Posted on 05/10/2009 1:08:11 AM PDT by Ron C.
Warning – this is a long and ‘windy’ post – not recommended for the semi-conservative or casual reader.
Lately I’ve ran across many a post and comment on FR that made me decide to again post about politics - for the sake of many of the newer Freepers – and for this nations sake. This post by Jim Robinson is corollary to what follows. Read it – Jim defines what I call a complete conservative.
Now, the first item of business - the definition of the 'Republican Party,' a.k.a., the GOP. A few members of Congress, a couple of state governors and a few past candidates for high office generally prompt the greatest amount of disparagement of the GOP on this website. Their voting screw-ups and lackluster comments are often used to denigrate 'the GOP' in general and often followed by statements such as, "Screw the GOP, I’ll never vote Republican again." That insults many, and proves that writers know little to nothing about party maintenance, or have any clue as their own responsibility for it. Yet, it is literally the voting public at large that determines what a political party becomes – it’s strengths and it’s weaknesses are a direct result of the level of public oversight and involvement in all aspects of party function and activity at the local level. Ignore that, and you get ever-poorer performance at the top – on par with the poorer performance of the citizenry in general at the bottom (local level.)
First - what the GOP is not. It is not defined by, nor do sitting members of Congress solely constitute ‘the GOP’ – yet that is the most common perception. Nor is the RNC, with a mere 165 members 'the GOP.' (All of them count in the national total, yet they are a distinct minority, very much outnumbered and at the eventual certain mercy of the total. Oh, sure – they are a powerful minority – but ultimately irrelevant in the face of the majority.)
"The party," - all political parties are made up solely of elected and appointed members within each State of the Union, along with a few chartered party club members which are by charter are allowed to join the party, pay dues, and allowed to vote in state and local party business. In California, the most populous state, there are only about 3,000 dues-paying party members qualified to vote in party business meetings and in State Party Conventions. The huge majority of GOP members in every state are elected district party representatives in local district 'central committees' – aka, 'wards' in eastern states. Of course, any elected state GOP officeholder is a member, as are any alternates or those they are allowed to appoint as members of the state party. In smaller States, the number is much less. An average per state would be perhaps 1,000 party members in the more numerous smaller states.
There is no published figure of what the 'total GOP party members nationally' is, nor is there such a figure for the 'Democratic' Party. The entirety of the GOP is not more than 62,000 members nationally.
So, lump all the RINO’s you can think of that currently serve in state and national government together, and add up the figure. Lets say you know a lot of RINO’s in Congress, and in State legislatures – and you can come up with as many as 100 of them. That would be .19% of total GOP membership – hardly representative of the huge majority at the local level, most of them quite conservative.
The second item of business here is wrapped up in what it means to be 'conservative.' You’ll not find a better definition of it than what Jim Robinson had to say in that link above. But I would go quite a bit further than Jim did – particularly in using that word 'aggressively.'
If you are under attack and faltering, and the GOP is – and if you really want to aggressively alter the makeup of the GOP – you become part of it. I did, and I have made a big difference (admittedly in the somewhat past) – by being a key force in routing RINO’s from State party leadership positions in droves. If you are really conservative, you join the war – where it counts. Either true conservatives help keep the party conservative – or you fail the final test of conservatism itself. That failure became ever greater after Ronald Reagan was elected – to the point that today less than .01 percent of GOP affiliated voters ever darken the doors of GOP meetings in their own neighborhood – and many that do are not conservative. That low number is a measure of the knowledge of the pubic in general, and of Conservatism wisdom in particular. Yet that door is THE most critical place where conservatives can help ensure the level of conservatism within the party. It seemed that once Reagan was in office, conservatives felt that their presence in the system was no longer needed. Also distressing has been the steep decline in the number of the 'faithful' – which should understand being 'watchmen on the wall' far better than those without wisdom. Sadly, today the level of Church involvement has declined to its lowest point in US history – yet, in stark comparison, during the Founding Era ministers were literally among those at the forefront of political activity.
Third - one thing needs to be understood clearly. Conservatives are extremely unlikely to ever prosper outside of the Republican Party. They must either fight to keep it pure (that is, socialism / socialist free) at the local level – or haul up the white flag of surrender. Third parties have done nothing to prosper conservatism, throughout this nation’s history. In fact, the few that have claimed conservatism (and largely aren’t) have repeatedly succeeded in doing nothing more than electing Democrats in the districts where third party candidates drew 1 to 2% of the vote – the margin by which the Democrat won. When any do gain office, they generally prove far less than conservative.
In fact the largest 'third party' vote ever recorded in US history was that of the 'Progressive Party' under Theodore Roosevelt, which drew 27.4% of the vote. But, note well - in the early 1900’s Democrats were the conservatives, while Republicans were the first to drift off into ‘progressive’ socialist politics. Unfortunately for us today, early 1900’s 'progressive' Republicans radically altered our political process, by co-opting political power to the top of the political ladder from the local level where it had resided for over 130 years. That single action helped send the party into the wilderness for near 50 years, and while it was there Democrats turned socialist and the Republican Party slowly became conservative.
Ultimately the degree of conservative success rests with conservatives themselves. And, if you’re like me – you’re a working stiff with a job somewhere or you’re working your buns off keeping a home together, caring for your family. You don’t have a lot of time – or a lot of money to sink into political activities, so if you’re going to do anything – you need to know how to be most effective with what little time you have. And believe me, you can be very effective, if you know what to do – and that is, walk into the real political arena nearest to you – at the local level, and figuratively, put on your political brass knuckles.
It is probably less than twenty minutes away from the front door of most Freepers. And, quite likely, you can gain a voting seat (without election) – simply by showing up – once or twice a month. (That is, if the local district committee is a few people shy of their allotted number of seats filled.) But, even if all the seats are filled, they all need alternates to sit in for them when they cannot attend for some reason. So take a friend or family member with you. It is worth noting here that quite often only one or two people will actually go to the trouble of getting the few signatures that it takes to get on the ballot for the Central Committee in a California district. When that happens, they are ‘elected’ by default. The position and their names don’t even appear on the ballot! Then, THEY get to appoint the remaining people to bring the district committee to its allotted number. That is a stark difference from public oversight – or 'conservative' attention to what makes up the party they choose to affiliate with. It is such apathy and indifference that has produced the squishy nature of the GOP in the largest and most populous states, and has led to ever greater pollution in even the most conservative states.
For over two decades, I voted many times per month – at the local district level, and at the county level. And, as a dues paying elected or appointed member of the state GOP, I voted often at all state conventions. I worked hard to purge liberals from any power in the state party, and I became highly effective at it. Ask RINO Pete Wilson how effective I have been. Ask Arianna Huffington, and her millionaire switch-hitting ex-husband Michael (with a very obvious case of aids) who both came lurking around the CA GOP, claiming that they were staunch Republicans. (Luckily, I knew about Arianna’s deranged past long before she came in the door – thanks to early use of the then brand new Internet.) Neither one got far, and both eventually left the GOP after being exposed for what they both were.
Bottom line, if Freepers really hope to see a GOP that harks back to conservative principles, and want to aggressively pursue such a goal - the only process that is effective begins at the most numerous level of the elected party – a few minutes away from your home. If we cannot be guardians at these most important gates to the political arena – forget about it at the state and national level. It is within this arena that conservatives can effectively block RINO’s from moving higher up the political ladder – by identifying them through personal contact, listening to their conversation, finding out what they believe and would like to see come to pass in future legislation. It is in this arena that you can identify the best – and help promote them toward higher office – and easily stop the worst of the worst.
The Reagan Revolution was initially energized by thousands of conservatives that had begun with Barry Goldwater a few years prior. In those days, back-yard political gatherings attracted literally thousands of local teens and college youth – and their parents – all of whom provided an energy level beyond any seen prior or since.
Conservatives could easily make that all happen once again – if enough of them decide they really want to become aggressive at making a political difference. Absent such an effort – conservatives will have only themselves, and their personal lack of effort to blame. Samuel Landon, one of our Founding Fathers, said it best. "On the people, therefore, of these United-States it depends whether wise men, or fools, good or bad men, shall govern them; whether they shall have righteous laws, a faithful administration of government, and permanent good order, peace, and liberty; or, on the contrary, feel insupportable burdens, and see all their affairs run to confusion and ruin."
Samuel Langdon is also quite famous for the following quote, from the same sermon. (spelling here is as in the original.)
"From year to year be careful in the choice of your representatives, and all the higher powers of government. Fix your eyes upon men of good understanding, and known honesty; men of knowledge, improved by experience; men who fear God, and hate covetousness; who love truth and righteousness, and sincerely wish the public welfare. Beware of such as are cunning rather than wise; who prefer their own interest to every thing; whose judgment is partial, or fickle; and whom you would not willingly trust with your own private interests. When meetings are called for the choice of your rulers, do not carelessly neglect them, or give your votes with indifference, just as any party may persuade, or a sordid treat tempt you; but act with serious deliberation and judgment, as in a most important matter, and let the faithful of the land serve you. Let not men openly irreligious and immoral become your legislators; for how can you expect good laws to be made by men who have no fear of God before their eyes, and who boldly trample on the authority of his commands? And will not the example of their impiety and immorality defeat the efficacy of the best laws which can be made in favour of religion and virtue? If the legislative body are corrupt, you will soon have bad men for counsellors, corrupt judges, unqualified justices, and officers in every department who will dishonor their stations; the consequence of which will be murmurs and complaints from every quarter."
Sorry my rant is so long - but, unfortunately in some ways it is not nearly long enough. For those that have never really entered the political arena, there is a world of things you should know, and will have to learn on your own, and from others that have gone before you. I can not say it more bluntly than this - if you do not go, learn, and fight - then who will?
May God bless you...
Ron
BTTT
A very reasoned and very interesting post.
Recently (last year or so), I have been having a lot of feelings stirring up inside, along the lines of what you've described. To use two allegories from movies... previously, I would have expressed my feelings as "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" (Network), but it has now morphed into this (from Major League): "Look, I go to you. I stick up for you. You no help me now... I say, fu** you, Jobu -- I do it myself."
I think the problem that many of us grassroots conservatives have is the one Moses had (Exodus 4:10): "Moses said: I beseech thee, Lord. I am not eloquent from yesterday and the day before: and since thou hast spoken to thy servant, I have more impediment and slowness of tongue."
Furthermore -- and this is a problem I would have! -- there would be a big problem dealing with the media, misquoting, asking loaded questions, printing untruths, etc. If you can give any tips on how you dealt with this, that would be terrific and helpful.
Again, thanks for an interesting post -- one that I will re-read and reflect upon.
I was speaking more to the general trend towards liberalism in the Republican party (aka Rinos) over the last several decades. At the state and local level, our Congressional representatives are elected directly by us. Our involvement in local politics (or lack thereof) does have an impact on Washington, for Obama derives his totalitarian power from Congress.
The public has been slowly snookered into allowing ever more liberal candidates to be elected, thus there is now a one-party system governing the country.
Not knowing how to fight criticism from the left, and a lack of local participation, has IMO led to this disaster.
My apologies for not being more specific.
Marked for later reading.
Good point! Also, let's not forget the whole psychology of debate - if the person you are talking with thinks they came up with the idea, you have an instant convert.
No apologies are necessary, and what you say is absolutely correct as far as congress and the senate. Just wanted to point out how conservatives really had no possible vote in the last presidential election.
Yes, and so are Washington, Jefferson, Paine, and a whole host of others. Does this mean their ideas are dead as well?
In fact, we do have considerable say - but have been led to believe we cannot make a difference. It starts at the local level.
The Mississippi River does not begin as a huge surging body of water, but rather as individual drops of rain which collect to form larger and larger streams.
WE are the individual drops of rain.
The very nature of the way the Republican Party is constructed made its demise inevitable.
Would you elaborate on this please? How is your group designed any differently from the Republican party? How will you exclude people whose opinions differ from your own? How will you "sell" Americans on voting for an independent party candidate when they are convinced that any such vote translates into a vote for democrats?
You are absolutely correct. The leftists had this sewn up long ago.
“That kind of faith is what made this country possible and preserved it all this time. If our forebears had acted the way Republicans act now, this country would have been dead long ago.”
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Is it possible - that you and those like Ron C. are both right? YES - both/and. Not one or the other. We should not blow apart the Conservative movement. We should grow and prosper Conservatives and anything that doesn’t do that well or effectively should be under our scrutiny. We also need to heed the lessons of history and reality - and not tilt after windmills.
Let’s all play our parts - while we pray to God our Father to bring back the principles of this nation to which we have formerly and still aspire to.
The GOP should do well in 2010 because mid term elections tend to produce major gains for the party out of power. Independents already seem to be a turning away from the Democrats over excessive spending and impending tax increases.
Even as the economy comes out of recession through late 2009 to mid 2010, unemployment will remain painfully high through 2012. Obama and the Democrats may well find the public in a surly mood.
With these considerations in mind, the best chances for increased conservative influence is within a recovering GOP. The fool's choice is to back a rump third party with little constituency except for those nursing grudges from the last time Republicans ran Washington.
“The public has been slowly snookered into allowing ever more liberal candidates to be elected, thus there is now a one-party system governing the country.
Not knowing how to fight criticism from the left, and a lack of local participation, has IMO led to this disaster.”
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Exactly! We have not been *effective* at fighting this battle. We have not known how to handle the media, criticism and even corruption within the Republican party. We certainly haven’t known how to deal with theh RINOs nor how to grow the Conservative movement to be more ethnically diverse. We need to seriously review our approach and make sure that while we stand on principle, we don’t forsake strategy and our God given ability to think through the best way to accomplish an end. This is what has made American great for so long and it is what WILL rejuvinate the Conservative cause!
You may know what I think by now: use a BOTH/AND strategy to drive the Republican party back into our camp..
“With these considerations in mind, the best chances for increased conservative influence is within a recovering GOP. The fool’s choice is to back a rump third party with little constituency except for those nursing grudges from the last time Republicans ran Washington.”
You do not address the growing non-identity of the R party. What good will it be to have a ‘recovering GOP’ - if the GOP stands for nothing? I’ve argue we oppose RINOs everywhere in the primaries, but support conservative Republicans in the primaries and generals. We’ll see how well the AIP (et al) does on this count. They have been supporting Conservative Republicans to date. That should be our strategy. Conservatives must and will regain a more of a footing in 2010.
Let’s roll with the Tea Parties and local activism!
There are already hundreds of Tea Parties planned for July 4th - as well as the weekend before and after the 4th!:
http://teapartypatriots.org/index.php?option=com_eventlist&view=eventlist&Itemid=2
http://www.teapartyday.com/Locations.aspx - 629 cities with July 4th Tea Parties
http://www.teapartyrevolution.com/#schedule - another list of Tea Parties
http://www.reteaparty.com/teaparties/ - another list of tea parties
Those trends will be like a stock market. In 2 years, the two parties will even out. I personally don’t feel like a republican, but given conservatism is much closer to the GOP...I feel it’s the closest alternative.
Your self appointed litmus test for Conservatism leaves a lot to be desired.
***The RINOs do more damage than good in the GOP. Also here in FR. We need a litmus matrix, not to get rid of them but to reveal them.
To: stockpirate; Jim Robinson
There are many here who are RINO trolls and down right leftists. So they are here pretending to support our ideals but the true light shines through and reveals who they are.
***I agree, and I’ve tried to something about it. When I brought it recently to JimRob’s attention in an attempt to get him to consider my idealogy litmus matrix idea, he called me a newbie. It’s frustrating.
25 posted on Friday, December 12, 2008 4:36:30 PM by Kevmo (Palin/Hunter 2012)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies | Report Abuse]
To: Kevmo
“Invaded and coopted?”
Well, newbie, we’re mostly all the same old crowd that’s been here all along.
119 posted on Monday, December 08, 2008 2:22:29 PM by Jim Robinson (We ARE the dissent, baby!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 116 | View Replies | Report Abuse]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2145065/posts?page=130#130
To: Jim Robinson
Hah hah, that’s great. I signed up 2 months after you and I’m a newbie. Back then no one even said, “Welcome to FR”.
But yeah, I do think that there are tons of RINOs. To be more accurate, the term would be CINOs. I’ve been pushing for an idealogical litmus matrix here on FR, not to get rid of RINOs but to expose them.
THE GOP DOESN’T WANT US- SO WHAT’S NEXT?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1965735/posts?page=762#762
***It simply takes too long. Look at this thread alone. I see evidence of RINOism in some of the FReepers on this thread. It takes 700 posts to drill down. We need the matrix posted and available so that we don’t have to drill down on every FReeping thread. They’re wasting our time. Deliberately.
Agreed to a large degree. Perhaps a way to rate members by other members???
762 posted on Thursday, February 07, 2008 8:43:23 PM by roamer_1
130 posted on Monday, December 08, 2008 2:39:20 PM by Kevmo (Palin/Hunter 2012)
By all means support conservatives in GOP primaries. Attend and support tea parties. And gear up as conservatives to surf the likely GOP big waves in 2010 and 2012.
Yeah, but he did base his ‘blacks wouldn’t pay income tax for a time’ plan on precisely the same erroneous idea that liberals use to push reparations, that the current plight of the black community is due to slavery. It reeked of ‘social justice.’
Amen to that. With a Conservative party we can broker power. If we hold the seats necessary to form a majority, we have them by the fuzzies. This is how parliamentary government works. There is nothing in the Constitution that requires a two party system. Corruption created this extra-constitutional mess. So, let's add a third party. A conservative party that DEMANDS Conservative principles or no power at all. Trying to "recapture" the GOP is a waste of time. That party, the Whig party, was formed to promote large, centralized government for rich people. It will NEVER be a conservative base. So.... forget it. Let's have power and stick to our principles...
A full bore conservative, Pat Toomey, announces against Specter, so he bolts the party, leaving the field clear for Toomey. Specter will almost certainly be defeated in the Democratic primary.
As for keeping the GOP honest when in power, the same remedy applies: primary insurgencies and the threat of them. The worst approach is for conservatives to wait until the damage is done inside the GOP and then whine about it and look for the exits.
Since GOP waves are likely in the next two election cycles, the best conservative strategy is to stay in the GOP and ride those waves into power.
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