We wake up this morning to the words of Bill Bennett and his article found on National Review Online (text found here ). Bennett is a little upset with Glenn Beck's CPAC keynote speech closing out a great weekend for that gathering. Record crowds attended the event. Beck was there, of course, but so were folks like Tim Pawlenty, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, and Ann Coulter.
Understand that Midknight Review sees Bill Bennett as a modern day American hero. He is more the father of the grassroots Tea Party movement than any other single individual. And while his criticisms are a lttle heavy, they are not entirely off base.
His overriding concern seems to be the notion that the Dems and the Republicans are not much different. And while that observation is without debate historically, there is the opinion that the GOP has seen "Jesus" on the issue of spending and big government.
Spending RINOs (RINO = Republican In Name Only) still roam the proverbial meadows, politicians such as John McCain, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, and President George Bush. But the leadership of the GOP is changing hands.
Conservatives have a far greater voice in things political than just one year ago. Republican leaders who have been a part of this conservative renaissance include, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan, Tom Coburn, Jim DeMint, and Mike Pence. Not enough can be said for the likes of the conservative radio world - without such giants as Limbaugh, the very partisan Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Hugh Hewitt, Laura Ingraham, and Glenn Beck [to name a few], the conservative rebellion would not be where it is today.
The battle for the heart and soul of the GOP is far from over. The RINO delegation is not about to go away. There is the increasing opinion that significant differences do exist between the Dems and the GOP. If one listens to Beck, he will understand that Beck acknowledges those differences. The two parties are far from being similar -- spending sins not withstanding.
What the Grand Old Party needs is new leadership. When a firm or a sports team develops a history of failure, the leadership is replaced. That is exactly what Midknight Review sees as necessary in this case. We do not regard all of the recent leadership as "evil" or "Marxist," but the failures of the 2004 2,006 and 2008 elections cannot be ignored. The leadership team needs to move out of the way -- and this includes the likes of Newt and Jebb Bush.
The central issue, here, is the abject failure of the current leadership to prevent the disaster of 2008. McCain was extremely unpopular as a GOP candidate. In 2002, the GOP reported elected gains in Congress. Since that time, party leadership has ignored a growing discontent within the conservative base. Contrary to popular belief, the conservative rebellion actually came to the surface during the 2006 election. Their collective voice was summarily dismissed. In 2008, many of these same conservatives made this statement: "if you want to ignore our concerns, try winning an election without us." Make no mistake , THAT is exactly why the GOP lost the most recent election. If significant changes are not made this time around, they will stay away, once again.
Of course, it does appear that this extreme action will not be necessary. Conservative opinion is winning elections and that seems to be the primary concern for some within the GOP --- winning, that is.
Understand that "winning" cannot be the controlling motivation in a party that claims conservative values and Constitutional principles as its cental focus. We as a Party cannot fear offering a choice to the American voter. In recent times, choice has been seen as something to be avoided. Acquiescence to liberal values and Marxist concerns has been the result. That time has passed. --- jds
. .
No comments:
Post a Comment