Conservative Grassroots Must Reset Political Discourse
Unfortunately, outside of a truly grassroots effort to infuse that necessary element of reality back into the debate, the American people can no longer expect honest or factual deliberations from the political class, on either side of the aisle.
Between Barack Obama’s January 28 “State of the Collective” speech and his fraud ridden “interview” with Bill O’Reilly just prior to the Super Bowl, it has been once again made painfully clear to the American people that the truth itself poses the biggest obstacle to the Obama agenda, and must somehow be totally eradicated. From his perch in front of the joint session of Congress, Obama presented a rosy caricature of the current state of the nation, which is completely detached from reality. And when chatting with the insipid O’Reilly the following Sunday he bemoaned the fact that anyone could possibly contend otherwise.
To be sure, O’Reilly was able to ask a few potentially piercing questions, which could have been truly probing and enlightening had he actually pressed the issue rather than dutifully accepting Obama’s flippant and sophomoric evasions. Nor was Obama even marginally convincing as he sought to make the case that the ugliness of liberalism has somehow been conformed with his rose colored worldview. Yet in neither the State of the Union charade nor the appearance with O’Reilly, were the American people presented with an accurate admission of the drastic degradation of their lives and their freedoms, or the long term damage being methodically inflicted on their nation. And such cold indifference from Obama is most noteworthy, given that their plight should be central to any discussion of public policy.
Unfortunately, outside of a truly grassroots effort to infuse that necessary element of reality back into the debate, the American people can no longer expect honest or factual deliberations from the political class, on either side of the aisle. Liberalism has proceeded forward under a full head of steam, particularly since the 2012 re-election of Obama when its sordid principles were ostensibly embraced by mainstream America. Worse yet, since that time the Republican “opposition” has essentially collapsed, unable to muster the spine to contend against any precept of the leftist agenda, and its supposedly unstoppable groundswell of support from the public.
To hear the accounts on the nightly news, the American people have irreversibly embraced the homosexual agenda, particularly after a few activist judges asserted as much, and virtually every Hollywood outlet relentlessly asserts its “normalcy.” Likewise, the Obama/collectivist formula for America’s shining future, though proving to be a dismal failure on the crumbling streets of Detroit, and amid the collapsing economy and imploding society of urban New York and California, is nonetheless touted as an ongoing success. Those regularly repeated assurances of an economy that is “rebounding,” are invoked incessantly as evidence of the success of statism. The glaring irony seems to be lost on many that such continued repetitions over the last five years inarguably proves the opposite. Had the economy actually recovered back then or at any point since, it would not be in any need of a “rebound” now.
It is impossible to escape the fact that Obamacare is wreaking unprecedented havoc and real suffering on the American people, inflicting massive job losses, causing formerly full-time workers to be relegated to part-time positions since employers simply cannot afford the massive cost increases of health insurance for their full time staff, and failing miserably to actually provide any needed access to medical services. And in a larger sense, this burgeoning debacle daily reveals itself to be but a single example of the wholly predictable failures of the collectivist state, with similarly disastrous endeavors ensuing anywhere else ideologically obsessive leftists can seize the reins of power. Obama’s equally despicable “Common Core” assault on education (Consider it “Obamacare” in the classroom) portends as much harm to the nation’s schools as his delusional scheme to become the nation’s doctor.
Were Republicans in Washington ever truly interested in reversing and repairing the damage done to America by the left, they would recognize that conditions have never been better for them to present real conservatism as the worthy alternative to the current mess. Unfortunately, their behavior proves beyond any doubt that they are likewise ultimately motivated by something other than any concern for the people on Main Street.
Faced with so momentous an opportunity to highlight the stark contrast between the nation’s former greatness and the present downward spiral of liberalism, and rapidly approaching the 2014 mid-term elections which could deal a death blow to liberalism, where are the Republicans focusing their efforts? Certainly not on winning the day or saving the country, but instead on selling out the American people by instituting amnesty for the thirty million or so illegal aliens residing within the nation’s borders.
In like manner, with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, the one-time great hope of the GOP Establishment increasingly mired down in scandal, they are intently regrouping and seeking to light a political fire for some other party retread, such as former Florida Governor Jeb Bush or even Mitt Romney. Where is Bob Dole when they really need him?
Do Republican insiders really believe that this is the means to secure their party’s future? Faced with Barack Obama’s collectivism on one hand, and treacherous Republican efforts at implementing amnesty on the other, anyone who is not truly angry at the lack of worthwhile options is also not truly conservative.
Nevertheless, real prospects for a restoration of the nation do indeed exist. Though the harm currently being dealt to the nation may take a long time to repair (or, in the case of amnesty, may indeed be irreversible), the window of opportunity to confront these looming dangers remains open, at least for a while. And as was proven in the 2010 electoral landslides of the Tea Party, sufficient strength and energy exist out in the Heartland to bring about authentic changes in the political landscape.
However, in order for this to transpire, a few immutable rules must be recognized and rigorously upheld. First, the effort will require an unshakable commitment to principle. Candidates must remain resolute in the face of an inevitably blistering and fraudulent campaign, from both political parties, to discredit and marginalize the movement. Secondly (and this is by far the most important element) a real victory by the conservative grassroots must be understood as a single step in the right direction, which portends eventual improvements to come, but does not by any means guarantee them.
Conservative groundswells of the past, such as the landslides of 1994 and 2010, were unwittingly forfeited, since in the glowing aftermath of decisive victory, the mandates they represented were laid at the feet of Establishment Republicans, who then proceeded to completely squander them. America’s dire plight cannot be fixed with “bipartisanship” and “reaching across the aisle” to Democrats whose political fortunes are invested in its demise.
It is the coalescing strength of Americans which can and should stand against the ineptitude and deception of the political class, and by remaining fixed on the truth set the nation on its proper course once again.
Christopher G. Adamo is a lifelong conservative from the American Heartland. He has been involved in grassroots and state-level politics for many years, seeking to restore and uphold the Judeo-Christian principles on which our Nation was founded. His book, "Rules for Defeating Radicals," is the "Go To" guide for effectively confronting and overcoming the dirty tricks of the political left. It is available at Amazon.
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