We need to think and communicate in 140-character bursts. Maybe we can win back the yoot vote that way…

Or that the message never reaches the people. On the rare occasions that the media reports what is said, they often misreport it. But more often than not, they don’t even report what was said, they just report an “analysis” of what was said, with their spin on it. And in this way, we’re defined by the very people who despise us.

So when you say “We should focus on ways to articulate even before what to articulate,” I hope you mean both exactly how to say what we want to say AND the means to make sure that message reaches the voters intact.

Absolutely the truth. Our country elected a first term Junior Senator from Illinois who spent 60+% of that first term running for president. There were several reasons, our nominee, the economy etc. But the main reason, as far as I am concerned, is that the Democrat Party, hand in hand with the media, controlled every aspect of the information released for broad casting to the people. They controlled the stories and their directions
insulating the nominee they ‘selected” while pouring a non stop flow of negative information about McCain. And now, post election, they are working hand in hand again to try and inform us
about why the Republicans lost and supposedly how to fix it. All of this to damage, if not destroy, the conservative party and make sure it never gets on its feet again.
They are going full bore to steal a couple of more seats so as to establish a filibuster proof congress and also working to silence conservative voices over the airwaves etc. All of this is extremely scary and we better come to grips with it very fast and battle it
to the end or we could be rendered politically impudent for years to come.

But the fact remains that we were saddled with a losing candidate front and center. McCain was horrible and was not only unable to articulate Republican ideas but pretty much unable to speak coherently. At least Sarah had passion for what she was saying, McCain just came across as a tired and pathetic old man. We cannot win over the voters with doddering grandpa candidates.

2008 was a perfect storm of an election year. The Democrats needed to do nothing but repeat “economy, economy, economy” and it was enough to get Obama elected. Why? Because voters out there were getting up in the morning and going to work every day wondering if it was going to be their last.

I blame Bush for this loss as well. Not because he’s unpopular in the polls but because he unleashed a bunch of selfish bastard Wall Street types to oversee our money who did nothing but create a panic in the American population. They single-handedly fostered a panic where no panic was warranted.

As for conservative ideals: Let’s get some candidates that can convey them with some conviction and not just mouth them because that’s what’s on the script.

I completely agree with your point here. If conservatives ever hope to regain power in Washington in the current media environment then they are going to have to have one or both of the following:

1. A solid education in conservative political philosophy and the ability to effectively communicate said philosophy.

2. Teflon coating. I find that Fred Thompson and Mike Huckabee possess this particular trait in abundance, but it is not something that most Republicans are overly blessed with.

Good post & good replies. I think that LoneApple makes a good point regarding conviction. Saying something with conviction is convincing. When we have candidates who can articulate the message with conviction, we win. When Democrats do, they win. One reason I believe Kerry lost is his lack of conviction, of conveying the emotion that he believed what he said. Obama may be full of YKW, but he said it with conviction.

I believe if we get candidates who can articulate the full conservative message – limited government, fiscal responsibility, strong national security, & conservative social values, these candidates will win far more than they lose. They will need to not only believe it, but put it into practice.

We also have to harness the power of the new media to move people to act. For all the bias of the MSM, I think the activism from the new media is a big part of the reason Obama won. We need to get this going sooner rather than later.

From here I see it more as a truism and an unshakable stereotype, when this is attacked they change the channel, shut it out and seek support groups. Others are too caught up in the normalcy of their life and anything outside their norm is rejected. Indoctrination starts as early as six such as school field trips are now peace protests down town, yes there were some “Down with Bush” signs. Therein your proposal may work in other places but not where in am stuck.

Such is life in Taxachusetts

Any suggestions for my situations is welcome

Democrats…. on a stick (or is that a stick up …. never mind… certainly not a brain in their head)

Yes, lazy electorate… Democrats make their living on the ability to allow citizens to “think” something is being done so they don’t have to be bothered as opposed to actually “doing something.”

I agree on all your points. Here is what I don’t understand. I always believed education helps build up critical thinking abilities. At least my dad used to say that. With more and more graduates out every year and the education levels rising with each generation why is it that the ability to analyze has taken a back seat? Is it because the education system is broken? When I see nuts as professors I am stumped.

Another thing that frustrates me… Look at the so called “conservative” folks on major media channels except FOX. How and why these folks are labeled “conservatives” is beyond me. Should there be an effort to discredit these folks and provide good conservative alternatives?

You are absolutely right on the communication. However good the message might be, its significance is lost if it doesn’t reach the intended audience in an “easy to understand” manner.

Conservative role models, back to basics, communication, ground organization and continuous engagement will be the key to success.

You covered a lot of ground with this, and some of it doesn’t have easy answers.

A fundamental issue, to borrow a line from Rumsfeld, is that you go into an election with the American society you have, not the American society you wish you had.

If you win an election, that may have some small influence on how American culture evolves, but being out of touch with American culture as it is now is is a guarantee you never get that chance.

Especially troubling is the Republicans’ miserable failure with voters under 40. Reversing the downward trend with younger voters (compared to other voters) for the last few elections is absolutely essential if the Republican party doesn’t want long term minority status.

I’ve seen some smug dismissal of younger voters’ general contempt for Republicans, with the tired line about no heart vs. no brain, but that doesn’t work in real life. Reagan did better with younger voters than with their elders, and started a trend of growing Republican power. Now all that’s been frittered away in the last decade or so, and still heading down hill.

After suffering a comprehensive butt kicking, it may be comforting to say the voters we couldn’t reach are just too ignorant, but that’s not a recipe for turning the situation around.

Understanding conservatism requires a person to think just a little bit past the sound-byte, and we are in DEEP crap when our spokespeople are neither articulate nor driven by core conservative principles – and yes, I’m talking about Bush and McCain.

Palin was and is electrifying because she embodied and clearly articulated conservatism that caused watchers and listeners to say “yeah……..me too!”