Posted by
Jennifer Waite on Friday, February 13, 2009 1:07:07 PM
A few days ago I joined a conservative social networking site (which I won't name because I think it has great potential and people should judge for themselves) in which I was quickly disappointed in a small, but obnoxious faction of the GOP. We're in bigger trouble than I thought. This blog was originally posted there.
I was so excited to join this site a few days ago. Visions of connecting with like-minded Americans locally and exchanging ideas for practical ways average Americans could stand up for and strengthen conservatism danced in my head.I quickly saw that this community of 3000 decent, well intentioned patriots are outshouted by a few ego-driven, overgrown children with what I suspect are their own political pipe dreams. The site is called rebuild the party, but all I'm reading are the same regurgitated discussions about what makes a Conservative and why we should have won. Well, we didn't, and if what I've seen so far is any indication we're not going to for a long time. I hear enough whining from my children. If I want to hear grown people whine I'll watch Oprah.
Conservative credentials are important... in the people actually running for office. Fighting amongst ourselves about whether the mechanic is more conservative than the banker is not the path to victory.
John McCain's carreer of bi-partisanship is not why we lost. (I like Mike Huckabee, but do you really think he would have been more electable?) We lost because Jon Stewart has a wider, more energetic audience than Fred Barnes. We lost because President Obama had a better speechwriter than John McCain. We lost because President Bush didn't stick up for himself enough. We lost because Conservatives actually considered staying home because of McCain's prior stances on immigration reform and campaign finance. Are you kidding me? We also lost because Obama reached out to Christians. How a Christian could vote for that baby killer is beyond me, but they did.
And how about this? Maybe if the bull-headed Huckabee supporters would have crossed over to camp Romney in time, then a world class businessman would have been our nominee just in time for the economic crisis.
And why have I spent the last 3 days defending Libertarians? I'm not a Libertarian. I considered it, studied it and came to the conclusion I just couldn't make that leap. But during that process they won my respect. Let me tell you what I know about Ron Paul supporters. December of '07 they stood near the exit close to my community's mall every weekend until well after dark. This was in a part of town where I check the backseat and underneath the car when I leave a store to see if some gangbanger is waiting to shiv me. That's dedication AND action. Those people are nuts for sure, but we could learn a few things from them about grassroots activism.
If we have any hope of truly rebuilding the party we have got to focus on what unites us more than what divides us. We should focus on the issues affecting the Conservative movement today. The upcoming census, protecting our children from Tiller the Killer on their way out of the womb, preventing conjugal visits for terrorists, socialism, universal healthcare and maybe most important of all... freedom of speech. When we lose that, we'll lose all the others.
So if you're truly interested in sharing ideas about what's best for America (out of love for America over ego) then I can't wait to connect with you. If you're interested in keeping your feet in the mud and waiting for the rest of the world to find you and come around to your way of thinking, then I'm not moderating comments. Go ahead and let me have it.