THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume XI, Issue # 120, May 9, 2009
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
WILL THE GOP FOLLOW THE "MODERATES" INTO OBLIVION?
By Christopher G. Adamo
A CONSISTENTLY LOSING REPUBLICAN STRATEGY IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS: A REPUBLICAN
"STRATEGY" TO WHICH THE PARTY'S "MODERATE" (THAT IS, LIBERAL) MEMBERS DOGGEDLY CLING, DESPITE ELECTION
RESULTS THAT HAVE BEEN CONSISTENTLY DISASTROUS OVER THE YEARS -- ATTEMPTING TO MOVE THE REPUBLICAN
PARTY & ITS CANDIDATES TO THE POLITICAL CENTER & FIND COMMON GROUND WITH THE POLITICAL LEFT -- AMERICAN
CONSERVATIVES & THE FUTURE OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY -- RENEWED REPUBLICAN PARTY VITALITY & THE CHARACTER
OF PARTY LEADERS -- WILL GOP LEADERS CONTINUE TO LISTEN TO DISCREDITED "MODERATE EXPERTS" & CONSIGN THEIR
PARTY TO PERMANENT MINORITY STATUS, OR WILL THEY SEIZE THE MOMENT ON BEHALF OF TRADITIONAL AMERICA &
RIDE IT TO VICTORY?
FULL STORY:
Republican stalwarts are fond of recalling the 1992 Democratic National
Convention, and the manner in which Bob Casey Sr., the Governor of
Pennsylvania, was prevented from giving a speech on account of his strident
pro-life, anti-abortion views. Here was the incontrovertible proof that Democrats censor
and oppress those who do not toe the party line.
What is rarely recalled is that, four years later in the Republican National
Convention, the official party policy was to avoid any mention whatsoever of
the entire abortion issue. GOP presidential candidate Bob Dole sought to sidestep
controversy that party insiders feared might be overly “divisive,” since
that is how the major media and the Democrats portrayed defining moral
issues such as abortion. With the Conservative base thoroughly dispirited by
this and a host of similar actions, Dole lost that race, leaving the
Republicans to flounder for another four years.
Dole’s fate was consistent with the pattern of Republican presidential
candidates and their regard for Conservatism in general. Those who boldly
and unabashedly carried the Conservative “torch” have done well, while any
who attempt to “move to the political Center” and “find common ground” with the political Left
will be abandoned by Conservative voters. John McCain, while claiming to do
both, succeeded at neither. And his electoral results proved it.
Herein lies the picture of a losing Republican “strategy” to which its
Liberal members doggedly cling, despite results that have been consistently
disastrous over the years. Every attempt to water down the GOP platform, in
a futile quest to widen its appeal, has had exactly the opposite effect.
Seeking to portray themselves as standing for everything, such self-serving
Party insiders are rightly recognized as standing for nothing.
Nevertheless, an infuriatingly effective ruse from media Liberals and
Democratic Party political hacks has been to convince congressional Republicans to
“moderate” their position (read: accommodate the Liberal agenda). When voters exhibit their
outrage by abandoning such Republicans at the polls, those same Liberal Leftist Democrats
assert loudly that the Republican Party is still “too Conservative” and thus needs to
drink more of the poison that has been killing it. Cowardice, whether in day
to day life or in the political arena, is by definition easy to manipulate.
Thus the most timid Republicans can be counted upon to follow this lead.
Arlen Specter’s recent official abandonment of the Republican Party (as
opposed to the unofficial manner in which he has been doing so for years)
provides a powerful case in point. Since Specter made his announcement to
switch to the Democrats, Liberal activists such as James Carville have
predictably insisted that the move represents undeniable proof of an
excessively narrow governing philosophy among the Republicans. Thus, we are
told, the only winning strategy is for the GOP to move even further Left, in
order to accommodate the likes of Specter.
“Conventional wisdom,” stubbornly promoted by the ruling class on both sides
of the aisle, insists that the ultimate purpose of a political party is to
get its members elected to office. In truth, such a notion represents
defining evidence of a party in decline. The founding purpose of a political
party is always to advance a particular set of ideas. The chances of those
ideas being adopted as public policy will increase with greater popular
support and the strength that lies in numbers; hence, a political party is established to
move the particular banner forward.
Unfortunately, at some point along the way, those doing the moving and
shaking inevitably shift their focus from “the cause” to their own fortunes,
at which point the true political philosophy or ideology that undergirded their formation into a
political party is likely to take a back seat to the presumed pragmatism of the
moment.
It is at this juncture that the present day Republican Party is completely
foundering, and will continue to do so, unless its reins can be seized by a
cabal of true Conservatives who are neither willing to accept a thoroughly
biased view of the world as presented on the nightly news, or cowed by the
inevitable personal attacks against them from the Left. Efforts to make the
Party more appealing by mimicking the Democrats will neither ingratiate the
Party to the news anchors nor inspire voters to rally to it. Who could be
expected to derive inspiration from a cheap imitation of the Hard-Left, when
the real thing is readily available from the Democrats?
It is wholly frustrating to the Conservative base that the road to
Republican victory lies so blatantly in front of myopic Party insiders, yet
they refuse to recognize it. In the wake of Bill Clinton’s 1992 electoral
mandate with its “resounding” forty-eight percent of the vote, Newt Gingrich
rallied the Republican Party to adopt a Conservative manifesto known as the “Contract
With America.” Despite media coverage that was universally disparaging,
Gingrich led the Republicans to a stunning victory in the 1994 mid-term congressional
elections.
Had Gingrich remained true to his principles, he may well have thoroughly
routed the Democrats, including Bill Clinton, in 1996. It was only when he,
as House Speaker, along with then Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole,
essentially validated Clinton’s fiscally excessive policies by caving in to
him on the 1995 budget showdown that Republican momentum was rebuffed.
A similar opportunity exists for Republicans now, if a sufficient number
have the courage and forthrightness to recognize and seize upon it.
Americans are no more enthused at the prospect of Republican “cooperation”
with the political Left than they were in 2006 or 2008. And despite media stories to
the contrary, a considerable backlash against the severe overindulgences of
the Obama administration looms.
Whether or not that sentiment ever coalesces into a renewed Republican
vitality will depend solely on the character of Party leaders, who can
either listen to the discredited “moderate experts” and consign themselves
to permanent minority status, or seize the moment on behalf of traditional
America and ride it to victory.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
American Politics, Political Competition, & the Control of
Public Policy: Elections, Political Parties, Political Factions,
Ideologies, Special Interest Groups, & Political Corruption
The American Political System:
Politics & Government in the U.S.A.
The American Political & Cultural Left:
Liberals, Statists, Socialists, Marxists, & Other Leftists:
The Democratic Party, Academia, & the Mainstream Media
Liberalism Versus Conservatism in American Politics
-------------------------
POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY & POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES:
COMPETING SYSTEMS OF POLITICAL THOUGHT
Conservatism
Traditional Conservatism: Questions & Answers
Conservatism: Attitudes, Types, & Present Status
Constitutional Conservatism: American & British
Liberalism
Classical Liberalism: Intellectual Foundations
Classical Liberalism: Conservative Liberalism
Manchester Liberalism & Social Darwinism
Modern Social "Liberalism": Statist "Liberalism"
Radical & Totalitarian Ideologies
Radicalism, Utopianism, & Totalitarianism
Christopher G. Adamo is a freelance writer and staff writer for the New
Media Alliance. He lives in southeastern Wyoming. He has been active in
local and state politics for many years and is a managing partner in Best
American Buy (www.bestamericanbuy.com), an e-commerce business that markets
products exclusively made in America. His contact information and archives
can be found at www.chrisadamo.com
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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Conservative Government Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity