With a few days left till the 2014 midterm elections, I offer one last plea to Conservatives who might withhold their votes from GOP candidates. I know they’ve heard enough, but I’ll be brief.
First, I’m not naïve. Having witnessed litanies of leadership sins, the Tea Partier in me feels anger, frustration, and distrust. I see dirty power plays. I see squishy campaign “experts” damage our brand by blurring lines between us and the Left. I know some GOP bigwigs take my vote for granted when I cast it for compromising candidates. I get it. I always have gotten it.
But I refuse to endorse strategy that hurts my fellow Conservatives, no matter how popular that would make me in some circles. I can’t do it—you all mean too much to me. For this reason, I’ll pose one last analogy, using a Q and A on border security:
QUESTION: Should America use its resources to shut down the border?
ANSWER: Of course!
QUESTION: But which border?
ANSWER: Both, but start with the southern border, where we see the greatest incursion on our sovereignty. Once that’s secured, we can work on the northern border.
Nearly all of us would agree with this reasoning, so let me offer a parallel Q and A:
QUESTION: My vote is my resource, so shouldn’t I use it to fight incursions against liberty?
ANSWER: Of course!
QUESTION: And while I’d love to oppose all incursions at once—including those by the GOP—shouldn’t I first vote for the only real opportunity to remove the greater incursion? And isn’t the greatest incursion against liberty—by far—the Democratic Party?
You get the point. Democrats are our southern border, while some Republicans are to the north—and I have but one vote to stop the greatest incursion. Voting to “stop both” stops nothing, allowing the greater incursion to trample us. We must focus resources—votes—on the south.
For example, look at Colorado Republican candidate for US Senate, Cory Gardner. Is his immigration stance as tough as mine? No, but it’s much better than that of his Democratic opponent, Mark Udall. Is Gardner as tough on green energy as me? Not at all, but he’s light years better than Udall. And on issues like gun rights, school choice, corporate taxes, abortion, etc., Gardner is clearly the “northern border” I can address later, while Udall is the “southern border” I must shut down immediately.
This is true across the nation. Focusing our efforts “southward,” we’ll provide Ted Cruz and Mike Lee a Senate majority—and my heart would soar from watching Harry Reid languish in the minority. Friends, I’m tired of sharing misery and bitterness. I WANT MY HEART TO SOAR.
Again, I’m not naïve. Mitch McConnell is not my political savior (or even my friendly acquaintance). But this is war, people, and wars are almost always won through uncomfortable alliances with those who have failed us in times past. There is no other way. Ignoring the southern border while shaking our fists at the north, we stand by as the greater threat explodes forth like a ruptured floodgate.
So please don’t stand by. Despite all our frustrations with the north, we’ve no hope of fixing those without first sealing off the south. Let’s buy time for liberty with a victory this Tuesday, and then join together on Wednesday with a two year push toward a better tomorrow. I know such promises have been broken before, but I didn’t make those—I can only speak for myself.
And I myself want only the best for patriots everywhere.
Thanks for hearing me out.
First, I’m not naïve. Having witnessed litanies of leadership sins, the Tea Partier in me feels anger, frustration, and distrust. I see dirty power plays. I see squishy campaign “experts” damage our brand by blurring lines between us and the Left. I know some GOP bigwigs take my vote for granted when I cast it for compromising candidates. I get it. I always have gotten it.
But I refuse to endorse strategy that hurts my fellow Conservatives, no matter how popular that would make me in some circles. I can’t do it—you all mean too much to me. For this reason, I’ll pose one last analogy, using a Q and A on border security:
QUESTION: Should America use its resources to shut down the border?
ANSWER: Of course!
QUESTION: But which border?
ANSWER: Both, but start with the southern border, where we see the greatest incursion on our sovereignty. Once that’s secured, we can work on the northern border.
Nearly all of us would agree with this reasoning, so let me offer a parallel Q and A:
QUESTION: My vote is my resource, so shouldn’t I use it to fight incursions against liberty?
ANSWER: Of course!
QUESTION: And while I’d love to oppose all incursions at once—including those by the GOP—shouldn’t I first vote for the only real opportunity to remove the greater incursion? And isn’t the greatest incursion against liberty—by far—the Democratic Party?
You get the point. Democrats are our southern border, while some Republicans are to the north—and I have but one vote to stop the greatest incursion. Voting to “stop both” stops nothing, allowing the greater incursion to trample us. We must focus resources—votes—on the south.
For example, look at Colorado Republican candidate for US Senate, Cory Gardner. Is his immigration stance as tough as mine? No, but it’s much better than that of his Democratic opponent, Mark Udall. Is Gardner as tough on green energy as me? Not at all, but he’s light years better than Udall. And on issues like gun rights, school choice, corporate taxes, abortion, etc., Gardner is clearly the “northern border” I can address later, while Udall is the “southern border” I must shut down immediately.
This is true across the nation. Focusing our efforts “southward,” we’ll provide Ted Cruz and Mike Lee a Senate majority—and my heart would soar from watching Harry Reid languish in the minority. Friends, I’m tired of sharing misery and bitterness. I WANT MY HEART TO SOAR.
Again, I’m not naïve. Mitch McConnell is not my political savior (or even my friendly acquaintance). But this is war, people, and wars are almost always won through uncomfortable alliances with those who have failed us in times past. There is no other way. Ignoring the southern border while shaking our fists at the north, we stand by as the greater threat explodes forth like a ruptured floodgate.
So please don’t stand by. Despite all our frustrations with the north, we’ve no hope of fixing those without first sealing off the south. Let’s buy time for liberty with a victory this Tuesday, and then join together on Wednesday with a two year push toward a better tomorrow. I know such promises have been broken before, but I didn’t make those—I can only speak for myself.
And I myself want only the best for patriots everywhere.
Thanks for hearing me out.
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