A “New Brand” of Conservatism

by Jerry Ryburg

Americans, we as conservatives lost a pivotal presidential election. Shrouded in confusion and misunderstanding, the values of conservatism which preserve the central ideals of our constitution have suffered a blowing defeat, in favor of leftist, big-government policies, which will be hard to fend off. All the while considering the minority status of the GOP in the House and the Senate, we will accept defeat, yet we will not surrender. We will energize and revive our base, and we will effectively communicate to the American people why the preservation of conservative ideals is essential to our individual freedoms and constitutional rights. The GOP needs a well-defined platform, a more defined focus, and a solid, uncompromising dedication to regaining control. Without a doubt, America will soon experience a much needed surge of conservative revival, seeking 2010 as the goal to regain control of the House and Senate. It is therefore absolutely essential for the GOP to adopt a “New Brand” of conservatism.

First, the GOP obviously needs a complete overhaul in its leadership. All House and Senate leaders should respectfully step down and not seek reelection to their posts. If this will not happen, the true conservatives in the GOP should rise up and effectively challenge the incumbents for these positions. As it stands at the present time, the GOP holds 40 seats to the Democrats' 57 in the Senate, and 174 seats to the Democrats' 255 in the house. This is a obviously a difficult margin to conquer, and it also serves as a wake-up call to the GOP that the American people are just not keen on the GOP, in general. The GOP leadership at present in the House and Senate should take the blame for these outrageous losses, and a new strategy must be agreed upon in order to invigorate the conservative base of the GOP once again.

But, who or what exactly is the GOP? Over the past decade, this has become an increasingly harder question to answer. The GOP has been infiltrated by pseudo-conservatives and party-changing opportunists who have all but obscured the conservative ideal from the American people. A true sign of bad strategy, there are simply too many moderates, “compassionate conservatives,” and even liberals in the GOP at this time. This is extremely evident when looking at the voting records of most of the GOP. It is as if they have decided to govern as Democrats, and as a result, the American people cannot tell a significant difference between the two parties. A Democrat sounds like a Republican, and vice-versa, in most of the American people's eyes. This had to have been a significant factor in the presidential election, where we had a moderate Republican, John McCain, running against a liberal posing as a centrist, Barack Obama.

There are three underlying principles which need to be taught and vehemently communicated to the American people: individual rights, economic freedom, and government with strictly limited powers. This is what I have termed “the Goldwater Model” in my other columns. The liberal agenda has as its goal a government with great unlimited powers, curbed individual rights, and little economic freedom as shown in its utter abhorrence of capitalism. These are the points which need to be contrasted and conclusively shown to be diametrically opposed to each other. “The Goldwater Model” is completely consistent with the intents of our founding fathers in drafting the Declaration of Independence and The Bill of Rights. All Americans need to be reminded about the history of the founding of our country, the resulting infancy stages of our government, and the reasons why the founding fathers adopted the positions they did with our best interests in mind.

The GOP would do well also in secularizing its approach to government. The GOP has caused itself much damage in harboring an incorrect reputation of legislating religious morality, instead of legislating against the harms of moral relativism. This moral relativism movement is slowly gaining control in our society in rebellion to what is perceived to be religious legislation, and this will soon erode the moral fabric of America. While religious influence is somewhat unavoidable in forming positions, it should not seem to the primary factor. Rather, a more secular approach would describe that these “religious” values are actually the preservation of the moral qualities our founding fathers' prided themselves on, and these moral values are exactly what has made America the greatest country on the face of the earth. We must not give the impression that we are combining church and state, but we must describe these values as original, intended, and wholly practical in our society.

Regaining control will not necessarily be an easy task, nor will it take place overnight. Nevertheless, with the right level of focus and an intelligent, winning strategy, the conservative base of the GOP can

steer this country back in the right direction—the intent of our founding fathers. If the GOP dedicates itself to the promotion of policies which are right of center, communicate the benefits to the American people, and exhibit an unwavering, uncompromising position, the future will be in the hands of GOP, and recovery will start sooner—rather than later.