Posted on 06/23/2009 5:35:32 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
A Gallup poll last week showed that far more Americans describe themselves as conservatives than as liberals. Yet Republicans have been clobbered by the Democrats in both the 2006 elections and the 2008 elections.
In a country with more conservatives than liberals, it is puzzling — in fact, amazing — that we have the furthest left president of the United States in history, as well as the furthest left speaker of the House of Representatives.
Republicans, especially, need to think about what this means. If you lose when the other guy has all the high cards, there is not much you can do about it. But when you have the high cards and still keep taking a beating, then you need to rethink how you are playing the game.
The current intramural fighting among Republicans does not necessarily mean any fundamental rethinking of their policies or tactics. These tussles among different segments of the Republican party may be nothing more than a longstanding jockeying for position between the liberal and conservative wings of the party.
The stakes in all this are far higher than which element becomes dominant in which party or which party wins more elections. Both the domestic- and foreign-policy direction of the current administration in Washington are leading this country into dangerous waters, from which we may or may not be able to return.
A quadrupling of the national debt in just one year and accepting a nuclear-armed sponsor of international terrorism such as Iran are not things from which any country is guaranteed to recover.
Just two nuclear bombs were enough to get Japan to surrender in World War II. It is hard to believe that it would take much more than that for the United States of America to surrender — especially with people in control of both the White House and the Congress who were for turning tail and running in Iraq just a couple of years ago.
Perhaps people who are busy gushing over the Obama cult today might do well to stop and think about what it would mean for their granddaughters to live under sharia law.
The glib pieties in Barack Obama’s televised sermonettes will not stop Iran from becoming a nuclear terrorist nation. Time is running out fast and we will be lucky if it doesn’t happen during the first term of this president. If he gets elected to a second term — which is quite possible, despite whatever economic disasters he leads us into — our fate as a nation may be sealed.
Unfortunately, the only political party with any chance of displacing the current leadership in Washington is the Republican party. That is why their internal squabbles are important for the rest of us who are not Republicans.
The “smart money” says that the way for the Republicans to win elections is to appeal to a wider range of voters — including minorities — by abandoning the kinds of positions Ronald Reagan held and supporting more of the kinds of positions that Democrats use to get elected. This sounds good on the surface, which is as far as many people go when it comes to politics.
A corollary to this is that Republicans have to come up with alternatives to the Democrats’ many “solutions,” rather than simply be naysayers.
However plausible all this may seem, it goes directly counter to what has actually happened in politics in this generation. For example, Democrats studiously avoided presenting alternatives to what the Republican-controlled Congress and the Bush administration were doing, and just lambasted them at every turn. That is how the Democrats replaced Republicans at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.
Ronald Reagan won two elections in a landslide by being Ronald Reagan — and, most important of all — by explaining to a broad electorate how what he advocated would be best for them and for the country. Newt Gingrich likewise led a Republican takeover of the House of Representatives by explaining how the Republican agenda would benefit a wide range of people.
Neither of them won by pretending to be Democrats. It was precisely the Republican “moderates,” Bob Dole and John McCain, who lost disastrously to Democrats who had been scarcely known at first but who knew how to talk.
— Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. © 2009 Creators Syndicate, Inc.
“Conservatives have to allow our candidates to run as “moderates” in places like the Northeast, Western California and now Northern VA.”
ROFL! Where and when did the Mod Squad ask PERMISSION from the conservatives over who to run and how?
I somehow missed that. Time and again, the ones running in these places are moderates.
“By “moderate” I mean allow them to essentially ignore social wedge issues for the general election in these areas.”
Yeah, those issues that help us build a governing majority, instead of being a rump minority of country clubbers. Gotcha.
To be perfectly honest, those issues now find us in the minority.
And really, something nobody looks at is the impact the Neo-Cons had on our movement
Fi-cons have been pushed to the corner and forgotten about.
I bet you if Peter Schiff runs, he crushes Dodd in Connecticut.
Dodd...before Obama, was the epitome of DemocRAT corruption and duplicity.
False.
Run real conservatives...and nuke the State Media at the same time...and they would win.
They don't even have to drop one. Once they get theirs plus a delivery system, and make some International grab/raid we don't like, all the mullahs have to say is "Yeah, you can nuke us 'til we glow but we'll be able to get one off. You willing to trade [fill in a U.S. city] for all of Iran?
Obama & Crew, and mebba all others would fold like a tent.
“Fi-cons have been pushed to the corner and forgotten about.”
What are you talking about? Talk radio is nothing but financial conservatism these days. It’s boring as blazes.
The moderates want to surrender the whole social playing field to the Democrats.
Bwahaha.
Peter Schiff understands how to present fiscal conservativsm.
Glenn Beck does too
Rush, Sean Hannity, Levin. No sir
Conservatives have to allow our candidates to run as “moderates” in places like the Northeast, Western California and now Northern VA.
By “moderate” I mean allow them to essentially ignore social wedge issues for the general election in these areas.
IMHO, you missed the show. They knocked off mostly RINOs in the Northeast with more liberal rats starting in 2006. In the rest of the country, the rats moved to the right running pro Second Amendment and prolife candidates like Casey in PA.
I agree with that. The Dems have become smart in that regard, running pro 2A people like Heath Shuler in certain areas.
Which is exactly my point. In the Northeast we need more people like Peter Schiff to run, those who are intelligent on economic and fiscal issues and really don’t carry the “baggage” (as it is seen in the northeast) on social issues
As long as conservatives are told to stay with the liberal run Republican party and work from within that apparaus they will continue to be voiceless in politics. Until conservatives pull away from the Whig party and form their own party they had better get used to being out of power.
“To be perfectly honest, those issues now find us in the minority.”
What issues? Life/abortion, where for the first time more people are poling a prolife than prochoice?
Shool choice, supported by most people?
Gay marriage, still opposed by most Americans?
“And really, something nobody looks at is the impact the Neo-Cons had on our movement”
Um, lots of people have used the ‘neo-con’ a foil for blame.
I tend to accuse the RINOs.
“Fi-cons have been pushed to the corner and forgotten about.”
Um, your proposal to let moderates run is a proposal to do exactly that - Ignore the fiscal conservatives. SO to me, you sound a bit confused and are taking potshots randomly at those who you think are to blame, using different labels ... which may or may not fit.
IMHO: You need to run real full-bore fiscal conservatives in some of these blue states to get the juices flowing again: Tax cuts, tort reform, school choice, welfare reform, and defense of traditional marriage are not unpopular items.
The problem with the moderate-GOPers is that they run on NOTHING except a bit of “Demo-lite” stuff. They dont stand up on moral issues and they dont stand up on fiscal issues, except on the margins. It’s too weak to get conservative voters who make up a plurality of voters EVEN IN BLUE STATES to get excited.
We need a big tent, but that big tent includes conservatives.
JMHO.
“As long as conservatives are told to stay with the liberal run Republican party”
Not true. Your states RNC Committee man and -woman are not liberals.
“Until conservatives pull away from the Whig party and form their own party they had better get used to being out of power.”
Ah, yes “Divided we Stand” - splitting into unelectable third parties has only failed a dozen times before, the 13th time will surely be so *lucky* for us.
“I bet you if Peter Schiff runs, he crushes Dodd in Connecticut.”
You bet wrong. Schiff hasnt even bothered to VOTE most of his adult life. I read a guy who interviewed him and said he was the worst candidate interview he EVER did. The guy has no clue about politics and campaigns in the sense of most people who are politically active .. A smart analyst but a poor candidate. Wish I had the link to share, I cant find it.
“Which is exactly my point. In the Northeast we need more people like Peter Schiff to run, those who are intelligent on economic and fiscal issues and really don’t carry the “baggage” (as it is seen in the northeast) on social issues”
He’s anything BUT a moderate, he’s a RonPaul-type libertarian. BIG DIFF!
Let me add that a Schiff-type fiscal conservative would be the right type of candidate to run in NE in 2010.
(Although Schiff himself may have issues, see #35).
The economy and the lack of jobs will be issue #1 and we need strong people on that.
Romney won that way in 2002.
And the Whig (and now the modern day Republican party as well) failed when they failed to represent the base as is happening today. Yes, a separate party from the failing country club Republican party is the best way left for conservatives today.
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