Can We Beat The Organized Left?

Why does it seem the Democratic Party is always better organized and does a better job getting out its message than the GOP?

There are many misconceptions about the Republican Party by mainstream Americans who most often do not closely follow politics. Many think the Republican leaders do not stand on principle and too often cave to big business and Wall Street. That the party is only for the rich. That they don’t care about women’s rights but do care about big pharmaceutical companies and their profits. That they don’t care about poor people even though they are all extremist Christians.

Even Republicans are susceptible to these fallacies. In a recent Zogby survey 30% of Republican women believe the recent Catholic Church outcry over religious liberty is actually about women’s health. No doubt, their opinion was swayed by the main street media promotions and its bias. But the effect of a very organized Democratic Party can’t be denied. Yes, the Fluke incident turned out to be a gift to the left, but further investigation revealed it was meant to be a distraction of the true issue of the House Committee.  The Democrats on the committee planned this event in an attempt to change public opinion of the issue. Their efforts, at least in the short term, were successful. Twitter users spread the word that Republicans are against birth control. It did not matter that they had no statistics to back it up. A web search produces hundreds of left bloggers spreading this misinformation.

Similarly we saw the same effect when Representative Paul Ryan introduced a comprehensive budget plan that would impact younger worker’s end retirement age. The plan was trashed by people on the left claiming he was throwing granny off the cliff. Though not true, social networks and the media allowed the hysteria to grow and many believed it.

The GOP platform fits the principles of many.  Conservative values are not just for the rich. Churches that believe in strong family values will find support in the Republican Party. As strong constitutionalists the party promotes the ideal of individual rights, including the belief that all life has value and all are equal. Individual freedom gives opportunities not found in many countries. Yet, due in part to a very structured Democratic Party with control of much of the media, many don’t realize how inclusive the Republican Party is. It’s a big tent.

It is hard for Conservatives to gain strength when the main stream media offers an open page to political bias. Additionally, there are many on the Conservative side who don’t want to spread anecdotal information; choosing to wait for facts.  Even more don’t want to raise the dander of the opposition especially since all too often those without a true argument resort to name calling. But this is a critical time. Our country is on the verge of tremendous change and not for the good. As we watch Europe struggle with its socialist entitlement programs we should be taking heed rather than trying to be like them.

If you are concerned about your children’s future now is the time to act. Pull out your courage and speak up. Remember that ‘sticks and stones’ adage. If the angry left feminists are tweeting that the GOP doesn’t want women to have birth control remind them that we are not against contraception; there is no party platform that includes such. We support human rights and want individuals to work directly with their health provider for the best care options.  If Democrats are sending messages that Republicans dislike Hispanics remind them that our conservative agenda values highly family, a strong work ethic and freedom of religion. We promote the American Dream through hard work and individual responsibility. When biased media tell poor people Republicans do not care tell them that we believe in contributing to society and it is well documented that charity based help runs more efficiently than the federal government. States and local governments are better equipped to handle the needs of their residents. We do not want people to sit back waiting for a hand out but we are ready to give people a hand up.

The enthusiasm for the Tea Party drew out fiscal conservatives and those who just plain were worried about their grandchildren being saddled with such debt.  Tea Party people did not necessarily agree on all issues. But, as the last election demonstrated, most candidates aligned themselves with more of the principles of the GOP. While it worked in 2010 we can expect an extremely well funded and prepared Democratic Party to pull out all the stops. Mischaracterizations and inaccuracies can’t go unchallenged. We can beat the organized left but…it will take all of us to get the truth out.