(From Sunday’s TIS newsletter. If you aren’t receiving it, sign up here!)
Last week was a tiring, busy week that lived up to its reputation as funnel week didn’t really close until 1:30 a.m. on Friday.
There was a lot that happened — and didn’t happen. Some good bills advanced. Some good bills died. And lines continued being drawn into the sand.
We saw two Republicans vote against bills that would protect kids from sex-change treatments and procedures as well as ensure biology determined bathroom usage in schools. Those two Republicans were Representatives Megan Jones and Brian Lohse.
We also saw two Republicans vote against a bill that would demolish the DEI bureaucracy on regent university campuses and a bill that would protect students and teachers from discipline if they refuse to go along with the make-believe preferred pronoun business in schools. Those two Republicans were Representatives Chad Ingels and Tom Moore.
During one of those days, I had a fun conversation (“debate” would be more proper) with a young conservative who said Republicans shouldn’t publicly criticize other Republicans because it makes us look fractured and disorganized.
Of course, I disagreed. We went back and forth about why Republicans should indeed be critical of Republicans publicly when those Republicans don’t do the Republican thing and why they shouldn’t.
At the end of the day, I asked the individual what they would do when they had to decide between being loyal to a Republican politician or a Republican policy the politician is supposed to uphold. And they said they’d rather win an election.
My question, obviously, is then what good is winning an election to advance Republican policy if you’re willing to ignore the fact the Republican isn’t advancing Republican policy.
And basically, they said at least the Democrats aren’t able to advance their policy at that time.
Of course, we know that just means it’ll take an election or two more, and then the Dems will push their agenda forward and meanwhile all we did was delay the inevitable.
The conversation continued, but it was what happened in committee that proved my point.
There was a bill or two this individual cared a lot about. And the same Republicans voted against both of them.
They looked at me and asked what the issue was with these two Republicans.
I replied:
“I’m sorry. I’m not allowed to publicly criticize Republicans.”
I think my point was made.
We have to change our mindset from “winning elections” to advancing policy. Abandoning our principles and focusing more on winning elections than advancing policy is only ensuring we lose even when we win.
Our side simply doesn’t realize where we are at in the political arena. This is war. This isn’t a football game where, after overtime is finished and we remain tied, we agree to call it a “tie” and settle.
One side wins. One side loses.
Kids will either be able to undergo sex-change surgeries or they won’t. Boys will either be able to use the girls’ bathroom or they won’t. Age-inappropriate materials depicting sex acts will remain in school libraries or they won’t.
There is no middle ground to be had here.
There will be a winner. There will be a loser. Period. End of story.
The sooner conservatives wake up to that reality, the better. As much as the progressives may want to convince us otherwise, they have zero interest in “coexisting.” They want to push their secular humanism onto our kids. They want to remove God from any public thought at all.
Conservatives had better wake up to the battle we are in. The other side is playing for keeps. Simply trying to run out the clock will not work for us. I can guarantee the other side is not going to quit. They will come back time after time in an effort to fundamentally transform America.
At some point, the GOP better be willing to deliver the knockout blow.
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Agree, with one caveat. You can’t advance or change policy if you don’t win the election. So both have to be accomplished. You are absolutely right we are in a war with evil and there is no compromise with it. They win or we do.
“ To be or not to be “ conservative that is the question at hand. As an IOWAN I’m certainly “ not “ a Republican. With so called ( conservative ) Republicans being elected comes liberal voting! Example is in this article along with the censures of “ Republican “ politicians in Washington. The crossroads are here and I draw that preverbal line in the sand! I suggest we either get back on track with the founding principles of this great nation or loose it forever! Do not kid yourself politicians blow with the wind and go with the path of least resistance! I accept there are only two forces on this earth and I choose to serve one and rebuke the other! If I’m a Republican which one did I choose???
[…] We’re at the fork in the road, which way should conservatives go? […]
[…] I told you about an interesting conversation I was able to have with a young conservative at the Capitol last week. Today I wanted to tell you […]