Posted on 05/04/2012 6:31:27 AM PDT by Jim Robinson
My FRiends, we might as well face the reality that we the combined pro-life conservative movement and tea party coalition have lost this round (the presidential election) in the larger battle to reclaim our constitution and our inalienable rights. Rove, Romney and the GOP-e have successfully destroyed and driven off each and every pro-life conservative tea party candidate from the race and all have surrendered to the Romney camp. It is no secret that Romney is not one of us. There is absolutely no doubt that he has never accomplished a single conservative thing in his entire political career (one term as liberal governor of liberal Massachusetts and six years campaigning for president). In Massachusetts, he undeniably championed abortion, gay rights, global warming, gun control, big government statist mandated/socialized health care programs, liberal judges, TARP, bailouts, stimulus spending, debt limit increases, etc, and even though he's recently claimed a complete reversal in political beliefs and no longer despises pro-life conservatives or the time of Reagan-Bush, I still don't trust him. He still stubbornly holds on to some of his statist beliefs, like global warming, gays in the military, RomneyCare, stimulus spending, etc, so there is no way I can vote for him or join Cain, Perry, Bachmann, Newt or any others who are endorsing him. But I will not act on my prior promises that I would actively campaign against him if he wins the nomination. Our combined movement is already torn and splintered and is going to have to be mended if we're going to have any impact whatsoever against the liberal/progressives and statists after the election. To that end I propose a TRUCE among our conservative forces during the remainder of this election cycle.
We conservatives have already lost the presidency to either the Dems or the GOP-e, and if we tear the tea party apart, if we tear the pro-life movement apart, if we tear FR apart then we lose it all. It's far more important that we re-unite and live to fight another day. Even if we can't vote for a true conservative for the presidency, it's doubly important that we all turn out on election day or sooner and drag our friends, neighbors, relatives, co-workers, etc, to the polls to vote straight conservative for every slot on our ballots. The only way we can win our freedom back is to vote out the liberal progressives and vote in as many liberty loving conservatives as is humanly possible into every elected office at every level of government all across this great land. To prevent a total loss to the dems or GOP-e, we must continue the tea party rebellion into November and beyond. Whatever else you may do, you must turn out and vote straight tea party conservative down ticket!!
We must continue expanding our inroads into the state houses and into every elective office in the land. We must continue building on our majority in the house and we must retake the senate!! We must help the conservative governors and state legislatures to fully restore the ninth and tenth amendments and reclaim the real political power away from the federal usurpers and return it to the states and the people per the constitution!! This way, regardless of who wins the presidency, we can cut his unconstitutional expansionist movements off at the knees. And if any executive, civil officer or judge dares commit impeachable offenses, we must hold the majorities so we can impeach and remove them from office!!
And we must salvage and rebuild and continue strengthening our conservative pro-life, pro-family, pro-gun, pro-borders, pro-constitution, pro-small government, pro-defense, pro-liberty movements and our tea party coalition. And we must stop ripping each other apart!!
Therefore I hereby propose a general truce among our conservative forces!!
The Republic we save may be our own!!
As far as FR's finances go, we're in the same boat as the rest of the economy and will have to make do with what we can raise. Fortunately, the big debts we ran up a couple years ago have been paid off. We borrowed approx $20,000 a few years ago from two FReepers to fund our national convention, plus we ran up another $20,000 in legal fees during the last couple of years fighting off Righthaven. But those are now behind us and paid off. We also did quite a bit of traveling each year for the last three years on cross country tea party tours, but I think we can now cut that back and remove it from our budget requirements. If we're fortunate enough to not incur any additional legal costs or equipment costs (other than what we've already planned), and cut the travel and a few other areas, we should be able to tighten our belts enough to weather the storm even if we fail to reach our short term fundraising goals.
Whatever the outcome of the elections, we are prepared to roar into 2013 with the tea party chewing up liberal/progressives and RINOs and raising hell in our never ending fight for liberty!!
We are the resistance!!
Let's take the enemy head-on instead of fighting each other!!
Damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead!!
I think this situation has not been sufficiently appreciated by conservatives.
Since Mondale we've been forced to campaign on "No! Really! This guy is much more of a leftist than he's letting on!"
It made it easy for the commies to reply "Look how ideological they are! What is this, the McCarthy era? The Cold War is over already. There are no leftists anymore. We're forward-looking, post-partisan pragmatists and you're stuck in the past!"
This year we can run against big government, resentment of success, and identity politics like never before. We are the party of e pluribus unum, equality under the law, and not stealing from future generations. That is a much easier sell.
Jim, I think this is a well thought out stance and I applaud you for making it.
Im an ABO guy, not crazy about Romney but resigned to the fact that I dont feel like I can abstain, but I certainly understand where you are coming from along with the other folks who cant vote for him because of conscience.
I appreciate the olive branch and wholeheartedly agree with the idea that you have stated. We as conservatives need to unite and not tear each other apart, even if we have to “agree to disagree” on the best course of action in this Presidential election.
But one thing we certainly agree on, regardless of what any of us do with regards to the presidental election, is the need to vote conservative all the way down on every other race, without a doubt.
If you don't see a difference between Bill Clinton/1996 and Barack Obama/2012, you have some reading to do.
A P.S. about the slaves — it’s impossible that the situation could not have brought about God’s frown, going beyond New Testament norms as it did. And if that resulted in a deterioration of the society to the point of war, it was a divine chastisement. I don’t think it’s as simple as saying Abraham Lincoln went on a jihad to stop slavery, though.
“the socially liberal Ron Paul”
“I don’t believe Ron Paul is as socially liberal as Romney. “
Ron Paul supports the destruction of marriage in toto. This position is more radical and dangerous by far than ‘gay marriage’, and yet Romney is attacked on FR for not stopping gay marriage in Mass (even though he never supported what the Mass SCOTUS did to create it).
Ron Paul supports drug legalization. social liberal.
Romney and Ron Paul have the same positions on abortion/life, and neither have been leaders on that issue.
Ron Paul took earmarks, so this ‘principles’ stuff is good PR on his part but not his real record.
My rep voted to abdicate the national debt on 2 Aug 2011 to the President. How can I vote for him? NEVER!
It’s a thorny dilemma. The wiser thing may be to see if this person can be primaried out by a sterner competitor. But if that won’t work then get the nose clothespin out.
Is there an internal FR enemies list of the dissident rabble rousers? Do any of them go by the initials KC?
Inquiring minds want to know. LOL
Johnny - you are and remain one of my favorite posters on this forum.
Here is the Clinton comparison off-hand
Debt is 3 times worse now - economy in much worse shape
Government is much larger now too - can’t afford promises or pensions
Clinton had Newt to keep him in line and he was pragmatic enough to often veer to the center. We have Boehner and Obama is already veering further left and he won’t care if he wins a second term.
Clinton did not have radicals throughout his administration and he worked with congress. As an aside, I really do miss Jocelyn Elders. Rush has never been as funny as he was when that gal was around.
The Progressive movement was still behind the scenes with Clinton. They are large and in-charge with Obama.
We are in deep doo-doo FRiend. I don’t believe he is overstating the seriousness of our situation at all. I was not either. One vote difference on the 2nd Amendment. One vote.
The Progressives in charge today make the Clinton administration look tame and I remember it well.
The primary is over. Romney won the nomination, the rest is a formality to the already existing reality.
Im not exactly sure what JR did here today... I think that is still left to be determined...
What shouldn’t ever happen again is supporting another DH like Ahnold... And it wont happen again...
Sometimes you have to poison the entire body to kill the cancer... But the cancer must be killed.
If you try to coexist with it, you Die...
If you try to make deals with it, you die.
If you try to make some kind of truce with it, You die.
And sometimes... Even if you fight it with everything you have, you still die...
but...
There are those times... That you fight it tooth and nail, and win... and live free of it.
Progressives/Rinos are the cancer and doing anything but fighting them tooth and nail ensures miserable defeat.
So sad Jim
It tells us that there is a possibility that the Conservative message doesn't resonate with the Public, even with the closest thing to Stalin living in the White House while wreaking havoc on the entire Country.
It also tells me that perhaps we at FR are preaching to the Choir and the Church Pews are empty.
Not until Romney gets enough uncontested delegates to clinch the nomination. I expect a floor fight.
You can say what you want, but unless the GOP cheats again and changes the rules, there are still states yet to vote, and delegates to get, and a convention.
And I'm pushing HARD against the Romney crowd until that fat lady sings.
And he DOESN'T have the delegates yet.
/johnny
Mark for later, begin @ 51.
/johnny
I am with you, no more. The party left me in 1998 when the Senate refused to do their duty and hold a real trial for the impeached Bill Clinton.
Republicrats/Demicans not a great difference between the two, for this citizen. And I am glad I am not alone in this thought. When enough come to this conclusion, perhaps things might change, but I am not holding my breath and besides I don't have that much time left.
No Sale. I’m not voting for a liberal. Obama or Romney.
/johnny
It’s your vote FRiend. The irony is your vote nor mine will probably make a difference. Romney will carry your state and Obama will carry mine.
Strange times indeed. Makes me wonder if we will get bored saying the same stuff on every thread?
AMEN!
And you never will see that candidate until and unless YOU decide to run!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
