Posted on 03/02/2007 4:16:56 AM PST by Jim Robinson
To have a successful future, it helps to understand the past.
First, lets understand that conservatives and conservatism did not lose last November.
The election loss was a direct result of the Republican Party and its leadership in the White House and Congress moving left.
The Republicans became that which they beheld.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, they beheld the corruption and abuse of power by the Democrats. But a few years after the voters threw the Democrats out of office, the Republicans became that which they beheld-the Republicans became corrupt and abused their power.
When most of the Congressional Republicans first ran for office, they ran against the sewer that Washington had become. But after a few years in Washington most of them act like theyve discovered that Washington isnt a sewer after all its a hot tub.
In other words, the Republicans real message was: We didnt want the Democrats spending the money, but now that we are totally in charge, lets blow the door off the bank vault, and lets spend and spend and spend our children and grandchildrens inheritance.
ALL FOR THE SOLE IMMORAL, CORRUPT PURPOSE OF HOLDING ONTO POWER.
And how appropriate that it turned into ashes in their mouth.
In January 2001, for all intents and purposes, the Republicans in the White House and Congress adopted a one-word strategy to govern.
And that one word was BRIBERY.
In essence they said to the voters youve got votes-weve got money-lets talk - lets deal.
The illegal corruption of Duke Cunningham, Bob Ney, Jack Abramoff, and Mark Foley is not a serious problem for us, our children, or grandchildrens lives.
Theyve been caught and punished.
But far worse crimes have been committed by the politicians who are still sitting in their Capitol Hill offices. Im talking about the legalized theft of trillions of dollars these politicians have stolen from the children of tomorrow in order to buy votes to stay in office today.
Therefore conservatives, our #1 need going forward is for new leaders.
Conservatives are like the Biblical Jews who had to wander through the desert for 40 years until that generation of immoral corrupt leaders had passed away.
As conservatives, were not going to get to the political Promised Land until we also get new, uncorrupt, principled leaders.
Dr. Phil, the TV psychiatrist, likes to say: Hows that working for you?
And I say: Hows that working for you conservatives to be an appendage of the Republican Party?
The voters spoke in November, and what was the first thing the Republicans did? They kept in power all the leaders who had led them over the cliff!
Obviously the initials GOP now stands for Go On Partying. Or Give up (G) on (O) principles (P).
Well, the Republican party apparently has a death wish, but that doesnt mean we conservatives have to go along with it.
My strong recommendation is for conservatives to stop being an arm of the Republican Party and become a 3rd Force, but not a 3rd Party.
The left has had enormous success by building strong 3rd force groups and coalitions.
The left has hundreds of environmental groups, consumer groups, civil rights groups, feminist groups, and homosexual groups, etc., etc.
And these groups have their own agenda, their own members, their own money, and most importantly they operate independent of the Democratic Party
Conservatives must do the same.
No longer think of yourself as a Republican, but as a Reagan conservative.
Lets re-launch the conservative movement.
Lets act independently of the Republican Party and their failed big government leadership.
Lets focus on the conservative movement, not the GOP.
We need to greatly increase the size and number of principled conservative organizations.
Lets launch a thousand new organizations reaching out to:
1. Small business owners, especially women, Hispanics, and Asians.
2. Americas youth, who know the current Social Security system just wont be there for them.
3. Independent voters, most of who support a balanced budget, family values, and fiscal restraint.
4. Values voters, who agree with us on same sex marriage and the culture of life and promoting traditional moral values not Hollywood values.
5. Young married couples, who care about child tax credits and better schools.
6. Senior citizens, who want to stop the politicians raid on the Social Security Trust Fund and dont trust them to manage their health care, either.
7. Doctors, who are already being hamstrung by red tape and are scared to death of the prospect of socialized medicine.
8. And all the Americans in the sensible center who know deep-down that conservatives really are right: Were right on illegal immigration, right on taxes, right on health care, right on the economy, right on terrorism and right for America.
Lets withhold support from all Republican National Committees because they spend our money in primaries to defeat conservatives.
Lets withhold support from most Republican elected officials, supporting only those few principled conservatives
Lets challenge in primaries all establishment big government Republicans and Democrats at the National, state, and local levels.
Lets run principled conservatives for local, state, and national party offices.
I congratulate CPAC for not having the Chairman of the Republican National Committee at CPAC for the first time in memory.
And conservativesthis is important for the time being, we should withhold our support from all of the top tier 2008 Presidential wannabees.
Not a one of them deserves our support today.
They all fail the Goldwater/Reagan test.
Goldwater became our hero when he and he alone in Washington stood up and criticized the Republicans for their big government policies.
On the floor of the Senate in 1960, he said President Eisenhower was running a dime store New Deal.
He spoke truth to power. Where is the Republican Presidential candidate that has stood up publicly to the big government Republican leaders in the last 6 years?
And if they havent stood up for conservative principles in the last 6 years, they wont start if they become President.
And Reagan regularly criticized Presidents Nixon and Ford.
And the second test is, tell me who you walk with and Ill tell you who you are.
Reagan walked with conservatives- long before he ran for President in 1976; he was at our meetings, our receptions, and our rallies.
And surrounding Reagan were conservative stars Lyn Nofziger, Marty Anderson, Dick Allen, Ed Meese, Judge Clark, Joe Coors, and many others.
If conservatives have not been around a Republican Presidential candidate before he began asking for our votes, I guarantee you conservatives will not be around him if he moves into the White House.
And I promise you; you will not have conservative policies or conservative programs without conservative personnel.
I dont know about you, but Im angry and I feel betrayed, but fortunately there are things we conservatives can do to become a governing majority in America.
However, its not likely to happen quickly, certainly not by 2008.
One of the strengths of the conservative movement is weve always approached politics as a marathon, not a sprint.
It may take 6-10 years for conservatives to be able to govern America.
But 1st conservatives have to follow the advice that Kevin Costner got in the baseball movie Field of Dreams.
If you build it, they will come.
We have to build a whole new conservative movement, independent of the two major parties.
And once we build a large, dynamic powerful conservative movement, the next Ronald Reagan will appear.
Remember the movie, The Blues Brothers with Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi. The idea in the movie was Were putting the band back together And were on a mission from God
Well conservatives, Were putting the conservative movement back together. And hopefully were on a mission from God.
--30-- NOTE to EDITORS: Richard A. Viguerie pioneered ideological and political direct mail and has been called the funding father of the conservative movement for his role in helping build dozens of conservative organizations. He is the author of the newly released Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause (Bonus Books, 2006).
(((PING)))
For example. My folks at one time would have been defined by their own beliefs as "RINO's", through plenty of persuasion on my part, I've managed to maintain a mutual loving relationship with my parents, and at the same time, affected change within their own hearts and minds. In the left winged media's eye, they now would be considered right-winged radicals just like me. They are a lost cause to the ideals of modern day liberalism.
I've got plenty of other stories like that. I'm affecting people in my local community, one heart and one mind at a time. It's a lot of work, but it's satisfying work. I'm young enough that I have plenty of years of the same work ahead of me.
These right wing pundits sitting behind DC walls and high atop castle towers wringing hands and crying because they can't get 100% of what they want all of the time can go pound sand as far as I am concerned.
It's called perspective. That's no different than demystifying the left winged myth that Iraq is a huge failure based upon the numbers, when in fact, more American's are killed every day in highway deaths than all the years we've been in Iraq, or saying more babies have been aborted in the years since Roe v. Wade was put into place than all the years of Hitler's maniacal extermination of Jews.
The demographics have changed vastly since 1980, and the horrible Carter is no longer president.
Yes, it's true; there are some FReepers who are conservative, and somewhat educated, but from my experience over the last few years, they are in the minority, even on Free Republic.
Consider the typical reaction whenever the truth sufaces around here: A whole lot of flaming vitriol ensues.
Good luck with any attempt to educate the FReepers, as they seem to be getting their main talking points from the RNC.
I have said it once and i'll say it again it JimRob 08!!!!
The basic principles are timeless.
Clarify, please. "More babies have been aborted in the years since Roe v. Wade was put into place than all the years of Hitler's maniacal extermination of Jews."
That they are. But the message of Reagan is lost on so many.
Too many want to wash their hands of the very same people who elected Reagan to two terms, whether it be Rockerfeller Republicans or RINO's.
My philosophy is that you can't build up what your hellbent on tearing down.
Vigueri complained that Conservatives are being bullied by the GOP. Well, who's fault is that? It's not the GOP's fault that Conservatives are allowing themselves to be bullied.
Perspective?
War? Invasion? Borders?
What mythical world are you living in?
More Americans killed by illegal aliens than Iraq war, study says
Do the math.
Yes, or did you not read the article?
8mm
The number 48,589,993 is only through the end of 2004. We are, unfortunately, OVER 50 MILLION now. And this number far surpasses the genocide of Hitler and Stalin COMBINED.
"He says the high number of Americans being killed by illegal aliens is just part of the collateral damage that comes with tolerating illegal immigration."
True conservatives stuck to principles and prevailed and were surrounded by the compromisers, the RINO's and the Rockefeller Republicans. The latter never accepted Reagan, but he won anyway. It is not that different today. Same forces conflict today, just different names and ages.
Some of us tried that here in Iowa a few years ago, and were "rewarded" with our efforts when the Iowa Republicans nominated "liberal lite" Greg Gansky to run against Tom Harkin instead. Outcome was predicted.
Designer has worked hard for the Republicans; County level Central committee, platform committee, yard signs, poll watcher, writing checks, etc., and came to the realization that most don't seem to care much.
(example) Central committee has a self-proclaimed liberal, and nobody wants to kick her out.
(another example) Platform committee chairman dismissed Designer's suggestion, so Designer put the issue before the County convention for a vote, and it passed easily.
(another example) Above-mentioned platform plank was removed at District level. (Designer could not attend)
(another example) State convention returned the same people to National without a scintilla of objection from the delegates. (except me)
Right, like I said, "perspective". It's tantamount to turning a blind eye toward abortion.
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