A Time for Choosing

Today the Republican Party has taken the first step towards ensuring its continued existence and success in the future.  Michael Steele was elected the first African-American Chairman of the Republican National Committee this afternoon by a 6th ballot of 91-77.  I feel that this was a great move for our party and will give us the opportunity to be competitive.  We cannot simply rest on the fact that we have matched the Democratic Party's diversity.  We must recommit ourselves not only to diversity but to rejuvenating the party by recruiting younger candidates.

I was further encouraged by the fact that Chairman Steele singled out some of the most contested and Democratic regions of the United States as focal points for Republican expansion.  Specifically Steele directed the following comments to the northeast: "get ready to turn it on baby, we are gonna win in the Northeast"

NoStimulus.com

So things have really quieted down in good old Washington, DC since the inauguration craziness. No longer do crowds of millions fill the national mall, fleets of street vendors peddle cheap Obama merchandise to eager tourists, and the sense of post-inauguration euphoria is fading quickly. Reality is setting in for Republicans and all measure of conservatives as we confront the cold truth. This administration is not even close to in line with the ideology we represent. Although we knew this during the campaign season, it was somehow not real until January 20th when Senator Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States.

However with the recent passing of HR 1 by the House of Representatives the gravity of the situation is apparent. I was very encouraged by the stand taken by every Republican and even 11 Democrats who chose to vote in opposition to the 860 million dollar Obama stimulus package. This sign of solidarity as well as strength on the part of the Republican Party is encouraging especially after the pundits predicted a cataclysmic end to the Republican Party after the results came in from the 2008 election. If you would like to support the Congressional Republicans and oppose the stimulus package I reccomend that you visit nostimulus.com and sign the petition developed by Americans for Prosperity.

As a young conservative in Washington,DC and originally from Massachusetts I understand how it feels to be out numbered by people who do not look at things the same way that you do. Being a minority and standing up for what you believe in requires a certain level of tact, in order to not be percieved as the fly in the ointment. The last thing the GOP needs right now is to be villifed as the group merely opposing Obama for the sake of opposing Obama. I am truly interested to see how the Congressional Republicans take on this new role. Especially promising is Eric Cantor, who seems to have taken to this role with renewed vigor. Perhaps I will have to put him on the list of office I would be interested in interning with. Either way true, consistent conservatism with be the key to keeping the conservative movement alive until 2012.

That Time I Met Justice Antonin Scalia's Wife

So while on the campaign trail for Pat Herrity, a bussinessman running for the position of Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in Virginia, I ended up dropping some information off at the home of a legal giant. Thats right I went door to door at Antonin Scalia's house. Although Justice Scalia was not home I did have the opporutnity to meet his wife Margaret and discuss with her the candidate and even a little bit about myself. She was an incredibly nice woman who reminded me alot of my own grandmother. What struck me most about the home was that it was so very normal. Although a very nice property the house was by no means the largest in the very wealthy McLean community. The term the comes to mind is understated elegance.

Reflecting on this experience led me to the conclusion that the true, lasting legacy of George W. Bush will be the strict constructionist judges he appointed to the Supreme Court. Not only have these men proven themselves to be capable of sitting on our highest court, but in all liklihood they are not going anywhere for quite some time. It is likely that for the next twenty years these judges will exert a decidedly conservative influence upon the Supreme Court. Moreover, these justices give the Republican Party some much needed wiggle room while they retool for the contests in 2010 and 2012. On the other side of the isle 2008 was a do or die year for Democrats in regards to the Supreme Court. Three of the staunchest liberal leaning justices have expressed an interest in retiring from the bench and unconfirmed reports state that John Paul Stevens passed away two years ago and is merely being operated by Justice Ginsberg. In all seriousness the Republican Party and the conservative movement in general missed an incredible opportunity to put a nail in the coffin of the liberal and loose constructionalists on the Supreme Court. Now we are back where we started and will to fight long and hard in 2012 to see if a Republican gets the opportunity to appoint a replacement for one of the liberal leaning justices

Back On The Horse

So tomorrow morning begins my part of the fight to help the Republican Party reclaim the United States. I will be campaigning in Northern Virgina on behalf of current Attorney General and candidate for Governor Bob McDonnell. May the force be with all of us. 2009 is an off hear for elections in general however we cannot afford to wait to win back crucial seats. Republicans will attempt to take the NJ Governor's seat from the extremely corrupt Jon Corzine as well as make a run at the VA Governor's seat vacated by now DNC Chair Tim Kaine.

These seats are so important to the Republican message of limited government, low taxes, and individual freedoms because thus far state governorships are the only variety of seat that Republicans have been able to hold with any effectiveness. The Virginia seat is especially important because of the heavily liberal trend VA is experiencing. Northern Virginia is the battleground that Republicans must compete in to allow for the party to be viable once again in Virginia

Dear President Obama

Dear President Obama,

Congratulations on your elections.  I feel compelled to tell you that I did not vote for you... In fact I worked for the other guy, put my heart and soul into a losing effort.  With that aside I have to be honest I felt kind of left out during the campaign season.  Somewhere deep down I knew that I was not on the winning side.  Senator McCain is clearly an honorable man, however his campaign did not have close to the impact on the culture of this nation that yours did.  If I had to guess I think McCainiacs such as myself were the modern equivalent to Carter supporters in 1980.  Sometimes there is no opposing the full force of human history.

Despite my political affiliation I am giving you a shot.  Sincerely, I wish you the best of luck as you confront the grave problems facing our nation.  Like you, I believe that there is something special about the United States of America.  That we have a unique destiny limited only by our imagination and willingness to put in the hard work to achieve it.  I applaud the campaign that you ran and your ability to involve people of my generation in politics.

I hope you will take this great opportunity to unite our nation and focus on being a President to both parties and not merely a patsy for the DNC, Pelosi, and Reid.  As a country we cannot afford a poorly run executive branch.  So far you have proven yourself a capable manager and executive and you appear to understand the challenges we now face.  Don't take your eye off of the ball.  All too often Americans lose interest in the most pressing issues facing us, easily distracted by celebrity gossip and the latest reality TV.  I truly hope that you were sincere in speaking about bipartisanship in your administration (and that you will consider Republican White House interns *hint*hint*).

Just a few thoughts to keep in mind on your first few days.

Sincerely,

Ryan

PS I hope shutting down Gitmo doesn't come back to bite you!

The Mall on Inauguration Day

Republican Events in DC

To all who may be interested there are several great free speaking events coming up in the DC area.  

January 23rd Senator Mitch McConnell at the National Press Club Ballroom

April 2nd Frm. Senator Chuck Hagel at Politics and Prose

April 12th Author Howard Zinn at Politics and Prose

June 10th Scott McCellan at Politics and Prose

June 30th Salman Rushdie at Politics and Prose

Some Sights from the Inauguration Weekend

The Day After

The inauguration is over yet I cannot help but feel that the effects of this weekend and Obama's campaign has somehow changed the way politics will be run from this point on.  Obama changed the game by talking about ideas such as Hope and Change rather than focusing simply on the issues at hand.  Without hope for a better life in the coming years no President can be successful.  Now President Obama is looking to mobilize a volunteer force one million people strong to perform service to our nation.  In addition to the good works done by these individuals keeping the people he cultivated as volunteers active will allow him to draw upon them in four years for a reelection campaign.

We have been out classed.  The Republican Party has been out thought, out manuevered, and out played.  So where do we go now?  Thats a great question, and unfortunately there is nothing easy about its answer.  We need new leaders of course but we also need people on the ground level to build our state parties.  But more importantly we have to give the American people a rational case for why this party deserves the pubic trust and what we are offering.  Next we need to open the doors of this establishment and air it out.  The old guard has to set back and make way for new leaders to rise.  This party is bigger than any one man and no one man should stop it from becoming the best that it can be.  If Barack Obama's story tells us anything it is that we need to cultivate our leaders and rising stars.  Do you think it is any accident that now President Obama gave the keynote address to the 2004 Democratic National Convention?  I do not, this was incredibly well planned.  The fact that Obama is such a great politician obviously did not hurt him either.

Inauguration

What a day.  Its hard to fully explain what it feels like to be in a crowd of some four million people and have near silence when a man most of us couldn't even see was speaking.  Inauguration 2009 was an impressive sight.  I left late last night with a few friends and we went to dinner on Capitol Hill and stayed over with a CUA grad who works in the area.  After a bit of a late start we left for the Capitol and entered the mass of people.  There truly was nothing that could have been done to make that process smooth, yet everyone was in high spirits and clearly very excited to be taking part in such a historic event.  I ended up standing in an area reserved for ticket holding visitors only (for the record I was not one of those people, Jim McGovern must have seen the R next to my name).  The spot was good and I had a clear view of the capitol building and could hear the speech pretty well.  Other than almost botching the oath of office President Obama did not disappoint.  His speech was poignant and interesting, showing his understanding of the unique times in which he has come to lead.

The thing that struck me the most though was wondering, "what is he thinking?"  As Obama stands there as President of the United States what is going through his mind.  How incredible must it be to stand in front of the entire nation, and the world at large and hear four million people scream your name?  It is moments such as these that I appreciate where I go to school and that I live in a nation where I can say that I want to be the President.  Although that dream may be a longshot it is nice to know that the only limitation on my progress is myself.

Finally I am struck by how poorly the Republican Party read the pulse of this nation over the past year.  We attempted to disqualify a man due to a lack of experience, ego, and race the very things this nation is supposed to enfranchise people to act regardless of.  Barack Obama elevated the level of game play from the mud slinging battles that were fought in 2000 and 2004.  This left the GOP and McCain in particular just the idiot was still sitting in the mud.  If the Republican Party is serious about becoming viable once again in national elections we first must decide what we believe.  In the words of Ronald Reagan we cannot be "all things to all people," as a collective group we need to stop being afraid of losing.  If we represent the ideology in which we believe than we have one.  Further we need to stop being the party of hate and focus on real issues instead of stressing what we are NOT.  Lastly we need to engage people in conversation on the real problems facing the nation: the economy, the environment, and national security.