Newsbusted on the GOP’s New Website

This is may be the only time in history that HuffPo and the Media Research Center agree on something – how the RNC still doesn’t get it. Jodi Miller also comments on Balloon Boy, kids asking Obama why people “hate him so much,” polling, Rush Limbaugh, senior stimulus, Mike Huckabee, etc..

 

Basic Flaws in the GOP’s Thinking

 

The Republican Party is comprised of people who have conservative beliefs, but not all conservative beliefs are viewed with the same degree of importance.

Conservatives believe in smaller government. We want to elect a like-minded individual to office and then let them run with the ball. We have our own lives and jobs, let them do theirs and do we right and we will do ours. We expect our elected officials to honest, ethical, steadfast and live the conservative principles.

Conservatives believe in the individual not the group, not the collective. As a result Conservatives are not joiners. We are also not blind followers.

The RNC seems to believe that the vocal minority is whom they must pander to, instead of adhering the principles of the party base. The majority of true conservatives, those conservative in both social and fiscal responsibility, probably do not like belonging to a political “party” and many don’t. In those states where independents can vote in primaries without joining either party there is a large number of “independent” registered voters whom are real conservatives.

Closed primaries, Semi-closed primaries, Semi-open primaries and caucuses disenfranchise a large section of the voting public. While I understand the gaming that goes on in Open primaries and the raiding, there has to be a way that includes all voters in each step of the election process.

Conservatives are individuals. They are leaders of 7themselves, fiercely independent. The only way to appeal to this group is to listen to them and include them. 

Conservatives who demand to be group leaders tend to be from the centrist mold. These people espouse some conservative talking point but can be spotted by their constant pursuit of more “fame”, influence and the almighty dollar. They attempt to organize and then control a group, but real conservatives question every thing and will never be “controlled”.

Conservatives simply need to be provided honest information and then pointed in a direction; guided not led. The RNC should consider providing the voting public with straight data without no hyperbole or misleading statements. RINO’s and other spineless officials should not be allowed to hang their careers on Party membership; actions speak louder than words or labels. 

Larger is not better. Conservatives prefer smaller. In some areas a County-wide organization may work but conservatives are more inclined to smaller groups 10 to 30 people in neighborhood “cells” where they feel their input is actually heard. These small neighborhood groups determine how much or how little they do based on their opinions.

If the information, ideas or suggestions from the grassroots gets lost on its way up the chain, the voters will continue on but as individuals thereby reducing their effectiveness. 

The Conservative platform is like the boat. The grassroots groups are the outboard motor and the RNC should be the tiller not the rudder. The destination is a free republic that follows the tenets of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Federalist Papers.

 
 

 

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Ghost Ranger, Tex’s first novel, is now available on Lulu and Amazon.

 

 

 

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Specter’s Specter

(Cross posted from America Needs Me)

The Republican who never was cemented his position in the popular kids clique today.

The Arlen Specter/GOP relationship has been one-way from its inception: he takes cash when he needs to be reelected then votes with the Democrats when it is important. His exit doesn’t really do much other than enable the RNC to spend its money on someone who won’t crap all over the party. Whether it will actually do that remains to be seen. My faith in who the party supports financially is practically nonexistent.

This will invariably be portrayed as one man simply sticking to his convictions when his party has abandoned him, an idea so loaded with manure it could fertilize farms in the western hemisphere for a decade. This is simply about Specter taking the path of least resistance in his waning years. He’d rather go out having his ass kissed than…what’s the word…oh yeah, working. Nicole Richie has body fat in greater abundance than Arlen Specter’s convictions.

There is now a lot of consternation about the Democrats having a filibuster-proof majority. That was going to happen anyway. In reality, it already had happened given the fact that Specter jumped ship during the first Hope and Changey vote he was presented with. It doesn’t matter whether there is an “R” or a “D” after a senator’s name. If the votes are there, then the votes are there. And they were, thanks to Specter.

In the end I can’t blame Specter for much. Republicans have, after all, been electing representatives who aren’t big on, well, representing us, for years. Just this morning, Scott Rasmussen explored the growing disconnect between the Beltway GOP and “the rest of us”.

The disconnect between D.C. Republicans and Republicans throughout the country has been growing for nearly 20 years, but it became more intense and noticeable during the waning years of the Bush administration.

This is what I’ve been trying to explain to my friends on the Left since the Tea Parties; we’ve been sick of this crap for a while now.

The elitist disconnect seems to be a prerequisite for functioning in the Senate, where it then becomes pathological. There isn’t a cushier gig in America than being a United States Senator. You don’t have to mess around with reelection very often. You get paid extremely well. It’s essentially a 19th Century House of Lords with American accents. That’s why people like Specter, Teddy Kennedy and Robert Byrd won’t just retire, already. Retirement would be hard compared to being a senator.

The only cure for this disconnect (whichever side it occurs on) is greater participation by those of us who feel we’re being disenfranchised. As always, the solution is in the Constitution. American citizens have extraordinary power, we simply choose not to use it most of the time. Apathy before an election and whining after are easy. Working a phone bank, signing up voters, canvassing door-to-door aren’t. It’s time to stop complaining about our ballot choices if we haven’t done anything to influence them.

This disconnect is perilously close to biting Americans of any political persuasion on the butt.

The gap between Beltway Republicans and the Republican base is part of a wider gap between the Mainstream and the Political Class. On many issues, the gap between Mainstream Americans and the Political Class is bigger than the gap between Mainstream Republicans and Mainstream Democrats.

The fact that this is a representative republic seems to be in need of constant repetition now. We are in control of who we elect to represent us. If we keep sending people to Washington who represent only themselves we aren’t participating in the process to the fullest. The point I kept making during the Tea Parties was that the mere physical presence of a representative doesn’t indicate that any actual representation is taking place.

American citizens in either party would do well to grasp this point. Congressional approval ratings have been low across the board so the disconnect can’t only be happening on the Right. If we keep allowing people like Arlen Specter to represent no one other than themselves we run the risk of the chasm between elected officials and those they are supposed to serve growing wider by the minute. Very soon the “Us” vs. “Them” discussion may not occur between Republicans and Democrats but between an overly powerful political class and an almost silent constituency.

In other words: all of us outside of Washington will be irrelevant.

What Now?

The election is a week behind us and once again Republicans have been whipped soundly.  So what does a good conservative do now?

What we do now is consistently apply pressure across the board.  We, as grassroots conservatives have to apply pressure first to our members of Congress to replace the inept leadership at the top.  That means I’m contacting Congressman Henry Brown and telling him NOT to support Minority Leader Boehner.

We’ve had two disastrous elections in a row and yet it appears the House it poised to retain the leadership that handed us those losses.  We have a GOP that is still in denial.  They continue to make excuses, apparently having learned nothing from the ‘06 and ‘08 elections.  If the GOP has any hope at all of retaking anything in 2010, it depends on replacing the current leadership in both the House and Senate with solid ideological conservatives.  It makes no sense to continue rewarding failure yet the GOP has a strong tendency to do just that.

We grassroots conservatives have successfully flexed our muscles before.  When President Bush tried to pass Harriet Meyers off on use we rose up en mass and put a stop to it.  We have the power to do the same kind of thing now.  If members of Congress are overwhelmed with phone calls, emails and faxes from their constituents demanding new leadership, they will listen.

The question is, do grassroots conservatives care enough to take action?

Palin’s First Appearance as McCain’s Running Mate

Part 1

Part 2

A Clue to the Next VP

The GOP has announced the schedule and speakers for their convention next week. One thing this proves is that they are better prepared than the DNC who got their schedule released late on August 24, 2008 for the August 25 convention.

You can read the schedule at Media Lizzy’s website. As you are reading be sure to look for the missing names of people presumed to be on the potential VP List. This is a good indicator of whom John McCain is considering. I have prepared the following chart.

Read more