8 Simple Rules For Reviving A Dying Elephant

I did not write this, but I wanted to post it on my blog from the first moment I read it. I offered for the author to post this as a guest blogger, but they preferred to remain anonymous. Please feel free to join in and leave your observations concerning how we can work to make the Republican Party relevantly conservative once again.

1. 1. Ditch the old guard! If Tuesday showed us anything it told us it is time to move on. Goodbye to the Doles, Bushes, and McCain’s. Thank you but you are the past. We need new leadership NOW. We need fresh ideas yesterday. We need young faces of tomorrow. The GOP MUST abandon its addiction to establishment candidates.
   2. Sweep out the dust! State GOP chairs who have blindly and stupidly marched lock step with Bush and his party leadership need to suffer the consequences and be voted out of office or resign in shame. Two years ago they had a unique opportunity to correct course and they made matters worse by giving Bush a leadership that split the party over immigration. In the words of one of their own “It is time, it is time for them to go.”
   3. Clean house! The house leadership team MUST be replaced with younger conservatives who will reassure the base. The leadership needs to also intentionally consider that it reflect the face of America: Eric Cantor, Marsha Blackburn would be good places to start. As few old establishment guys who smoke as possible PLEASE!
   4. Embrace who you are! Be conservative or not but figure it out and stop apologizing for whatever the heck it is you believe. If you are social conservative, economic conservative, and a federalist – do your homework for goodness sake and know how to defend yourself. Other wise you look like a phony who has faked it so you can have power.
   5. Vote in some minorities and women for crying out loud! Hello! The reason McCain picked Palin was because he needed an executive who was a woman and could solidify his base (particularly social conservatives) – it’s not his fault the party only has one out there you bone heads have elected. How many times do you think quality African American candidates will put them selves up for election knowing they will suffer the scorn of their own race just to have the party only halfheartily support them? Crawl on your knees to Lynn Swan, Ken Blackwell, Michael Steele, and J. C. Watts and tell them you will do whatever it takes.
   6. Develop an in depth deliberate media strategy to overcome the UNBELIEVABLE media bias advantage for the donkeys. It needs to reveal relentless exposure and an all out war against the main stream elite media. It needs to include the development of alternative media and strengthening of talk radio and conservative Internet.
   7. The senate is our only line of legislative defense – get nasty and never, never, never give in. How many times are your donkey friends in the senate going to have to kick you before you realize they have no intention of playing nice?
   8. OK guys its time some of you got a reality check – elite country club republicanism and Washington insider establishment republicanism does not win elections. IT NEVER HAS. Stop trying to run off the guys who put you in power and belittle our leaders such as Huckabee and Palin. We are your party. Get used to it or chose to keep losing.

Newt For RNC Chairman

As the Republican Party seeks to rebuild in the aftermath of last weeks election, one of its first tasks will be to appoint a new chairman for the Republican National Committee. The chairmanship of a major party’s national committee isn’t an extremely visible position; however, an effective chairperson can greatly influence the public image of their party. The RNC Chairperson holds great power in influencing the party’s platform, implementing long-term national campaign strategy, and in finding newer and more effective ways to raise funds.

In the present political climate, however, the next chairperson of the RNC will face extraordinary responsibilities. With a President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and Majority Leader Reid, Republicans have no clear ideological leader in Washington. The next RNC Chairperson must be capable of going toe to toe with a President Obama, and they must be able to offer a clear ideological alternative to the almost certain regressive liberal policies of the next four years.

In meeting these qualifications, I can think of no better person than Newt Gingrich.

Since his days as Speaker of the House, Newt has been a consistent voice of dissention in a party that has seriously betrayed the principles of conservatism that earned America’s trust in the 1980’s and early 1990’s. Also, he has been one of the few public figures who have consistently called for solutions driven change, and he has been one of the few people who hasn’t been afraid to hold the Bush Administration accountable for their mistakes.

Newt remains popular with every faction of the Republican Party. He is not the only “change” oriented candidate for the chairmanship, but he is the only “change” candidate that the entire Republican Party will unite behind.

The Republican Party is simply too vulnerable to elect a Romney or Huckabee “stand-in”. To do so would be to risk an open ideological civil war within the party. Also, the stakes are simply too high to protect conventional thinking by selecting any number of former state party chairpersons.

The challenges facing the Republican Party are extensive, and they require a chairperson with extensive capabilities. We all know that Newt Gingrich has the talent and intelligence to deliver in the face of majority opposition. Isn’t it time we brought him back into the fold?

Where Do We Go From Here?

The Republican Party obviously really lost on every level on Tuesday. However, In the midst of all the political pity that I’ve been feeling, I think it’s important to get beyond the inevitable political demoralization that conservatives are feeling, and start looking at the real consequences of this election, and where we are to go from here as conservatives.

Of all the places to find it, my first post election inspiration came from Ralph Nader. At the National Press Club on Wednesday, Mr. “Full-Time Citizen” rightfully pointed out that no political party is the real loser in this election. The real losers, according to Mr. Nader, are the American people. (He then proceeded to ruin this profound moment by spewing his usual socialist, anti- capitalism jargon, but that’s besides the point.)

Mr. Nader’s words, when applied to a conservative ideology, are very true. Republicans have lost nothing compared to what the American people have lost. In the next 2-4 years, the American people will feel the burden of electing someone with an extremely liberal ideology to the highest office in the land. Steven M. Nielson at The New Conservative had a great post about what to expect in the new socialist administration.

Mr. Nader, (Who actually managed to say two profound things in one day.), also pointed out that there are two kinds of people who react to failed elections. Firstly, there are those who react to political failure with a recessive trait. These people allow themselves to be demoralized by failure, which leads to a compromise in principle, which in turn will ensure continued failure. Secondly, there are those who react to political failure with a civic trait. These people realize that their failings had nothing to do with their message, but rather in the way that their message was delivered.

In order to rebuild the Republican Party, we must return to the principles that we improved America with in the 1980’s and in 1994. The media seems to think that the only effective way for Republicans to regain power is to shift farther to the left ideologically. This is completely wrong. As Barry Goldwater pointed out, conservatives faced the same problem in 1960.

“We are daily cosigned by “enlightened” commentators to political oblivion: Conservatism, we are told, is out of date. The charge is preposterous and we ought boldly to say so. The laws of God, and of nature, have no dateline. The principles on which the Conservative political position is based have been established by a process that has nothing to do with social, economic, and political landscape that changes from decade to decade and from century to century. These principles are derived from the nature of man, and from the truths that God has revealed about His creation. Circumstances do change. So do the problems that are shaped by circumstances. But the principles that govern the solution of the problems do not. To suggest that the Conservative philosophy is out of date is akin to saying that the Golden Rule, or the Ten Commandments or Aristotle’s Politics are out of date. The Conservative approach is nothing more or less than an attempt to apply the wisdom and experience and the revealed truths of the past to the problems of today. The challenge is not to find new or different truths, but to learn how to apply established truths to the problems of the contemporary world.”

We ought to realize that the American people are attracted to authenticity, that’s why Reagan was the only successful Republican president in the last 50 years.  Reagan didn’t feel the need to shift to the left, and we shouldn’t either.  In the words of Mike Huckabee, “We will never compromise our principles for anyone else’s politics.” Not today, not tomorrow, not ever.

My Final Case For John McCain

In the next few hours, I will be one of the millions of voters who will cast their vote for Senator John McCain as the next President of the United States. I am glad to say that I am doing this in accordance with my own convictions, and with an unwavering belief that my decision is the best decision for the future of this country.

John McCain is the kind of man that we need to lead us to meet the challenges that this nation will face in the next four years. In these dangerous times, our nation can not afford to experiment an unproven leader, and we can’t afford to test leftist ideologies in the daily governance of this nation. Unlike Barack Obama, Sen. McCain is not lacking in the qualities of a good leader. Simply put, Sen. McCain has the character, judgment, and passion that will be required of our next president.

Senator McCain’s character has been evident in his extensive service of the country that he loves. From enduring the torture of a North Vietnamese prison, to his fight to restore the publics trust in their elected officials, John McCain’s service has been rooted in his love of this country, and of the noble ideals which it so proudly represents. I believe that John McCain will restore the respect that has been lacking in the office of the presidency for the past 20 years. In John McCain, we will not only have a leader that we can believe in, but we will have a leader that has earned our respect.

John McCain has also displayed the judgment that is necessary of a President of the United States. In matters concerning foreign policy, Sen. McCain has shown the wisdom that is required of the next commander in chief. In 1983, then Congressman McCain was one of the few elected officials who had the foresight to see that sending American troops into Lebanon would bring disastrous results. Also, Sen. McCain was the only senator to denounce our failed strategy in Iraq early on, and he was the first elected official to advocate the strategy that is currently bringing about victory in Iraq.

Unlike Senator Obama, John McCain has shown an ability and willingness to put aside divisive partisanship in order to get things done for this country. In several instances that have alienated him from his own party, Sen. McCain has shown an ability to follow through with what he believes is right.

I also believe that John McCain will bring change to Washington. Senator McCain shares the hight standards that Americans have for their elected officials. Sen. McCain is obsessed with rooting out corruption and restoring the publics trust in their government.

Hopefully, you understand why I am voting for Senator John McCain as the 44th President Of The United States. To anyone who might be reading this today, on November 4th, I urge you strongly to get out and vote for Senator John McCain.