A Boston Tea Party …(Next Time)

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the greatest architect of them all? The average American citizen would answer, “I have no clue!” Republicans and conservative talk show hosts would say Karl Rove. For years he has been at icon status in Republican circles. “FOX News” has hired “the architect” as an election analyst. Talk show hosts worship his wisdom and market his guest appearances. I really don’t see what all the fuss is about.

There have been many campaign managers who have won elections for their candidates. I guess, since he is on our side he automatically becomes a genius. I am one conservative who doesn’t agree with this conventional wisdom. From my point of view anyone who can be labeled “the architect” would have to have been part of some lasting movement not be a major participant in said movement’s decline. Rove was President Bush’s political advisor after his election in 2000 through the midterms of 2006. During this time his political advice to the President as far as a conservative is concerned was often tone deaf. His advice was how to get fifty-one percent of the vote not on educating a country about the conservative cause. Why then the moniker? Logic would say President Reagan's campaign manager, Ed Rollins, deserves to be called "the architect" much more than Karl Rove. At least he was part of a movement.

It must be a “he is one of us” kind of thing. It has always been my view that the failure of those who support the conservative movement to harshly critique their own house before criticizing Democrats would cause the Republican party to lose it’s way. The Harriet Miers outrage and complete disapproval of the Bush-McCain-Kennedy immigration legislation were examples of how conservatives can keep Republicans in check. Overstating one’s conservative credentials does not help the cause.

Rove is not the only example of where this has happened. Tom Delay gets showered with compliments from the conservative talk show artists and punditry. Certainly, he like Rove did things in support of the conservative movement. He also hurt the conservative cause in a very meaningful ways. He turned earmarks into an art form, yet that is never mentioned. Delay is now saying he can’t see himself voting for John McCain for President. Maybe, a talk show host should ask him if he is holding a grudge against McCain for McCain not supporting all the wasteful spending Delay allowed as the House majority leader. Again, this will never happen because of the “he is one of us” kind of thing.

I do, however, believe the President is the head of his party and the congressional members of his party will follow his lead. Rove, as the political advisor to President Bush, played a major part in President Bush never issuing a veto on legislation from an out of control Republican Congress. During his speech at CPAC Newt Gingrich said, “I think we did President Bush a grave disservice by not being dramatically more aggressive in criticizing when they were wrong, and being more open when they were making mistakes.” Callers into the various talk shows I listen too on a regular basis are asking the hosts to be more diligent in their policing of a possible McCain administration than they were of the Bush administration. Sean Hannity has said he is no longer registering as a Republican but rather as a conservative. It seems many conservatives have found religion so to speak, refusing to be burned again. I have said for years that we have to act as intense watchdogs over the Republican Party. Imagine the influence grass root conservatives combined with the voices of Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck, Ingraham, Boortz, Medved, Reagan, and Hennen could place on Republican elected officials both local and national to govern in a conservative manner. The Democrats have moved way to the left because of pressure in their party. Why can’t conservatives do the same in the Republican Party but only in a more sensible manner?

In politics, personal friendships only go so far. Being “one of us” should not be more important than a movement. If we want to expand the conservative cause we have to educate. A major part of any education is pointing out the mistakes when they happen and not repeating them. To many people were willing to condone what was happening in Washington because they were “our guys”. We need a little less ga-ga and a more honest perspective. We can start by next time not issuing an office in the White House for a campaign manager.

A Boston Tea Part ...(Ending Is Obvious)

The Hollywood writers strike has been ongoing for three months. It has caused a delay in the viewing of my favorite television show “24”. While Jack Bauer and other television series wait for the strike to be settled, reality TV remains for our viewing pleasure. In the political world there is a wonderful reality show that will soon be grabbing all the attention. I like to call it “The Train Wreck” otherwise known as the Democratic Primaries. Yes, it is going to be another season of Democratic allegations of election fraud, cheating, and disenfranchisement except this year’s plot line exits entirely within the Democratic Party.

How ironic it is that all those allegations, about how only Republicans steal elections, will in 2008 come home to roost. The delegate count between Obama and Clinton shows Obama in the lead heading into Tuesday’s Potomac primaries. It is expected the race will remain extremely tight up to the convention. We have already seen racial and gender divisions put into play for the voting public but the bitterness should only get better. You see only Democrats would come up with a concept of super delegates, a way of making the party leadership feel like the truly elites that they are. It seemed harmless in the year 1994 when this scheme was concocted. There would never be a race close enough for these wise super delegates to decide and what a wonderful way of paying respect to such people of stature. Oops! The Democrats now stand a good chance of having these super delegates deciding their nominee. Many of these “sd’s” committed early in the process for Hillary Clinton because it was thought she would run away with the nomination. Wrong! Barack Obama may well win the most votes of the regular people and the delegates awarded based on those votes. The “sd’s” will then be left to decide whether to vote for the person who did not win the popular vote or change their allegiance. It is Bush vs Gore replayed in their own little primary season. You really can’t make this stuff up and will make “The Train Wreck” must see tv.

Any TV show or movie worth watching needs to contain a subplot or two in combination with the main plot. The subplot in “The Train Wreck” is disenfranchisement. Our wise Democratic friends thought it a very good idea to penalize the states of Michigan and Florida for moving their primaries to January by taking away their delegates. It seemed like a harmless idea at the time. Each candidate agreed not to campaign in either state. Obama and Edwards even went so far as to have their names removed from the ballots. Clinton ran against uncommitted in Michigan and then won in Florida but received zero delegates for the victories. It doesn’t take a genius to see the potential problem that exists with these votes. Democrats are experts at changing the rules of a game when the results don’t bring about the proper conclusion. Will they count the votes in Michigan and Florida for Clinton or will they have a do-over in both states? The problem with reality TV is you can’t script it; but if you could how great would it be if the nomination came down to broken chads in the state of Florida?

Over the next few months as the fight for delegates grows more intense the arguments and accusations between the Obama and Clinton factions will make “Alein vs Predator” look like a love story. The race and gender cards have been played within the party where we were told it didn’t exist. I anxiously await the next few months of “The Train Wreck”. It will be a wonderful ride but the ending is obvious. It will all have been the Republicans fault because it's in a Democrat’s genes to always remain blameless.

A Boston Tea Party ...(True in 2006)

Last week was Groundhog Day. It looks like we are headed for another six weeks of winter. Fittingly, “Groundhog Day” the movie describes what we conservatives are going through this primary season. As conservatives we seem to be forced to have to swallow our pride, suppress our anger, and tow the party line. It was like that during the midterm elections of 2006 and we are in the same spot again in the 2008 election.

The 2006 midterms seem like yesterday. Those “check pants” Republican types were governing like they were Democrats. Earmarks became the norm. We were told we were racists by the administration and Congressmen over strict immigration. Harriet Miers was nominated for the Supreme Court. Seven Republicans joined with seven Democrats to end a conservative effort to stop judicial filibusters. This was all added on top of the largest expansion of government since the New Deal with the prescription drug plan. Conservatives were left to think as Vince Lombardi once said, “What the hell is going on out there?”

It was we grass root conservatives who were most upset. Oh, we heard quiet criticisms from our well respected national and local talk show hosts but not to the level of what was going on at ground level. We had a Republican President and a Republican Congress so our criticism was supposed to be tempered. We were told as unconservative as these actions were they would only be worse if the Democrats were in charge. As the 2006 midterms inched closer grass rooters shouted they were not going to go to the polls to vote. We were saying enough is enough; the time had come to send the Republicans a message that governing like this was not acceptable.

Our leaders with the microphones scolded us. How could we let the Democrats take over power? I called Sean Hannity’s radio show and told him we needed the guys with the power, those with microphones, to start openly campaigning for open primaries where incumbent Republicans were replaced with new conservatives. I was told I was a great American but never heard the subject approached again by the host. Evidently incumbents were wonderful as long as they were Republican incumbents. I would say these hosts went so far as to try to shame us conservatives into voting. We were told we had a war to win. If Democrats took charge of Washington our troops would come home without winning. We were lectured that the Democrats would raise taxes.

Well, in 2008 just as in 2006 we have a war to win and Democrats want to settle for defeat. In 2008 as in 2006 Democrats still want to raise taxes. 2008 is a lot like 2006 in so many ways except now many of those with the microphone think it is all right to hold a grudge and not vote in November. Grover Norquist said yesterday on “Mornings in America” with Bill Bennett, the most informative show on radio, that there is a $2 trillion difference between any Democratic nominee and any Republican nominee. Our soldiers all over the world would say there is a “victory vs defeat” difference between the two nominees

If our immensely knowledgeable talking heads want to change things for the conservative movement then the day after the elections in November they should immediately campaign against all Republicans in Congress not deemed conservative worthy to be replaced by dyed in the wool conservatives. Today, this year, and for the next four years our soldiers deserve a Republican in the White House even if his name is John McCain. What was true in 2006 remains true in 2008!