[July4]

I agree with Jim Robinson.

I will vote for Mitt Romney even though I don't like him, because it takes time for a new president to get sufficiently entrenched in the presidency to do a great deal of damage. Obama and his followers have hurt America, and they will do even more now that they have their plans and people in place. I will vote for Romney to get rid of Obama, then to work to get an American who understands and adheres to the Constitution to replace Romney.

[GonzoGOP]

We are the resistance!!

A perfect motto, because we have to start thinking and acting like resistance fighters. Ambush, subversion, concentration of effort, and most of all carefully picking our fights.

Sun Tzu said if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.

We did not know our enemies. We assumed Obama was the enemy, and he certainly is an enemy. He is not however The Enemy. We completely failed to realize how far the GOPe would go to win. We failed to recognize Fox News and Drudge as agents of the enemy. We failed to recognize the real enemy, and we lost.

More catastrophically we certainly did not know ourselves. Mitt Romney was completely beatable in the primaries. Yet time after time after time we ripped apart the alternatives. Talking up your candidate is one thing. Ripping down another conservative candidate because he didn't use your preferred buzz word is a very different matter. The Perry people savaged Cain, The Cain people hammered Gingrich. The Gingrich people hammered Santorum. Yet would not every one of you prefer any one of them to what we are being offered now? Romney cruised to victory while we conservatives slit each others throats over whether to cut the budget, then limit abortion, or stop abortion then cut the budget. Well thanks to our efforts there will be a big budget pro abortion president, no matter who wins.

The war is over, we lost. Now the question is how to deal with it. On a very long thread the other day i commented in the number of Zots and opuses that were resulting as the thread pushed the 2,200 post mark. I said that if we kept ripping each other apart we would end up with 50,000 posts and a dozen members. The resulting flames got me to write my own opus, but I decided to wait until morning to post. Never did, but I'm keeping it on file, just in case.

We can argue with other Conservatives, but we must avoid fights. If you don't know the difference, here it is. When you lose an argument, you are better off for it. Losing an argument means correcting an incorrect world view or gaining some key piece of knowledge. No amount of name calling will ever accomplish either of those goals. Name calling, word play, gotcha posts, grammar and spelling Nazi replies will ever win an argument. They will however change an argument into a fight. In a fight all you get is an upset stomach and a burning desire to get even.

I once argued that reducing our nuclear stockpile wouldn't leave us a deterrent to China. A fellow Freeper calmly explained that there were a limited number of targets in China worth a nuke. I lost the argument, but It was was because I had a better knowledge of the real world. If the Freeper had instead just called me an idiot and pointed out I misspelled a word I would still have the wrong perception, and would have put another name on the enemies list, instead of one on the list of sources to consult.

What can we do about the election. Fight local. I don't give a darn who you vote for in the presidential election. Romney, Obama, Ron Paul or Mickey Mouse, they are all the same to me. But no matter who you vote for get off your A$$ and vote down ticket. Win the Congress and Senate and the damage either bad president can do will be limited. I have been contributing to my local house race where the GOP can actually put a Tea Party conservative in an Illinois seat. Won't be easy but unlike pipe dreams about a brokered convention or miracle candidate that nobody has seen yet, it is possible.

[OB1kNOb]

Dear Jim,
I, like you, have run the gamut of emotions regarding our pathetic lack of choices to vote for President. For the longest, I too have vowed to never vote for that fake conservative Romney, but gradually, my conscious has continued to force me to focus on the unmitigated evil actions and subversive deeds that have been carried out by the Manchurian Candidate currently fouling the White House and our Constitution with his marxist stench and thuggery.

Personally IMO, and FReepers certainly may disagree with me, I firmly believe what we have in the Presidency, Senate, House, and Judicial system is proof positive of the beginning of God's judgment on this nation for turning away from Him. This nation is no longer willing to repent, turn away from its increasingly wicked ways, and restore its faith and obedience in the Almighty Creator that gives us our unalienable rights in the first place.

Over the past couple of months my thinking has evolved on how I plan to vote. Firstly, I plan to vote FOR any candidate I believe exhibits true conservative principles. That part never changes. The part that has changed is where there is no conservative candidate to vote for. When you think about it, most every argument is framed in the context of who one plans to vote FOR. Well, from now on, I don't necessarily vote FOR one candidate over another. For the upcoming election and future elections, I've decided I will vote FOR conservative candidates. Where no such candidates exist, I will be casting my vote AGAINST the loathsome candidate that I absolutely refuse to be led by.

Others may see this as simply wordplay and that I'm still voting for the lesser of two evils. That's their opinion. Only I know the real reason I vote the way I do, and I will choose to vote AGAINST the evil that is currently destroying this nation at an increasing pace. May God have mercy on us in this upcoming election, although as a nation we no longer deserve it.

[staytrue]

I think people on this forum should stop telling other people how do vote.

As you know, I am voting for Romney but it is none of my business who anyone else votes for. You can vote for Palin or Goode or Obama or even Hugo or Fidel for all I care.

[APatientMan]

Just one concern -

Does this mean I can’t call Romney a cheap, lying, no-good, rotten, four-flushing, low-life, snake-licking, dirt-eating, inbred, overstuffed, ignorant, blood-sucking, dog-kissing, brainless, dickless, hopeless, heartless, fat-ass, bug-eyed, stiff-legged, spotty-lipped, worm-headed sack of monkey sh!t anymore?

[Brookhaven]

We focused too much on the presidential election over the last 16 months.

Our focus should be on the house and senate when it comes to the federal government.

The January after every election cycle we need to:

• Make a working list of RINOs to primary out of office in the next election.
• Start finding conservative candidates to challenge the RINOs, and coalesce our support behind a single conservative.
• Identify conservative candidates to run for open seats and seats currently held by Democrats; again, we need to coalesce our support behind a single conservative candidate in each race.

These should be coordinated projects, not just wish lists.

While the presidency is the golden ring of American politics, we need to remember the power of the presidency can be greatly limited IF the congress is willing to fight like hell and do so.

[reaganaut]

Jim,

I am heartbroken over the GOPe’s choice of Romney. I will never vote for him and am leaving the GOP (something I never thought I would do) because they have already left me.

I will be voting against BOTH Romney and Obama by voting for Virgil Goode (not perfect but at least conservative).

Keep on fighting, because we lose no matter who becomes POTUS.

[steve8714]

JR, I was a Santorum supporter on these pages, dealt and absorbed some stings. Now we’re left with Romney, don’t tell me about a Constitution Party or Ron Paul, vote for Mitt, don’t ask me to volunteer or contribute, hopefully wait his term out, pressure Senators on appointments and the House on taxes and spending.
The mods were at all times during primary season proper and respectful to all; no truce is needed, JR.
That’s why I like it here.

[Savage Beast]

"It's far more important that we re-unite and live to fight another day."

Yes. Absolutely.

In my opinion, our chances of winning the fight on another day are better if Romney is elected. If Obama is re-elected, there's an excellent chance that another day will come only after a long dark age.

Is it possible that a brokered Republican Convention could deny Romney the nomination and result in the nomination of Gingrich?

[PapaBear3625]

The Tea Party should be all about the primaries, defeating RINOs and promoting real conservatives. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose.

A conservative-enough House, and a Republican controlled Senate would limit the damage that Romney could do.

The focus should now be getting Obama out of the White House, obtaining conservative control of House and Senate, and then start looking at upcoming races in 2013 and 2014.

NJ and VA will have their governor and legislative elections in 2013. In 2014, a third of the Senate, all the House, and thirty-six state governorships will be up for grabs. It's not over yet.

[evets]

[Zman]

Been saying this for quite some time but I will reiterate:

As a Christian, Romney is not my first choice. But by declaring you won’t vote for Romney who may not share your religious or philosophical views, you are voting for more O’bolshevik. If that is what you want, say so.

But face up to the political reality: elections have consequences.The key is to elect as many true conservatives to Congress, so that the president can be overridden if he makes bad choices.

If O’bambi is returned to office, no more complaints; just look in the mirror for the right person to blame.The fact is that any republican president with a conservative Congress will be a vast improvement over this train-wreck poseur that is currently occupying the White House.

[Paradox]

I love you Jim!

My tag line says it all at this point...

And, while the lesser of two evils is still evil, in the long run, strategery says to do what we can, no matter how feeble at this point, to stave off the unthinkable.

[Servant of the Cross]

To that end I propose a TRUCE among our conservative forces during the remainder of this election cycle.

BTTT. I wholeheartedly applaud this post. The conservative movement in this country has merely lost one battle (GOP POTUS '12) in a much larger war for the very survival of this great Country. How each conservative chooses to react to this loss in the voting booth in November does not need to be debated here. That vote, based either on principle or strategy/pragmatism, is equally 'conservative' with the objective of winning in the future.

I believe this virtuous and humble example by you will be a huge positive for the future direction of FR and tea party movement. God bless you Jim.

[H.Bowman]

I don't remember the hand-wringing on FR over the last president who destroyed the conservative brand (TSA, No-Child-Left-Behind, Prescription Drug Benefit, Amnesty, Harriet Miers, etc.) and brought us the current statist. I admired W on a personal level but he was a disaster for conservatism. Romney I suspect, will be more consistently conservative than W. As bad as I wanted a real conservative this year, NONE of the conservatives in the race had a chance against Obama. There was no way Bachman or Cain (don't even get me started on Newt) or Perry had a chance in the general. It is far more important we oust Obama NOW. 2016 we need to have a Rubio or Ryan or Christie or someone else who will actually shrink the federal budget, not slow the rate of growth.

[b4its2late]

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.

As always, well said my friend. I'll be here fighting to get our party back.

[jagusafr]

And this, FRiend, is why we love and respect you. Well said, JimRob.

jagusafr

[smokingfrog]

Amen

It’s time for us like-minded people to stop beating ourselves over the head over the fact that Romney has weaseled his way to the top.

Let’s start concentrating on what we CAN do instead of what we haven’t been able to do.

[montanajoe]

I think I'll just stay out of the endless elect Romney, Romney is no good but vote for him anyway, Romney is is a liberal who can be forced to be a conservative by voting straight Republican posts that are sure to clutter up the place between now and November.

I understand your point, its like keeping the bulls away from the heifers till they are out of season, but I find as I get older its better to just avoid fools.

[Idaho_Cowboy]

Yes sir!