I support limited government because I am a Christian. I believe we are all sinners. I want as few in charge of me as possible. In Congress, conservatives are agitating against a $1.7 trillion spending package negotiated by Speaker Mike Johnson. Johnson is unquestionably a conservative, but the Speaker of the House of Representatives has greater obligations than just to cater to the conservative movement.
So I have a choice of Democrats who don't fix problems they could because they what to campaign on the issue and exasperate problems because that is what liberal policies do by design, and Republicans who don't fix problems because they can fundraise instead.
The difference is Democrats want the issue to turn out voters and win, Republicans just want money.
The best I can hope for is a status quo by electing Republicans but that is clearly not working because there is no offense, only poor defense, and Democrats will score goals.
But, Republicans, or rather, conservatives are our only option. Conservatives who don't care how the media frames them. Need a whole bunch more of those types.
A lot of the conservatives want the whole loaf of bread I’m sorry to say that’s not going to happen I agree that you have to grow your majority that is the only way we can actually try and shrink the government and get control of the debt. Take a half a loaf now and get the other half later it’s called the long game
Speaker Johnson may next in line behind the Vice-POTUS in sucession to the Presidency, but Matt Gaetz, MTG, or any other Redumblican with a bug up their backside or chip on their shoulder can call for a Motion to Vacate.
Johnson only has as much power as the idiots will allow him.
To the Trump voters supporting the group that is preventing the Speakers plan who say we need to stand up for our principles. Well President Trump is not a true conservative and already changed abortion stance because he said "We need to win" - so where are all the STAND on your principles now? We need common sense and look at the facts, and facts are IRS needs to be cut and we need to fund the Govt. and we don't have 100% vote because we have too many out only for themselves & money. How you act does matter and they like Trump alienate a lot of people instead of sway them. We have an election 2024, This is not the time to "stand on your sword" theatrics. Facts are facts. They need to support the speaker we don't need to keep giving ammo to press about how Republicans are in chaos, obstructive, and dangerous. The Media is not on our side.
Erick, it seems we've come to the tipping point for some of our conservative representatives. Every true conservative wants something that at least resembles limited government. Kevin McCarthy wasn't a conservative leader. I'm represented by Tim Burchett, one of the "populists" that led the charge to boot McCarthy. While I hated the timing of their revolt, I can't sit back and demand that they 'go along to get along' anymore. I get the whole argument you make about compromise, getting what we can, hoping for a brighter day in the future, etc. But, that approach seems to be failing. I've made that argument myself, and am tempted to keep making it in hopes of finally getting enough conservatives in office to really change things. It sounds something like this..."If we can just wait it out, the American people will finally get fed up and vote for conservatives." Hmmm.
I love Speaker Johnson and wish we had more like him. Ditto Chip Roy. I know the Speaker is in a really tough position. Politics will always be tough and no one will ever do it exactly like I would. Can I get an amen? But somewhere along the road, most voters will eventually do one of two things; They'll either throw up their hands in disgust, say to hell with it, I'm not "going along" anymore, and they'll do what they can to "throw the bums out", or, they'll accept the notion that conservatism is basically dead and they'll vote for the "best we can get". I'm leaning more to the former course of action these days because the latter has seen us decline in almost every area that political influence affects. I know perfectly well that a spiritual revival is the only thing that will save our country. Trusting Jesus is the only real salvation. But, every conservative voter has to decide which approach is best...Go along, go nuclear. My finger is hovering above the red button.
Love your wisdom and insight. Heck, I love you my brother. May God bless you and yours in this trouble-filled year we face. He's still on the throne, but He's allowed the Philistines, or Assyrians, or the Babylonians, etc. to be gathering just outside the gate.
"The painful truth is the conservatives were betrayed by primary election voters in Republican leaning districts who foisted candidates on their congressional districts who were poor matches to those districts."
I disagree. The conservatives and the voters were betrayed by the likes of MTG, DT, and the "freedom" caucus who coopted the conversation and put terrible candidates on the ballot. The problem now is getting those clowns out of office, starting with MTG who is an embarrassment to Georgia. She makes Hank Johnson look good.
Someone very bright in the administrative state is manipulating conservatives causing them to trip over themselves because they can't get out of their own way. The marionettes know which strings to pull. The end result will be horrible for this once great country. I appreciate your hard work Erick, and I've told you such at almost every opportunity, but recently I'm less able to discern if you're actually optimistic about the future of conservatives, the elections, America, or if you're merely documenting the problems that are so evident on both sides. Please help your audience understand what needs to be done in order to save this country. Is there a solution?
I know you’ve made this argument before. But the problem isn’t just the candidates. It’s the voters.
If these voters like the ones who voted for kemp but not walker can’t see that Dems are an extreme threat to the very fabric of the nation, then the candidate won’t matter.
Because we will get what we have now. Moderate republicans who are more left leaning but they got elected because they were moderate. Yet they often side with the left and vote for left leaning policies.
So how is that any different than getting a dem.
Sacrificing your principles to get elected is how we got in this mess.
Lastly, you say the republicans have a 3 seat majority. No they don’t. They have about a 10 seat minority actually because the moderate RINOS are basically democrats.
No, the problem is voters. And that actually goes back to the mainstream media outlets.
Who lied about walker and covered for warnock. But the people believed the media.
Just like they are believing the lies about all republicans.
This country deserves the situation its voted itself into.
That will self correct tragically. Either through a terrorist attack or is getting into a meaningless war. Change will be paid in blood.
Absolutely, a big part of this is the voters. The 2022 elections in Georgia illustrate this perfectly. How is it that Walker (R) lost to Warnock (D), yet Abrams (D) lost to Kemp (R)?
Erick has pointed this out before: It's because people don't like jerks.
Abrams pretty much said that you need to kill your kids to prevent living in poverty. That did not set very well with the voters, even some Democrats. And Walker was just not that likeable. And it's the same attitude that a lot of conservatives have when it comes to Trump. They'll say: "I like what he says, I like what he stands for for.... but I... just.... don't... like.... HIM." So they simply don't vote.
The extreme Right is whacked almost as much as the extreme Left. We don't need to grow the extreme Right bigger than the extreme Left. Republicans and Conservatives need to just come together with some old fashioned common sense and put our country back on the right path - one step at a time.
The most recent events in Israel and the massive support shown for Palestine from the left tells me the extreme right is no where close to being as bad as the extreme left.
You may have some idiotic outliers for the conservative side but the craziness is plentiful on the left.
And growing.
There’s no comparison at all.
Ask why there is no such thing as a moderate democrat. Because there isn’t. They are all extreme left.
I'd say, if you placed the extreme left on a scale with the extreme right, the left-hand scale pan would then hit the table so hard, the extreme right would get launched across the room. Far, far more of them.
I cannot deny that what you have said makes sense when you describe the budget battle purely from an analytical mathematical political standpoint. But to many conservatives, your words sound like just another apologetical effort to rebrand the same message we’ve heard for decades: it’s more important to elect Republicans than it is for the Republicans to protect the interests of the people that elected them. Same message, more eloquent packaging. How about an alternative? Why don’t we allow conservatives to stand on the principles that they believe in, and do what they think is right? And well, if they hurt your precious Republican establishment then so be it. You see Erick, what you may know in the darkest recesses of your intellect is the painful truth. Many, many conservatives who once put all their hope in the Republican Party have given up. They believe that the Republican establishment is unwilling or incapable of stopping the slow, painful march to tyranny. And they therefore believe that in order for it to get better, it’s gonna have to get a whole hell of a lot worse. In short, the battle is long since lost. Why do you think so many conservatives support Trainwreck Trump, even though he really isn’t all that conservative? You see Erick, too many people’s reality is far, far different from your own. And that is why the Republican Party that you so revere has failed. Still hoping you follow in the footsteps of Limbaugh ….
The issue is discerning between reality and excuse -- the reality is we do not have the numbers, so we have to fight for better candidates to improve our margins. We can fight, but we have to start again at the primary level and improve our numbers.
Well I will say this, Trump is apparently at his best when he relatively silent as he is now. For the love of God let's not once again go down the road of running all of Trump's carefully hand-vetted candidates for offices around the country.
Robert, Mark, and 47Yinzer, perhaps there is a middle way. I agree with all of you, but at the moment, I'm hanging out more in Mark's camp (and John's, which just dropped). We are holding onto a very thin majority in the House, and that's really all we have. I think Johnson is great, and if the Freedom Caucus and others throw him out to get a speaker more aligned to themselves, they'll be cutting off their nose to spite their face, imho. To win big in November, we have to convince some number of independent voters that we can govern firmly, passionately, yet calmly. Johnson and the Freedom Caucus members can calmly say what they wish to do, but then state what they actually can do, respecting that compromise is necessary. Then, when we win big, we can begin governing without caring how the media portrays us, as they will always portray conservatives badly when we apply common sense to 'intractable' problems. Robert's right that Republicans have been doormats. With our thin margin, now is not the time act like we are ruling the roost.
I totally agree that we cannot make the same mistake with Speaker Johnson that we made with Speaker McCarthy. Yes there was a part of me that admired their willingness to oust McCarthy. But that was a fool's move because it was not going to have the intended effect of promoting conservatism. It did far more harm than good.
By stating "But to many conservatives, your words sound like just another apologetical effort to rebrand the same message we’ve heard for decades: it’s more important to elect Republicans than it is for the Republicans to protect the interests of the people that elected them" you imply that the Republicans that were chosen (the ones that lost very winable races) for the 2022 elections were representing the people.
That is not necessarily true. I believe, that these political candidates and commentators hoodwinked enough Republican primary voters to put them into the general election. After that, they were handily beaten by the people being represented.
We need conservative commentators and politicians to stop feeding the conservatives what they want to hear, and start feed them what they need to hear. This is what Erick is doing. The other way simply generates more revenue.
So apparently what we conservatives "need to hear" is exactly what I said toward the end of my comments: the battle is already lost, and the conservative principles so eloquently communicated to us by Ronald Reagan, the principles that brought so many of us to embrace the Republican Party, are already dead.
This is same all or nothing philosophy that kept Republicans from passing any meaningful abortion legislation in Georgia for so many years. "Take my ball and go home."
Well said, Robert. Please keep speaking about that true conservative alternative? For every few pair of deaf ears your words fall on, there's at least one quiet Constitutionalist who gains encouragement and courage from what you say.
There is no true conservative alternative. The facts are the facts and the only thing the "Freedom" group has done so far is fall on their sword. That is OK for them but not for our country right now. We need to pass the Speakers deal or we will be worse off. An election is coming very soon and the actual R party is looking (is) completely nonfunctioning! Throw in Govt shutdown or remove Speaker kiss it goodbye. If by a miracle a Rep wins then "conservatives can stand on the principles that they believe in" to do it now is indeed a clown show for money.
I read this and thought it was good, but I wished he didn't use the spiritual metaphors he chose in describing his ideas. Instead, I wish he had appealed to our Creator, with a realization that not all Americans share the same faith. I'm stating this because I truly believe the Kingdom of God is far more important than anything this world develops, while as a patriot, I believe our system is about as good as it gets when citizens pursue God. Most, if not all, of our country's problems stem from most of our citizens not pursuing God. But as a descriptive piece for steps to be taken to get back the culture, I though it had many good ideas in undoing the harm the left has brought on us because of our complacency. But, as I talk with people who disagree with me politically, I make sure they know that their relationship with God is far and above more important than whether they are liberal or conservative. Sorry if this is too much, but thank you for the link.
It's amazing to me that at a time when we have a Democratic administration floundering on every single issue, the Republicans are so disorganized. The GOP mix of chamber of commerce moderates, Reagan conservatives, and Trump populists seem like they have less and less uniting them together and no plan for governing if they get power. I think what they lack is clear leadership who can define what the GOP message is and with coattails to carry supporters to victory. My hope was that Republicans would recognize DeSantis as that candidate but the indictments meant the Trump populists were going to stick with Trump and the Never Trumpers don't like that DeSantis picked a fight with and beat Disney on a culture war issue. So we're going all in on Trump for 2024. He could pull off an upset but where does the GOP go from here if he loses which is the most likely outcome? Part of me thinks we go the way of the Whigs but a splintering of the party means the collapse of effective resistance to Progressive Bureaucrats and defeat in the culture war. That's not a good outcome either but it seems to be the direction the GOP is quite eager to get to.
We need a conservative re-set, with a conservative man or woman with deep understanding and a 70,000 foot view, who can persuade reasonable dems and conservatives of all stripes to embrace our system wholeheartedly, recognizing its self-correcting features. Slavery, Jim Crow, racial prejudice has been dealt with and is being dealt with because our system allows it. We have to resell that old idea that the American way is the best way, frankly, and allows our country to be exceptional, which we are despite democrat cry’s that we aren’t. They are race hustlers and need racism to exist or they’ll be out of money, jobs, and power. We must sell the idea that our nation is a ‘stew’ of indigenous people and immigrants and that’s why we’re exceptional, because our founders set up God-inspired guardrails in our founding documents. Democrats today are largely post-constitutionalists and that’s the clearest and fastest way to real tyranny. We need a leader who can effectively say and explain that the democrats are the very real threat to democracy they say we are. I’ve not seen that conservative leader yet, as in the debates the candidates keep sniping at each other over trivial matters and continually keep missing the much bigger picture.
Agreed but if we are dysfunctional now what on earth will a Trump win do to fix that? When will folks really look at what he actually did and didn't do. Few good stuck because he has no follow through, he knew next Dem could do what he did to Obama but still didn't make things "law". He wouldn't listen when he needed to, and made unnecessary enemies with his thin skin, need to always be "right" and not being able to let things go. He is still harping on DeSantis not bowing down to him. Trump did what we wanted as Haley said he *broke" things that needed to be but we need a true conservative and he isn't. Already changed abortion stance said we need to win - so where are all the STAND on your principles now?
The people that need to hear this will dismiss the message. I've reached the point where I think the Republicans need to get defeated across the board so we can rebuild the party from the ground up. It's dysfunctional right now.
So I have a choice of Democrats who don't fix problems they could because they what to campaign on the issue and exasperate problems because that is what liberal policies do by design, and Republicans who don't fix problems because they can fundraise instead.
The difference is Democrats want the issue to turn out voters and win, Republicans just want money.
The best I can hope for is a status quo by electing Republicans but that is clearly not working because there is no offense, only poor defense, and Democrats will score goals.
But, Republicans, or rather, conservatives are our only option. Conservatives who don't care how the media frames them. Need a whole bunch more of those types.
A lot of the conservatives want the whole loaf of bread I’m sorry to say that’s not going to happen I agree that you have to grow your majority that is the only way we can actually try and shrink the government and get control of the debt. Take a half a loaf now and get the other half later it’s called the long game
Speaker Johnson may next in line behind the Vice-POTUS in sucession to the Presidency, but Matt Gaetz, MTG, or any other Redumblican with a bug up their backside or chip on their shoulder can call for a Motion to Vacate.
Johnson only has as much power as the idiots will allow him.
Yep, that needs to change.
To the Trump voters supporting the group that is preventing the Speakers plan who say we need to stand up for our principles. Well President Trump is not a true conservative and already changed abortion stance because he said "We need to win" - so where are all the STAND on your principles now? We need common sense and look at the facts, and facts are IRS needs to be cut and we need to fund the Govt. and we don't have 100% vote because we have too many out only for themselves & money. How you act does matter and they like Trump alienate a lot of people instead of sway them. We have an election 2024, This is not the time to "stand on your sword" theatrics. Facts are facts. They need to support the speaker we don't need to keep giving ammo to press about how Republicans are in chaos, obstructive, and dangerous. The Media is not on our side.
Erick, it seems we've come to the tipping point for some of our conservative representatives. Every true conservative wants something that at least resembles limited government. Kevin McCarthy wasn't a conservative leader. I'm represented by Tim Burchett, one of the "populists" that led the charge to boot McCarthy. While I hated the timing of their revolt, I can't sit back and demand that they 'go along to get along' anymore. I get the whole argument you make about compromise, getting what we can, hoping for a brighter day in the future, etc. But, that approach seems to be failing. I've made that argument myself, and am tempted to keep making it in hopes of finally getting enough conservatives in office to really change things. It sounds something like this..."If we can just wait it out, the American people will finally get fed up and vote for conservatives." Hmmm.
I love Speaker Johnson and wish we had more like him. Ditto Chip Roy. I know the Speaker is in a really tough position. Politics will always be tough and no one will ever do it exactly like I would. Can I get an amen? But somewhere along the road, most voters will eventually do one of two things; They'll either throw up their hands in disgust, say to hell with it, I'm not "going along" anymore, and they'll do what they can to "throw the bums out", or, they'll accept the notion that conservatism is basically dead and they'll vote for the "best we can get". I'm leaning more to the former course of action these days because the latter has seen us decline in almost every area that political influence affects. I know perfectly well that a spiritual revival is the only thing that will save our country. Trusting Jesus is the only real salvation. But, every conservative voter has to decide which approach is best...Go along, go nuclear. My finger is hovering above the red button.
Love your wisdom and insight. Heck, I love you my brother. May God bless you and yours in this trouble-filled year we face. He's still on the throne, but He's allowed the Philistines, or Assyrians, or the Babylonians, etc. to be gathering just outside the gate.
"The painful truth is the conservatives were betrayed by primary election voters in Republican leaning districts who foisted candidates on their congressional districts who were poor matches to those districts."
I disagree. The conservatives and the voters were betrayed by the likes of MTG, DT, and the "freedom" caucus who coopted the conversation and put terrible candidates on the ballot. The problem now is getting those clowns out of office, starting with MTG who is an embarrassment to Georgia. She makes Hank Johnson look good.
Someone very bright in the administrative state is manipulating conservatives causing them to trip over themselves because they can't get out of their own way. The marionettes know which strings to pull. The end result will be horrible for this once great country. I appreciate your hard work Erick, and I've told you such at almost every opportunity, but recently I'm less able to discern if you're actually optimistic about the future of conservatives, the elections, America, or if you're merely documenting the problems that are so evident on both sides. Please help your audience understand what needs to be done in order to save this country. Is there a solution?
Erick, your great friend Chip Roy seems to be one of these sowers of chaos. Am I wrong?
He's the most responsible man in the room -- trying to fight for a better deal without blowing everything up in the process.
Please tell him to stick with Johnson, can’t let him fall.
Good to know. We need some responsible people, not just more performative types.
I know you’ve made this argument before. But the problem isn’t just the candidates. It’s the voters.
If these voters like the ones who voted for kemp but not walker can’t see that Dems are an extreme threat to the very fabric of the nation, then the candidate won’t matter.
Because we will get what we have now. Moderate republicans who are more left leaning but they got elected because they were moderate. Yet they often side with the left and vote for left leaning policies.
So how is that any different than getting a dem.
Sacrificing your principles to get elected is how we got in this mess.
Lastly, you say the republicans have a 3 seat majority. No they don’t. They have about a 10 seat minority actually because the moderate RINOS are basically democrats.
No, the problem is voters. And that actually goes back to the mainstream media outlets.
Who lied about walker and covered for warnock. But the people believed the media.
Just like they are believing the lies about all republicans.
This country deserves the situation its voted itself into.
That will self correct tragically. Either through a terrorist attack or is getting into a meaningless war. Change will be paid in blood.
Absolutely, a big part of this is the voters. The 2022 elections in Georgia illustrate this perfectly. How is it that Walker (R) lost to Warnock (D), yet Abrams (D) lost to Kemp (R)?
Erick has pointed this out before: It's because people don't like jerks.
Abrams pretty much said that you need to kill your kids to prevent living in poverty. That did not set very well with the voters, even some Democrats. And Walker was just not that likeable. And it's the same attitude that a lot of conservatives have when it comes to Trump. They'll say: "I like what he says, I like what he stands for for.... but I... just.... don't... like.... HIM." So they simply don't vote.
You are 100% correct. Candidates matter. The thing I am saying is as bad as walker may have been portrayed warnock was 100 times worse.
Raphael didn’t threaten his wife he tried to run her over.
His property management company is akin to the mob.
He claims he is a preacher but hasn’t been to church in years. And he was never a pastor as some claimed him to be.
Point being the public never got to see or never understood who he was. If they did they would have realized it and voted him down.
Warnock said worse things than Abrams. But again it was never shown. Never heard about.
This is no different than the crowd voting for Barabbas over Jesus.
That’s basically what happened and no I’m not comparing walker to Jesus.
So the narrative is the problem. And who controls the Narrative? The media.
The extreme Right is whacked almost as much as the extreme Left. We don't need to grow the extreme Right bigger than the extreme Left. Republicans and Conservatives need to just come together with some old fashioned common sense and put our country back on the right path - one step at a time.
Yall ain't wrong about the Quantity. But I was referring to the whacked ideals of extremism.
The most recent events in Israel and the massive support shown for Palestine from the left tells me the extreme right is no where close to being as bad as the extreme left.
You may have some idiotic outliers for the conservative side but the craziness is plentiful on the left.
And growing.
There’s no comparison at all.
Ask why there is no such thing as a moderate democrat. Because there isn’t. They are all extreme left.
I'd say, if you placed the extreme left on a scale with the extreme right, the left-hand scale pan would then hit the table so hard, the extreme right would get launched across the room. Far, far more of them.
Many of these republicans have no wisdom for governing.
In short. Elections have consequences.
I cannot deny that what you have said makes sense when you describe the budget battle purely from an analytical mathematical political standpoint. But to many conservatives, your words sound like just another apologetical effort to rebrand the same message we’ve heard for decades: it’s more important to elect Republicans than it is for the Republicans to protect the interests of the people that elected them. Same message, more eloquent packaging. How about an alternative? Why don’t we allow conservatives to stand on the principles that they believe in, and do what they think is right? And well, if they hurt your precious Republican establishment then so be it. You see Erick, what you may know in the darkest recesses of your intellect is the painful truth. Many, many conservatives who once put all their hope in the Republican Party have given up. They believe that the Republican establishment is unwilling or incapable of stopping the slow, painful march to tyranny. And they therefore believe that in order for it to get better, it’s gonna have to get a whole hell of a lot worse. In short, the battle is long since lost. Why do you think so many conservatives support Trainwreck Trump, even though he really isn’t all that conservative? You see Erick, too many people’s reality is far, far different from your own. And that is why the Republican Party that you so revere has failed. Still hoping you follow in the footsteps of Limbaugh ….
The issue is discerning between reality and excuse -- the reality is we do not have the numbers, so we have to fight for better candidates to improve our margins. We can fight, but we have to start again at the primary level and improve our numbers.
Well I will say this, Trump is apparently at his best when he relatively silent as he is now. For the love of God let's not once again go down the road of running all of Trump's carefully hand-vetted candidates for offices around the country.
Robert, Mark, and 47Yinzer, perhaps there is a middle way. I agree with all of you, but at the moment, I'm hanging out more in Mark's camp (and John's, which just dropped). We are holding onto a very thin majority in the House, and that's really all we have. I think Johnson is great, and if the Freedom Caucus and others throw him out to get a speaker more aligned to themselves, they'll be cutting off their nose to spite their face, imho. To win big in November, we have to convince some number of independent voters that we can govern firmly, passionately, yet calmly. Johnson and the Freedom Caucus members can calmly say what they wish to do, but then state what they actually can do, respecting that compromise is necessary. Then, when we win big, we can begin governing without caring how the media portrays us, as they will always portray conservatives badly when we apply common sense to 'intractable' problems. Robert's right that Republicans have been doormats. With our thin margin, now is not the time act like we are ruling the roost.
I totally agree that we cannot make the same mistake with Speaker Johnson that we made with Speaker McCarthy. Yes there was a part of me that admired their willingness to oust McCarthy. But that was a fool's move because it was not going to have the intended effect of promoting conservatism. It did far more harm than good.
Amen, and I see signs that Johnson is really good...can handle the malignant, captured media adroitly.
By stating "But to many conservatives, your words sound like just another apologetical effort to rebrand the same message we’ve heard for decades: it’s more important to elect Republicans than it is for the Republicans to protect the interests of the people that elected them" you imply that the Republicans that were chosen (the ones that lost very winable races) for the 2022 elections were representing the people.
That is not necessarily true. I believe, that these political candidates and commentators hoodwinked enough Republican primary voters to put them into the general election. After that, they were handily beaten by the people being represented.
We need conservative commentators and politicians to stop feeding the conservatives what they want to hear, and start feed them what they need to hear. This is what Erick is doing. The other way simply generates more revenue.
So apparently what we conservatives "need to hear" is exactly what I said toward the end of my comments: the battle is already lost, and the conservative principles so eloquently communicated to us by Ronald Reagan, the principles that brought so many of us to embrace the Republican Party, are already dead.
Well, those are your words, And you seem to be very proud of them. It is almost as if you have learned how to monetize your opinions. Good for you.
If we cannot have confidence in our opinions, then we are weak-minded fools. Do you have any confidence in your opinions?
Clearly, I have the confidence to share my opinions on a public forum. I do not desire to have a debate, so this will be my last response.
This is same all or nothing philosophy that kept Republicans from passing any meaningful abortion legislation in Georgia for so many years. "Take my ball and go home."
Rolsten was that reason.
He was and is a democrat liberal socialist. He just changed parties to keep his seat.
His replacement is not much better.
OMG don't get me started on David Ralston!
Well said, Robert. Please keep speaking about that true conservative alternative? For every few pair of deaf ears your words fall on, there's at least one quiet Constitutionalist who gains encouragement and courage from what you say.
There is no true conservative alternative. The facts are the facts and the only thing the "Freedom" group has done so far is fall on their sword. That is OK for them but not for our country right now. We need to pass the Speakers deal or we will be worse off. An election is coming very soon and the actual R party is looking (is) completely nonfunctioning! Throw in Govt shutdown or remove Speaker kiss it goodbye. If by a miracle a Rep wins then "conservatives can stand on the principles that they believe in" to do it now is indeed a clown show for money.
I agree, but I think Johnson is a real asset to conservatives and he should be supported. The time will come if we are not idiots.
The time IS coming, and Christopher Rufo has written about the growing true-conservative momentum amongst many younger Americans.
https://christopherrufo.com/p/the-new-right-activism
Thanks, will read.
I read this and thought it was good, but I wished he didn't use the spiritual metaphors he chose in describing his ideas. Instead, I wish he had appealed to our Creator, with a realization that not all Americans share the same faith. I'm stating this because I truly believe the Kingdom of God is far more important than anything this world develops, while as a patriot, I believe our system is about as good as it gets when citizens pursue God. Most, if not all, of our country's problems stem from most of our citizens not pursuing God. But as a descriptive piece for steps to be taken to get back the culture, I though it had many good ideas in undoing the harm the left has brought on us because of our complacency. But, as I talk with people who disagree with me politically, I make sure they know that their relationship with God is far and above more important than whether they are liberal or conservative. Sorry if this is too much, but thank you for the link.
It's amazing to me that at a time when we have a Democratic administration floundering on every single issue, the Republicans are so disorganized. The GOP mix of chamber of commerce moderates, Reagan conservatives, and Trump populists seem like they have less and less uniting them together and no plan for governing if they get power. I think what they lack is clear leadership who can define what the GOP message is and with coattails to carry supporters to victory. My hope was that Republicans would recognize DeSantis as that candidate but the indictments meant the Trump populists were going to stick with Trump and the Never Trumpers don't like that DeSantis picked a fight with and beat Disney on a culture war issue. So we're going all in on Trump for 2024. He could pull off an upset but where does the GOP go from here if he loses which is the most likely outcome? Part of me thinks we go the way of the Whigs but a splintering of the party means the collapse of effective resistance to Progressive Bureaucrats and defeat in the culture war. That's not a good outcome either but it seems to be the direction the GOP is quite eager to get to.
We need a conservative re-set, with a conservative man or woman with deep understanding and a 70,000 foot view, who can persuade reasonable dems and conservatives of all stripes to embrace our system wholeheartedly, recognizing its self-correcting features. Slavery, Jim Crow, racial prejudice has been dealt with and is being dealt with because our system allows it. We have to resell that old idea that the American way is the best way, frankly, and allows our country to be exceptional, which we are despite democrat cry’s that we aren’t. They are race hustlers and need racism to exist or they’ll be out of money, jobs, and power. We must sell the idea that our nation is a ‘stew’ of indigenous people and immigrants and that’s why we’re exceptional, because our founders set up God-inspired guardrails in our founding documents. Democrats today are largely post-constitutionalists and that’s the clearest and fastest way to real tyranny. We need a leader who can effectively say and explain that the democrats are the very real threat to democracy they say we are. I’ve not seen that conservative leader yet, as in the debates the candidates keep sniping at each other over trivial matters and continually keep missing the much bigger picture.
Agreed but if we are dysfunctional now what on earth will a Trump win do to fix that? When will folks really look at what he actually did and didn't do. Few good stuck because he has no follow through, he knew next Dem could do what he did to Obama but still didn't make things "law". He wouldn't listen when he needed to, and made unnecessary enemies with his thin skin, need to always be "right" and not being able to let things go. He is still harping on DeSantis not bowing down to him. Trump did what we wanted as Haley said he *broke" things that needed to be but we need a true conservative and he isn't. Already changed abortion stance said we need to win - so where are all the STAND on your principles now?
The people that need to hear this will dismiss the message. I've reached the point where I think the Republicans need to get defeated across the board so we can rebuild the party from the ground up. It's dysfunctional right now.
I like Johnson, think he is very conservative, but a realist, and wants to win in the same way you and I do. Need to stick with him.
Great piece, Erick.