Conservatives -- Don't Go Wobbly After the 2012 Election

The following Blog was written by Bob MacGuffie of Right Principles.

Mr. MacGuffie is associated with Connecticut’s burgeoning Tea Party Movement

In the wake of our national ticket's loss I've heard some erratic and erroneous criticisms and suggestions from Republicans, which if followed would be injurious to the conservative movement. Too many are buying into the deception propagated by Liberal commentators - that Obama's election represents an historic strategic shift in the electorate founded in a fundamental demographic change. Make no mistake, this was only a tactical win. When the campaign itself credits acres of its paid telemarketers in Chicago calling every conceivable ethnic, racial, and gender niche in only nine states, promising whatever each marketing niche desires, you are tactical, and not strategic.

The Left wants us to believe it’s an historic strategic shift so that in our response we end up buying into their Liberal world-view and agenda. We should not! It's not who we are - it will lead us into the swamp and ruin us. We Conservatives by nature live in, and practice in our daily lives, the color-blind society Liberals are so fond of referencing, but so absent from the Liberal world-view, language and their daily practices. To Liberals, everyone is part of some racial, ethnic, or gender group, (usually victimized) and their programs and policies are all tailored to secure and hold each of these groups thru government benefits. This insidious discriminating segmentation of society is endlessly analyzed by pollsters and happily amplified by the Liberals' allies throughout the mainstream media. We Conservatives view people as individuals with life stories, values, talents, ambitions, and personalities without regard for surface aspects such as skin color and ethnicity etc.

As for the mainstream media, this election cycle has proved the case there can be no doubt they are completely invested in the Liberal agenda, Democrat leadership and most emphatically, this president. They have slanted stories, printed and aired endless puff-pieces on Obama, spiked serious stories and finally straight-out lied to protect the president's electoral chances. The most serious subterfuge was the mainstream media's complete news blackout on the Benghazi story as it developed with government e-mails surfacing almost daily. When it all comes out, the suppression of this story will become known as a watershed moment, hastening the ultimate irrelevance of the legacy press in our country. Until then we must recognize that our electoral activities transpire within to a significant degree, what amounts to a propaganda state.

Now, to those erroneous suggestions currently emanating from too many high profile Republicans and right-leaning media organs. We'll examine three. First, we're told we must change our policies and "reach out to women" since Obama garnered the majority of the women's vote. Wrong - we don't view women as a separate gender group requiring special benefits. Women benefit mightily from the free-market, limited government principles of conservative governance. The Left created a "war on women" out of thin air and accused Republicans of perpetrating it. The Liberal media compliantly amplified the attacks, which contaminated and distracted virtually every Republican federal race in the country, and clearly most prominently the presidential race. Since the criticism is based entirely on a liberal canard, no change in conservative "policy" is required. However, effective messaging must be developed which demonstrates how the full spectrum of conservative principles and policies benefits women. Every Conservative candidate in the country needs to take the message to every women's group in their districts.

Second, we're told to reach out to black Americans. We always have - there are many prominent black Republican and Conservative officeholders and party leaders - they're just ignored by the media and go unrecognized or disparaged by liberal politicians. Again, no change in our policy is required, but conservative solutions have to be fashioned around the insidious problems of the inner city. And our candidates must spend significant time communicating these within the cities during their campaigns and incorporating them into their governance.

Third and most prominently, we are told we must alter our stance on immigration, which in essence is - we believe our federal immigration laws must be followed and our sovereignty protected thru orderly and secure borders. We are told we must reach out to the fastest growing ethnic group in the country - Hispanics. However, a 2011 poll in CA indicated only 7% of Hispanic voters objected to Republican immigration stances. Instead, a generous safety net, strong government intervention in the economy, and progressive taxation are cited by Hispanics as driving their attraction to the Democrat party. We may simply face the same education and messaging challenges about free-market economics we face elsewhere, but this subject requires further analysis to develop an effective strategy. Incidentally, there are more Hispanic-Republican officeholders in the country than Hispanic-Democrat officeholders.

The Left has perfected demagogic messaging, regularly amplified by the media. We have to perfect messaging stressing the enlightening and liberating qualities of conservative solutions. Conservative candidates also have to continually call out disingenuous and biased mainstream media and continually repeat the biased media mantra so that it seeps into the public consciousness.

Conservatives have the values and principles that will return the Republic to a sound financial footing. We just have to realize that suggestions that we abandon these in any "outreach" effort is a Leftist trap that must be resisted. To provide assurance that we're on the right track, recognize that Republicans dominate the U.S. government bodies closest to the people, the Federal House of Representatives, state legislatures and 30 state governorships.