Towards more conservatism from Republican Party of Wisconsin
I didn't have the opportunity to weigh in on the TPA, but I did catch up on what everyone has had to say about it. I've been thinking long and hard about the RPW lately. I really don't think it is a party that has ever had a strong conservative streak to it. Sure, here and there we've seen solid conservatives come up through, but not nearly enough to call this party conservative itself. I'm frustrated with the party, no, I'm frustrated with numerous non-conservative Republican politicians in this state. So I've come up with my own personal course of action for this year and beyond.
First and foremost, I refuse to become personally involved with the party. I don't feel it represents me very well, so I see no reason to become involved with the party, only to be left banging my head against the wall on a regular basis. So, having said that, I've decided that I'm going to cancel my plans to cover the 2006 RPW convention in Appleton.
Second, I want to push this party towards supporting conservative values. That means I will talk and write about the conservative failings of any Wisconsin Republican politician in an effort to get other voters talking. I will oppose any RINO in primaries. I am also willing to withold my vote from a RINO in a general election, not on principle, because making the Dems the majority in this state accomplishes little, but because I don't see them making enough of an effort to fully support conservative legislation.
I am choosing to work from the outside rather than the inside to accomplish this because I don't think it can be done from within the party. Inside the party, it is about soft talk here, a compromise there. I'd much rather apply more blunt pressure from the outside until I think that this is a party that is representative of my and this blog's conservative values. I don't ever expect the party to be perfectly conservative-reality dictates that there is give and take in politics, but this party seems to take pleasure in spitting in the eyes of conservatives, especially the further north and west one gets. As a Southeastern Wisconsin conservative who has spent the majority of his life living in West Central Wisconsin, that disappoints me as much as anything.
First and foremost, I refuse to become personally involved with the party. I don't feel it represents me very well, so I see no reason to become involved with the party, only to be left banging my head against the wall on a regular basis. So, having said that, I've decided that I'm going to cancel my plans to cover the 2006 RPW convention in Appleton.
Second, I want to push this party towards supporting conservative values. That means I will talk and write about the conservative failings of any Wisconsin Republican politician in an effort to get other voters talking. I will oppose any RINO in primaries. I am also willing to withold my vote from a RINO in a general election, not on principle, because making the Dems the majority in this state accomplishes little, but because I don't see them making enough of an effort to fully support conservative legislation.
I am choosing to work from the outside rather than the inside to accomplish this because I don't think it can be done from within the party. Inside the party, it is about soft talk here, a compromise there. I'd much rather apply more blunt pressure from the outside until I think that this is a party that is representative of my and this blog's conservative values. I don't ever expect the party to be perfectly conservative-reality dictates that there is give and take in politics, but this party seems to take pleasure in spitting in the eyes of conservatives, especially the further north and west one gets. As a Southeastern Wisconsin conservative who has spent the majority of his life living in West Central Wisconsin, that disappoints me as much as anything.
posted by Jib @ 8:41 AM
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