Don’t Panic

I hear all the doom and gloom. Conservatism is dead. The GOP is now a small tent and is doomed to obscurity. The Democrats are trumpeting the end of the Reagan Revolution. Socialism is being foisted on the the American people disguised as hope and change. Policies favoring abortion, homosexuality and big government are being pushed while national defense and the war against terrorism are being hamstrung. The Democrats are cocky and condescending.

There’s cause for doom and gloom but we’ll see. It hasn’t been that long since the Democrats were reeling and pundits were wondering if they would ever be able to make a comeback.

The biggest enemy to a GOP comeback is Democrat control of the mainstream media. The mainstream media has dropped any pretense to objectivity and acts as the cheerleader and mouthpiece of the Democrat party. It has truly become ridiculous. Many, many Americans are influenced by what they watch and read and pretty much take these sources at face value. What used to pass as news is slanted with innuendo and comments from so-called objective sources. But there is hope. Take a lesson from Ronald Reagan.

So how does the GOP come back?

1) Don’t panic and don’t compromise. The GOP has been hurt by abandoning their principles. Looking at post-election data and turnout stats from 2008 we see that, contrary to expectations, turnout was only marginally greater than 2004. We know African-Americans and young people showed up at significantly increased levels to vote for Obama. All things being the same turnout should have increased dramatically based on these two demographics. The final turnout was only around 1.5% higher than 2004. Why? Somebody stayed home — a whole lot of folks who would not vote for Obama but could not bring themselves to vote for John McCain. If they show up for McCain like they did for Bush you have a different horse race.

2) Get on message and stay on message. To do that you have to have a message in the first place and not fly all over the page trying to make everyone happy. Don’t worry about the mainstream media. Stop trying to compromise. Democrats think the meaning of the word compromise is Republicans doing what we want.

3) What message?

How about less government and lower taxes for everyone? Don’t be afraid when the democrats play class warfare with you. Stay on message. Let people know how much in taxes they really pay. That includes Grandma on fixed income when she pays her electric bill, phone bill or buys a gallon of gas.

How about fiscal responsibility? Obama and the dems decried Bush’s spending and now have proceeded to make him look like a Scrooge McDuck. Where’s the outcry? Oh yeah. That media.

How about being bold when dealing with social issues like abortion and the defense of marriage? Gay marriage is a great example of media bias. When Miss California defends traditional marriage she’s controversial despite the fact that most Americans agree with her.

How about separating yourself from the Democrats on National Defense and the War against Terrorism? As an aside, I hate the phrase War against Terror. Terror is a feeling, terrorists kill people. Big difference.

How about standing up for the Constitution? Democrats love to monkey around with it. Stupid, stupid, stupid. The less we stand on our founding document the more it endangers us all.

How about taking a stand against illegal immigration? This one issue bled the GOP white over the last four years. It’s not racism to actually know what’s happening on your borders. In a post 9/11 world you would think this would be a no-brainer.

Get a message and stay on it. Their are millions of Americans who are cynical and think both parties are the same. As long as the GOP continues to wimp out and let the left define them that will continue. The Democrat Party has become the party of socialism while the GOP has been sucked into a vacuum in the middle with no real identity.

The irony is that polls show that most Americans still believe in the ideas I’ve espoused above. These are not controversial positions. They are what most have always believed. The GOP had an opportunity eight years ago and blew it.

Don’t panic Mr. Steele. The Democrats have a tough row to hoe. The challenges in the economy won’t go away. You’ll have some opportunities to make hay. When people find out how much socialism costs they won’t be happy.