Posted on 12/17/2008 9:04:35 AM PST by Welcome2thejungle
I generally agree. It was a very short four years ago that we were winning everything. It is not like we do not know how to win. The question is whether the right people are there to fix the problems and work back into power. This includes candidates, recruiters, fund raisers and strategists.
“Tough to win elections when you won’t stand up to the MASSIVE voter frauds being perpetuated by democrats across the nation...
Tough to win elections when you’re afraid to stand on your principles because of the media attacks they will generate from a biased press.
Tough to win elections when good people will no longer run for office because of the demonizations, and the sea of absolute hate they will suffer for being “Conservative”.”
IMPOSSIBLE to win elections if you start from behind every time.
The RNC chaiman MUST finance an ongoing campaign to fight the media smears/myths/lies about the GOP (and the ones about Dems). Otherwise Reoublicans lose before they begin.
Candidates cannot depend on voters ‘fearing’ a terrorist attack or a super lefty democrat. What if the opposition is a conservative democrat with the media, as usual, on their side? The GOP wouldn’t stand a chance.
Well, they vote the dead. And they "help" people vote. And they cheat at the ballot box. And they "sell" high position - pay to play. And they have union goons to oversee polling stations. They have people in the MSM who back them up as part of a tit for tat - information flowing one way (check out how fast the dems tried to look up dirt on Joe the Plumber - and how quickly that dirt was in the MSM) and
Now just what part of that should we imitate?
Let’s be honest here. GWB has been a disaster for the Republican brand and his administration’s failures left the door open for a defeated party to come roaring back to life. He wanted to use government to change people’s lives and while I don’t fault the spirit I find huge fault with the actions. He also couldn’t communicate worth a damn, couldn’t articulate policy and in the end appeared to be the buffoon that his critics made him out to be.
Of course I don’t want to cheat and stuff ballot boxes. But assume the worst case scenario with ACORN. Say they registered 500,000 bogus voters. With or without those votes BHO still won with something like 7 to 8 million votes over McCain. We cannot attribute our losses ENTIRELY to voter fraud. We were defeated by a vastly superior, energized, and organized campaign operation the likes of which we have not seen since the days on Ronald Reagan.
I don't see how we can avoid using our own cult of personality to replicate this success. Nobody is going to organize their life around the RNC web site, or even at a bystander's place like Rush or Lucianne's sites. People want a champion that they can believe in, actually fighting down there in the dust of the arena.
I happen to be a huge fan of Sarah Palin and wish to see her elected President, so I don't mind drinking the Kool-Aid of her cult. A new site called Team Sarah looks to be off to a good start at building the kind of internet powerhouse we will need in the coming years to fight off the Left.
I realize that there are some Republicans and conservatives, even here, who don't care much for Sarah herself. However, those folks should keep in mind that she will be a kingmaker and fund-raising superstar for the Republicans for decades to come, even if she never gets to the Oval Office herself. It's to every conservative's advantage to help her become the 800-lb gorilla of the on-line Right.
I totally agree. We need to be solidly pro-Second Amendment.
I love Sarah too and have visited the Team Sarah website and I am on their email list. My vote last November was more for Sarah Palin than it was with John McCain with whom I disagreed with on many issues.
And, CCMAY, thanks for your positive input as well. I think we are on the same page: Sick of losing elections and wanting to take the initiative again.
Appreciated what you wrote!
I am not sure whether or not that should be taken as a compliment given the low esteem most people correctly accord to elected officials.
For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
Obviously winning matters. But it is not the only thing that matters. Reagan was a pariah in the wilderness for a long time. His ultimate success was due to a conviction to principles that is simply lacking in many of the candidates of the modern Republican party. It is difficult to "win" when there is little to distinguish the policies of your "winning" candidate from the opposition.
One need only note what many of the people on this very site advocate to see a lack of ideological consistency in the Republican party. Most of the people who claim to be "conservatives" are no such thing.
There were people on this site advocating the first bailout. Their lack of understanding of the laws of economics (Friedrich Hayek won a Nobel prize, back when it meant something, proving that such interference in the market can't possibly accomplish the desired goals and instead actually makes such problems worse) means that they easily fall victim to the ploys of the enemies of economic freedom. They are unwitting saboteurs.
There are people on this site who still advocate government interference in the markets, even after Hayek's axioms proved themselves so recently. The result of the "bailout" is now a global economic monetary crisis. A sane person would attempt to rein in the damage. Instead, they now call for even more interference. Just like FDR, they are probably going to turn a minor recession into a Depression. Even the President seems to be ignorant of such basic economic laws, believing that he could "save" capitalism by imposing policies that are the very antithesis of the concept.
Others have mentioned that the left controls the media. But it is worse than that; they control most of the other forms of information distribution as well, specifically the very education system itself. The centralized government control of curriculum means that entire generations of children have grown to adulthood without an understanding of the moral and practical basis of the foundations of what is supposed to be our system of government; life, liberty, and property.
The words of the Constitution are very clear, but when people lack comprehension they become meaningless. Consider that just about every problem we face today as a country is due to violation of our own founding principles. Ultimately, our crisis is not one of economics, but one of ethics. Our government has a lawless disregard for the Constitutional constraints which were intended to limit it, but you will find that even most "Republicans" and the vast majority of the posters and readers of this site will forgive the government of its crimes when those crimes are spending money or passing laws in areas where the illegal actions of government and the desires of the poster coincide.
Certainly we can "win" an election. But until we get our philosophical house in order, what would such a victory even mean? For a short time earlier this decade, we won control of the Presidency, House, and Senate. Yet we accomplished almost nothing during this period because of a lack of genuine belief in our avowed platform. Government spending (much of it illegal) increased. Regulations (most of them illegal) increased. Many actual government obligations, the very purpose of which is the reason for delegating such power to government in the first place, were ignored.
Before we can "win", we need to establish a unity of purpose and define what "winning" means and how we will govern after that victory. When Republicans do that (under Reagan, Newt, etc.), they have historically been voted into office by the electorate.
There’s only one problem with your idea: Conservatives will never unite.
They can’t even agree on what “conservative” means.
The Left has legions of lock-step followers, even as they accuse the Right of doing it - which they know is a lie.
This is one main reason why we will not see another conservative government in our lifetimes. The Sheep have spoken and to conservatives, they say “Bah!”
1) Believes in the Free Market
2) Pro-Life
3) Believes in non Intrusive Government
4) Cuts both taxes and Government Spending
5) Believes in a strong national defense
Did I miss anything?
Our conservative leaders need to reach the voters with the message that individual liberty -- combined with individual responsibility -- is more important to their success than beggaring their neighbor.
No, I mean since you have it all figured out.....
BTW I was absolutely opposed to the bailout and remain so.
I hope I did not imply that winning without principles was a good idea. I did mention the Contract with America which outlined our conservative principles and Ronald Reagan who of course articulated them better than anyone else ever had in a way which was understandable and acceptable to the American people.
Let me warn against perfection. We cannot expect our candidates and politicians to be absolutely perfect 100% of the time or insist upon a straightjacket of rigid political orthodoxy. Nothing in this world of ours is perfect least of all politics and politicians.
Mark my words: Several weeks or maybe several months after January 20th, GWB is going start looking pretty damn good and I do think History will give him far better marks than the news media and the public opinion polls.
Yes, someone who believes in enforcing our immigration laws and securing our borders. Someone who believes in appointing judges who interpret the law not making their own laws. Also English as the official language. Just adding to your list, all of which I strongly support. Perhaps a new Contract with America is in order? I think that would be a good idea: Laying out our agenda for the American people as opposed to mouthing vacuous platitudes like “hope and change” and “yes we can”. Oh yes, I almost forgot, drill here, drill now, nuclear power and energy independence.
Tough to win elections when you won’t stand up to the MASSIVE voter frauds being perpetuated by democrats across the nation...Just counter with even bigger fraud of your own.
I hope I didn’t come off as a know-it-all to you. That wasn’t my intent.
Just trying to offer some positive ideas and strategy for our side to go on the offensive and take the initiative again.
If anyone would like to add or contribute, that’s great. We should take in as much input and ideas as possible and discuss them intelligently. If you thought some of my ideas regarding fundraising, candidate recruitment, strategy, going on offense, nationalizing the elections around a coherent set of principles was wrong, let me know and share some of your ideas as well.
Isn’t that what were all here for?
Another man with a plan was - yes him, Ron Paul. This 73 year-old great-grandfather ran rings around the other Republican presidential candidates in fundraising and had an internet presence that rivaled Obama. All he did was return to basic principles that made this country great. All he did was unite the libertarians and conservatives together, and got crossover Democrats and independents without compromising his beliefs. Unfortunately, the GOP and most conservatives bashed him as a kook. If the GOP wants to win elections, they need to look no further than Paul.
I have the brains of a leftist...in a Petri dish on my desk.
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