Joseph Cao became the first Vietnamese-American elected to Congress Saturday night. Isn’t it wonderful how a Vietnamese-American can run for Congress and be elected? Look how far America has come! Isn’t it great?! Nothing like this has ever happened before!
Now wait a minute. What’s wrong with the paragraph above? One word: racism.
It’s true: Representative-elect Cao accomplished a great and commendable feat indeed with his election, for it proves once again how everyone has a chance in America. However, I like to think this isn’t a new development. I’m not denying racism exists, but I like to hold to the idea that everyone is created equal and has equal opportunities in our grand land. Some, convinced that race was the major factor in Cao’s win, not his conservatism, will most likely come out in the following days and advocate “forced diversity”, an idea that we should handpick minority candidates for their PR and vote-getting benefits, but I would argue that in order to move the conservative movement forward, we should focus not solely on gender, race, or, to a lesser extent, age, but more so on the issues and experience each person brings to D.C.
[I do not believe Cao was picked for this reason, and I am only using his name because of his recent victory. I'm using this as an example to prove my point. This idea is also yet another big reason as to why McCain lost.]
If we begin to pick and choose candidates based solely upon their race, how does that make us any different than those who voted for Obama simply because he’s black? I am by no means saying our party should remain (or become, in all reality) the party of grumpy old white men (thank goodness we’re not). However, diversity is not, nor can it be, a forced concept. A more diverse party base will occur naturally as we return to our Conservative roots. We will attract minority voters. How is forcing diversity any different than artificially saving a bank or insurance company by propping it up with tax-payer dollars? Forced diversity is not the answer.
For our country to move past racism, we must not ignore, but respect, race and ethnicity, but it must not someone’s sole qualification for office. We’ve seen where that can take us. Many said it was racism not to support Obama, but, in the same vein, why was it not sexism to bash Palin? Disclaimer: I am from a mixed ethnic ancestry, which includes Native American, European, and Jewish forefathers. I’m also a white male, which supposedly means I’m an ignorant bigot. Not true, but yet another example of discrimination.
My point is this: voting for someone based upon their race is just as bad as NOT voting for someone based up on their race. It’s still racism.
I say this to the Republicans who think we should be actively and seeking out minority candidates for the simple fact that they’re not Caucasian. Minority candidates will come on their own once we get a clear message that actually appeals to voters (i.e. true conservatism).
Each person should be viewed for who they are, individually. This gender and racial stereotyping nonsense has to stop. We are all Americans, equally. You are no less of a citizen if you are in the minority or the majority.
Just ask newly-elected Representative-elect Joseph Cao, Conservative Republican. Oh, and by the way, he’s also a Vietnamese-American who emigrated here after the Vietnam War.
——
I know I said some tough things in this article. If you’d like to discuss them further, or even put me on what you think is the right track, please leave a comment below. It was not my intent to lessen the importance of someone’s racial or ethnic background, but to point out that people have so much more to offer than their skin color or ancestry.
Tags: Congressional elections, election, Election 2008, Joseph Cao, Palin, racism, sexism
It’s official, Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) has won re-election after a hard-fought general election campaign and subsequent run-off election, and hallelujah! But, that’s old news by now. What’s just emerging, however, is the reason for it: us. Dedicated, grassroots conservative Republicans are the reason Saxby won (not to mention a little help from Gov. Sarah Palin, one of my personal heros). You see, it wasn’t the powers that be that won this election as much as it was regular, everyday Americans like you and me who cared enough about their country to donate a few bucks or make a few calls (also not to mention a few concerned PACs: HuckPAC, National Republican Trust).
The point is, this is our strategy for 2010. It obviously does not involve putting up moderate or even liberal Republican candidates for election to any office. We’ve seen how that can go. Our plan for 2010 must be built from the bottom up, with the ideas and full-fledged support of committed Americans like us. No more of this “accept the bailouts and deal with it” mumbo jumbo. The conservative movement must be the steering wheel of the GOP, although we shouldn’t be married to it. (from our friends at The Next Right and Patrick Ruffini, author of RebuildtheParty.com).
We’ve got a lot of work in front of us, but the 2008 season isn’t even over yet. Louisiana’s Congressional elections are still later this week (Saturday, December 6). ) LA-06 (Joseph Cao, whom I’ve mentioned before) and LA-04 (John Fleming, whom I haven’t) are up for grabs. If you can make a last minute donation to either campaign (Cao, Fleming) or even just Twitter about them (including their links), it would help (while you’re at it, follow @calebhays for my updates).
In the end, congratulations to newly-reelected Senator Saxby Chambliss on a landslide of a victory. We need your voice in the U.S. Senate, but I urge everyone not to lose sight of our bigger goal: restoring America and the conservative movement in the GOP. Rebuilding isn’t a one day process. It’s a slow journey that happens every single day, with bumps in the road and harsh setbacks, but I believe we will prevail.
Tags: 2010, Congress, Congressional elections, Conservatism, election, Election 2008, GOP, HuckPAC, John Fleming, Joseph Cao, LA-04, LA-06, Louisiana, mccain, National Republican Trust, Palin, run-off election, Saxby Chambliss, Senate
Posted by caleb on Nov 30, 2008 in
Uncategorized Just wanted to send a quick reminder out to everyone that this Tuesday is the Senate run-off election in Georgia involving Fair-Tax supporter Sen. Saxby Chambliss. Saxby, as you should know by now, won the general election by 3% but failed to break the 50% mark, triggering a mandatory run-off election.
Sens. Saxby Chambliss and Norm Coleman are the only two Senators that stand between us and a full-fledged, unhampered (no, we’re not quite there yet) onslaught of Liberal attacks.
At this late date, probably the best thing we can do is continue to phone bank for Saxby. Mike Huckabee’s HuckPAC has an online phone bank set up that can be accessed here. It does take a quick sign-up, but restricting Obama’s power is worth it.
Tags: Al Franken, election, Election 2008, Fair-Tax, Georgia, Huckabee, HuckPAC, Norm Coleman, run-off election, Saxby Chambliss, Senate
Posted by caleb on Nov 14, 2008 in
Election 2008 As you may have heard on the news, Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) is in danger of losing his Senate seat. While Saxby won the General Election on Nov. 4th, Georgia law dictates that candidates must win over 50% of the vote, which Saxby did not due to an unusually strong showing by an independent candidate. The Democrats are quickly approaching the magic filibuster-proof number of Senate seats. As it stands right now, the Dems have 57 to our 43; those odds aren’t so great, and that’s why we must retain every seat still in contention, and Saxby’s run-off campaign is where I believe we can make the most difference.
The run-off election will be held December 2; please donate today to keep our minority filibuster and prevent the Obama-Pelosi-Reid team from socializing our nation. We must keep a voice in Washington!
Tags: Democrats, Election 2008, obama, Pelosi, Reid, Republicans, Saxby Chambliss
