Chip McLean
The phoenix rises
By Chip McLean
It has been two years since I wrote "And Out of the Ashes, the Phoenix Shall Rise," a post-election 2008 column that predicted a revived conservative movement. Two years later, it is time to revisit where we were, examine where we are, and most importantly — to see where we are going.
Quoting from the original column:
Do we need a "new Reagan"? Of course! Will we find one? Eventually. What really needs to happen, and will, is the reemergence of the conservative movement. Obama's ideas are certainly socialist in nature, and with both houses of congress being controlled by Democrats, will be able to put a number of his ideas into place. Ultimately the public, after seeing the results of such an agenda will be ready for "change" yet again. The question is; in what way will the conservative movement achieve this rebirth?
What of the Republican Party? Can it return to its conservative roots? In order to do so, it's going to take a concerted effort by grass roots members to weed out the old guard of elitists/globalists who for the most part run today's GOP.
The Obama regime of course immediately began its mission of destroying what remained of our constitutional republic and replacing it with their vision of a socialist utopia. Taking former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel's statement of "Never let a serious crisis go to waste..." to heart, the Obama-Pelosi-Reid axis began their raid on both our liberties and our pocketbooks. "Stimulus" bills, bailouts, government takeovers of business — not to mention the slimy, backroom, vote-buying scheme that foisted "Obamacare" on an unwilling public — have all combined to make even the most gullible swing voter realize that this wasn't the "hope and change" they were hoping for.
The conservative movement did indeed see its rebirth at the grass roots level. It can no longer accurately be described as "conservative," per se, as the form that it took came through the tea party movement. Tea partiers are "conservatives," "constitutionalists," "libertarians," "Reagan democrats" and so on, but the one thing they all share in common is a desire for a smaller, less obtrusive government that actually listens to them. The insider/elitists within the GOP attempted to hijack the movement, and in a few cases succeeded, but by and large, legitimate tea party backed candidates carried the day November 2nd.
With an upcoming GOP house majority, the Obama regime and its minions in the MSM are already screeching about gridlock — that the government won't be able to get anything done. To those of us who, like Reagan, see government as the problem, not the solution, gridlock is a thing of beauty. Gridlock means that congress critters won't be picking our pockets and meddling with our lives by voting in new, unconstitutional pork barrel legislation. As far as gridlock is concerned, we'll be glad to take all that we can get!
What the Republican Party needs to understand at this point is that the 2010 midterm elections were not an endorsement of the GOP by the voting public. People are fed up with the status quo of both name brand parties, but by default, the GOP was the vehicle used to get true constitutional conservatives elected. In effect, the tea party is a party within a party, and the insider machine will be doing everything they can to make "insiders" out of newly elected congressional representatives. The freshmen will be very pressured to "go along to get along" so that it will be business as usual inside the beltway.
As I said two years ago:
The conservative base has never been able to effectively gain control of the GOP and throw out the scalawags, so while "taking back the party" would be welcome, the more cynical side of me believes — based on the GOP's history — that it would amount to at best a temporary tipping of the scales.
We have arrived at a very crucial juncture in our nation's history. The Republican Party has the opportunity to do what it failed to do under George W. Bush — rein in out of control government, and legislate based on the U.S. Constitution. The new GOP members of congress must carry their enthusiasm and the convictions of their beliefs into Washington when they take office in January. They have a duty to the people who elected them to not be corrupted by a system that fosters corruption. If these freshmen can stand firm, they may be able to shake up the insider establishment and in so doing, reshape the Republican Party so that it actually tries to live up to its ideals of governing based on the founders' principles. Should they fail, we indeed will have seen only a temporary tipping of the scales.
Much is at stake — no less than the republic itself. The phoenix has risen — let's hope and pray that she flies where she needs to fly...
© Chip McLean
November 7, 2010
It has been two years since I wrote "And Out of the Ashes, the Phoenix Shall Rise," a post-election 2008 column that predicted a revived conservative movement. Two years later, it is time to revisit where we were, examine where we are, and most importantly — to see where we are going.
Quoting from the original column:
Do we need a "new Reagan"? Of course! Will we find one? Eventually. What really needs to happen, and will, is the reemergence of the conservative movement. Obama's ideas are certainly socialist in nature, and with both houses of congress being controlled by Democrats, will be able to put a number of his ideas into place. Ultimately the public, after seeing the results of such an agenda will be ready for "change" yet again. The question is; in what way will the conservative movement achieve this rebirth?
What of the Republican Party? Can it return to its conservative roots? In order to do so, it's going to take a concerted effort by grass roots members to weed out the old guard of elitists/globalists who for the most part run today's GOP.
The Obama regime of course immediately began its mission of destroying what remained of our constitutional republic and replacing it with their vision of a socialist utopia. Taking former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel's statement of "Never let a serious crisis go to waste..." to heart, the Obama-Pelosi-Reid axis began their raid on both our liberties and our pocketbooks. "Stimulus" bills, bailouts, government takeovers of business — not to mention the slimy, backroom, vote-buying scheme that foisted "Obamacare" on an unwilling public — have all combined to make even the most gullible swing voter realize that this wasn't the "hope and change" they were hoping for.
The conservative movement did indeed see its rebirth at the grass roots level. It can no longer accurately be described as "conservative," per se, as the form that it took came through the tea party movement. Tea partiers are "conservatives," "constitutionalists," "libertarians," "Reagan democrats" and so on, but the one thing they all share in common is a desire for a smaller, less obtrusive government that actually listens to them. The insider/elitists within the GOP attempted to hijack the movement, and in a few cases succeeded, but by and large, legitimate tea party backed candidates carried the day November 2nd.
With an upcoming GOP house majority, the Obama regime and its minions in the MSM are already screeching about gridlock — that the government won't be able to get anything done. To those of us who, like Reagan, see government as the problem, not the solution, gridlock is a thing of beauty. Gridlock means that congress critters won't be picking our pockets and meddling with our lives by voting in new, unconstitutional pork barrel legislation. As far as gridlock is concerned, we'll be glad to take all that we can get!
What the Republican Party needs to understand at this point is that the 2010 midterm elections were not an endorsement of the GOP by the voting public. People are fed up with the status quo of both name brand parties, but by default, the GOP was the vehicle used to get true constitutional conservatives elected. In effect, the tea party is a party within a party, and the insider machine will be doing everything they can to make "insiders" out of newly elected congressional representatives. The freshmen will be very pressured to "go along to get along" so that it will be business as usual inside the beltway.
As I said two years ago:
The conservative base has never been able to effectively gain control of the GOP and throw out the scalawags, so while "taking back the party" would be welcome, the more cynical side of me believes — based on the GOP's history — that it would amount to at best a temporary tipping of the scales.
We have arrived at a very crucial juncture in our nation's history. The Republican Party has the opportunity to do what it failed to do under George W. Bush — rein in out of control government, and legislate based on the U.S. Constitution. The new GOP members of congress must carry their enthusiasm and the convictions of their beliefs into Washington when they take office in January. They have a duty to the people who elected them to not be corrupted by a system that fosters corruption. If these freshmen can stand firm, they may be able to shake up the insider establishment and in so doing, reshape the Republican Party so that it actually tries to live up to its ideals of governing based on the founders' principles. Should they fail, we indeed will have seen only a temporary tipping of the scales.
Much is at stake — no less than the republic itself. The phoenix has risen — let's hope and pray that she flies where she needs to fly...
© Chip McLean
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