Wake Up and Smell the 21st Century

This morning I clicked Internet Explorer to see the headline on MSN, "Could this man be the future of the Republican Party?" with a picture of Bobby Jindal's youthful smile. As I clicked through the several pictures of possible candidates for the Republican nomination in 2012 I saw several I liked and several that made me want to cry. But really the article was written by MSNBC affiliates, therefore obviously slighted liberally. Few things annoy me more than liberals telling conservatives (or vice-versa) how to run their party, although these days the conservatives need as much help as they can get.

That's when I realized who held the key to conservative victory in 2012: ME!! I've got the plan for the Republicans, although I would no longer put myself into that category. Pay attention Mitt Romney; Sarah Palin, stop reading now and go wave at Russia.

Seriously, the conservative action plan is not hard if they would pay attention. Obama got elected for three reasons. (1) He is the opposite party of George W. Bush. (2) Voting for Obama was the thing to do. (3) People liked him- not his platform- but him as a person. He was likable, personable, and well-spoken. Yet the Republican party is stereotypically a bunch old, grumpy, rich guys, but with my plan, we can be the party of the future. All they must do is follow these easy steps.

1. Stop blaming the media. Rush Limbaugh has over 13 million listeners, and Limbaugh's listeners are more highly educated and vote at higher rates than the general public. Fox News averages the largest audience of any cable news network, and plays host to 9 out of the top 10 cable news shows. You still lost the election. Get over it!

2. Get the right role models. Who are the leaders of the Democratic party? President Barack Obama; Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi; the late Senator Ted Kennedy; Secretary of State and former Senator Hilary Clinton; etc. Who are the leaders of the Republican party? Journalists Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, and Bill O'Reilly; Radio show host Rush Limbaugh; former Governor of Alaska and current idiot Sarah Palin; former Governor of Arkansas and preacher Mike Huckabee; etc. Get the picture? Until conservatives stop rallying behind commentators who distort facts and spout off at the mouth but overall have very little power, they will never be able influence the American people.

3. Stay focused on what's important. While Democrats scramble to pass as many far-left, socialistic in nature policies while they can, Republicans are quitting their gubernatorial posts to plan for elections and making appearances or hosting shows on FoxNews. Remember that what makes a party great is what it does for the American people. At the very least, speak out against the policies being pushed by your counterparts in Congress so the voters can look back at who told us so. And stop doing things like making an African-American chairman of the RNC to reach the minorities. The minorities will vote for you when you do something to help them. The Republican party does not need to get "hip" but they do need to get with it!

4. Wake up and smell the problems of the 21st century. This is an area in which the voters, as well as the politicians, could vastly improve. First off, it is not 1973 anymore and abortion is not going to be banned, so move on. At best, a pro-life/pro-choice voting record could give a glimpse of a candidate's character, but if you're voting for him based simply on this fact, you need to get over it and see the problems of today.
Second, the conservative philosophy of helping those who cannot help themselves is the best plan for how to run a government. However, in fear that they will be giving the government too much control, conservatives have ceased to act on any problem. Newsflash: children cannot help themselves, they need your help. Fixing the problems of education could do more to improve America than any other single issue. It is impossible to fix the problems in America without first fixing the education system, otherwise the others will continue to occur. Yet you have to hunt to find a Republican talking about it. This needs to vastly improve in order for the party to regain the trust of the American people.
Third, drop the religious act. Remember Jimmy Carter? Good Southern Baptist, BAD president. Just because someone has a divinity degree does not mean they can run a country. Next time you want to elect someone because of his deep religious philosophy, just remember that absolute power corrupts absolutely and sooner or later he'll have his own cronies and skeletons in the closet. And if you're going to hoist God as the head of your party, you better be walking the walk. Civil unions will ruin marriage, but the 50% divorce rate among Christians won't? Marijuana should remain illegal, but King Limbaugh can do drugs? Taking prayer out of schools led to their fall, not the total lack of adequate funding? Please, set the act aside and simply do what's right.

5. Anyone can find the flaws. It's your job to fix them. Probably because the Republican party lacks a serious political leader with power, the majority of times you hear from a conservative, he/she is talking about everything wrong the Democratic party does. Guess what. I can do that. As a politician, we put our faith in you to come up with your own solutions.
I know that government run health care is overwhelmingly socialistic, but that does not take away the problems we face in the medical system. It does not change the fact that 70% of those with medical bills they are unable to pay have health insurance. So what are you going to do about it? I've heard that the fair tax hurts the poor, the flat tax hurts the wealthy, the sin tax and fat tax denies freedom, and income tax is a just a tax on production. So how exactly are you going to raise funds to support the military and children?

If you are a die hard conservative, you are probably about blow your top thinking, "BUT LIBERALS DO ___________." I don't care. The conservative party must be different. They must stand up for their basic ideals, yet insert some common sense into that. The country is still pretty hungover from Bush and love sick over Obama, but given time these ideas could just culminate in a Republican victory. Just follow the steps above...

And nominate Mitt Romney....