Please, No Third Party

Plain and simple, there is no need for a third party. All that will do is empower liberals well into the future. The country cannot afford that on so many levels. But if the Republicans want success instead of a permanent second place finish, there is much work to be done and many attitudes to be changed.

The Republicans need to look at a total reorganization. They must look at it as if they were starting a new organization from scratch. Actually they are. The old organization has crumbled from dry rot. I used to be a Republican. I left the party when I realized that almost everyone had their own set of principles, or goal, or maybe even needs, that they would not compromise. My way or the highway. Incrementalism be damned.

When you organize from scratch, the first thing needed is a Mission Statement. It should be brief, concise, and strong. Five points with a short paragraph each is enough to show the mindset and direction that points to the ultimate aims. The points should be strongly conservative. This gives the opportunity to show that a conservative philosophy can be both fair to all and concerned with the American destiny. Most importantly, everyone must be aboard with this mission statement. If one does not agree with a point, let them keep their own council and work for the greater good.

They say that the President has a "Bully Pulpit". That was true when Teddy Roosevelt first said it and it is still true today. That does not mean that the Speaker of the House and the Senate Minority Leader have no pulpit at all. All they have to do is acquire enough spine to put the megaphone to their mouth and use that lesser pulpit for all it is worth. Shout out the Presidents errors and misstatements. Stand proudly in opposition to bad public policy. Stop turning to mush when the President looks down his nose at you and glares. Man up.

The next thing that absolutely must be done is to resurrect President Reagan's eleventh commandment. "Speak no ill of a fellow Republican." Learn it. Love it. Live it. Tout your own policies. One never makes themselves look better by trying to make someone else look worse. If you disagree with another candidate, keep it to yourself. Sell your own product. I guarantee that there  are plenty of people out there that disagree with you. Be persuasive not destructive.

Another point. Politics is not church. People want to vote for leaders of the civil establishment. If you are a strongly religious person, do not ever be tempted to deny your religion, but also don't be tempted to flaunt it. Humility in one's faith is proof enough of it's strength.  

Finally, the wishy-washy, Rockefeller Republicans of the past have had their day. There is no longer a comfortable middle ground. America is a conservative country. Not hard right over the top conservative. Americans are the people that believe in being strong for family and community. They are hard working and self-sufficient. They want to own property and be left alone to live their lives as they see fit. They believe that the United States Constitution is the greatest political contract ever and is a ignored at great risk. They believe that the American Flag is not just a piece of cloth. They know that America is the greatest country the world has ever known.