GOP 2012: A Hard Sell

In spite of the excited spitfiring from conservative talking heads and rising presidential hopefuls, the actual possibility of a Republican defeating Barack Obama is steadily shrinking as a convergence of policy and general idiocy wreck what might otherwise have been a democratic coup to be remembered for generations in November of next year. Over a matter of months the president has been luckily transformed from floundering politico to confident executive due to a stream of repetitive mishaps formated by the lingering gunners for the American Presidency.

(Photo credit goes to Dangle the Carrot blog)

Conspiracy and Consequence:


For the last three years, the GOP and its support bases have been playing with a deadly fire by repeatedly implying the president was not born in America and may even be a radicalized Muslim. Cute as these attacks might seem at their first release, using one method without a firm policy balance can inadvertently bring about electoral destruction, as the party witnessed following the 1998 impeachment proceedings against Bill Clinton.

Leaders from Michele Bachmann to the not-so-right-wing Glenn Beck continue flashing the point for political prime time and monetary gain, leading the press to associate them with mainstream voters of the GOP--a terrible frontal appearance by all means. This sort of behavior has its limitations, and in a national campaign it will only serve to cripple the Republican standard bearer by forcing them to answer questions regarding the party rather than focusing on good recovery polices.

Alienating the New Majority:


Mostly attributed to the media's hateful reporting, but equally due to GOP meanderings, Hispanics now almost categorically oppose the party and its candidates. Perhaps this is only a byproduct of tough immigration positions by its elected candidates, but the visceral rhetoric of top leaders has done nothing to mend ties, and so it faces a critical risk in gaining wide demographic support.

The Anti-Semites:


True, this is a heavy charge to weigh, yet the fringe positions of both potential candidates in Ron Paul and his son Rand as well as Gary Johnson provide visible images of figures who could further handicap a GOP thrust towards victory. Both Pauls constantly speak out against funding to the State of Israel, regardless of the massive threat posed to the country from terrorism should they loose American aid.

This is not to imply that the Center-right is doomed to fail, but drastic changes must be made if their is hope of  silencing Barack Obama's surge to historical prominence with a second term. As we well know, notwithstanding his performance in a second four year period, the sole fact of a reelection mandate would render him a spot in the great presidents category by the zealous authors of professorial Marxism in America today. If Obama is to be stopped, it will require skill and temerity, two factors the GOP still severely lacks as of recent days.



Jordan Wells

National Alliance Vice President for Policy

The Test of Paulism

In what some see as a dramatically surprising result, Representative Ron Paul of Texas has been tapped to lead a Federal Reserve oversight committee in the 112th Congress. After the years of discussion and observations, the former libertarian presidential candidate is going to have the chance of a lifetime not only to speak--but also to act on his anti-federal views, setting up for a potentially colorful smack-down between him and the other pro-Wall Street Republicans.

Unless...his words are stronger than his actions. For as much excitement as this placement may garner among political neophytes and standard bearers across the nation, Paul must be able to prove that he can use a position of leadership to effectively get the job done--not only advocate for its completion. Political truth-tellers will always be a novelty in any country and America is no exception, yet there is a time for speech and then a time for putting rhetoric to forceful outcomes. Even the constitutional firebrand's heroes, the American Founding Fathers, knew that at a certain point in their movements against the British they would need to use courageous action, pushing through the preliminary boundaries of activism and to the valleys of freedom from oppression beyond.

The Campaign for Liberty and Ron Paul must now be willing to end their activism dash and shift to a more administrating mode in which they control policy; not just words. With the heavy number of GOP members in the House who firmly subscribed to the Tea Party, as well as others in the Senate, there should be noticeably less difficulty for the new politicians to decry the tactics of old and move forward with policy to either audit or even abolish the Federal Reserve once and for all, fulfilling their commitments and members of a cause for national renewal for which they have so long belabored to stress in government.

Obviously the largest test to this successful venture will be the tenacity of the movement's own Speaker, and whether or not he agrees to show the leadership which so many of his better informed political flock had hoped for if his had won the presidency. If nothing else, Ron Paul must except that as the subcommittee oversight chairman he should act in the best interests of the people--not simply as a poster boy for libertarianism. He must rise to propose viable legislation which the majority will support and which can become law, and work as a member of the leadership, not as a caucus of one in the House.

Ideology is the basis of action, yet it cannot be a substitute, and this is the reality which Dr. Paul must be willing to except. No longer can he claim a singular status as an advocate with no voice; his position immerses him directly into the government, with all of its perks and negatives. Strength and the courage to use it are the true factors which will allow him to either succeed for the people, or collapse politically in a withdrawal from his responsibilities.    

January 2011 and the months to follow will test the cores of Paul and the Tea Party, deciding whether they are made of true conviction form which actions can spring forth, or empty rhetoric which dies in the moment of dire need.


Dana Bault

National Alliance Vice President for Finance