Moving Forward, Part 8

Too many of us naively behave as though political parties are wholly formed from scratch during an election cycle.  In my experience this pretty much sums up the political activity of the majority of Values Voters: Twelve to eighteen months before the big election, we show up to our party’s political table after three or so years of being politically AWOL.  Then we presumptuously clear our throats and say: “Hey, um, excuse us, Misters Republican Party Bigwigs.  It’s us, the Values Voters.  You had better stand for all the things we stand for, or we’re going to teach you a lesson and disappear for another four years!”  It’s certainly easier to point the finger at some straw men in the party than to realize that many of the current failings of the Republican Party are due largely to the absence of us Social Conservatives during the intermediate years when real reformation and retooling of the party can take place.  The Party only reflects the values of those who have invested themselves in it diligently enough to make a difference - a lot more than in just a one-year election cycle.

If we want to make a difference for the greater good, both in the long term and in the short term, then we should consider following the example of Roosevelt and Churchill: they allied themselves with the Soviets so that the mortal danger could be vanquished, then endured a season of uneasy co-existence with their former ally until its time should pass.  So too, we Conservatives must see to it that our party’s nominee is elected so that the imminent threat to our values and way of life is defeated.  If we must then endure a season of uneasy co-existence with McCain, we can use that time - all 1,460 days of the next four years - to once and for all reform and retool the Republican Party from the ground up.

Even as I write this to you, four members of my Sacramento for Huckabee Meetup Group - people who have not previously held public office - are running for political office: three for County Central Committee and one for City Council.  Others of us are on pro-life councils or serve in pregnancy resource centers.  These are examples of constructive ways to make a difference for good all around.  I know that such is the legacy of other Huckabee groups around the country, and I hope, whether or not things go our way in 2008, that such efforts for goodness will define the movement that we have started.

[Moving Forward, Part 1]