I've been trying to wrap my head around this idea, and how to best express it, and then someone at Protein Wisdom linked this. What idea, you ask? Well, the idea that the GOP, or conservatives, have allowed their message to go astray. To focus all the attention on loser arguments so that our Prime Directive gets lost in the weeds. "Our" arguments are being framed and presented by liberals and their media cohorts, and they have, for all intent and purpose, set our agenda. We've been reduced to merely responding to whatever is thrown at us, constantly on the defense.
I grow a bit tired of the in-fighting on all the conservative blogs and news shows between the “social conservatives”: and the Libertarian wing of the party. Ditch abortion. Don’t ditch abortion. Move to the center. Don’t abandon principles. It’s a defeatist argument and one that really doesn’t need to be fought. The David Frums and Meghan McCains have it half right. Where they lose me is in their obvious attempts to gain approval from our enemies.
But they do have one thing right. In the current climate, many of the social issues are big losers amongst certain voter groups. The biggest bloc, and the one we have the greatest potential to turn, is women. Women tend to poll liberal on issues like gay marriage and abortion.
Now, before this turns into a two-hundred comment post with people yelling about not giving up their core principles, let me be clear. I do not advocate that the party pull left or advertise itself as “Democrat-light.” But I do advocate prioritizing the issues that form the foundation of our marketing campaign.
Yes, exactly. That last part.
But there's more!
Did the Democrats put nationalizing the banks, firing corporate CEOs, and practically making out with Hugo Chavez in their trailer? Did their poster include Obama’s embarrassing world apology tour? I think not.
Yet, we allow the media to frame the discussions and the debates. Why, for example, did most of our pundits take the bait on the Perez Hilton thing and let the media frame the arguments as an example of the gay marriage issue being debated in the public forum? That incident was about how the left stifles free speech. It was about how women are second-class citizens in the Democratic party. Every discussion of Ms. California should have been an opportunity to bring up the media’s treatment of Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton. But it wasn’t. Instead, we allowed the Democrats to cut our trailer and replace the robot on the key art with a photo of Shia LaBeouf.
The core values of the movement can be different from the marketing campaign. That’s the smart way to do it. It’s how the Democrats took over the government and it’s our only hope at taking it back.
So, what is the "Prime Directive" for conservatives?
Conservatism is all about freedom. That’s the sales pitch. Conservatives endorse freedom. We are the modern day rebels. We are the punk rockers of politics. We like to work hard and party harder. The government is “The Man.” “The Man” tries to hold you down. Anybody who wants the “safety net” of cradle to the grave government support should be ridiculed. And rightfully so.
Yep. That's it. That is the CORE value of conservatives. OUTLAW! FIGHT THE POWER.
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