The Price of Not Caring
By Adam Graham (11/27/06)
Felicia Benamon, in writing her weekly internet syndicated column declared, "No sooner had the 2006 Mid-Term elections ended, Democrat and Republican Presidential hopefuls lined up to announce their intentions of running for President in 2008. And so, the race is on. But we are barely over the last election and are looking to another? The politicking never ends! I need a break already!"
She expresses the thoughts of many Americans. She is nonetheless wrong. If her advice is followed, the results will be another unsatisfactory election with conservatives dazed by the speed at which the Republican nomination went to a Romney, a McCain, or a Giuliani. Edmund Burke intoned that, “Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom.” While there’s understandable weariness with campaign ads and constants politics, conservatives need to get over it and fast before another presidential nominating process slips away.
You have a very short window in which to pay attention to the Presidential campaign. It was not too long ago that candidates could wait until late the year before the election to announce their candidacy. Bill Clinton didn’t announce until November, 1991. The Presidential Primaries were a long process. Ronald Reagan didn’t get his first primary win during his 1976 challenge to Gerald Ford until May.
Welcome to the 21st Century. We’ve compressed the Presidential primary schedule to a period that runs from mid January to mid March. It requires countless millions to run a successful campaign.
This is not empty speculation. It is fact. If you wait until early 2008 to begin paying attention, and you’ll have waited too long. America’s presidential candidates are already raising money and out campaigning in Iowa and New Hampshire. Political consultants are jockeying for positions, while party leaders in the various states hope to play kingmaker. They want the book deal, the political appointment, and the big rewards that come with backing a winning candidate.
What about protecting traditional values, reforming government, limiting the size and scope of government, and all those other issues conservatives care about? It’s at the back of their mind. This is a horse race and they want to ride the winning horse to further their own careers. If conservatives don’t pay attention, don’t get involved, and don’t begin a search for candidates worthy of their support, it will be too late when Conservatives decide to pay attention.
The only way grassroots conservatives affect this process is by getting involved early, sending off small donations to their favored candidates, and getting the word out for their favored candidates. The more complacent conservatives are, the less their influence will matter in 2008.
Enjoy Christmas and New Years, but if early next year, the level of interest from conservatives in the 2008 presidential elections doesn’t begin to match up with the interest of career politicians and their aspiring sycophants, don’t be surprised if we end up with a nominee who doesn’t share our values and will take America down the wrong road.
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