Let me get this straight. Let’s not pretend Conservatives, especially Social Conservatives, the message is loud and clear, for the GOP to survive you’re not wanted. Oh yea, they will use us. But the bottom line is, they see us as bible thumpers, gun toting, mullet wearing preppers who are uneducated, backwards, cousin marrying idiots. Straight out of “Deliverance”.
The GOP old boys have the money to back this all up. They brought us John McCain, and I believe they coached Mitt Romney into taking the road of playing “nice guy” after the first debate. The Romney Campaign was run by many of the same McCain Campaign people, and its evident by the same tactics. Stay away from all Tea Party types….Sarah Palin was not invited to the RNC. Go all squishy on all things like abortion, or same sex marriage. I think we have seen this same movie before, and we get the same results.
This same group is either totally incompetent, in figuring out how to beat an incumbent who has no record, or some are whispering, the Old Boys network can just look ahead to 2016. Yes, folks, as crazy as it might be, let’s think this through. We know the GOP Old Boys don’t want any part of any true blue conservative candidate. They are “moderate” Republicans, and think the GOP needs to rid itself of all the Tea Party supporters, all the “value voters”. Only then, do they see a way for the GOP to take on the Democrats. In other words, become Dem-Lite. These are powerful people, like Karl Rove, and the Bush family, who backed Romney on day one. They “run” much of who gets the “nod” to run for President, behind the scenes. And there are those saying, and this is just speculation, that they weren’t too upset if Romeny didn’t prevail. No, that would open the door for Jeb Bush for 2016. If Romney had won, well that’s OK too, but if not, its sure is easier to have a “clean field” with no Republican incumbent in the way. This source, who wishes to stay anonymous, is a Washington insider. They tell me to look for a new book from Jeb Bush–you know the kind of book one writes right before they start down that road to President.
What I find incredible, is just how the GOP Old Boys thought they could win this election without the Conservative base and without making some real inroads into the Hispanic vote. Yet, that was exactly the strategy. We know that 3 million GOP voters who identified as “Tea Party” or Conservative stayed home. Who knows how that would have changed the Electoral College, but its fact that if they would have voted Romney, Romney would have won the popular vote by 180,000. Today on Rush limbaugh one of those voters called in–he stated he didn’t vote due to the GOP Old Boys’ bringing us another moderate Republican as Candidate. I have stated, this would be the last time this writer would back the GOP unless they give the Conservative base–yes the value voters a seat at the table.
So, where do we go from here? Since World War II, history tells me the only GOP President to resoundingly win big is Ronald Reagan. He was a William Buckley, Jr. Conservative, and he crossed over to those who became to be known as “Reagan Democrats” and Independents alike. We are being told that’s dead—Conservatives of that ilk just aren’t relevant. We need to “modernize” and face the fact the demographics have changed. I laugh at this nonsense. I agree, the Hispanic vote is growing, and I know a little bit about that demographic. And I know this—Hispanics values fit with Conservative values. Those Hispanics who have been in this Country for a few generations, vote Democratic like football fans root for their home team. Its their “home Party”. They don’t realize what Conservatism is, that it aligns with individual freedom, and strong moral values. Now, I am in reality, I realize not all Hispanics will be moved by this, but I know a large number feel the GOP is a white boys club. The true message of Conservatism is what got us out of the Jimmy Carter era “depression” of 17% interest rates, and made a whole lot of Iranian hostage takers pretty nervous. Since Reagan, we haven’t had a true Conservative in the White House.
Let us begin again. Let the Conservative base put egos aside. Let’s not be vindictive, we have the right message, we have the truth. We have the remnants of what Buckley started. First order of business, in my humble opinion—we must stop preaching to the choir somehow. And to do that, we need to expose the Main Stream Media. We need to expose their double dealing ways, their omission of important facts on Benghazi, how they work arm and arm with just one Political party in this Country. I know you know this. We must somehow reach those who are brainwashed and will be hurting as America is transformed into Obama’s utopia. A utopia that will seem more like a very long dark night. Sadly, it may be only then, that those who voted for Obama in blind ignorance, who were swayed by the Springsteen Hollywood crowd, who thought he seemed Presidential during Hurricane Sandy, who bought every lie the Main Stream Media “reported’ as fact, only during this dark night will they realize, they have been duped. We need to not say “told you so”(although that would bring some satisfaction) —no, we need to take the high road. To provide the truth of Conservatism and how there is real hope in that message.
Ok, I think we still have some huge problems:
1) Even assuming you get a 3M TP votes, how many votes do you drive away by running a far-right candidate?
2) The Hispanic percentage of the vote will continue to grow. We can’t loose that demographic by 70+ percent and win.
3) Do Hispanics consider the GOP an old white boys club BECAUSE of our position on immigration? If that position changed how do we know that would still be true?
4) Isn’t the best way to “educate” Hispanics on conservative values to embrace them first? They will never listen if they consider us hostile to their most important issue. It will remain to easy for the other side to go in and say that we are being disingenuous because we never dealt with the primary issue. We are risking these people permanently aligning with the democrats unless we move now.
5) What difference does it make anyway. Hispanics are here and are contributing to a shadow economy. Let’s get them paying taxes and not just being a burden to society. A group will consider itself downtrodden for only so long before it just checks out altogether. (see African-Americans as an example) Once that happens, there is no hope for redemption for them.
Normalize, then educate. We can win this battle.
Rebecca’s voice is on of sound ‘reasoning’ whether you agree or not. Her thoughts reflect a desire to be part of the solution…not the problem.
Of course there are a lot of problems & we sure missed something. I’m pretty certain that there are thoes that will throw rocks in the path of progress. We can either get around them or stand & worry ‘who’ put them there. ..so to WJS & others that share his concerns, take heart…reconstruction is done one step at a time…one ‘situation'(not problem) at a time. IF all will throw thought out solutions & we stir them around & mix them up we will end up with something that tastes good to the majority. It start with a self exam
Couldn’t agree more! I’m frustrated that I see conservatives doing nothing more than throwing out platitudes and not offering solutions.
So we see a “situation” with the Latino vote. Where do we go?
You know WJS, We’re actually ask the same question, “Where do we go from here?” & I suspect look for the same answer. At this point, I’ve stopped asking WHAT went wrong & started asking What did I do wrong? Ego? perhaps, but it give me a starting point. I live in Texas, surrounded like the ocean by good legal Hispanic voters. I worked like crazy on Ted Cruz’s campaign. I made speeches ,for the GOP ticket at several organizations…I wrote editorials, block walked…..not one of these were directed toward primarily Hispanic! I did not reach out, I stayed in my self designed comfort zone with those of like mind & preached to the chior.Accepting this, allows me to correct it.
I agree, being more inclusive is important, but is less law better law? Will lowered standards not also lower standings? You spoke of ‘education’ so as an example, Has lowering the acceptable passing grade, made more educated graduate or just more graduates? The ONLY issue I take with your thinking is the statement you make is in #5 “What difference does it make anyway?” If that is true. Why bother? People like you & I are part of the solution if we all work at it. Retired Alan Simpson (old coger, but sharp)said “If you can’t learn to compromise, don’t get married” We don’t need to lower our standards or sacrifice our core principals to get this done.Thanks for your participation, your thinking helps my thinking.
I agree with Jan. I wrote a whole long comment and I deleted it somehow…anyway I did my last Radio show on this subject here https://www.blogtalkradio.com/rebecca-diserio/2012/11/08/the-rebecca-diserio-show
it’s going to be very hard to attract new and young voters while social conservative principles are still a broadcasted and central feature of the Republican party, and a talking point of Republican candidates. Why? The internet and the overall information exposure in modern day society. This isn’t changing, it’s not getting reversed: it’s here to stay. Children now grow up in a world where they are inevitably exposed to a far broader swath of moral and social viewpoints, all the time, and a far more rapid exchange of information. exposure leads directly to desensitization, and desensitization leads to tolerance or indifference. furthermore, I believe there is a general trend towards social liberalization. Once people get used to something as a “norm” the tendency is for that to not easily get reversed. While we’ve had a pretty even split of both liberal and conservative governments over the past 100 years or so, society has proceded to expand the scope of social norms and mores. Examples include trying and failing to reverse the norm of legal drinking, the steady trend towards acceptance of homosexuality, the legalization of abortion, the increasing prominence of open sexuality in the media, the trend towards the legalization of marijuana, the expansion of the pornography industry, the expansion of racial tolerance, etc. These things happened under both conservative and liberal administrations, and around the world as a whole. I think it’s just a human trait that once we get used to something we are no longer that bothered by it; each successive generation grows up a little bit more used to this changing social environment. It’s going to get harder and harder to convince people that they should spend their energy on these topics and get emotionally invested in them, especially when most of them do not have significant obvious economic impacts. and then you have the thorny-nature of discussing these topics in public… for example what happens to a candidate when they make an easily-misinterperable comment about “legitimate rape” etc. furthermore, stricter laws governing personal freedoms looks hypocritical from the outside when viewed in the context of a party that is supposed to be primarily focused on greater individual liberty and small government.