Classic Common Sense November 8th, 2008

The 2008 election was one of the most radical ideological shifts in American history and was a devastating loss for Republicans. They are now starting to suffer the political consequences Despite what the left claims, the Republican Party only needs to make a few quick changes to regain control in national politics. With a few long term adjustments, the Republicans can make the inroads of a long term majority.

Here is a list of changes that the Republicans need to do:

1. Kick out the aging Neocons. The main reason the Republicans even lost this election was because of the legacy of Neoconservative movement which advocated large deficit spending, the expansion of government, big brother police state tactics, and preemptive war in the ill fated attempt to fight off the lax morality of the 1960’s generation and moral relativism. Examples of Neoconservatives are John McCain, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, William Kristol, and several other liberals who have disguised themselves as Republicans. If someone wants to vote for a liberal they will (and should) vote Democrat because they are least honest about being liberal. In fact the majority of seats the Republicans lost in Congress were those of moderate/liberal Republicans. These last two elections are a message that the American do not put up with the Neoconservative war/fear mongering garbage that they preach to the public. These people hurt the conservative cause and the reputation of the party among voters, so the best bet is to vote these people out of office at every level, even if it means more short term losses to the Democrats.

2. Give up the abortion debate. Republicans can still be socially conservative, but abortion is here to stay whether you like it or not. Even in South Dakota (dark red state) abortion bans easily fail. Many women vote Democrat vote solely because of the abortion issue and young people tend to be either pro-choice or don’t have a stance on this issue. The right can still be in favor of life and personally choose to not have abortions themselves, but it is pointless and politically damaging to Republicans. South Dakota, one of the most red states in the union, consistently votes down propositions to ban abortion. However, issues such as parental notification for minors, state funding of abortions, and partial birth abortion are still worth pursuing, but abortion will not be outlawed anytime soon. Pro-life advocates need to just let God judge people who have abortion under His scrutiny and not use government to coerce people into moral behavior.

3. Do not nominate Sarah Palin in 2012. Due to her selection as John McCain’s VP nominee, she seems to be the early favorite for the 2012 nomination. However, it would be a bad decision to do so. I like some of her ideas about energy and restoring personal and fiscal responsibility to government and society, but her fundamentalist views on science and lack of foreign policy knowledge. She is easy picking for the liberal media and still shares the idea with the Neocons of the Middle East being some sort of liberating crusade for the US military (her “Iraq is God’s war” quote). She can stick to governing Alaska, where she has done a good job and leave the presidency to someone else. Possible 2012 candidates: Bobby Jindal? Mitt Romney? Tom McClintock? and unknown free market conservative/libertarian who will come into national prominence? Who knows at this point?

(Even more true now that she resigned as governor)

4. Break away from evangelicals. Since the Republicans are the only socially conservative party, why do they give the religious right so much leverage? Its not like they will vote Democrat if the Republicans give up advocating backwards policies like teaching creationism alongside evolution in public schools. The influence makes the party seem exclusive and intellectually backward. Removing this stigma and going back to being the party of reason and common sense as it was in the Reagan days will bring back more moderate religious people and secular voters.

5. Take a hard, consistent stance against Illegal Immigration. Centrists, independent voters, the conservative base, legally naturalized citizens, and even the Hispanic community all oppose illegal immigration and are for tough border security. In fact, a 2006 Pew survey shows that 53% of the Hispanic community is for the deportation of illegal immigrants and they are some of the most passionate opponents of amnesty. The problem with the Republicans as currently constructed is that the party is split in half on this issue with neocons and wealthy farm owners supporting amnesty and open borders while conservatives oppose it. Farmers make up less than 1% of the population, and make more money than the average American, yet they always try to use government to bend the rules in their favor (such as illegal immigrant labor and subsidies).

6. Bring back fiscal responsibility and sound money. Before the Bush Administration, Republicans were regarded as being fiscally responsible and the party that cut taxes and spending. Republicans also made the US a better environment for business and often were voted in office to bolster the economy by freeing up the markets to the people. However, the Bush Administration used government to send the economy into a tailspin by hiring Hank Paulson and Ben Bernanke who curently are sewing the seeds for a hyperinflationary depression. What the Republicans need to do now is advocate massive cuts in spending across the board including entitlements, social security, medicare, and defense spending (by keeping the majority of troops in the US and retiring as the world’s police man. However, military research and development is still a top priority). Also, we need to return to sound money. Republicans need to take a universal stand against the federal reserve and for the gold standard so the dollar actually maintains value. With sound money, our economy can recover as a healthy economy based on savings and production instead of the house of cards it is now based on debt and consumption.

7. Once in office actually “Walk the Walk”. This was the problem with the Republican Congress from 1994-2006. Once Bush got in, they got drunk with power and compromised their stances and issued earmarks for reelection. As a result, they voted in big government legislation such as the Patriot Act, No Child of Left Behind, and the Prescription Drug bill for Seniors instead of cutting spending and repealing government programs. The ironic thing is this type compromising actually loses politicians election. If the Republicans want to last longer than a term in office, then they need to be consistent to conservative principles even if its politically unpopular.

I think they can clean up their act quickly. Despite every political and demographic factor heavily favoring the Democrats along with the weakest possible candidates the Republicans could have nominated, John McCain still got 47% of the vote with many conservatives (such as myself, 3rd party) and centrists not voting for him. These changes helps bring back conservatives, young voters, libertarians, civil libertarians, minorities, and the business community towards to the party. The question is now, will the Republicans get their act together and realign as a national party, or will the stubbornness of certain factions hold down the party? If the Republicans fail to reform, than they slowly regress to a regional (South and Great Plains state) force with a continuously dwindling base.