The Conservative Revolt: Principles and Leverage

The American Spectator ^ | 12.6.12 | Jeffrey Lord

[DBeers]

The Fiscal Cliff.

It all comes down to principles.

And leverage.

Not to mention an abrupt campaign to depose Speaker John Boehner, as now reported last night by the Daily Caller. An idea discussed in this very space only days ago.

Grover Norquist understands this. Brent Bozell understands this. The Heritage Foundation understands this. Ditto Rush, Sean and Mark. And in truth -- millions of conservatives get it in their bones.

John Boehner does not understand this.

-SNIP-

And let's not forget the leverage that is the debt ceiling.

Let's see the House GOP start talking relentlessly, in Reagan-style, about the underpinnings of what Obama is demanding. Connect the dots just as Reagan connected the dots between a specific -- negotiations in Geneva, a summit in Reykjavik, the barring of the Soviet Ambassador's once privileged access to the State Department etc., etc., etc. -- and the bedrock reason they are being done. In the Cold War case, a quest for world domination; in the Fiscal Cliff case, the re-making of America into a socialist country.

-SNIP-

[zeestephen]

Re: “TV Coverage On Cliff Talks”

Great idea, except for one thing...

I can’t think of any senior Republican leader who is qualified to apply or defend basic Conservative principles in a high pressure televised setting.

Our leaders know some sound bites, a few of our leaders actually have real Conservative instincts, but NONE of our leaders have done the serious hard intellectual work that is required to win a long and deadly serious debate.

[trebb]

Let us start calling it what it is -SOCIALISM!

And as well, identify it for what it is -EVIL!

They have already desensitized the word "socialism" among the base and let's face it - an old book tells us that good will be called evil and evil will be called good - there is no stopping it, just slowing it down as we inexorably head towards the abyss.

[classified]

With a weak leader such as Boehner, you can gear up all you want and you will get no where.

[RKBA Democrat]

The author is of course correct in urging resistance to tax increases and showing a strong face in any fiscal negotiations.

But revolt within the gop? While I agree with the sentiment, what does this approach get us in the long term? Control of the feckless, useless, and corrupt political party? Why would we even want it at this point? It’s a ruined brand with inept leadership on a downward trajectory. Better a fresh start on a second party.

[Kansas58]

Well you call me an “idiot” while YOU are the one with the obvious math problem?
If we can’t win a majority of the Republican primary elections, where most of the voters agree with us on the issues -—
How on Earth do we win GENERAL elections where the Socialists are out in force?

YOU are the idiot. I am guessing you have never run a successful political campaign in your entire life.

[Yashcheritsiy]

YOU are the idiot. I am guessing you have never run a successful political campaign in your entire life.

Uh huh. Idiots like you are what has ruined the GOP beyond repair. The problem with folks like you is that you think the way to win is to just "broaden the appeal" by continuing to move to the left, figuring that conservatives "have nowhere else to go." Meanwhile, the way to win is to reach voters with your ideas and convince them of their correctness - something which the GOP is signally failing to do, and which Romney completely failed to do this year.

But by all means, keep foisting off establishment insider candidates onto the Party. It can only hasten the demise of the GOP, which is probably a good thing.

[Castigar]

“The most effective means of fighting right now is gearing up to fight for seats in the house and senate in 2014”

I have no disagreement on this but that DOESN’T mean you lay down and let them run over you-You stop there any where and way you can. The House can block legislation and it should! It may even be able to use its control to gain concessions if they hold true!

[Kansas58]

You obviously do not know what you are talking about, as Romney was not even my 5th choice for Nominee.
However, in the Primary, we must vote for the most conservative candidate available.
In the General, we must defeat the Democrats.
This strategy WOULD work to make the GOP more conservative.

You “purists” really don't count, since it is human nature to ignore, completely, those who refuse to vote of to ignore those who go “Third Party”.

[Yashcheritsiy]

If you’re argument had any merit, then it would already be happening, since people have been *trying* to make it happen for years. Yet we still get stuck with Dole, McCain, Romney, and yes, Bush counts as well.

The GOP needs to make fundamental changes to the way it does business before your plan for winning it in the primaries actually would work. They’d need to close the primaries. They’d need to reform the primary schedule. But you and I both know that these things are never going to happen. The “leadership” in the GOP won’t allow it, even in the face of strong grassroots opposition - specifically because these changes would benefit conservatives to the detriment of the go-along-to-get-along crowd.

Ultimately, the only way the GOP can be saved is to make a clean sweep of its “leadership” caste - the hacks, the politicos, the backroom cigar smokers, the advisors - the whole lot of them. Any bets on how likely *that’s* going to be to happen?

We need a credible second party - one that basically exists in the shell of the old GOP, but which is actually responsive to the grassroots and which can bring back in the conservative-leaning independents and the Reagan Democrats. The current GOP simply isn’t, and will not ever again, get the job done.