I quit being a Republican in 2012, although the process began long before that. But when I was an active Republican in the 1990s, I had no problem defending the party's history and platform. I walked a lot of precincts and made a lot of phone calls for GOP candidates, because the party had something to offer. Now look at it.
Seriously, take a good look at it. But first, get past that reflexive deflection you've been conditioned by the conservative media to employ. In fact, try to get rid of all that conditioning you've willfully embraced. Accept, for at least a moment, the idea that maybe Rush Limbaugh has lied to you, or that Fox News doesn't always give you the whole story.
Seriously, Republicans. Take your brain out of the fucking closet and use it for a change. Act like a genuine conservative, a person who tries to preserve the good ideas of the past because preserving good ideas is good for society. You have to be empirical to be that kind of conservative. You have to be honest with yourself if nothing else.
For the love of America, stop and think about what's going on!
You've nominated a non-conservative, elitist, salesman whose only real skill is paying other people to do his work for him, and you're telling America that he's honest. You're telling America that's he'd be a capable commander-in-chief. You're telling America that he cares about us. You're asking us to accept an ambulatory advertisement as some sort of holy hero.
Yet your nominee is such a lowlife that even your Speaker of the House has uninvited him to a party event. Even though Paul Ryan still supports Trump, he doesn't want to be seen with him. Think about how fucked up that is.
And get over that Benghazi spiel that's bubbling up in your brain. Stop trying to hide from what a mess the party has become by pointing a finger at other people. That finger pointing you want to do right now is exactly why the party is literally FUBAR. The rise of the Tea Party, the dumbing down of the GOP, the science denial, the overpowering fears about negligible problems, the weak leadership, and the devotion to multinational corporations and religious fundamentalists has left a once rational, useful party fucked up beyond all recognition, and you can't fix the problem because you won't acknowledge it.
The party is dying. American conservatism is dying. You're killing it.
This doesn't have to be the end. The Republican Party can rise again. But you're going to have to make some changes.
1. Understand your role as a conservative.
America needs both a progressive element and a conservative element to stay healthy. It's the progressives role to come up with new ideas. It's our role to check those new ideas and toss out the ones that smell funky. Your role as an American conservative is to be an idea filter.
2. Understand that American conservatism is different.
Conservatism isn't limited to any single culture, country, or church, and most of the world's conservatives have little in common with the American brand. Partly that's because--I know you're going to hate this, but take the pain--America was born because of progressivism. That Constitution you claim to revere? It was, and in many ways still is, a progressive document, because it set forth a new way to view government. American conservatism is built on a progressive foundation.
3. Understand that America is a generally conservative nation.
Let's face it, humans in general tend to be conservative. Evidence? It took us more than a million years to get from the invention of fire to the invention of barbecue sauce. That's as conservative as it gets. Americans, although we have a progressive streak, are still pretty conservative. Think about the things most of us want. A steady job. A safe, stable home where you can raise a family. Classic rock from the '70s. That's the kind of society we want. So why has the Republican Party been struggling for narrow political victories in recent decades? The only explanation I can think of is that the party's idea of conservatism is way off what the nation as a whole thinks.
4. Stop lying to yourselves.
In other words, stop pretending that all the evils in the world are caused by liberals. Stop blaming everything on the liberal media. Stop pretending that you can get good information from the low end of a radio dial. Stop pretending that science is some sort of leftist scam. Stop pretending that Donald Trump has any qualifications for the presidency other than being not-Hillary. This bizarro worldview, which the GOP/TP and its media allies feed you every day, does not correlate well with reality.
5. Stop pretending that America is doomed.
Seriously, stop being pussies about America's future.
6. Work off principles instead of positions.
You claim to respect the Constitution, but you're willing to piss on the Fourth Amendment when it comes to drug testing, and you're willing to rewrite textbooks to de-emphasize the First. In other words, you claim to have a principle, but your positions don't support the claim. Here's how you tell the difference. If you're working off principles, you're going to run into cases where your personal wants and wishes take second place. For example, I believe in the principle of free speech. That principle demands that I support free speech even for people I'd rather silence.
The Republican Party can make a comeback, but right now it needs some time in the penalty box, in much the same way Ryan put Trump in the penalty box by uninviting him to a party event. The party needs to relax and quit telling itself that Hillary Clinton is going to "destroy" America. She's a fairly typical centrist Democrat, and the Republic has survived people like her before. Four years goes by quickly, and we conservatives should be able to take the long view.
We should be able to take that time to refresh the Republican Party. That's obviously going to require new leadership, but that's the easy part. The hard part is going to be taking the truth straight with no chaser. The hard part will be looking at what the party should be and what it has become.
It will be hard, but I think the potential reward, a renewed party that actually reflects the principles of American conservatism, is worth the effort.
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