New Year’s Resolutions for the GOP
New Year’s resolutions are all the rage these days. People get to make promises to themselves and break them within a couple weeks. If you are able to set goals and stick with them, kudos to you. If you’re like the rest of us you have good intentions but never seem to be able to follow through. The GOP has plenty of reasons to set resolutions for the next year and many years to come. Can the GOP keep these resolutions? Maybe, that’s assuming they’re even making these resolutions. If you ask me it’s quite clear their resolutions will be slightly different then the following list.
Resolution #1: Get Back to Basic Conservatism
The GOP has flirted far too long with liberalism in an effort to sway moderate and Democratic voters. Did their efforts to persuade liberals to vote for their party’s candidates work? Of course not, if it did John McCain would be the next president. Instead, Americans saw through the lame attempts to be what they wanted to see and voted for the other guy. Barack is a staunch liberal with clear plans for the economy. The wrong plans but at least people knew what they were voting for. John McCain’s plans? It depends on who’s asking.
Conservatism is the clear cut answer for our problems. Real conservatives win elections. The American people want a government that minds its own business, keeps taxes low and keeps promises. President Bush has failed to represent conservatism over the past eight years and is the sole reason this country no longer knows what real conservatism is. Conservatism is not interventionism, it is not taking away people’s freedoms for the illusion of safety and it is not spending like drunken sailors.
If the GOP wants to redeem themselves in 2009 and beyond they must reunite with sound conservatism and remind America why Reagan was great.
Resolution #2: Educate People on why Conservatism Works
Once the GOP rediscovers their conservative roots they must move on to educate people what conservatism actually is. If you ask the typical American what conservatism looks like what would they say? Who would they name as the face of conservatism? I would bet that most think President Bush is the face of modern conservatism. The job of the GOP is to teach the general public that this is not the case. It will be hard, they stood by Bush even as he wrecked the face of conservatism and people will have to learn to trust them again. It’s a process that will take time.
The reason most people falsely believe Bush represents conservatism is because he did at one point in time. Over the years he sacrificed his ideals for what he saw as necessity. The fight against terrorism completely derailed Bush and he quickly started to sacrifice personal liberties for his idea of safety. We must always protect the American people. I agree with that tone. I don’t agree with the tactics Bush took and we shouldn’t have to steal freedoms to protect the American people. My argument is that if he was so worried about our safety why didn’t he focus on closing the border? That is a much clearer danger than terrorism is at this point.
Once the GOP repents and returns to real conservatism it can begin to educate America. Americans want a government that works well and isn’t bloated. Teach them this and they will return to the party of Reagan.
Resolution #3: Fight Liberalism
This is the third and final resolution for the GOP. Only after they return to conservatism can they begin to fight liberalism. At this stage there are only small differences between the GOP and the DNC. The difference? The DNC reveals its plans and then attempts to go forward with them. The GOP has basically the same plans but lies about doing them as they secretly go forward with the plans. The official GOP platform now states that we must fight global warming. This is not what the GOP should be doing. We do not need to take from the DNC to win over the liberal populous.
Liberalism at this stage is as fake as the so-called conservatism we keep seeing. If Liberalism were to return to its roots I wouldn’t have much a problem with it either. At its core liberalism is supposed to be about personal liberty. Liberalism has become the vehicle which politicians use to take away liberty from some to give to others. One sided liberty is not liberty at all. Conservatives are out to stop this corruption and the GOP needs to be the venue for that. Both parties are moving towards the left and we are stuck out in the cold.
I believe that the GOP can regain control of this country if it takes these simple steps. I am tired of watching these people call themselves conservatives and then run around talking about more spending and less freedom. This is not conservatism. If you tell me that you have come to protect me by locking me in a cage would I go for it? Can you save the free market system by abandoning it? You cannot save conservatism by abandoning it either. The party of President Bush abandoned conservatism to save us all and in the end they failed to do anything but abandon us all.
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