Posted by
Mike Silverman on Tuesday, November 11, 2008 7:27:46 PM
I am getting more than a little concerned that we are about to lose the Republican Party to a vast no-man's land of squishy principles and gray definitions. With the collapse of the McCain campaign, an opening presented itself to restore the guiding light of the party to the rock-ribbed Conservative base...., to the Reagan Revolution base. Right now the leadership of the party is basically up for grabs. That means that any party member can try to campaign to obtain the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee. Two Conservative men are trying for it. Michael Steel, in collaboration with Newt Gingrich ( who does not want the chairmanship, but is trying to help Steel get there), are vying for the position. Michael Steel is a fairly Conservative man. Former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, though he is against the death penalty , supports raising minimum wage, and supports affirmative action. On everything else he appears to be straight down the line Conservative. I like Michael Steel but he's not a full Conservative and so I would rather have someone like Bobby Jindal who, except for one vote on completely eliminating personal income tax which he was against doing ( he is otherwise strongly in favor of cutting all forms of taxes ), is a 100 percent Conservative in every way. But... he's not trying for the leadership position. That's unfortunate. here's what really troubles me. In a report on Fox News, it was stated that Steel and Gingrich were trying to build a new approach to running the GOP. That's fine, a new approach is needed. The new approach "should" be a return to Reagan Conservatism. BUT, Gingrich was quoted as saying THIS
... "my job as an American first is to develop a tri-partisan approach to developing solutions for the challenges we face. I use the word tri-partisan to designate the concept of attracting Democrats, Republicans, and independents to solutions that unify most Americans"..
That may seem like an innocent statement, but if this is the plan to reorganize the Republican leadership, and if it gets launched, the party is doomed. The Republican Party is already losing its soul and purpose and needs to be steered back to it's founding Conservative principles. If Michael Steel , working with Newt, steer the party into some sort of conglomerate no-man's land of a watered down common denominator to attract multi-platformed views of Democrats and Independents, then there is no Republican Party. Political parties are built on principles, not on bendable talking points, not on bi-partisanship, not on pulling in the most people. You begin with a foundation, a core, a solid cement of working, successful principles upon which the party is formed by like-minded persons. Then, you try to convince others of the value of joining you and the principles you stand for. Changing your core party principles in order to attract others who don't agree with you on most things, would be like pulling random bricks out from the bottom of brick wall, you weaken the entire structure to the point where it has no intrinsic value. This is the lesson to be learned from McCain's tragic campaign for President. He prided himself on bucking the principles of his Party in the name of bi-partisanship to work with his party's political enemies. But don't misunderstand, there's nothing wrong with Republicans working with Democrats, as long as Republicans do not sell out thier core principles in doing that. But John McCain did just that, he worked on liberal bills and agendas with the likes of Kennedy, Feingold and others that brought about legislation that defied the core principles of Conservatism and weakend the position of the party. We need loyal Conservatives leading the Republican party who will not give in to media pressure, Democrat deals, and personal gains at the expense of weakening the Conservative foundation. And one more thing, Reagan is not a dirty word. I am sick and tired of self-anointed beltway Conservatives declaring that Reagan's approach to politics is over, a thing of the past. It's not over, it's not a thing of the past, and it is as relevant now as it was when he took his first oath of office. Those who want to declare Reagan as irrelevant do not belong in the Republican party.
- Mike Silverman