal mastery. The Internet was the second. Its power is great. The fact that you and I can talk this way to an audience of hundreds and thousands shows us that we have strength far greater than our one vote.
I hope the ongoing discourse in Free Republic will not only uphold the higher values but show the generosity of spirit toward all men that the Left has long since trashed. Of course we still have to hone our critical faculties and seek the truth, but always hating the sin, not the sinner.