There is no doubt a lot of disappointment around dinner tables this Thanksgiving. The groundswell of conservative opposition to Obama and the Democrats, after delivering a landslide GOP victory, seemed to crash on the rocks as Obama was reelected. The DC GOP establishment, after squandering almost every advantage, has renewed its long-standing effort to minimize conservatives’ influence on the party. The long fight to reclaim our country’s promise has just begun.
I marveled at the rise of the tea party and grass-roots conservatives in 2009. I was in awe as people across the country reengaged in politics and voiced a full-throttle defense of individual freedom and American exceptionalism. I watched closely as this movement delivered the GOP one of the biggest landslide victories in American politics.
And, then, nothing.
I think a great many activists believed that the election of a House GOP majority had cauterized the wound of expanding government and simply went back to their lives. They mostly assumed that the Supreme Court would strike down the obviously unconstitutional ObamaCare. The believed that the GOP, with a financial edge and an energize base, would defeat Obama. They were horribly wrong.
The GOP blew its financial edge through a bevy of consultants more concerned about reaping out-sized commissions on ineffective TV advertising than defeating Obama. The party blew its chance to energize its base by planting its campaigns firmly in the mythical political center in a bid to appeal to low-information, low-propensity voters. It chose a muddled message that lurched chaotically from week to week. They avoided opportunities to criticize Obama or his record. They allowed the media to dictate the rules of engagement.
Obama did the opposite, appealing to his core voters and reigniting their passion. He put considerable financial resources into perfecting a ground-game to turn out his base voters and rode this to victory.
We gave the establishment GOP a chance. They failed. Its time for us to reenter the fight.
Give thanks for what we’ve done and what we are about to accomplish. Our time is now.
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