The Good Fight

Fellow Conservatives, Republicans the path before us is not an easy one. We cannot simply focus on electoral victories. Instead we have to commit ourselves to fighting for conservative principles truly conservative principles in schools, coffee shops, literature, radio, and film. Electoral significance will come when we make ourselves culturally relevant again. Take a stand, dispel the image that all conservatives are crazy with well reasoned and researched arguments. This is the path that lays ahead of us is not an easy one and it cannot be be rushed over. Take this time in the political wilderness to bulk up on why we are conservatives, and more importantly what that means for the American public. In the words of one of the most culturally relevant television shows it is "Game On" for the Republican Party.

The Fallout of CPAC

So CPAC 2009 has come and gone. For conservatives across the nation CPAC was a chance for rebirth, rebranding, and refocusing the conservative movement. Unfortunately in addition to some entertaining speeches, workshops, and events CPAC has generated a plethora of sound bites that the media is capitalizing upon to show "just how crazy conservatives and republicans are." Keith Oberman went so far as to refer to CPAC as the "gift that keeps on giving." What are we thinking? This was a disaster and just what President Obama had been hoping for. As a movement we have fallen yet again into a trap laid by the liberal media and powers that be in Washington. Those who tuned into the speeches on CSPAN and the nightly news saw not a well thought out and reasoned opposition to the radical leftist policies of President Obama but a bunch of crazy old white men hooting and hollering about how they hope the current path of the United States fails. We had our asses handed to us this November on all fronts, and I had hoped that we learned our lesson. To my dismay it appears that the party is still running around like a chicken with its head cut off, leaderless, confused, and without a vision for the future of this nation. Rachel Maddow made a great point on her show this evening: all of the people who spoke at CPAC were unelected (and in many cases defeated politicians) who were rejected by voters in their respective districts. Why are we allowing people who have proved unable to carry the votes necessary to govern set the path of this party? Leaders in Congress such as Eric Cantor and other young energetic legislators need to step forward with a cohesive and well thought out strategy to oppose Barack Obama. If we simply choose to be obstructionist without presenting alternatives then the Republican Party will be relegated to the pages of history instead of leading this incredible nation.

In addition to forming a real strategy to confront the major problems facing the United States we need to cultivate the young talent in this party. Obama was provided political cover until he was ready to emerge as a force in national politics. Bobby Jindal was sent in front of the media firing squad after Obama's speech. In addition to being poorly written, Jindal's response was delivered in an infantile manner and made our party look silly once again. However I guess I should not be terribly surprised because the party has shown few signs of life ever since the election.

It is my sincere hope that this party can regain its footing, stop the infighting, and come up with solutions rather than merely opposing initiatives. So here is my message Michael Steele, Eric Cantor, Boehner, McConnell, Romney, Jindal, Palin, Guliani, Paul, and everyone else I forgot GET IT TOGETHER.