The Death of the GOP and the Birth of a New Political Party

I was holding out hope that we could save the Republican Party from it’s slow, deliberate and painful march towards irrelevance. But with the only Reaganite in the primary election, Duncan Hunter, dropping out this past weekend, and Tom Tancredo long gone after being pilloried by the GOP cheerleaders on ‘conservative’ talk radio, and Fred Thompson, the only other reasonably traditional conservative, unable to get the necessary traction for a competitive race against the moderates, it is time to cut our losses and let the collapse take its natural course.

The GOP, the RNC and their mouthpieces in the conservative media have alternately argued that Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, and John McCain are upstanding conservatives worthy of support. Despite each having undeniable careers as moderate to liberal politicians, a sampling of arguments have been made recently in said media that Mr. Giuliani would be good for the pro-life movement, that Mr. Romney’s record in Massachusetts was a model of conservative governance, and that Mr. McCain does not support amnesty. All demonstrably false. And each man a demonstrable prevaricator in his current claims.

There are plenty of other 3rd parties in existence, but none that adhere to the unparalleled wisdom of what our Founders laid out in the constitution, coupled with the policies that, in times past, made the GOP great: The party of life, liberty, limited government, sovereignty, low taxes, and military might. In forming a new party, I have no intention of creating a refuge for fringe thinkers, disgruntled defeatists, vengeful has-beens, or self pitying 'victims'. This will be the party of fearlessness and bold ideas for the future; but one consistently anchored in the wisdom of the ages, the understanding of man's nature, and the constraints of our founding documents. We will draw inspiration and ideas and self discipline from sources both ancient and new: from Plato, St. Augustine, Charlemagne and DaVinci to Edmund Burke, Adam Smith, and Ben Franklin to Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, Winston Churchill and Ronald Reagan, and many others.

It is time to reject everything the Democratic Party has stood for the last 40 years, and not co-opt its ideas. It is time to reject the Libertarians and their blinders that obscure the dangers from terrorists, terror sponsoring nations, quislings, communist regimes, and moral decay. It is time to reject the useless 3rd parties that have interests far too narrow to ever compete for America’s affection. Whether it is the Green Party with its socialism and trumped up nonsense about global warming and the demise of the planet, or the Constitution/US Taxpayers Party with its paleocon notions of trade and fearful, ‘head in the sand’ foreign policy, or the Centrist Party with it’s “third way” Clintonian doublespeak, these parties have demonstrated not only an inability to make a difference, but the inability to offer a compelling reason why they are superior, or a coherent conservative vision....a vision that fits the reality of our heritage and the reality of 21st century geo-politics. It is time for a Conservative party.

The GOP had a golden opportunity with the ascension of Ronald Reagan to become the dominant, conservative force in American politics. In fact, in 1994, it looked as if they had succeeded, but it took a Clinton victory in 1992 and a big liberal push for socialized medicine to animate the GOP after 4 years of visionless leadership under GHW Bush. But the decay has been swift ever since.

Just what did Reagan do? Reagan rejected the fear inspired détente policy of Nixon, Kissinger and the RINOs. He rejected Jimmy Carter’s and the democrats’ limp-wristed foreign policy – everything from giving away the Panama Canal, to the embarrassing and foolhardy policy towards Iran, to their complete misunderstanding of the USSR’s intentions. Reagan rejected the 50 year nanny state drift that our country had embarked upon (and since resumed). As he famously declared, “government is not the answer to our problems, government IS the problem”. Reagan rejected the ideas from the feminist cabal, everything from the Equal Rights Amendment (pushed by RINOs such as Howard Baker and Gerald Ford), to abortion being a “right to choose”, to the attacks on the traditional family. Reagan also knew that our survival would only be assured if the USA was ready and willing to fight for it. Hence, he undertook the largest non-wartime buildup of our military in the nation’s history. He coupled that with the restoration of discipline that was lost during the post Vietnam era. It is the main reason why the USSR no longer exists today. Reagan also went about proving once and for all that lower tax rates and deregulation spur economic growth and greater income for the federal treasury and the individual citizen. Once chided by his GOP opponents for “voodoo economics”, Reagan changed the entire landscape of that debate. Reagan failed in some areas, no doubt about it, but working with democrat majorities in both houses during most of his term made it impossible for him to carry out a full agenda. But that agenda has been largely abandoned by the Republicans anyway.

‘A Thousand Points of Light’, a ‘Kinder, Gentler Nation’, the ‘Straight Talk Express’, and ‘Compassionate Conservatism’ all pointed to a direction away from conservative principles. Conservatism is not cruel, it needed no kinder-gentler admonition. Conservatism is straight talk, Mr. McCain, but you don’t know it because you were too busy siding with the liberals and fighting conservatives in far too many arenas. And conservatism is compassionate, Mr. Bush – compassionate to the taxpayers, to liberty, to the constitution, and to the rule of law. Qualifiers are not needed, and only lead to government sticking its nose in places where it scarcely belongs.

Far too much of what Reagan and his conservative allies fought for has been coming unglued, slowly but surely since he retired. Aside from the 1994 Contract with America, the resumption of the liberal nanny-state has been re-invigorated and the growth of the federal leviathan has marched on largely unopposed with novel, new ways to redistribute our wealth; created and fostered by Democrats and Republicans alike.

During the Bush I and Clinton years, the size of our Army was reduced down to 10 divisions, from 18. The spending on missile defenses atrophied. If not for patriots such as Duncan Hunter, Curt Weldon and others fighting for every defense dollar, the decay would have been even worse. A 1994 ‘crime bill’ included the feds paying for city cops, a ban on rifles that looked like assault weapons, and midnight basketball social programs. The conservatives fought this, but the RINOs prevailed and helped it pass into law. The Reaganites such as Hunter, Jessie Helms and Henry Hyde warned their party repeatedly and loudly not to cave in and award Permanent Normal Trade Relations to communist China. Despite overwhelming evidence of Chinese malfeasance, the GOP capitulated, and gave Clinton his legacy legislation, to the detriment of our national security and industrial base.

George W Bush gave his father short shrift during the 2000 campaign for the presidency, and instead claimed Ronald Reagan as his inspiration, despite the compassionate conservative mantra. With a decent record as a tax cutter in Texas, pro-life credentials and an admirable swagger, he won the primary over RINO McCain and then squeaked out the presidency over a sitting vice president. So far so good. Though conservatives knew full well that Bush intended to add a prescription drug plan to Medicare, little did we know that he would give the democrats mostly what they wanted in the plan at the expense of market-based ideas. And little did we know that his education bill would be co-written by Edward Kennedy, and that education spending would skyrocket. Little did we know that he would sign the McCain Feingold campaign finance reform disaster after being a vociferous opponent of such legislation. Little did we know that non-discretionary spending would balloon even with both chambers of Congress in Republican hands. Little did we know that the State Department under Bush’s closest ally, Condi Rice, would largely resemble the Clinton State Department. Little did we know that after years of defending gun owners, the Justice Department would side with the Washington DC gun confiscation lobby on the current case before the Supreme Court. And little did we know that Republican pledges to seal the border meant nothing of the sort, and would offer amnesty to 12 to 20 million illegal aliens instead.

This is not to say that President Bush is a bad man or not a ‘good republican’. He has several fine accomplishments under his belt, including being undaunted by extreme criticism over Iraq (which has shown great promise as of late) and giving us substantial tax cuts twice during his presidency. He has a good heart. But the problem is that being a good republican does not equate to being a good conservative. Defense spending is still not what it needs to be while all other spending is far, far higher than it ever should be. Our porous borders remain porous. Our debt continues to race upwards. Our government bows down at the altar of political correctness. And we have traded in our confident, self assured diplomacy that understood the paramount necessity of US sovereignty for a phony globalism; a hodgepodge of agreements and treaties that are more akin to leeches on our nation’s arteries, and an affront to our Constitution.

Instead of sending useless programs, subsidies, pork and bureaucrats to the ash heap of history, the Republicans instead chose to feather their own beds. They chose to continue ignoring the impending Social Security and Medicare meltdowns. They chose to increase spending on virtually every marginal or worthless federal department, including the Dept. of Education, the Department of Energy and the DOT. The Bush administration is even warming, quickly I might add, to the idea of ‘global warming’ being a legitimate problem. And the coddling of Abbas in the Palestinian territories is no better than Clinton’s coddling of Arafat – with similar results. In other words, it is a mess, with no overriding vision, much less a conservative one.

So today, I propose a new party, the party of Fealty to America, Liberty, Conservatism, Optimism and Nobility – FALCON. A party whose ‘Rendezvous with Destiny’ will result in the preservation of this greatest beacon of freedom in the history of nations. A party that will stay true to the intent of the founders and the magnificent and inspired documents they produced. A party that will incorporate the wisest, conservative, and timeless principles of governance and leadership; principles espoused by George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Churchill, and Ronald Reagan, while learning from their shortcomings. A party that will not be constrained or intimidated or fooled by the United Nations, ‘world opinion’, or the false seductions of collectivism- in any of its guises. A party that will deconstruct the regulatory labyrinth that has festered and grown over many decades. A party that understands our nation is a republic of independent states, whose affairs are not to be dictated by the federal government in matters outside the constraints of our Constitution. A party that will treat other nations with good will and friendship when good will and friendship is desired and reciprocated. A party that will work diligently for peace yet recognizes that evil passions and ill intent have been forever present in the history of man and in the history of nation-states. A party that maintains a military might capable of defeating all threats - swiftly, decisively and simultaneously. A party that understands American Exceptionalism and understands the roots of that exceptionalism. And a party that recognizes and reveres the Divine Father as the source of our existence, our rights, and our country’s successes, past, present and future.

I will follow this call to arms up with a 20 point platform. Eight of the 20 items will address the philosophical underpinnings of the FALCON party. And the balance will address current issues that need immediate attention, such as entitlements, terrorism, taxes, and the economy.

There are still many people in this great country with the raw courage and commitment to universal truths that possessed our Founding Fathers. We shall join together to see that courage and commitment manifested in the governance of our nation, for the good of our nation, and the good of the world.

Note: The FALCON Party website will be up and running within 10 to 14 days. In the meantime, please contact the author at: ajmadison1787@yahoo.com

We did the right thing. We supported the best candidate. Now it's time to give renewed energy to the conservative fight. Not by forming a third party but by more sacrifice and hard work: giving money to the most conservative people running for Congress, building the conservative spirit in our own neighborhoods, just doing more than we have been doing.

The liberal philosophy is easy to like because it just simply allows you to do whatever you want. People are basically voting for their favorite sins when they vote liberal: abortion, homosexuality, cowardice in time of war, grabbing entitlements instead of being responsible for oneself, etc. The conservative point of view takes more work, because it does not bring the perks that the liberal philosophy brings: it is simply correct, and requires logic, persuasive arguments, faith in what we believe.

The proper reaction to having a less conservative Republican than we would like is, IMHO, to vote for him but to resolve to be even more dedicated and energetic in the conservative cause than we have been.

Can *t waste energy arguing over names, I like FALCON; just a random thought, we should do some *outing*—expose the names and deeds of the head honchos, the top RINOs in the GOP who have led us down this path, and somehow bring about their downfall plus the replacements when they are forced to get out of the leadership. Do you remember Ford needing a VP when Agnew resigned? He wanted Nelson Rockefeller, and instantly conservatives sprang to the challenge; *Rocky* was submitted to a regular Congressional investigation and public interview or whatever it was, he was put before public scrutiny for all to see what they were getting. He was accepted, but it was another nail in the coffin for Ford and he being a leftwing Republican lost in *76 to Carter. We need to expose the worst ones frequently. I don*t even know the RNC boss* name.

Open question: Why is it that liberals are so good at being subversives (and I mean everywhere: schools, churches, politics) and conservatives break off and begin anew? New media, charter schools, evangelical movement... and then the conservatives are labeled “fringe” and laughed at by the mother organization.

Because, unlike liberals, conservatives are impatient, unobservant, and socially/politically inept.

We always seem to be after victory in The One Big Battle, whereas liberals are always happy to accept incremental gains. (This goes back to patience....) Liberals know very well how to avoid the One Big Battle, and are also very adept at choosing their ground when the One Big Battle cannot be avoided. And (because they're patient), liberals know that there is really no such thing as One Big Battle: they need only wait until the conservatives stop paying attention, and they can begin digging again.

Also, conservatives tend to be incredibly naive about the rules of the game. For example, we always seem to assume that the other side accepts the same set of rules, and we insist on playing by "conservative" rules even when it's clear that those rules don't apply.

By extension, conservatives generally have no clue about how to deal with situations where there is not already broad agreement on the problem or its solution. We generally fall back on behaving against all evidence as if everybody did agree ... which is the road to marginalization.

Finally, conservatives will usually favor principle over practicality, and we tend to bash people over the head with our principles without considering how our presentation will be perceived. Peoples' feelings matter, especially in politics, and lots of times we come across as ranting SOBs. Forget the principle -- folks will reject the conservative message based on our unpleasantness.

The late pundit Samuel Francis used to call the GOP "the Stupid Party." The above are a few of the reasons why.

The problem ‘conservatives’ are having is that within the GOP, we are opposed by liberals and moderates.

The vast majority of conservatives know that global warming is a fraud.

Yet, we have 4 candidates vying for the the nomination that raised their hands faster than Clint Eastwood draws his weapon when asked in a debate if GW is a “serious problem”

The vast majority of conservatives despise political correctness, yet here we are with a government full of diversity trainers, genuflects to Ramadan, “holiday” trees, and a prime contender of the GOP nomination who said: “I believe that public companies and federal agencies should be required to report in their annual 10K the number of minorities and women by income group within the company so we can identify where the ‘glass ceiling’ is”

Conservatives are near universal in their opposition to amnesty, yet here we are with one of its architects as the front runner.

The party has moved left, so the real battle between conservatism and liberalism is taking place within the republican party. And we are losing.

I don’t think the third party option is the way to go. You have to repair the mess from within.

When a vehicle is hit broadside by a train traveling at 70 mph, the vehicle is totalled, and there is little to be salvaged. The same applies here. Too much corruption, to many entrenched insiders, too many career government hacks, too much arrogance etc. I don't think it can be fixed...Too many deep seated problems, that are not getting better, but worse.

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