If they have the children, how will we ever win?

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Democrat Parking Only?

Guest post by Ann Marie Banfield
 
I have been supporting the Republican party since turning 18 about three decades ago.  Over those years I’ve watched this party go through some changes.  Some of those changes have occurred over the past 8 years and unfortunately I think it’s led to the self-destruction.

20+ years ago, we could go into a voting booth, vote straight Republican and know that we were getting, conservatives.  Today that is not the case.  We are now supposed to be a big tent where everyone is welcome, yet that didn’t appeal at all to the voters yesterday.  In fact, it has just about pushed me out of the party all together.
 
We now have pro-choice Republicans.  Republican big spenders and Republicans who support big government handouts.  We have Republicans who dismiss their Constitutional obligations for Congress to vote on declaring war.  We have Republicans who support a United Nations influenced public education system.  Some embrace and promote the radical environmental extremism instead of gathering up facts and cautioning against legislation that cripples a company’s ability to compete in a global marketplace.  Illegal immigration?  More support for a policy that is draining us financially. 
 
What has this done for this party??  Divide and conquer us.
 
It would be easy to blame this win on Obama lying about his record, or the liberal media who supported him.  But that would mean we would be missing an opportunity to learn from these disastrous mistakes.
 
As we try to play catch up to the Democrats, one area that continues to fly under the radar screen is our public education system.  This is a system that continually indoctrinates children into the ideals of liberalism.  This is a system that Republicans have virtually washed their hands of.  Yet this is the most pressing issue we face. 
 
It is hard to run behind this indoctrination program and do repair work.  It is best avoided when the indoctrination is not allowed to be conducted in the classrooms. 
 
Where are these strong Republican leaders?  Are they at school board meetings each week?  Running for school board??  Forming a relationship with board members to give their input?  Supporting a Superintendent that supports an apolitical atmosphere rather than a liberal indoctrination camp?  I bet they are meeting for their weekly or monthly Republican meetings.  All the while, the school board is voting in more programs that completely undermine the family, and every other conservative principle. 

Where are Republicans on education?  Many have checked out of the public school system and washed their hands of the mess.  Yet they send them a hefty check each year, paying for the rest of those kids to be indoctrinated into liberalism and globalism at their expense without one word of criticism.  How many of you would send $10,000/year to a company for  nothing in return?   Not only NOTHING, but to do a job you completely hate?  Yet that is exactly what is happening when they steal your tax dollars and dictate liberal curriculum in the classrooms.

Democrats play on the offense, and we try to win on the defense.  Until we figure out we need to be on the offense, I’m not seeing how things will improve.
 
Those who make it to Washington D.C. or their State Legislative offices cannot forget the core values of this party.  Those who get to D.C. and remain in their office, while thousands of their constituents march in the street for Pro-Life, haven’t figured out who their foot soldiers are when it comes to running a campaign effectively.
 
Those who think they need to move in a liberal direction didn’t pay close attention to the political races this year.  Many of the Democrats ran on Conservative principles like, tax cuts in the Obama campaign.  Or fiscal restraint in the Shea – Porter campaign.  We know they have no intention of following these principles, but that’s what they sold to the voters in their campaigns.   In the liberal state of CA, gay marriage was rejected.   Sarah Palin drew more crowds than Barack Obama in New Hampshire!  These ideals are not dead.  They simply need to be re-embraced and communicated! 

 

Yesterday I talked to a neighbor who voted for McCain who had NO idea that Obama supported infanticide and that he voted 4 times to reject legislation to protect born alive infants from botched abortions.  How did they miss such a critical issue?  One Obama supporter a few days before the election was given literature on his failure to protect these babies born alive AND changed her mind when she learned the truth.
 
Good people do not support such horrific political ideals.  Yet this was never really a message that was conveyed to voters.  Voters whom when learning the truth after it’s properly communicated would stand with Conservatives.
 
Taking Joe Lieberman on the Campaign trail along with other prominent liberal Republicans and shutting out those who still uphold the Constitution did nothing to help us win back seats we really never deserved to win back. 

We let down this country by embracing liberalism and they are ANGRY.  The problem is, they’ve taken that anger and voted for a man who will bring them MORE liberalism.
 
Sarah Palin was thrown under the bus in the debates.  What could she point to as successful during the past 8 years?  Not much.  Tax cuts and "the surge".  Again, not much.  Republicans had to run from the Republican record and that’s a difficult way to win an election.  The problem wasn’t a conservative record, but a record that looked more liberal than conservative.  Recently there was an article by an outspoken conservative about how the NeoCons destroyed the Republican party.  Well this election should be a wake up call to glaring fact.
 
I hope this time will be spent reflecting on the many directions this party has taken over the past 8 years.  We went from a party opposing "regime change and nation building" to one that embraced it.   We went from a party committed to a balanced budget amendment to one that outspent the fat cat liberals.  We went from a party calling for the elimination of the Dept. of Education, to a party that brought us back into UNESCO.  The very organization that promotes liberal propaganda in the classroom.   CATO has plenty more examples. 
 
This country is angry and it’s wise to learn that when you invite liberalism into bed with you, it only backfires.
 
Out of the ashes can come great things, only if we learn from those mistakes.  If we continue to pretend that liberalism works, it will continue to confuse the voters as it did in this election.  They voted for change and who can blame them?  Liberalism didn’t work and the past 8 years reflects that fact. 
 
I don’t mean to throw salt in the wounds of the countless volunteers who are discouraged today.  This is a difficult loss for so many of us.  I hope instead, this is reflected upon in a way that energizes us all to return to the grass roots of this party.  To look at what unifies us which is both fiscal AND social conservative principles.  Otherwise we simply become the liberal-lite party and that is not working.  

Ann Marie Banfield lives in Bedford and is active in her children’s education. She has appeared several times on the radio version of the ‘Grok, Meet the New Press. Click here to listen to a podcast of her most recent visit.

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