Time for Conservatives to Make a Decision: Dump the GOP

After the 2008 Iowa caucus, I made what some would describe as wild predictions. Some were right, some were close, others were off and others still await the future. At that time, I thought that Hillary Clinton would be the next President. The meteoric ascendancy of Barack Obama caught me and the rest of the nation by surprise. As far as the Republican nomination was concerned, I said that, “It is virtually certain that a conservative will not get the nomination.” I got that right. The “drubbing” I expected was not quite as dramatic as I thought it would be. I think that Sarah Palin was responsible for the race being closer than I expected.

Conservatives like me did come out to vote for the lesser of two evils. Before Obama was nominated, I felt that the nation had survived Clinton once and we could do it again, but the prospect of an anti-American, Islamo-fascist sympathizer and communist becoming President really frightened me, as it still does. That and Sarah Palin was enough to get me to vote for McCain.

I predicted a new third party by 2012 and that the GOP would cease to exist by 2016. I was premature. I knew that the GOP would nominate Romney, another RINO like McCain. I anticipated that his defeat would be the catalyst for the new third party. I did not anticipate the headstrong loyalty of conservatives to the GOP. It is that loyalty that allows the progressive leadership of the party to take conservatives for granted at every turn.

And so, this past week I was not surprised that the courageous efforts of Ted Cruz and Mike Lee were all for naught. I was surprised that fully half of the GOP senators voted with the Democrats. I am not surprised that the GOP leadership has savagely criticized true conservatives. As I wrote last week, a common definition of insanity is doing the same thing continuously while expecting different results. I wonder why conservatives continue to support a party that is led by politicians that not only oppose their goals, but actually personally despise them. Why do conservative politicians like Cruz and Lee not bolt the party? I never agreed with much of what Joe Lieberman stood for, but I do admire him for having the sense to tell the Democrats to take a hike.

The Republican Party is not the home of conservatives and will become the Whig party of the 21st century. It will outlive its usefulness as an alternative to the progressive Democrats. If conservatives are to be ignored and unable to achieve anything through the electoral process, why should they bother to be involved with their opponents? Why should we compromise principle when defeat is pre-determined?

As an avid recreational sailor, I know when the ship is going over. There is a tipping point beyond which there is no return. I despair that the United States has passed that point. There is a very dangerous type of capsize that happens with the new America’s Cup catamarans known as a “pitchpole” where the boat literally nose dives. Last May British Olympic gold medallist Andrew Simpson was killed after Swedish America’s Cup challenger Artemis Racing capsized their massive catamaran while training on San Francisco Bay.

As a Christian, I do not despair that God is able to preserve and protect His own. But, God is not indebted to America. He allows nations to reap what they have sown. I fear that Artemis may be a type of what America is headed for. The results will be violent.

Conservative GOP loyalists are hoping to achieve an electoral victory in 2014 that would give the GOP a majority in the Senate. What these conservatives fail to realize is that fully half of the “Republican” Senators are progressives that will vote with the Democrats on key issues and that half of any new “Tea Party” Republicans will forget their campaign promises as soon as they are introduced to the “rules” from the leadership. Instead, I predict that 2014 will be a huge disappointment for Republican loyalists. By November 2014, a majority of conservatives will have succumbed to despair and will not vote or will vote for a minority third party. The day after the election, John McCain will be reminding us that elections have consequences. He will lead the Republicans to adopt what remains of the Obama agenda. America as it was known to the Founders will have ceased to exist.

Image: http://www.defenseimagery.mil; VIRIN: DN-ST-92-04954; author: PH2 T. A. Hanes; public domain