From J. Robert Smith at americanthinker.com
...Republicans, for the sake of short-sighted gain, are tempted to accommodate, in part, approaches (illegal immigration, for one) and policies that are leading the nation to profoundly troubled times. It's at this very point in history that the GOP needs to provide voters with a principled contrast to the Democrats, articulating a vision (yes, vision counts), remedies, and plans that stand in stark contrast to the hardening leftism, cronyism, and corruption that Democrats are serving up.
...Republicans, for the sake of short-sighted gain, are tempted to accommodate, in part, approaches (illegal immigration, for one) and policies that are leading the nation to profoundly troubled times. It's at this very point in history that the GOP needs to provide voters with a principled contrast to the Democrats, articulating a vision (yes, vision counts), remedies, and plans that stand in stark contrast to the hardening leftism, cronyism, and corruption that Democrats are serving up.
Conservatives must insist that the GOP be a bold party -- a party more than "old and grand," but grand in what it establishes as its aim for the nation. That aim needs to be high and genuinely grand. Conservatives should call for an American renaissance grounded on founding principles, dedicated to limited, localized government and committed to individual development, opportunity, and excellence. The American Renaissance Initiative should be proclaimed from mountaintops to barrios; from inner-city Detroit to the affluent suburbs of Philadelphia. Proclaimed confidently, cheerful -- without excuses or qualifications.
Would an American Renaissance Initiative be the formula for immediate political gain? Not likely. Realities haven't ripened; a majority of voters' perceptions are lagging. Short term, it may prove that sharp contrasts with the Democrats favor them electorally.
But when failure comes to the nation -- obvious, grievous failure -- the Republican Party will have established clear-cut alternatives to the sickness-inducing ideology of the left. The GOP will have provided remedies and roadmaps out of the nation's troubles and to better, brighter days. And not incidentally, the GOP's American Renaissance Initiative needs to include cultural and societal revitalization. There's a greater hunger for basic traditional values among Americans than many on the right may suspect. Many Americans, steeped in the ways of "progressive" culture have that hunger, but don't know how to satisfy it. The GOP must show the way; the party must show that the link between a nation's culture and society and governance are inextricable. Government can't be virtuous if its culture and society are debauched.
Conservatives can't count on the Republican establishment to have the boldness to push for an American renaissance. Establishment Republicans have too much invested in the "game," and that includes livelihoods, careers, and stature. The push for conservatives is to assume full control of the GOP; the party's infrastructure is valuable and laws in the states are biased toward the two-party system. But if conservatives aren't successful in taking the GOP from the get-alongs, then it's time to part company. An establishment-run GOP will be nothing more than a listing ship tethered to the Democrats' ship steaming off to disaster...
Read it all here:
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