Why should we as conservatives focus on the grassroots when it comes to politics? Because that’s where the opportunities are.
Remember Willie Sutton’s response to why he robbed banks? “Because that’s where the money is”. It’s that same in politics.
The grassroots is where the votes are.
Ask almost anyone what they think of politics and the usual response is: “It’s a dirty business. I don’t want anything to do with it.”
Yes, politics can be a dirty business, but it’s only as dirty as the people that are involved in it.
It gets dirty when far too many good people don’t roll up their sleeves and spend the time and effort necessary to clean it up. Whether you’re washing your car, changing a diaper, or doing the dishes, you’re doing a job that must be done to keep things from getting too far gone.
It’s maintenance. And it’s the same way with politics.
Working a little bit at a time, maintaining a democratic political system is easy, but when we ignore it for long periods of time the dirty work of politics piles up. Then, when we can’t stand to look at the mess any longer, it takes a massive effort to clean it up.
Voting, educating yourself and others about the legislative and political process, and getting personally involved in the affairs of your city, state, and nation is maintenance. And the best way to go about that “maintenance” is with good grassroots organization.
Three reasons to focus on grassroots politics:
1) It Gets Better Results
Given that so few people participate in the political process, those who do have a disproportionate influence on the country as a whole. Liberals have taken advantage of this fact for years.
Politicians tend to pay attention to those who participate – especially those who are organized and can have an impact on future political campaigns. There’s an old saying, “politicians may be stupid, but they can count”.
2) It Leads to More Informed Conservative Voters
Better organization keeps individuals informed on important issues and can better involve them in the political process.
Given that people have so much competing for their time and attention in today’s world, an effective grassroots organization is better able to cut through the clutter and reach individuals with actionable political information.
An effective grassroots organization provides an efficient and reliable vehicle to disseminate critical information to voters. And the more politically informed that people become, the more likely they are to go to the polls on Election Day.
3) It Builds More Conservative Political Experience
For conservatives to continue to grow in influence and effectiveness, it is important that new people are continually educated, activated and brought into the system. (Think “farm team”)
Just as major league baseball has its minor leagues and farm teams, local political organizations tend to be the proving grounds where those who rise up the ladder first got involved, gained experience and were noticed by those at higher levels.
By getting conservatives involved in the political process, grassroots organizing serves as a training ground for higher levels of political involvement.
So get out there and get involved!
(More on how to be effective at grassroots politics in my Grassroots Training Series!)
One of the most important elements in any type of conflict is to control the ground you fight on. In politics, that usually means controlling the issues that will be discussed. And for Republicans in the pending fight over the debt limit, that means taking the issue of defaulting on our debt payments off of the table and focusing on spending.
The Bizzaro World of Political Correctness
Why? The AP claims that it is just “ridding the Stylebook of labels”. And that “…the English language is constantly evolving, enriched by new words, phrases and uses. Our goal is always to use the most precise and accurate words so that the meaning is clear to any reader anywhere”.
Except in this case, that is, given the fact that the term “illegal alien” is the actual legal definition of the people they are trying to describe.
Over the years the politically correct terminology has evolved from “illegal aliens” to “illegal immigrants” to “undocumented immigrants” to “undocumented workers”. What’s next, “uninvited guests”?
Just how are we supposed to accurately describe people who have entered into our country in violation of our laws, forged official documents and committed perjury? But that’s the point. We’re not supposed to accurately describe them, because that would make achieving goals like amnesty and newly registered voters difficult for the folks on the left.
Solution? Change the terminology.
Does anyone seriously believe that it is just a coincidence that such a change comes about right as Congress is again set to debate major immigration reform legislation? It’s a well known fact that, if you control the language and terminology that is used in any given debate, you stand a much better chance of winning that debate, if for no other reason than by confusing or misinforming those who don’t already have an opinion.
As a famous talk radio host is fond of saying, “words mean things”.
Couple this with another recent development that showcases an overt exercise in the labeling that the left purports to hate.
A recent US Army Reserve training program was found to contain materials portraying evangelical Christians and Catholics as “extremists”. And in this case, the rest of the “extremists” category was populated with the likes of the KKK, Hamas and Al Qaeda.
Yes, really.
After receiving numerous complaints from clergy and other concerned Americans with a modicum of common sense, that portion of the tax-dollar supported material was removed and the Army proceeded to find underlings to pass the buck to, (so much for the chain of command).
And who was the source for this slanderous labeling? The Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization which ironically claims to defend black Americans against racism, but seems OK with labeling fellow blacks as “extremists” if they happen to be evangelicals.
One assumes that it came as somewhat of a surprise to Catholics to find themselves thrown under the same politically correct bus along with evangelicals, but it could have something to do with their high profile opposition to mandatory abortion related coverage in Obamacare, or maybe their opposition to gay marriage.
Of course conservatives are accustomed to such labeling from radical liberal groups, even from some of America’s leading politicians and various elements of our bloated bureaucracy. But now the liberal culture that encourages such characterizations is beginning to infect even our nation’s military.
It is just another step in the marginalization of conservative people of faith in America.
To review: we can’t use terminology straight out of any legal dictionary to describe the status of millions of people while covering a major political debate, but the US government can equate over fifty percent of the population with known terrorists because some bureaucrat labels their views are “extreme”.
We’re approaching the point in our country where, if you accurately describe someone’s immigration status, you’re potentially a racist, and if you also happen to be an evangelical Christian or Catholic, you’re an extremist (double point score!). It also means that there is a good chance that you are white, most likely did not vote for Obama, are not a contributor to Planned Parenthood, oppose gay marriage, and could even be from the South (gasp!).
This is what things will look like when you have a media that long ago set aside everything but its pretense of objectivity, and an administration that is not only tone deaf, but openly antagonistic to the views of the majority of the country.
So, there you have it. Illegals aren’t illegal, but evangelicals and Catholics are “extremists”. Up is down. Black is white. So long as it advances the objectives of our liberal betters.
A Bizzaro World indeed.