At least that is what the Establishment is going to start saying in the near future. Do not let them fool you. An awakened populace is what most elected officials fear most. Politicians like to use words like transparency, open door and honesty in their campaign speeches but it is amazing how quickly they morph into the stagnant status quo once elected.
The goal of most in office is to have their constituents’ eyes glaze over, mind wander and eventually just ignore them. CSPAN has done a glorious job of encouraging the boredom as their broadcast puts more people to sleep than if Jeb and Dr. Carson were to combine and read Catcher in the Rye aloud.
How else could they get away with a budget padded in pork or an intricately weaved web of government bureaucracies which would make even Charlotte jealous? Do you think if the American people actually understood where almost 1/3 of their paycheck went to that many of the items, which politicians use as favors and rewards, would exist? Wasteful items such as half a million dollars to study healthy vs. sick shrimp, $10 million to promote the National Guard in a Superman movie or $385,000 to study duck genitalia?
Absolutely not and hence the reason why outsiders like Trump and Carson continue to stay at the top of the polls and fresh face Conservatives like Cruz and Rubio take 3rd and 4th.
Carly Fiorina, who tried to make herself anti-establishment in order to gleam from the anti establishment parade, is having a hard time selling the connection. Voters realize she would be considered Establishment if she would have won her race against Barbara Boxer in California. Plus, it is hard to say that you are not a part of the Established politicians club when you serve as Vice-Chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee and were the lead attack dog of the Establishment against Rush Limbaugh in the Sandra Fluke controversy.
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This is just her record in politics, which keeps her from honestly identifying as a conservative. Her business record is even more of a justification for conservatives who have very little trust in her words despite her claims that the media and Hillary fear her because she is a “conservative woman.” It looks as though not only are conservatives waking up but they have also drank an espresso and making sure those talking are also doing the walking to back up their claims on the campaign trail.
Tuesday night’s elections showed there is a trickle down effect of having candidates who appeal to Conservatives in the top four slots of the presidential competition. The overwhelming popularity of candidates like Mr. Trump, Dr. Carson, Senator Cruz and Senator Rubio backs up the idea the GOP is really much more fundamentally conservative than what has been sold to us with moderates like Romney and McCain.
Just like with the theory of trickle down economics where encouraging success at the top will eventually filter success all the way to the bottom, trickle down conservatism accomplishes the same with the conservative voter base-appealing candidates at the top of the ticket motivating voters who follow their same ideology to the polls. This results in conservative office seekers from Congress to Governors to Mayors and public referendums to benefit.
In Kentucky, Tea Party favorite Matt Bevin is now Governor-Elect and the Bluegrass state should now be considered red-grass as Republicans now control the Executive branch along with a commanding majority of the state Senate.
Houston voters rejected Proposition 1, the “bathroom bill,” which would have allowed for transgender restrooms in public places. Ohioans resisted the temptation to legalize marijuana despite the plea from a few Hollywood stars who would have financially benefited from its passing. In San Francisco, the Sheriff who championed sanctuary cities Ross Mirkarimi was overwhelmingly defeated. These are just a few of the victories the GOP celebrated on Tuesday night.
Yet, where were the press conferences and ticker tape parades that we should have seen from the RNC, the NRSC and Crossroads for America? Outside of a few press releases, very little was done to tout the midterm triumphs.
I imagine those within the beltway said a few curse words as they realized their charade of convincing those on the far Right that they were in the minority was coming to a halt. The minority was not only waking up, they were also realizing their own strength. Candidates were not just drawing crowds of 1,000. Rather, top presidential candidates are drawing crowds of 10,000. Numbers, which were in the past unimaginable in GOP primaries. Engaged voters, which would not only put effective responsible leaders into office but just as importantly, kick the bum politicians out.
Abraham Lincoln once said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand” and creating factions amongst conservatives have been an effective tactic used not only by the Democrats against the GOP but also within the GOP. Establishment GOP leaders have often stacked races with several Conservative candidates in order to split the vote and have the singular centrist win.
Conservatives have an opportunity to not repeat history by becoming divided and disenfranchised. I would never expect nor want any voter to be 100% aligned with their candidate. However, my hope is conservatives have wised up to the game and are forming a short list of candidates who they could support. We can have our favorite but we need to also have a second string list of candidates whom we could also be just as passionate about.
Without having a list of acceptable candidates, Conservatives risk disenfranchising most of their base like they did in 2008 and 2012 guaranteeing a loss. Fifty-four million evangelicals stayed home in 2012 according to Sen. Ted Cruz. I am afraid not only that conservatism will die if repeated, but I also don’t know if our country can survive if we lose another round of public offices to the growing progressives who have taken over the Democratic Party and sadly infiltrated our own.
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