Will the "REAL" Conservatives Please Stand Up!

Another election has gone by. Another democrat has been elected. The big question - WHY? Well, you've no doubt heard a list of reasons from lamenting republicans over the past few days, but today I want to discuss one reason that most people aren't talking about - the death of the "REAL" conservative.

If you didn't notice, this past election, we had a moderate conservative, John McCain, running for the White House. He somehow secured the party's nomination (much to my chagrin) and began his campaign to nowhere. Talk about a "bridge to nowhere," well, that was basically the campaign of McCain in 2008.

So, what was the problem? The problem was a candidate that was not a "REAL" conservative. Look at history. In the past 20-30 years, candidates that were right wing conservatives have won the presidency. Those who were moderate conservatives have not. The conservative party is looking for true conservative leadership, and they didn't find it in John McCain. In fact, before McCain could even have the conservative base behind his campaign, he had to choose Sarah Palin as his running mate.

Sarah Palin is proof that the right wing conservatives are still around. She energized voters and had a lot to do with making this election as close as it was. Palin was the one that people really loved. Crowds flocked to see her, and she never professed to be a "middle of the road" conservative. She is a conservative, through and through.

Now why, may I ask, have we suddenly begun to pick out candidates that are moderate conservatives? Please people. You're either conservative or you're not. You start talking about being "moderately" conservative and people begin to wonder what you're hiding. Apparently all that blathering about being a "moderate" doesn't work. The independents didn't go out voting for John McCain the "moderate conservative," but instead many of them voted for the most liberal senator to ever walk the floors of the nation's Capitol.

The point is that people like knowing what they are going to get. With president Reagan, he ran as a right wing conservative, and won two terms. Against huge odds, George W. Bush (no matter what you think of him) ran as a conservative, and again won two terms. Then we see people who tried running on a more moderate base, trying to appeal to those independent voters, and they lose. We should be learning a lesson.

It's time to get back to what conservatism is all about. It's not about being a "right wing" conservative or a "moderate" conservative. After all, if we divide our ranks in that way, we only break down our own ranks. This year we saw the Democratic party come together, in spite of some huge rifts, but the conservatives were still hung up on this "moderate" point of view.

This is not the time to be moderate. It's the time to get back to what "REAL" conservatism is all about. Obviously the "moderate" pitch didn't work. After all, why do you think the democrats attacked Sarah Palin so much? They see a "true blue" conservative who is capable of shaking things up, and they fear that. John McCain never scared them, but real conservatives do.

Conservatives like Sarah Palin are going to bring about a new conservative movement I believe. One that is based on being a true conservative, not a moderate conservative. As conservatives, we stand for certain beliefs. We believe in the constitution. We believe in the right to life. We believe in families (and I mean one man and one woman). We believe in smaller government and lower taxes.

Now where, in that belief system, is there room for being "moderate?" So, will the "REAL" conservatives please stand up! We've got work to do!