Posted by
CW on Monday, October 27, 2008 11:50:17 AM
Like many conservatives I am greatly frustrated with the perpetually lame job our republican candidates do selling the conservative platform to the American people. John McCain and George W. Bush have run against some of the most far Left candidates democrats have to offer in the form of Barack Obama, John Kerry and Al Gore. Given all that is inherently wrong with leftwing ideology, its proven failures throughout history, and the brilliant success of this country owing to its foundation in capitalism and limited government, it should have been easy to mop the floor with these guys. Instead Bush barely eked out wins against Gore and Kerry and John McCain appears to be on the verge of losing to Obama. The problem, to borrow an infamous line from Cool Hand Luke, is a failure to communicate.
It’s no accident that Ronald Reagan, whom many consider to be the greatest president of modern times, was known as the ‘Great Communicator.’ Reagan faced many of the same obstacles that Bush and McCain have faced: a population increasingly indoctrinated by the Left via their control of our schools and media; the natural temptation by many people to succumb to the promise of government handouts; and, most importantly, the inability of so many people to see how leftwing policy ultimately leads to a nation plagued by decreased prosperity and freedom. He understood that you cannot defeat the Left simply by trying to one-up them on their promises; nor can you defeat them by standing on a platform of conservative ideas if those ideas are not understood or embraced by a majority of the people. He grasped the importance of helping people to see how the principles of conservatism – self-reliance, self-responsibility, limited government, military preparedness, etc. – are in the best interests of every American, and the country as a whole.
If Reagan was the Great Communicator, John McCain is the Inept Communicator. True, he has repeatedly pointed out that Obama is the most left-wing democrat in the senate, and he pounced on Obama’s revealing “spread the wealth” remark but he failed to follow through with a poignant and simple ideological explanation of why those positions are dangerous.
As shocking as it may be to many conservatives, there are millions of Americans who see nothing wrong with spreading the wealth. They have been indoctrinated by the Left to believe that wealth is synonymous with greed, and that everyone is entitled to a higher standard of living whether they’ve earned it or not. Here is what I wish McCain would say when he talks about Obama spreading the wealth:
“As a practical matter we have asked the rich to shoulder much of the burden for the government that serves us all. The top 5% of wage earners already pay more than half of all income taxes and the top 50% pays virtually all of the taxes. Anyone who says that the rich don’t pay their ‘fair’ share has a strange idea of what’s fair. There’s a fine line between requiring people to pay more as a practical matter and simply stealing from one group to enrich another. It’s time for Americans to stop thinking of the wealthy as the enemy and to stop being willing victims of class warfare. People like Henry Ford, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs turned hard work and ingenuity into huge personal fortunes, but in doing so they created thousands of jobs and produced products that enriched our lives and made it easier for us to seek our own fortunes. When we set out to punish their success and confiscate their wealth, we kill the golden goose that drives our whole economy.”
On the danger of the bigger government an Obama presidency would inevitably lead to, along with the threat to our constitution through the appointment of liberal judges, McCain could borrow a simple quote from Ayn Rand:
“A government is the most dangerous threat to man's rights: it holds a legal monopoly on the use of physical force against legally disarmed victims.”
“While most of us would agree that government serves an important role for our country,” McCain should add, “we must be ever diligent in making sure that it does not become more powerful than the people it serves. Those on the Left, like Senator Obama, will always seek to expand the power of government.”
The point is to make people think philosophically about what is the right thing to do, to change the way they think at their core. Not only would this help McCain win the election, but it would make it that much harder for the Left to sell its ideology going forward. Unfortunately, it may be too late.