Eight directives for the Republican Party

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I’ve had periods of supporting big-L Libertarians in my life. They still call me once in a while, actually, to ask me to please-please-please come back.  Most of the time I vote for Republicans, though, on the rationale that they have a much more realistic chance to prevail, and that my government will tend to move more in directions that I like with Republicans in.

Gee, has that been the case lately? Really, not so much. Tough for me to see there’s any sort of coherent Republican message right now.

But fear not, GOP. BoWilliams.com is on the case, and offers you these eight directives. Following them is the path to victory:

  • Seize the initiative on the economy. When things really are going well, you know it. Your president doesn’t have to convince you of it. Expose the disingenuity of the unemployment rate and jobs-added numbers. Show how Obamacare has begun decimating full-time employment in this country, and realistically project how much worse it is likely to get unless we reverse course. When the president says something indicating his ignorance of how business works, which is often, call him on it. Immediately illustrate why what he said is wrong.
  • Articulate reasonable and unapologetic foreign policy. As a smart person once framed the issue, when it comes to enemy nations, I want far fewer “decades-long, trillion-dollar campaigns to make them love us” and judicious use of “quick ten-million-dollar lessons in why they should fear us.” I believe any affection we cultivate in the world should arise from respect. I think it’s foolish to try to install Western democracy in parts of the world socioculturally incompatible with such, and that we would be wise to look at places like Kuwait and United Arab Emirates as the best an overwhelmingly Muslim country can do in this regard. I want foreign policy that firmly and unambiguously seeks to protect American interests, with all other considerations secondary. I suspect most Americans do too.
  • Pledge border security. A country controlling who enters it is not a radical idea. Indeed, a country that picks and chooses who enters it based on the country’s wants and needs is still not a radical idea. Have we really learned so little from 9/11? Equating border security with xenophobia is inflammatory and dishonest.
  • Get over gay marriage. Straight people have savaged the institution of marriage, and there is no moral high ground to seize in opposing gay marriage. It is not the end of Western civilization. It does not diminish the value of straight marriage. In gay marriage, we have two people agitating to commit. What is the conservative case for opposing such? Even if you can’t see it my way, please keep your mouth shut and be polite. Did you know that 65% of Americans 18-29 support gay marriage? You are aware that the GOP has a serious problem with young people already, right?
  • Confront class warfare and race-baiting head-on. Many liberal principles as espoused by our esteemed president cannot win on the merits. He and people like him remain popular largely by actively cultivating victimhood in their supporters. “Rich white men are out to get you, and I’ll make sure they pay.” That’s a power that needs truth spoken to it, to co-opt one of the more fatuous bleats of the left. We oppose Barack Obama because his policies are destructive. It’s a lie to say it has anything to do with his race.
  • Espouse genuine personal liberty. Dependence is slavery. Government ought not do for us what we can do for ourselves. Government should fear its people, not vice versa. Pledge massive reform of the NSA and abolition of the IRS as we know it. Pledge practical and reasonable airline security (gee, how does Israel do it?), not the non-thinking, bureaucratic wet dream that is the TSA.
  • Reclaim reason in the abortion debate. Abortion is never going to be totally illegal in the United States, and indeed, few people think it should be. Say so. A civilized people should, however, be able to come to some agreements on, for example, third-trimester abortion, or acknowledgment that abortion is often emotionally traumatic and not “just a procedure.” Say so. Immediately and comically ridicule anyone who claims that wanting any restriction at all on abortion is an attack on “women’s health care.”  “Safe, legal, and rare,” as a descriptor of how abortion should be in the United States, might be the single smartest thing Bill Clinton ever said.
  • Trumpet American exceptionalism. We are very fortunate to be Americans. This remains a great, great place. There is no shame in saying so—sincerely and emotionally.

Consider yourself straightened out, Republicans.

Now go give sensible Americans something to be excited about.

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