By Paul A. Ibbetson
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Eight!Nine! Ten! These numbers may not have any immediate importance to the averageperson but to the boxer, these numbers are magical. For as we all know, to asuperficial extent, the boxer trains and hones his skill for an eventualconfrontation that allows for only one victor. Within this context, thenumbers, Eight! Nine! and Ten! mark the pivotal moments before the boxer feelsthe joy of victory or the agony of defeat. We have recently watcheda battle of a different kind in which the main event, featured November 7,2006, was in the form of the mid-term political elections. Different from thephysical contest of the pugilists, this conflict centers over a choice ofideologies in which the hearts and minds of the nation are placed in the handsof a precious few individuals who are intended to vote the conscious of the country.
Incase you were out of town, the fighter in the left corner wearing the bluetrunks and weighting in at the massive weight of big 'government' won thefight, and won it big time. That's right, and no amount of re-winds orfast-forwards from your video machine can take away the knock-out punch thatthe Democrats laid on the Republican Party that fateful night. It was importantto wait for the emotions of the November 7, 2006 election results to wanebefore analyzing the ramifications of this defeat. The hope is to avoid theangry disjointed ramblings that we often hear during boxing matches from boththe winners and losers minutes after the fight has been completed, when thesmoke is still thick and the flash bulbs are popping like machine gun fire. Ibelieve that now is the time to calmly deal with what may have been the causesof the defeat, and more importantly, what I would forward as the recipe for a comebackin 2008.
Thereis little doubt, for those that live in reality, that the Republican Party has been the undisputedchampion for more than the last 6 years. In fact, the Republicans held themajority of governorships, senator positions, controlled the House ofRepresentatives, the Senate, and the high office of President of the UnitedStates all at once until the last election. I would argue that Republicans haveheld the belt because of their general adherence to the superior fundamentalsof conservatism. However, if this is true, one must address why Republicans were found flat on theirbacks staring at the stars onElection Day? To answer these questions Republicans have to take a hard look atthemselves and their goals for the future. Inevitably, the party is at the samecross road as many a prize fighting champion who finds himself on the "WrongSide of Ten". Republicans, like the boxer must assess the following questions before moving on to the nextcontest:
Of course I would reject the idea that the principlesof conservatism, which include thelove of country, defense of the nation, and traditional Christian values amongothers, should ever be abandoned.In fact, in many ways the display of conservative values by democrats in therecent election such as the campaign promotion of: pro-gun rights, antiabortion rights, as well as the espousal of Christian values, were fundamental in several election wins. Talk aboutthe rope-a-dope, which brings us back to the painful fact that Republicanssorely under-estimated, their competition. This under-estimation; however, can only be seen as a by-product of a fighter who gets a little lazy. Winning is apowerful thing, a wonderful thing,but also a deceptive thing. It is deceptive in the fact that a champion maystart to feel invincible and that's usually the beginning of the end. ForRepublicans, it's time to go backto the gym, cut some flab, and getback to basics.
Republicans have no need to redefine themselves, that would be foolishand the end of the party. What is needed is a total recommitment to what wonthe belt in the first place and that is total dedication to conservativevalues. No compromises and no searching for a middle ground with those whowould wish to destroy us both economically, socially, morally, and militarily.Yes, the lean fighter is a focusedfighter that is willing to learn new things, but never forgets where hisgreatest strengths lie. To stay fit there must be no political correctness inthe training films, and no moral relativism for dessert. We must remember thatto stay in fighting shape is not enough as conservatives are not looking forcompetitors but for champions. Now that's a tough regiment to follow in today'sworld and that's why not everyone can wear the belt. Of course this request for excellence goes far beyond thepolitician; in fact, it is really a call to the public because in reality weare the promoters and trainers of who will send forth our fighters into thering in 2008. The responsibility for conservatives, the mainstream of society,is not only to test our potential champions, but also to cut those who do notmake the grade. As well, we must never stop teaching the next generations whythe battle of ideologies remains as important today as it has throughouthistory. Lastly, we must all show up on fight night in superior numbers to theopposition in 2008 as we cannot afford to again find ourselves on the "WrongSide of Ten".
PaulA. Ibbetson is a published author and lecturer on the Patriot Act. He is aformer Chief of Police of Cherryvale, Kansas, and is currently completing hisPhD. in sociology at Kansas State University. Paul is the author of the book"Living under the Patriot Act: Educating a Society" that will be available for purchaselate January 2007 from www.patriotactresearch.com as well as other major bookoutlets. Paul is a regular writer for the Conservative Crusader as well as several other online websites.
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