The Perspective

I suppose the time is right for me to add my voice to the cacophony of debate surrounding the results of the 2006 mid-term elections.

One of the purposes of this blog was to NOT respond to the daily knee-jerk reaction-ism of today’s political scene. There are plenty of people doing that now, and they are much better at it than I am.

As I watched the election results coming in on that Fateful Tuesday, I began to have a feeling similar to the one I had back in 1996:

America, what ARE YOU DOING?”

The feeling didn’t last long, though, because I remembered that things were different back then. The bill of goods we were being sold told us that we were enjoying the “peace dividend”.  The Gingrich Revolution had only begun and was  trying to recover from its Waterloo—the Shutdown of the Government over a balanced budget.

Sure there were good results from that time period, but the public’s perception of Congress (read: Republicans) took a hit that it would not recover from until George Bush stood on a pile of rubble in New York and told the world that “the people who did this are gonna hear from you.”

Perception becomes reality oftentimes for the American electorate. Which brings me to Fateful Tuesday.

Rather than get bogged down in statistics, I prefer to look at the Midterms through a wider-angle lens.

America, you have been sold a bill of goods.  You have been taken for fools.

This is not due to the stupidity of the American electorate, but rather it is the result of the cunning craftiness of the liberal leadership of the Democratic Party.

Without articulating a solid agenda, Democrats were able to capitalize on Republican laziness.

The liberals were able to actually frame the debate by focusing on scandal, corruption and even the media-distorted portrayal of the War on Terror in Iraq.

In short, Republicans thought they could win this election without the principles that brought them to the dance: the principles of Conservatism.

By abandoning, through their own legislation, the principles of limited government, border security, free-market capitalism, and time-tested moral values, Republicans silenced the True Voices in their own ranks and tried to campaign from a position that can best be described as “Democrat-Lite”.

(By the way, how does a former President commit adultery, while in office, and get to keep his job, yet a Congressman who sends ribald IM’s to a Congressional Page—and never touches him—has to resign???)

The Democrats saw this and fielded candidates that co-opted everything the GOP put forth.  The results should have been predictable.

Without saying what they are FOR, Democrats managed to keep everyone looking in disgust at what the GOP was (and wasn’t) doing.

Now, as the 110^th Congress prepares to convene in January of 2007,they will have to actually DO something with their newfound power.

They have said that they can do better.

OK, prove it.

They said that we need a new direction in Iraq.

OK, prove it.

They said they could make America stronger.

OK, prove it.

As the Democrats will soon find out, it is harder to actually BE THE LEADER than to constantly second-guess the leader.

After spending time doing some introspection, I have decided to give the Democrats some rope.

If they can take that rope and do something positive for America, then they will have earned my respect.

If they take that rope and proceed to hang themselves, then I will be among those that will hold them to account for their actions.

If they botch the War on Terror in Iraq, it will have happened on THEIR WATCH.

If they tank the economy, it will have happened on THEIR WATCH.

If they give us investigations instead of leadership, it will have happened on THEIR WATCH.

If they give us gridlock, it will have happened on THEIR WATCH.

If they fail to secure the borders, it will have happened on THEIR WATCH.

If gas prices go up due to windfall profits taxes, it will have happened on THEIR WATCH.

If terrorists hit this nation again, it will have happened on THEIR WATCH.

If any or all of these things happen in the next two years, be it known to ALL MEMBERS OF THE 110^THCongress:

            YOUR SEAT WILL NOT BE SAFE.

From every corner of America they will come. From every walk of life they will come.  In every polling place, in every district, in every township, in every hamlet their voices—and their votes—will be heard.

They same people who voted their disgust with the GOP on Fateful Tuesday will see that they have been duped by the Democrats, and THEY WILL BE ANGRY.

I call upon all those who dare to call themselves conservatives to stand up NOW.

Channel your anger into positive action. Harness that anger so that it does not become rage or hatred, but rather, a steely resolve that what happened on November 7, 2006 does not happen again.

Republicans lost on Fateful Tuesday, Conservatism did not.

I continue to have faith in the Greatness of America.

However, it is a sad day when the Greatness of America cannot be found in the corridors of power. It cannot be found in the halls of this nation’s leadership.

This greatness is not determined by the size of one’s paycheck. It is not defined by the title of one’s office. Greatness, however, is to be found all across this land.

It can be found:

-in the hearts of men and women who VOLUNTEER to join the military and defend this nation’s future.

-in the workers who put their shoulder to the wheel every day and make our economy strong.

-in the parents who are raising their children to become solid American citizens.

-in our teachers who work to make a difference in the lives or our children.

-in the farmer who provides food, not just for this country, but also for the world.

The person who would dare to lead us will have to recognize this greatness as well as EMBODY this greatness.

In short, that person will have to lead a MOVEMENT.

The Conservative American Ideology, properly and consistently articulated, will win the elections of 2008.

Failure to do so will seal the fate of a once-great movement.

It will be as you will, America.

The choice is yours.