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Loose Canons
This Year’s Conservative Insurgency
The only question is whether conservatives will win it in time to reform the Republican Party by 2012.
(Page 2 of 2)
The other cause that conservative insurgents espouse is the support for social values — everything from abortion to the military’s ban on openly-serving homosexuals — which the Republican establishment wants to ignore. The massive August 28 Glenn Beck rally in front of the Lincoln Memorial was an appeal to the religious element of America that is another massive element abandoned by Republican establishmentarians and even some conservatives looking toward 2012.
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels needs to rethink his call for a “truce” on social issues while economic issues are resolved. Independent voters — like those at the Glenn Beck rally — won’t tolerate a truce with the counter-cultural Democrats who want to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell” and impose amnesty for some illegal aliens with the “DREAM Act.”
The 2010 election is ineluctably the foundation for 2012. In the summer of 2009, when the Tea Party movement burst on the political scene, the Republican establishment could have taken to heart Lee Iacocca’s admonition to lead, follow, or get out of the way. Because they rejected the first two options and won’t willingly follow the third, the conservative insurgency will succeed. Just how fast it does depends on what the voters do in 43 days.
About the Author
Jed Babbin served as a Deputy Undersecretary of Defense under George H.W. Bush. He is the author of several bestselling books including Inside the Asylum and In the Words of Our Enemies. You can follow him on Twitter @jedbabbin.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (34) | Leave a comment
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figus janus| 9.20.10 @ 7:19AM
Just remember the only way to win is to go out and VOTE! Go out and tell everyone you know to vote. NO matter whom they chose!
We must not split the vote. We must show all the people that if you hate out of control spending, high taxes and big government you ARE part of the Tea Party.
VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE!!
Alan Brooks| 9.20.10 @ 9:46AM
Fantasyland: you say the GOP can't compromise, however they will have to compromise to the maximum extent to get enough votes from all the various constituencies that now make up the GOP; everyone from neo-Confederates to gay Republicans.
You guys are the last to know.
1FreeMan| 9.20.10 @ 9:08PM
Dear figus janus,
Right on the money. All the talk in the world won't help if you don't plan ahead of time to take off work and go VOTE!!!
For those of you that see corruption in the polls; VIDEO THE CRIME and post it on the internet. The criminal attack on our freedom must be documented.
I actually believe the sheep that voted for Obama actually thought they were doing something good for the USA. They are shocked and disenfrachised (use a dictionary Alan Brooks, I know it is a big word for you). Show them the crimes and they will turn: dead people voting LOL!
Vote, document the democrat crimes, and then follow through and keep the pressure on until we re-establish the Constitution.
Troy | 9.20.10 @ 9:37PM
Better than bringing crime to light at the polls, work the polls and make sure it doesn't happen in the first place. Taking one day off of work will make you certain that the votes in that one district were collected honestly.
For those of us who are medically unable to serve in the military it is also a great way to serve the country.
Ken (Old Texican)| 9.20.10 @ 7:46AM
Heck, Jed,
The whole future of our country hinges on November. We can't make a u-turn in this country until first we get the Repubs to at least put on the brakes. I think they are at least competent enough to do that.
I personally can't wait for those Congressional subpoenas to start hitting the crooks.
Alan Brooks| 9.20.10 @ 9:48AM
"I think they are at least competent enough to do that."
What a man of decision you are.
Way to Go| 9.20.10 @ 12:59PM
Mr. Brooks: Your snide commentary is a waste of peoples' time.
Periwinkel| 9.20.10 @ 1:16PM
Way to Go, why do you even bother to read Ms. Brooks? When these guys get too far out of control, American Spectator eventually bans them. It takes a while but eventually they do get kicked out.
loulou| 9.20.10 @ 1:50PM
Way to Go: Brooks has no value. Best to ignore.
ds80| 9.20.10 @ 11:09PM
yup: Alan Brooks = scroll, scroll, scroll past.
Sea_Hunter| 9.20.10 @ 8:24AM
Sounds like both the Republicans and Democrats are fighting the Cong. Only this time, Kong is spelled with a K.
Tim*| 9.20.10 @ 8:40AM
If The GOP wants War with We ,Tea Party Rebels let it be here and now .
The GOP needs Our Tea Party Votes more than We Tea Party Rebels need The GOP .
"Lead, follow, or get out of the way."
-- Thomas Paine
"We herd sheep, we drive cattle, we lead people. Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way."
-- George S. Patton
The Tea Party Rebellion Escalates .
Rise Up !
Louis Jenkins| 9.20.10 @ 9:11AM
Yes! The Tea Party will continue. Even if we take some losses in Nov., we will take some wins. The GOP establishment is at war with the Tea Party, however, we will not stop. It is all due to come to a reckoning this Nov. Meanwhile the establishment Republicans hope that this darned movement will sputter out after Nov. It's not going to do that. We will still be present and accounted for. But I'm with Old Texican on this one. If we don't put a stop to the liberals and to the GOP establishment the future looks very uncertain. Everyone needs to get out and vote. Vote early and often.
MacDaddy| 9.20.10 @ 10:02AM
Let us learn the lesson of General Giap, and hold the Republican Aristocracy "close by the belt" to negate the superiority of their media weapons and their monetary advantage....and remember that the war doesn't end on 11/2....that is merely the date of the first significant battle.
macdaddy| 9.20.10 @ 10:15AM
The Repub aristocracy ought to realize that they need us, more than we need them....and that together, if they are willing to partner with the T.E.A. conservatives, we can wrest control from the Liberal dems and reverse the big government trend and defend liberty. However, if they don't, WE realize that the fight will take longer, but the result will be the same. Their are MORE conservatives than liberals...we WILL bring the country back. There's a train rollin' down the tracks.....you can board it, you can get out of the way of it, or you can be run over...Mr. Rove appears to have chosed option number 3......
autoacct628| 9.20.10 @ 10:26AM
Think about it in Cinematic terms, a la "Braveheart.".... O'Donnell & the T.E.A. party are Wallace and his rebel army of the people, who wanted freedom enough to fight for it. The Replican elites in power are the Scottish nobles who nominally wanted independence from England, but wanted to retain the existing class and power structure for themselves. The Liberal dems are Longshanks and the English Lords and Army, raping and pillaging the country. The Republican Nobles will sacrifice O'Donnell to make a deal with the Longshank Liberals to retain a meaningless power, at the expense of freedom. That will be their undoing. What remains to be seen is, who (Palin? Daniels? DeMint?) will be the modern Earl of Bruce to pick up the mantle, rally the T.E.A. party and engage and ultimately defeat the Longshank Liberals at Bannock Burn in 2012, fighting like "Warrior poets.".....history repeats itself. (Yes, I know, Braveheart was not historically accurate....but the analogy fits well, does it not?)
DB| 9.20.10 @ 11:27AM
It fits very well indeed! I love it. I just watched Braveheart with my 12 year old son, then took him to DC for the 9/12 TEA Party March. I am going to share this analogy with him. Well done, sir (or is it maam?).
Ned the Red| 9.20.10 @ 11:57AM
I think Governor Palin decked out in the skirt and war paint would definitely be an improvement over Mel.
Nancy would make a great Longshanks and Harry or Obama could be the wimp who gets chucked out the window.
William Wallace| 9.20.10 @ 1:00PM
That the honor has to go to Barney Frank is self-evident.
I had to chime in. This is "my" movie after all.
Tim*| 9.20.10 @ 2:33PM
We Tea Party Rebels are looking at Tea Party Kingmaker Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina to run for President in 2012 .
The Tea Party Rebellion Escalates .
Rise Up !
TR| 9.21.10 @ 12:38AM
Anyone who is hated by the democrat marxists as much as he is gets my support. There must be something really good there to have the huffpost types in smear panic mode.
PatC | 10.15.10 @ 8:38AM
auto:
Perfect analogy. I'll be stealing it. :)
Ned the Red| 9.20.10 @ 10:29AM
Water-Boarding or Tea-Boarding, they both work to bring out the truth.
Alan Brooks| 9.20.10 @ 10:52AM
"Yes, I know, Braveheart was not historically accurate....but the analogy fits well, does it not?"
Uh, yes, sure. Um, you can have some haldol now... it'll do you good.
Tom| 9.20.10 @ 8:51PM
Pretty funny from a man who uses The Godfather to bolster his arguments.
Len| 9.20.10 @ 12:28PM
Reagan conservatism, Thomas Paine conservatism...make up your mind. Thomas Paine would have considered Reagan's conservatism as too much government.
RCV| 9.20.10 @ 5:07PM
You must not have read Paine's "Agrarian Justice" (1795).
Nunya| 9.20.10 @ 1:55PM
The Republicans in the RNC and those currently in office in Congress have gone WAY too far to left, trying to "reach across the aisle" or some other blather.
They've left the vast majority of we "flyover country" conservatives with no other choice but to start voting for TRUE conservatives into office. RINO's like McCain, Snowe, etc., et al, are a DISGRACE to the Republican party. Unfortunately, the RNC has given us nothing but RINO's and has supported the same, and the "Braveheart" analogy above is fairly accurate to describe what's been happening. Just keep voting for the RINO's the RNC gives us, so those in power can take advantage of the situation and retain their power. Doesn't matter if they're leading the country into an abyss, just as long as they can stay in charge. Spend money like there's no tomorrow, vote for CRAP legislation so we can still be friends with the Democrap leadership, and on and on. It's insane, and it's about to come to an end.
Country FIRST. State second, Party LAST!
Out with the RINO's. In with true conservatives.
George| 9.20.10 @ 2:46PM
The fight must continue until the Lindsay Grahams, John McCains, and Olympia Snowes are sent the way of the Arlen Specters, Lisa Murkowskis, and Mike Castles.
Joe Oliva| 9.20.10 @ 3:14PM
Too bad McCain won in Arizona. If he had lost, would he have gone the Independent route like the others? Of course that would be a renunciation of his principle that country comes first. We don't know what he would have done, but I am truly afraid of what he will do now that he is probably in his last, lameduck term. Big mistake Arizona!
Robert M. Engstrom | 9.21.10 @ 2:09AM
The reason John McCain won the renomination is the same reason why he lost the presidential election in 2008.
The defeated faction in both cases never had a chance of victory, and everybody knew it long before the polls opened on either election day.
This losing strategy only encourages more Tea Party participation. Analagous is the Afghanistan conflict. A mutually sympathetic cause, the Tea Party, unites multiple, independent clans. Infiltrate or discredit one clan and the rest continue the fight. It is the ultimate strength of a political insurgency.
What comes as a surprise is that huge faction of Independents and Democrats who are disspirited by Obama's leadership, but put off by the "radical" reputation of the Tea Party. They are a sullen but silent faction ... so far.
RCV| 9.22.10 @ 3:51PM
George, as with the French revolutionaries before Thermidor, your fight will continue until you've executed everybody who used to be on your side.