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Patton, you and I agree on our stance on the topic of abortion. It also sounds like you and I live in areas of the country that have strong GOP candidates that can win. Let me expound on two extremes ... where the rubber of political ideology hits the road of political grass-roots realities. Last week, we had a Tea Party-sponsored debate in my area for a long-held Republican STATE Representative office. The Representative is well-liked and retiring after decades of public service. Of the four candidates, ALL of them were exceptionally well-qualified and ALL of them gave the “appropriate” responses to a highly-skeptical Tea Party audience.  Two of the candidates were physicians (both VERY much against ObamaCare), one is the President of the local school board, and one was a former councilwoman with a strong Conservative record (she showed up a little late for the debate because she was at her young son's football game). Again, I could vote for any of them in November. My only beef with one of the candidates was he was not in support of school vouchers and charter schools using school board money. I am “working” with him on that issue, and perhaps I can persuade him otherwise ...  It’s fantastic to have a selection of strong Conservative candidates who believe as you do — and actually will likely win with the voting electorate. Our GOP Primary starts in March, and it will be tough to decide on who is the best Conservative candidate for my vote.
Not all Conservatives are in my lucky position. Some Conservatives live in regions of west or east coast where, for example, an Oklahoma Republican would have a snowball’s chance in hell to become elected. Conservative “activists” (I hate that word) in that region can try to change voter core values by educating the public about the virtues of a smaller government, the horrors of abortion, the value of school vouchers, etc. But in the end, it's sometimes the equivalent of pissing in the wind against decades of Progressive indoctrination to support a winning, TRULY Conservative candidate to victory to thus change public policy. Listen to Hannity's "Man on the Street" interviews to hear some of the utter stupidity that exists out there that we have to counter — and educate — as Conservatives. Another problem can be getting well-qualified Conservative candidates are willing to run for office and WHO CAN WIN. It’s not an issue of their PRINCIPLES, but sometimes an issue of their ability to counter a slime campaign from the Democratic opponent, the Democrat has a better PR machine and can get in the local newspapers more often, or the Conservative just lacks charisma.
 God bless Doug Hoffman for stepping up to the plate in NY-23 last November! He had a very active Conservative base pushing him, and he was the focal point of NATIONAL Conservatism and anti-establishment fervor and RINO selection by the RNCC. But even as Hoffman himself said in many interviews — a CPA by trade — he’s not very charismatic. In his case, in his district, his anti-establishment persona almost won that race! By contrast, Coakley’s dead-pan stage presence assisted her in losing on January 20 to hearken Scott Brown’s win. But in reality, as I see it anyway, not all races have wise voters who can see through the BS to elect Doug Hoffman-type candidates representing Conservative values. I want Conservatism to minimize Progressivism for the next 50 years — and I think we can. But if you know anything about psychology and public opinion, it CAN take time to alter core values of voters in large groups of people that can translate into PUBLIC POLICY.
Do you vote for the Independent Conservative candidate who CONSISTENTLY polls at 5%? I try to hold to my values, as you do. But all things considered, in the General Election, IF I lived in one of those purple areas of the country — and it PAINS me to no end to write this — I’d consider voting for the electable RINO than the utter unelectable Conservative or Libertarian independent candidate. Not all political races are the same, and not all candidates are equally accepted by the voting electorate ... for example, I’m unsure that a Doug Hoffman would do well in downtown Los Angeles, even as the political pendulum swings far Right in 2010 ... I am open minded on this, though. I’d honestly like your (and anyone else's) opinion on this and how to properly gore this beast. |