A star is born

Wow! This captures what millions of people are feeling so perfectly. Oliver Anthony does folk/country in a grassroots, based, populist way that is brilliant musically, poetically and politically.

Mom's for Liberty - now that's grassroots

This is not astro-turf, it's real.  This is the type of organization that people on the right who don't know how to get involved can join or support financially, or volunteer to help.  This is how you can make a difference locally, as well as nationally.

Are we doomed?

I sometimes wonder if I'm talking to the same 100 people all the time.  I'm pretty sure this blog has been shadow-banned, de-listed, whatever term you choose, by Google.  It's very rare that I see a spike in traffic.  There's no hubris in that statement, 10 years ago it used to happen. I'd get an occasional post with thousands of views.  Now?  Well it hasn't happened in about 5 years.  I get an occasional bump into several hundred more than normal, and that's it. 

I'm not going to turn this into a rant against Big Tech, who clearly have their thumb on the scale for Democrats and progressive liberal causes.  There's a reality that needs to be confronted, because Congress is not going to confront it.  Until there's a conservative version of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Google, we are going to have an ever-shrinking voice in the public sphere.  We will be silenced.  It will be a death by 1000 cuts scenario, and we are only about 300 cuts into it.

I know there are alternatives that have developed like Parler instead of Twitter but they seem to be stuck below the critical mass needed to become an alternative.  Perhaps it requires a root level alternative, a counter to Google, which is a truly massive undertaking, probably beyond our capability.

So what do we do?

Talking to your neighbors, neighborhood grassroots organizations, and voting are part of the answer but not all of it. At some point that becomes the same as this blog - talking to each other and not spreading the word.  Our message needs to reach into areas that it does not currently reach. There are cities and states that are with 100% certainty, locked down by Democrats. They do not get exposed to a conservative message.

The one weapon we have right now is president Trump. He's not afraid to do the outreach that changing demographics dictate we must at least consider, if not address.  In 2016 Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania proved it.  But if president Trump loses (legitimately or otherwise) or if he's not replaced by a similar fighter who is willing to win over non-supporters we are in big trouble. Are we doomed?  Yeah, maybe.

Even with a Republican congress, senate and president after 2020, we are on borrowed time right now. In every arena, media, education, government beaurocracy (the CIA, IRS, and FBI to name a few), entertainment, sports, law, and Big Tech we are getting our asses handed to us. Even churches are losing their values and caving to the social justice mob. 

It's not over, but as I said, we are on borrowed time thanks to president Trump. We need to make the most of it.  We need a conservative network of support and promotion.  We need one that grows not only in political action committee efforts but to include all of the areas mentioned above.  We need an allegiance to conservative principles and a support system across every area of life.  Yes it sounds like Big Brother, but it's a fight-fire-with-fire situation.  We need to fight back and we need to do it no.  Short of cheating with vote-by-mail schemes like Democrats, we need to coalesce. We need to harden and we need to fight back a lot harder than we are doing.  The reason we aren't is because we can't. We are millions of voices but we are not in unison.  We won't always need to be so homogenous, but the only way to fight the ongoing onslaught by the Democratic hoard is to be an organized, coordinated  hoard on our side. Failing that we probably are doomed.

Sanders - not the Comeback Kid, rather a symptom

Bernie Sanders won three caucuses over the weekend - Washington, Alaska and Hawaii. He's still not going to win, but he's a symptom of the underlying problem for Democrats just like Donald Trump is embodying on the Republican side during this election cycle.  The problem for Democrats is on the horizon but not that far off.  

Sanders made up delegate ground and in a high percentage way.  But in terms of total delegates, and Superdelegates, Sanders merely did that which was incumbent upon him to not have to shut down his campaign.

To say Sanders has an uphill battle is an understatement.  It's more like up-a-mountain.  That is not to say it's an impossible task, but if I had to lay odds on the eventual nominee I'd say it's 99% likely that it's going to be Hillary Clinton.

The Democrats have not yet gone through a full blown anti-establishment house cleaning like the Republicans are currently experiencing. They probably thought Obama was it back in 2008.  By now there's perhaps a comfort level given that they've had the White House for 8 years and they think they are the establishment so the status quo is okay.

Not so.

The Democratic party is seeing some of its own grass roots revolt in the support of Bernie Sanders.  Here's the problem (for them).  If they ignore the situation the way the GOP did, they will allow the vacuum of solutions to the discontent to be filled with the likes of Bernie Sanders and fellow socialists.  They'll become an overtly socialist political party.  

That's potentially good for Republicans who would fill the vacuum everywhere right of far left progressivism.  But it's also very worrisome for the country.  What if they become a successful socialist Democratic party?  That ends American exceptionalism.  Both parties have had the chance to clean up their acts before open revolts have happened.  Democrats need to wake up and realize that their status quo day of reckoning is coming and just like the Republicans, and that not being ready for it will lead to chaos.

We need minions!

The most important activity for conservatives right now is not putting pressure on Republicans to do the right thing.  It's not identifying candidates for 2014 or 2016.  It's much more grassroots than that.  Conservatives need to get organized at the grass roots level.  The various factions of the Tea Party have had at best, mixed results.  Not to denigrate the Tea Party factions, but they have varying agendas and operational effectiveness despite their common goals.  That does not imply that we need a centralized control of a movement that is founded on the notion that over-centralization is a bad thing.

But it does mean that efforts need to be smarter.  Some Tea Party groups have had greater success and their efforts and methods should be emulated wherever possible.  The problem with that is obvious.  Since the movement is so decentralized and so disparate, it's just hard to know whom should be emulated.    In that respect, we almost need a roll call of groups - Tea Party or not - of those we can number as allies. We need minions and we need a place to share that common knowledge.  We need a group of people to start aggregating and quantifying these things.  We can't leave it to the likes of Karl Rove.  He got a lot of stuff wrong on election night and whether he had good intelligence or not the use of it was clearly not effective.

Morgan Freeman loses his grassroots cache.

Morgan Freeman goes off on the Tea Party patriots. Perhaps he doesn't understand the real story.

Remember when he said this? He earned some respect with that. Now he's blown that grassroots cache. Back when President Obama won, I told two of my black friends who supported Obama that it wouldn't stop racism. I said it would make it worse if Obama did a terrible job. He'd make it harder for a qualified African American to be the next African American president.

What if he turns out to be terrible because he wasn't really well vetted? How much harder does that make it for the next black candidate, even if they are exceptionally qualified? There will be an inherent scepticism before he/she has a chance. What does that do for equality of opportunity?

Looking back I said a lot of stuff that made sense. Imagine that.

Picture of the Day: Grassroots Populism

Every conservative blogger, Palin supporter or not, should post the same picture themselves.  See below.

The takeaway: If liberals are ridiculing it, it must be worth embracing.

Grassroots goes electoral: T-1 and counting

Tomorrow the grassroots conservative movement that was awakened by the radical policies of the current radical liberal Obama regime, will taste it's first bit of REAL victory since last November. The victories of awakening Democrats and RINO Republicans via Tea Parties and boisterous town hall meetings have been fine, but that have translated to 0 electoral difference. Tomorrow will change that.  It's T-1 days to the next, albeit finite set of elections.

What is going to happen?

The GOP should win in Virginia handily, with Creigh Deeds becoming the new Governor.  But for goodness sake, don't listen to prognosticators and stay home!  That's how surprises occur.  Furthermore, a win of 69% to 31% is more of a statement than a win of 59% to 41%.  Every point counts because Virginia is a statement to the Democrats that the country is not happy with the over-the-top liberalism coming out of Washington these days.  President Obama carried Virginia in 2008.  Virginia needs to take some bold steps back towards being a red state, to force Washington to take note.

New Jersey is a tougher one but it certainly looks like Democrat Governor Jon Corzine is up against it.  Late polls show momentum shifting back towards his Republican opponent Chris Christie.  Late polling (note  - without sample sizing information as far as I have seen) have shown momentum headed back to the GOP candidate.  A GOP win would be a huge statement to the House Democrats that people are unhappy.  Blue Dog Democrats would take note.

Combined with a Conservative Party candidate win by Doug Hoffman in NY23 district special election, the Democrats would get the message loud and clear.  Whether they choose to listen is a different question.  One can hope that a sweep of those three would derail the radical, foolish health care changes being proposed, perhaps cap and trade as well.  The NY23 district has a solid Republican history but the current sellout GOP candidate bowed out and threw her support behind the Democrat instead of the conservative candidate.  It's no surprise to anyone except perhaps the RNC and Newt Gingrich.  Will it sway her supporters away from Hoffman? Some perhaps.  But Hoffman can win this.

The real message from a Hoffman win is not for the Democrats though, but rather the GOP to stop pandering to moderates and liberals by being more like Democrats.  Conservatism offers an alternative to liberalism.  It's needed.  Two left parties is not a democracy, and conservatism, if embraced and extolled, sells.  Or can sell, with the right sellers.  The message of a Conservative Party victory after a GOP implosion that resulted from backing a liberal horse in a conservative district should smarten up the RNC and the likes of Newt Gingrich, or at least get them to back off their position that conservatism can't win.  It can, and if supported properly, does.

None of these races change the balance of power anywhere in Washington D.C. (Congress, the Senate or the White House). But power is often directly a result of perception. A sweep of these three high profile races for conservatism, means that Congressional Representatives will have to take notice.  Even two of three can be viewed as a repudiation of Obama-ism.  At there very least it will also re-charge the batteries for the right. Will it happen?  It's hard to say.  I think 3/3 is possible and 2/3 is very probable for conservatives.  Virginia will go to the GOP, the other two are leaning GOP and very well should go as predicted to the GOP and Conservative Party respectively. Conservatives, will be in a better mood on Wednesday morning, but still have just as many hard battles to fight and win.

GOP Implosion

Some Republicans are now thinking of supporting a government program.

The conservative website RedState is reporting that the GOP Senators are about to cave to Democrats on health care.  Damn if that don't make no sense!  [Yes, sic me.] The GOP was slow off the mark in embracing the Tea Party movement and the summer time town hall antipathy towards health care reform.  How do you miss an entire groundswell?  Is it even possible?  Sure, for the Democrats to view it through their own warped prism is one thing, but for the GOP to totally miss the mark on a conservative movement is beyond confounding. They are supposed to get this!

There's absolutely no reason for the GOP to cave on this.  Why would they - simply for the sake of bi-partisanship?  It's political suicide.  They don't gain a single Democrat vote by joining the Obama chorus.  They probably lose more independent voters than they gain and they would absolutely bleed conservative voters in a way that deserves a bleeding analogy too gore-filled to contemplate.

It makes ZERO sense.  Unless...

1) the GOP are as clueless and Democrat-lite as they purport not to be. OR

2) McCain has been successful in the behind the scenes effort to mold the party in his own 'centrist' image.  OR

3) RedState has the story wrong. OR

4) The word 'some' means Olympia Snowe.

The only likable option from the above choices is (3), although option (4) is conceivable and barely tolerable.

I've firmly held that the only way to defeat the march towards socialism is to support the GOP - for now at least.  Yes, they aren't pure but the alternative is far worse.  But if there are more than 2 GOP Senators who break ranks on a government option for health care, then I'm forced to concede that the party is in  shambles.  It would no longer be a force for conservative values.  And if that's the case, why the hell do they even exist?

The GOP has to get it's head right and get in the game - there's only 13 months to the mid-term elections.  By being slow off the mark - by trying to be too measured in their response to the 9/12 and earlier Tea Parties they squandered good will waiting to be showered upon them.  That's inertia.  Ironically, following the grassroots movement would have been a sign of leadership.  Unlike the rhetoric of the Obama change manifesto (radical change but the same old Washington), this would have been change Americans could believe in.  A truly responsive leadership team, willing to change things and react to the will of the people.  Obama's change is top down, though it was promised as a bottom up change to believe in.  The GOP has really not promised anything. Right now that's what they need to stick to - deliver nothing.  It's perversely a model that will work right now because it's a model that's needed.  That is, as opposed to 4 more Yea votes on a government option in health care.

I hope Red State has got this wrong.  But just in case you really should light up those Senators' phone lines.