What Would Reagan Say? Let Them Go Their Own Way!

Some kind soul unearthed this speech given by Ronald Reagan at the Conservative Political Action Convention on March 1, 1975. It still applies today.

The future President said:

Since our last meeting we have been through a disastrous election. It is easy for us to be discouraged, as pundits hail that election as a repudiation of our philosophy and even as a mandate of some kind or other. But the significance of the election was not registered by those who voted, but by those who stayed home. If there was anything like a mandate it will be found among almost two-thirds of the citizens who refused to participate. Bitter as it is to accept the results of the November election, we should have reason for some optimism. For many years now we have preached "the gospel," in opposition to the philosophy of so-called liberalism which was, in truth, a call to collectivism. Now, it is possible we have been persuasive to a greater degree than we had ever realized. Few, if any, Democratic party candidates in the last election ran as liberals. Listening to them I had the eerie feeling we were hearing reruns of Goldwater speeches. I even thought I heard a few of my own. Bureaucracy was assailed and fiscal responsibility hailed. Even George McGovern donned sackcloth and ashes and did penance for the good people of South Dakota. But let’s not be so naive as to think we are witnessing a mass conversion to the principles of conservatism. Once sworn into office, the victors reverted to type. In their view, apparently, the ends justified the means. The "Young Turks" had campaigned against "evil politicians." They turned against committee chairmen of their own party, displaying a taste and talent as cutthroat power politicians quite in contrast to their campaign rhetoric and idealism. Still, we must not forget that they molded their campaigning to fit what even they recognized was the mood of the majority. And we must see to it that the people are reminded of this as they now pursue their ideological goals -- and pursue them they will. I know you are aware of the national polls which show that a greater (and increasing) number of Americans -- Republicans, Democrats and independents -- classify themselves as "conservatives" than ever before. And a poll of rank-and-file union members reveals dissatisfaction with the amount of power their own leaders have assumed, and a resentment of their use of that power for partisan politics. Would it shock you to know that in that poll 68 percent of rank-and-file union members of this country came out endorsing right-to-work legislation? These polls give cause for some optimism, but at the same time reveal a confusion that exists and the need for a continued effort to "spread the word."

That is what we need to do. The incoming Obama Administration and the Democrat-controlled Congress are most certainly going to trip up on their own promises and agendas. When (not if but when) that happens, we need to be ready with our message, a message that go right back to our Conservative roots.

More:

Americans are hungry to feel once again a sense of mission and greatness. I don 't know about you, but I am impatient with those Republicans who after the last election rushed into print saying, "We must broaden the base of our party" -- when what they meant was to fuzz up and blur even more the differences between ourselves and our opponents. It was a feeling that there was not a sufficient difference now between the parties that kept a majority of the voters away from the polls. When have we ever advocated a closed-door policy? Who has ever been barred from participating? Our people look for a cause to believe in. Is it a third party we need, or is it a new and revitalized second party, raising a banner of no pale pastels, but bold colors which make it unmistakably clear where we stand on all of the issues troubling the people? Let us show that we stand for fiscal integrity and sound money and above all for an end to deficit spending, with ultimate retirement of the national debt. Let us also include a permanent limit on the percentage of the people's earnings government can take without their consent. Let our banner proclaim a genuine tax reform that will begin by simplifying the income tax so that workers can compute their obligation without having to employ legal help. And let it provide indexing -- adjusting the brackets to the cost of living -- so that an increase in salary merely to keep pace with inflation does not move the taxpayer into a surtax bracket. Failure to provide this means an increase in government's share and would make the worker worse off than he was before he got the raise. Let our banner proclaim our belief in a free market as the greatest provider for the people. Let us also call for an end to the nit-picking, the harassment and over-regulation of business and industry which restricts expansion and our ability to compete in world markets. Let us explore ways to ward off socialism, not by increasing government’s coercive power, but by increasing participation by the people in the ownership of our industrial machine. Our banner must recognize the responsibility of government to protect the law-abiding, holding those who commit misdeeds personally accountable. And we must make it plain to international adventurers that our love of peace stops short of "peace at any price." We will maintain whatever level of strength is necessary to preserve our free way of life. A political party cannot be all things to all people. It must represent certain fundamental beliefs which must not be compromised to political expediency, or simply to swell its numbers. I do not believe I have proposed anything that is contrary to what has been considered Republican principle. It is at the same time the very basis of conservatism. It is time to reassert that principle and raise it to full view. And if there are those who cannot subscribe to these principles, then let them go their way.

President Reagan had it exactly right back in 1975. His words are still relevant to us today.

You can access the complete speech on-line here:

Let Them Go Their Own Way
Ronald Reagan
CPAC
March 1, 1975

The Time For Complaining Is Over! The National Campaign Is Now!

My God! Here it is! May! And there are still several sore loser types who refuse to accept the fact that John McCain is going to be the GOP nominee for President in 2008!

Just who are these people? Well, they claim to be Conservatives. Many of these self-styled Conservatives are hoping for a Dem victory in November in the mistaken belief that somehow a stronger, more energized Republican Party will come out the other end. Some are even suggesting that at the Convention, John McCain should step aside and allow someone else to run for President. Sorry, but that is the lamest idea I've heard yet.

What really irritates me about these self-styled Conservatives is their extreme short-sightedness and their inability to accept responsibility as a group.

What would happen if the Dems win the White House in November? Alot, and most of it bad. Not only would we see our economy get beaten down by higher taxes and a full scale retreat from the terrorists, we would see massive appointments of leftist judges to Federal benches and at least two leftists appointed to the Supreme Court. That is the short-sightedness of those who believe a Dem win will result in a stronger GOP. The exact opposite is true. It will weaken the position of the GOP and we won't be able to re-strengthen it for another 30 to 40 years. Those Republicans who want to see a McCain defeat would do well to look beyond 2008 and 2012 and see what they are really pushing for.

And then there are those who say they would vote for Republican Congressional candidates while leaving the door open for a Dem White House. The idea here is that by retaking the Senate, it would force a Dem President to appoint more Conservative jurists to SCOTUS. Well, let's look at historical precedent on that issue.

In 1994, the Republicans gained control of the U.S. Senate through "good, Conservative leadership." That good leadership failed to stop the confirmation of Ruth Bader-Ginsberg to the Supreme Court, despite a GOP majority. Even though Republicans had more than enough votes to stop the seating of an uber-liberal to SCOTUS, she was seated anyway. Now, imagine what would happen with a Dem-controlled White House and a Dem-contolled Senate (which is looking more likely than a GOP-controlled Senate at this point). That is why we need to look beyond 2008 and 2012 and contemplate the consequences of our actions today. Anyone out there who still thinks that a Dem winning the White House would be good for the GOP needs to go get their head examined. It would be a disaster for Conservatives everywhere.

Now, what about this "group responsibility" thing? I asked about this in a blog posting back on February 12, 2008 and no one ever bothered to answer my question. Here it is: Where was the Conservative Base of the Republican Party on Super Tuesday and during the primaries and campaigns prior?

I don't know where they were, but I do know where they were not. They were not in the voting booths nor were they out campaigning for candidates with solidly Conservative credentials.

Think I'm joking? Look at the combined support of Tom Tancredo, Duncan Hunter and Tommy Thompson. The three of them didn't equal the support enjoyed by Rudy Giuliani. Where was the Conservative Base of the GOP? I was a supporter of Tom Tancredo and I was doing everything I could to support his campaign. I blogged, I donated money and I participated in polls to support him right up to the day he announced he was dropping out.

But I don't feel like the GOP let me down. I feel like my fellow Conservatives abandoned me. And yes, I am referring to those same Conservatives who were conspicuously absent on Super Tuesday and before.

So, now these same Conservatives who were nowhere to be found prior to John McCain winning the GOP nomination are getting energized. I'm sorry but their energy is coming several months too late for me to seriously listen to anything they have to say. The energy with which they disparage John McCain today would have been better spent rallying around Tancredo, Hunter or Thompson back in December of 2007. In other words, the vaunted Conservative Base is just a little more than a day late and a dollar short.

So, the time for complaining is long since over. If you are one of those self-styled Conservatives who wants to see a McCain defeat in November, before you complain to me about my support for the Senator from Arizona, please explain to me the conspicuous absence of the Conservative Base during the Super Tuesday voting and during the months before. I'd love to read that excuse.

P.S. Please don't try the lame excuse that the media picked McCain. I refuse to believe that 8.6 million GOP voters allowed themselves to be swayed by a left-leaning media rather than thinking for themselves. If that were true then it wouldn't matter who the GOP nominee was at this point.

A Message From Michael Steele

No one can say that the Republican Party has not changed since the Reagan era. Everything changes over time. Sometimes for good, sometimes for bad. But like a tree or a tall skyscraper swaying in the wind, it is the core that must hold firm to prevent a collapse. Republicans have core beliefs that must not be deviated from and we have held those beliefs firm over the last thirty years. We must continue to hold them firm.

That is the message from former Maryland Lt. Governer Michael Steele. From his latest column:

Republicans stand on the precipice of conservatism, ready to throw each other off because we feel as if we’ve lost our grip on what conservatism means; indeed, what it means to be a republican. But, we should never lose faith first and foremost in our belief in the power and ingenuity of the individual to create the legacy of a nation through hard work and self-discipline. Conservatives must stand firm once again in our belief that government should be limited so that it never becomes powerful enough to infringe on the rights of the individual. We must reaffirm the principle of lowering taxes so that individuals might keep more of their hard earned wages, and realize the economic power that it generates. Republicans must promote business regulations that encourage entrepreneurs to take risks so that more individuals can enjoy the satisfaction and fruits of self-made success; and our party must always remain steadfast in its defense of a colorblind society, so that each man or woman is treated as an individual and not as a member of some hyphenated class or group.

Do you, as a Republican still believe these things? Then you need to stick with your beliefs and help spread the message.

Are you a Democrat or Independent who believes these things? Then you should come over to the Republicans.

And Mr. Steele's most important message:

The Party of Lincoln is the Party of ideas and leadership that have made and will continue to make this nation great. Republicans must now gather strength from within as we enter a critical period in America's history. We must work to restore faith in our Party by standing on those principles that not only unite us as Republicans, but as Americans. Republicans need to stop looking for Reagan and start acting like Republicans.

You can access the complete column on-line here:

Uniting The Republican Party
Michael Steele
TownHall.com
April 8, 2008

Conservatives Only Have Themselves To Blame For The McCain Mutiny

Normally, I like to read what others have already written at the National level and then provide my own commentary to such issues. After all, I don't have a lot of time to spend writing my own essays on a regular basis. I do have a life outside of blogging and I have a family to support too.

But now, I feel compelled to write my own thoughts as an original piece. You've probably noted that my last few blog entries have expressed support for the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, Senator John McCain. You probably also know that my support for the GOP candidate originally went to Rep. Tom Tancredo. Later, that would turn to Fred Thompson and finally to Mitt Romney as each candidate dropped out of the race. Once Romney capitulated, that left John McCain. In the interest of Party unity and out of concern for what the potential alternatives are, I am throwing my support behind John McCain.

And yet, I read on various websites, message boards and political blogs that there are probably thousands if not millions of self-described Conservatives who state flatly and unequivocally that they will never, ever vote for John McCain. They use derogatory terms like "McLame," "McShamnesty," and "Juan McShame" ad nauseum. They chide those who endorse John McCain with words like "McCain equals Hillary equals Obama." And yet all of this anger and rage could have been avoided, if only ... Conservatives (and I include myself in this group) had stepped up to the plate a few months sooner.

Yes, I lay the blame for the current state of the GOP squarely at the feet of all these energized Conservatives who are bemoaning John McCain as the GOP nominee. They whine and pout claiming that they have been disenfranchised and that nobody listened to them. Well, it is hard to get people to listen to you when you remain silent.

Why did the GOP Conservative base wait until mid-February to become energized? We had several very good Conservative candidates on our ticket back in December of '07. Tom Tancredo, Duncan Hunter, Tommy Thompson. Certainly, any of those three would have been much more palatable than the three choices facing us on Super Tuesday: John McCain, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee. So, why wasn't there a rally around the true Conservative candidates back in December?

Well, before you answer that, let me interject that I do not buy the excuse that the media did it. Back in 2000, Conservatives and Republicans bucked the media trend and elected George W. Bush to the White House. These same Conservatives and Republicans bucked an even stronger trend by re-electing him in 2004 despite a concentrated media effort to bring about the opposite result. I refuse to believe that those same Conservatives and Republicans would, in four short years, allow themselves to be led around by the nose. No. Something else is at work here.

Recently, at CPAC, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich made a very profound comment: "There were 14.6 million Democrats who thought the presidential nomination was worth voting for, and there were 8.3 million Republicans on Super Tuesday." That’s a pretty big difference in turn-out; one that cannot be ignored. And that illustrates exactly what I believe the problem with the GOP is: voter apathy.

Many in the GOP like to use words and phrases like "conservative movement" and "base of the Republican Party." Well, where was the "movement" when we still had real Conservatives on the ticket? Where was the "base of the Republican Party" during the campaigns before the Iowa and New Hampshire Primaries? I hate to keep repeating this, but even though I don't know where they were, I do know where they were not: polling and campaigning for Conservative candidates.

I firmly believe that if Conservatives in the GOP had become energized (like they are today with their rage and anger) back on New Year's Day, we'd be looking at a very different candidate picture right now. But that didn't happen. I saw pitifully little support for Conservatives like Tom Tancredo or Duncan Hunter. Why wasn't there a rally around them prior to Iowa? Did anyone even try? It is as if we Conservatives abandoned this campaign (and the true Conservative candidates) long before there was any abandonment of Conservative ideas within the Party.

Conservatives are trying to paint themselves as victims here, probably because the truth is a little too harsh to accept. We have not been disenfranchised nor have we been pushed out of the GOP. We simply arrived to the party late only to find that all of the best dance partners got tired of waiting for us and left.

If we learn anything from this experience it should be this: don't wait for Iowa to become energized. Next time, hit the ground with both legs already in a full run. But for right now, we need to realistically deal with that which we ourselves caused.