Why is Newt trying to rewrite history, including his own?  Does he believe sucking up to the Liberal Republicans will ensure [...]]]> “If you seek to be a perfect minority, you’ll remain a minority,” Gingrich said in a written statement. “That’s not how Reagan built his revolution or how we won back the House in 1994.”

Why is Newt trying to rewrite history, including his own?  Does he believe sucking up to the Liberal Republicans will ensure his nomination in 2012?   He could not be more wrong, and hopefully in both counts.   This does not come easy because Gingrich used to be one of our favorite Republicans.   His belief in American exceptionalism, his desire to educate at local universities, his desire for smaller government, have all taken a backseat to his seeming desire to be liked and be on TV.

What propelled Reagan and propelled the GOP into power in 1994 was LEADERSHIP.  Nothing more, nothing less.  Following the GOP where they tell you to go is not leadership. Trying to build a “big tent” by having no values is not leadership.   I do not advocate exclusionary policies, but leadership does mean taking a stand and letting the cards fall where they may.

Reagan did not bow to the Soviets to change ???tax policy to include others in the party.   He articulated his beliefs clearly and effectively and convinced other to follow his lead.   Reagan was probably more conservative then the population but he convinced them to trust his leadership and led us to success.   The contract with America was similar.   Not everyone agreed with every policy, but they agreed with the tenants of smaller government and appreciated the willingness of Republicans to write down there ideas and stick to them.   Republicans both leaders and followers were brought into power in a wave of public support.

Republicans have lost since, not because they became more conservative then Reagan (more on that to come).   They lost because they lost leaders that were able to articulate what they believe.  Many that remain are simply followers left to wander Washington DC alone, brought in with Reagan and/or “the Contract”.     Looking for leadership, and lacking it themselves, they latched on to pseudo-leaders in the Senate and House.    Then again a pseudo-leader in President Bush.   All of which have led them astray.

The Republican party is conservative.   The country is conservative.  Heck, the Democrats that defeated the Republicans in 2006 were conservative.   What the Republicans need is not liberal Republicans and a big tent.  What they need is leadership.

The sound bite I have heard the most often is “Now one of the challenges to the Republican Party, are we [...]]]> I am normally a fan of Newt. In fact he may be one of the most well read and articulate conservative commentators/speakers today. But his speech on Monday fell into the Mainstream Media trap.

The sound bite I have heard the most often is “Now one of the challenges to the Republican Party, are we prepared to be inclusive and not exclusive.” This statement confirms, in their mind, the fact that the republican party is exclusionary and fringe. It must “change” its harsh stances to have any chance of winning.

Since the rest of the context was removed this “confirmation” is damaging even if the rest of the speech was not. A more direct statement, demanding context, “the Republican party by definition is the most inclusive party in history.” Newt (and/or his speech writers) need to be smarter.

I do not believe the Republican party should be inclusive to those that do not respect the constitutional limits of our Republic. I fear the Newt, in shifting his wording to appeal to Democrats, he will repeat the history of John McCain.

If you respect the rights of individuals to pursue happiness. If you believe that your property, earned through hard work, is rightfully yours first. That taking that property should be done judiciously and with some level of respect to the individuals that earned it. That a respect for life includes unborn children and abortion on demand in all cases paid for by the taxpayers money diminishes the respect. We invite you to join the Republican party and get involved in the conversation.

If you believe we need higher taxes, that money belongs to the government first or public funded abortion on demand is a constitutional freedom, we respectfully ask you to remain a Democrat.

The rest of the speech was a pretty powerful conservative message (with a few more squishy parts to appease the media) unfortunately most will never hear it. See it here or listen to it here. And unlike CNN do not be afraid. It is ok to listen to it even if you disagree. This from the “tolerant inclusive left.”

There are two dominant opinions working there way [...]]]> Well, it has been a while. Licking wounds, pondering the future… no. Sometimes work and kids take you away. In this case it was a needed and welcome diversion. It has given me time to work up a lather over the post-election coverage. So on we go….

There are two dominant opinions working there way around the Republican party in these post-election days. Both admit defeat in the election and both say that it is about time to change the message. Hard to disagree when both sides want the same thing. But they have very different messages and goals.

The moderate Republicans believe that the party needs to learn from these losses and try to join the Democrats on some of the big issues. Americans want civility and someone who can get things done by working with the other party. They say, “We need to understand that the American people have spoken. They want universal health care, they believe in climate change.” The theory is, if these are winning platforms, you need to run on them to win. I do not subscribe to this theory.

What I believe is that a large population of voters, believe that Republicans are mean spirited, racist homophobic free market anarchists. They say they don’t want divisiveness that they want someone in the middle like everyone believes they are. So you can jump into the Socialist big government pool with the Democrats. This leaves you to be a less mean spirited racist homophobic Socialist. These folks will surely like you more. But they will never vote for you over the loving caring free-love green Socialist that is today’s Democratic party. This is the real lesson of John McCain. A lost Republican trying to befriend the left and get along only looks like a cheap copy. No one wants a cheap copy when they can get the real thing by voting for a Democrat. No one wants to vote for someone that has come to their views out of fear instead of conviction.

What Republicans need to do is not to blur the lines as they have begun to do. What they need to do is differentiate themselves on the one key issue: The role of Government in America. The more I discuss issues the more I find that no matter what someone wants, no matter the issue they find dear, they have another issue (usually more) that disgusts them. The country does not want universal health care. They want a solution to rising health care costs. They don’t want higher taxes. They want to trim budget deficits. But in this election no clear distinction was given.

Let me state is clearly… Republicans lost this election. It is time for Conservatives to run for office again. McCain tried but when you do not believe it in your core, you cannot deliver the message with emotion. You also cannot counter the media and the lofty speeches of your opponent. I agree with Ronald Reagan… now is the time for bold colors. Now is the tie for conservatives to stand clarify their message and begin to articulate it again.

I am sure there will be plenty of options to articulate the differences in approach over the coming years. In my opinion the failures of the coming policies will be seen. There needs to be a clear alternative in the mind of the voters, a message that says, “We have another idea, we believe in less government [not no government]. We believe in the power of the American people and not the power of elite government bureaucrats. We believe in this option or that option.” When the failures come, and they will, they will eventually be followed by a election and the voters will know what to do.

Until then. I will do my part to articulate my views and other options to those being proposed. If I happen to agree, I will strongly push for those as well. More to come.

I grew up during Carter and shaped much of my beliefs in the years that followed. I lived through the airraid drills in the schools, the Iranian hostage crisis, and double digit unemployment (my father was included). I have heard about [...]]]> I am a political junky and Reagan conservative [at least I think so].

I grew up during Carter and shaped much of my beliefs in the years that followed. I lived through the airraid drills in the schools, the Iranian hostage crisis, and double digit unemployment (my father was included). I have heard about the 24% interest rates but at the time had no clue of that impact. I did enjoy the 6% saving account interest, but did not understand the negative impact that double digit inflation was having on my meager funds.

I survived as did this country and watched Reagan and Bush compete in 1979. If I remember properly my dad liked Bush better then. I then watched as a strong man with strong opinions captured the country by storm. I listened as he talked about how great we were and that this crisis was about to end. And end it he did. Dropping tax rates, growing business and cheering us the whole way. Driving revenues upward and bringing the American economy and people with it.

I went on to College in 1985 in a whole new world from the one I grew up in. I graduated in four years (or there abouts) in Engineering. I have spent the last 20+ years working with computers, applications, databases, business intelligence, well… numbers.

I have always had strong opinions based on my upbringing and education. Hypocrites and the continual abuse of statistics have been my biggest pet peeves. I decided that talking with family, friends and yelling a the television was not cathartic enough. I decided to start writing them down and to see what others thought. Well let’s see….