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This year's election has been a devastating wake up call for the conservative movement. John McCain rode a tentative confidence out of the primaries, and his subsequent loss to Barack Obama left the GOP scrambling to reinvent itself.
The Republican National Convention replaced its leadership with Michael Steele. A man expected to put a fresh face on the GOP, but who instead seemed to spark a blogosphere battle about whom the "real" leader of the conservative movement is. Unification, solidarity, whatever word one wants to use to mean a team working toward a common goal, was not the end result.
But this "reinvention" is antithetical to what the word "conservatism" -- the ideology around which the GOP claims to revolve -- explicitly stands for. Conservatism is about protecting the ideals upon which the nation was founded. And not about hiring perception managers to fix public opinion.
(Not that I'm accusing the Republican party of such tactics, but a loss of identity in the public forum can lead to desperate measures. And neither party is without survival instincts.)
What the conservative movement needs are more people like AlfonZo Rachel -- 'Zo to his blog-o-buddies at Hotair.com -- and Steven Crowder, former "babe magnet," according to his Web site. If conservatism is to survive, it will need voices brimming with the raw candidness found throughout the vlogs these men post to YouTube.
The former (YouTube channel "machosauceproduction") is an Air Force brat who was a "panty-huntin' teenager" who experimented with psychotropic drugs. He is a man who speaks fondly of his great-grandmother, a former slave, who lived to 114 years of age -- 112 years independently -- who, as 'Zo puts it, "was a woman who truly embraced freedom."
Rachel is a man of great convictions who can articulate without hesitation, doubt or stammering for the best possible word any aspect of what he believes -- nay, knows -- to be true. Even Rush Limbaugh commented at his CPAC address that conservatives can speak off-the-cuff about their ideologies -- drawing the comparison to Obama, who needs a teleprompter even at the briefest of speeches.
'Zo speaks with passion about slavery throughout history and explains that no ethnicity, no race or people have not been involved with slavery at one point or another. He goes so far as to say that black people were practicing slavery and oppression against whites millennia before white people perpetrated it against blacks. Everyone can look back through their genetic history and find despicable behavior on the part of their ancestors. The point being is that it is how we, the modern, contemporary generations behave toward each other now that matters.
But this is only the tip of his iceberg of topics. He addresses abortion, environmentalism, gun control and the fundamental nature of our constitutional republic, to name a few.
His production value is minimalist in the utmost, and that adds to the raw charisma of his messages.
The latter (YouTube channel "StevenCrowder") is a former child actor born in Detroit and raised in Canada. His vlogs become progressively better with each addition, both production-wise and in delivery, as he becomes comfortable with the media, thereby allowing his humor to flow more readily.
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How about a return to honesty in the GOP. Micheal Steel you said you get in a rap off with Stephen Colbert quit being a liar and appear on his show. Come on everyone lets spam his email until he lives up to his promises and rap battles on the Colbert Report.
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What the Republican Party needs to do is not 'reinvent' itself, but rather returning to the core values of the conservative movement. That is, respecting constitution, taking personal responsibility for one's actions, respecting life and individual liberties, and minimizing government. Republicans don't need to come up with some slick new platform to attract a majority. All they need to do is stick to their core principles rather than trying to drift to the center with a moderate like McCain was.
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Micheal Steel needs to live up to his promises and rap with Colbert.
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William is right. The reason the GOP must reinvent itself is because it is no longer synonymous with traditional conservatism. Remember how much everyone chastized Bush for his rampant spending? How about his efforts to add more red tape to the Dept. of Ed. with No Child Left Behind? Big government, big spending is the way of both parties, which is why conservative principles are not represented by either.
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I agree with the posters below Micheal Steel would set a great example in redefining the GOP if he would rap battle on the Colbert Report. That shows integrity on his part and some serious street cred for the grand old party.
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The red team needs to just change their name. The word Republican just means a bunch of bad things that nobody supports. Their name brand has taken a whoopin over the past few decades. They could just have the same people and change their name and be a lot better off. Valuejet switched to Airtran and Phillip Morris switched to Altria. They should use the old Bull Moose Party name just cuz it sounds so awesome. And Steele doesn't want any piece of Colbert aka Rabbit. Steele's seen him freestyle on tv and doesn't want to be embarrassed.
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FYI -- Altria was never Philip Morris. Altria was the parent company that owned Philip Morris, Kraft, and Miller.
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Ever since W., the GOP can not claim to be the party for small government. If you are chiefly concerned about the government getting too big and spending too much, then the Libertarian party is the party for you. (I'm not trying to advertise for them, I'm a Democrat) The GOP is now the party for getting the rich richer and imposing strict religious values on everyone.
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I couldn't keep from laughing out loud at this column. The satire is awesome. Rachel (a failed musician) and Crowder (a failed comedian) as new voices of the Republican Party? The Republicans already have that with Bush (a failed businessman and failed President) and Limbaugh (a drug-addicted failed human). Hasn't anyone told you?, the era of douchebags is OVER. But go ahead and keep picking (little) form over (no) substance. Yeah, that's a successful ticket. Palin 2012!
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NO-P, wake up. Obama wants combat-wounded war veterans to bill their own insurance for their medical care related to war wounds. THAT is a douche bag move. Then there's Pelosi, Frank, Dodd, Schumer, Reid... Plenty of douche bags still hanging around. All you Obama fans had better get a clue. When you grow up and have to support yourselves you might start to resent paying taxes to support other peoples' laziness.
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Wide awake here, Alum. Can you hear me with your head up your...? Combat-wounded war veterans don't receive the proper medical care NOW through Tricare. The VA is a joke (because it was treated as one by the Repubs). Atrocious care is an inherited system from the Repubs, who consistently whacked Veterans' benefits. And we're already paying our tax dollars to try to correct 8 years of a Republican administration (and 6 years of that with Republican congressional control). The last election signaled that the majority has finally found a clue, and we already resent having to pay for Republican laziness the last 8 years. Hey! maybe failed musicians and Canadian child-actor-comedians are perfect voices for the Republican Party. Nevermind.
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What with all this hate this is supposed to be a respectful discussion. This partisanship is distracting from the real issue Micheal Steel still hasn't freestyled on the Colbert Report.
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Rumor has it that Michael Steele is secretly training in rap battle techniques with Dr. Dre, Ice T, and Soulja Boy. His rap name is 'Steeley McFreely'.
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Combat-wounded vets don't get Tricare, which is for retirees and active duty people. Quit talking about a subject you know nothing about. I agree Bush shafted vets and am no apologist for him. I'm an Iraq vet who was willing to give Obama the benefit of the doubt. Was. But the fact that he and his ilk seem to believe illegal immigrants should get free medical care but soldiers wounded in combat on the nation's behalf should pay for theirs has me respectfully withdrawing my support.
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Alum, stop making up excuses to not support Obama, it's really getting old: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/03/pelosi-obama-has-promised-not-to-charge-veterans-for-service-related-health-care.php There was never a plan. A suggestion was made. I also find it odd how Conservatives will support government run health care for vets, but they aren't willing to expand it for everyone.
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Conservatives are more than happy to support government run health care for vets because they have made some of the ultimate sacrifices for this country. We essentially believe it is this countries duty to take care of them after they have TAKEN CARE of us. Why would you even think that the average lazy-a$$ Joe should be on the same pedestal of comparison?
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Oh, jdrs0819, but there WAS a plan. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/17/AR2009031702537.html. The NYT didn’t publish it because it made President Obama look like an a-hole. After a meeting with leaders of the American Legion and other veterans groups, the President refused to take the proposal off the table, a position reiterated by his press secretary. He finally backed down after the Veterans Affairs committee chair in Congress said it was a non-starter. http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/03/military_vetsinsurance_reversal_031809w/. You say “There was never a plan,” but in fact, story on the link YOU PROVIDED is called “Obama Nixes Plan to Charge Veterans For Service-Related Health Care.” You can’t nix a plan if there wasn’t one to begin with, now can you?
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Typical response of a Republican apologist, Alum. Sidestep the failings of the last 8 years by making nomenclature distinctions. Clearly you don't know what you're talking about, which is why I mentioned Tricare and the VA, to include both active duty "combat vets" and those that have left the service. Your use of the word "ilk" gives you away. By the way, the immigration issue is old and tired political news. The Republicans already failed to do anything about that. Rush is on, better turn the radio up.
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I didn’t apologize for anything. I said “Bush shafted vets.” How in your world is that an apology? As an active duty Soldier with multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan (although thankfully no injuries) I assure you I know more about this subject than you. Active duty don’t generally use TRICARE – we use military medical facilities. Combat-wounded go to Warrior Transition Units. Only when they are separated from the service does the VA come into play. That’s why it’s called the VETERANS Administration, genius. The word “ilk”? I’m sorry, did I make you use a dictionary? Immigration may be “old and tired” but it is still a problem and hasn’t been solved. Rush, that’s original. Been taking your marching orders from Robert Gibbs again? Incidentally, I just googled Rush, and apparently he isn’t even ON at 3:19 when you posted your comment. Best you get back to the Daily Kos where you belong.
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Alum, I don't mean to call you out, but maybe you should use that dictionary to look up what the word apologist means (Hint: it doesn't mean someone who apologizes). Both sides of the political spectrum have failed to provide veterans and active duty members with immediate and quality health care. That shouldn't even be an issue. VA also needs to do a better job with housing and education. Anyways, thank you for serving and best of luck.
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