A few days after the election, Conservative leaders met, quietly, in Virginia to draw up battle plans for the fight against Obama and the leftward sprint of Congress. This meeting is said to be the first of many such confabs over the next few weeks. It there was just one topic of discussion I would suggest for them it would be whether conservatives should remain in the GOP or break free and form their own party. You can find the story here:
I'm not privy to what was actually talked about, or discussed, but my fervent hope is that they talked of creating a new conservative political party and pulling all conservatives out of the Republican Party.
Yes, once again, the conservatives are the scapegoats of the GOP for their bungling of the 2008 presidential election. From the viewpoint of someone on the outside looking in, the McCain campaign was, perhaps the worse run campaign I have ever seen in my nearly 7 decades on this planet. It was truly awful. The bluebloods and country club set, the liberals and moderates, made the decision to put John McCain on the ticket as a conservative candidate. See, the first thing you have to understand is … conservatives recognize one another. NONE of us recognized John McCain as a conservative, simply because he is not! So, we conservatives balked. The few conservatives who DID vote for McCain held their noses as they did so.
How many times have you read my scribbling in which I have stated, flat out, that it is impossible for a republican candidate to win a presidential election without the conservative vote? Back in the days of my broadcast commentaries it was a constant theme. It remains today as a thread running throughout all my writings. And yet… McCain tried it … and failed. When conservatives pour their time, talent, money, and most importantly, their zeal and fervor, into a campaign that campaign has the forward momentum of a racecar and the strength of a bulldozer. McCain's campaign had none of this. Observing the McCain campaign was akin to watching a car rust!
So, if the so called leaders of the conservative movement want to do something worthwhile they can lead us (the conservatives) out of the GOP and into our own party. I am tired of being the whipping boy for the upper crust within the Grand Old Party. I have had it. They don't know conservatives until they want our vote or our money.
Understand this, my friends on the left, the conservative movement did not lose on November 4th, the moderates and liberal republicans lost. Harry Truman once said: "Give the voters a choice between a fake republican and a real republican and they'll choose the real republican every time." Of course, the same thing can be said of democrats. That's what happened on November 4th. The only conservative near the campaign was Sarah Palin… and by many accounts … she was not welcomed by the McCain Camp.
If conservatives ever hope to climb to the top of a political party, and really control that party, they/we are going to have to have our own party. It's a simple as that.
I know it's tough. I know it will take a long time to organize and get candidates on the ballots in all 50 states, but I see no other alternative short of remaining where we are, in the GOP, serving as a doormat for the party's elite upper crust composed of moderates and liberals.
I had rather put my time and talents toward a party with a platform I believe in, and candidates I believe in, and lose every time than continuing to do that very same thing for the GOP only to be sneered at, and told to go to the back of the bus.
Conservatives need national leadership at the top. We haven't a declared leader, or an elected leader ... at all. There is no single conservative we can rally around and declare the "Top Dog" today. At the moment, the conservative movement is like a ship's crew without a captain/navigator. We can sail the ship but we can't plot the course.
One thing is crystal clear, however, conservatives cannot remain in the Republican Party and ever expect to have the respect of the party, nor the chance to lead the party on a conservative course. Our only hope to effect conservative change on the US Government is with our own party.
J. D. Longstreet is a conservative Southern American (A native sandlapper and an adopted Tar Heel) with a deep passion for the history, heritage, and culture of the southern states of America. At the same time he is a deeply loyal American believing strongly in "America First".
He is a thirty-year veteran of the broadcasting business, as an "in the field" and "on-air" news reporter (contributing to radio, TV, and newspapers) and a conservative broadcast commentator.
Longstreet is a veteran of the US Army and US Army Reserve. He is a member of the American Legion and the Sons of Confederate Veterans. A lifelong Christian, Longstreet subscribes to "old Lutheranism" to express and exercise his faith.
In addition to appearing at WEBCommentary, J.D. Longstreet's articles are posted as:
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