The current path is the GOP is on will lead it to either irrelevance or destruction.
Social issues are a loser. Why? Because those who agree with Conservative social positions in the highest numbers are the past, not the future. When conservatives have a statistically different divorce rate (which we don't), then people might care about their superior values.
The GOP lecturing on values is akin to an alcoholic lecturing another alcoholic on the evils of alcohol-- with a drink in his hand. Credibility counts.
But we must guard against another temptation on the other side of this-- the idea that standard that cannot be universally met should never be held. Do we really want to adopt the idea that falling short of a high standard is worse that having none at all? Is hypocrisy such a powerful criticism that we'd rather stand for NOTHING? I hope not.
The Democrats have a lot of unity. They all know how much government is needed (more), how much redistribution they want (more).
This is all the more impressive because the Democrat constituency groups have nothing really in common. There's no reason a gay may should support environmentalism, or that a abortionist should go to bat for unions. Yet it happens.
The Democrats have succeeded at a much harder task than that which the Republicans are failing at-- unifying a party. Their task is harder because Republicans tend to vote more on principles than on crass personal benefit calculus. You'd think organizing people around limited government would be much simpler. Apparently, it's not.
It reminds me of Ron Paul's farewell speech in which he pointed out how his greatest disappointment was how difficult it was to sell freedom.
If Republicans want to ever be relevant again, they need a back-to-basics approach that is stone-axe simple. Start with freedom. Why it matters, what it really is, and which party sprang from a desire to give freedom to slaves.
Start with reminding people what we COULD lose freedom here, as Reagan hinted in his Time for Choosing speech.
Best of all, we must adopt a core of "extremists" among the young.
Social issues are a loser. Why? Because those who agree with Conservative social positions in the highest numbers are the past, not the future. When conservatives have a statistically different divorce rate (which we don't), then people might care about their superior values.
The GOP lecturing on values is akin to an alcoholic lecturing another alcoholic on the evils of alcohol-- with a drink in his hand. Credibility counts.
But we must guard against another temptation on the other side of this-- the idea that standard that cannot be universally met should never be held. Do we really want to adopt the idea that falling short of a high standard is worse that having none at all? Is hypocrisy such a powerful criticism that we'd rather stand for NOTHING? I hope not.
The Democrats have a lot of unity. They all know how much government is needed (more), how much redistribution they want (more).
This is all the more impressive because the Democrat constituency groups have nothing really in common. There's no reason a gay may should support environmentalism, or that a abortionist should go to bat for unions. Yet it happens.
The Democrats have succeeded at a much harder task than that which the Republicans are failing at-- unifying a party. Their task is harder because Republicans tend to vote more on principles than on crass personal benefit calculus. You'd think organizing people around limited government would be much simpler. Apparently, it's not.
It reminds me of Ron Paul's farewell speech in which he pointed out how his greatest disappointment was how difficult it was to sell freedom.
If Republicans want to ever be relevant again, they need a back-to-basics approach that is stone-axe simple. Start with freedom. Why it matters, what it really is, and which party sprang from a desire to give freedom to slaves.
Start with reminding people what we COULD lose freedom here, as Reagan hinted in his Time for Choosing speech.
Best of all, we must adopt a core of "extremists" among the young.
