Somewhere between 40% and 45%… that’s about how many Americans still think Obama and the Democrats are doing a good job. Of course you can bet that those are all Democrats!
But that does NOT mean that the inverse portion of Americans – the other 55% to 60% – is suddenly going to suddenly start voting Republican in the next election. It doesn’t work that way.
Here’s a quick snapshot of where the country is one year into Obama’s second term and nine months out from the mid-term elections in November of this year…
RealClearPolitics.com averages all of the major polling organizations in the country and computes an average of all of them. These are their averages of the polls taken during the period of 15 Jan to 01 Feb:
Obama’s overall job approval = 43.3% approve / 51.5% disapprove
Obama’s handling of the Economy = 40.2% approve / 56.0% disapprove
Obama’s handling of American Foreign Policy = 42.2% approve / 48.8% disapprove
The overall direction of Country = 29.5% right direction / 63% wrong direction; just four months ago these numbers were about 18% / 73%, which means that folks think the direction of the country is actually IMPROVING!
As for ObamaCare = 38% approve / 51.9% disapprove; back in Oct it was about 42% approve / 48% disapprove. But the majority of Americans don’t blame Obama – they blame Congress!
Damn near half of the country still thinks Obama is doing a good job!
But here’s the rub; despite whether or not that 45% think that the Democrat Party and Obama are doing a good job most of them are not to vote for a Republican! That’s just not how people vote!
My point is that there is still a long way to go in the ‘war’ for the future of America; it is indeed ‘the long war.’
The Socialist Left is not dead or even on the way to defeat. ObamaCare may have awakened many Americans and those same Americans may now be questioning the recent expansion of Socialist policies in America, but the Democrat Party is not dead.
Neither are American Conservatives suddenly going to throw their hands up at the next defeat they suffer (wait for it!) and say “screw it… I guess I’ll just vote with the Dems from now on!” It doesn’t work that way either.
Political parties don’t ‘die.’ Large percentages of populations do not suddenly make polar shifts in their core beliefs and swing their support in behind their former foes. Strongly held opinions take a long time to change… a lot of time and hard work and money!
So how is ‘the long war’ to be won? What is important now – at this very critical time in the history of our country – is that we (referring here to myself, and all of my Conservative friends) all work very hard at a very personal level, consistently, on a daily basis to change the minds of the people we encounter, to help them see the inherent dangers of Socialist government and Liberal ideology. That means engaging people directly – people you know in your neighborhood, at work, at school, your friends and relatives. In many areas of the country that may already generate some measure of personal risk to you. If that’s the case where you live all the more reason to act now, because it won’t get any better without your direct, personal action.
While Tweeting may be satisfying from the standpoint of instant gratification, let’s face it – when we logon to Twitter we’re mostly a group of like-minded individuals trading pro-Conservative quotes, slogans, one-liners and links to news, and if Liberals penetrate our ranks we brand them “trolls” and block them. Further, most of us are either somewhat or completely anonymous. My Twitter account and this blog are both quite anonymous – neither lead directly back to the real me. I’ve done this to protect myself from retribution from my employer. I understand the danger… and you should too!
We all need to become familiar with solid, rational Conservative talking points that can be used to present a reasonable, rational defense of our Conservative views. That only comes from reading articles and books and listening to – and becoming involved in – the Conservative narrative.
We all need to be ready and able to defend the Constitution. That only comes from actually reading and understanding the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the other works of our Founding Fathers, such as the Federalist and Non-Federalist Papers.
We all need to practice delivering the legal, moral and ethical arguments behind the issues we know are the foundational issues of our nation. You do that by engaging those Left wing “trolls”… not by blocking them.
Once we’ve done all that – or we’re at least on the way to that level of expertise – we need to start doing a few other things:
1. Speak out: We need to start attending local “town halls” and “sensing sessions” that are regularly held by our local County and State politicians. We need to be there at those assemblies, where, supported by our mastery of the issues, we need to speak our mind clearly and reasonably. We need to track when our State’s Federal Representatives and Senators are on break and where they’ll be speaking so that we can be there to speak our mind to them as well.
2. Communicate: When our Congressmen are not in town (and really, even when they are) we need to be ready to write them letters – yes actual letters – each and every time we want to influence their vote on an important issue. I recommend that you use your computer and printer to prepare stick-on labels and set up pre-addressed and pre-stamped envelopes ready to be sent off to your Congressmen at a moment’s notice. Have their name, title and address all ready to go, and have letter templates lacking only the information about the latest issue you wish to address. Letters received from constituents still matter. E-mails work too, but NOT in PLACE of real mail… in ADDITION to real mail. Social networking services such as Twitter and Facebook are important but don’t stop there. Buy a domain name and start an actual blog, send editorials to local newspapers, and contribute to political opinion websites.
3. Time: We need to donate our time and skills to the local campaigns of Conservative politicians in our area starting at the lowest levels. We need to begin to work our way up into the Conservative party political machinery in our home towns and States. We need to be part of the solution. Local politics are critical; just look at how State-level Liberal Colorado politicians successfully blasted Coloradan’s Second Amendment rights in 2012. Local politics do matter, and electing Conservative politicians at the lowest levels of our government matters a great deal.
4. Donations: Unfortunately elections are all about money. Even if all you can give is $5.00 that’s better than nothing. Give till it hurts. Money is the blood of politics. If you think we can take our country back without money… well you are mistaken.
5. Participate: Lastly if any of us have the wherewithal and the opportunity to run for public office I encourage you to do so. Even if you don’t win you will learn a great deal and the experience will help you in this battle for the heart and soul of America.
In closing I want to address my assessment of the TEA Party with respect to the Republican Party. I have recently decided that I am a TEA Party supporter all the way. Having said that, I rationally acknowledge that America is currently a two-party government. You may not like that, but that’s the way it is. At the moment a third major party would only result in further victories for the Left. So with respect to TEA Party candidates versus Republican Party candidates, I will not hold out for the TEA Party to the detriment of my Conservative ideals. I will support a TEA Party candidate until that candidate is no longer able – in my humble opinion – to win an election. At that point I am first and foremost a Conservative, and the Republican Party represents my ideals far better than the Democratic Party.
This is a war – a war for the future of America. Let’s fight it to win it.