One of the tenets of conservatism is consistency in philosophical path. Conservatives have history on our side. We can take the things that have worked and continue to work, such as lowering taxes and defending freedoms, and hold them as stark differences between our beliefs and the beliefs of the leftist opposition.
That’s not to say our perspectives shouldn’t evolve based on advancements made in society. For example, just because bulk mail was once the best way to reach the masses in the past doesn’t mean conservatives should fight against using email and social media. We can adapt without precariously abandoning things that work just because a shiny new idea hits the scene.
One of the reasons we have been able to maintain the high ground on many issues is our willingness to consistently call out those who do wrong regardless of political affiliation or tribal support. We’ve seen this consistency dissolve, or to characterize more aptly, transform from consistency of beliefs into consistency of identity. Nothing has brought this to light with more clarity than the formation of two tribes during the 2016 presidential election: NeverTrump and AlwaysTrump.
It won’t be popular to say this because a good chunk of our readers either outwardly embrace their tribe or unwittingly fall into one of the two categories without even realizing it. NeverTrumpers see nothing good coming from the President or his policies. Even when he does something that’s clearly beneficial to the conservative cause like nominating originalist judges to the federal bench or cutting bureaucratic regulations, his accomplishments are always tainted by who he is in the eyes of a NeverTrumper. Conversely, self-proclaimed conservatives who fall into the AlwaysTrump category see everything he does as golden. For example, they could have been adamantly opposed to Senator Chuck Schumer’s proposed China tariffs in 2014, but now that the President has invoked a near-identical stance based off the blueprints Schumer and Senator Bernie Sanders established, suddenly the tariffs are wonderful.
NeverTrumpers say the tax cuts weren’t good enough. AlwaysTrumpers say bump stock bans are common sense gun laws. NeverTrumpers said he would never actually move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, then went silent when it happened. AlwaysTrumpers are suddenly huge fans of the criminal justice reform, though nearly every Republican opposed a lighter version of these reforms less than a decade ago.
The cycle is disingenuous and extends beyond the President’s own actions. The hatred by NeverTrumpers towards anyone who supports the President is palpable. Meanwhile, those who agree with a NeverTrumper on any issue are instantly labeled as part of “The Resistance” by AlwaysTrumpers.
Both sides are wrong. One does not need to like the President to see the good things he’s done, just as one does not have to hate the President in order to criticize him.
Over the next year-and-a-half, the majority of political attention by conservatives will be placed on the 2020 election. I don’t want to downplay the importance of this election, but I would like to offer an alternative way of looking at the needs of the nation. It’s time to start steering the President and every Republican candidate towards a more conservative position on whatever issues they’ve shifted ideologically to the left. It’s happening to many if not most Republicans because the Democrats are abandoning the middle. From an election perspective, it seems to make sense for Republicans to follow them and take some of the ground being abandoned by Democrats in the mushy middle, but this would be a mistake. Instead, we need to be driving Republicans to the right because now more than ever we have an opportunity to highlight the benefits of conservatism in stark contrast to the radical progressivism of modern day Democrats.
What good are Republican victories if they’re going to embrace moderate or even leftist ideologies? It was these moderate ideologies that prevented Obamacare from being repealed despite a clear mandate following the 2016 election to do just that. It was the moderate ideologies that convinced Republicans to abandon the fight for border wall funding on eleven occasions in the two years they had power.
If we look at conservative victories during the Trump era, we’ll see they have proven to be effective. The most obvious example is the tax cut initiative that jumpstarted the economy in ways that surprised even many Republican lawmakers. Now’s the time to use the Democrats’ leftward lurch to reaffirm conservatism within the party.
We can build the wall, stop socialism, repeal Obamacare, dismantle bureaucracies, cut spending, reduce the debt, balance the budget, and make the economy soar. All we need is a hard push to the right by conservatives.
What we need in order to help accomplish this is to revive the American Conservative Movement. If you’re interested in learning more as it develops, please fill out the form below.
Democrats are unambiguous and united in their view of abortion. It wasn’t always this way. As recently as a decade ago, there were a good number of pro-life Democrats winning elections and expressing their views as pundits.
Today, they don’t exist.
Republicans aren’t so repulsed by the pro-abortion people in their midst. It’s understandable that as a party that’s less focused on individual issues, one can be a Republican without checking off all the various boxes. This is fine. What’s not fine is for breaks in the ranks of conservatives. There are certain things that must remain universal among those who claim to embrace conservatism, especially among those who speak for conservatives.
Fox Nation’s Tomi Lahren is one of them. She claims to be a conservative, but she’s pro-choice. That fact, by itself, is understandable because the issue is a polarizing one in which people can be swayed to one side based on personal experience. It’s not like taxes which warrant universal scorn from conservatives. There are gun-toting, tax-hating, pro-choice conservatives.
But there’s a bigger problem with Lahren’s perspective. She’s not just attacking the Alabama abortion bill and pro-life perspectives in general. She’s doing so with an argument that flies in the face of reality.
To those arguing with me over the Alabama ban, I am NOT saying life doesn’t matter I am asking you if you honestly think an all-out ban is going to stop abortion. Do you think government is the answer? Do you think it’s effective? Or does this ban just make you feel better?
Do we think government is the answer? No. In fact, one of the most appealing parts about the Alabama abortion bill is that it represents the first true opportunity for the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade. When it reaches the Supreme Court (and it almost certainly will) it gives us the first glimpse of how the current makeup of the court will react. In fact, the makeup of the court could actually be better if one of the left-leaning Justices retires soon.
Once Roe v. Wade is out of the way, we can finally express the truly conservative aspect of federalism that should have never been taken away – the states’ rights to determine their own healthcare laws.
If Tomi Lahren doesn’t like the abortion ban, that’s fine. Her choice. But to defend her choice by insinuating a challenge to Roe v. Wade is somehow an attack on limited-government tenets is false and harms conservatism.
To The Daily Wire, One America News, Washington Times, Blaze Media, and all others to the right of Fox News,
There was no collusion and no obstruction. It took over two years for this narrative to search under every stone and exhaust millions of dollars to, in the end, find nothing. The leftist media will not make many concessions, especially as it relates to obstruction for a crime that was not committed. We cannot as conservatives prove beyond an unreasonable doubt that Trump did not collude or obstruct. As Democrats in Congress keep the narrative on life support, the Conservative media needs to pull the plug.
The average American is fatigued by the Trump-Russia collusion/obstruction narrative. Meanwhile our effort is playing defense against a leftist narrative rather than reporting on issues both our base and the politically uninvolved care far more about. When the economy is strong and the border crisis is pressing, why is so much of our attention directed towards the soap opera clown show that takes place? Instead of countering this narrative, conservative media should starve the narrative of as much attention as possible.
An area which Conservatives have long failed, but have made great improvements towards, is controlling the narrative, the language and Overton Window of society. If we continue to counter the leftist narrative of the Trump-Russia conspiracy theory, we will continue to feed their power in controlling the narrative in the American political and cultural arena. Instead, let us make an effort to not only counter the narrative but set the narrative.
In our friendly rivalry as Conservative outlets, let us come together and collectively move on from the Trump-Russia story, discarding it as if it were a flat-earth conspiracy and move on.
There are many reasons Conservatives have been reticent to press the culture war. Many of them were acted upon by Mitt Romney only for those conventions to be blown away by Trump winning in 2016. The Republican Party hates running on culture issues instead wanting only to use issues like abortion as shiny objects for show votes. But we must remember, Trump won and Romney and McCain lost. Trump ran on a culture issue: immigration. He won. And in my opinion, Trump made it highly difficult for him to win, not because of the issues he was running on, but because of his personality. So let that be encouragement.
For a Rainbow jihad fatwa will come after you if you aren’t attracted to a man in drag. They will pass legislation to make possessing certain guns illegal. You will be called a racist. They are already passing legislation protecting infanticide. If we do not press these issues, we will lose. If we stay silent, as Erick Erickson so famously said, we will be made to care.
But Wait! The economy is doing great
Republicans will want to focus on the economy and there is nothing wrong with that. To quote The Road to El Dorado, “both is good.” There is no reason we cannot do both. Reasonably speaking, it means we are going to have to sacrifice certain talking points. I nominate the Russian Hoax, as people are already tired of hearing about it, whereas, cultural issues such as Brian Sims dominated Conservative news cycles. People are motivated by cultural issues. Guns, illegal immigration, and abortion are among the top single issue voting groups. In 2012, Republicans ran on jobs, jobs, jobs and lost, lost, lost.
Trump can press the economy in 2020 and use it to get people to reelect him as they would any other incumbent. But reelecting Trump to maintain the economy is not a win so much as it’s not a defeat. Because let’s be honest, if the Republicans pass a balanced budget with a plan to pay off the debt in say twenty years, the economy would contract. We would undoubtedly go into recession and unemployment would rise due to a reduction in public sector jobs. Are we, as Conservatives, willing to bite that bullet? I hope so. If so, the message of austerity contradicts the message of the economy, why should the economy be our main focus? Recessions are temporary and a natural part of the business cycle as our economy evolves. The Great Depression only lasted as long as they did because of the intervention from progressives like Herbert Hoover and FDR. The Republican Party is unwilling to bite this bullet. They aren’t fiscally responsible. Coincidentally, they aren’t willing to defund Planned Parenthood, despite how they donate to candidates who run against them. Let me take that back, it’s not a coincidence. If we look at the Liberty Score of Republicans, you will see that the most socially conservative are also the most fiscally responsible as well. I am hardpressed to find an exception. Socially liberal fiscally conservative doesn’t exist in the real world today. Why? Because being fiscally conservative requires a socially conservative worldview. My evidence for this assertion is Congress.
In order to get these ends, we need to engage in the culture war as a means. Increasing spending does not earn a Republican a primary challenge. But being soft on illegal immigration will. Marco Rubio didn’t win the nomination in 2016. So it’s safe to conclude that illegal immigration is a more energizing issue than national debt. Once again, going back to 2012, Mitt Romney floated self-deportation in the primary but steered clear of illegal immigration in the general. He said he was pro-life, but ran ads to assure people he wouldn’t act on his pro-life stance. But enough using Romney as a punching bag for being a loser. Ron DeSantis in Florida ran on a Trump platform in Florida, without the Trump personality and upset Andrew Gillum in what was supposed to be a blue wave. Kim Reynolds, in swing state Iowa, signed a heartbeat bill into law in May 2018. She went on to pull perhaps the most surprising upset in the 2018 Midterm Elections in what will be a swing state in 2020. Meanwhile obvious RINO Martha McSally couldn’t beat one of the most overtly anti-American candidates in Kyrsten Sinema, in a mild red state.
But let’s look at this from the Left’s perspectives. Indiana and Texas are roughly comparable in terms of the GOP’s advantage. Beto O’Rourke came close while the “moderate” Democrat in Indiana got owned, double digits despite polling ahead, against who in my opinion was a shaky candidate. Back on the right John James ran a solid campaign in Michigan, despite losing, meanwhile the Republican in Wisconsin got trounced. Energy is the name of the game and when Conservatives bring it, we perform better. Conservatives bring that energy by fighting the culture war.
The Andrew Breitbart quote is beyond true. Previously I wrote that our society was fiscally irresponsible, therefore why should we be surprised that this same society elects Lindsey Grahams and Mitch McConnells. The ideals of the American Revolution were preached in churches years before 1775. The 2nd Great Awakening preceded the abolition of slavery. Progressive theology preceded progressive policies. Cultural leftism has so far preceded socialist policies. Look at Marianne Williams who was a thought leader for a new age cult long before she was a socialist candidate. So what am I saying? Socially conservative policies will precede fiscally conservative policies.
A Caveat of Trump and State Governments
Now the first objection to this claim is that Trump has implemented some socially conservative policies. Let’s take immigration, for example, where Trump is most willing to make a bad deal with Democrats to resolve the issue. A border wall is not worth amnesty. DACA should not be kept under any circumstances. Furthermore, Trump is far too easily swayed by Ivanka and Jared Kushner who will only lead his governance astray. But if there were a Congress full of Conservatives, we would see far fewer weaknesses in the President. Congress is supposed to be the most powerful branch. If they sent Trump a balanced budget, Trump would undoubtedly sign it.
State governments, by their smaller nature, are often times ran more fiscally responsible and have balanced budget requirements in their constitutions. In fact, many legislatures either meet every other year or session that is a segment within the year. These relics of a more agrarian culture that placed high esteem on limited government are hard to undo. But legislatures like that in Annapolis will do their damage within their session.
Final Thoughts
Conservatives shouldn’t cater to people who don’t exist, rather they should fight the culture war because there are gains in this war that will lead to a culture more willing to accept austere measures. We can only win the culture war if we fight for it. We can only end abortion if we fight for it. We can only end illegal immigration if we fight for it. Play offense. Make the left defend infanticide and ask the average uninformed American: do they want that person in office? Make them uncomfortable by sending illegal immigrants to sanctuary cities, so that they will feel the cost of their own ideology. Make them admit that they believe black Americans are less competent than white Americans. Have them explain the difference between a semiautomatic and fully automatic firearm. Maybe then we can finally eliminate policies such as the outdated and cost burdensome Social Security or end the long failed war on poverty.
If politics flows downstream from culture as American history has long shown, in order for Conservatives to win, we must win the culture war.
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