Harder to do. We need to develop a stronger bench. We need to learn to win elections and play the long game. The real action is going to happen in the marketplace and in local/county/state government.
Start here: http://www.leadershipinstitute.org/
If every FReeper agreed to set aside $25/year x 300,000 = $7.5 million. That’s a lot of money for outreach.
If just 350 conservatives in each county in a state agreed to donate a dollar a day toward political victory you’d have nearly $128,000 to run a campaign to win a seat or district.
That’s all doable. Dave Brat won with less than $100K IIRC. Start winning school board races, municipal races, county races, etc. One thoughtful person can move an entire state. It’s happened before.
American politics can turn on a dime. We have to play hard and smart. It’s a long game.
I've tried your approach of long game and working within the system. I've been the leader of local political units and have twice written the state GOP platform. The party elites paid lip service to my "leadership" and the high-minded ideals of my platform and nothing more.
Defiance of the party apparatus (just short of armed revolt) and usurping control is the only path to success. Fight and fight loudly so that that the truth and integrity of your position enflames and wins the hearts and minds of the base.
People forget that Howard Jarvis and Ronald Reagan were essentially ideological revolutionaries. Their righteous anger propelled conservatism to success in California and across the country. Similarly, anger at congressional excess propelled the Contract with America to success. Further, angry conservative street demonstrations are what stopped the judicial/electoral bureaucracy from stealing the 2000 Bush victory. Enflamed conservative passion fueled the Tea Party movement and led the GOP to 2010 & 2014 congressional victories.
Playing within the rules, "compassionate" conservatism and other centrist dreck dulls the base, loses elections and perpetuates the GOPe power and control.
Putting it simply, if your local party or governmental body meetings are not interrupted by or ending in fistfights, they are not worth squat.
If someone starts screaming that the GOP shouldn't have circular firing squads, what that really means is that the GOPe wants their rivals to disarm.
Eff them and fight the fight.