Since the victories by the Democrats in the elections both in 2006 and their big win in 2008, the liberal media has been celebrating the demise of the GOP. Republicans, they say, are in a permanent state of decline. They declare we have no leader and we are without a rudder. Their glee in eulogizing our remains is unmistakable. A survey of the political landscape however, would indicate, to paraphrase Mark Twain, “the stories of our death have been greatly exaggerated.”
There does however, appear to be a very real split among some who simply identify with the Republican Party and those who also identify themselves as conservatives. It is not a distinction without a difference. There is a clear segment within the Republican Party who find the conservative element distasteful, crude and an embarrassment. We must moderate our voices they tell us, we must be a centrist party and move to the middle if Republicans are to attract the moderate vote.
To a large extent, these Republican “elites” have directed the GOP platform, designated many of its candidates and set the tone of the debate. As a result, over the last two decades the Party of Ronald Reagan has drifted from Reagan’s conservative principles, back to a more liberal, centrist message that has sought to marginalize its more conservative base. Until recently, that base still remained loyal to the Republican Party in spite of a growing reluctance to embrace its current direction.
Being ever the loyal soldiers, they even voted for John McCain over their serious objections to many of his “moderate” positions on the issues. But the times they are a changin’ the saying goes and with that change is a move by the conservatives in the Party to re-establish themselves as power players in what has become for them, a party of political acquiescence. Increasing numbers of those in the Republican Party are beginning to use the acronym RINO, (Republican in name only) when referring to Republican moderates.
The term was originally a sarcastic name for the more liberal among elected members in the Republican Party, who found it appropriate to vote more consistently with the Democrats than with their Republican counterparts. For many however, sarcasm has turned to disgust and for them, RINO is now a four letter word. Conservatives, it seems, are tired of holding their tongues, moderating their tone and following directions. They are very much intent on setting the tone, giving directions and admonishing the squishy among them with serious tongue-lashing.
This new sense of purpose has also awakened the desire to shake off their political lethargy and become active participants in the political process. Nowhere has that desire been more evident than among those who organized and attended Tea Parties and Town Hall meetings in their hometowns and state capitals. Their message was simple and succinct; government works “for” the people, not the opposite.
It is in this regard that the ire of both conservatives and Republicans has been most vocal. Those voices have become louder as their serious concerns and attempts to contact their elected representatives have been summarily dismissed by the Democrat Majority in Congress. Moreover, these concerns, as polls confirm, are coming from a majority of the American people. To say that they are angry and concerned with a government that appears intent on “ruling” and not “governing,” would be an understatement.
The product of that anger has resulted in a majority of Republicans and conservatives who are fed up with a political party and a government that has over-stepped its constitutional authority and consequently with RINOs who support the practice.
So, to all the so-called elite in the Republican Party who wish the great unwashed would just keep their mouths shut and follow orders, some friendly advice; the American people are not the proletariat. They take their civil liberties and personal freedoms seriously and do not take kindly to those who would infringe on those rights. Their message to Republican moderates is clear; not only do they think of RINOs in four letter terms, they intend to make them an endangered species in conservative politics.