Yes.
Although.... I suppose if you asked everybody on this thread what they thought "conservative" meant, you would get a rather wide variety of answers. That's part of our problem: anybody can say they're conservative, but it's not really clear what that means.
Another problem is the people whom we accept as our spokesmen. They're self-appointed, for the most part, and IMO they do more harm than good. The hypocritical Newt Gingrich; the self-righteous James Dobson (among other "evangelical" names); and so on. Nobody but those already in the choir are attracted to the sorts of person who seem to be nationally recognized as "conservative."
But our REAL problem, in a political sense, is that we conservatives haven't got a clue how to promote and defend ourselves politically. It's pretty clear to me that we are in the grip of a host of wrong assumptions -- about the rules of the game; about what constitutes "victory"; about the culture in which we live.
John McCain became the presumptive nominee of the party with just 31% of the primary vote. He is a self-described maverick. There are consequences when you nominate a maverick to be your standard bearer.
There is a pony in there somewhere. A McCain victory would have further marginalized the conservative influence in the GOP. We conservatives can now remake and take back the party and return to tried and true principles. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
The Dems will now be responsible for their policies and actions and we must hold them accountable. Issues like immigration and climate change will actually be easier to fight than if McCain were in office. We will need to change the political landscape to make us a viable, national party again. Every challenge represents an opportunity. We must seize it.
Immigration has been changing the demographics of this country rapidly. Non-Hispanic whites have declined from about 89% of the population in 1970 to 67% today. They have served as the Reps political power base. The GOP must develop a strategy to attract the so-called white Reagan democrats and asians. It is a waste of time going after the black and Hispanic vote except on those issues that appeal to blue collar workers. Curtailing the number of legal immigrants and secuing our borders will give us a fighting chance. Currently, 87% of the 1.2 million legal immigrants who enter this country annually are minorities and almost all of the 500,000 to 1 million who enter illegally are minorities. By 2042, half of the country will be minorities. Our immigration policies are leading the Republican Party [and our nation] down a path to suicide.
According to the latest BLS statistics, the black unemployment rate is 11.4% and Hispanic 7.8%. For whites it is 4.9% and for asians, 3.8%. We need to go after votes on Dem turf. They are vulnerable because their leadership has sold them down the river. How can black leaders and union bosses be for guest worker programs and amnesty, when these additional workers are hurting their constituencies? The same holds true for these cap and trade programs that will kill jobs and force businesses overseas.
I agree the Rep party needs a dose of reality. We can't continue to follow the same template. We need to take the gloves off and not be afraid to take chances even if it pisses off a certain portion of the population. Pandering doesn't work.
Kind of sad. Half self pity, half self blame, half finger pointing and all statistically overly guilty by exactly 50%.
Lick our wounds, re-load the conservative ideals, seek out leadership, support the good guys and encourage another conservative revolution as the minority party.
Quit feeling sorry for ourselves and start writing letters. We will need to be more active than ever in the next 4 years. We may as well go ahead and get started.
1. Fairness Doctrine
2. Union voting
3. Expiration of Bush Tax Cuts
4. Military Spending Cuts
5. Judicial appointments
6. 2nd Amendment bills coming up
7. Voter Fraud and ID law bills coming up
We can't just push the sinking ship into deeper water. Some of us need to start bailing water while others plug the holes. We don't need a bunch of captains opining over what went wrong and telling others how to fix it. Get involved. Write letters. Make phone calls.
For the good of our children, STAND UP! (I had to throw that in there.)