I've said many times, "The trouble with conservatives is that they are conservative!" At first glance that may seem like a silly redundancy. But I assure you that there is a deeper meaning. And I doubly assure you that deeper meaning is of critical importance to the continuation of our constitutional republic.
So what does "conservative" mean? There are two generally accepted meanings of the word. First, there are the political, economic, and social policies which we identify as being "conservative." Second, there is an assortment of conservative personal characteristics that we don't usually think about. So I say, "The trouble with (the first kind) of conservatives is that they are (the second kind of) conservative!" Now perhaps my exclamation will start to make more sense.
The personal characteristics of the second kind of "conservative" include such traits as veracity, tolerance, moderation, self-discipline, compromise, sacrifice, deliberation, reason, discretion, and prudence. The conservative individual is slow to anger, politically correct, and respectful of laws and customs. He is not brash, loud, or demanding. He always prefers to act within the established framework of the system, and shuns all forms of civil disobedience. He generally likes to keep a low profile, and leads a very private life.
So what's the problem? Why do I say there is "trouble?"
This is hard for the conservative to see. He is confident and secure in his beliefs. He knows he has the right ideas about government, the economy, and social issues. He is comfortable with himself as he is, and thinks the obvious merits and historical successes of conservative policies will be enough to carry the day. But he is wrong.
In their personal lives political liberals are pretty much the opposite of the second kind of "conservative." Exceptions are few and far between. More common are leftists who act precipitously, seek publicity, and think nothing of loudly proclaiming falsehoods. These are the demonstrators with the rude signs and the participants in massive protest rallies. Civil disobedience is a venerated way of life for these liberals. They revel in boisterous disruption and shouting down their opponents. Even wealthy elite ideologues of the liberal movement enjoy a certain raucous flamboyance that conservatives do not.
The problem lies in the perception of the great masses of people who don't strongly identify with either liberals or conservatives. These are sound bite voters who probably think both major political parties and all politicians are pretty much the same. When questioned about politics they speak of candidate personalities or single issues. They seem uninformed to we who have studied the great political movements of the 20th Century which have shaped our world. Nonetheless, these are the voters who carry the elections for one side or the other. They are critically important.
The sound bite voters make their choices based on information they've heard or seen on television, in newspapers, or in magazines. Few of them listen to talk radio, and most of them do not get news from the internet. What they hear and see are primarily excited, dramatic, and forceful presentations of liberal activists and candidates. Conservatives sense an undoubtedly true bias in the media in favor of liberal causes. But it's equally true that liberals are continually offering the media opportunities that are simply more entertaining and newsworthy. Compare the headlines: "Pro Choice Rally Shuts Down Interstate," to "More Conservatives At Home Reading Ann Rand." Both arguably represent the same level of political commitment but toward which story do you think the public's interest will run?
The message is clear. To be routinely successful conservatives need to adopt different tactics. Otherwise, the conservative message will continue to be buried under the avalanche of liberal activism. We need a new breed of conservative. We need conservatives who will take to the streets, vociferously condemn liberal policies, and make life difficult for America's enemies. We need conservatives who are willing to go toe to toe with liberal activists out in public. Conservatives have been on the defensive far too long. We need to go on the offense.
The easiest way to get started is to simply steal the liberals' play book. We should do what they do, except carry the conservative message. A couple hundred screaming conservatives sitting on a driveway blocking access to a liberal senator's office would attract some attention. That's the kind of thing we need. That would be a newsworthy event and we would get noticed. If we kept doing that sort of thing soon our conservative message would start getting through to those sound bite voters. Once that happens, I'm convinced that many of them will start voting conservative. I have confidence in the correctness of conservative ideals. I just don't think our message is getting through to the masses. They see our enemies as the stronger, winning side.
Now is the time. If we are to save America as the constitutional republic that made it great we cannot wait. We conservatives have to adopt a no compromise attitude, and start making very loud noises whenever and wherever possible. Registering our votes by proxy will no longer get the job done. We have to get red faced fist waiving angry, and start pushing and shoving. We have to because that is what our enemies are doing, and it's working. We've tried the gentlemanly approach and failed. Sure, it offends our sensibilities to be so vulgar. But isn't the America we love worth it? Can't you swallow your pride for the sake of country?
I can.