Posted on 10/27/2001 6:12:11 PM PDT by Avoiding_Sulla
... IMHO, the best advice: WORK HARD. Here's what that work requires:
I'm sure there are others to whom you can turn to add to this list. Nothing worth achieving comes easily. This all requires hard work. The Progressives haven't brought us to what appears to be the brink of annihilation (but that's another story) because they didn't work hard.OFFENSE -- Form a group of like-minded individuals to watch all PRIMARY races.
-- Identify all RINOs and potential RINOs you can.
-- Make sure all RINOs have real opposition.
-- Work like the Dickens to keep like-minded real conservatives from running against each other.
-- Now, more than ever (as you pointed out) Dems are outa favor. So don't let the RINOs even try to sell you that their form of compromise is the only thing will win in the general election. Being laughed off the stage is the kind of humiliation RINOs deserve. It might even scare 'em straight.
DEFENSE Every party committee has its Establishment thugs and RINO disrupters. Be prepared.
-- Your group must attend these things in force and not let "those in charge" dictate the agenda.
-- Make sure one of you is expert in Roberts' Rules of Order. Then you will be heard.
-- The size of your group will grow, and the RINOs' will shrink. Be accessible and receptive.
-- Be on the look out for attempts to derail you. Threats, bribes, flattery and personal attacks. Hard ball.
-- Be on the look out for attempts to stall you. Phony adjournments, committee assignments not of your choosing (being made chair comes under flattery), and other red-herrings.
Either not voting or, worse, voting Democratic because some Republican doesn't do what he ought is the conservative's form of throwing a tantrum. It's not only disruptive and counterproductive, it looks and sounds liberal. For recent examples of this, look at those phony pacifists (nee anarchists) turning violent.
Stop whining and sounding like a spoiled liberal. If you really want to change things, you must work at it. Now that I have given you a formula for how to go about it, what's your excuse?
How much do you know of Ron Paul's history and political tactics? How is it that so libertarian a gentleman seems to have remained so after all these years in a Congress in a party with so many RINOs? Maybe it's just because he helps provide them with cover while offering no real threat. Or is it just his district? How does he keep the wolves from his door? When they are on a jihad, the media will tear down a Mother Teresa and give us a Mussolini. Why is he untouched?
Do you know more about him Sayfer? Can you provide more substance, something worthwhile to be learned here? This question is less about devising new tactics than about refining old ones.
we have a democratic republic set up that was supposed to be small. however, nowhere in the constitution does it enforce this. as a result, we have two political parties that can tax and spend to stay in power, pushing us more and more into a socialistic democracy. fixing the parties does not solve the problem.
i suggest a constituional amendment to roll back and limit taxing and spending. with limits, the two parties can argue ideology all they want -- they can only waste a pre-defined amount of our resources as they wage this ideological war.
other amendments are probably in order: term limits, outlawing the aclu, etc., but while these are important, they are secondary in my mind.
I'm afraid all I know about Ron Paul is what I learn here. I just said he comes to mind because he seems to be a Republican (I think he's been a libertarian in the past) who tries to influence his party to focus on constitutionally strict practice. I am impressed, but don't know enough to endorse. From what I hear he is willing to say no to spending when others cave. I understand he is pro-life, which is a sticking point with some lp's.
Personally, I think nothing good will be done in Washington until enough people are gutsy enough to ACTUALLY cut something other than defense in a budget.
2. Get rid of all the pollsters
3. Get rid of all the consultants
4. Get rid of all the Santa Claus politicians (You know: Ho, Ho, Ho)
And
Now you're cookin'. Unfortunately, all this is impossible. SIGH.
Arizona was far from a liberal state before term limits, since term limits were implemented there are less good guys in the legislature every election.
Require picture ID at all polling places.
1) The Democratic Party is beyond reforming...it is totally without value, and not worth saving.
2) The Republican Party can only be saved by continuing to raise up more and more truly conservative new leaders. Personnel is policy. We have a large number of good people in elected office...they simply need to be reinforced continuously until the day that they form a working majority.
3) As to other parties?---they are irrelevant, since we have a two-party system, and we will continue to have one into the foreseeable future.
To quote Churchill, "Never, never, never give up"...
Start working on getting rid of Voter Fraud .. then maybe OUR votes would actually countI'm asking for tactics here, and you (and others) fall back on addressing one or another symptom. In your case, a very bad one indeed, and one critical reason of why we need reform.
Consider the whole picture. WHO perpetrates and permits voter fraud? Elves? Certainly not the majority who's vote has been stolen. It's wanton leadership. Who let's those leaders retain power? Certainly the monied interests, but also the local party leaders. That could include you -- if you had the cajones to try and try again.
Join your local party, and start getting like minded people elected. It starts at county commish and city council.I agree Dan. But why are you telling me? I said that already.
How about showing the rest how it's done? How about adding some thoughts of your own, some details, to my list of offensive and defensive actions?
1. Join the Party and get like minded people to join.
2. Related note, join political organazations on the state level that are non partisan that support your views. MCRGO is an example in Michigan. If I ran, I have at least 23,000 supporters acros the state.
3. Don't burn bridges(Unless it is the point of no return like when John Schwarz[a minor player, and he doesn't like it] calls my type Bubbas with 9mm's). You may need that person as an ally either. You can agree to disagree without being a jackass. My state senator got 77% of the vote. He is a master at building bridges. He sure isn't a RINO either. Sometimes silence is golden. In Schwarz's case, he's pulling 8% in a statewide poll. He burned bridges.
4. Always remind the establishment GOP of the base.
5. Run for office.
Personally, I think nothing good will be done in Washington until enough people are gutsy enough to ACTUALLY cut something other than defense in a budget.You mean like really curtailing a welfare state which helps retain one party in office and helps keep a cheap workforce for the traditional backers of the other party? You mean they are also afraid of the mob who'd be unloosed by demogogues upon any who REALLY meant to clean this up
Let me share this with you. Those who wish to destroy this republic for the sake of their own vision of how the power of this country should be used have taken more than a hint from the Roman Republic and its destruction. (See my profile for some idea of how far it veered before tyrants were needed to quell the excesses of petty oppositions.) Two of the things the Roman Republic had which we share was a sense of nobility and honor of those who served in public office, and system of laws which applied to rich and poor alike. Sadly they lost theirs in part because their religion was based on signs which could be "read" by well-paid diviners.
Which leads me to two of the things the Roman Republic didn't have which we do. They lacked a public and non-political police force to protect the innocent and powerful alike. And they lacked a strong religious community based on an all powerful central God whose very presence served to set limits on what people, religious and not, expected of their leaders.
[facetiousness] Since we have all these things the Romans either lost or never had, what do we have to worry about? [/facetiousness].
Secondly, activism is the only way to re-educate repub constituents that may have gone soft.
If I were to choose to work within the republican party I would say we must shrink the so called "big tent" and send the rinos to the dems where they belong.Yes. I think that was what I had most in mind. Reforming a single party, particularly the party with the most rational thinking in its platform, would be the one I reccomend. Easier to bring those who don't follow principle either in line or to account. But beware: irrationality is often a choice that tyrants use to test the loyalty of its subjects. Leaders of our political parties appear to be indulging in this perogative now more than ever. That explains many of the so-called "oops" that our GOP has been not explaining. See, it's far better to be thought irrational than obeying special interests' demands. Corruption is tough to expose in the well-oiled Establishment, except when it wants to sacrifice one of its own for some, any, reason.
Secondly, activism is the only way to re-educate repub constituents that may have gone soft.What form of activism? Knowledge before action.
What of the United States Supreme Court?
A sociocultural liberal...
You are asking people for concise, step by step plans and I failed to realize that point. I say the very first step is what I said above...the "big tent" has got to go. Any repub voters who feel "betrayed" will move on. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
Second, a clear statement of principles and a strong platform is needed. This may fall under the shrinking of the tent to some but I feel it is a necessary step in and of itself. There can be some viability, of course, because the American electorate isn't as political as some of us are. They don't always read the fine print...they look for the big neon sign.
Lastly we would need to evaluate potential candidates and look for those that truly believe and support what the voting base believes. I don't believe in "forcing" candidates to do anything because there must be room for disagreement.
There are many other steps, of course, but I couldn't really think of any that I could give a strong opinion on. Also, this is quite a great thread you started and it has made me think what it might take to formulate a political party that represents the interests of enough people to win office but not too many as to be stuck not believing anything...but accepting everything.
...it has made me think what it might take to formulate a political party...Now get more of FR to add to it, and there's no end to what you may find you can do.
For instance, Dan from Michigan, though not long on wind in any thread, did come forth with more after just a little prodding. Looks like (in number 32) he gave us from his experience some useful additions.
Don't fret over not knowing all the answers yet. That comes with time and patience. Gather knowledge today, harvest wisdom tomorrow.
Our adversaries did that. Now look how far past our Constitutional limitations they've driven us. The pendulum is about to swing back. Beware that it doesn't swing back too quickly, because that too is part of the Progressive plan -- a discussion for another thread.
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