Posted on 05/10/2009 1:08:11 AM PDT by Ron C.
Warning – this is a long and ‘windy’ post – not recommended for the semi-conservative or casual reader.
Lately I’ve ran across many a post and comment on FR that made me decide to again post about politics - for the sake of many of the newer Freepers – and for this nations sake. This post by Jim Robinson is corollary to what follows. Read it – Jim defines what I call a complete conservative.
Now, the first item of business - the definition of the 'Republican Party,' a.k.a., the GOP. A few members of Congress, a couple of state governors and a few past candidates for high office generally prompt the greatest amount of disparagement of the GOP on this website. Their voting screw-ups and lackluster comments are often used to denigrate 'the GOP' in general and often followed by statements such as, "Screw the GOP, I’ll never vote Republican again." That insults many, and proves that writers know little to nothing about party maintenance, or have any clue as their own responsibility for it. Yet, it is literally the voting public at large that determines what a political party becomes – it’s strengths and it’s weaknesses are a direct result of the level of public oversight and involvement in all aspects of party function and activity at the local level. Ignore that, and you get ever-poorer performance at the top – on par with the poorer performance of the citizenry in general at the bottom (local level.)
First - what the GOP is not. It is not defined by, nor do sitting members of Congress solely constitute ‘the GOP’ – yet that is the most common perception. Nor is the RNC, with a mere 165 members 'the GOP.' (All of them count in the national total, yet they are a distinct minority, very much outnumbered and at the eventual certain mercy of the total. Oh, sure – they are a powerful minority – but ultimately irrelevant in the face of the majority.)
"The party," - all political parties are made up solely of elected and appointed members within each State of the Union, along with a few chartered party club members which are by charter are allowed to join the party, pay dues, and allowed to vote in state and local party business. In California, the most populous state, there are only about 3,000 dues-paying party members qualified to vote in party business meetings and in State Party Conventions. The huge majority of GOP members in every state are elected district party representatives in local district 'central committees' – aka, 'wards' in eastern states. Of course, any elected state GOP officeholder is a member, as are any alternates or those they are allowed to appoint as members of the state party. In smaller States, the number is much less. An average per state would be perhaps 1,000 party members in the more numerous smaller states.
There is no published figure of what the 'total GOP party members nationally' is, nor is there such a figure for the 'Democratic' Party. The entirety of the GOP is not more than 62,000 members nationally.
So, lump all the RINO’s you can think of that currently serve in state and national government together, and add up the figure. Lets say you know a lot of RINO’s in Congress, and in State legislatures – and you can come up with as many as 100 of them. That would be .19% of total GOP membership – hardly representative of the huge majority at the local level, most of them quite conservative.
The second item of business here is wrapped up in what it means to be 'conservative.' You’ll not find a better definition of it than what Jim Robinson had to say in that link above. But I would go quite a bit further than Jim did – particularly in using that word 'aggressively.'
If you are under attack and faltering, and the GOP is – and if you really want to aggressively alter the makeup of the GOP – you become part of it. I did, and I have made a big difference (admittedly in the somewhat past) – by being a key force in routing RINO’s from State party leadership positions in droves. If you are really conservative, you join the war – where it counts. Either true conservatives help keep the party conservative – or you fail the final test of conservatism itself. That failure became ever greater after Ronald Reagan was elected – to the point that today less than .01 percent of GOP affiliated voters ever darken the doors of GOP meetings in their own neighborhood – and many that do are not conservative. That low number is a measure of the knowledge of the pubic in general, and of Conservatism wisdom in particular. Yet that door is THE most critical place where conservatives can help ensure the level of conservatism within the party. It seemed that once Reagan was in office, conservatives felt that their presence in the system was no longer needed. Also distressing has been the steep decline in the number of the 'faithful' – which should understand being 'watchmen on the wall' far better than those without wisdom. Sadly, today the level of Church involvement has declined to its lowest point in US history – yet, in stark comparison, during the Founding Era ministers were literally among those at the forefront of political activity.
Third - one thing needs to be understood clearly. Conservatives are extremely unlikely to ever prosper outside of the Republican Party. They must either fight to keep it pure (that is, socialism / socialist free) at the local level – or haul up the white flag of surrender. Third parties have done nothing to prosper conservatism, throughout this nation’s history. In fact, the few that have claimed conservatism (and largely aren’t) have repeatedly succeeded in doing nothing more than electing Democrats in the districts where third party candidates drew 1 to 2% of the vote – the margin by which the Democrat won. When any do gain office, they generally prove far less than conservative.
In fact the largest 'third party' vote ever recorded in US history was that of the 'Progressive Party' under Theodore Roosevelt, which drew 27.4% of the vote. But, note well - in the early 1900’s Democrats were the conservatives, while Republicans were the first to drift off into ‘progressive’ socialist politics. Unfortunately for us today, early 1900’s 'progressive' Republicans radically altered our political process, by co-opting political power to the top of the political ladder from the local level where it had resided for over 130 years. That single action helped send the party into the wilderness for near 50 years, and while it was there Democrats turned socialist and the Republican Party slowly became conservative.
Ultimately the degree of conservative success rests with conservatives themselves. And, if you’re like me – you’re a working stiff with a job somewhere or you’re working your buns off keeping a home together, caring for your family. You don’t have a lot of time – or a lot of money to sink into political activities, so if you’re going to do anything – you need to know how to be most effective with what little time you have. And believe me, you can be very effective, if you know what to do – and that is, walk into the real political arena nearest to you – at the local level, and figuratively, put on your political brass knuckles.
It is probably less than twenty minutes away from the front door of most Freepers. And, quite likely, you can gain a voting seat (without election) – simply by showing up – once or twice a month. (That is, if the local district committee is a few people shy of their allotted number of seats filled.) But, even if all the seats are filled, they all need alternates to sit in for them when they cannot attend for some reason. So take a friend or family member with you. It is worth noting here that quite often only one or two people will actually go to the trouble of getting the few signatures that it takes to get on the ballot for the Central Committee in a California district. When that happens, they are ‘elected’ by default. The position and their names don’t even appear on the ballot! Then, THEY get to appoint the remaining people to bring the district committee to its allotted number. That is a stark difference from public oversight – or 'conservative' attention to what makes up the party they choose to affiliate with. It is such apathy and indifference that has produced the squishy nature of the GOP in the largest and most populous states, and has led to ever greater pollution in even the most conservative states.
For over two decades, I voted many times per month – at the local district level, and at the county level. And, as a dues paying elected or appointed member of the state GOP, I voted often at all state conventions. I worked hard to purge liberals from any power in the state party, and I became highly effective at it. Ask RINO Pete Wilson how effective I have been. Ask Arianna Huffington, and her millionaire switch-hitting ex-husband Michael (with a very obvious case of aids) who both came lurking around the CA GOP, claiming that they were staunch Republicans. (Luckily, I knew about Arianna’s deranged past long before she came in the door – thanks to early use of the then brand new Internet.) Neither one got far, and both eventually left the GOP after being exposed for what they both were.
Bottom line, if Freepers really hope to see a GOP that harks back to conservative principles, and want to aggressively pursue such a goal - the only process that is effective begins at the most numerous level of the elected party – a few minutes away from your home. If we cannot be guardians at these most important gates to the political arena – forget about it at the state and national level. It is within this arena that conservatives can effectively block RINO’s from moving higher up the political ladder – by identifying them through personal contact, listening to their conversation, finding out what they believe and would like to see come to pass in future legislation. It is in this arena that you can identify the best – and help promote them toward higher office – and easily stop the worst of the worst.
The Reagan Revolution was initially energized by thousands of conservatives that had begun with Barry Goldwater a few years prior. In those days, back-yard political gatherings attracted literally thousands of local teens and college youth – and their parents – all of whom provided an energy level beyond any seen prior or since.
Conservatives could easily make that all happen once again – if enough of them decide they really want to become aggressive at making a political difference. Absent such an effort – conservatives will have only themselves, and their personal lack of effort to blame. Samuel Landon, one of our Founding Fathers, said it best. "On the people, therefore, of these United-States it depends whether wise men, or fools, good or bad men, shall govern them; whether they shall have righteous laws, a faithful administration of government, and permanent good order, peace, and liberty; or, on the contrary, feel insupportable burdens, and see all their affairs run to confusion and ruin."
Samuel Langdon is also quite famous for the following quote, from the same sermon. (spelling here is as in the original.)
"From year to year be careful in the choice of your representatives, and all the higher powers of government. Fix your eyes upon men of good understanding, and known honesty; men of knowledge, improved by experience; men who fear God, and hate covetousness; who love truth and righteousness, and sincerely wish the public welfare. Beware of such as are cunning rather than wise; who prefer their own interest to every thing; whose judgment is partial, or fickle; and whom you would not willingly trust with your own private interests. When meetings are called for the choice of your rulers, do not carelessly neglect them, or give your votes with indifference, just as any party may persuade, or a sordid treat tempt you; but act with serious deliberation and judgment, as in a most important matter, and let the faithful of the land serve you. Let not men openly irreligious and immoral become your legislators; for how can you expect good laws to be made by men who have no fear of God before their eyes, and who boldly trample on the authority of his commands? And will not the example of their impiety and immorality defeat the efficacy of the best laws which can be made in favour of religion and virtue? If the legislative body are corrupt, you will soon have bad men for counsellors, corrupt judges, unqualified justices, and officers in every department who will dishonor their stations; the consequence of which will be murmurs and complaints from every quarter."
Sorry my rant is so long - but, unfortunately in some ways it is not nearly long enough. For those that have never really entered the political arena, there is a world of things you should know, and will have to learn on your own, and from others that have gone before you. I can not say it more bluntly than this - if you do not go, learn, and fight - then who will?
May God bless you...
Ron
Thanks for that. Frankly, I need to consider your words and may very well do what you suggest.
skimmed through - looks interesting
bfl
This needs to be Breaking News each and every day until we get our Republic back.
We should be careful what we wish for regarding so called "RINOS" and we should think strategically...rather than emotionally....before we act.
don-o is right, we all want change but won’t work for it. Until the guy in the mirror does something it won’t get done. And there isn’t any one correct answer, just do what you can. But everybody needs to shut off the computer and get involved, or say good-bye to your country. Those are the options, what are you going to do about it.
Your comment made me laugh because, so far, it seems so true. But I think conservatives (of which I’m not the total extreme extra pure version) can unite again if we get a sense of humor a sense of decorum and unite around what’s happening to this country. I have heard Democrats baffled at the scope of what Obama’s doing. We need leaders who are leaders (not pundits) who have skills with language.
The globalist’s commie/fascist wings have never waited for the ‘base’ to get activated and that attitude has taken them into the control booth.
http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6967
You want to cut through the cr@p? Start getting behind activities like these.
Wrong. It is easy when enough people get out from in front of the propaganda box, and get busy. That has happened often, in many states, and this nation. Whatever the party wants at the top means little. They have no power whatsoever to stop citizens from joining, and voting within the party and contributing to change at the top.
America's Independent Party has discovered the cure.
All affiliations are made based on Reagan conservative principles, not on party affiliation.
All leaders in the party are 100% Reagan conservatives.
All AIP candidates are nominated or endorsed based solely on proven adherence to America's foundational principles, not on party registration or affiliation.
If the the Republican candidate is a conservative, we'll look seriously at them. If the Democrat and Republican candidates are both liberals, we'll oppose them, setting up plurality elections instead of majority elections.
There is only one possible path to the salvation of this country: the principled path. The path of further compromise is the road to certain dissolution and destruction.
First, gaining any degree of authority or power in the local power depends on doing some work. You can make thousands of ranting posts on FR and other places saying how much you hate liberals, RINO's, etc., but none of those posts give you any credibility in gaining real influence. Real influence comes from doing the hard work of campaigning. If you want to have credibility at the local level, you have to make the phone calls and knock on the doors at election time. Both of those activities can be extremely frustrating. To win votes for your candidate, you have to learn not to insult people who don't believe quite the way you do. You have to listen to people who have no clue about the big picture but want to give a little speech about some issue that's important to them. You have to put up with people who are mad about something your candidate did or your party did and want to let loose their anger on someone who represents that candidate or party. You have to put up with people who are so apathetic and ignorant that they think you are a fool for becoming involved. These things are not fun, but if you want the party to listen, you have to be willing to do the work that's not much fun. If you think that you can just show up and launch the kind of rant that some people launch around here, you're going to be ignored.
Secondly, when you start doing this work, you start to gain a little different perspective. You come to respect people who aren't as ideologically pure as you are but who are willing to do the work to keep liberals out of office. You lose some respect for those armchair warriors whose commitment to conservative principles lasts only as long as their fingers are on the keyboard and their butts are in their desk chairs.
Thirdly, you come to see that effectiveness in many elective offices is a matter of competence rather than ideology. Anyone can rant for a few minutes, but not everyone can sit through the meetings, pay attention to the facts that bear on an issue, and find reasonable solutions. Electing someone who is ideologically pure but becomes an incompetent joke in office does not advance conservatism.
Bill
That same view proved to be wrong many times in the past, particularly just before the Reagan revolution.
Yes, GOP affiliated voters are down, but so is the Dem count. Yes ‘independent’ registrations are up, but two things about that. Independent voters are often in jobs where they would not prosper if they were registered GOP, and second, they vote GOP - when the GOP has a true conservative candidate.
A perfectly reasonable post from your perspective, which I know is based in experience.
However, the other side of the coin is that “they made the trains run on time” is not an acceptable view of decent politics.
Besides, it’s not an either/or question. There is not a reason on God’s green earth that we can’t have principled AND competent people in elected office.
Yes - this is activism at it's core... and it is "news" to many that know too little about how they can kick some real butt in their own backyard.
If we allow RINO's to waltz right into the party when we could have exposed them or driven them out of power with a better candidate, then we have not been 'aggressive.' We've been delinquent.
BTTT!
Perfect vanity!
Beware of such as are cunning rather than wise; who prefer their own interest to every thing; whose judgment is partial, or fickle; and whom you would not willingly trust with your own private interests
___________________
Like that skinny, goofy, Kenyan Marxist in the WH?
Indeed - we have more than a spark at work right now. With a Marxist thug at the top of national government, we have a white-hot fire burning, that has already fueled great interest in local GOP activity.
Keep us up-to-date on your efforts, Mom MD.
Thanks for your comment - and your freepmail, don-o.
This stuff is work, long and virtually thankless hours of it, but the real reward is seeing your efforts turn a RINO out to pasture - unable to rise, but most important unable to vote any more on policy.
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