The GOP is in the middle of a bitter fight for control of the party's future. On one side are the social conservatives and on the other side are the the fiscal conservatives and the left-leaning Republicans (aka RINOs).
And then there's the left and the mainstream media - pushing the notion that the only hope for the GOP is to move away from social conservative values towards some kind of great compromise with the left.
Now, I've received a few emails asking where I stand on this debate. Is The American Manifesto going to take the side of the social conservatives or the side of those who would move away from the social conservatives.
The answer is neither. The way forward is to reaffirm and stand by the principles that brought these groups together in the first place. There is no need to compromise or alienate large swaths of the base. The base agrees on 95% of the issues so there is common ground to be found without asking anyone to compromise their personal convictions.
There are common principles. What are those principles?
It is very simple - The American Manifesto stands for small government, strong defense, personal liberty and lower taxes.
We need to go back and reestablish our core principles. You don't have to agree 100% with everything, but we need to be a party with clear, simple ideas that everyone can understand.
Think about it. The nation has just elected a candidate based entirely on a few buzzwords and marketing slogans - "Hope," "Change," "Yes We Can." The words and slogans meant nothing but they were easily digestible and they worked.
We need to simplify our principles and our message, too. But the simplicity must be backed by substantive ideas that are in line with American principles.
Small government, strong defense, personal liberty and lower taxes.
So the question is, are there any principles that YOU would include in The American Manifesto beyond small government, strong defense, personal liberty and low taxes?
Leave your comments below or email us at theamericanmanifesto[at]yahoo.com
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Welcome
Welcome to The American Manifesto.
This blog will be a place to outline and discuss the principles that must be reclaimed and embraced by the conservative movement in order to move America forward.
The answer isn't big government and the answer is not a watered down version of the principles of small government, strong defense, personal liberty and low taxes.
Conservative principles are American principles and we are not afraid to say it.
Conservative principles are based on the Constitution and not on political polls. We recognize the importance of Judeo-Christian values, but conservative values are not the exclusive property of any religion. We welcome anyone who believes in small government, strong defense, personal liberty and low taxes.
We do not exclude any group of Americans who accept our principles and we will not accept accusations or insinuations by the mainstream American media that we hate or exclude any group of people for any reason. We are not racists, bigots or sexist and we will challenge any assertion to the contrary.
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