The election is over and conservatives are still trying to make sense of the election results. Why do we still have the same balance of power in Washington, D.C. after the election? How did so many incumbents keep their jobs when the economy is so bad and the fiscal cliff is looming? There are several issues being raised by conservatives that have me thinking. Maybe it is time for us to look inward and get our own house in order .. before we start championing candidates for the 2014 mid-terms.
You should vote straight-ticket GOP
The GOP promotes straight-GOP ticket voting habits (of course) because it increases the likelihood of their candidates winning in races that are competitive because of the coattails of other GOP candidates on the ballot. This increases the power of the GOP in government. Many who call themselves conservatives believe this is a laudable goal, but I disagree. Voting straight-ticket sends the message that we are choosing the party to govern us, not the candidates who happen to be in that party. It does not allow for voters to hold incumbent candidates accountable for their voting records while in office. It perpetuates the status quo .. keeping incumbents in office (even when they are doing a lousy job). 91% of representatives in the U.S. House were re-elected (this is with a 9% approval rating). Could it be that every single Republican on the ballot is the best option in an election cycle? Perhaps .. but voting without thinking by clicking 'all Republican' is never what our Founders intended when they gave us this government of 'we the people'.
The exact same behavior happens inside the Democratic party. The Democratic Party has a full-on propaganda campaign against Republicans at every level. Republicans are being painted as racists, crazy, intolerant, and haters of working men and women. The number of voters choosing to vote straight-ticket-Democrat has risen because of this demonizing of the GOP. I heard a complaint this week from a Republican voter about Jesse Jackson, Jr. (Democrat), who was easily re-elected earlier this month after being on medical leave (for months) for treatment of bipolar disorder and other medical issues. Jackson is also facing multiple legal problems, including a reported federal probe into possible misuse of campaign funds. The GOP voter lodging the complaint said that the only way Jackson got re-elected was because "the democrats don't even care who the candidates are, they all just vote straight-ticket-Democrat." Ironically, this GOP voter cast a straight GOP-ticket.
People are too dependent on government
The number of people on food-stamps in this country has skyrocketed. Government programs are now giving away free birth-control, free cell phones and free or reduced-cost housing. The list goes on and on of the benefits the government is handing out with plans to include even more give-aways in the future. I hear complaints from conservatives daily about how more Americans are growing lazy and unproductive and blame these government programs for our decline as a nation and for bankrupting this country.
But what about us? How many of us are currently accepting some sort of hand-out or assistance from the Federal Government? I currently have a FHA loan on my house. Could I have afforded a conventional (more expensive) loan? probably. If I am going to lambaste these government programs, perhaps it is time to refinance this house into a conventional loan.
How many of us are taking advantage of some federal program that cost taxpayers money? If we aren't willing to give up the freebies or benefits we currently enjoy, how can we expect to convince a majority of voters to do that in 2014? ...or 2016?
The mainstream media is in the tank for Obama
This is probably the one that angers conservatives the most. The Benghazi scandal has been totally mishandled by the media. Liberal news outlets have been openly promoting Obama since he first came on the scene. Mistakes made by this president have not only been glossed over by the mainstream media, but it appears they are actively covering up his mistakes. There is really no excuse for their behavior .. and I believe it has permanently damaged the little credibility that remains with the legacy media.
But what about conservative news? Weren't the majority of conservative 'news' outlets openly campaigning for Romney during this last election? Even most of the new media blog sites had jumped onto the Romney bandwagon. If we are going to be pointing fingers at a liberal mainstream media that is producing propaganda to prop up their dear leader, then we had better not turn around and do the exact same thing!
It is time to put our house in order. Perhaps another four years of Obama is the motivation we need to turn ourselves into better citizens before the next election cycle rolls around. We can't afford to stay on this path to tyranny and destruction. The only way we can restore the America that we love is if those of us who are willing to tell the truth will lead the way in practicing what we preach.
Wow Sue, what a great post. I voted for Romney but also voted for many third party candidates for other offices. Here in Indiana we make life tough for third parties, we allowed two parties to dictate the rules of elections and interpret the constitution for us, not to mention they seized control of the electoral system. The constitution says every American of age is allowed to vote,simple enough,but many are excluded including felons. So while we were raising our families and building our careers we took our eye off the ball. Whereas the majority of Americans are now independent of either major party there are no independents sitting on the Supreme Court, that must change.
ReplyDeleteI see the two parties as being the same, Alan West is Nancy Pelosi and Eric Cantor is Jesse Jackson Jr. They both just want to redistribute wealth around the world, maybe differently but there it is.
In 2010 President Obama guaranteed Israel $3 billion a year for 10 years, what was the Republican answer to this redistribution of wealth? Paul Ryan wrote a budget and cut hundreds of billions from programs for ordinary Americans,but only cut foreign aid by $5 billion, do you see a problem?
Many Americans know who Honey Boo Boo is or Kim Kardashian but not who their governor or President are, so I agree we need to get our house in order. Have a great day Sue.
Thanks so much, Bill! You are absolutely right.. we've allowed politicians who call themselves conservatives in the Republican party to spend entirely too much money without holding them accountable. Very few actually do in office what they campaign on. Until we start pointing that out, we're just perpetuating the problem.
DeleteI voted for a number of Republicans this round (I particularly liked Ted Cruz), but I cast my vote for Gary Johnson for president, because I believed (and still do) he was the only candidate who was willing to truly tackle our debt and deficit problem. But, considering my state (Texas) was fully in the Romney column, I don't know that I made that much of a difference, except to help give Libertarians a larger percentage of the total vote nationally (compared to what they had received in prior cycles). Perhaps people will start to reconsider this blind party loyalty in the next few cycles. I certainly hope so.
Thanks so much for all your hard work. Let's keep up the fight.. this country is worth it!