November Elections

It seems to me that political conservatives need some perspective as we head into the race to the November elections. On the front page of the eminently readable Wall Street Journal (no link, subscription required) is a story about how Young Republicans are flourishing at U.C. Berkeley. Yes, you don’t need to rub your eyes… BERKELEY!

It is an interesting article detailing how this new generation is getting people excited about conservative activism. For example: PETA came to campus and the Berkeley College Republicans (the largest student group on campus) had a free hotdog (meat and greet) nearby to encourage people to be omnivores. The also regularly hold “Out of the Conservative Closet” events so that people don’t have to be intimidated by all the liberals (optimism anyone?).

One telling paragraph reads:

“The growth of the Berkeley College Republicans at one of the nation’s most liberal campuses echoes some broader political trends. At Berkeley, while leftist students still dominate and outnumber conservatives, the liberal groups have splintered and are now spread across factions from the Cal Democrats to the International Socialist Organization to groups formed to oppose the war in Iraq. At the same time, several faculty members say, there are more conservative-leaning students than in the past, propelled by swells of patriotic feeling after events like Sept. 11 and an increase in the number of religious student groups.”

While I find the faculty reasoning typical of the leftist bullshit (it can’t be that conservative ideals are appealing… can it?) the article points out precisely what the left has to offer… they aren’t Republicans. The liberal side of the aisle is fractured and without meaningful ideas. They are a house divided and are therefore unable to lead. Conservatives need to be mindful of what this means. Specifically, the MSM (and therefore general consensus) has it that Republicans are going to stay home and make the GOP suffer for their sins. Make no mistake, my long-time readers know the disgust that I feel for direction and neglect of the RNC. But, we need to look at this differently, please bear with me.

No doubt you are always astonished (as I) when people riot in their own neighborhoods and cause massive amounts of damage. Watts, Rodney King, Cleveland… they are all examples of people allowing themselves to be overcome by their emotions and causing damage to their own house. The Republicans are no different. We can be angry. We can be disappointed. We can even shake our fists at the TV and yell at the moronic leadership we have seen displayed time and time again. BUT, if we “sit this one out” to “show em” how upset we are, we are only damaging our own house. If Republicans win, there will be time to clean house. If Republicans lose, cleaning house will take a back seat to defending against stupid ideas and policies. If Republicans lose, even more “electable” conservatives will run in the future… and Republicans will vote for them to keep the Democrats out. That’s how we got in this mess in the first place.

While there are many reasons why I will go out and vote in November, one of the primary reasons is that I refuse to destroy my own house so that I can “teach them a lesson.” If the Republicans on the U.C. Berkeley campus can stand up and have a voice in that moral vacuum of higher learning, then I can certainly find the courage to clean my own house. I am, afterall, optimistic.