Welcome to the Party
There’s pizza and beer in the kitchen.
It has been written by leading conservative officials and Bloggers in the wake of last Tuesday’s off year elections, but the sentiment needs to be repeated and broken down in as many different ways, on as many different web sites, as possbile so that everyone is on the same page.
The GOP:
1) Did not run-off a moderate Republican in the NY-23 special election.
2) Absolutely does need moderate Republicans.
Simple right? Angry? Let’s get into it.
First, we must dispel the MSM’s narrative that Dede Scozzafava was a “moderate.” Of course, the MSM knows this, but it doesn’t fit their failing template. Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) elloquently wrote that the GOP does need to have a big tent, but that tent must be supported by strong poles. In other words, we can have differing points of view on a range of specific issues, but there MUST be a core set of principles that all Republicans espouse and are guided by. Let us examine the “moderate” Scozzafava:
-Fiscal responsibility? No.
-Limted governemnt? No.
-Social issues (pro-life, banning gay-marriage) No.
-State run health care? Yes.
-Cap & Trade? Yes.
-Union “Card Check?” Yes.
-Support Democratic Candidates? Yes.
So you tell me, where does the former Republican nominee from the NY-23rd have ANY common ground with the Republican Party? There isn’t any. What happened in the NY-23 was a systemic failure of the old ways of the GOP. A candidate who shared no commonality with the Party was selected by Party bosses to represent an electorate that did not like her. Primaries are good things. If the electorate is moderate, fine. Conservative, even better.
Which brings me to my next point.
The GOP absolutely needs moderates in the Party, and I believe that smart conservatives understand this point. It is dangerous and, frankly, intellectually lazy for activists to start throwing around the RINO label. Labels are useful in simple human interaction, but when conservatives start “goin’ RINO huntin’” all over the country; we just end up cutting off our nose despite our face. Does the term apply to some Republicans? Yes. Should conservative, angry about the direction of the country and Party, resist these individuals? Yes. Should these same people also recognize that in some districts in some states, conservatives cannot be elected? YES.
I do believe (as Rush Limbaugh has stated) that conservatism works, every time it is tried. I believe that leading on fiscal issues and the core principles of the Constitution is a winning formula. However, those are the strong tent poles that a very large tent can be built on. We must be ready to actively recruit candidates that match their districts across the country and we must do it through primaries.
So, be wary of the knee-jerk urge to rage across the country, “RINO hunting” and understand how conservatives can build a path to victory in the coming elections.
And if the Democrats think their tent is strong, I see a strong wind blowing…
