Last November was shocking for many. Romney won more men, married women, Catholics, and evangelicals than John McCain. He won more independents than Obama, long thought to be the key to any Presidential election. Yet he wasn’t even close to winning the election.

The good news is that Republicans have 30 governors, control the U.S. House and a record number of 31 state legislatures, a stunning flip from only 16 in 2009. The South and the vast Midwest are more Republican than ever.
The bad news is that the GOP faces major challenges. Obama only won by a very narrow 2 percent of the population, but he’s going to govern as if he won a mandate with ever-expanding abuses of executive power. America is now the most indebted nation in history, yet Democrats and their Pravda press of the mainstream media could care less. Worse, it seems more Americans think government should provide for their every need than those who desire to be free. The idea of the sturdy, independent, entrepreneurial American has fallen prey to a spend-happy socialistic nanny-state.
Why? Because it’s easy being a Leftist. Don’t make hard choices. Avoid hurting anyone’s feelings. Take from the rich and give to the poor. Well-intentioned emotion should trump fiscal realities. Unfortunately there is no example in history where such ideas were ever successful… not one. Every great civilization that has tried has failed.

Conservatism takes real thought, a practice that seems incredibly out-of-date in this Tweeting-texting-Facebooking world. We defend the unborn because we know that when people view some lives as expendable they eventually view all lives as expendable. We defend the family because children without intact families are much more likely to be poor. We protect our right to bear arms because we know that people who can’t defend themselves eventually lose their rights altogether. We abhor excessive taxes because we know government wastes half of every dollar we give it. We praise capitalism because it is the best way we have ever found to create a prosperous middle class.

Conservatism isn’t cool. Taking responsibility, standing on your own two feet, making prudent choices… sounds way too much like what your parents would say. The carefree, no-consequences thinking of the Left is much more attractive.
C.S. Lewis once lamented, “We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.” The mainstream media, Hollywood, and college professors have done a masterful job denigrating the foundations of our civilization – marriage, family, churches…even our Constitution. In short, they’re replacing the rock our house was built upon with a pile of shifting sand.
And the tyrants of the world laugh.

Dave Belton
Vice-chair, Morgan GOP

Printed in the February 7, 2013 edition