Conservatives Don't Need GOP - They Need Us!

Every one has surely heard the famous quote from the British statesman Lord Acton:

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”

While this is clearly illustrated by infamous tyrants throughout history, have you ever considered that it applies equally well to institutions? In fact, I challenge you to name one institution, be it a company, a government, social organization or yes, even a church, that has not suffered from corruption at some point in its life.This can result from things as simple as neglect and decay, to systemic fraud and abuse. The larger and older the organization, the more likely it is to have experienced several wrenching periods of upheaval. Some self-correct and live on, while others cease to exist entirely. Certainly it is more than evident today in the political arena. Apart from your local police or fire department and maybe a church or civic organization, most Americans at least distrust those who govern them, and in many cases actively despise them. Removed from accountability, entrenched in their positions and literally addicted to power, they exist solely for their own benefit.

Nowhere is this more blatant than the Democrat Party, and by extension, the federal government itself. The Democrats are so wedded to the power of the state that their aims are, by and large, one and the same. Both exist to grow their power and control over ever-increasing segments of society. They function like the inhuman Borg of Star Trek fame, seeking to assimilate anything and everything in their path. But are the Republicans really that much different? Do they offer a clear alternative point of view that actually gives the voter a choice? Sadly, the answer is no, not so much. While there are a few truly dedicated conservatives in the party, it has fallen subject to the same kinds of corrupting influences that infest the rest of Washington DC.

Much has been written about the efforts to “rebrand” and “rebuild” the party. While I applaud a return to a principles-first philosophy, they are going to have to go a lot farther than they have in painting themselves, in the words of Ronald Reagan, in “bold colors, not pale pastels”. They'd better understand, really believe, that they need conservatives more than conservatives need the Republican party. I'll offer myself up as an example. I decided some time ago that I will no longer vote for “the evil of two lessers”. Candidates who only talk the talk will get no support from me in any fashion. I will no longer buy into the notion that a non-vote or a vote for a third party is a “wasted” vote. If the party will not take a strong stand, in writing, and quit playing politics in a time when we're at war for the soul of America, they'll go the way of the Whigs and I say good riddance.

There are lots of alternatives out there. Third parties have never had the power to be corrupted by it, so they exist on principle. I think I speak for a lot of conservative/libertarian/anarchists out there when I say that we will support those, and only those, who have earned the right to be trusted with "our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor".

Republicans, we're watching and keeping score. The ball's in your court.