Last month, a post over at RWN brought forth this comment. I saved it then for use here, and things got busy at work. I apologize to Hawk and to simulacre for letting this hang for so long. Here's the comment, followed by my commentary:

These are just some questions rattling around in my mind:

-How do we change our Primary system to give conservatives a shot?
-How do we separate conservative ideology from big government Republicanism?
-How do we divest ourselves from the socialism that has crept into the Republican platform and completely overtaken the Democrat platform?
-How do we undo the damage to the conservative movement caused by hypocritical, big government Republicans?
-How do we overturn socialist policies made into law when the spin is: 'Republicans are mean and want to starve old people?'
-What candidates truly hold fiscally conservative points of view and are anti-big government?
-Why should we support a party that holds views that are an anathema to much of what conservativism?
-How do you sell the idea that the government opening the goody bag may seem beneficial in the short term, but in the long term it's detrimental to the economy and country and will eventually lead to fascism?
-How do we convince the population at large that: 'it can happen in the US; it can happen to you.' (The 'it' being fascism, terrorism in the streets, serfdom, bread lines, etc.)

Posted by simulacre
2008-11-25 10:38:42

1. How do we change our Primary system to give conservatives a shot?

There's really only one way to not only make the primaries work for the people, but to also make them fair: Have them all on the same day. This would force all of the candidates to work with the same goals in mind with regard to timing. I also believe America would be best served by having these primaries as late as possible so that the surviving candidates don't have much time to change their stories, as we got BIG TIME this year from the two major assholes the Republicrats presented, and have been getting only to a slightly lesser degree in previous election cycles.

2. How do we separate conservative ideology from big government Republicanism?

There's a harsh reality at work here. Sadly, conservatives have trusted the Republicans to advance a conservative agenda over the years, and all to no avail. The only way conservative ideology can be separated from big government Republicanism is to place that trust elsewhere. Is it any surprise that all of a sudden a bunch of conservative parties have emerged that want to take over the conservative agenda? My Federalist party notwithstanding, I could join most of them in a heartbeat. When the new home of conservatism is found, the Republicans are toast as the party of conservatives. The only chance they will then have at survival will be to duke it out with the Democrats over who will be the surviving liberal party. My money is on the Democrats in that battle.

3. How do we divest ourselves from the socialism that has crept into the Republican platform and completely overtaken the Democrat platform?

Again, we do it by adopting a conservative agenda for the new party that has as its cornerstone doing just that - ending socialism in America. It's a huge part of the Federalist platform, as well as those of the Libertarian and Constitution Parties. Most of these rogue conservative parties are doing the exact same thing. Again, a simple answer that's as plain as the nose on Dustin Hoffman's face.

4. How do we undo the damage to the conservative movement caused by hypocritical, big government Republicans?

We leave the hypocritical big government Republicans to the Republican Party. There are simply too many of them in the Party for us to take it over from within. These are the guys who are pulling the strings and pushing the cart. They don't see the need to do anything but give our ideas lip service during campaigns. Once elected, they go the way of the socialists and do what the Democrats do: ignore the Constitution and force themselves deeper and deeper into our lives. Enough already.

5. How do we overturn socialist policies made into law when the spin is: 'Republicans are mean and want to starve old people?'

This was addressed in the New Federalist platform advocated by Reagan2020.us and by me. It's one of those "simple" answers Reagan spoke of. Simply apply a final sunset on EVERYTHING that's been passed and start over again, this time following the rules. Not an easy answer, but a simple one.

6. What candidates truly hold fiscally conservative points of view and are anti-big government?

The best place to get this information is ontheissues.org, which gives you an issue-by-issue assessment of each candidate. You may have to do some research yourself, though, as some issues are resolved by candidates certain ways for different reasons. For example, many Libertarians are pro-abortion - because they believe not necessarily that abortion is ok, but that the issue is outside the role of government. Pro-abortion Democrats, on the other hand, are generally so because they believe that abortion is ok.

I also strongly recommend checking out sites that present opposing positions on a candidate. These can be extremely useful tools. For example, if an opposition website doesn't like Candidate X because he cut back education funding, and you think reductions in education spending are good, then you have a good idea where that candidate stands vis a vis your beliefs. After all, they're obviously not trying to influence YOU with that statement.

7. Why should we support a party that holds views that are an anathema to much of what conservativism?

We shouldn't.

8. How do you sell the idea that the government opening the goody bag may seem beneficial in the short term, but in the long term it's detrimental to the economy and country and will eventually lead to fascism?

Use examples. Lord knows there are plenty. Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, Cuba, Europe, and the last 100 years of it here in the US are all good places to start, and all slam dunks when it comes to making this point.

9. How do we convince the population at large that: 'it can happen in the US; it can happen to you.' (The 'it' being fascism, terrorism in the streets, serfdom, bread lines, etc.)

It has happened in virtually every situation it has been tried, and is happening here in the US right now. If the population cannot already see that it ALREADY is happening in the US and that it's ALREADY happening to them, then the economy must have already come across some miraculous recovery that I haven't yet heard about. If it can't happen here, then where can it happen? Is choosing socialism somehow going to be better than having it forced upon us?

So these are the important answers. Bottom line: The Republican Party is NOT the party of conservatives, and the sooner conservatives figure that out and act accordingly, the better off everyone will be, especially conservatives.

RWR