We have arguments, but no foundation; we discuss the problems but we don’t demonstrate the history or benefits of being who we are. There needs to be a message, consistent, loud and strong.

But subtle.

scottjenn on January 28, 2013 at 3:04 PM

And that may be where the problem is.

Conservatism (just as the GOP) has a rather large tent.

Conservatism is naturally set against itself because it is the (somewhat consistent) philosophy that tries to see the world as it is. Liberalism doesn’t have that problem because it ignores reality.

So, Conservatism strives to strike balances between the great, equal, and compelling notions of life.

Individual Liberty vs. Traditional Morality
Limited Government vs. Compassion for the Needy
Military Strength that ensures Safety vs. Non-interventionism

And there are many, many, many more “tensions” that Conservatism wrestles with.

Each Conservative will try to seek a balance… but, being human, we each tend to come down a little bit more on one side of things or the other.

So, no two Conservatives have exactly the same set of beliefs.

Still, it’s important for us to at least try to come up with some core things we can all agree on and present those… just like you mention.

I just think it’s more difficult to do that than it may seem.

Reagan was great at referring back to his beliefs each time he spoke in public. That’s what it seems we’re missing in this battle. We have arguments, but no foundation; we discuss the problems but we don’t demonstrate the history or benefits of being who we are. There needs to be a message, consistent, loud and strong.

But subtle.

Freaking cowards. They have no intention of winning 2014, of taking back the senate or of stopping obama. they will cave to everything. The push for immigration reform, gun control etc is occurring now because its an off year for elections and they want like the “fiscal cliff deal” it off the table before the election season comes into play.

If only there was a mainstream conservative alternative to the main stream media… and Fox is not it. Until then, no facts will get out.

beatcanvas on January 28, 2013 at 12:52 PM

the USSR would have killed to have the media the political class in DC has today. Prvada had nothing on the MSM.

INC on January 28, 2013 at 2:38 PM

I wonder if Ryan thought Lincoln used prudence when he opened fire on Ft sumter?

note to GOPe yeah that’s you Ryan. Prudence is only for those who control and have power. You use prudence when governing from a position of strength. Obama needs to use prudence. The GOPe being the minority party atm doesn’t need prudence they need a set of balls and an ability and will to fight for their beliefs….oh wait they have neither balls nor beliefs.

The GOPe along with Ryan are a laughing stock.

Who would want to be a member of such a stupid political party.

Prudence? Seriously?

Freaking idiots. If they aren’t willing to fight they should just resign now and save us a lot of the effort its going to take to primary these idiots out of office.

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/338905/paul-ryan-addresses-nri-summit-nro-staff#

Early on in his speech he spoke about prudence.

Well, prudence is good judgment in the art of governing. Abraham Lincoln called it “one of the cardinal virtues.”

I would not define prudence that way. I would consider wisdom to be good judgment in the art of governing.

Anyway, prudence became the thread that he used to sort of weave the text together. He said the Founders were ‘men of prudence’ and used Madison’s work with the Constitution as an example.

Well, first of all men of prudence don’t fight revolutions. Second of all, while you could describe some of Madison’s work as prudent, but he wasn’t trying to work and compromise with people who wanted to make the U.S. a worker’s paradise even as they played the system for all the could get.

Then this was his ending.

Our country is worth the fight. With your help—and with a touch of prudence—we will win it.

Thank you.

The phrase touch of prudence is not what you want to say when you want to encourage people to hang tough and fight.

I’m not for going out and rabble rousing, but it was really weak tea. Not even tea.

You have to be able to express your ideas in a way that stiffens people’s resolve. This was not a speech that would enable people to stand against the likes of Obama and Reid.

Do you live in the real world?

The one where the MSM spins any GOP stupidity into a preexisting epic narrative?

You understand the Progressive Left won the Culture War, right?

And that any attempt at starting a roll-back will require a degree of message discipline that incompetents like Akin etc. a loathe to deliver?

Really, Dude, try to get out more.

(A) No proposal they come up with or are likely to come up with goes after the systemic problems we face as a nation (the health care money bomb on the horizon, a sick and declining social security system, an embarrassing pre-college education system and a runaway, pork-laden spending obsession by BOTH parties). BOTH parties are either witting or unwitting partners in all of the above.

(B) There is Zero likelihood that Republicans (outside of maybe Ted Cruz if they don’t strangle him first, or Rand Paul, maybe) will stand their ground and actually fight for anything. Nobody trusts them, for good and well-earned reasons.

These parties are in a conjugal dance with each other. Each focused on beating the other at the margins to win the next election so they can be the we of we vs. them for a while. To paraphrase RR, they are the problem. How are we to look to them for the solution?

So we can see John Boehner on a news show in a few months saying, “Oops, maybe I messed up, sorry.” This is leadership? Getting schooled by a man who rides a girl’s bicycle (not innuendo, check the photos) and who claims he shot some dude named “Skeet” once at Camp David? And saying you’re sorry later?

We are all tired of this show. Time to change the reel.

Doesn’t teddy bear, brown nose politics suck?

Or is the majority of the Right glad to have the clean up with your tongues position?

It is simply my opinion that we can’t even get things to Slow Down if we consider the Left our enemies and treat them as such.

RightWay79 on January 28, 2013 at 12:25 PM

The Left are nihilistic enemies of civilization and are particularly enemies to the idea of the American Republic.

The GOP are useful idiots to the useful idiots of the Left and they seem bent on the political suicide run they initiated with the amnesty push in 2006. This time they’ll be successful.

And America is already gone. I thought Benedict Roberts made that perfectly clear to everyone. You now live in the American Socialist Superstate …. and the GOP thinks it’s just peachy keen.

It is simply my opinion that we can’t even get things to Slow Down if we consider the Left our enemies and treat them as such. Though we be treated as scum by them, it would be anathema to Conservatism to return the favor.

RightWay79 on January 28, 2013 at 12:25 PM

I am under no more duty to allow them to destroy me extra-Constiutionally than the founders were to let the King decree.

Why are YOU so afraid to take the idiots at Kos at their word in 2005 and start over?

Article V exists for a reason and if we were not to even try to use it to start over or break up the monster and remove the mask the Super Statists are using to pretend they are not against “liberty” we are unworthy of such liberty anyway.

They do not have nice things in store for us, and those of us they cannot brainwash, and cannot break they will destroy or marginalize.

I’ve seen this movie before, I know how the GOP’s “brilliant path” ends.

That article where the idiot Native Brit felt entitled to the dole as the price for her liberty because “uh mom and dad paid taxes’ is the future, not a sane society.

No other nation on the planet is expected to act this stupidly.

We are idiots.

Fabian Conservatism cannot save us from the flaws in the socialist model. The democrats are being ran to destroy the Republic and Bill of Rights and get rid of “archaic impediments towards doing good.”

harlekwin15 on January 28, 2013 at 12:10 PM

I get it…truly, I do.

The Left’s aim is to make statutory the fundamental transformation of our society that they have already achieved culturally.

The tradiational (in the Burkean and “Kirk-ian” sense) Conservative is fated to fight a losing battle.

For every two steps they take “Forward”, our goal is to push them back rightwards by one step.

Such is our lot as reasonable folk. We will fight, but we will ( over the fullness of time) lose, because that is human nature and it is the inevitability of our Fallen World to continue it’s many millenial march towards societal destruction.

Civilazations rise and fall and eventually the world will be made new and humanity’s part here will have been played out.

Our role is simply to pull a Buckley on our country and stand athwart it yelling “Stop!”

Sometimes the country will listen, sometimes it won’t. But in the times (like the one we currently are taking part in) when it won’t Stop… our goal is simply to make it Slow Down.

It is simply my opinion that we can’t even get things to Slow Down if we consider the Left our enemies and treat them as such. Though we be treated as scum by them, it would be anathema to Conservatism to return the favor.

If Shillary runs, it doesn’t matter how much “outreach” or jiu jitsu or pandering we do, the race is over before it even starts

thurman on January 28, 2013 at 12:12 PM

Condi would make it interesting.

You missed a point Ed Jiu-Jitsu only works if you can grab or control the guy going for a knock out punch or choke….

He delivers the blow with speed and proper force you’re done.

The “referee” ie the media and schools are not unbiased observers.

This ain’t UFC this is the WWE.

The game is scripted.

harlekwin15 on January 28, 2013 at 11:11 AM

Wow this is spot on

The ridiculous degree the media placed its thumb on the scale in 2008 and especially 2012 is disgusting

It’s going to be damn tough to win national elections from here on out no matter what, until we destroy the leftist media/entertainment complex, especially combined with the automatic 47% of parasites who vote Dem no matter what for perpetuity now

Maybe if we’re running Rubio vs Cuomo in 2016 we might have an even shot, that’s about it

If Shillary runs, it doesn’t matter how much “outreach” or jiu jitsu or pandering we do, the race is over before it even starts

But… one that it is worth risking everything for. (For, if it succeeds, everyone will be the better off).

RightWay79 on January 28, 2013 at 12:01 PM

Pick up a history book.

Ask the Social Revolutionaries how “bargaining with Marxists” works out.

Fabian Conservatism cannot save us from the flaws in the socialist model. The democrats are being ran to destroy the Republic and Bill of Rights and get rid of “archaic impediments towards doing good.”

I would ask only that they use the Amendatory process and be forced to be honest in their goals.

You would rather aid them in the pursuit of them by at best driving over the cliff at 5 MPH.

Good luck let me know what the glide path of a buick is, Ted Kennedy already tested crash depth.

The Soviet Union would last forever too comrade.

I will not aid the GOP and I will not stop the democrats.

Have fun, my family was in Ohio before the United States and my family will be here long after.

Without adherence to the limits in that document you and by extension this nation will not have my loyalty.

Agreed, so much dumb talk about the end of the republic and such. Letting the Dems fail and picking up the pieces after they fail seems so much smarter than wailing about the end and how we can go f*** ourselves. Fight Obama, not each other.

thebrokenrattle on January 28, 2013 at 11:56 AM

It is not dumb, I have defended the GOP since the last Juan Queeg “screw you gringo” surge with Bush.

What do you not get about Conservative small R republicans having finally met the point they are going to say “enough” and let the only roadblock to this idiocy end?

He has more unemployed than “evil Bush”, his policies are inhibiting growth, he laughs about forcing energy prices up and could care less about declining standards of living for the poor and lower middle that MUST follow…..

the media will NOT REPORT ON ANY OF HIS POLICY WINS’ LOSSES EVER.

Any Republican that thinks caving silently or hoping and praying the media will report that “the poor Senate can’t get things done oh darn!’ is at best naive and at worst stupid.

I begged, snarked, browbeat and tried to cajole the epic in stupidity Ron Paul wing and libertarian uber alles types to stop this Closeted marxist fool from getting another go at it and I used Paul Ryan being added as proof of the Conservative bona fides to try to do it and the GOP “leadership” rewards me with Paul Ryan trying to be too cute by half and saying “you know HILLARY! would have fixed all this by now?”

The Soccer moms he is trying to win back are idiots, and they will swoon at HISTORIC 2 THE FIRST REAL LADY Presdiental CANDIDATE FOR THE AGES! that the M*ther F***ing media will run 24/7…..

No elected Republican is making the case for fiscal sanity, and the party as a whole refuses to engage and call the media on their bias so over the top they may as well get checks from Organizing for America.

You do not get it, you are not dealing an empowered tanned Dukakis this guy sees using EOs as an extra Constitutional dodge as a moral imperative….

he is not any Americans’ friend if the American is a friend of the Constitution and sadly I am not seeing a lot of friends in the GOP.