I had the opportunity to address the GOP\u2019s annual meeting for North Carolina’s seventh district last weekend. I must admit that I have been a little down on the GOP for some time. Some Republicans have been staunch defenders of liberty, but many others have been lukewarm at best, seemingly lacking a philosophical compass. I was encouraged by my visit.<\/p>\n
I spoke about the current attack on capitalism in the US. As I see it, the battle is not about a particular left-wing proposal. It\u2019s about a series of policies that usurp individual rights and empower the federal government well beyond its Constitutional limits. This type of message is unsetting to moderates who accept the center-left\u2019s flawed argument that capitalism is OK as long as its greed and excesses are balanced by sufficient government intervention. The notion that a capitalism-socialism mix gives us the \u201cbest of both worlds\u201d is the root of many of our problems in Washington. The truth, of course, is that the world of socialism brings nothing to the table in the first place.<\/p>\n
I watched the audience intently as I spoke. I also met a number of delegates from all backgrounds and walks of life, including candidates for the State GOP Chair. I was impressed with the conversation and comments on my remarks, leaving me encouraged and cautiously optimistic about the future. While the need for party unity is always a common theme in party meetings, there was a sense that unity must be built around core principles. There seemed to be little patience for the RINOs who wear the party label but don\u2019t seem interested in battling the left when it really counts.<\/p>\n
The political landscape has changed with the Obama administration and Democrat majorities in both houses. Republican candidates with little vision beyond maintenance of the status quo and constant negotiation with the left in search of the dubious \u201cmiddle ground\u201d are of little value. On his show, Andrew Wilkow identifies himself as conservative before Republican, a sentiment that seems to be held by more Americans today than ever before. If the GOP is to become a party of real change, it needs bold leaders whose vision and intellect are built on liberty and conservative principles, not just a Republican affiliation. If North Carolina\u2019s seventh district is any indication, then the GOP is on the right track. If it stays the course, 2010 could be a good year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I had the opportunity to address the GOP\u2019s annual meeting for North Carolina’s seventh district last weekend. I must admit that I have been a little down on the GOP for some time. Some Republicans have been staunch defenders of liberty, but many others have been lukewarm at best, seemingly lacking a philosophical compass. I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=80"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=80"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=80"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=80"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}