Neil quite accurately points out that Conservative activists should be about trying to direct the Republican Party to become more conservative. What interests me are the various visions of what that means: one comment talks about who the Republicans run for President–an important thing, but it is not what really determines the direction of the party. Others comment on the various slates of candidates that run or what the various party organizations do. These are also important, but more symptomatic than they are the problem.

What do we do? It seems to me that a Conservative Activist needs to somehow become involved in the LOCAL Republican political structure. We need more Conservatives in Precinct Committeemen positions. We need Conservative Republican City Council members–and mayors–and State Representatives. We need Conservatives running and providing the background support for Conservative candidates. We need Conservatives running for County GOP Chairmanships.

It seems to me we are focusing too much on the primary and general election and forgetting that there is a Party Organization that must be won first.

I am not saying you do this for every candidate you don’t like, But I am saying you do it for dyed in the wool lefties like Crist.

And you should ACTIVLEY work for and support democrats when they are running against liberal Republicans

I’m a SoCon and I’ve been pounded for years for standing up for my beliefs by the party and those in power to sit down and shut up so the party can concentrate on fiscal, smaller government and national security issues. Well…here we are in 2009. Social issues are off the table now because we’re disparately trying to save what’s left of our liberties and fighting for the very existence of the free market…and now I’m being told I need to sit on my libertarian fiscal conservative and limited government tendencies so we can win back the majority with people who have no interest in protecting any of the above. How long before the party is pushing weak on foreign policy anti military spending squishes on us cause that’s all that’s left…and those seeds are already planted…Lugar and Hagel being the most recent examples!

And you should ACTIVLEY work for and support democrats when they are running against liberal Republicans (except maybe in just a few of the bluest states). Because if we have any more than two or three of them in the party they literally tear us apart, embarrass us, and screw us over with the public, again and again.

what I would do is suck it up and vote for him in the general and then lean on him as a constituent so hard that he couldn’t ignore me

Leaning on them hasn’t worked and will never work because in most instances they don’t listen at all or outright thumb their nose at us…and in the few instances when we beat them back…they slink away…cower in the corner till we’re not paying attention…and work their mischief on us with some hidden Amendment in some obscure bill or pass it at 2:00am when we’re all asleep one night!

Our problem is the fact that the people at the top can keep pushing the Crists and Gerlachs against our conservative candidates against our will because we can be counted on to knuckle under and fall on our swords after they’ve forced a squish on us using the national apparatus and the funds from the national party affiliates! They do what they are doing because we keep taking it.

To the extent of your point that we shouldn’t work directly for Democrats against Republicans I agree with you…we should never work for any Democrat under any circumstance…I just extend that to apply to Republicans that might as well be Democrats anyway.

I won’t actively work for a Democrat…but I won’t vote for a squish again either…McCain was my last compromise on that point and I’m ashamed that I made it. Never again may God strike me dead if I ever do it again!

What everyone should be doing is putting their nose to the grindstone for their guy in the primary and then the party in the general and make changes in between at the levels possible.

I agree with this wholeheartedly…but I’d like to have my guy given a chance without the party bosses coming in and destroying him in my name!

It would be best if they kept out of the Primaries completely – is the basic and easy reply….. HOWEVER, monies put into a Primary (as touched on elsewhere) are not just about the Primary but about laying a ground-work for the General Election. Can we get an agreement/acknowledgement on that too at least?

I guess you just are willing to let them do it on the cheap, whatever budget they manage to throw together on their own – and then have the need for a major influx of Cash, support, name-recognition building, etc… in the shorter time period between the Primary end and the General Election date…. I look forward to yet more Contrariness.

OK…. WE (Conservatives) want the GOP National support and money when it is OUR Candidate, but they should not help fund someone if they are not at least an 85% (?) Conservative?!?!?

Speak for yourself…the national party and their affiliates in the House and Senate need to stay out of open primaries…period!

I don’t care what a candidate’s positions are on this subject…let the primaries play out and let primary voters decide who they want to represent them and stop cramming candidates down our throats by swamping Conservatives under mountains of party cash!

Florida Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer, a leading Crist supporter, disputed those numbers and said the governor continues to have the widespread support of Republicans and independents alike. He said criticism is coming from a small but vocal subset of disgruntled conservatives.

He added that the party is likely to endorse Crist, which would allow it to expend resources on behalf of the governor in the contested GOP primary.

It’s poorly written and reading it again Greer is apparently talking about the Florida Republican Party…that’s not the way I read it first time through and would like to know the RNC’s position on this.