California Conservative

If there’s a dominant theme to this Prager column, that title is it.

One repeatedly hears that some conservatives and Republicans will either vote Democrat or not vote at all out of anger at the Republican Party. According to these Republican holdouts, the Republicans have governed as Democrats-lite by greatly increasing government spending and doing little about illegal immigration. Accordingly, it is better to have liberal government under liberals than liberal government under Republicans, and the Republicans need to be taught a lesson so that in the future they will govern as authentic Republicans.
Conservatives should file this thinking under the heading “Cathartic,” but not under “Smart.”

Let’s face facts. Conservatives aren’t happy this election. They’re feeling surly right now. Who can blame us, right? Here’s a suggestion: Bottle that frustration. Save it for the next primary when it’s R vs. R, not R vs. D. Unleash that frustration when the stakes aren’t Justice O’Connor vs. Justice Alito.

Compared to you and your conservative principles, real-life Republicans are indeed a failure. But compared to real-life Democrats, they are almost giants.

Repeat those seventeen words so often that they become your mantra. Repeat after me: “Real-life Republicans are indeed a failure. But compared to real-life Democrats, they are almost giants.”

Let’s examine the wisdom of teaching RINO’s a lesson right now vs. teaching them a lesson in the primaries. When do conservatives have the most to gain with the smallest risk? Isn’t it when we’re letting word out that we’re fixing on whacking a Republican that’s acting too much like a Democrat? If the RINO doesn’t get religion in a hurry, we replace him in a primary. If he gets religion, then we’ve gotten what we’ve wanted without risking anything.

I prefer acting in win-win situations. That’s what unleashing our frustrations during primary season is.

Technorati Tags: Election 2006, RINO, Primaries

Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog