A Day of Hope and Despair

I am conservative. I prefer to consider myself a conservative leaning independent but have been registered with a certain conservative party since I was old enough to vote. I find it very important to participate in the whole process from the primaries to the local and national elections.

I see the events that unfolded yesterday with an air of optimism and hope. I am looking at a future that holds great promise. Change is in the air. Positive change is coming our way. No, I've not taken a sip of the cool-aid. I’m not embracing the change of which the Democratic Party is preaching. I do see, however, an opportunity for a change that will provide for the long-term benefit of this country.

Why did John McCain lose? Why did the Republicans lose more than just the presidential election? This was the result of the Republicans forgetting to be Republicans. In the course of the last eight years, Republicans have been acting like a wing of the Democratic Party. This is a wake-up call. I think the Republicans need to realize they win votes by acting like Republicans and they lose votes by acting like Democrats. The Republican brand is about personal liberties over collective security. The Republican brand is about small federal government. Maybe this loss will remind the conservatives that most of our elected officials have forgotten what it means to be conservative. Maybe this loss will help to remind them who they really are. The Republicans were prideful, arrogant and the most irresponsible group of politicians our country has seen in a very long time.

It is quite interesting some have suggested McCain would have destroyed the Republican Party. Although he has made statements that seemed to be more than unconscionable such as the bailout of individual mortgages, John McCain spent most of the last eight years acting more like a fundamental Republican than most. He made enemies because he called the party out on their spendthrift ways. John McCain was one of the only Republicans to hold onto the "Small Government" pillar of the Republican brand.

This is a time for reset, a time for the Republicans to recognize what led to this downfall. The Republicans' - but more appropriately President Bush's - mantra that forces the my-way-or-the-highway style of politics has provided heaps of fowl smelling dung to fertilize this path to destruction. "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud." (Proverbs 16:18-19)

No, America did not FAIL. The Republicans failed. They failed us. They failed themselves. They failed America. Unless the Republicans take heed, there will be no return from these ashes - there will be no phoenix for the Republicans. This is an opportunity to make the necessary adjustments, returning to the conservative policies that made the strong foundation of the party. This is a time to wake up and do something more than worry about the politician’s welfare and big government handouts. This is a time for change all right. A time for the conservatives to return to those values that made them strong. A time to brush off the smut, dirt and wreaking waste that has been a hallmark of the past few years, we’ve an opportunity to become strong again. It is time for a reset, a return to the true values that is conservatism. Push the reset button, now.

Conservatives must embrace this opportunity. Conservatives must reject the “mandate” Liberals feel they received yesterday. The only mandate that resulted on November 4, 2008, was a rejection of a party who lost their way. There was no reward for a group of disingenuous politicians who spent most of the past decade in a wicked state of debauchery. There was no prize for those who lost their bearings and wandered off after the glitzy but negligent policies that spend tomorrow’s fortunes and today’s liberty for short-term profit and a sense of security.

Today is the first day on the road to recovery. There is hope and today is a new day. There is plenty of room for optimism.