From coast to coast, conservatives score huge victories in off-year elections

The Washington Post ^ | Novermber 4, 2015 | James Hohmann

[fifedom]

Just like the midterms one year ago, it was another awful night for Democrats. Republican Matt Bevin won a big upset in the Kentucky governors race. Democrats failed to pick up Virginias state Senate. Houstons Equal Rights Ordinance, designed to protect the rights of gay citizens and others, failed by a wide margin. Ohio rejected marijuana legalization by a two-to-one margin. Even in San Francisco, the sheriff who steadfastly defended the citys sanctuary city policy went down.

[fr_freak]

Yeah, I was paraphrasing you, because 99/100 times when someone on this forum starts griping about the “Freepers who stayed home” they are referring to the Obama/Romney election. If you want to say that you didn’t have that particular election in mind, well go ahead, maybe I’ll believe you.

[fr_freak]

The concept is rather simple: this country has crossed a line that it had never crossed before. The old rules no longer apply. We've got an administration trying to figure out the best ways to round regular Americans (i.e. conservatives) up and throw us in prison or even execute us, with almost daily news of organizations like the IRS, DHS, and even local police departments classifying veterans and conservatives as domestic terrorists and executing military-style raids on private homes for petty crimes, all while the Republicans we voted in to save us have instead aided and abetted the Marxists at every turn, and Freepers STILL want to think that a letter-writing campaign or simply pulling the lever for an "R" is enough.

It's not enough. Not even close. I object to people saying "Ha ha, we won!" because I KNOW they'll stop there and think their job is done. They'll sit their fat butts down and have a drink while the "R" they voted for goes and does the same damn thing the "D" did, only slower.

I don't want people unmotivated. I want them MORE motivated, motivated enough to go past the useless efforts that worked in the past and get ready to go to the next level. Instead of a letter-writing campaign you should be out buying more ammo.

[RKBA Democrat]

Your post is an interesting one and I’d like to address a few points in.

First your analogy regarding building a foundation. Yes, the gop is building a foundation. They do this in every election they win. Unfortunately, at this juncture they aren’t looking to build on the foundation, they’re looking to dynamite it. The gop, like its sister organization the rats, has zero interest in delivering results. They’re interested in achieving power for its own sake.

I agree that there are some at FR who are spreading a message of gloom. That’s strange to me, because we’re at a great time in our history, and a wonderful time to be a conservative! Why you might ask? Because there is some hope of conservatives shaking the electoral system like a bad cold. Yes, not participating in sham elections is an important step. But it’s what comes afterward that is so downright awesome! Because you see I know a little something about conservatives: we are the type of people who fix problems. It’s just our nature. Once enough of us finally come to reject this electoral system for the rigged game that it is, we can get on with the important business of being and living conservatively.

I mean how can you not be optimistic?

As for a plan, I have plenty of them. Hundreds of them. But what they boil down is being conservative and living that way. That is far more powerful and effective than the political promises of kleptocrats who never act, who never deliver. Rejecting the rigged electoral game and Governing yourself is also far more gratifying.

[Biggirl]

Yep, that is CORRECT, from a historic perspective.

[RipSawyer]

I see that I messed up and didn’t post the link to Keyes comments but you have most likely seen it anyway. Keyes seems to have dropped out of sight lately but he certainly had Obama pegged.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBRGEMBei5A

[A CA Guy]

Keyes is a good guy

[SamuraiScot]

They'll sit their fat butts down . . .

I don't want people unmotivated. I want them MORE motivated. . . Instead of a letter-writing campaign you should be out buying more ammo.

I don't basically disagree with you, but you aren't showing that you have a plan. Contempt for misguided voters isn't a plan. (You need those people.) Ammo is key, but is not a plan. A plan is a message that will lead to the smaller units of government—right down to the family and the individual—taking back the power that the central government has stolen. In history, power shifts back and forth between central power and local power continually. For our civilization, it's time to decentralize.

A weapon available under the U.S. system is that a default to local autonomy is written into our Constitution and our laws. An outgrowth of this idea is "nullification." We've started to see, in immigration, nullification starting to happen. My opinion is that our plan(s) must be to spread that idea in a systematic way to all the areas where the Supremes and the various illegal agencies like the EPA have falsely claimed authority. State and local governments will do this if we can push them and rearrange their incentives—at the same time as we use movements like Trump's to wound or destroy the Federal weeds that have grown up.

We need plans and strategies to achieve this, using constituencies we already have, plus new ones, on both a large and small scale. Can't do without the ammo, but letter-writing and ads are indeed part of it, or none of it will work. What's important is what the letters say, and to whom they're sent.

[SamuraiScot]

This is what I sent to fr_freak, and forgot to copy you:

I don't basically disagree with you, but you aren't showing that you have a plan. Contempt for misguided voters isn't a plan. (You need those people.) Ammo is key, but is not a plan. A plan is a message that will lead to the smaller units of government—right down to the family and the individual—taking back the power that the central government has stolen. In history, power shifts back and forth between central power and local power continually. For our civilization, it's time to decentralize.

A weapon available under the U.S. system is that a default to local autonomy is written into our Constitution and our laws. An outgrowth of this idea is "nullification." We've started to see, in immigration, nullification starting to happen. My opinion is that our plan(s) must be to spread that idea in a systematic way to all the areas where the Supremes and the various illegal agencies like the EPA have falsely claimed authority. State and local governments will do this if we can push them and rearrange their incentives—at the same time as we use movements like Trump's to wound or destroy the Federal weeds that have grown up.

We need plans and strategies to achieve this, using constituencies we already have, plus new ones, on both a large and small scale. Can't do without the ammo, but letter-writing and ads are indeed part of it, or none of it will work. What's important is what the letters say, and to whom they're sent.

[RKBA Democrat]

Thanks for the ping. While I would agree that governance at a lower level is preferable to governance at a higher level, it really begs the question: why do we need the governance? Our culture and indeed conservatism is based on the concept of SELF governance.

So self govern!

I find it ironic that we as conservatives spend so much time and effort trying to influence elections and curry favor with the political class when it really flies in the face of what we’re about. Thrift, self reliance, and self governance do not need elections and a New and Improved set of politicians to lord it over us.

[fifedom]

In the long run, the success or failure of any strategy is shown in its end results. We have ample evidence that voting for conservatism doesn’t work. Perhaps you have evidence to the contrary? Some overlooked victory? If so, please feel free to share.

---

There are many examples of the positive effects of voting for conservatives. We have not had a blanket amnesty for illegals since 1986 despite many tries. The federal government has not confiscated rifles and pistols—again despite many tries...

I have answered your question so now you give me examples and evidence of how not voting has led to more conservative government?

[fifedom]

As for a plan, I have plenty of them. Hundreds of them. But what they boil down is being conservative and living that way. That is far more powerful and effective than the political promises of kleptocrats who never act, who never deliver. Rejecting the rigged electoral game and Governing yourself is also far more gratifying.

---

I do not see a contradiction between living a virtuous conservative life and voting. Voting does not take much time.

---

Because there is some hope of conservatives shaking the electoral system like a bad cold. Yes, not participating in sham elections is an important step. But it’s what comes afterward that is so downright awesome! Because you see I know a little something about conservatives: we are the type of people who fix problems. It’s just our nature. Once enough of us finally come to reject this electoral system for the rigged game that it is, we can get on with the important business of being and living conservatively.

---

So voting is keeping you from “being and living conservatively”?? How about spending many hours posting on FreeRepublic as you do? That takes a lot more time than voting. Every time I read a thread here your posts show up. You are spending a lot of energy trying to keep Freepers who are mostly conservatives from voting. This is why I think you are a Democrat troll.

But who cares? Anyone who gets taken in by your posts is too dumb to vote.

[RKBA Democrat]

I don’t agree with the premise of the question. Electing conservatives to office, or having more conservatives in government, does not mean more conservative law, more conservative governance, or more conservative culture. A great example is our current congress. They’ve delivered nothing.

As for your example of amnesty, we have de facto amnesty. No real difference. And as for guns, I’m not convinced confiscation is in the cards regardless. Elements of the left would like to to be sure, but they didn’t when they held Congress and the Presidency a few years back. And frankly they could have.

[SamuraiScot]

it really begs the question: why do we need the governance?

Excellent question. The answer was delivered by Plato a number of years ago, but it comes down to the hazards of human life, doesn't it?

The grandparents of the Hon. David Crockett of Tennessee were murdered in a massacre by Creek and Cherokee Indians in 1777. The area where they lived needed at a bit more government. At the time, most of the local men were away fighting the Revolution—against the too-much-government of Britain.

Years later, President Andrew Jackson ignored Federal treaties and dispossessed the Cherokees, sending them by force on the "Trail of Tears" to Alabama in a hard winter. The Cherokees needed less government—at least, less government by the President.

Congressman David Crockett spoke out against Jackson's usurpation to defend his family's former enemies, and it cost him his political career, as he knew it would. He was a firm Constitutionalist. He lost re-election to Congress due to Jackson's meddling and headed for the Alamo—announcing, "You may all go to hell, and I will go to Texas." Crockett could have used less government (Federal interference) in the election. And perhaps more at the Alamo.

[RKBA Democrat]

Oh. I almost forgot to answer your underlying question of delivering some examples of conservative progress outside of the electoral sphere. I think the best (or at least the happiest) example is abortion. Abortion is pretty much as legal as it was back in 1973. Looked at from that perspective the ongoing efforts in the political realm to limit the barbarism have been a failure. HOWEVER the abortion rate has been dropping consistently and steadily since the early 80’s. So while our side has failed when it comes to a political solution, the prayer, the sidewalk counseling, the free ultrasounds have had an important impact on part of the culture. So while we may never see abortion illegalized, we are seeing a lot of lives being saved.

[RKBA Democrat]

That’s a good response. And I thank you. I would argue, thnough, that at this point Americans face few existential threats of the nature that the Hon Congressman did. And for such existential threats that we do face, such as radical islam, the governance we do have is clearly not up to the task.

Few organizations and fewer governments are going to voluntarily reduce their size and scope. And they sure aren’t going to do it because an unruly rabble of conservatives ask them to do so. If we want freedom and the room to be virtuous and conservative, it’ll have to be done in spite of the political class and outside of their scope of control.