Get Smart!

"Are you stupid?!" No one likes to hear that. But after November 2 this year, we all might want to ask ourselves that very question. Did we vote smart or stupid?

Democrats have relied for years on a strategy that assumes its base is stupid. Their party is a loosely held-together coalition of one-issue voters. They've got the environmentalist wackos, the rabidly pro-choice, the job-killing unions, the hardcore socialists, the anti-war agitators, and other various groups that don't care what happens as long as their precious issue is maintained. Because the media skews toward covering the Democrats favorably, we don't get to see what happens when one group disagrees with another. The Democrats are very, very good at keeping their base together by constantly demonizing Republicans and entrenching themselves in governmental positions. The first tactic is their public face, and the second is the secret to their longevity. They gin up fear and hatred, making their base believe that all Republicans are the scum of the earth while they slowly take over the bureaucracy that runs the country. This strategy only works so long as the base doesn't realize that the Democrats are intent on running the country into the ground.

Republicans, on the other hand, have a different strategy but still, at times, underestimate the intelligence of their base. There are a few single-issue voters in the GOP, but for the most part, Republicans recognize a handful of principles that they want to see elected officials espouse. Time after time, however, the GOP props up elected officials who don't hold those principles but manage to bring in the beloved "moderates." The GOP base is told that we're too stupid to nominate a conservative that can win in certain areas of the country. It would never work, they say, so leave it up to the party to do the "smart" messaging. Never mind that these RINOs, when campaigning, lean as far to the right as they possibly can. And, of course, when these certain areas nominate a true conservative, it's an "anomaly."

When a grassroots movement springs up that leans towards the GOP, the GOP would dearly love to swallow it up instead of being held accountable by it. When such a group refuses to be embraced by any party, both parties start to get nervous. If there is ever a serious independent challenge to the two parties, not only does it take votes away from the established parties, it also is a serious threat to the establishment itself. The Democrats need all the kooks on the left to vote for them, and the GOP needs all the "bitter clingers" on the right to vote for them. As soon as anyone starts making third-party noises, both parties do what they can to silence those little squawks. Their very survival depends on it.

So what is the best way to prove that we, the voters, are not idiots? Simple: Keep doing what the Tea Party is doing. They refused to be swallowed up by either party, put forth candidates of their own, and continue to push fiscal conservatism to the top desired principle of candidates. Sure, there's a national unrest over the economy, but would the GOP have tacked hard right if the Tea Party hadn't sprung up? Even with Obama's popularity, traditionally, a president's party will lose the midterm elections. However, after losing the 2008 presidential election, the GOP was flooded with advice that its moderate candidate was not moderate enough. The GOP seemed to be taking that advice, and I don't believe that the Tea Party's rise at that time was a coincidence. What the Tea Party did next was brilliant, shocking all the analysts (probably cousins to the economic "experts" who can't forecast their way out of a department store) with their political savvy in changing the political landscape. The Tea Party has given the GOP an ultimatum: Adhere to fiscal conservatism or find yourselves deposed in 2012. Will it work? For the good of the nation, I hope so, because we cannot sustain our current path of fiscal liberalism.

Hopefully this video will put all of this in perspective. (This song is a blast to perform, by the way!)