Posted on 08/29/2010 9:24:21 PM PDT by Lorianne
You're not going to want to hear this.
Nonetheless, you have to.
If you want to win - indeed, if you want to make any sort of serious inroad into the American Political Process, you need to read this, you need to listen, and you need to adopt this path.
If you do not, you will be marginalized into irrelevance, no matter what else you do.
Here it is:
You must discard - intentionally - all "wedge issues" as points of debate, discussion, or campaigning. You know what these issues are - they fall broadly into the category of religion in one form or another.
These are issues such as abortion and gay rights (in all it's forms, including marriage debates), but is by no means limited to these two. In short, if there's a religious basis for your position, you must not campaign on it, and indeed you must pointedly refuse to discuss it.
The Tea Party began as a protest over bailouts and handouts - that is, theft and corruption within our markets, government and economy. This is a winning position with 90% of the American Body Politic.
Any candidate who runs on these issues - and these issues alone, promising to stop it and lock up the scammers - all of them - wins.
As soon as you bring the other issues that everyone wants to talk about into this, you will lose.
Here's why.
These are called "wedge issues" for a reason.
What you personally believe is irrelevant to the political process. These issues are used by the two main political parties to get the electorate to divide on a 50/50 basis - thus leaving them having to persuade exactly one person of their position on some other issue to win.
You cannot win such a contest. At best you can force one of the other parties - the one that most agrees with you - to lose. The reason is simple - you will split that half of the electorate, which means the other party - the one that disagrees with your position on those issues - wins the election.
Drill this into your head folks:
If you allow these issues to become part of your campaign, you will not only lose you will cause the party that most-agrees with you to lose.
I know this is going to be unpopular, but it needs to be said. I've seen this happening in some of the local Tea Party groups, and it saddens me. The local Niceville branch here featured people talking about "natural law" as an important qualifying factor for political candidacy, as just one of many examples. There were times I felt like I had walked into a Baptist sermon.
The Tea Party and other political expressions like it are, of course, free to run on whatever platform they'd like, and to back candidates based on whatever they'd like. But if you're going to do this, then you'd be wise to try to take over the Republican Party instead of being "independent" or any other sort of "outside" influence, because it is the only way you can win with this approach.
The Tea Party infiltrating The Republican establishment is a long shot. Witness John McCain, who made a campaign spectacle out of bailing out the banks. How's JD Hayworth doing in challenging him? He lost, right? How'd that happen? The same way it always happens: Hayworth let the campaign's terms include those wedge issues, and then got tattoed by the guy with the bigger warchest and the ability to threaten people politically.
You either change the terms of the debate and the issues upon which the election is decided or you lose.
It's that simple.
(excerpted)
Dittos.
Couldn’t agree less.
I agree also - for the Tea Party. And that it should eschew a leadership hierarchy. I hope that it remains focused on small government and economic freedom.
At the same time I believe a political party and politicians have to state their positions on all issues in the political arena.
Political parties and the Tea Party may overlap. But I agree with the general point of the article. To win we should focus on the issue that unites the greatest number in opposing our common enemy.
I don’t care if someone is a flaming whatever that supports abortion and gay marriage, if they will vote against big government and throw the bums out in November, I welcome their vote.
Sorry, no deal. Any Republican that ignores abortion and traditional marriage won't get elected dog catcher.
Neither can I
It’s harsh but true. The message needs to be simplified and stuck to in order to counter what the Dems will try to do with the wedge issues.
One person on Denningers board told about the 3 pronged position that the Carolina Tea Party is using. It’s something like:
- Fiscal responsibility
- Limited government
- Follow the Constitution
I’d like to add “Root out fraud and corruption” to that.
What scares me is that if we fall prey to the lure of the wedge issues and lose we won’t have a country to argue about anymore.
Over my dead body.
This thread is in need of a MAJOR BARF ALERT !
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
Oy. I agree, but I know there’s a lot of Freepers who want the Tea Party to get all religious. The proprietor has already weighed in with his very strong opinion, so no doubt the ostracism is coming from the majority soon.
What if my belief in smaller government and less taxes is religiously based, can I not talk about that either?
In the end, all my political positions originates from my belief in unalienable rights of man endowed by their creator. Without that I can’t really say that any form of government how ever repressive is “wrong”.
You cannot effect any change on social issues if you don’t WIN.
Time for Our Constitution to SING!
God, honor, life and liberty.
Wedge issues?
You betcha!
Ours and theirs.
Without social conservatives, the Republican will lose by default.
I don’t care if someone is a flaming whatever that supports abortion and gay marriage, if they will vote against big government and throw the bums out in November, I welcome their vote.
We've tried the fiscal conservative/social liberal Republican (See RINOLD in CA) before. It has failed miserably. At the least, I will accept a Governor McDonnell of Virginia campaign strategy of proudly stating his social conservatism but focused on taxes and spending. However, any Republican that de-emphasizes abortion and homosexual marriage might as well concede before the votes are counted.
Abortion is not a religious issue. It is a human rights issue. The same as slavery. Just because something is supported by people of faith does not mean the issue itself is religious.
Is this a recommendation for the Tea Party or for politicians? If for the Tea Party it’s quite presumptuous to assume they need to be lectured since they were formed on the issue of small government and less taxes and therefore are a specialized interest group. I would agree breaking from the principle that binds them no matter what the issue would be stupid. However if this is about what politicians should do...then FORGET IT. In case you would like to forget, the majority now considers themselves pro-life, support traditional marriage, support enforcing borders, support no mosque at Ground zero and consider themselves Christian. If these issues make YOU uncomforyable..YOUR problem. If a politician chooses to strike against the American people on MAJORITY issues...don’t count on the support of nother conservatives who don’t consider money their sole guiding principle for support.
How many campaigns has Karl run and won?
Thank you! That can't be stated enough. If we intend to restore this country to Constitutional governance using the ballot box, this is the only way to do it.
But I'm sure it will feel great to have that feeling of moral superiority to warm your empty belly as you sit in the rubble of your ruined Marxist country.
Denninger supported Obama, which is why I take his periodic hair-on-fire diatribes with a grain of salt.
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