Getting the message across.

[Matthew J. of Patriot Action]

For far too long we've allowed the Democratic Party to claim a monopoly on compassion and charity. In reality, it is we who are showing real compassion to the poor and those in need. In reality, it is conservatives who are actually giving their time and money to charity.

So, why is it that the liberals get the credit for caring? I submit to you that it's because we fail to articulate that we are the ones doing the work. Like in so many other areas, Liberals talk while Conservatives act.

One of the major tasks before us as we move forward in rebuilding the party is getting the message out that it is truly Conservatives who are compassionate and caring. We need to properly explain that wanting people off government programs because we want them to be independent and self reliant is in fact compassionate. Too many people buy into the lie that government programs equal compassion.

What can we do to get this message out?

[Jason Taylor]

Here's a reprise of the lengthy response you asked about:

Here's the Problem:

I'm sure that you are familiar with the adage, "Give a man a fish and he will eat well for a day; teach a man to fish and he will eat well for a lifetime." Well, it's pretty clear that the liberals believe in giving away fish, while we believe in getting people to fish for themselves. The problem to-date is that we have not steadfastly committed ourselves to turning these fish-eaters into fishermen.

Each and every day the liberal message is being broadcast to millions of Americans through some of their most trusted advisors. College professors, union leaders and "community organizers" gain the trust of their audiences by offering valued information and assistance. People go to these authority figures for help in attaining the American dream, and all-too-often these trusted advisors offer a patently liberal solution:

"You deserve a fish. Somebody ought to give you a fish."

More literally, they are taught that they are simply not capable of reaching their highest potential without the assistance of the entitlements offered by Big Government, and that these entitlements are rightly deserved.

As any skilled salesperson can tell you, people buy on benefits. They want to know, "What's in it for me?" The liberal advisors take every opportunity to indoctrinate their pupils on the "benefits" of the liberal ideology as the answer to their problems, as their stepping-stone to the attainment of the American dream. Through what is seemingly a conversation having nothing to do with politics or elections, the message that "someone ought to give you a fish" is clearly sold to the pupil.

By this process, the liberal machine has an ever-growing mass of loyal believers whose "hearts and souls" have already been won over in an environment far less confrontational than that of the campaign process. In the election cycle that follows, the liberal candidate simply has to announce, "I'm the guy giving away the free fish. Come stand in line."

At heart, conservatism is the pursuit of the limitation of government, as a means of limiting coercion by the arbitrary will of the bureaucracy. It can thereby be asserted that an average person's willingness to subscribe to conservative ideals is inversely proportionate to the person's willing reliance on the products of this government coercion, i.e. income redistribution, or "free" health care. How can we expect anyone to see the benefits of an ideology which would destroy the entitlements on which they are so dependent?

The Solution:

Liberal believers have been taught that they must rely on the Government to provide for them in lieu of actually learning to provide for themselves. Before we can show them the true value of conservatism, we must first show them that only by learning to provide for themselves can they reach their greatest aspirations. In fact, as they realize the truly limitless potential of self-reliance, it will naturally become clear that the negative impact of government coercion is actually the greatest barrier between themselves and their greatest American dream.

Every hopeful entrepreneur who realizes their dream of opening a business will benefit richly from conservative views on taxation and job growth. Every hopeful investor who successfully enters into the world of stocks and bonds will find great support in conservative tax and economic policy. Every American who has trouble coping with high energy costs will receive great relief from conservative plans for energy independence. Every hard-working employee who thinks he deserves more than his Union contract pay grade will find great gains in conservative Right-to-Work initiatives. What we must do, in order to gain trust and rapport with these people, is to "teach them how to fish" - that is, to show them the way with sound, qualified advice.

The GOP can tap the resources of some of it's brightest supporters to create phenomenal information on topics such as starting or developing a small business, personal finance, investing, saving for retirement, getting a better job, etc., designed to teach the reader "how to fish." Additional informational topics can include things like "How to Save the US Auto Industry", "Why Gas Prices Are So High". It is critically important that this information is written from a real named person, without direct political implications, and without party branding. This information can be distributed on simply-designed internet websites for free, available to anyone who provides their name and email address.

The Benefit:

We will be able to quickly collect contact information on a vast number of people, along with detailed information on their hopes, dreams and needs. By tracking which topics they request information on, we will know if they are interested in starting a business, changing careers, etc. We can then follow up with these people on a local level, inviting them to networking group meetings related to their interest (for example, a seminar on tax planning presented by a local financial professional).

By giving them valuable information and advice, we will be inviting them to pursue their goals and dreams. By doing so without the addition of overt political rhetoric, we will build trust and rapport. The more these people become vested in their own pursuits of success, the more they will become predisposed to conservative ideals. After receiving regular email messages related to their interests over a long period of time, trust will be built to the point where a political dialogue can be initiated, within the context of their interests.

[Whitehorse (Robin Ray)]

Jason Taylor is on to something - we need to explain the benefits of conservative Republicanism. We need to use concrete terms tangible to people. On a blog someone mentioned getting people to think - that is also key. People want a roadmap, a set of instructions on how to get there from here. That is what we should give when explaining our principles.

[Suzanne]

Getting people off of "groupthink" is a first step. If we can find a way to convince them that individual liberty is more effective than groups we can get somewhere. Individual liberty requires individual responsibility, and is much better in the long run. G. Edward Griffin does some great lectures on Collectivism vs. Individualism. He has videos on google video you can watch.

[Matthew J. of Patriot Action]

Jason Taylor said:

Here's a reprise of the lengthy response you asked about:

Here's the Problem:

I'm sure that you are familiar with the adage, "Give a man a fish and he will eat well for a day; teach a man to fish and he will eat well for a lifetime." Well, it's pretty clear that the liberals believe in giving away fish, while we believe in getting people to fish for themselves. The problem to-date is that we have not steadfastly committed ourselves to turning these fish-eaters into fishermen.

Each and every day the liberal message is being broadcast to millions of Americans through some of their most trusted advisors. College professors, union leaders and "community organizers" gain the trust of their audiences by offering valued information and assistance. People go to these authority figures for help in attaining the American dream, and all-too-often these trusted advisors offer a patently liberal solution:

"You deserve a fish. Somebody ought to give you a fish."

More literally, they are taught that they are simply not capable of reaching their highest potential without the assistance of the entitlements offered by Big Government, and that these entitlements are rightly deserved.

As any skilled salesperson can tell you, people buy on benefits. They want to know, "What's in it for me?" The liberal advisors take every opportunity to indoctrinate their pupils on the "benefits" of the liberal ideology as the answer to their problems, as their stepping-stone to the attainment of the American dream. Through what is seemingly a conversation having nothing to do with politics or elections, the message that "someone ought to give you a fish" is clearly sold to the pupil.

By this process, the liberal machine has an ever-growing mass of loyal believers whose "hearts and souls" have already been won over in an environment far less confrontational than that of the campaign process. In the election cycle that follows, the liberal candidate simply has to announce, "I'm the guy giving away the free fish. Come stand in line."

At heart, conservatism is the pursuit of the limitation of government, as a means of limiting coercion by the arbitrary will of the bureaucracy. It can thereby be asserted that an average person's willingness to subscribe to conservative ideals is inversely proportionate to the person's willing reliance on the products of this government coercion, i.e. income redistribution, or "free" health care. How can we expect anyone to see the benefits of an ideology which would destroy the entitlements on which they are so dependent?

The Solution:

Liberal believers have been taught that they must rely on the Government to provide for them in lieu of actually learning to provide for themselves. Before we can show them the true value of conservatism, we must first show them that only by learning to provide for themselves can they reach their greatest aspirations. In fact, as they realize the truly limitless potential of self-reliance, it will naturally become clear that the negative impact of government coercion is actually the greatest barrier between themselves and their greatest American dream.

Every hopeful entrepreneur who realizes their dream of opening a business will benefit richly from conservative views on taxation and job growth. Every hopeful investor who successfully enters into the world of stocks and bonds will find great support in conservative tax and economic policy. Every American who has trouble coping with high energy costs will receive great relief from conservative plans for energy independence. Every hard-working employee who thinks he deserves more than his Union contract pay grade will find great gains in conservative Right-to-Work initiatives. What we must do, in order to gain trust and rapport with these people, is to "teach them how to fish" - that is, to show them the way with sound, qualified advice.

The GOP can tap the resources of some of it's brightest supporters to create phenomenal information on topics such as starting or developing a small business, personal finance, investing, saving for retirement, getting a better job, etc., designed to teach the reader "how to fish." Additional informational topics can include things like "How to Save the US Auto Industry", "Why Gas Prices Are So High". It is critically important that this information is written from a real named person, without direct political implications, and without party branding. This information can be distributed on simply-designed internet websites for free, available to anyone who provides their name and email address.

The Benefit:

We will be able to quickly collect contact information on a vast number of people, along with detailed information on their hopes, dreams and needs. By tracking which topics they request information on, we will know if they are interested in starting a business, changing careers, etc. We can then follow up with these people on a local level, inviting them to networking group meetings related to their interest (for example, a seminar on tax planning presented by a local financial professional).

By giving them valuable information and advice, we will be inviting them to pursue their goals and dreams. By doing so without the addition of overt political rhetoric, we will build trust and rapport. The more these people become vested in their own pursuits of success, the more they will become predisposed to conservative ideals. After receiving regular email messages related to their interests over a long period of time, trust will be built to the point where a political dialogue can be initiated, within the context of their interests.

I recently shared this post by Jason with a few people that are not on this site and they agree that this is a prime example of the kind of thinking we need in this effort to rebuild. We've got a hug job ahead of us, but with a bit (or a lot) of collaboration, we can get some ideas implemented.

I think collaboration is one of the main things we need to focus on as it pertains to all of these ideas. We've got a lot of factions in the Republican Party and they all need to come together, not to compromise, but to brainstorm together. We've all got areas of expertise and we can all fill a role.

[Jason Taylor]

I think collaboration is one of the main things we need to focus on as it pertains to all of these ideas.

This is truly a pivotal issue in our ability to advance. The right random person in any given moment can take an idea that is presented to them, and give it just a little twist that increases its effectiveness exponentially. You never know who that person will be, or what idea they can improve upon, so the trick is to get the free flow of ideas going so that they are circulated throughout the entire group.

In order for this to work, though, those random people must feel welcome to speak up when they have a potential solution. There can be no fear of, or shame in having a poor suggestion. Hell, half of the things I think are great turn out to be garbage, and half of the useless crap that I think of turns out to be great in the hands of the right person. As even the most softly spoken among us may someday contribute the one tiny morsel of an idea which turns out to save the entire Party, we must always promote as much participation from others as we can.

[desade]

"Liberals talk while Conservatives act". This should be our mantra going forward. We must prove that we act in the people's best interest, not in the interest of lobbyists. Any rebuke by liberals should be ignored and our actions reiterated. We DON'T have to justify our actions to anyone but the voters. And we can honestly prove to the American people that we have their best interests at heart. But will we, as a party, get back to basics, and divorce ourselves from the perception of aiding corporations at the expense of the working class. That, and only that, will make the future bright.

[Matthew J. of Patriot Action]

Paul, you make a big mistake when you think that any Republican who did not vote for Ron Paul is "uninspired". It's almost like a fire and brimstone sermon where everyone but you is going to hell. Don't get me wrong, I believe there is a place at the table for ALL of the people who want to reform this party. But don't for a second think that because I started a discussion about a specific topic that I don't care about other issues and that I only care about a party. Don't go down that path.

I, along with many other conservatives, have forsaken the Republican Party in the past, and only now after a huge loss do we really feel inspired to rebuild the party. Because now this party is in rubble. It's at its lowest point and now we get to build it into what we want it to be. Libertarians, Republicans, conservatives, etc, all get a say in how this party will be formed and how it will operate from here on out. Don't think that only "Ron Paul Republicans" care.

Paul said:

At what cost?
Listen
Americans are NOT wanting Republican charity and kindness that is conservatism.
They want a Government that follows the Constitution.
Until the Republican party can drive this point home to every single American soul, the Republican party will fail. When is the party going to recognized that America has come to a crucial point that needs Radical Change. By that my point is obvious to most of you and every ordinary non political citizen.
DO NOT DROP THE BALL.
This forum is here for more than rebuilding a flippin party. It is here to regain our nation, and this is what makes all the Dr. Paulers different from the across the board Republicans. We are inspired, and with the Republican party being uninspired and will fail. Notice my writing. not "until" the party is inspired, but because the party is uninspired now. Because of this there will be no second chance. The game is all but over.
The People of the United States will unite under aspirations of bold history making events. Get inspired, become an activist for your Country, for our Nation. Get involved in a way you never have. Tell everyone you know to do the same, and when they don't listen move them aside and tell the next person. Become a speaker to those you don't know, people will listen and if your actions put forward the proof that you believe in radical historical changes to this screwed up country, they will follow your foot steps.
The Federal Reserve acts of 1913 are treasonous and unconstitutional. All you have to do is read about it. The majority of Americans realize it, and by not taking the actions necessary to investigate and demand that those actions be repealed there is no credence in either party. The cat has been let out of the bag!, and until actions are taken to defend the American people, they will have no credence to any of us on this forum.
So please stop Boo Hooing

[Matthew J. of Patriot Action]

Jason Taylor said:

In order for this to work, though, those random people must feel welcome to speak up when they have a potential solution. There can be no fear of, or shame in having a poor suggestion..

Not only that, but conservative movements have to be willing to share information instead of competing to be the ones who accomplished the task. That's why I like Rebuildtheparty and #dontgo, etc. They're not competing to win the prize, they're collaborating to win the real victory; a more free America.

[Jason Taylor]

We are inspired, and with the Republican party being uninspired and will fail.

It seems that, amongst some of a certain thread, there can be no collaboration without confrontation. That, and gratuitous use of the word "and". :)

[Daniel Kaplan]

Just as you say, walking the walk is better evidence than talking the talk. So how can conservatives walk the walk? I think one regard in which we've maintained a bad image is our views on voting. Republicans constantly get thrashed as bigots because we're trying to supress this or that part of the electorate. We need to make a very big, public push to GOTV even with constituencies that might initially vote against us.

40 years ago, liberal activists from the north drove to the Deep South to help register and persuade blacks to vote. Even though, at that time, the black vote was not a given for the Democratic Party, especially the Southern Democratic Party. Yet because those liberal activists made the effort, sometimes at the cost of their own lives, blacks have been loyal to them ever since.

When have we as a party made such overtures to embattled minorities? We have alienated blacks, Hispanics, and gays through our policies and total lack of outreach to those constituents. We MUST change our approach. Stop supporting policies that antagonize these folks, and start helping to empower them.

[DeniseVB]

What's going on in Arizona?

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=Yzc4NTZmNTdjMDhhZTdkNDQ2Y2NiNj...

Could John McCain Lose Again?
After a presidential defeat, the Arizona senator starts a new run at home.

By Byron York

Phoenix — “Senator McCain, what do you make of Arizonans who think that for the last ten years you’ve been America’s senator, and not Arizona’s senator?”

That, from a local reporter here in Phoenix, was one of the opening questions last week when John McCain held his first press conference since losing the presidential race on November 4. McCain’s purpose was to announce that he will run for reelection in 2010 and to say, in effect, “Remember me? I’m your senator.” The reporter’s question was to remind McCain that a number of people in this state aren’t entirely happy about that.

cont'd at link....

Looking at the GOP leadership in the states might be a good rebuilding start ?

[Daniel Kaplan]

Klamath said:

I have to ask. Just what policies are you talking about to stop supporting?

- Backing draconian anti-immigration policies
- Don't Ask, Don't Tell

With respect to African-Americans, there's no policy I can think of that actively antagonizes, but there are lots of things we could be supporting that supports them. Why not be the party that champions putting easy-to-use electronic voting booths in every precinct? Rather than focusing our GOTV efforts on groups that are more likely to vote for us, we could begin pushing GOTV efforts in urban areas, where many minorities live. Things like that can act as a signal that we want minorities to be active participants in our democracy, and its those kinds of gestures that will go a long way towards ending the view that we don't care about particular groups of people.