Conservative Victories Taste Like Chicken
What a week (and summer, and primary season) for conservatives, who are experiencing wins all across the country, each seeming to build on the momentum of the last. Both electorally and culturally, right-wing America has been flexing its muscles of late.
Perhaps even more revealing than conservative primary election wins is the testament to the right to free speech and Christian conservative values on display at Chick-fil-As throughout this great land on Wednesday.
It’s already being reported that Chick-fil-A broke fast-food world sales records on Wednesday, “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day”, which is extensively encouraging. It makes sense, too. Conservatives spend the majority of their time being disappointed by much of the corporate and entertainment industries that seem to cave in to or cater to liberal influence. When the chance came to support a business that reflects traditional American values and make a statement about 1st Amendment rights in the process, thousands leapt at the chance.
By 11 a.m., tweets and news stories were proliferating of packed Chick-fil-A’s, lines outside and around the building, even drive-thru’s backed up onto interstates. Pictures of wall-to-wall customers hit Twitter and Facebook. By evening, several restaurants were out of food, and managers went outside to thank the droves of remaining customers for their business, reluctantly turning them away. As I tweeted in the midst of the hoopla, “Conservatives got more accomplished over one lunch period than liberals did in six months of Occupy wherever.”
The idea that Chick-fil-A is somehow discriminatory is a flippantly false accusation and a farce. Its President, Dan Cathy, had the gall to state what he believes in answer to a question on the traditional Christian family structure. Against whom have they discriminated? CFA hires based on merit. It serves every patron who comes through the door with a quality that noticeably outpaces its competitors. The “discrimination” case could be better made for vegetarians than homosexuals.
Not to be lost in the shuffle, the primary issue at stake here is constitutional 1st Amendment rights. When the mayors of Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco, three very prominent cities, declare that a business is unwelcome in their jurisdiction, and the reasons are unabashedly a difference of religious or political opinion, patriotic Americans were right to organize support for the wrongfully oppressed.
This story isn’t about “civil rights” any more than Sandra Fluke’s SOS for free birth control was really about women’s health. It’s a free speech issue, a government overreach issue, and a religious freedom issue. Larry Elder got it right in his recent column, “…what part of the First Amendment do these radical mayors not understand? The First Amendment is about preventing government from infringing on political speech. This is a clear-cut case of suppression and punishment of Cathy’s right of free speech.” This story is an even faster steamroller because Chick-fil-A’s beliefs happen to also be the ones on which this country was founded.
It doesn’t get more un-American than big government trying to prohibit the establishment of a business because that business supports traditional values. Even if mayors Menino and Emanuel could actually wield the kind of monarchial powers which they so arrogantly claim, their opposition to Chick-fil-A is enormously erroneous – both economic and Constitutional.
As the Chick-fil-A controversy is largely a political one (thanks to liberal presumptiveness), the throngs who came out in support of the fast food chain on Wednesday are undoubtedly people who pay at least casual attention, and are therefore likely voters. Beings as Chick-fil-A is clearly a Christian, conservative organization, this only bodes well for Republicans in the fall. Enthusiasm and conviction matter, and conservative America had barrels of both to spare this week.
Chick-fil-A wasn’t the only conservative win in recent days. In a nationally-covered Texas State Senate race, grassroots candidate Ted Cruz soundly defeated Lt. Governor David Dewhurst in an extremely hard fought and intense runoff election on Tuesday. The Cruz win is a testament to hard work by a myriad of Americans desperate for a return to traditional American values and prosperity.
Add in the monumental Scott Walker win in early June, and summer 2012 has been a conservative home run. Even the Supreme Court Obamacare ruling, a technical win for Obama and company, served to fire up the conservative base in a way that perhaps even a win would have failed to do. Donations came pouring in to Romney’s campaign, several million dollars online in just a few hours. On a similar note, the Romney campaign outraised the Obama campaign in June, and the RNC has far more in its bank than does the DNC.
Perhaps less consequential overall, but still surprisingly telling, Charles Krauthammer took on the White House this week…and won. Krauthammer’s much publicized column exposing the Obama Administration for lying about the return and placement of the Winston Churchill bust (a gift from Britain to George W. Bush) – and garnering a fiery rebuttal from Obama’s staff before Krauthammer closed the deal – earned him an apology from the White House in the form of a public email. It was snobbish, and diverted blame elsewhere, but it was an apology nonetheless. Conservatives should be thankful for any mark of victory they can chalk.
The tide appears to be turning. If only this momentum wave continues mounting towards November.
Say, aren’t grassroots conservative movements dead? Somebody should really tell them. They’re making an awful lot of noise.
You can follow the author on Twitter: @brady_cremeens
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