Thursday, March 05, 2015

Defending Republican Party Platform, Not Republican Party Leadership

By Douglas V. Gibbs

The arguments are constant, and technically the arguments are usually correct.  There is no love for the two-party system, and there shouldn't be.  People are frustrated, I get that.  Each party supports the concept of big government because an expanding federal government means more power for them.  Only We the People, and more specifically, the informed members of the public, are demanding we return to the constitutional principles of limited government.  Some may even argue that the two political parties are two sides of the same coin. In some respects, they are correct.  These are the people that call for a third party, or no parties whatsoever.  Is that even possible?

A two-party system is in our human nature.  Birds of a feather flock together, we organize, pick leaders, and then call those groups political parties.  I agree that the party system is a dangerous animal, but we are the ones that have lost control of the American Form of Government, not the political parties.  We can blame the corrupt politicians all we want, but in the end, it is still us that dropped the ball.  We have become complacent, ill-informed, and we don't vote anymore.  No wonder the powers of tyranny have been making amazing strides towards big government.

Hitting the self-destruct button, however, is not the practical answer, nor the most effective answer, to our problems.  The practicality of what is possible in the current political dynamic requires us to think a little deeper, and be problem-solvers like the Founding Fathers were, rather than just lash out at the Republican Party and demand a new party, or the elimination of the two-party system.

Since my stance is not to discard the Republican Party, but that we should take it back, some listeners to my Constitution Radio program has taken issue with me.  One person, a listener in Orlando, Florida, an individual who constantly writes me and accuses me of having taken an oath to the GOP, wrote:

Doug,

You prove your own point. You say the republicans are the best path to turn things around, but you get silent when asked a question. You know, you would prove you do not believe what you say. I asked you to send me Ted Cruz's political history to test it against his condemning "career politicians" at CPAC last week. Complete silence. But this will come back to my memory in the near future when I hear on your show something the democrats get blamed for that Ted Cruz is guilty of, yet he will not get mentioned, or he will get praised for his efforts a symbolic jesture. But no one will mention his inconsistencies. While you are gathering Teddy's political history, you can also link Marco Rubio's immigration record ? Make sure you notice the action in his record reconciled to his wonderful speeches. You may also note his keen understanding of the economy, (though he never even had a paper route, or other job, he is a career politician) like his opposition to Obama's debt ceiling increase, but please remember to document how he voted on Obama's debt ceiling ? You can also notice a pattern of Rubio's M.E. support for Obama until it falls apart, then he is doing wonderful speeches with insights that will make me think,'he is presidential timber.' I have his entire position documented to match his CPAC "Rubio saw the light" speech on amnesty. He always plays against amnesty in election time. Same as Obama, speaks to both sides and everyone hears something and is pleased. America is screwed.  Doug, after you send me that then I can give you some more republicans to vet.

His assumptions are that I am a full supporter of all of the Republicans he thinks are trash, and that I have a multitude of time to chase his demands in order to "prove" to him I am not just another "go-along-to-get-along" Republican that spends all my time Obama-bashing, rather than recognizing the, apparently, multitude of wrong-doing by the politicians of the Republican Party.

I responded:

First of all I never said that the Republicans are the best path to turn things around, I said that right now the Republican Party is the vehicle we have available to us. What that means is that the GOP needs to be infiltrated and reacquired by conservatives. There is nothing wrong with the platform, and everything wrong with the members of the party's leadership. If the GOP continues its course, it will destroy itself into non-existence and then another party will emerge to fill the void. If that party is to the right of the Democrats, it will become the next vehicle. My silence is simply because I am not disagreeing with you about the people you bring up. I am not a Rubio fan, especially after his Gang of 8 involvement, and I have been preaching that Ted Cruz and Rubio and Bobby Jindal (as much as I think Jindal is a good guy, and I am not nearly as down on Cruz as you are) are not eligible for the presidency and should not be in the 2016 conversation.  My aim is not to simply do as you do and spend all of my time attacking the horse we have in the race, but to work to change it, improve it, and turn it back into a vehicle conservatives can effectively use. To me, that is more productive in the fight than spending all of my time attacking something that, though it may not be a large number, is populated with allies and potential allies.

Blessings,

Douglas V. Gibbs
Constitution Radio, KCAA AM1050
Conservative Voice Radio, KMET AM1490
Author, 25 Myths of the United States Constitution, The Basic Constitution, and Silenced Screams
President, Constitution Association
www.politicalpistachio.com
www.douglasvgibbs.com
www.constitutionassociation.com

No comments: