Candidate Obama became President Obama through the active use of the internet as a tool to organize and take advantage of a large group of people. He latched onto this and took advantage of that feeling of discontent in the general public.
This was a true grassroots happening. People knew the government was broke and broken, Obama promised to fix it. The people wanted a government that worked. Obama promised to make it work. He offered change. He took a bottom up movement and promised to make over the government in its image. A new way of running government was promised.
The upcoming elections in 2010 will be a reflection of how well President Obama has fulfilled his promises. Not many excuses will make sense. Bush is no longer around, Obama and his Democrats control both House and Senate.
The point I would like to add to this is that Barak Obama promised a bottom up type of government and all we are seeing is a government that is ever taking control of the lives of those on the bottom. What we eat, drink, how we raise and educate our children, how we fix our house, where we live. The first 100 days have been a blitzkrieg of top down NOT bottom up politics. The Obama Administration accepts as Truth that the government is better equipped to handle the lives of its citizens than the citizens themselves.
He did not invent this idea; nor did the Democrats. In our time and party the government rose to (at the time) unprecedented levels. Barack simply followed the trend and upped the anti. Much like Al Gore’s computer projections on faulty data, the process will break down when reality steps in.
I’m guessing when I say that the “millennials” who voted for Barak by a 2-1 margin were not voting for more centralized power of the government to better control what they do, eat, learn, drive, wear etc. They voted for Barack on the idea that he promised them more choice not less. This is an age group that doesn’t like being told what to do. If Republicans can give them an attractive alternative they will quickly change their alleigence.
Barack has opened the floodgates of the Liberals and the bottom uppers downstream who put him in office will be swept along whether they like it or not.
Think not? Al Goreites now tell us not to eat Lamb or buy Lamb because it’s carbon foot print is larger than cattle due to their above normal burping. Well just for an example of computer forecasting, I’ll bet it would show that in the year 2050 everyone will be wearing “still” suits patterned after the Sci-Fi classic Dune. The purpose will be to recapture and recycle not only our body wastes but our methane as well. Also as our cars become smaller and smaller the computer model will show them completely disappearing by the year 2075. By 2100 we will be isolated and confined and numbered to prevent us from ruining Nature.
Forgive me for being paranoid. Computer generated models do that to me.
What I mean to say here is that it is up to Republican to seriously rethink and work the whole Bottom Up Politics thing.
George Osborne, along with David Cameron in England have been doing that for a couple years now. Below is an article about one of Osborne’s speeches. The Conservatives in England have seen what socialism is in real time. The top down nature of the beast has become apparent. The freedom loving Brits have made a statement in their off year elections, by throwing out Liberal in solid Liberal districts, and electing a young Conservative Mayor of London.
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http://www.preoccupations.org/2007/03/top_down_politi.html
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Please see side bar under "Update from Across the Pond" at my other bolg, http://conservativeinmuskegon.blogspot.com for a history of the British Conservative party rebirth.
It should be our first job to show the people that are paying for this redistribution of wealth the facts. They will speak for themselves. The other thing is that what the Liberals are doing is wasting money. We need to find structural changes to the system that cut out the fat and redundancy and get back to providing basic services to the people at reasonable costs.
If you are serious about change at the more structural level go to Mackinac Center. They are a think tank coming up with ways to use free market principles to change how we handle the problems facing us. Dig into the site. Download the Quicktime player and watch the videos. It’s free.
For the activist, there is all the information needed to help learn how to argue and win with liberals. The proof is obvious. America and other nations around the world using free market practices have risen to greatness. Those using liberal government run socialistic systems have failed. Europe is recognizing this. Mackinac Center has done the research, the tools are there.
All the battles that need fighting; in education, labor and even in our own party are all laid out by the facts. They are leading the way. The question is whether the Republicans will pick up the fight. Some already have; some don’t matter, not now, not in Michigan, not in this crucial upcoming election.
We need a united front.
We have a chance here in Michigan to change the basics of how we do business. We can only do that by uniting our candidates into a Party that stands for a “Choice not an Echo”. We need a gubernatorial candidate that will show specifically how he/she plans on fundamentally changing how the government does business.
When State Senate Candidate (running for the 34th seat) Goeff Hansen said the following “….. the current crisis gives Michigan the chance to make fundamental changes in state government's role.” My ears perked up. He needs to follow through with specifics. The SOS and Gubernatorial candidates should be on the same page with him. Especially as they were on the same stage.
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http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2009/05/lawmakers_discuss_states_probl.html
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A page out of the Mac. Center would be ok in my book. I realize that this is almost impossible in the primaries, but the time and money spent in the primary would be best spent on figuring out how to unite our message. We need to spend some of this time and money on building our message.
We have a unique chance and some great candidates to change Michigan government.
With a united free market message the Republicans with the crop of talent we have can increase our Senate majority, narrow our House minority and add the Governorship to our slate while keeping the SOS and AG positions.
From the same article, Goeff Hansen is quoted as follows below. If Representative Hansen could start adding specifics to that message, he could serve as a unifier in the party.
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"We have an opportunity right now to restructure the way we do things in Michigan," Hansen said. "Just cutting here, cutting there is not working."
Hansen said Michigan policymakers must go back to the state constitution to determine what is mandated. Political leaders must set priorities, fund those and eliminate much of the rest, he said.
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In my vision of Bottom Up Politics, what I see coming from the top down is a united message to help those on the bottom throw off the yoke of government suppression. A way to unshackle us from government regulation in all we do. In our work, our raising of our children and the food we eat. We have the right to life, the freedom to chose how we live and the chance to become happy and fulfilled. Not people telling us what to do for our own good.
Time for Republicans to do some Kronwalling.
Regards, Live Dangerously Be A Conservative
