With yesterday’s announcement that she will be resigning as Alaska’s governor at the end of July, Sarah Palin opened speculation on her plans and political future. What are your thoughts? Participate in the poll in the sidebar, and leave your comments here.

Update: I’ve added this topic in the new and improved Forum.

If the money you have in your 401-K
Is harder to find than me wee pot of gold.
If your dreams of retirement are slipping away
cause your home, it canna’ be sold.
If your choice in November is causing regret
and you’re suffering from buyers remorse
‘Cause there’s no Skittle rainbows or Unicorns yet
and the country is on the wrong course.
Just remember this thought for your St. Paddy’s Day
as some solace you’re trying to seek.
We can turn things around, make this all go away
In a bit over 200 weeks.

I’ve been expanding on the points that John Hawkins made in his PJM article Six Keys to Turning Around the Republican Party. This post will be somewhat shorter than the others in this series because there’s just not much to add. Here is what John had to say:

Better support for exceptional conservative talent, right-of-center grassroots organizations, and online machinery is a necessity. In other words, we need our own George Soros to fund conservative organizations, our own Media Matters to give more conservatives the ability to blog full-time, and our own ACORN to register conservative voters.

At the core of any effort is the need for organization and support. There is a quantum difference between recognizing a good idea and actually getting behind that idea with the resources available to you.

Most of us could argue (If there is someone reading this who can not make this argument, please contact me!) that we do not have the resources of a George Soros to support conservative efforts. That’s OK. There is still much that can be done to advance conservatism.

I’m reminded of a story I heard in church some years ago. There was a deaf gentleman who was faithfully in church at every opportunity. Without the benefit a sign language interpreter, or the ability to read the pastors lips, he still was in the congregation whenever the doors were open. Someone asked the man why he continued to show up week after week when he was unable to hear what was said. He replied, “I just want to show the world who’s team I’m on.”

Yes, there is a need for those Republican Fat Cats that I’ve been hearing about for years, but never actually meeting, to do what they can. The rest of us can still do our part. At the very least we can show the world who’s team we’re on.

The fourth key of John Hawkins Six Keys to Turning Around The Republican Party post is Expanding our domestic agenda. I have a little bit to say about that this morning, with an idea related to this that is still percolating around in my head for later. Here is what John wrote:

The GOP has become almost entirely reliant on tax cuts and social issues on the domestic side. While those are still strong issues, we also need to expand our appeal by talking about a wider array of policies that can appeal to the American people. For example, we should get behind true energy independence through nuclear power and shale oil. We should develop a real security-first policy on illegal immigration. We should focus environmental efforts on clear water, clear air, and a non-polluted environment. Finally, we should strive to reduce health care costs by giving health care tax breaks to individuals not companies and allowing people to buy insurance from any state.

The short version of this is the old maxim, “All politics are local.” While people see the needs and issues we face as a nation, at the core they are most concerned about those things that impact them directly.

One thing we need to do as we attempt to share our vision for the country is show people how the ideas that we propose impact them personally. We can only get so far by declaring that some policy is best for America. We have to be able to demonstrate clearly how that policy is best for the individual we are trying to reach.

Related to this is the need, as the minority party, to present an alternative to any policy we propose. We are portrayed as the party of “No” by the left and the media. It is a tool they use effectively to marginalize conservatives and the Republican Party. That doesn’t make it true. What is true is that we are not always effective in communicating the reasoning behind our opposition and the positive alternatives we offer.

Some will argue that our message is ignored by the left-leaning press and that the majority leadership spares no effort in making sure that our voice isn’t heard. While that is certainly true, it is not a reason to give up the fight. In the face of opposition that hopes to win by presenting only their side it is incumbent on us to redouble our efforts to get our message across.

One way in which President Reagan was most effective was in taking his ideas directly to the American people. Granted, he had the bully pulpit of the presidency, but there are still things we can do to circumvent the obstacles we encounter.

Individual blogs, even the “biggies”, are extremely limited in their scope. That is offset to some degree by the number and diversity of offerings out there. I believe that there are some people who read bRight & Early and other similar sized blogs that don’t regularly read Michelle Malkin, Right Wing News, Ace of Spades, or the other big hitters. Having that variety of voices making the case for conservatism is just one way we can overcome the attempt to limit our effectivness.

It would take another post, or several, to explore the ways conservatives can get their message out there, and that really isn’t the point of this “Key.” However, I do believe that it is related. Much of what could be described as expanding our domestic agenda is really a matter of expanding the visibility of items already in place.

As I stated in the begining of the piece, I have more to say on this subject at another time. The ideas are still stirring.

The second key John Hawkins espouses in his PJM article Six Keys to Turning Around The Republican Party is Stop conceding so many groups of voters. His point is a good one. It doesn’t matter how big our tent is if it is mostly empty. Here is what he had to say:

The GOP needs to do a better job of reaching out to Hispanics, blacks, Jews, Muslims, women, and young voters. That doesn’t mean we need to compromise our principles, but it does mean that we do need to stop writing off these groups and giving up before we get started. The truth is that the Republican Party is a better fit for every one of those groups than the Democrats, and we can make that case.

Let me tell you a story to illustrate my thinking on this point.

A friend and co-worker many years ago provides a good example. He was a deeply dedicated family man, involved with his children and wife in every aspect of their lives and very close to his parents. He was an avid hunter and fisherman and loved to be outdoors involved in those pursuits.

From the long hours of discussions we had working together I know that he was against high taxes and over intervention by the government. On several occasions he expressed the view that the best thing government could do was get out of the way of people and businesses.

In many ways he embodied the image of a typical Republican that is often portrayed by the media and the left: A Southern hunter with a traditional family and traditional views. There were two other things to offset that however. While he was well informed on issues he wasn’t particularly political, but he typically voted Democrat. And he was black.

I asked him on several occasions why he voted for democrats. His explanation was that he really didn’t think about it that much.

If you look at this as a marketing exercise, we have a better product but have done a poor job of advertising and education. Worst of all we have allowed the opposition and others to define us. John makes this point:

But to do that, we need to tailor our message to each group and make a real, consistent, long-term effort to bring more people from these groups into the fold instead of making a halfhearted effort, saying “they’ll never vote for us anyway,” and giving up.

He uses three words that I want to explore to finish the look at this key: Real, Consistent, Long-term.

There has to be a real effort, not a halfhearted token of an effort. That means two things. We have to educate voters on what conservatism and the Republican Party are really about. We need to show people why our policies and platform are better for them and how their values, goals, and dreams are best served by the positions and objectives that Republican conservatism stands for.

The second part of a real effort is a real effort in controlling our message. We have to stop allowing others to define who we are and what we stand for. This applies to both the opposition, who are glad to portray us as something we are not, and the media who are content to rely on old cliche’s that don’t, and never did, represent us.

Central to this is one thing I have yet to mention. I do not believe that we appeal to people outside of the party by diluting our message. Not only do I believe that the traditional Republican views of limited government, strong national defense, fiscal responsibility, the wisdom and original intent of our founders, the value of the individual, and personal responsibility are best for me, I also believe they are the best for everyone. There is no need or reason to offer something less in a vain attempt to appeal to groups and individuals by presenting anything other than what we truly believe.

That means our message and our effort must be consistent. Consistent day to day and group to group. We may tailor the message to best inform the people we are talking to, but the underlying principles must not change.

Finally, the effort must be long-term. We are not going to overcome years of misinformation, misunderstanding, and inaccurate portrayals in one day, or even one election cycle. If we believe that the things we offer are really the best answer for continuing America’s greatness we must dedicate our selves to promoting our views and helping others see how our policies and ideas mesh with their ideals.

Previously: The job of the loyal opposition is to oppose

John Hawkins offers Six Keys to Turning Around The Republican Party. Over the next week I hope to examine each of those keys in detail. For this morning let’s just take a look at his introduction and list the keys that he sees.

If we want to fix what ails the Republican Party, it’s worth taking a few moments to diagnose what went wrong, while acknowledging what the Democrats did right. Once we’ve diagnosed the disease and figured out how another patient overcame similar problems, we can start to get the GOP’s health back on track.

First off, the Republican Party succeeded from 2000-2004, not — as some people think — because they softened their ideological edges, but because the GOP had an edge over the Democrats on foreign policy issues, which were the dominant issues of those election cycles. However, by the 2006 election, the war in Iraq had turned into a net negative for the GOP and domestic issues — where the party’s agenda has become stale and out of step with the base — had become much more important.

The image that I’ve had regarding this is that conservatives, operating under the Republican Party umbrella, have been offering the cheep store brand product and trying to tell us it’s the same as the name brand.

Here are John’s Keys that we are going to discuss:

1. The job of the loyal opposition is to oppose
2. Stop conceding so many groups of voters
3. Rebuild the party brand
4. Expanding our domestic agenda
5. Support the home team
6. Stop thinking that the rules of politics don’t apply to Republicans

You (and I) may not agree with John’s assessment, but it is a good place to start a discussion. Check back later for the discussion of the first key.

As always, your comments are welcome and encouraged.

Cross-posted at Reclaim Conservatism.

UPDATE: Links are added to the list above as posts are made.

The election is behind us. As I have seen written several places, now comes the hard part for Obama. Up until now he only had a campaign to win, now he has a country to lead.

It is my belief that he will lead it poorly. In fact, I think one of his lasting accomplishments during his four years in office will be to make the Carter presidency look better.

For better or worse he will be America’s president, which means he will be my president. I am sure that I will disagree with nearly everything he does. Still, I respect the office and I will strive to show that respect to the office holder. A pet peeve of mine is the bad habit that has developed over the past years that doesn’t recognize that respect. It will be my goal, here and in private, to refer to Barack Obama as President Obama once he has taken the oath of office. Not as a sign of agreement, but as a show of the high esteem I have for the office of President.

That being said, I will use my small platform to speak out against those things that I will inevitably disagree with. I will fight for what I believe to be right. And after what is bound to be an historically short pause I will fight to help conservative men and women become elected. Twenty-four months of President Obama working with the expanded majorities in Congress could make that easy.