Boss
Take a Memo:
I've been knocking around political forums since they were invented. I understand there are people on all sides of politics who carry all levels of passion for their views. It seems to be a common understanding that people who appear objective and reasonable, willing to hear all sides, uncommitted to an agenda or party, are thought to be the most admirable and well received posters. If nothing else, it seems to comfort the individual to view themselves as rational and receptive as opposed to rigid and extreme. To a very large degree, this is the case with many conservatives and libertarians. Liberals on the other hand, are defiant and invasive, in your face with their 'cause du jour' and unwilling to bend even the slightest bit.
Now if we look at politics as a game, we find that the loudest most extreme voices appear to be winning. Of course, this means the liberal left is winning and the conservative right is by contrast, losing. This is because many conservatives and libertarians do not view politics as a game. If they do, they certainly don't seem to understand how to play it. They enter into a debate with an objective mind, attempting to be rational and pragmatic, and they are blind-sided by liberal extremism every time. You see, to a liberal ideologue the objective is winning the game, advancing the liberal agenda or promoting the liberal cause. They could care less about appearing objective, rational or pragmatic. It's not even in their DNA to do so. By their very nature, they are programmed to buck the system, to reject convention, object to conformity. They are on a mission to win the game of politics, plain and simple.
So what can we do as conservatives to counter this tactic and get back on track? Well, we must first start admitting that politics IS a game, whether we agree it should be or not, and we need to start adopting strategies to win this game. That means we need to start approaching debates the same way a liberal does, with an agenda and mission to win the game. Forget about pragmatism and reasonableness, it's a losing proposition. It's like playing an opposing football team with the strategy of a referee. We're not trying to win the game because we don't view it as a game, we're trying to be fair and impartial and we're getting clobbered.
Stop entertaining liberal ideals. Stand firmly on your convictions and principles and never back down, not even a little bit. Don't ever admit there is room for compromise because if you ever compromise with a liberal they will destroy you. Their very first objective and goal in any debate, is to get you to admit there can be a compromise. That we can work together toward a reasonable bipartisan solution. A great example of that is the minimum wage. Years ago, conservatives admitted we can compromise on the issue and allow for some minimum amount to be set for wages in America, and look at where we are at now. The liberals continue to push for more and more, the 'argument' has been conceded long ago, and we can't ever get it back. We are now destined to continue advancing the liberal notion that increasing the minimum wage is a good thing that helps people.
You want another good example? Look at health care. Many years ago, conservatives compromised and agreed that we can allow government to do things to "help the downtrodden" and we adopted Medicaid. We went on to allow more and more socialist solutions to prevail, states adopted indigent care laws, opened free clinics, and we even recently allowed government to subsidize prescription medicines for seniors. All perfectly reasonable and rational compromises, but look where it landed us. The minute we compromised with the liberals, they moved on to bigger and more expansive things, and they will continue to push for more and more liberalism, it's never enough.
Abortion-- Again, once was a time it was not allowed in this country under any circumstance. The liberals lobbied and fought, conservatives softened and gave in. Well maybe we can make some exceptions? Next thing you know, we are debating whether it is okay to kill live-born babies! Who knows, if we cave on that maybe the next liberal push will be the "right" to kill off your children under 2-years-old? The more you compromise with a liberal the more liberalist ideas you are going to get coming down the pike because it's all about the "game" and advancing liberalism. We keep making the mistake of believing this or that will satisfy them and resolve the issue. It never has worked and it never will.
It's time to change the game. In football analogy, we have to stop playing prevent defense and we have to start doing something with the ball whenever we get the chance. We have to stop conceding ANY liberal point and start blitzing their quarterback. When our offense does manage to get the ball, we have to try some radical plays, we can't afford to play ball control anymore. We have to move the conservative ball down the field and score some points. This means taking it to the liberals on every play, getting our heads in the game, and being motivated to win. But first, we have to all be on the same page and understand this IS a game, whether we like it or not.
Now if we look at politics as a game, we find that the loudest most extreme voices appear to be winning. Of course, this means the liberal left is winning and the conservative right is by contrast, losing. This is because many conservatives and libertarians do not view politics as a game. If they do, they certainly don't seem to understand how to play it. They enter into a debate with an objective mind, attempting to be rational and pragmatic, and they are blind-sided by liberal extremism every time. You see, to a liberal ideologue the objective is winning the game, advancing the liberal agenda or promoting the liberal cause. They could care less about appearing objective, rational or pragmatic. It's not even in their DNA to do so. By their very nature, they are programmed to buck the system, to reject convention, object to conformity. They are on a mission to win the game of politics, plain and simple.
So what can we do as conservatives to counter this tactic and get back on track? Well, we must first start admitting that politics IS a game, whether we agree it should be or not, and we need to start adopting strategies to win this game. That means we need to start approaching debates the same way a liberal does, with an agenda and mission to win the game. Forget about pragmatism and reasonableness, it's a losing proposition. It's like playing an opposing football team with the strategy of a referee. We're not trying to win the game because we don't view it as a game, we're trying to be fair and impartial and we're getting clobbered.
Stop entertaining liberal ideals. Stand firmly on your convictions and principles and never back down, not even a little bit. Don't ever admit there is room for compromise because if you ever compromise with a liberal they will destroy you. Their very first objective and goal in any debate, is to get you to admit there can be a compromise. That we can work together toward a reasonable bipartisan solution. A great example of that is the minimum wage. Years ago, conservatives admitted we can compromise on the issue and allow for some minimum amount to be set for wages in America, and look at where we are at now. The liberals continue to push for more and more, the 'argument' has been conceded long ago, and we can't ever get it back. We are now destined to continue advancing the liberal notion that increasing the minimum wage is a good thing that helps people.
You want another good example? Look at health care. Many years ago, conservatives compromised and agreed that we can allow government to do things to "help the downtrodden" and we adopted Medicaid. We went on to allow more and more socialist solutions to prevail, states adopted indigent care laws, opened free clinics, and we even recently allowed government to subsidize prescription medicines for seniors. All perfectly reasonable and rational compromises, but look where it landed us. The minute we compromised with the liberals, they moved on to bigger and more expansive things, and they will continue to push for more and more liberalism, it's never enough.
Abortion-- Again, once was a time it was not allowed in this country under any circumstance. The liberals lobbied and fought, conservatives softened and gave in. Well maybe we can make some exceptions? Next thing you know, we are debating whether it is okay to kill live-born babies! Who knows, if we cave on that maybe the next liberal push will be the "right" to kill off your children under 2-years-old? The more you compromise with a liberal the more liberalist ideas you are going to get coming down the pike because it's all about the "game" and advancing liberalism. We keep making the mistake of believing this or that will satisfy them and resolve the issue. It never has worked and it never will.
It's time to change the game. In football analogy, we have to stop playing prevent defense and we have to start doing something with the ball whenever we get the chance. We have to stop conceding ANY liberal point and start blitzing their quarterback. When our offense does manage to get the ball, we have to try some radical plays, we can't afford to play ball control anymore. We have to move the conservative ball down the field and score some points. This means taking it to the liberals on every play, getting our heads in the game, and being motivated to win. But first, we have to all be on the same page and understand this IS a game, whether we like it or not.
