Brilliant: Speaking Truth to Power

Finally...a powerful and compelling message from a GOP leader.  Michael Steele examines Obama's "reign of error."

Highlights:

• The era of apologizing for Republican mistakes of the past is now officially over.  
  
• We are going to take the president head-on. The honeymoon is over. The two-party system is making a comeback, and that comeback starts today.
  
• This popular politician who is our president is engaged in the most massive expansion of the old industrial age model of government that our country has ever seen.
• Candidate Obama was very moderate in his views, but President Obama could not possibly be further to the far left. 
  
• Candidate Obama talked about fiscal responsibility, about government living within its means. But President Obama is saddling our unborn grandchildren with mountains of debt.
  
• Candidate Obama boasted about cutting taxes, but President Obama, trust me, will have to raise taxes to pay for his massive top down government explosion.  Let’s not have that lie stay out there any longer - 95% of the people will not get a tax cut.
  
• Candidate Obama was all about being bipartisan, but President Obama could not be more partisan.
  
• So...what's the loyal opposition to do with this popular president? We are going to speak truth to power. We are going to speak directly, and we are going to take him on.
  
• President Obama now wants to cap and tax every single American into paying higher utility rates. 
  
• President Obama and his allies in Congress have now put their taxing eyes on soft drinks. 
  
• President Obama and Democrat leaders want a brand new tax on our health care benefits and are devising a plan to give federal government bureaucrats control of our health care system. 
  
• President Obama is backing a plan to take away the basic right of every American worker to cast a private ballot.
  
• President Obama has for the first time in our history politicized the US Census process by putting political appointees in his White House in charge of it. 
  
• President Obama and his far left allies are flirting with an attempt to squelch the basic freedom of speech of our nation's airwaves. 
  
• President Obama's Attorney General is trying to use Mexican drug gang wars as a reason to advocate a new gun ban in America.
  
• President Obama's Administration has disparaged our war heroes and veterans by suggesting that they are a threat to our safety, when the truth is they are the cause of our safety. 

• You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
  
• You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
  
• You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
  
• You cannot further the brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred.
  
• You cannot establish security by borrowing money.
  
• You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
  
• You cannot build character and courage by taking away one's initiative and incentive.
  
• You cannot help individuals permanently by doing for them what they should do for themselves.

• Too bad the chattering classes inside the Beltway are too busy fretting over phony disputes and intra-party intrigue to notice that a change has indeed come to America. This change comes in a tea bag!
  
• Over the coming months Republicans will be bold in our approach. We will offer real solutions, and we will do so aggressively and without apology. We will focus on freedom and the freedom of the individual.
  
• The Democrats act as if the government is the provider of the very liberties we enjoy. No fashionable politician or president, no matter how popular, can give them to us nor will we allow them to take them from us.

[emphasis mine]

Great message, Steele.  Now let's back it up with substance.

More

Transcript of Michael Steele's Speech To RNC Chairmen's Meeting; video of the speech in its entirety (31:19).

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The Big Race

The Republican National Committee (RNC) provides national leadership for the Republican Party. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy.  The RNC Chairman is tasked with enormous fundraising and managerial responsibilities, and can become an important carrier of the Republican message.

Later this month, the 168 RNC members will meet in Washington to elect their next chairman.  When a party controls the White House, the president effectively decides his own party chairman, so this year’s RNC race the first open Republican race since the 1990s. Six candidates are currently vying for the position:  Michael Steele, Saul Anuzis, Ken Blackwell, Chip Saltsman, Katon Dawson, and Mike Duncan.

If there's a common thread in the candidates' messages, it's this: "We need to get back to our conservative principles, we need a 50 state strategy, and we should probably try out that internet thingy. Hey, it worked for Howard Dean!"  

The candidates are clearly interested in replicating the DNC Chairman's success, but they all lack the crazed zeal of Howard Dean.  Not that we necessarily need a conservative wingnut equivalent of Howard Dean to rescue the Republican Party, but a little enthusiasm probably wouldn't hurt.  

Here are some of the candidates' exciting thoughts:

Michael Steele

The Republican Party must present a vision for the future of America that relies on our conservative values and core principles. It is wrong to believe the voters have suddenly become liberal.  They have just lost any sense of confidence that the Republican Party holds the answers to their problems.   We must face the fact that our party has failed in recent years to live up to our own principles — we have failed to be 'solutions oriented' in addressing the concerns of all Americans.

Saul Anuzis

We must be the party that offers individuals the freedom to create, build and dream.  Republican Governors are succeeding by doing just that, and I will work with them and follow their example, to help rebuild our national party.  America’s return to our country’s traditional values, and the Republicans’ return to majority status, must have as one of its cornerstones the recognition that entrepreneurial opportunity must be promoted.  This will make America stronger, more prosperous and more hopeful.  And it will ensure our status as a world leader. 

Ken Blackwell

We will bring our party back by clearly articulating conservative principles, inspiring our base, decentralizing authority, and building technical and precinct–level organizational capacity to facilitate a conservative resurgence across the country for the GOP.

Chip Saltsman

Republican resurgence must begin with a return to our longstanding ideals of principled conservatism and fiscal responsibility. In January, a Democratic President and the Democratic Congress will begin work on raising taxes, increasing spending, regulating industry and appointing activist judges. To meet these political and policy challenges, our party will need to act quickly. We will have to be better equipped and motivated to fight for our core values and to oppose the harmful policies of a virtually unchecked liberalism.

Katon Dawson

Despite the setbacks our Party suffered at the ballot box in November, it is an exciting time to be a Republican. Great political movements begin in times of great adversity. Over the next two to four years, our Party will redefine itself without abandoning our Republican principles. We will find new ways of applying those time-tested principles to modern challenges and opportunities. We will become the Party of hope that inspires  Americans from all walks of life to do great things. 

Mike Duncan

I am seeking re-election as Chairman to provide strong leadership for the Republican National Committee. That leadership will include more deeply involving RNC Members, from start to finish, in the direction and programs of the Committee.  The election of Chairman is about which person can best provide the leadership necessary to assure we define the proper role for the RNC and to make certain that role is successfully accomplished.

There is no question that to win elections we must do things better and differently. Everyone agrees the time has come for real and significant change. That does not mean, however, that we abandon proven successes merely for the sake of change. We must seriously evaluate where we are, improve on what works, change what does not, and constantly look for even better ways.  We win elections when we run on the power of ideas and have the financial resources to execute aggressive, technologically sophisticated nuts and bolts campaigns. I look forward to RNC Member participation that will transform our ideas and resources into many Republican victories.

If any of the candidates have a clear and compelling vision for the future of conservatism, they're working hard to keep it a secret.

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RNC Candidates' Websites:

mikeforchairman.com

katondawson.com

chipsaltsman.com

kenblackwell.com

anuzisforchair.com

steeleforchairman.com

Online Surveys & Market Research

GOP Failure 2008: The Take-Home Message

Leftists, moderates and RINOs, in their deep compassion for conservatives, and in their sincere wish to see the conservative movement thrive, have made numerous "helpful" post-election observations.  To provide an example, I quote the words of Mort Kondracke. "In recent years, Republicans have let right-wing talk show hosts whip the GOP base into frenzies...that have branded the party as troglodyte."  Translation: If conservatives would stop subjecting themselves to brainwashing by cave-dwelling radio talk show hosts, they would see the light of day and would begin to promote a more enlightened, progressive agenda.  If that weren't so insulting I'd say "nice try."  

Ignoring the voices of the conservative base is exactly why the GOP is in so much trouble.  Despite the objections of the most conservative Republicans, the GOP nominated Maverick McCain, and as we all know, this experiment with moderate conservatism was a complete failure.  For principled conservatives, the take-home message from Election 2008 is very clear. "The challenge is not to water down the conservative message, but to beef it up, even while making it more persuasive to those who are skeptical."

More:

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Lessons Learned from Election 2008

Don't listen to the leftists, moderates and RINOs.  They would have us believe that seismic changes in U.S. demographics, reflected in the results of this month's election, portend doom for conservatives.  If conservatives don't become less conservative, they will become increasingly irrelevant and eventually go extinct. Or so it is said.  

Our genuinely concerned friends on the left also tell us that as America becomes less white, less religious and increasingly unlikely to be married, the future of conservatism is becoming grim.  After carefully analyzing the results of the election, I have been unable to reach the same conclusion.  Yes, as the winner of the election, Obama did well with several demographic groups. Obama received particularly strong support from voters under 30 years of age and nonwhites.  But McCain, despite being handicapped by an ailing economy and a failing GOP, did well with whites, voters over 45 years of age, and people who make $50,000 per year or more. Among college graduates, Obama and McCain were statistically tied. 

Let's get to the bottom of all this and look at the popular vote.  Obama got 66,882,230 votes, McCain got 58,343,671.  These results hardly suggest that America has become overwhelmingly liberal.  58,343,671 voters said "thank you but no" to vacuous promises of leftist hope and change.

As we look to the future, remember that among the 58 million people who voted for McCain were members of the conservative base (including yours truly) who thought that both Obama and McCain were too far to the left.  I held my nose when I voted for McCain.  Many like me (probably millions), stayed home. If we want more conservatives to stay home, we should take the advice of the leftists, ignore the base, and promote candidates who are even less conservative than McCain.

Conservatives have a lot of work to do, but with a team of 58 million (give or take a few), the task is not insurmountable.  Moving forward, the first and most important task will be to energize the base.  If Republicans rally behind a real conservative (not a moderate), this task will be accomplished.  But isn't it too soon to give up on moderate Republicans?  Glad you asked.  Consider this: Obama the leftist liberal got 89% of the liberal vote and 60% of the moderate vote. McCain the moderate conservative got 78% of the conservative vote and 39% of the moderate vote.  My question to Republicans...with success like that, who needs failure?

Michael Steele describes the situation well. "True, the country has changed and our party must adapt. However, it is wrong to believe we must change our principles or become conservative-lite. After all, the voters did not suddenly become liberal..."

More:

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