It starts with the grass-roots base in the party. That is where conservatism is in the party, and no one will argue with that. The problem is our elected officials won't listen to us, for the most part, and we have no voice. We don't have a Newt Gingrich right now espousing conservative principles and true government reform. We also need to make sure we abide by the conservative principles that gave us that revolution in 1994, and the one which started it all in 1980. Fiscal responsibility, cut the size and scope of the federal government, lower taxes, and stay strong on national security was the base which Ronald Reagan appealed to, and won on. These are the same principles that Mr. Gingrich used, and he coupled it with the Contract With America which promised true government reform. (All the provisions of the Contract were brought to the House floor for a vote in the first 100 days of Mr. Gingrich's tenure as Speaker, but were either stalled in the Senate, stalled in committee, or vetoed by then-President Clinton.) It is time we move back to this idea, and create a new Contract With America; one that will appeal to the base, and stand firm on our conservative principles.
While many might disagree with us on this next point, it is something that must be done. It is time for us to clean house. A few conservative pundits dislike the term "RINO," but we do have quite a few in the party that seem to be an ever-present thorn in our side. The most notable ones are in the Senate, and have been a problem in the past. But with the Democrats within two seats of having a filibuster-proof majority now, the RINOs seem to be an even larger problem. President Obama's self-described "stimulus bill" would not have received the necessary sixty votes to avoid a filibuster had Senators Arlen Specter, Olympia Snowe, and Susan Collins not bolted from the Republican caucus to jump into bed with the Democrats. The stimulus bill is anything but stimulus for the economy. It is a trillion dollar boondoggle that our future generations will be paying for, and all because Democrats refuse to hold people responsible for their mismanagement, both in private business, and in their private lives. We need to forget about the numbers in the Congress, and focus on getting the right people to represent us. If we continue to vote for the names we recognize we will relegate the party back to the Rockefeller Republican era which left us in the darkness for decades.
Let's take a tip from the stimulus battle in the Congress and focus on another thing that the party must vociferously take a stand on: opposing the extreme liberal agenda from the Democrat party leaders in the House, the Senate, and the White House. There is a liberal agenda being fashioned between the legislative and executive branches that many, many people are unaware of thanks to a willing media that is seemingly in bed with the Democrats. Ever heard of the Freedom of Choice Act? How about the Fairness Doctrine (though Democrats admit they won't name it that)? Did you know that Representative (and former Black Panther) Bobby Rush was moving legislation through the House demanding full registration of all firearms and firearms owners in the United States? Of course you didn't know about it because the media doesn't want to bring it up. You only know of these things if you listen to talk radio or read the blogs (which is why several prominent Democrats want to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine). This is an agenda that must be opposed at all costs because it violates the very rights we maintain in this nation. The party must stand firmly in opposition to this radical agenda, and get the word out to the electorate about what direction the Democrats are moving in. In short, it's no longer an agenda of freedom and democracy. It's an agenda of out-and-out socialism and control.
The Republicans are supposed to be the party of ideas. Newt Gingrich came up with the perfect strategy in 1994 with his Contract With America. It listed out ten things that the Republicans promised to work on, and try to get enacted. Since then we have not done anything like that. Because we have lost that model, we have allowed the Democrats to define us; to paint us, in essence, as the party that simply opposes everything they stand for. While that may be true, to a point, that is not the Republican Party that we know and belong to. We can work with Democrats on common sense legislation, provided the other side is open and honest in their efforts. But when they choose not to negotiate in good faith, we must stand in opposition to what they push because it is so contrary not only to us, but to the founding principles of the nation. So we need fresh ideas on how to cut the government, on how to reform a bloated bureaucracy, and how to make government work better for the people. The people, after all, are the ones who wield the true power in this nation, not the federal government. That is how the Framers set up this government, and it is high time we return to those ideals. The only way that will happen is if we show the people we are the party of ideas once again. In other words, it is time for us to have the courage of our convictions, and vocalize them. In a stand-up debate of ideas we can beat their side 99% of the time.
Last, and certainly not least, is the party must close the technology gap. Democrats have been 'Net savvy for years. While we can claim there are more of us on the 'Net than them, they have had the technology advantage for years. They organize, raise funds, and gather easier through the means of technology today than we ever have. While conservatives may have more blogs in the blogosphere, liberals have the advantage with their blogs like Talking Points Memo and DailyKos. Their web traffic is astounding, and their organizational efforts swamp us nearly every election cycle. We must close the gap if we are to be competitive. This was a large issue for those running for the Republican National Committee chair back in January. They realized it, and every candidate for the chairmanship, except Mike Duncan, had a plan to accelerate and grow our technological apparatus. It went beyond blogs. It urged people to join Twitter to stay involved on the grass roots level. It was to urge people to join Facebook, and other social networking sites. At Rebuild The Party, a site endorsed by all candidates, except Mike Duncan, grassroots minded activists could get involved with those striving to literally rebuild the Republican Party. This is exactly what Democrats did over the course of a decade. We have less time to build this aspect of the party, but already we're making serious strides.
No one ever said this was going to be easy. Rebuilding what was shattered never is, but it must be done. We cannot sit idly by and watch the Democrats ram through their extreme liberal and socialist agenda on this nation. The cost to the America is simply too high, and right now the Republican party stands as the final bulwark against such an agenda. Conservatives must come out to help bring the party back from the edge of the abyss it is clearly staring into. That comes by way of reminding voters what we stand for -- fiscal responsibility, shrink the government, reform the government, lower taxes, and maintain a strong national defense. It comes in cleaning house of those who claim to speak for the party, but lack its core principles and ideals. It has always stood for opposing the liberal agenda. And while we may not have always been as tech-savvy as the Democrats in recent years, that must be changed. This is the formula to return the party back to the conservative roots planted by President Reagan back in the 1980s. The road back to power is a long one, and an arduous one, but it is one that must be traveled.
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