Posted by caleb on Aug 26, 2009 in
Local and State Politics Saturday, August 22 was the Second District’s mini-convention in the State Capitol building in Topeka. Conservatives and Republicans from all over the District converged under the Rotunda for a day of workshops and networking. I attended a social networking class taught by Earl Glynn of the Kansas Meadowlark blog and in a crazy twist of events, found out I was sitting next to one of my followers on Twitter. It’s an even smaller world than I expected.
Overall, it was a great day. I listened to speeches from Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-KS02) and Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), along with Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS03 and U.S. Senate Candidate). Kris Kobach, candidate for KS Secretary of State, also spoke. Donning my Pitt State CRs Events Coordinator hat, I was able to meet great state legislators like Asst. Maj. Leader Peggy Mast and, the previous evening in Iola, KS, Rep. Bill Otto. I invited both of them to speak at a College Republicans meeting the next time they’re in Pittsburg. We’ve got a great schedule of speakers lining up already for this fall, so hopefully they RSVP soon.
Later that day, I attended the Lynn Jenkins reception. Lynn is one of the few politicians I truly believe in- I pray she keeps that trust.
Once again, Blackberry pictures, so I apologize for the quality.
Rep. Lynn Jenkins in the Kansas House Chambers
Sen. Sam Brownback
Josh Tucker, CR member, and me in the KS House Chambers
Tags: Bill Otto, Conservatives, kansas, kris kobach, Lynn Jenkins, Peggy Mast, Pitt State CRs, Republican, Sam Brownback, Todd Tiahrt
Posted by caleb on Jan 10, 2009 in
Restoring the Conservative Movement The media and liberal (er, progressive) interest groups are always looking for ways to break apart and shut down the conservative movement, from flat-out lies to “misstatements” and bending the truth. Those of us who proudly wear the title “Conservative” are accustomed to their trickery, but the general population is not. If we expect to win elections, we must be able to answer every question.
Last semester, in one of our final College Republicans meetings of the semester, we invited a very liberal politics professor to speak to us, him being the very definition of a “liberal special interest”. We knew we wouldn’t agree on anything, and he knew he wasn’t going to convince us of anything, so while there were some heated moments, it was fairly congenial. However, he did raise one point that really caused me to think, not to subscribe to the liberal condition, but to re-examine how we as Conservatives and Republicans, operate.
In the midst of his skulduggery, and as part of his no-questions-welcome monologue, he used the old leftist argument (I’m paraphrasing), “Well, how can Republicans claim to be limited government folks when they support big government ideas? You can’t be limited government if you’re for government intervention into people’s private lives, such as with gay marriage and abortion!”
How do we, as conservative Republicans, address this argument? As an “all of the above” conservative (fiscal, social, and national security), I feel a bit torn when I hear this brought up. I’m all for allowing people to run their own lives, in fact, I believe it’s their responsibility, and I believe in limited government, so how do I respond?
First of all, I believe it’s important to point out to voters (not liberal “skulduggers”, they won’t listen anyway) that Conservatives and thereby, Republicans, are not the anti-government party. We believe in limits and in rules, but only as many as are necessary. We trust people are mature enough to do the right thing. That’s one reason I believe a proper democratic system of government can only survive in a nation of Christians.
I believe the perfect way to sum up the conservative movement to prospective voters is the old “My freedom stops where my fist punches your nose” adage, or the idea that a citizen is free to do as he or she wishes until they infringe on someone else’s freedom. No one individual is worth more than any other. The flip side of that is that rules exist, and even though you’re no less of a person, if you break the law, you must face the consequences, no matter who you are.
As limited government conservatives, we believe in having a government as small as possible and one whose power is limited by the people it governs. According to the US Constitution, government exists to “insure domestic tranquility” among other things. In other words, government’s place is to guarantee the rule of law is upheld and that wrongdoers are properly and justly punished.
That being said, this is where morality comes into play in government. As a Christian nation, God and His Word, the Bible, provided our moral compass, our ideas for what was right and wrong, legal and illegal. Now, however, with the onslaught of moral relativism, we have no compass. Liberal judges are happy to legislate their own flavor of morality, and their tastes change with the days of the week. We need a standard to back up our laws.
It’s important to point out that so-called “big government” social conservatives are not pushing to increase government; they’re working to undo the harm done to our society by these moral relativists. This is why social conservatism ≠ Big Government. Social Conservatives are fighting for the ever-elusive “traditional values” (Biblical truths) and are working to restore government to its size of old. It’s social liberals who are trying and succeeding in growing the federal government to allow and protect such things as gay marriage and abortion.
This is why our coalition must reconvene and be strengthened. Liberals haven’t changed their tricks or tactics, we’ve just stopped fighting their advances. They accuse us of being the party of anarchy, but they legislate it, providing protection and non-discrimination clauses to benefit those who have broken laws or assist those with ethical faults.
Folks, it’s okay to say something is wrong. There’s truth in that statement, but until we grow up and get past our fear of having our feelings hurt, none of this matters; we’ll always be the minority party, if we survive at all. But before you give up, remember this, if we don’t defend what is true and right in our nation, who will?
The answer to that professor’s question is this: “You, sir, are the one who has grown government, and we will always fight to stop you.”
Social conservatism is a limited government principle, but unless we take ownership of our own ideals, liberals will always redefine them to suit themselves.
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As always, I’m eagerly await your comments. Have something more to add to the discussion? Am I way out of line somewhere? Or do you completely agree? Let me know! Leave a comment in the section below.
Tags: Christianity, College Republicans, Conservatism, fiscal conservatism, GOP, liberalism, national security, Republican, Republicans, Restoring the Conservative Movement, social, social conservatism
I thought I’d post some encouragement.
Yesterday, Gallup’s Traditional Likely Voters Daily Tracking Poll tightened to a 2 point race and Rasmussen’s Likely Voters Daily Tracking Poll tightened to a 3 point race.
Today, Fox’s Opinion Dynamics Poll (weekly) tightened to a 3 point race.
So, the importance of those numbers? Well, first of all, they should all be taken with a grain of salt, just like any other poll, favorable or not, because any number of factors can come into play that could skew the results. What this does mean is that the polls are still in flux (Gallup and Rasmussen changed again today), and that this race is very much winnable.
However, each of these polls has its results within the margin of error, which means this race is statistically tied. This race is tightening, and we’re trending toward McCain in these last days.
It’s all thanks to the wisdom of the average American citizen (aka Joe the Plumber), the rest of us are finally seeing “The Real Barack Obama” and his radical and naïve ideas for our future. Obama wants to take money that you have worked hard for and give it freely to whomever he chooses, without any input from you! He wants to grow the government and make it king. Truth is, history has shown that we’re generally better off when government gets out of our lives and lets us control our own destinies, an idea that Obama doesn’t seem to like.
We, as a country, are liking it more and more, however. That same Fox Opinion Dynamics Poll showed McCain’s economic and favorability numbers up dramatically, while Obama’s have been weakening. Those are encouraging facts to consider in this last week. We have five days to save the future of this country.
There are a few things you can do right now to help save America from the throes of socialism.
- Donate today to the National Republican Trust PAC. This group is running hard-hitting ads that tie (rightfully so) Barack Obama to the “Rev.” Jeremiah Wright and tell the truth about Obama’s plan to give the 16 million illegal aliens driver’s licenses, benefits, and eventually amnesty, effectively giving them citizenship for free. They’ve raised 4 million in about three days, but they need about 2 million more to start running these ads in five more states and on national broadcast networks.
- Make Calls for the McCain campaign to encourage undecided voters to vote for the clear choice this November, Senator John McCain. Also, your calls will remind those voters who requested early ballots to turn them in. If they don’t mail them back in by today, there’s a great likelihood that they won’t be received in time to count, and once you’ve requested an early ballot, you cannot vote at the polls in many states.
- Call your local GOP or McCain headquarters and ask how you can help. Many HQs need help stuffing door hanger literature drop bags (my local HQ still needs 6,000 stuffed) and/or calling voters who requested early ballots and still have not voted (in my small Kansas community, there are 2,000 Republicans/Independents leaning Republican who requested early ballots and have not voted [see above]).
- Donate to either the RNC or the McCain-Palin Victory 2008 fund. With Obama not accepting public financing, McCain needs all of the extra support he can muster so his federal funds can be used for get-out-the-vote activities. The RNC is also running some ads on McCain’s behalf, so we need to make sure we support them.
- Pray for a McCain-Palin win. This is perhaps the most important step. I truly believe that they are the best choice for restoring our nation the “shining city on a hill” that Reagan used to talk about (before my time!), but also, I believe they are the best choice for putting our country back on God’s path, and I believe he will bless our prayers. Besides simply praying for their victory, I also pray specifically for McCain wins in West Virginia, North Carolina, Missouri, Colorado, Virginia, Nevada, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Mexico. All but the last two are considered “battleground” states, and the last two I think would be great morale-boosters. Praying specifically against Barack Obama and his deceitfulness and socialism is also a very good idea.
Remember, no matter what these opinion polls say, the only poll that matters is the one taken on November 4th, which means, vote! Take your McCain friends with you and swing this election in favor of capitalism, the free markets, government reform, integrity, and transparency, and true democracy.
Vote McCain-Palin on November 4th.
Tags: battleground states, Colorado, Florida, Jeremiah Wright, Joe the Plumber, mccain, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, obama, Ohio, PAC, Palin, Pennsylvania, plumber, presidential election, Presidential Election 2008, Republican, RNC, Socialist, The National Republican Trust, victory, Virginia, West Virginia
Posted by caleb on Sep 4, 2008 in
Uncategorized I’ll blog more on this later, but I just wanted to get out a quick update to let you all know what I thought of Governor Sarah Palin’s acceptance speech tonight. In a word, incredible. In a few more, I think we’ve just heard from the next Vice President of the United States of America. In the words of Fox News Channel, “A star has been born in the Republican Party tonight…”
I also watched Mike Huckabee‘s speech. It was magnificent, as well, and I think his support, and the support of the movement he’s begun with HuckPAC will help elect McCain-Palin to the White House.
I’ll post back tomorrow with a full opinion, but now I’ve got to get some sleep. Whew! What a wonderful night!
Tags: conservative, Fox News, Huckabee, HuckPAC, mccain, Palin, President, presidential election, Republican, speech, Vice President
