Suicidal Republicans

Get over it. That’s what pundits and members of the Republican establishment are saying to Conservatives. It is John McCain’s turn and he is going to be our nominee. You need to get on board and stop whining. There’s a certain amount of truth to that, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. Establishment Republicans are calling true Conservatives who cringe at having McCain as the anointed candidate suicidal and Kamikaze Republicans. Cute, but that’s the pot calling the kettle black.

Let’s get something straight. I will not be casting a ballot for Obama or Clinton, even if it means voting for John McCain. However, establishment Republicans who refer to us as suicidal need to look in the mirror. They are the ones who committed suicide, not real Conservatives. Wait a minute—they committed murder, not suicide. Ok, maybe it’s attempted murder, because God willing, the Conservative cause will never die. Death of the Conservative cause will be the death of America. Why do I say murder? Because, in the absence of the unlikely event that Obama will be properly vetted before the election, or some major world event happens to change the election dynamics, the nomination of John McCain virtually assures that an uninformed citizenry will elect one of the most unqualified candidates ever to run for the presidency—not to mention the most liberal. Barack Hussein Obama. I find myself pulling for Hillary to win the nomination—then I lose my lunch.

A McCain presidency is infinitely better than an Obama or Hillary presidency. So should we just shut up and rally around his candidacy and do everything we can to help him defeat them? Yes and no. We should do everything possible to help him win, but isn’t this a good time to state our objections to the attempted murder—while the spotlight is on the campaign? Can we complain while we work for his election? Can we address what we consider to be very serious problems within the Republican Party without being called suicidal? I think so. Now is the time.

Let’s consider what the party has done to itself and how Conservatism is part of the collateral damage of this monumentally stupid mistake by establishment Republicans.

It is inarguable that Americans are thirsty for change. Witness the empty-headed adulation of adoring crowds that follow rock-star Obama everywhere he goes. They emote over profound words like future vs. past, up vs. down, forward instead of backward, and most of all, change. The man never utters a substantive word. He has no substantive accomplishments in his life. He doesn’t have to. He is half-black, half-white, had two Muslim fathers, a white atheist mother (or at least agnostic), and belongs to a church whose leader is a stated admirer of Louis Farrakhan. Even if he wasn’t articulate and likeable, he embodies change. Unwitting Americans are so hungry for change that that they are willing to sacrifice everything at the altar of change for change’s sake, to ignore dangerous facts about a candidate in order to prove that we are ready to embrace diversity. Their only complaint is that they hate they were offered two agents of change at once--the first woman president, and the first half-black president. An abundance of wonderful change.

In this environment of ravenous thirst for change, what do the Republicans offer? John McCain—a man who embodies the status quo as much as anyone possibly could. Oh, we will expound upon his maverick status to try to appeal to moderates and independents, but it won’t work. They will be voting for Obama. Why? Because they want change. You know what? So do I. I am dying for change in America. We had a chance to nominate one of the most qualified men to ever run, a man who stood for change, but we opted for a Washington insider. We need change badly, but I will not be voting for a candidate because of a buzzword.

So what do Conservatives want in the way of change? The list is long, but one fundamental change is required. Congress is badly broken and I believe that the only real way to fix it is term limits. I believe that the Republican Party should have voluntary term limits as part of its platform. All candidates should take a pledge to serve only two terms in the Senate or four terms in the House. Maybe it will spark the need for a constitutional amendment allowing term limits. Now, that change would be more than a catchy phrase. Term limits makes change a verb rather than a noun. Congressmen would have to actually live under the laws they pass. They might even have to live under Social Security, for example. They might have to make a payroll or earn their pay. Can you imagine the look of despair that would come over the face of Ted Kennedy, for example, when he is told that his time is up—when he is told that people will no longer bow and scrape to his power and will start treating him for what he is. Bloated, corrupt fat cats have become the rule rather than the exception in Congress. Young, idealistic Conservatives (and yes, Liberals) have little chance in the system of seniority they must labor under. The old, the fat, the alcoholic, the power-hungry, and the corrupt rule the halls of Congress. “Get on board or get run over, Son.”

Is there a part of me that wants the establishment punished for giving us John McCain? Not enough to settle for Obama or Clinton. Still, lets rise up and learn from this. If not, we must have our own party. I am a Conservative first, a Republican second.