Don’t Blame Me for a November Loss

Winners win because they want to win, and are willing to do what’s necessary to win. Winners think like winners.

Richard Viguerie’s op-ed in Sunday’s Washington Post is moving oratory. It moved Mark Tapscott to a potent post ending, “We conservatives keep wondering when the GOP Establishment will learn. I ask when we will learn,” which was echoed by Steve Bainbridge with the added reflection, “as Livy taught: "Men are only too clever at shifting blame from their own shoulders to those of others."

I cannot accept strategic losing as anything other than losing. And, there’s too much at stake domestically and internationally to accept losing. Period.

At last, at least, Viguerie concludes his piece with this:

At the very least, conservatives must stop funding the Republican National Committee and other party groups. (Let Big Business take care of that!) Instead, conservatives should dedicate their money and volunteer efforts toward conservative groups and conservative candidates. They should redirect their anger into building a third force -- not a third party, but a movement independent of any party. They should lay the groundwork for a rebirth of the conservative movement and for the 2008 campaign, when, perhaps, a new generation of conservative leaders will step forward.

That seems more in line with Hugh Hewitt’s prescription: Contribute to and work for candidates to win, and enlarge the Republican majority, and its conservative component.

A winning political party is a broad coalition, and the Republican coalition is not just comprised of hard conservatives, or conservatives aligned on all issues. Conservatives must not only tolerate each other and cooperate across a broad range of issues, but also with others in the coalition. Meanwhile, increasing the conservative weight within the Party is good, but not at the cost of pyrrhic victories or circular firing squads.

Bush and Republicans in Congress are not uniformly conservative, and to ever have expected otherwise is self-delusion.

I return to my original diagnosis: Conservative Battle Fatigue. The only ones who will benefit from stepping back from engagement, or weakening, will be adversaries, not allies. I fully intend to continue engaging. If others don’t, don’t blame me for any loss in November. I believe there are more winners than losers in the Republican Party. I also believe the Democrats are inherently losers. The only way they can win is if Republicans think and act like losers.

UPDATE: As usual, turn to the "Captain" for thoughtful leadership.