But guys, we're not living in France. We're not living in the Netherlands. On the local and state level, most of us Freepers are in a lot less bad situation than what most European conservatives face, and apart from Freepers living in San Francisco or the District of Columbia or similar places, I think nearly all of us, even in the worst and most liberal states, have at least some options.
And let's not forget that even in places like the Netherlands, they still have several fairly decent conservative parties, two of which are explicitly Christian conservative parties, whose members know they'll never win at the national level or even the provincial level, but can and do win local elections and run local councils and boards to keep things at least someone decent in their small towns and farming areas.
I seriously wonder if most of the people complaining about the Republican Party have actually tried to fix problems locally, where their firsthand personal actions could actually help, or if they're giving up without much effort.
Are people here aware that we have a Freeper from the Class of 1998 who got sworn in this week to a county with a $250 million budget, defeating a Republican incumbent during the primary and fighting against a county board of supervisors that likes insider financial deals and doesn't like public input? Hildy Angius happens to be a politically conservative Jewish woman, originally from New York, which must be a delicious irony for her to throw in the face of leftists. I think it's fair to say she's seen worse liberalism than most of us Freepers have ever faced.
I can't post the full text because it's an Associated Press article, but what appears to be a great profile piece on Hildy Angius and how she got active in politics appears here:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/06/19/takes-action-tea-party-backers-explain-journey-enraged-engaged/#ixzz2H1CQ95ij
Scroll down past the initial section and you'll find gems like this:
“Her accent screams Long Island and she seems better suited for an episode of ‘The Real Housewives of New York City’ than the Chaparral Country Club in Bullhead City. Yet here she is, Hildy Angius, holding court with three older gentlemen who've just finished a round of golf in this retirement community in the far northwest corner of Arizona... Spotting an opening, Angius launches into the speech she delivers these days to friends and strangers alike, whether at tea party rallies, the local coffee shop or on Facebook. The upshot: Don't gripe, do something. Vote. Volunteer. Knock on doors. Do, in essence, what she's now doing: Whatever it takes to move the Republican Party, and the government, to the right... An avid Rush Limbaugh fan, she's called in to his show on any number of occasions.
Still, she acknowledges she did little more than complain until September 2008, when she realized Barack Obama was likely to win the presidency, bringing to office a far too liberal agenda that would mean the kind of changes Angius vehemently opposes. Never before a ‘joiner,’ she went online, learned about the Colorado River Republican Women, went to a meeting and found an outlet for her dismay.”
That, fellow Freepers, is a model in miniature of what we **ALL** need to be doing.
Here's the link to my post: http://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2974438/posts?page=133#133
Activism on the local level is what wins elections.
Words can change minds. Debating is not useless by any means.
But words without actions **ARE** worthless.
If you don't like your local Republican leaders, get involved in your local party and try to change their minds. If you can't, run for office yourself and try to get rid of them. If you can't do that, then go look at third party options.
But try the first steps first before jumping ship.
We held our own with as many in 2012 as we'd had in 2008.
Our big drop came between 2004 and 2008 ~ 4 million lost voters.
Now, the problem, we've got about 2/3 of the country who are old enough to vote. That's over 200 million people. The Democrats don't even get 1/3 of that potential vote!
We are as bad, but THEY ARE OUT THERE.
Registration and Get Out The Vote programs are vital ~ we can win every election if we get out more Republican oriented voters.
There is not nearly as much to fix locally as nationally. I live in a blue state, but if it’s bad enough, I can move or enact change at the county level.
The problem is the Federal monster, which for 100 years has gotten us in useless wars and killed us, taxed our earnings, regulated us, made our currency worthless, and forced us and our descendants into never-ending debt to other nations. All this while exceeding the rule of law, the conditions upon which our states agreed to enter into this union.
I do not think this author read Atlas Shrugged. Agree with it or not, by reading it you have to think through the question: whether, by staying in the fray, economically or politically, we perpetuate the tyranny.
The author also fails to consider other ways that possibly don’t enable statism. Changing a corrupt government or a corrupt party may not be possible, due to how those in power have set it up.
Consider other legal ways that may take decades, but have a chance: a third “limited Federal” party, or secession.
While I appreciate your enthusiasm and your ideals, I see the writing on the wall; getting involved with my local GOP is pretty much a waste of my time.
The Rats stole the election. The fix is in, and I do not foresee another fair national election in my remaining years here on earth, and I am nearly 66.
Understand that I say all this as a long-time political junkie, as someone who has attended many demonstrations, and as a person who was the county co-ordinator for a US Senate candidate during the GOP primaries.
I’m done. All I can do now is concentrate on my Faith and my family.
Thank you very, very much for the link to the awesome write-up about HILDY in the AP article! She’s going to have to remember to mention her best friend me and FR, in one of her future write-up’s...LOL.
I LOVE this article!
Standing ovation!!! Well said.