what can we do?

Michael writes:

I wish that, for the purposes of a more complete discussion, and to hopefully propel this mission in the direction of "what can we do?", you would also bring up the GOP (particularly the previous administration). This needs to be addressed. Without that frame of reference, the debate defaults back to Republicans vs. Democrats.

First, the debate will always be between Republicans and Democrats.  Our entire political process is structured around majorities, so a party's only hope for power is a platform that can appeal to a critical mass of voters. 

Even if the Republican party goes away, the alternative is some other party with similar planks, all the same voters, most of the same politicians, new leadership, and a new name.  You can achieve the same thing a lot less painfully -- and with a lot less damage to the country -- by simply replacing the GOP leadership from within.

It starts with education.  We need more right-leaning voters to see beyond the Republican agenda.  We need them to see the principles of liberty -- to actually understand the underlying ideas behind beliefs most people already hold.  In short, we need enlightenment.  Not another Age of Enlightenment with new ideas, but simply a new awareness of the same ideas.  Those principles are not simply the abandoned tooling that once shaped our Constitution; they are still woven throughout its fabric to this day.  And they are not some fad whose time has passed -- they are truths which, while capable of being forgotten, never stop being true.

Governing comes with conflicts of interests.  Any man can make laws to secure his position, or to benefit himself or his cronies financially.  And only an educated electorate can tell the difference.  We need an electorate who can put the right people in.  And sometimes we even need it to reject perfectly capable -- highly electable -- candidates who are simply there for the wrong reason.  We're not trying to get our people to win -- we want our ideas to prevail.

It is about Republicans vs. Democrats.  But the question is whether we rally behind ideas to help these particular Republicans win (like "appealing to moderates"), or whether we communicate conservative libertarian values that resonate naturally with all honest people who simply want proper credit for their labor, ultimately leading to the selection of better candidates.

We need the Republicans to win, but not necessarily these Republicans.  The goal is not to tailor John McCain's message until he can steal enough liberals from the Democrats to win.  The goal is to educate enough Republicans to ensure that a conservative wins primaries -- a conservative who can turn out conservative votes from within even the bluest of blue districts.

In short, we need an overhaul  that leaves all the "moderate" Republicans -- including populists like McCain -- vying for seats as the blue dog Democrats they really are.

Comments

[Michael]

Well said; thank you for the thoughtful response!

[Hank Rearden]

Politicians in general today make me wish lady liberty had been given a sword and a shield to go with her book and torch.

[R Brown]

Sadly, there hasn't been a Conservative Republican I have been enthusiastic about voting for in a really long time, even in local races. The inverse however is just too appalling to consider so the Republicans almost always get my vote by default.
We *do* need a viable third party, but losing otherwise Republican votes to go to a conservative party will only lead to more Democrat majorities. To me, this makes it a non-starter. The better hope is as you said - getting conservative Republicans winning primaries to force a change from within the party. Easier said than done I'm afraid.

[ConservativeLibertine]

You are right Hank. Where is Ragnar Danneskjöld when you need him!

[Hank Rearden]

There's a great business idea.
Danneskjold Repossessions Ltd.

[Randy Dagwood]

Thanks! I am a long time follower of your posts. Always enlightening and much appreciated. My first time commenting.

What struck me about this discussion were the comments about education and an educated electorate. Much was made about Obama indoctrinating our children with his address to students in September. But we as a nation have allowed a progressive liberal agenda to seep into our classrooms unabated for decades now. The fruits of which are the under fifty year old "moderate republicans" who elected Obama a year ago. And what truly boggles me is that they don't even fathom the damage they were causing.

The Education System in the US is a slow and steady elimination of an independent intelligent electorate. And that is by design.