Although the presidential election of 2012 is still eighteen months away, potential candidates are already posturing. Of course, President Obama has not stopped campaigning since his victory over John McCain in 2008. He recently announced that he has kicked off his re-election campaign for 2012 and the Democrat moneymaking machine has already been fired up. Several Republican contenders have announced their plans to run and, even though Mike Huckabee and Donald Trump have announced that they are not running, others seem to be preparing to enter the race.
With the mention of each potential candidate, we have political pundits – and the electorate in general – asking the question: “Can (fill-in the blank) defeat Obama?”
I believe that there is a more fundamental question to be answered:
“Can Republicans defeat indifference?”
True. The slumbering conservative monster, after witnessing the Obama machine running roughshod over everything conservatives hold near and dear to their hearts, awakened in 2009. The still-yawning monster succeeded in bringing about profound change to the political landscape in November of 2010 as the Republicans wrested control of the US House of Representatives from Nancy Pelosi and her arm of the left-wing political machinery.
Of course, the Tea Party had a great deal to do with effecting the changes that we saw last November. However, since the new Congress took over in January 2011, the enthusiasm that carried conservative idealism to victory the previous November seems to have faded into the background.
In a year-and-a-half, Americans are going to return to the polls to elect or re-elect a president. I do not see it as a question of whether or not Republican “Candidate A” can defeat Obama. I question whether the Republican candidate – whoever he or she may be – will be able to overcome apathy and indifference.
Every single person that espouses conservatism has a duty to help to spread the word. The word needs to get out to everyone but, specifically, to the 18-25 year olds. Surely, the vast majority of folks know at least one young person. It may be a child, a grandchild, a niece or nephew, or perhaps a neighbor’s child. These are the people that need to be reached. The liberals – the Democrats, the community organizers, and the intelligentsia – know this, and this is the group to whom they reach out through media blitzes and out-and-out indoctrination in the world of education.
It is not enough for conservatives to point out the decimation of our economy wrought by the Democrats. We must provide concrete proof to those that are either (a) young and impressionable, or (b) sitting on the proverbial fence. Obama and the Democrats have been most accommodating; evidence is everywhere. So it should be easy. Point out specifically the erosion of the purchasing power of the dollar which has been brought on by out-of-control deficit spending and the Federal Reserve’s policy of printing worthless dollars. Point out to folks that this amounts to theft – theft of the value of any accumulated wealth in the form of dollars be it savings accounts, 401(k), home-ownership or just about any other investment vehicle (commodities notwithstanding). Rising prices for just about every consumer product erodes the personal savings of everyone and represents, in effect, a pay CUT for all working Americans. The American workers stand by and idly watch as Washington mortgages their future while, at the same time, chips away at their life savings.
ALL Americans need to have their eyes opened to this fact. But the sad reality is that a great percentage of the population is too ignorant to realize it. This is where we conservatives can make all of the difference. It is not enough to pass along e-mails to like-minded individuals. This is akin to “preaching to the choir”. We need to get out to the masses – to the Obama supporters – and wake them up. Show them what this president and his cohorts are doing to their country.
Now is the time to make a difference by stopping the indifference.
James Sharp is a middle-aged, middle-class, middle-management salesman who believes in secure borders and fighting our enemies with a strong military. He also believes in limited government, free markets, and unlimited opportunity and personal liberties for all citizens of the U.S.
