True North

Fred Barnes' article says that Republicans are justified in feeling gloomy about this election. That pessimism, I believe, is Beltway-centric. First, let's see what Mr. Barnes has to say:

"It's the erosion in party affiliation that's pulling McCain down," says a Republican strategist, and it could doom his chances of winning the presidency. The strategist fears Republican leaders and McCain campaign officials "don't realize the trouble they're going to be in."

I've said this before and I'll repeat it as often as I think it needs repeating: I'd fire every GOP strategist with a defeatist attitude. I'd also advocate cleaning house at the RNC headquarters until they stopped undercutting reform-minded conservatives. Real conservatives haven't been recruited in recent years.

We've been told that real conservatives can't get elected in certain swing districts. That's BS.

Reaganite conservatism is more than taking stands on a handful of issues. It's really a philosophy. That philosophy requires applying common sense to help people be more free and more prosperous. It's not that complicated. This is too important a principle to not repeat it:

Conservatives' first priority must be about using common sense in putting together policies that make the most amount of people free and prosperous.

The decline in party registration will continue if our senators and representatives don't fight for solid conservative principles. Personally, I won't be upset if they don't get conservative legislation passed while they're in the minority. That's the disadvantage of being in the minority. There's a local example of what happens when conservative legislators fight for conservative principles.

The first week of the 2007 Minnesota House session, the DFL brought a tax conformity bill to the floor for debate. Laura Brod took the opportunity to propose a series of tax cuts. Speaker Maggie Kelliher ruled that the proposals weren't "germane", thereby not even giving Rep. Brod's proposals an up-or-down vote. When I read about that, I sent Rep. Brod an email message thanking her for fighting for solid conservative principles.

It wasn't coincidence that Rep. Brod was a guest that Saturday on Final Word. Since that time, GOP activists have had alot to rally around. GOP activists told GOP legislators that we'd have their backs if they kept fighting for conservative principles. In fact, caller after caller told Rep. Brod to keep proposing legislation that we could point to in 2008.

Armed with those assurances, that's exactly what our legislators did. The result was far beyond what was expected. The DFL passed some of the biggest tax increases in state history. Time after time, Gov. Pawlenty vetoed those bills. The DFL passed spending bills that couldn't possibly be sustained. Again, Gov. Pawlenty used his Taxpayer Protection Pen to thwart the DFL.

The important point to take from this is that now those Democrats have to run on an unappealing record of increasing taxes at a time when tax increases are incredibly unpopular. More importantly, in fact, is that they voted against GOP legislation that will be appealing to large numbers of voters. It's a win-win situation because Minnesota GOP candidates can point to their DFL opponents' opposition to specific popular policies and their DFL opponents' steadfast support for specific unpopular policies.

What we're doing in Minnesota is what GOP activists should be insisting on in every state. GOP activists and legislators can't just oppose Democrats, though that's a worthwhile thing. GOP activists and legislators must have an appealing agenda to give people reason to gravitate towards our party and our movement.

It's important that we not just support specific policies. I'll vote for candidates that agree with me but I'll run through walls for candidates that operate from the same principles as I hold dear. Let's put it differently. If a candidate tells me that they're for keeping taxes low, I'll vote for that candidate. If that candidate tells me that they'll keep taxes low because it's (a) the moral thing to do and (b) the best way to increase individual prosperity, I'll do everything in my power to help that candidate win elections for years to come.

The minute that we stop being afraid of our shadows because the Agenda Media will attack us, the faster we'll return to being the dominant electoral force in American history.

The good news is that it won't take long once we make the commitment to unlimited liberty and bountiful prosperity.

Cross-posted at LFR. Comments are welcome.