Posted by
Bert Chapman on Saturday, November 10, 2012 11:37:36 AM
After much promise, the 2012 election turned out to be a disappointing letdown for conservatives. Despite Obama's record of failure and incompetence, the American electorate decided to adhere to the words of Proverbs 26:11 and returned to their Obama vomit just as a fool repeats his folly. The President's campaign was helped by a sycophantic mainstream media that ignored his failures in domestic, social, and foreign policy, especially the Libyan consulate fiasco, was successful in demonizing Romney's successful business career including his factually correct, if statistically questionable, assertion that 47% of Americans were going to vote for Obama anyway due to their financial dependence on the government. The President's campaign also had a propaganda campaign that would please Nazi Germany's Joseph Goebbels, the Soviet Union's Joseph Stalin, China's Mao Zedong, and the North Koreans with its spooky ad of brainwashed liberal kids claiming Romney would pollute the air and various other crimes.
The Romney campaign's overall grade should be a B- which I know will be considered to generous by some conservatives. They did a good job of stressing the importance of restoring economic freedom and promoting growth, but they failed to point out the direct causal link between our national debt and the increasing dependence of many individuals on government programs due to their personal irresponsibility. Romney was not nearly aggressive enough in attacking Obama for his incompetence on Libya and in the 2nd debate he should have pointed at Obama and told him that this episode alone proves he is unfit to serve as Commander-in-Chief.
I know the Romney campaign sought to come across as more appealing to women and independent voters but in dealing with a hardcore campaign like the Democrat Chicago machine you have to play smashmouth politics. Romney's campaign should also have been more aggressive in attacking Obama for his administration's assaults on religious freedom and for not emphasizing the importance of judicial appointments.
The Senate campaigns, initially so promising, turned out to be failures. I'm glad Deb Fischer won in Nebraska and Jeff Flake in Arizona but the senatorial choices in Indiana and Missouri (Richard Mourdock and Todd Akin) were absolute fiascos. I'm strongly prolife, but you have to include rape and incest exceptions in your campaign rhetoric to avoid frightening some women voters and making yourself vulnerable to attack from abortionist harridans. GOP parties in all states need to thoroughly vet potential candidates to minimize the possibility of political hari-kari rhetoric such as that spouted by Mourdock and Akin. These candidates need comprehensive training on how to respond to media "gotcha" questions. While I have some sympathy for Tea Party concerns, they need to work with traditional conservatives on electing candidates who are concerned with promoting conservative reform governmental policies instead of spouting babbling anti-government rhetoric. It's time for professionalism and discipline instead of amateurish delusions.
Despite losing a couple of seats in the House, we still retain reasonably complete control of that body which will serve as a brake on Obama's extremism. We can be thankful that Darrell Issa and the Oversight and Government Reform Committee will be able to continue their dogged investigations of Obama Administration follies and crimes which will accelerate in the years go come. Cong. Issa should give his staff and majority committee members some rest now, because they will be as busy as bees during the 113th Congress. Paul Ryan will still chair the House Budget Committee and work diligently to restore fiscal sanity to government spending. We also have rising stars such as Florida Senator Marco Rubio and New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte along with solid governors such as Louisiana's Bobby Jindal. Jeb Bush could also be a key player in future GOP aspirations.
Historically, 2nd presidential terms have not been the most successful. Only God knows what will happen with the fiscal cliff's approach, but we will continue experiencing sluggish growth, probably increasing unemployment, health care costs rising beyond normal inflationary pressures, rises in national debt, and continuing aggression against our interests from hostile foreign countries and transnational terrorist groups. When such attacks come from the Islamic world we will also, undoubtedly, hear the continuing excuses about the need to be "sensitive" to Islamist "feelings" instead of addressing the root evil of the Islamist world view. Americans will have to learn the hard way that Obama is congenitally incapable of governing in a pragmatic and centrist manner given the election results. His unbounded arrogance will cause him to continue pursuing statist solutions to economic problems which will make them worse and cause our continued decline. He will continue appealing to our ignorance and debauched natures with the most pathetic example of this being a recent poll which blamed Bush Administration policies for being responsible for our current economic problems. These problems have been in place for several decades, include policies pursued by both parties, and a national refusal to recognize the need for limits in personal and national expenditures.
Post campaign rumination has also seen talk that Republicans need to accommodate changing demographic realities. It is true that the Hispanic portion of the population has increased and the white percentage is declining. We need to work to convince Hispanics that, in the long term, their material success is dependent on promoting personal economic empowerment and lessening their dependence on the government. We need to let Hispanics know that they can contribute much, and have contributed much, to our societal fabric and that the Democrats seek to appeal to their basest natures and make them dependent peons on the federal government. We also need to let them know that such big government policies are antithetical to their strong sense of family cohesion as are Obama Administration policies attacking religious freedom. Democrats will have continual trouble juggling the aspirations of non-white politicos for often competing funding aspirations at a time of protracted fiscal constraint. The GOP should work to exploit these inevitable tensions.
Concerning immigration, we need to stress the importance of adhering to national laws while emphasizing that we value the contributions of Hispanics and other immigrants with valuable work skills, expertise, and strong moral values. Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, and New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez can play big roles in getting this message out to national Hispanic audiences. Republicans also do not need to compromise our values on social issues like defending traditional marriage and unborn children. We need to do a better job of showing the direct linkage between poverty, income, educational attainment, and rising and economically unsustainable public assistance programs due to morally irresponsible personal behavior. Contrary to the claims of secularist wonks, there are direct links between immoral and irresponsible personal behavior and societal political, economic, and social problems.
God remains in control and reports of a conservative demise have been issued in the past by the liberal cognoscenti and have failed to materialize. We must stand strong for our values and principles including fiscal discipline, a strong, assertive, and unapologetic foreign and national security policy, and standing for personal moral responsibility and self-discipline. It will take a lot of pain, but eventually the country will come to curse itself for its foolish support of Barack Obama and his egocentric statist delusions.