I was going to title this diary “Let’s Get Together, Yeah Yeah Yeah” but I figured the allusion to “The Parent Trap” would a) date me, and b) be a little lame. So I went with something a little more macho - Benjamin Franklin’s political cartoon from 1754. The cartoon is much more appropriate for a serious topic - how do we “join” (or “get together”) to pursue the purpose of rebuilding our party and rebuild our conservative base?
“Politics is compromise” is a truism about how we must operate in the political realm. Ironically, this quote has been attributed to Paddy Ashdown, who led the Liberal Democrats in the United Kingdom for a decade. Despite Mr. Ashdown’s political proclivities, he was right. One cannot survive in politics without the ability to compromise. Blogger “thudfactor” (where I got the idea to use the Franklin cartoon) writes:
Of course our candidates are going to be compromises. Anyone electable is going to be an imperfect match. Whoever becomes president will have to appeal to a broad range of people, and that means her or she will have to compromise on issues you think are important, even those you think are of surpassing and critical importance. That’s just life in a country of 300 million people and nearly four million square miles.
I couldn’t have said it better myself. Every political choice is a compromise. We must always sacrifice something to move closer to the goal. Even our old friend Fred D. Thompson would have been a compromise in some ways, if he had gone on to win the Presidency. I’ll leave it at that, for fear of taking the focus off of the matter at hand.
Why bring this up now? This past Monday morning, the RedState Directors posted a diary that described their endorsement of Ken Blackwell as Chairman of the Republican National Committee. NOTE: They endorsed Blackwell. Please keep that in mind. In the same diary, they also stated that if Blackwell does not gain the necessary votes in the first round of voting, Mike Duncan would be a good second choice. And this is where the consternation began. The comments section of that diary was an explosion of angst and anger at the Directors for their support of Duncan.
Please go back and read the Directors’ diary again - the entire thing, especially the three items noted below the fold. Note what they say about Mr. Duncan.
- “Mike Duncan did not arrive at the RNC until 2007“. He was President Bush’s choice. Do you really think that Duncan was going to cross the guy who put him in the Chairmanship? I doubt it.
- “the RNC did not function as it should have in 2008 had much more to do with the McCain campaign than anything the RNC did. It was the McCain campaign calling the shots and consuming the resources.” - Many here at RedState have beaten the stuffing out of McCain - before, during and after the campaign. He is/was not the kind of conservative that many of us prefer, nor is President Bush. McCain’s tacit “leadership” of the party during the campaign and his mavericky position on how the RNC operates (for example, McCain is complaining about how the RNC is dealing with Obama, post-election) surely had some impact on Duncan’s leadership.
- “it is a fact that Duncan, by and large, had to live with decisions made before he got there.” - Duncan appeared late in the game and inherited many decisions of the previous RNC leadership.
- “The RNC had in place and was ready to deploy the tools to innovate. Unfortunately, the McCain campaign opposed using the resources Duncan had committed.” - Note - there were actions underway, and McCain’s campaign interfered. Now Mr. Duncan may not be a technology genius, but we don’t need a web developer as Chairman. We need someone who can get candidates elected. See Erick’s prior article on this topic.
Before the RNC Chairmanship debate there was much discussion about the role of the RNC Chairman. The Chairman is NOT a policy maker. Mindy Finn, of rebuildtheparty.com, does a nice job describing the role of the chairman. Note the two things she mentions that are NOT a part of the job:
- Chief Policy Advisor for the Republican Party
- Chief Agenda Setter for the Republican Party
I think many of us are still stuck on the need for the Chairman to create policy and party agenda, and that simply isn’t their place. We may not get the ideal chairman for the RNC. We may have to settle for something less than what we desire. We may have to (gasp) compromise. That’s part of the game. But this is not a bad thing. In politics, those who compromise are often able to get things done. In my world of business, I have always somewhat despised managers, because they often “play politics.” But there’s a reason for this - they must work with others to get things done, and one usually doesn’t get to call all the shots…thus the need for compromise. In the case of the RNC Chairmanship, we may have to compromise to get something done. I guarantee you that the colonists were forced to compromise in order to “join.”
So, let’s return to the topic of “joining”. When Franklin published the cartoon “Join, or Die,” he was referring to the need for unity in the colonies so they could effectively fight the revolution against the British. In our case, we must unite and fight against the influence of the Left and their agents - the Democrats - that are about to be installed into office. We now have that same need for unity. We need to fight the right enemy - the Left and their socialist agenda. We do not need to fight ourselves.
Direct your ire against the Democrats, not against each other. Take action, don’t just moan about a lost cause, as I saw in this post tonight. Erick called for us to form the “RedState Army” and subsequently sent out a pointer to the list of 168 RNC members so we could support our candidate for chairman. We would like Redstate.com to be an agent for activism in the party - a way for us to not just vent, but to take action to accomplish our goals. One of the ways to be an activist is to take that list of RNC members and contact them and let them know who YOU support - not necessarily the Redstate Directors’ choice, but YOU - your choice.
One last note - K. Ryan James wrote a nice diary on Rebuildtheparty.com titled “The Chairman Debate: Go on and be pissed” In that article, James states:
My advice is to go on and be pissed. Be pissed at where we are at. Be pissed at how we have fallen. Be pissed if the powers-that-be dismiss the desires of local activists in favor of personal politics.
Be pissed, but be activist and be engaged.
(emphasis mine) Let’s not get so hung up on the “pissed” part and get a LOT more involved with the “activist” part.
Be activist. Be engaged. Join, or Die.
Giving a SQ second choice is what people are mad about
JSobieski Tuesday, January 13th at 11:11AM EST (link)Kind of like saying:
I oppose the use of the fillabuster on judicial nomimees, but as a second choice, I support the gang of 14
I oppose the use of fiscal policy to stimulate the economy, but as a second choice, I want my district to get its share of the money
I oppose the validation of law breaking, but as a second choice, I support McCain-Kennedy immigration reform because there is a nominal penalty fee
George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Ronald Reagan did not achieve what they did but putting out their back-up plans when stating their goals.
Its an issue of style, but it is also an issue of effectiveness.
Frankly, I like Blackwell a lot, but if Duncan is a second choice for Blackwell supporters. it causes me to at least pause and reconsider my support of Blackwell.
This is all well and good, bs...
randy streu Tuesday, January 13th at 11:21AM EST (link)but HOW do we change our party if we cannot fight it? The two most important things we do within the party are vote and donate. But when we say we’ll withhold the vote in protest to party actions, we’re told to go along to get along. Same is true when we talk about withholding funds.
We’re told, “save your ire for democrats,” as if putting an (R) next to one’s name magically transforms him into somebody with a correct approach to government.
So what’s left? Speech. The ability to express our ire at where things are. You call it “moaning.” I call it an attempt at change from within. Who reads RedState? Republicans. And not just Republican bloggers, but leaders. Local and national party leaders, politicians — people with the ability to make those changes we feel are necessary. They read RedState — and sometimes even post here.
Most of us have joined. I, and many others who have expressed a similar discontent, are card-carrying Republicans, and have been for some time. And anyone who knows me, or who has paid attention, knows I’m not saying that as a troll or a “moby” — but as somebody with legitimate love for his country, and a legitimate Conservative view. We have joined. We are trying to be engaged. We are trying to be activist.
But it seems to me that every time we make these attempts on behalf of the fading ideals of the Republican Party, we’re told the same thing. Save your ire for Democrats. Get along to go along. Sit down, and shut the hell up.
I’ve read enough of your stuff to know where your heart and intentions lie here, bs. And I respect you deeply as a member of this community. But I also have read what you’ve posted here, and I can’t sign on with it. You’re absolutely right that the main fight is against the Left. But we can’t fight them sufficiently while we still act like them once in office. We need to cleanse our party, or else find a new banner under which to fight. It’s not enough to get an (R) elected.
We have to fight, yes, even within the borders of our party, to make sure that that (R) is who he says he is, and will fight for our ideals. The ideals, by the way, which made this country great, and can continue to make this country great, if we fight for them.
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You join it, you don't fight it
Neil Stevens Tuesday, January 13th at 11:27AM EST (link)Don’t be an outsider. Become an insider. Get involved. Take a seat at the table instead of complaining when those at the table don’t do what you want.
If we all get involved it will make a difference.
Want to run for conservatives? Give.
There Is No Crisis
I have to ask, Neil...
randy streu Tuesday, January 13th at 11:38AM EST (link)Did you read the whole post, or just the first paragraph? I know I’m long-winded, but I did have some points to make there. I’ll paraphrase. We HAVE joined. We HAVE been active. And we are told time and again to just go along to get along. We don’t all have the tools to become politicians… we have our votes, and we have our money. And yet, we are told, it is unfair to use these as tools of activism within the party.
So, again, I ask How? Instead of airy, general niceties about “getting involved,” how about some practical advice? The Party is failing to represent its founding principles — the principles that are the reason I joined in the first place. How do I change them? I’m evil if I withhold money, and stupid if I withhold a vote, and simply “complaining,” if I use rhetoric. So how do we change it?
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Actually I did
Neil Stevens Tuesday, January 13th at 11:48AM EST (link)There’s more to getting involved than just joining the party.
Anyone can do that.
Here’s what I suggest:
1. Join the RS Army. You will get alerts specific to where you live. When we become aware of events local to you, we’ll tell you how you can get involved.
2. Look up your local city or county party leadership. Find out when they meet, and if they’re any good.
3. Especially if you’re in aheavily D area, run for office. Challenge a D that gets no opposition.
Want to run for conservatives? Give.
There Is No Crisis
"The Party" listens to three kinds of people:
Achance Tuesday, January 13th at 12:46PM EST (link)people who have demonstrated themselves to be opinion leaders, people who can either give or raise large sums of money, and people who have demonstrated themselves to be reliable workers and organizers - in about that order. Some people with money have more influence than some people with influence and vice versa.
Frankly, if you’re not identifiable as one of the above, you’re a name on a list. If your name isn’t recognizable to a Party official or an officeholder, if you contact them about some issue or concern, the VERY FIRST thing they do is look up your party registration and who, if anyone, you gave money to. There’s a lot of difference in the way the email, letter, or phone call gets treated if it is referred to as “he’s a constituent” as opposed to “he’s a supporter.” Usually, if you gave money to the other party or the other guy, you go to the bottom of the stack if not the ignore file, If you’re a constituent but are an NP or registered with the other party, you go in the “when I get around to it” stack. If you’re registered with their party and gave money, you’ll get in the “he’s a supporter” file and somebody will listen to you. They might not do what you want, but they’ll at least address you and your concern.
And finally, there’s stateing your position or concern, there’s complaining, and there’s being a pain in the a**. It is a whole lot easier to be the purist and the harda** if it isn’t your name on the door or your vote to cast. I’m not saying that to excuse the linguine spined and the compulsive compromisers, but the World does look a lot different when you’re the one responsible for some action and all you can do is try to move in the direction of your objectives. You can’t always get there in one step or even in one hundred steps but you try to do things that get you there step by step and not do things that cause you to step backwards, especially that last bit. Sometimes, “it was the best I could get” is not a good response to a constituent, supporter, or ally, but sometimes “the best I could get” is simply all you can get. There is, after all, that guy on the other side of the ditch.
In Vino Veritas
Yup. And that means joining the State/County Parties.
Moe Lane Tuesday, January 13th at 11:40AM EST (link)Which means doing a lot of unglamorous, boring work for free.
No, I’m not looking forward to it, but it’s got to be done.
Check out my new blog at http://moelane.com/.
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My (blogging-related) wish list.
5 +++ We have to become the party insiders.
Brian Hibbert Tuesday, January 13th at 11:42AM EST (link)I’ve been on a kick preaching about getting involved in the local party, but this is really the point. If we hang out on the outside and complain about those who are doing the work, nothing will change. We have to take the party back from the ground up. The ground up is the local party. Call the county GOP and find out where you can help. Then when all the RedState posters are involved in local party decisions, we can help pick who moves to the state party, and from there the national party. But it all begins in your own neighborhood.
Socialism doesn’t work. It looks nice on paper, but it’s been tried and it’s failed miserably every time (usually accompanied by widespread death and suffering).
Proud member of the V.R.W.C.
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Exactly.
aesthete Tuesday, January 13th at 11:37AM EST (link)That mentality is what got us into this mess w/Bush. Not saying that that’s the only problem we’ve had, but it certainly contributed to our (temporary) demise.
Guilt is a rope that wears thin.
-Ayn Rand
“I am a freeman in a free state!”
-Last words of Dumnorix, chieftan of the Aedui, 54 BC
Did you email the RNC members?
bs Tuesday, January 13th at 11:43AM EST (link)Have you done anything about your preference for Blackwell or whoever, other than post here?
If so, bravo for you! If not, GOTO top of diary and read again.
Posting on RS is lovely, but I’m telling you - comments on blogs do not get the same response as a 1:1 direct correspondence with a representative or someone of that ilk. Furthermore, personal contact is preferred over email. Call or fax or write a real letter.
Decorum is fo’ suckas - unless it’s one of the good guys
I do call, and have called, bs...
randy streu Tuesday, January 13th at 11:55AM EST (link)and will continue to do so.
And will continue to do the work necessary (as Moe suggested above). And will continue to fight the degradation of our party from within.
But let me ask you, if I “save my ire” for Democrats, how am I to get fired up to do what’s necessary in the party. I don’t merely have ire for democrats. I have a problem with every member of the party I’ve called home for the last 10 years who seeks to weaken its principles and bring in those ideals that we’ve supposedly been fighting.
I suppose the main problem I have, bs, is with the constant meme of “go along to get along” that we’ve been hearing lately. It’s this idea that once decisions are made within the party hierarchy (or even during an incredibly stupid primary process) — even if they are the wrong ones — that we need to just shut up and be good little soldiers.
I’ll be clear: I will work with every other Conservative Republican willing to change things from within, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to just toe the line when they make the wrong decision. And I’m not going to be told — or listen to others being told — that they aren’t holding up their end if they decide they don’t want their hard-earned money going to whatever idiocy the Party Leadership has on the table.
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Pick your battles Randy, and choose the ground.
Brian Hibbert Tuesday, January 13th at 12:08PM EST (link)There are times to fight for your ideology. There are also times to go along to get along. Might I suggest you look at it from the POV of party insiders. They get 1000s of complaints about everything they do. Those complaints mean a bit more if they come from people they know and trust. Get to be the person they know and trust. Do the dirty drudgery work at the local level and do it better than enyone else without complaint. Become the person who they can’t live without.
The change we all desire isn’t going to happen overnight. We have to do it one precinct and one county at a time. It’s going to be a lot of work. But if each RedState regular takes 1 precinct or 1 county, this process will be much shorter.
Socialism doesn’t work. It looks nice on paper, but it’s been tried and it’s failed miserably every time (usually accompanied by widespread death and suffering).
Proud member of the V.R.W.C.
Join the RedState Strike Force
You are misreading the message
bs Tuesday, January 13th at 12:15PM EST (link)No one, I repeat, NO ONE has said “shut up”. In fact, I (and others) am suggesting the exact opposite. Voice your opinion. But do it using a method that is constructive and effective, in that it reaches those who matter. But while you are doing it, fire on those who we need to be firing upon as well.
My other objective here was to remind people that the Redstate Directors endorsed Ken Blackwell. Somehow that seems to have been lost in the flamefest about Mike Duncan. Fine, people don’t like Duncan. You (the “royal you”) don’t have to support him. But make damn sure you convey that to the RNC. Just remember that a) the first choice of the Directors was Blackwell, and b) the choices made were based on NOT just ideology but also the belief that those two men are able to get the right GOP candidates elected…. which, of course is the #1 job of the Chairman. The #1 job is not to be God’s gift to conservatism, but we’d love for that to be true as well.
Decorum is fo’ suckas - unless it’s one of the good guys
At what point are we just trading off principle for access???....nt
Attack Mode Tuesday, January 13th at 12:10PM EST (link)“Land of the Free and Home of da Whopper” Peter Griffin…Family Guy
conform and celebrate diversity….or else!!!
Steel-Belted Radial Right Winger
“I’ll create 5 million jobs from out of unicorn farts and pixie dust” Justatron paraphrasing Obamessiah…yes I love it that much.
Not sure that's possible
Neil Stevens Tuesday, January 13th at 12:50PM EST (link)At some point the rubber has to meet the road, or your principles are hollow.
Want to run for conservatives? Give.
There Is No Crisis
Compromise and Principles
Erick Erickson Tuesday, January 13th at 12:58PM EST (link)I don’t think you ever compromise your principles — or at least you shouldn’t. But you do have to calculate how far you can advance your principles in each case.
In some cases, you can only advance them incrementally. In other cases, you can take great strides. The compromise comes in the decisions made to advance your principles, not in actually compromising your principles.
A number of readers have read our listing of Duncan as 2nd choice as some sort of compromise on principles. It is no such thing. See e.g. my Mitch McConnell punches. We happen to believe Duncan was unable to do his job because of several factors and if he could do his job, which he is now in a position to, we’ll be able to advance our conservative principles effectively.
We’re not about compromising principles around here. Hell, if we did, we’d be a much bigger site. But we don’t want pro-aborts as contributors and we don’t want profanity all over the place, etc.
Who will stand on either hand and keep this bridge with me?
Erick, thanks for the answer...
Attack Mode Tuesday, January 13th at 2:02PM EST (link)And I agree with what you are saying. If you look back at the open thread that followed the RNC debate you will see that I actually put Duncan as the man who finished second behind Anuzis in the debate. I have no problems with supporting the RNC if Duncan is chosen and he performs well.
As far as my question above, the reason why I wrote it was in response to many other posts that said things like “become the guy they can’t live without”, in the context that it was said it troubled me. Personally when I get involved here in VT I am not going to hide my beliefs, just to gain the trust of those who would sell me out once they discover who I am. I would rather go in knowing who is with me and who I need to keep a watchful eye on. If they ask me to tone it down on some matter of principal in order for me to gain access to the club, I will promptly tell them to pound sand.
Now this isn’t to say I would withdraw from participating, rather I would simply make it my mission to show them how a principled activist can be successful. the eventual hope being that the rightness of my beliefs would win over more minds then it would lose.
“Land of the Free and Home of da Whopper” Peter Griffin…Family Guy
conform and celebrate diversity….or else!!!
Steel-Belted Radial Right Winger
“I’ll create 5 million jobs from out of unicorn farts and pixie dust” Justatron paraphrasing Obamessiah…yes I love it that much.
Hi Aaron, I didn't mean hide your principals.
Brian Hibbert Tuesday, January 13th at 2:27PM EST (link)I was trying to get people to understand that complaining about the various actions of the people who are working for the party means nothing unless they know who you are. There are so many people complaining about so many things, that you just become one of many people saying different things. If you are the guy pulling a fair amount of weight at the local level, your opinion will matter more than just someone who called to complain.
Don’t compromise or hide your beliefs. Just be aware that change happens in baby steps.
Socialism doesn’t work. It looks nice on paper, but it’s been tried and it’s failed miserably every time (usually accompanied by widespread death and suffering).
Proud member of the V.R.W.C.
Join the RedState Strike Force
Thanks for the clarification Brian...
Attack Mode Tuesday, January 13th at 2:33PM EST (link)sorry I didn’t respond directly to you but I felt that thread was getting a bit lose and didn’t want it to be lost in the mess.
Oh and I agree….;^)
“Land of the Free and Home of da Whopper” Peter Griffin…Family Guy
conform and celebrate diversity….or else!!!
Steel-Belted Radial Right Winger
“I’ll create 5 million jobs from out of unicorn farts and pixie dust” Justatron paraphrasing Obamessiah…yes I love it that much.
Joining State/County Party
Trelaina Tuesday, January 13th at 12:14PM EST (link)Is anyone else having trouble signing into MyGOP.com?
What is the best way to find a contact so I can sign up with my local party office?
“I would be a poor Commander in Chief”
– Barack Obama, July 3 2008
Join the RedState Strike Force
Look up your local state GOP site.
Moe Lane Tuesday, January 13th at 12:28PM EST (link)Maryland’s had contact info for both the state and the county parties; I don’t know whether yours would, but it should.
Check out my new blog at http://moelane.com/.
http://twitter.com/moelane
My (blogging-related) wish list.
Thanks Moe
Trelaina Tuesday, January 13th at 4:19PM EST (link)North Carolina apparantly isn’t as “with the times”
but I did find a contact link and put my name on an “I want to volunteer” list….we will see what happens!
“I would be a poor Commander in Chief”
– Barack Obama, July 3 2008
Join the RedState Strike Force
Reco'd with reservations.
Steph C Tuesday, January 13th at 4:28PM EST (link)I agree there has to be compromise or nothing at all will get done. However, there’s a point where compromise resembles giving in rather than finding some middle ground on which to agree.
I believe the article would be a better representation of what you’re asking if you would more clearly define what you mean by compromise. Some of the comments speak to that confusion when questions such as “giving up principles for the sake of compromise… are part of the responses.
Maybe I’m out of line since I haven’t put up a diary in ages and don’t really spend a lot of time commenting but I’m thinking that instead of rushing forward blindly as we’ve been doing since Clinton defeated Bush1 we need to step back and reevaluate what we are and what we stand for… as individuals, as a conservative, and a nation.
I see us as conservatives and Republicans still rushing forward without a real goal in sight. We say we have goals but what we’re rushing toward isn’t those goals. I see a lot of people parroting Reagan conservative ideology but how many really know what it is all about? And do they know how to live it?
You briefly mentioned Fred Thompson and while it’s probably meaningless at this point, there was something there that you missed that could have been included in this article. Fred ran because people said they wanted real conservatism but when Fred told and showed them what real conservatism is about, they found they didn’t want it after all.
Being conservative in a liberal world is a tough task. It’s so easy to fall for the promises which, when they are fulfilled do make life easier in the short term but over the long haul the resultant misery makes conservative living look like a cake walk… until people get tired or lazy again. It’s a seemingly neverending cycle.
So, where do we draw the line on compromise?
“[I]f the public are bound to yield obedience to laws to which they cannot give their approbation, they are slaves to those who make such laws and enforce them.” –Candidus in the Boston Gazette, 1772
Hillbilly Politics
You ask a fair question
bs Tuesday, January 13th at 4:50PM EST (link)And I must admit that I don’t have the complete answer. EPU ragged me about putting Fred’s name in there, and I told him I was just trying to get under his skin…
But seriously, I really DID put his name in there for a reason: he is/was what many considered to be the “perfect” conservative candidate. As a Fredhead myself, I figured I could take his name in vain without too much negative vibes from the neighbors here. Because he was so good, we tend to think that he was a “no compromises” candidate. As I said, though, even Fred was something of a compromise: he is on the old-ish side - not a young guy who we could depend on to lead the party long term (like Palin or Jindal, for example). Fred had some other minor nits, such as the “lobbyist” label that was pasted to him. And the biggest issue was that he just didn’t attack the campaign with the zeal that a POTUS candidate needs. I really don’t think his lack of success had anything to do with people not liking his conservative positions.
But back to the question of “how far do we go?” - I think Erick Erickson answered a similar question quite well here. I smart-assed a comment on another thread and referred to the Rolling Stones “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” as representing the situation - sometimes we just don’t have the ideal option at our disposal, so we have to settle for the next best thing. John McCain is the perfect example of this. In retrospect, many of us are somewhat relieved (in a warped sort of way) that McCain didn’t get elected, as he was soooo far from the ideal option that one could make the case that we’d be worse off than with Obama (it’s a hard case to make, but the discussion is interesting)
I like your question. A number of the RS contributors have tossed around ideas about where we could/should compromise, and I think we all came to the conclusion that it’s a heck of a lot harder question than it appears on the surface. We all tend to have our “no compromise” issues, and when you stir them all together, you’re left with a heck of a dilemma. I don’t think I have an answer to it.
Decorum is fo’ suckas - unless it’s one of the good guys
I don't have a problem with compromise, myself.
Steph C Tuesday, January 13th at 10:06PM EST (link)And I agree that Fred was also a compromise in many ways. My problem with compromise as defined by the Dems and the Republicans who agree with them is its really capitulation and ceding ground in a lot of unnecessary ways. The pressure from such a definition of the word leads to a lot of manipulation.
I rather like what Nancy Pelosi is doing in shutting out the Republicans, not so much because they won’t get anything done but because she’s showing the nation that the only compromise her Congress is interested in is capitulation. Add in the intolerance of the extreme left and the moderates on both sides are really going to get tired.
2010 is not that far away, really. Republicans have no cohesive message, no conservative principles it can uphold with examples, and it’s in a whole peck of trouble. If we keep rushing headlong into this, nothing is going to help and I’m really in the frame of mind of nation first and what conservative principles can do for it.
You’re right that there are so many differences in the “no compromise” areas so all I have to say about that is: If people keep trying to force those issues, we’re going to be in a neverending battle that even if we win, we lose. We would become the fascists that the left is always saying we are and more like them than our founding fathers would ever have intended. The extreme right can be as fascist as the extreme left. The only difference between the two extremes is what they focus their fascist ways upon.
There are things that government has to do to insure our security. The rest should be up to us, as individuals, within our communities, cities, and states. The religious right can’t save souls by forcing certain behaviors no more than the environmentalist left can save the planet with their screwed up policies that often cause more damage than good. Such behavioral controls do nothing, regardless of the motives. They might make people feel good… in the short term… but long term?
If we don’t recognize that government has limitations and should have limitations, all we’re going to do is make one big mess. Oh, wait, we’ve already done that, haven’t we?
Perhaps the answer isn’t so much compromise as finding a way to show that conservatism is really the only answer to this country’s ills. It just isn’t attractive anymore because people have forgotten what it was like when, once upon a time, conservatives were pretty much in the same position as they are today.
Perhaps, we need to show how conservatism empowers people. I can’t conceive of being anything but conservative, even to the point that I’ve been considering calling myself an Independent conservative because there is no party where I “fit”, if that makes sense, so I can understand why you have that reaction to McCain’s loss. I kind of have the same feeling ut, you’re right, it’d be a hard case to make.
“[I]f the public are bound to yield obedience to laws to which they cannot give their approbation, they are slaves to those who make such laws and enforce them.” –Candidus in the Boston Gazette, 1772
Hillbilly Politics
I'm through compromissing
Mark Malcolm Tuesday, January 13th at 6:36PM EST (link)my beliefs. Conservatives are always the ones asked to compromise and look what it got us? No more. Moderates my control everything but they do not control my choice where I donate, where I volunteer, and who I choose to support.
I will no longer send money to the RNC as long as they court me in the primary and forget me after they’re elected or ignore my beliefs altogether as they did in the primary this past cycle.
Congratulations moderates, you’ve finally motivated me enough to get off my fat backside and get in the game.
I may not agree with what you say but I’ll defend your right to say it to the very death.
Join Or Die........ I thought this diary was about the Card Check bill. Nudge nudge, wink wink.
Kenny Solomon Tuesday, January 13th at 10:42PM EST (link)Anyway, count me in.
As soon as I get my parents situated I’m in full bore (this is not fun ; both of Mom & Dad going to a nursing home - he’s there already).
I plan on getting heavily involved with my local/state CONSERVATIVE organizations (GOP - y’all lost me a long time ago) and the strongest 2nd Amendment folks - I’m already a member of NRA, GOA and JPFO.
Cheers !
Kenny Solomon
Senior Expediter
The 72 Virgins Club Travel Agency
Offices throughout America (all 57 states).
Of course you can have my guns……. Bullets first.
I didn’t say rounds, shells or magazines…… I said bullets first.
My best to you doing that.
Achance Tuesday, January 13th at 10:47PM EST (link)The day we put my Mom in was one of the worst in my life. She and my dad had taken care of my Grandmother and she was able to go peacefully in her own bed. I was 5000 miles away and my sister had to work, so we couldn’t do that with our mother.
Got my one and only DUI that night.
In Vino Veritas
Thanks Achance........
Kenny Solomon Tuesday, January 13th at 10:56PM EST (link)It really sucks, doesn’t it. Seeing your parents going down hill day after day.
Thankfully I don’t drink much at all and I don’t want to, nor have plans to do so the day I take her up there for check-in.
But I do have a new bottle of Famous Grouse Gold Reserve that looks mighty good right now….. just had the same talk with Mom for the 20th time about the why, what and maybe when…. that;’s what hurts the most.
I’ve been with them for going on 2 years now. Can’t take care of ‘em anymore - physically on their end or otherwise.
Kenny Solomon
Senior Expediter
The 72 Virgins Club Travel Agency
Offices throughout America (all 57 states).
Of course you can have my guns……. Bullets first.
I didn’t say rounds, shells or magazines…… I said bullets first.