How Should Conservatives Approach The Obama Presidency?

Part I – Individual Perspectives On The Upcoming Presidency. Part II Will Discuss Party Approaches

Across the country the comments regarding personal approaches to the upcoming term of President Obama have ranged from apathy to refusal to acknowledge the outcome of the election. Obama’s message of intangible change has resonated throughout the world, and this represents a good opportunity to define how conservatives, both individually and collectively, should treat the new President.

First and foremost, we are Americans. We espouse the values and morality of democratic rule and the virtues of our representative republic. We cannot, therefore, abdicate those positions simply because our party did not win the election. The fact is that you win some and you lose some, and the hardest losses to take are the ones that result not from being defeated, but from defeating oneself as happened in this election. The emotional reaction might be one of simple disgust, but the emotional has little place in defining our role and responsibility during the next four years. We must take a step back and frame our mindset so that everything we do politically is a step in accomplishing our goal of a Reagan-esque policy emerging as a Phoenix! It can’t happen by itself, and it will take discipline and determination.

I submit in this post five things that we must do as individuals to confront the Obama presidency and prepare for not only the 2010 elections, but the Presidential race in 2012.

1. We must identify who we are and what we believe. We often berate liberals for lockstep voting for the democrat party. Are we as conservatives any different? I thought John McCain, as admirable as he is as an individual, was a very poor candidate to put before America as the next President and he was not my choice in the primary election. However, there was little else to choose from in the general election so of course he received my vote. Once he was the GOP candidate, he was in possession of my full support, if not agreement with his campaign/philosophy.

We must identify ourselves. To what segment of the GOP do you belong? Are you a Reagan conservative, believing in small government and individual responsibility? Are you a “right wing wacko” who only votes on the issue of abortion? Perhaps you are a social liberal but a conservative in things economic. I do not seek to pass judgment on anyone’s affiliation, only to qualify who we are and where we stand. Regardless of where you fall on the line, you must know before you engage where your own prejudice lies in relation to your political ideology.

2. We must refrain from being democrats. Over the past eight years, President Bush has stood before the nation and been castigated from all quarters. I do have my issues with his financial policies and I doubt his true conservative convictions, but no President in this nation should be so vilified that he cannot function and focus on the issues and concerns of the nation. No President deserves the blatant disrespect and hatred exhibited by almost half of our population.

We must act in a mature and responsible manner. We should respect the Office of the President regardless of who holds the office. As I tell my son all the time, just because someone did something “first” is no rationale for you to do it second. What matters to character is the actions you take, whether anyone is watching or not.

We must act responsibly and maturely. The madness of politics must stop at some point. We must assert statesmanship as the way of doing business. Again, as I tell my son, “There is no need to make _______ look like a jackass. Just let him be and he will take care of that himself.”

3. We must honestly evaluate programs and policies that are recommended and proposed. There are many areas in politics that should be free from partisanship. There are areas of budgeting allocation that can be agreed upon. There are programs which can easily be supported by both parties. The things with which we disagree should be fought. The things which damage our nation or our conservative principles should set loose the proverbial dogs of war! We should speak out against them, blog against them, contact talk radio in opposition to them, and stay informed of changes.

The political parties float “trial balloons” which are public release of information or intentional leaks that are used to gauge the reaction of the public. If the reaction is favorable, then it is then released as a policy matter. If it is readily and vigorously opposed, then they have the deniability that is was a policy recommendation and simply bad information on the part of the news media. We must be current on what is actually happening and not fall prey to those short soundbites that are often lacking contextual materials. We must react swiftly, and with loud voices.

Stay informed! Do more than just read right leaning blogs. Watch real news shows, read papers, visit left leaning blogs. In addition, not many people know of the Federal Register. It is a daily publication of proposed rule changes, executive orders, etc. It is also published on the web at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/

Most items are open for a period of public comment before it is implemented. Things that deal with national defense issues are not included.

4. We must get involved. It is not enough to sit back and simply blog. We must find new conservative voters. We need voter drives, people to place signs, people to write letters to your representatives in Congress and the party, and a thousand otheractivities to lend our support to conservative candidates.

5. We must confront our party and demand what we want. We must hold them to the fire until we get what we want. Our party is absolutely out of touch with the real base, but it is US who stands in line for two hours to pull a lever. If they expect us to support them when they act like democrats, we must tell them that we will not do it! This party is ours. We must assert ownership, or lose it.

Keep your eyes on the prize! Our nation will withstand anything that is put before us, and one man with one term cannot destroy that which God has blessed and for which millions have died. We did not succumb to the Great Depression, the New Deal, the Fair Deal, two world wars, Vietnam, the Great Society (yet), the Carter administration, and eight years of President Clinton. I predicted two years ago that Hillary would not win an election in this country, and I was wrong. She never even got the chance. We will endure, and with us all working together, we will overcome!