Republicans deserved to lose

[DixieBelle]

Dear Republicans,

You earned the beating you took yesterday.  You earned every bit of it.  It is your fault.  Democrats may or may not have deserved to win, but you deserved to lose.

The rebuilding and renewal of the Right will start soon.  This will be very important.   The Right and the Republican Party are at an inflection point, and there are many directions things can go.   The destiny of the Right and the Republican Party will be determined in large part by the decisions you make in the days, weeks and months ahead.

Some of you will say "we have learned our lesson", and then try to pass off cosmetic changes as Reform.  You are the problem.

Some of you will say "Republicans need to fight/hold Democrats accountable", as if it is sufficient to be against Democrats.  The pendulum may eventually swing back to you, but you won't know what to do with it.


Some of you will say "Republicans need to carry our message to the American people", as if the problem is that Republicans haven't been saying "tax cuts and limited government" loudly enough.  The problem is not the inability to communicate; the problem is that you have no idea how to actually deliver on those ideas.


Others will say "Republicans need to be more principled", as if the problem is a mere lack of personal courage and principle by Republicans.  Even the best people can't limit government if there is not an effective strategy for implementation - for getting "from here to there".  You don't need better people.  You need a better strategy.

The problem is not Republican politicians, although many Republicans politicians are a problem.  The problem is not with the basic ideals of limited government and personal freedom, either.  The problem is a movement that plays small-ball and cedes responsibility for infrastructure to business interests, leadership that rewards those who make friends rather than waves, an entrenched Party and Movement support system that mostly supports itself, an echo chamber that has rotted our intellect, a grassroots that is ill-equipped to shape the Republican Party, and a Republican Party that has replaced strategy with tactics, substance with marketing.

These problems can be fixed, but the fix is not cosmetic.  The rot is deep.  We do not need reformation of the Republican Party; we need transformation of the Republican Party.  That is going to require fresh blood, new ideas, new infrastructure...and perhaps more than a little time in the wilderness.

You have earned the time you will spend wandering in the wildnerness.  The land on the other side is not a promised land.   It will have to be earned, too.
http://thenextright.com/jon-henke/republicans-deserved-to-lose

That's a jolt. It hurts because it's so true.

[Splashdown]

This article got me thinking. (scary.)


I'm a college graduate; I give money to my alma mater.

Why? Why am I giving money to a liberal cesspool?

Guess what? The next time the fundraising call comes in, I'm going  to politely tell them to go **** themselves until they allow at least equal time for more conservative opinions...

It isn't much, but it's a start.

Thanks, Dixie. 

[Thor]

The author is correct on so many facets. The "rot" IS deep. We have too many people that have ceded to the left, attempting to take the "high road" when it comes to battles. The GOP has been emasculated with the infiltration of all of the RINOs. McCain is one of them. Had he truly energized the Republican base, he wouldn't have lost. He's just been too busy attempting to "reach across the aisle" and because of that, he's made us BOHICA.......

[Jim]

Noot told them what to do and they refused.

[Thor]

Noot told them what to do and they refused.

Hell, many people gave them sage advice and they ignored it. We got what we deserved.

[formerlurker]

They have been singing this song since the last election cycle when the "real" conservatives stayed home. 

The truth is that the party has to get their heads out of their asses and have party unity when it comes primary season.   It isn't about "ooh I like this candidate because he espouse my beliefs and ideals", it's "does he has a snowball's chance in hell to actually pull it off" -- that is the guy you support. 

We got the very weak McCain because Huckabee (who had NO chance) supporters handed him to us on a silver platter.   

We started losing seats in Congress when those "real" conservatives stayed home and decided to exercise their "feelings."   The only thing that will get those seats back is a radical socialist which again, our party handed over to the country on a silver platter.   Obama will do for us what we can not. 

The PUMAs have a nice slogan -- kind of applies to us though more than them. 

[docstew]

in the words of Ronaldus Magnus:

Since our last meeting we have been through a disastrous election. It is easy for us to be discouraged, as pundits hail that election as a repudiation of our philosophy and even as a mandate of some kind or other. But the significance of the election was not registered by those who voted, but by those who stayed home. If there was anything like a mandate it will be found among almost two-thirds of the citizens who refused to participate.

Bitter as it is to accept the results of the November election, we should have reason for some optimism. For many years now we have preached “the gospel,” in opposition to the philosophy of so-called liberalism which was, in truth, a call to collectivism.

Now, it is possible we have been persuasive to a greater degree than we had ever realized. Few, if any, Democratic party candidates in the last election ran as liberals. Listening to them I had the eerie feeling we were hearing reruns of Goldwater speeches. I even thought I heard a few of my own.

-snip-

A political party cannot be all things to all people. It must represent certain fundamental beliefs which must not be compromised to political expediency, or simply to swell its numbers.

I do not believe I have proposed anything that is contrary to what has been considered Republican principle. It is at the same time the very basis of conservatism. It is time to reassert that principle and raise it to full view. And if there are those who cannot subscribe to these principles, then let them go their way.

the rest at http://www.conservative.org/pressroom/reagan/reagan1975.asp

[mamacags]

This article got me thinking. (scary.)


I'm a college graduate; I give money to my alma mater.

Why? Why am I giving money to a liberal cesspool?

Guess what? The next time the fundraising call comes in, I'm going  to politely tell them to go **** themselves until they allow at least equal time for more conservative opinions...

It isn't much, but it's a start.

Thanks, Dixie. 

Write the university president and let him/her know.  Usually the people who call for money are either in a call bank or are students in work programs.  They won't give a rat's butt what you tell them.  To make sure you get the letter directly to the president make sure your return label says "ACME Penis Pump Detailed Instructions.  URGENT/CONFIDENTIAL!"

[Happy Fun Ball]

Noot told them what to do and they refused.

It's worse than that. Palin wanted to win and she knew how to do it, and these staffers tried their best to reign her in. As was mentioned in another thread the rot truly is deep, and it was even in the McCain campaign. What's really funny is that McCain was called the "Maverick", yet they thought Palin was "going rogue". Palin, who is about as close to Reagan as you can get, who is the reason why they got more than 40% of the popular vote, who drew overflowing crowds at the rallies and didn't need to bring a teleprompter to a rodeo or follow rock bands to bring out the crowds, who has more experience than Obama, is a rogue according to these RINO staffers because she "pandered to the base". They aren't just insulting her, but all of us with traditional conservative ideals.