Thursday, December 11, 2008

Conservative Nation - A Concept ©

Introduction

What follows is an outline of a plan, which if implemented, may help us to return to the principles our Founding Fathers fought for, and at times, suffered and died for, as they forged a Constitution and built as nation. In the recent past, efforts by politicians and liberal judges have modified our Constitution, not necessarily for the better. This is not acceptable, and steps need to be taken to return to the beliefs embodied in that document.

The goal of the Conservative Nation (CN) movement is to take the first sentence in the Constitution that begins with “We the people…”, and broaden it. Broaden it not to make changes in the Constitution, but to organize conservative Americans in a manner that makes the people responsible for the changes that need to be made. Our purpose is to return to the principles of Conservatism that made, and will continue to make, this country the greatest country in the world.

The notion of Conservative Nation is a simple one. It takes as a given that politicians who we the people have elected have not done a good job in protecting us from not only other people who dislike us, but also from those within our government who would perpetrate harm to the United States of America. It matters little if that harm was, or is, done as an objective of a specific group of politicians, or whether it was done from greed or stupidity. If it was done at all at the hands of our politicians, from any party, it must be countered, and those people who perpetrated that harm removed from office through the electoral process.

The rest of this outline will address ideas and methods of accomplishing the above. Obviously, far, far more detail is needed than is provided here. That will come.

Goals:

One goal of CN will be to organize at least millions of American conservatives into a force that will address issues antithetical to Conservatism. Another is to organize, or network as the case may be, Internet and communications resources into a phalanx of interactive information services that will monitor and expose any political action or politician in the Congress that proposes any program which weakens the United States’ economic, military, energy, social, anti-terrorism and medical positions.

Objectives:

There are many issues in the United States at this time. CN cannot address all of them and be successful. We can however delineate Objectives that comport with the general goals of true conservatives. These are briefly outlined below.

Attracting members to CN is one of the foremost objectives. Without thousand, and hopefully millions of members CN cannot achieve a critical mass of citizens determined to return to conservative values. Membership fees will be very modest ($10.00/person/year) and will be used to address issues in print media, television, the Internet, and special communications. Concomitant objectives include building a unique and easy to access and use web site. The sites will be interactive, and serve as a basis for airing concerns and ideas on how to address those concerns.

The need for a huge membership will be addressed by development of a Recruitment Department tasked with presenting the CN concept to all ages, ethnic and religious groups. Additional members shall come from college campuses, and from retirees. As membership grows, members will be tasked with specific activities that promote Conservative Nation. Retired military as well as active military, in as much as they can participate without jeopardizing their status will also be a priority objective.

We imagine that if CN is well received, another objective will be to form statewide representative groups. To do this will require recruiting statewide representatives who will then promote county and city chapters of CN. A major objective of this effort is to schedule meetings and statewide congresses of CN members to promote all the goals and objectives of the movement. Each state representative will have a budget for all activities that are scheduled.

Nothing done at CN will be secretive. All will be presented to the public via a Public Information department. The information to be disseminated will include exposes’ of governmental malfeasance at all levels. This objective is extremely important as it will be through public information dissemination that CN will impact upon the Federal and Statewide politicians who are determined to convert the United States into a more Socialistic place.

Another objective will be to develop a Legal Department that will promote and defend all of CN’s causes including diminishing the impact of the ACLU.

Finally, launching CN by January of 2010 is a major and realistic objective.

Once the goals and objectives are clearly delineated, the next task is to define why this effort is necessary, and to develop a methodology dedicated to accomplishing the goals and objectives. Simultaneously a budget needs to be developed. Finally an evaluation instrument needs to be developed to ascertain whether or not we are on target.

Please do not assume that the order of these objectives is currently relevant. As we develop this concept, each objective will be placed where it needs to be placed in an action item schedule. For instance, legal advice, and incorporating will be a first order priority. Obviously, if this idea takes hold we need legal advice vis-à-vis how to structure it, and we need it prior to doing anything as an organization..

Why a New Movement?

Simply put, the old movement has failed, and failed miserably. Many of our representatives have lost their way regarding Conservative principles. Members of Congress have forgotten that, at a glance, the United States is a conservative, capitalistic, representative republic. During the last 8 years, we have seen Republicans, who identify themselves as conservatives, either vote with liberal Democrats, or refuse to stand up and fight against the hegemony of the Left. They decided that moderation is the way to go, or that it is politically incorrect to disagree strenuously with other members. They have placed their proverbial fingers in the wind, and decided that the wind was at the back of the Democrats. They, having little courage, decided that since the selling out of America seemed to be winning the hearts and minds of voters, and that more than principle is important.

It is obvious from this last election, and from the last few years that Conservatism is in decline. Not in decline among those of us who believe in it – but in decline among the politicians who “feel “ that they must pander to the interest groups with the hot topic, the most money, and the best propaganda programs. Some of the issues that they have given away to the Democrats, or have taken as their own are: Global Warming, Alternative Energy only, Prescription Drugs, Educational, the War on Terror, etc. It a poll says some Americans are against, or for whatever is being polled, these erstwhile politicians are against, or for it too. Few have taken a stand; For example few have said we need to stop Iran, now, but any conservative citizen can provide cogent reasons why we must. We need to look at the never ending War on Poverty, and stand up to the fact that that war is lost, has been lost, and will always be lost. Our pandering politicians would never suggest that one can help the poor by helping them get a job, an education, and a goal in life.

CN shall be a movement that does what the ACLU does, but does it to support America rather than destroy it. We will identify something we don’t like, or don’t agree with, and we will expose it for what is – a fraud perpetrated on the people. This fraud has been given legitimacy by elected officials looking out for their own self interests, while professing to be looking out after ours. Once we identify politicians who are not truly conservative, we will help elect politicians that do not start every sentence with “My friend across the aisle…” They will start each rebuttal with something like “Now that is simply untrue, and in fact my colleague is lying about…” Our efforts must include direct rebuttals to issues, or events that are outside of our paradigms, as those paradigms relate to conservatism. For example, during this last never ending election cycle neither the Republican Party nor the candidate directly addressed the issue of the president elect's birth, his past, his unwillingness to release his records, or his relationships with unsavory characters. That was a case of too little too late. For Example, the president elect's comments about bankrupting the coal industry, his enormous fund raising, and the suspicion that some of it was from illegal sources, and his failure as a community organizer were addressed, but tepidly.

Even if the above were addressed openly and candidly, they would have done little good since the main stream media was unwilling to carry these stories. CN needs to develop a strategy where the media is exposed as unfair, predisposed to Democratic candidates, biased in their views, and willing to spike stories that place “their” candidate in an unfavorable light. Americans are being lied to by omission as well as by direct distortions of the truth. This must stop.

Last but by no means least, a redefinition of Conservative strategy and tactics must be developed. These strategies and tactics need to address the power of modern technology to tap into the social mores of young male and female voters, of women, and of minority groups. We must understand that the victor in the 2008 election was the closest thing to an MTV candidate that we have seen to date. He was buffed, polished, programmed, and presented as a feature film. That worked especially well when linked to his “Change” and “Hope” messages. What are our messages to be, and how will we make use of modern technology to reach all peoples?

The title of this part is “Why a New Movement?”. Why indeed? That question is fairly easy to answer: Because few in Washington during the last years have had the collective will, courage or resources to do this on the Conservative side. CN will expose elected officials who ran on a given ticket and then spend all their time in Washington pandering to interest groups, or making pacts with fund raisers to support them.

The Liberal side bought the 2008 election. They bought it with better fundraising, better advertisements, better strategies, better tactics, and more ruthlessness than the Republican Party, or the Republican Candidate. Furthermore the Republican candidates were not ready for a street fight, but that was what they got. CN will be a nation of street fighters, a peaceful, civilian political militia that will not allow the probable excesses of the left to go unchallenged. The Democratic majority in the Congress, coupled to a Democratic President of questionable talent, Socialistic views, and a seeming soft spot for our enemies, provides a perfect opportunity. We must face the fact that we lost. We must examine why we lost. We must study the Democratic playbook, and devise means to defeat them, and do so soundly. We can be gentlemen, but not while they kick us around. We cannot refuse a street fight. We must become better at it than they are. If this were a sporting event, we would not stop scoring when we were sure to win. We would never stop scoring! The goal shall be not to simply win, but to destroy the Democratic Party as a political force in the United States. That’s why we need Conservative Nation.

Methodology

How can this be done? What resources can be used to morph the Republican Party into a lean, hungry, focused group that will not stop until it controls the Congress and the Presidency again? How can this new focus be developed, and what programs will it support. How broad will a platform be, and how will it be developed?

Funding

The CN movement needs to be conceived, and then developed into an entity that not only can accomplish its goals, but will not stop until it accomplishes the Goals and Objectives set out above. Before any of the Goals and Objectives outlined above can be actualized, the need for support must be addressed.

The first three Objectives deal with the need for funding. The next three deal with information retrieval, analysis and dissemination. Without money there can be no national effort to build a new and effective movement. Without money, no internet, telephonic or other informational efforts can be realized. Without money or information, there is not intelligence gathering, and no rebuttal to dis-information spread by those we wish to correct. A small cadre of primary members and supporters needs to be identified and courted to the effect that they will provide the seed monies necessary to launch the main Internet fund raising activities. These people do not necessarily have to donate money. They can donate in kind services that allow CN to announce itself. They can provide a portal or portals whereby the initial funds necessary to incorporate, develop a web site, and a database might be obtained. Alternatively, 250 charter members, 5 in each state, donating $1000 each can be attracted from the multitude of Conservative Blogs, and sites already in existence, as well as from small businesses concerned about that a Democratic and liberal regime will do to their businesses.

Communications & The Internet

No major effort to organize people can be accomplished without the Internet. This medium is no longer new, nor is it something that only a few can understand and use. The successful Democratic candidate, as well as numerous Liberal Blogs have shown us the effectiveness of the internet in both fund raising and information dissemination. Within months of becoming a legal entity CN shall develop a web portal dedicated to recruitment, fund raising, information dissemination, and membership discussion and feedback. The internet shall be our major recruitment tool (see below). Additionally, CN must join with other conservative efforts. Combining the objectives of our new effort with other established ones will weave a national presence that is larger and more comprehensive than any one group can be individually. If we can accomplish the goal of synergistically getting our messages to the American public millions of Americans can be reached each day. We envision a Political Portal.

To do this we must make organizations like Grassfire, American Solutions, Hillsdale College, NewsMax etc, colleagues. If we band, or bundle, our efforts with other popular Internet Conservative efforts, we will have larger numbers, and a greater impact than the main stream media. We must approach all parties and suggest a means of growing stronger through coordinated efforts. In many ways, this is a play on the concept of a united states – separate but equal. Each thread in the national effort will maintain their unique identity, but when it comes to items that threaten the American way of life, all will band together to disseminate the same message, and the same strategies and the same tactics. At the outset it is important to admit, this uniting of efforts will be very difficult to accomplish, but it is certainly worth trying.

Recruiting

A Recruiting Department shall be established. It will be charged with creating, developing and implementing a painless, brief application to join CN. Additionally said plan shall address each state’s needs, each state’s population base, including parameters of age, race, sex, political affiliation, etc. In brief, our database must be extensive enough to allow a professional market research effort to be mounted. The Recruiting Department shall work hand in hand with an Internet Development Department in order to obviate redundancy, develop a user friendly web site interface that can morph into a FaceBook or MySpace type MyPoliticalSpace environment. Their most important responsibility will be to attract the millions of members, each donating $10.00/annum to membership.

Identifying College Campuses that might show an interest in this effort will be difficult in some regards. Colleges like Hillsdale (a very conservative college) can be approached to lead such an effort. Students there can be tapped for input and insights into what do young voters and potential voters need to see, hear an dread in order to seriously consider their political choices. These and other young people can also provide guidance vis-à-vis all ways to communicate our message. In many ways, the young are often ahead of the older generation when it comes to communications technology. We need not be afraid to admit that, but use it to our advantage.

Member Responsibilities

Members shall be tasked with specific responsibilities. Most important is contacting local, State, and Federal representative on issues that CN members see as important to all. Given the time constraints of many, draft letter, email and Fax messages will be provided for the convenience of all members who do not have the time to develop their own note. Each time thousands of letters, emails and Fax messages arrive at the offices of the politicians who feel that they are immune from criticism; the people will be speaking in a loud voice.

Forums, Meetings and Support

Members of any large group want and need to know that there are others who feel as they feel, believe what they believe, and want what they want. One way to assist in that process is to develop statewide forums, attended by those who may have developed a county or regional forum on issues and strategy and tactics. Whenever possible these will held in convenient places, and enjoy a design that says a number of things: One is that no one is alone out there, and another is to emphasize the fact that we can communicate, we can agree, disagree, we can build and we can rebuild our CN. Part of this effort will be state specific threads in any portal, web site, or MyPoliticalSpace that may eventually emerge from this effort. State Chairpersons will join these local threads, and meld the various inputs into a coherent state recommendation that addresses social, cultural, economic or political tyranny being perpetrated by the Democrats, or plans for same.

Public Information

From all of this a Public Information Department will be developed, and charged with exposing any political malfeasance that is being perpetrated. The basis for this is that many either do not have time to surf the internet. They may not have the time or energy to try and find news and information that affects them. Perhaps by habit, they tune into the main stream media, and are lulled by the dulcet tones of these outlets. The information will arrive at member’s computers on a regular basis, will be brief, and will be informative. They may be commentary, film or links as is necessary. At all time the governing body of CN shall insure that any information sent to members is accurate, honest, and vetted for egregiously malicious content. Par to the Public Information Department’s mandate will be to track Presidential and Congressional actions that may negatively affect conservatives and unduly benefit liberals.

Legal Assistance

An important, and perhaps the most important, area that is ripe with opportunities is the law. We will recruit at least 25 conservative attorneys who are willing to act as our own ACLU. There are currently a number of attorney groups doing this, so it may be possible to form a constructive liaison with them. There is no doubt that liberal judges, as well as the new president shall make every effort to change our Constitution to their benefit and to our detriment. We must have legal assistance to fight this type of creeping rot.

As mentioned previously, solid legal advice must be available to assist in the development of CN. The type of organization, the corporate veil so to speak, must be one that is immune to the attacks we know will come from the Left – all of the left.

Organization & Executive Committee

There can be no organized action in any large group without leadership. Thus an Executive Committee will act as a Board of Directors, and maintain the Goals and Objectives established in CN’s charter. Development of an Executive Committee shall be a major first task, if this idea should come to fruition. We imagine a specific structure here. Major efforts need an organization, and a chain of command. Without this, chaos will ensue, and efforts will result in minimal success. While corporations have often been maligned, they are a necessary part of any organized body. Part of the Executive Committee’s responsibilities will be to distribute funds to each State Chairperson so that each one can carry our their assigned duties. A fair and equitable funding mechanism shall be established by the Executive committee. Prior o finalizing same all State Chairpersons will offer suggestions and guidance in this.

The Executive Committee shall have a subcommittee that acts as a Rapid Response Team (RRT). When the president or the Democratic majority suggest any legislation that will harm the United States, the RRT will alert the nation. Items that come to mind as most likely action items include, but are not limited to 1st and 2nd amendment rights, the Fairness Doctrine, Executive Orders, etc. Each alarm identified by the RRT will become a priority item, and a strategy and set of tactics to organize members of CN and other Conservative groups shall be developed which will be sent to all State Chair persons for immediate action.

A time line needs to be developed for the launch of CN. One year from the inauguration of the new president of the United States seems like a reasonable goal. This does not mean that nothing will be done in the mean time. As soon as we are a legal entity, work to take America back from the Liberal Democrats shall begin.

December 10, 2008


Labels: , , , , , ,