We Need Conservatives Who are Leaders

February 16, 2007
By: Big Dog

A great deal has been made of the results of the last election and what the root causes for Republican losses really were. The Democrats constantly cite the results as a referendum on the war on terror in Iraq. They falsely believe that Americans are so disgusted with what is going on that they [the Democrats] were put in charge to bring our troops home and end the war. Ann Coulter wrote an interesting piece the day after the election where she pointed out that the change was more in line with following historical voting trends than anything else but that has not kept the Democrats from beating their anti-war drums and using the election as a bellwether for their desire to bring our troops home in defeat. Unfortunately, many Republicans in Congress have bought into the idea that the war caused their losses and they have abandoned conservatism and leadership and are now acting like the cut and run Democrats.

Despite the historical trends the Republicans were directly responsible for their losses. They could have easily bucked history and maintained control had they displayed and lived conservative values and had they demonstrated leadership. Their desire to be reelected led them to abandon conservative principles and, in effect, abandon leadership. As the election results showed, this was not the correct method of winning.

Conservative principles succeed every time they are tried. There is no doubt that conservatism demands higher standards and that people who live conservatively must make tougher choices. It is so much easier to abort a child than take responsibility. It is easier to redistribute wealth than foster an environment where all people can succeed and it is easier for people to sit back and accept handouts than to work for what they need. The aftermath of hurricane Katrina demonstrated the ugly truth about liberal programs and their effect on people. Katrina showed us that people who learn to live off the government are unable to take decisions on their own behalf. How many people stood knee deep in water looking around for someone to come get them rather than exerting the effort to move themselves to the safety of dry land? There is no doubt that people who learn self reliance are better able to handle the dangers of life.

Leadership is the cornerstone of the foundation of government. We the people elect those who we want to represent us. We put them in office to lead this country and to do things that are in the best interest of all its citizens not just the small groups of special interest victims. People have a desire to be led and in the absence of true leaders they will look to anyone who sounds like a leader regardless of that person's abilities. The Germans of the 1930s were so desperate for leadership they put a maniacal person in charge of them. He sounded good to them in the absence of true leaders and the world paid for their mistake.

In order to win and stay in power the Republican Party must find candidates who espouse, through word and deed, the principles of conservatism. They must not only be conservative, they must also be true leaders. There must be no doubt in the minds of the American people that they are leaders and that they will do what is right and that they will provide strong leadership through the best of times as well as the worst. This is no easy task because the American people have seen a Republican Party become energized through Ronald Reagan and the Republican revolution of the 80s and 90s only to watch their capital erode as more and more Republican leaders became like their Democratic counterparts. Republicans became what they evicted in 1994 and the public did not like it.

Leadership is the ability to influence people to willingly follow. True leaders inspire those led and foster excitement for the leader's views. In our military true leaders have followers who will walk with them through the gates of hell without question and without hesitation. Unfortunately, there are few if any leaders in the Republican Party who inspire that kind of devotion. It is time for those who fit these qualifications to rise to the top. It is time for those who realize that pandering is not leadership to step up to the plate. It is time for the Republican Party to field a team of leaders that will not succumb to the evil of money and influence and who will not sell their values for votes. It is time for us to rid ourselves of those who are not conservative and who can not lead.

The inability to do this has a one word result:

Hillary.

Big Dog is guest posting today and runs Big Dog's Weblog. Big Dog's Weblog is a conservative blog run by a veteran with 24 years of service. Big Dog addresses politics and our military (along with an occasional dash of humor).

Lifted from: Big Dog's Weblog

and crossposted at: Tom DeLay.com

Check them out to see what others have to say.

Crossposted from Stop the ACLU