An Open Letter to Ronna McDaniel, RNC Chair

Dear Ms. McDaniel:

As I’m sure you’re aware, there was talk of Donald Trump abandoning the Republican Party and forming a new “Patriot Party,” but instead he chose to focus his post-presidential activities on winning the House and Senate back from Democrats in 2022.

While Trump never publicly stated his desire to form a new political party, there mere idea that he was mulling it over should come as no surprise to anyone. Trump won the White House in 2016 despite a not-insignificant number of Republicans publicly opposing him and his candidacy. Trump’s leadership of the party and the country throughout his four-year term was met with withering resistance from these Republicans in concert with the Democrats; indeed, it was a wayward Republican senator that dramatically cast the deciding vote against repealing the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare.

Then, a virtual tsunami of voting and election irregularities started becoming evident even before Election Day 2020.  States implemented changes to their election processes not by legislative action as the state constitutions demanded, but by fiat and judicial decree. Big Media deliberately blacked out any real mention of Hunter Biden’s shady foreign dealings. Numerous sworn depositions were taken from election officials, postal workers and others, recounting blatantly illegal actions they witnessed in attempting to unfairly tip the scales in favor of the Democrat candidate. Significant statistical improbabilities were seen in the vote counting. Chain-of-custody documentation was incomplete or missing entirely. Pristine and uniformly-marked mail-in ballots without creases were counted. The list goes on.

What was the Republican reaction?  Not much. No calls for a special counsel, no loud demands for investigations, nothing. It seemed that most Republicans were happy to unconditionally accept the results of the election and welcome Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States.

Here we are months later, and there’s still been no attempts by our representatives in government to provide We the People with answers to, or explanations for, most of the anomalies that were observed around the election. This ho-hum response from elected officials on both sides of the aisle enraged Republican voters and even some Democrats. Voters on both sides of the aisle have lost confidence in our electoral process and believe the election was rigged.  Not only this loss of trust unacceptable, but it is poisonous.

The culture and politics of the United States continue to creep ever leftward. In the last decade or two it’s been more of a brisk walk than a slow crawl. One key reason for this is disciplined Democrats successfully executing a long-term strategy, infiltrating many of the nation’s institutions of mass influence -- such as education, media, and entertainment -- and polluting them with leftist ideologies. Millions of Americans are tired of this and believed Donald Trump was the man who could lead the party in the direction necessary to reverse this longtime trend.

Could he have been successful with the strong support of fellow Republicans? We’ll never know. What we do know is that he didn’t have that support.

Republicans have been embarrassingly ineffective at slowing or stopping this leftward slide towards the abyss. If there is any hope for the Republican party to remain viable and strong, you and your leadership team need to broaden your focus beyond fundraising and come up with a successful strategy to address this erosion, sooner than later. If you don’t, there will be more talk and eventually action to create a new party that will address this problem, and the Republican party will join the Whigs in the dustbin of history.

The Necessary Civil War

"[They are] lemmings with suicide vests…They have to be more than just a lemming. Because jumping to your death is not enough."

"I was correct in my analysis, and I'd say a lot of those folks were not correct in theirs."

"Barack Obama set the trap. Some congressional Republicans walked into it. As a result, the president is stronger, the GOP is weaker, and Obamacare is marginally more popular. ...  It's time Republicans remembered that bad tactics produce bad outcomes."

"If anybody should be kicked out, it's probably those Republicans—and not Speaker Boehner—who are unwilling to keep the promises they made to American people."

As you've probably figured out, these are recent quotes by politicians.  All of them are Republicans talking about...other Republicans.

No matter your political views, if you've been paying any attention at all you know that there have been some epic battles in Washington lately. While some have been between Republicans and Democrats, the worst have been within the Republican party between the establishment politicians who shy away from rocking the boat and the rabble-rousers known as the Tea Party caucus.

The emergence of the Tea Party movement began during Bush's final years in office, as voters and pundits began to frown on his push for taxpayer bailouts of big banks and the auto industry, a nearly trillion-dollar stimulus package in the form of government spending, and encouraging lawmakers to pass yet another amnesty for another 12 million illegal aliens.

The movement gained momentum during the run-up to the 2008 general election, fueled by a segment of the Republican electorate furious that the party could find no better representative than John McCain to run against the Democrats' rock-star candidate, Senator Barack Obama.  Predictably, McCain was handily beaten on Election Day despite an inexperienced but conservative Sarah Palin balancing out the ticket.

Facing at least two years of one-party Democrat rule, conservative voters had reached the end of their rope.  They were sick of watching both parties spend our tax dollars like drunken sailors and growing the scope and reach of the federal government while ignoring fundamental Constitutional responsibilities to ensure the rule of law and to keep our borders secure.

Stories of angry conservative voters venting their anger at their representatives at town hall meetings started emerging.  New faces began to appear on the political landscape.  Men and women that shared the sentiment that the Republican party had lost its way and needed an overhaul.  America was introduced to Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Scott Walker, Bobby Jindal, Michelle Bachmann, Mike Lee, Chris Christie, and others.

The successes started piling up immediately.  In a nasty Wisconsin fight, newly-elected Gov. Scott Walker beat back the powerful teachers' union in order to restore some fiscal sanity to his state's public education programs and prevailed in a subsequent recall election.  Chris Christie was elected to govern liberal New Jersey, where he also claimed victory against unions there.  In Texas, former Solicitor General Ted Cruz faced the state's not-unpopular David Dewhurst in a primary election to the U.S. Senate and rode his message to victory, easily beating his Democrat opponent and running on Tea Party principles of smaller, Constitutional federal government, less spending, and a strong free market (note the lack of anything even remotely related to race or ethnicity).

The establishmentarians took notice.  Some Republicans cautiously began shifting their positions to align with the Tea Party while others bet that the status quo and going-along-to-get-along would look better to voters...many of whom had been disgusted with Congress for many years for its ineptitude in moving the country in the right direction.

The 2012 general election proved to be another disaster.  The Republican nominee, Mitt Romney, lost the election in spectacular fashion.  It would be another four years of Obama, with Republicans holding on to a slim majority in the House.  It seems the lessons of 2008 and 2010 had not yet been learned.

In September of this year, the government was running out of money to operate and was quickly approaching the limit of its authority to borrow money.  This was the fight that the Tea Party had been salivating over for years.  It would use these two critical items to extract concessions on Obamacare from the Democrats during negotiations.  Since Republicans controlled the House, from which spending bills originate, they would craft bills that granted the necessary continuing budget resolution and a temporary increase to the debt limit while removing any funding for Obamacare.

The president would have none of it.  He indicated that there would be no negotiations on the continuing resolution or the debt ceiling.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid declared the House bill dead on arrival in the Senate, as he would do with every single bill floated by Republicans.

As days went by, Democrats stuck to thier guns and refused negotiations with Republicans and cracks began to appear in the Republican resolve.  Ted Cruz stood before the Senate pleading his case for 21 hours straight in a futile attempt to garner enough support to force negotiations.  The Democrats held firm as more and more Republicans waved white flags, ready to acquiesce to all of Obama's demands. 

The deadline for the continuing resolution came and went, and the government "shut down" (about 13% of it, anyway).  As barricades went up at national parks and monuments across the country, the Democrats kept pounding away by ensuring the mainstream media carried the narrative that Republicans were responsible.  The ignorant public bought it just like Dems counted on them doing.

More Republicans folded like dollar store card tables.  Hoping to be seen as trying to restore normalcy, they, too, scrambled for every camera and microphone they could find in order to blast the Tea Party strategy.  More bills were floated with fewer and fewer Republican demands, until more than two weeks after the shutdown, the Democrats claimed victory while the Republicans walked away with their asses in their hands, and without a single concession.

The Great Republican Implosion of 2013 will go down in history as one of the greatest political embarrassments of all time.

I was disgusted.  How could this happen?  How could Republicans have pissed away such a golden opportunity?  How could they have allowed the narrative that it was their fault to go unchallenged?  After all, it was Obama and the Democrats that steadfastly refused to negotiate.  13 separate proposals to end the standoff were drawn up by Republicans that were all shot down by Democrats.  The president refused to have his signature legislation, which is still unpopular with the majority of Americans, impeded in any way.  And Republicans caved.  The battle was senselessly lost.

But, the war goes on.  It's a war for the future of our nation.  Republicans MUST be the party of  Constitutional governance, fiscal responsibility and the Rule of Law...nobody else is going to do it!  Our country simply cannot continue on its current path.  Every taxpayer in America owes nearly $150,000 for his share of the national debt.  That's absolutely insane, and with recent census data showing that there are more people dependent on welfare than are in the workforce, the trajectory is only getting worse, and in a hurry.

Make no mistake, this Republican civil war is an absolute necessity.  We can only hope that it is over soon and the party emerges with strong Tea Party principles as its platform.  I think the only way that can happen is to reverse the trend of ignorance and apathy among the electorate.  Democrats desperately need people to be ignorant in order to advance their agenda, and they use their friends in the media to make sure they control what people hear. 

In addition to Tea Party principles, the Republican civil war absolutely must produce a better messaging strategy, and it needs to identify someone that can deliver that message in a way that resonates with voters.

Without a Republican party makeover that changes hearts and minds of voters, the next American Civil War will be fought not with rhetoric, bills and political capital, but with guns, tanks, and bombs.  I hope that isn't necessary, but if you think we needed hope and change before, we REALLY need it now.

He's the Guy, and Here's Why

This morning, I read a couple of opinion pieces that made me think a little bit differently about the upcoming Republican primaries and the November general election.

In Ann Coulter's weekly column, she identifies two issues she believes are critical in the 2012 elections, explains why, and goes on to break down the candidates' positions on those issues and arriving at the one candidate who she believes will do a good job with them as President.  In a rebuttal of sorts, a fellow conservative by the name of Jen Kuznicki blasts Coulter for her endorsement, asserting that she must have lost faith in the conservative ideals she has long championed, and infers that Coulter's main concerns are staying in the spotlight and selling books.

In this painfully long run-up to the 2012 elections, I have been underwhelmed and disappointed by the field of Republican candidates.  Herman Cain was my choice, but he's no longer an option.  I have problems with each of those remaining, and have a feeling it will be yet another situation where I'm having to hold my nose while casting my vote in November.  I really don't like that.  But then again, if you read my last blog installment, you know there will never be a viable candidate that lines up perfectly with my views so I just look for one that comes the closest.

Getting back to the point, if you've read my blog over the years, you also know what my number one hot-button issue is with government, policy, and politics - illegal immigration.  This happens to be one of the two issues Coulter talks about in her column, and what she says about it is spot-on.  Not only is the government's perpetual failure and indifference towards securing the borders and punishing those who are here illegally just plain wrong on it's face, it also has the effect of fundamentally changing the voter base in border states (see California) and eventually, America.

While illegals don't have the right to vote, many of them have family members here that do have that right.  And thanks to liberals fighting tooth and nail against any requirement to show valid identification in order to cast a ballot, along with help from liberal fraud machines like ACORN, illegal aliens DO vote.  And because Democrats openly support amnesty for illegal aliens and are tepid in their support of tighter border security, they typically get the votes of illegals and their legal family members.

The second issue Coulter cites is Obamacare.  We can debate the merits of this legislation until we're blue in the face, but the bottom line is that the vast majority of conservatives believe it to be a perfect example of government overreach.  A government takeover is NOT the right way to address the problems with our healthcare system - or any other problems - and we absolutely cannot let Obamacare stand.  The United States Supreme Court will hear the case against Obamacare in March, and a ruling is expected before Election Day.  In the event that the Court rules even part of it to be constitutional, it's critical that conservatives put forth a candidate for president that can appeal to undecided voters and beat Obama in the general election - otherwise, Obamacare is here to stay.  Forever.

The candidate that Coulter endorsed in her column is Mitt Romney.  Shocking, indeed, to anyone familiar with Ann Coulter.

Yes, his state healthcare legislation while governor of Massachusetts was the model for Obamacare (often referred to as Obamneycare).  But his position is that any legislation concerning healthcare should be taken up at the state level as opposed to the federal level, and he has promised to overturn Obamacare because of that.  He claims that Romneycare is popular with residents of that state even today, and it was the right thing for Massachusetts.

I don't care, because I don't live there, but that's fine and dandy if liberal Massachusetts wants to have government run healthcare.  Let them have it and pay for it, and leave me alone.  He is absolutely right that healthcare mandates are not the federal government's business any more than car insurance is (auto insurance requirements are driven by states, not the feds).

Romney is also one of only two Republican candidates that aren't fellating the business and Latino lobbies when it comes to illegal immigration and border security.  He has been steadfast in his support of E-Verify, the system that allows employers to validate prospective employees' eligibility to legally work in this country.  Aside from the un-electable Michele Bachmann, every other Republican candidate opposes the use of E-Verify.  Consequently, I automatically oppose the election of any of those candidates.  Period!

An interesting inference that Kuznicki makes in her piece is that Ann Coulter has lost faith in the American people.  This is a point that warrants some exploration, as decades of voter turnout records will tell you that the majority of Americans are apathetic about voting and politics; they simply don't care enough about what's going on around them to take a few hours every four years to study the candidates and then take fifteen minutes to cast their vote.  The last presidential election produced hordes of young, new voters thanks to a shrewd strategy by the Obama campaign, targeting a demographic whose lives rise and fall based on the latest American Idol results and wouldn't bother to look too hard at the actual issues.  While some of those voters have woken up over the years of Obama-driven misery, most have not and will likely return to the polls, blindly voting for their messiah once more.

Whether Ann Coulter has lost faith in the American people or not is irrelevant.  The People gave us Obama, so I'm not inclined to have a whole lot of faith in the majority, myself.  However, Coulter is right on the money in her latest view - it's critical to the future of this nation that we secure the border and stop illegal immigration in its tracks, or there won't be another conservative in the White House for decades. And if the Republicans don't beat Obama in 2012, Obamacare will live on and serve as the precedent for more, ever-deeper overreaches by the federal government into states' rights and into the daily lives of individual citizens.  And not even the Supreme Court will stop that, since Obama will probably have an opportunity to appoint one or two more Supreme Court justices, shifting the balance of power to the left.

So, it's Mitt Romney for president, folks.  Obama's got to go, and we just gotta hope Romney does what he says he'll do, and doesn't do what he says he won't.