Of Midterms and Majorities

Just so you know, this is one of those blog posts that is going to make some people upset. There, you’ve been warned.

All I ask is that you hear me out. Rip me up in the comments section, flame me on Twitter, but read what I have to say.

I don’t want the Republicans to take back control of the House and the Senate.

Even after two years out of power, they’re still on parole in my book. They’re simply not ready.

Have they had some good moments? Of course. But history is like weather cycles; they’re both doomed to repeat themselves over and over again.

Haven’t we all had enough of this flip-flopping between the parties? They commit atrocities while in office, we vote them out, and then they try to win back our trust by screaming, “But, look! They’re doing it, too!”

We had Republican majorities from 1994 until 2006, and what did we get? Some good legislation at the beginning, at least before the acquiescence  of the Contract with America, but by the end, we were dealing with our beloved GOP milking the cash cow for all it was worth and growing government to sizes never before seen, with Medicare Part D, amnesty proposals, and the largest federal intrusion into education ever.

What makes everyone think this time will be different? Has two years truly been enough for them to learn their lesson? They’re not necessarily quick studies. They lost control in 2006, yet we got progressive John McCain as the nominee in 2008. Huh?

Before this gets bandied about, I am not a proponent of a third party. I never have been.

I am a true-blue (er, red?) registered Republican, and yes, Mr. Steele, I get your letters, too. I still think, as I did in 2008, that the Republican Party is our best hope to act as a catalyst for bringing traditional American values of family, frugality, and faith back to Washington, and for giving our States the standing they deserve.

We’ve seen how the Republican Party acts when its in the minority, and, you know what? I like it better. It’s the free market at work: they’re fighting for a majority and, therefore, they’re performing better. They’re willing to take those risks (see: healthcare, energy) in order to do right by those who elected them.

Let’s not open wide the door to the Capitol to anyone who is not a true defender of liberty.

Truthfully, I hope “we” gain forty-five seats in the House, and four or five in the Senate bringing us to the point where we make the Democrats nervous.

Why not just go for the whole thing? I won’t be upset, obviously, if they win majorities, but if they don’t, I’m fine with that, too. We need at least another two years out in the cold, so to speak, to really find who we are as a party. The whole point of the Tea Party movement has been to take over the Republican Party from the inside out (or, for some of you, vice versa). Have we done that yet? Eh, it’s debatable. We’ve had some good progress, with people like Sen. DeMint actively seeking out real conservative candidates, but, as evidenced by bizarre acts like Meghan McCain speaking at CPAC, we’re definitely not out of the woods yet.

So will I be campaigning for Republican candidates this fall? Of course. Will I continue to protest against all politicians who dare step on MY Constitution. Definitely. And will I rejoice if Congressional Republicans prove me wrong and we enjoy a golden age of conservatism and limited government?  Yea, I guess I could go for that, too.

Tags: Congress, Congressional elections, conservative movement, Election 2010, GOP, Jim DeMint, mccain, Meghan McCain, Michael Steele, obama, progressivism, republican party, RNC

The RNC and the Youth Vote

It’s no surprise that Obama won the youth vote. In fact, according to FoxNews.com, Obama had a whopping 34% margin. Now, why am I bringing this up now? It’s old news that Obama won the election, and that he’ll be inaugurated in twenty-one days, so why bother discussing it again?

Because Obama won the youth vote, and there’s good reason for it.

Obama listened to young voters, or at least pretended to, and gave them hope for the future. Folks, as a young conservative Republican, there’s no reason why it should have ended up this way, and I blame the GOP itself. You can cry all you want about the MSM slanting the news towards Democrats, but that’s never stopped us before. In order to ever win an election again, we must rise above any and all obstacles, and that path starts with the act of listening.

You see, for years the GOP has pretended to listen to the youth vote. Maybe they’ve made a good faith effort, but I’ve never seen it. What I’ve seen is flashy Demo websites, professional TV advertisements, rock concerts for Demo candidates, and an embracement of new technology. From the GOP? A mismanaged message and a half-hearted attempt at everything.

The RNC started text messaging its supporters a few years ago. Well, that’s a start, except I’ve only ever received four texts from them. Obama announced his VP choice by text message! See the difference? Obama’s website screamed community, while McCain’s struggled to keep its supporters logged in. Obama went after college students and young people by showing them how his policies would affect and better their daily lives. McCain, well, didn’t.

Time and time again, we as “the youth vote” have offered our suggestions, and, yet, the RNC hasn’t listened, at least in a measurable way. We had Meghan McCain as a clandestine, “unofficial” blogger, and a “McCain blog” with no personality. Twitter? Oh, “@JohnMcCain” was there, with more links. “@BarackObama” is still the most popular user on Twitter. Why?  His tweets were personal. Voters believed Barack Obama himself was really talking to them. RNC, where is the drive? Where’s the passion? Do you even care that we lose the youth vote time and time again?

If we’re to reboot the conservative movement, it must be as conservatives,  and if I’m not mistaken, bottom-up leadership is what conservatism is all about. Remember States’ Rights? Freedom from big government? The youth vote is not just going to go away. We’re just going to get older and have children and raise families, and the majority of us will be liberal Democrats, willing to hold out our hands and wait for the government give us everything.

We, as young Republicans, believe in conservatism. Why, RNC, don’t you? Pay attention to us. Your future depends upon it.

For some great examples of how young conservative Republicans are leading the way to GOP victories in 2010 and 2012, check out these great sites:

RebuildtheParty.com is dedicated to restoring the GOP to its conservative roots. Its plan has received endorsement from almost all of the current candidates for RNC Chair.

TheNewRepublicans.net is a college-focused news site, bringing in writers from universities across the nation to offer opinions and articles covering the most-pressing political issues of today.

Tags: Democrats, Election 2010, Election 2012, mccain, Meghan McCain, obama, RebuildtheParty.com, Republicans, RNC, TheNewRepublicans.net, twitter, youth vote

Finals Completed: New Articles on the Way

Tags: articles, break, christmas, Conservatism, election, finals, RNC, RNC Chairperson election, school, social conservatism

Trends…

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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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]).
4. 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.
5. 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