Republicans May Be Their Own Worst Enemy in 2016
The discourse among Republicans is not quite what it should be after losing the last two presidential elections. There is less discourse on the path to a more Constitutionally Conservative government and more discussion on winning elections. The discussion on scaling back the government within the Republican Party has instead been a sticking point by moderates to derail the conservative, liberty-leaning movement of the Party that had bolstered Ronald Reagan and George Bush. Instead of joining coalitions, the GOP is sending the message that it is more important to appeal to the progressive left on these issues. In essence, they are aligning forces with liberals to attack their own Party members and unaffiliated who vote Republican over and over again – still thinking this will one day win them an election. They have abandoned the true Party platform and have forgotten who the real enemies are.
On May 6th, North Carolina had a primary election to nominate a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate to defeat incumbent Democrat Kay Hagen. At a Charlotte voting precinct, a gentleman, roughly 70 years of age, told me that having this primary was a waste of money. There were eight candidates running for the nomination, Thom Tillis, Dr. Greg Brannon, and Mark Harris would end up being the top three. “So, you don’t think Americans should even pick their candidates to run in elections?” I asked. He merely shrugged, giving me the I’m-older-than–you-so-I–can-be-condescending look and answered, “It’s just a waste of money”. What he really means to say is that it’s a waste of the big establishment’s money. Karl Rove’s American Crossroads and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce would end up dumping more than $10 million in Thom Tillis’ campaign on top of the over $2 million that had already been spent by the campaign. This gentleman had no interest in examining the other candidates, many of whom were great advocates for constitutional liberty. They were great citizen candidates, who wanted to fix things, not politicians. Still, a woman volunteering for Thom Tillis had to get her two-cents in on the obvious battlefield that had emerged between the grassroots campaign for Dr. Greg Brannon and the big money-establishment, Thom Tillis. Wagging her finger at me (I assume because I was volunteering for The Greg Brannon campaign) and blurted, “It is wrong to not back your Party if your guy doesn’t win!” She wasn’t anticipating that I was a principled voter.
“I would never begrudge someone who is exercising their right to vote their conscience,” I answered. She was clearly disgusted with my answer. First off, I don’t take kindly to those who try to force others to do anything they clearly are not in support of. Second, our country was founded on such principles. It should be honored not vilified. The facts are on my side.
According to the unofficial primary results for North Carolina (Statewide), there are 6,516,126 registered voters. Of those registered voters, only 1,023,366 people actually participated in the election on Tuesday. This was a huge election for Republicans to elect a strong Republican nominee for The U.S. Senate, yet this election resulted in less than 16% voter turnout. The reason why has little to do with how much money was spent on the campaign, because if it were, Tillis would have garnished more votes statewide and the election would have produced a higher turnout. The younger generation, particularly those who would be the future of the Republican Party of our country, see the compromising of the Republican platform is typically coming from a generation that had dropped the ball on being vigilant towards our Constitutional freedoms. Apparently, they have no qualms about handing down unsustainable debt caused by insurmountable taxing, spending, borrowing, and printing money at an alarming rate (The National Debt Clock reports $17,513,478,599 at this exact moment that I am typing this). It would make them and future generations responsible for funding not only their retirement and healthcare in perpetuity, but are now being strong-armed into purchasing their own health insurance. This is a generation that is saddled with student loan debt in a poor job market economy. The argument blaming the un-electability of Republican candidates on a movement based on principles of the Republic is impuissant. It ignores the blaring fact that is evidenced in voter participation numbers. Where were the other 5,492,760 North Carolina registered voters on Tuesday? They ultimately allowed the few (less than 16% of North Carolina voters) to decide who the winners and losers would be.
Maybe the Republicans ought to spend less time bashing Tea Party Conservatives and more time addressing their poor voter turnout and try to garnish new voters rather than relying on the same old aging and increasingly obsolete Republican voter base?
Allow me to personally address this idea of obligatory Party voting. I was in my late twenties when George W. Bush was elected president, who promised limited government and cuts in spending. He had said all the right things to earn my vote, but did all the wrong things once he was elected. He increased spending and with that, the size and scope of the Federal Government. Needless to say, he did not earn my vote his second term. With all due respect, it was our elected president who was not loyal to the party, not I. I am to trust the machine that endorsed moderate conservatives who have only proven to lose elections, such as John McCain and Mitt Romney? f history gives us any indication, the next GOP favorite could be someone like Jeb Bush. The guy who loves Amnesty. Am I to believe that somehow these soft Republicans are better than the Democrats they run against. Simply having the letter “R” next to a candidates name has proven to have little or no significance once they take office.
What the GOP fails to recognize is that we ARE uniting. We are also campaigning and vetting candidates to restore our liberties, which was always the Republican platform. What better principle is there in the Republican Party than to unite a base under the premise of restoring individual liberty and limited government? They fail to see is the plain truth that lay before their own eyes. So, to those self-proclaimed “Republican Loyalists” who think that we who are not toeing the line are what cost Republicans elections, I remind you that we are Republicans. We vigilantly defend the platform. We didn’t leave the party. The party left us. It is our duty to expose the naysayers who still think they can win elections kowtowing to Socialist and leftist principles. As Timothy Stanley of CNN clearly acknowledged and wrote on May 4, 2012, “The GOP can no longer ignore its libertarian “fringe.” On the contrary, it will have to reach out to a new generation of activists who don’t regard religious piety or continual warfare as sacred tenets of conservatism.
The Constitutional Conservative base has made their message loud and clear to the GOP when Ron Paul earned 11.12% of the primary votes in 2012 and Dr. Greg Brannon earning 27% of the primary votes two short years later. Join us, or lose.
Lina Bryce
Wife, Mother and Pundit for Constitutional Conservative residing in Charlotte, North Carolina
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