The Mournful Wail of the Vanquished
By Thomas D. Segel (11/09/08)
Harlingen, Texas, November 8, 2008: It never stops. Talk radio, cable news, the Internet and an unending barrage of email all bemoaning the loss of the White House and majority positions in Congress. These moans never cease. Sadly, most Republicans and non-affiliated conservatives refuse to point their fingers at the actual cause of their political demise, which in reality; they see every morning in the bathroom mirror.
Oh, the causes for loss are many, they claim. The media was too leftist. It was always cheerleading for Obama. The blogs on the Internet were lying. The Democrat campaign tactics were unethical. It was the 4 to 1 money advantage. It was MoveOff.org. It was that woman from Alaska and her missteps on television. It was the Bush presidency. The blame was everywhere… and none of the complaints or excuses are worth a hanging chad in a Florida election..
John McCain did not run a good campaign. He spent all of his time looking back at what he had done in the past, and very little effort was devoted to his vision of the future. When he did project futuristic ideas, they were tossed out inconsistently. Each day was a different pitch and nobody really knew his primary message.
He worked the “maverick” mantra to the point where it almost became a parody of the man. It is true that a maverick is one who refuses to accept conventional wisdom and is an independent thinker. But, a maverick is also one who cannot be identified as belonging to any specific herd. For John McCain, this meant that even though he claimed to be a conservative, many thought he was not of that herd and did not accept him. McCain even authored the campaign finance reform bill that created the financial climate, which became a major factor in his defeat.
Added to the tepid acceptance of McCain by many conservatives was the disrespect our American public developed for the Republican brand. America saw a President who lost his vision and lost his way. They saw a Republican Party that forgot it was the official steward of smaller government and voted for some of the largest federal expansions in recent years. The GOP also forgot it was the steward of our nation’s treasure and outspent the opposing party they had always belittled as “Big Spenders”. Those conservative-labeled elected officials filled every bill in Congress with pork-laden expenditures, even in greater numbers than their Democrat predecessors.
As if these were not enough failings, we can’t forget the unending chain of lapsed morality and illegal dealings that brought disgrace to prominent members of the Grand Old Party.
But, there was a very unpopular war some cry out. The economy crashed cries others. These claims are true, but there are still those at the grass roots level who feel neither the war or economic crash would have had a serious impact on the election if Republicans had kept faith with their proclaimed principles and remembered they were champions of conservative government.
Semper Fidelis,
Thomas D. Segel
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