Now we are hearing from many moderates in the mushy middle that the Republican Party should set aside some of the social issues and concentrate on economic issues where “everyone” can agree. I have mixed feelings about this message. On one hand we have the hypocrisy displayed by those pushing this view point as we have seen precious little economic common sense from those who want to elevate that to the top of Republican agenda. On the other, there is an element of truth to the position... but not for their weak kneed reasons.

For the most part, these are the same people who have helped the previous administration push through very unRepublican expansions of government and federal budgets. Now, they are suddenly talking like fiscal conservatives they know the country is looking for. As far as concerning ourselves with the welfare of the unborn, the ability to keep our guns, the sanctity of marriage and the like, perhaps it is time to take a bigger picture view of the situation. It's not that they are not critical issues and must be dealt with as we look to preserve our country for our kids and grandkids.

The point is that we are working in a political environment that is not only hostile to our values, but, according to a recent Department of Homeland Security report, hostile to us as individuals. The decision makers in Washington are heading full speed in the opposite direction. The are busy expanding the power of the federal government and using it to push our traditional values as far into the distant past as possible.

So before we can, once again, go on offense and pursue the necessary changes we have to put the brakes on this headlong rush to disaster. The teeth of this administration are the increasing powers they are accumulating. It is only because they can impose their views in the American people that their ideas present a hazard to our well being. Pull these, often unconstitutional, teeth, and their big government interventionist policies cease to be a problem.

So our first priority needs to be putting a stop to the growth of our increasingly hostile government so we can, once again, work in an environment where our requests and arguments can receive an honest hearing. This means we cannot afford to be single issue voters and activists. Stopping the explosion of the heavy handed administration has to take precedence over everything else.

Does this mean we follow the “moderates” wanting to steer the Republican Party to the left? Besides the fact that it wouldn't work, that would only be slowing the velocity of negative changes. We need to think more like chess players. We cannot just look at our current move, but many moves ahead. If we are to make more than cosmetic changes to our government, we need to set ourselves up to capitalize on success in putting a stop to this current nonsense by having people in place who are ready to help us with our key issues.

It is not that we forget our concerns. It is not that we are looking for different candidates. What we need to do is all pull together to restore some form of sanity to DC. We need to get the budgets under control. We need to put a crimp in the federal governments plans to run our lives and impose their radical agenda on our culture.

Then, and only then, can we return to the battle for the individual concerns that drive each of us issue voters and activists. Gun rights people will have to work with pro-lifers. Marriage activists will have to support gun owners as we all work to make America, once again, the shining city on a hill. As Ben Franklin once said, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

There's an old saying that we are known by the company we keep. In spite of the culture that wants to tell us that new is good and ideas and things that have been around for a while are just plan old fashioned, this statement has the same ring of truth it did when it was first uttered. Of course we don't hear too much of this from the media and political elites who proclaim the purity of their messianic president who counts among his associates, past and present, a guy who bombed the Pentagon, a preacher who hates America, a Secretary of the Treasury who didn't pay his taxes and a thug former congressman from Chicago.

It must be difficult for Democrats to look through the prism of right and wrong when their dreams of national domination are so close at hand. Some of us are not even sure they could find the prism if they waned to. Minor missteps or major moral failures do not seem to be obstacles when long sought goals are within sight. Despite claims to the contrary, we are in an era when the end justifies the means.

It's easy to criticize the Democrats, and many of us have been doing it for years. We catch hold of any failure on their part, even down to the Vice President foolishly thinking JOBS is a three letter word. The self-righteous among us, myself included, have to look at our reasons for our criticisms of Democratic idiosyncrasies. Are we really upset with the moral failures of our opponents or is it just one more shoe to throw at people whose policies are so terribly wrong for our country? Are we taking the easy way out with personal attacks rather than actually explaining why our ideas are better?

It is kind of the easy way out and the big government crowd provides us with so much material to personally abuse them. I love Ann Coulter's writings and it's great fun to read and say nasty things about our oppressors, much like elementary school children telling embarrassing stories about their teacher. However, like childhood tales, our nitpicking does little good. Besides if we get into an insult contest, we conservatives toften loose. Our responses tend to be more witty... often going over the prejudiced head of our adversary, but theirs tend to be more visceral, unbounded by human decency or good taste at times. We tend to come out second best in the publics' eyes because of the inherent checks built into the conservative and Judaeo-Christian character and mindset.

What then, do we consciously set aside our standards so we, too, can wish kidney failure on the target of our rage? Or do we stay on message as to why the bailouts, nationalized health care or any issue du jour is a bad idea. The answer is, sort of. Ron Paul tried this approach and he had some really good ideas. But he was a little too professorial in his presentation to relate to Joe Sixpack who as been conditioned by sound bite journalism to expect answers in thirty second blocks.

Perhaps we need someone with his grasp of the issues and Ann Coulter's acid wit, combined with a little self deprecation so seldom seen in the political class, to be the spokesperson for the revitalized conservative movement. A little humor goes a long way in making the hard truths we have to tell more palatable and easily absorbed.

Once we turn the corner where our understanding of the world becomes more common knowledge, we can honestly take on the personal shortcomings within the statist government. Until then, we are just majoring in minors and the job won't get done. Until then, even if the personal issues are cured but our direction does not change, we are still on a downward spiral as a nation. Until then, let's go after those who would control every aspect of our lives with logic, passionate, humility AND humor.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell has been giving his advice to the Republican Party. It echoes the suggestions of other liberals, some who claim to be within the party and some from the other side of the aisle. All of them tell us the key to success is to become more like the Democrats. By all indications, that's what we were doing. One has to wonder if they are trying to destroy the party or simply render it inoperative.

"I think my take on it was Colin had already left the party. I didn't know he was still a Republican," Dick Cheney told CBS' "Face the Nation." The same has been said about California's Governator and the Senators from Maine among others. Senator Specter of Pennsylvania was also the subject of similar speculation prior to his split from his former companions. These people have made careers of rejecting Republican orthodoxy and now they think that everyone else should join them in their rush to speed the destruction of our country.

The question then becomes, are Republicans so unsure of themselves that they will give up on their traditional small government emphasis to chase, what some tell them, is the key to electoral victory? Is it worth throwing party distinctives and grassroots supporters under the bus to cater to the fleeting fancies of media driven public opinion. Even if the answer is “yes”, the rest of us have to ask if electing Republicans that behave pretty much like Democrats is worth the effort.

The liberal wing (I shall not accept the fantasy of calling them moderates) of the party is actually embarrassed by those of us who cling to “guns and religion”. They particularly wish pro-lifers would just go away. Sophisticated people like themselves certainly don't take those things seriously. During the '08 campaign they thought it was bad enough to have a hockey mom like Sarah Palin on the ticket, but having a country singer appear with her at some events was especially mortifying. They look down there collective noses at people who love America like Hank Jr. If truth be told, they look down their haughty noses at people like you and me... yet they think we should be happy to carry their water as they pursue agendas damaging to us, the party and our country, just because they allow us to to be part of their entourage.

Before we, lemming like, rush to follow them off a cliff, it is fair to look at the good they've done for the country and the party. I've tried, and tried, but all I've seen are the times where they have set aside the Republican small government, low personal interference and low tax positions to join with those who want to create more intrusive, more expensive federal and state bureaucracies. Sometimes we work harder than others, but in no case, do we work for this.

The tea parties were a start, but somehow we need to break through the entrenched arrogance and let these people know that their track record does not justify following them to the assured defeat or pointless victories. Discussing this with some of them is almost like dealing with Democrats. Many of us argue issues while they call us troublemakers and accuse us of trying to splinter the party. Because of “moderate” performance, the party is already splintered. Somehow we have to get the message across that either we unite around small government and some social issues or the is no reason to unite.

I see no problem with the big tent party that some are prusuing. The more conservative of us should be more than happy to allow the middle-of-the-roaders help us restore the Republican Party and curb the excesses of Obama administration.

At the time of his defection to the dark side, a jubilant Sen. Arlen Specter announced that he would be welcomed by the Harry Reid and the Democrat Party with open arms and that he could keep his seniority in the senate and on committees. Once the deed was done, the good Senator found what voters have finding our for years... these people are long on promises and short on follow through. They said, “Not so fast bud, go to the end of the line.” So much for retained power and seniority... one of his primary virtues to Pennsylvania voters.

Specter had served with these people for something like six terms. One would think that dealing with them for this period, he should know a little about their character and reliability. Perhaps his instincts were deadened by the passage of time or the seductive idea of one more term in the good old boys club.

One has to give him credit for recognizing that the re-energized Republican base in in the Keystone State would no longer tolerate his semi-Republican posturing that held no hint of the conservative values the party and country need. He was a man in Washington without a home and had to make a decision. Knowing that he could not return to the state he represented and adequately explain his positions and defend his actions, he looked to the party that actually believed in the things he had been saying and doing.

Instead of thanking him for his votes which often hung his own party out to dry, they showed their gratitude by stripping him of his seniority and maybe even by running someone against him in the Democrat primary. This should not come as a total surprise since a valuable prize like Benedict Arnold died broke and friendless in London after his act of betrayal. People knew he could not be trusted... even those who benefited from his treachery.

Whether the move will benefit Specter or not remains to be seen. One hates to see any career end under this type of cloud... even a career that lacked distinction and direction. It's kind of like watching Richard Petty run in the back of the pack for several years because he did not retire when he had passed his peak... but at least King Richard and his fans had the memory of tremendous victories to accompany his love of the sport. Specter apparently just loves the position and the game... enough to sell his soul to stay in it.

For those not familiar with Specter and his career, he was a fine District Attorney in the Philadelphia area putting away plenty of bad guys. He then gave vivid proof of the Peter Principle in operation when he moved on up to the Senate. Before becoming a Senator, he was a staffer for the Warren Commission, where he was credited with coming up with the magic bullet theory while investigating the assassination of President Kennedy. Either this is true or no one else would claim ownership of the idea of a bullet passing through the president's neck, then turning right to go through Texas Governor's upper body, then head downward through his wrist then into John Connally's leg... only to be “found” on a stretcher in the hospital showing no damage from it's destructive path through flesh and multiple bones. People should have known then that he had a different point of view than most.

Uncle Sam wants to know where you live, not just the address, but the exact coordinates. Why would that be? Whatever their plans, our leaders believe it is worth $700 million dollars and hiring a city full of workers... 140,000 to be more precise. They are marching through our neighborhoods, taking readings at all our doors and asking if the house is a single or multi-family dwelling, all in the name of the census. This census that is a year away and has nothing to do with the job at hand.

The census bureau itself says, “The ability to capture Global Positioning System coordinates for most of the nation's housing units will greatly reduce the number of geographic coding errors caused by using paper maps in previous counts.” This and other actions by this administration bring to mind the old saying, “there's always two reasons for everything, the one we are told and the real reason.”

Douglas Gibbs writing in the American Daily Review says, “Imagine, if you will, that there are a number of people in a neighborhood that could not find the addresses they are tasked with finding. They are not locals, maybe are unable to read a map, or perhaps do not have the time to pull out a map, and they need to find you with specific GPS coordinates. Their devices would lead them to your front door with these coordinates. Imagine a crisis is afoot, and martial law is put into place. U.S. troops need to round up particular folks.”

“Let’s take this a step further. After all, with Barack Obama desiring to decrease the number of folks in the military, and with forces committed worldwide, we may not have sufficient military forces at home to deal with a rising national emergency. If the government decided to rely on foreign troops, perhaps United Nations personnel, most of which may not understand the street signs, much less know the lay of the land, they could use GPS devices to direct them to your front door.”

Sound alarming? It does to me. Although my thoughts run to the more mundane and immediate. Consider how cross referencing this information with a database of gun owners, confiscation would be much more efficient. Or perhaps the rounding up of pro-life activists, Christians or members of other groups Homeland Security tells us present a danger to the administration. On the other hand, it could be as simple as satellite surveillance.

The effort to create a system for such surveillance would be a bit of overkill as with a few keystrokes the internet can already provide us with amazing satellite images of my home... and its coordinates. For any DHS agents reading this, mine are N37° 25.8367', W077° 33.5331' according to Google. My daughters' car was the only one in the drive way when the picture was taken... and with the resources of Big Brother, I'm sure then easily obtain real time information about my coming and going.

Considering what any one of us can access online, why would they need to be so precise? Are they planning or firing a cruise missile through my front door? On the other hand we are still dealing with a government bureaucracy here with the government bureaucracy mentality of why take what we have when we can spend the better part of a billion dollars of taxpayer money to get the same thing.

The thing about every idea that comes to mind about what they would do with this information is that none of them are good. When you see the mild mannered public “servants” strolling through your neighborhood asking questions and taking GPS readings you had best cooperate as they have the law on the side and can compel your compliance. I've seen a video of gentleman taking his readings. When he realized his actions were being recorded, he was not happy, screaming at the homeowner about violating, of all things, his right to privacy. To be on the safe side, you may want to show support for their efforts by raising your right arm at about a 45 degree angle while clicking your heals as the enter your property. I'm sure it will be appreciated.

A group of influential Republicans called the National Council for a New America began a reconstruct-the-party tour at a pizza shop in northern Virginia. The message was, a la Frasier Crane, “I'm listening.” The cynic in me must observe at this point with all the tea parties and groups making loud noises about government expansion and intrusion into our lives in so many areas, and they still have to ask what people want? How loud do we have to shout to be heard?

The men in this group are good men, and yet I am amazed that even now, they come around and ask what it is the people want. Could it be like a child who goes from one parent to another hoping to get a better answer to his question? Could it be the massive discontent among the people has not sunken in? Or could it be that they are looking for better ways to package what they want to do already in terms that make the populace think they are listening? I like this last answer the least, but when anyone has been inside the beltway too long, the question has to be asked.

The reason that I, as a voter, am offended by this attempt to find out what we are thinking and wanting is that it tells me what I already know... that I have ignored for far too long. I am not a lobbyist who can make good things happen for them. I am not a financier with a briefcase full of money to contribute. I am not a union boss that can deliver votes by the thousand. I am just one of thousands who gathered at locations around the country on April 15.... and now they ask us what we want!

Making matters worse, we are told that the message, methods and approaches that, when used properly gave us victories in the past need to be set aside. There is some truth to this... times change and circumstances change, communication methods change. The are even telling us our message has to change so it won't offend people. The primary truth here is that conservatives have not been good at explaining WHY our approach is better. The government indoctrination centers called public schools have many convinced of the value of Big Brother's intervention and interference in our lives.

We are told that we need to get over the glory days of Ronald Reagan. We are told that we should forget about the man who told us: “Government does not solve problems; it subsidizes them.” and “The problem is not that people are taxed too little, the problem is that government spends too much.”

We are told that his approaches won't work today. I have no idea how they came to this conclusion as his philosophy has not been used in years. The fact that they are telling us these things on what is supposed to be a “listening” tour is indicative of the predilection of the political class to be in control.

What frightens me most is the nagging thought that some are simply looking to change the party's' marketing approach into something that sounds like what the people are looking for. It may just be market research. We have, for years, heard conservative messages from candidates, worked to get them elected and found them to something quite different once in office.

What we really need are the two qualities of integrity and courage... which is the one virtue that insures all the others. We've seen this in people like Michelle Bachmann from Minnesota and Sarah Palin, both principle driven ladies tend to make the old guard nervous but would be a great addition to this group, but have not been invited to take part.

All this does not mean we should not give them a chance to make amends for the past. If you have the opportunity to join one of these sessions, do it. Go in with the attitude of an employer doing a performance review. Don't accept condescending answers that tell you you just don't understand the big picture. Be polite, but remember they are the ones coming around trying to keep their jobs.

Leaders are currently going through an episode of pained hand wringing over whether the Republican Party should return to the values of its' base or pursue an almost valueless big tent philosophy where they agree to anything and stand for nothing. The problem is that even if this were resolved... relatively little would change. Over the past years, while those of us in the grassroots on both sides of the issue have been receiving lip service that tickled our ears, our representatives have been pushing and accepting more and larger programs that expanded the federal government in more and more areas of our lives.

Even when we still had Republican majorities, little progress was made to undo the abomination inflicted on our country through Roe v. Wade. We were patted on the head like a child and told it was a priority issue... but what progress did we see? We social conservatives are in much the same position that minorities are with the Democratic Party. Things may change for them in the near future... but I would not hold my breath. They, like we, need to be kept in a state of believing help is just around the corner if only we vote for our saviors in Washington.

All the while, the federal government has been growing by leaps and bounds under the rule of both parties. While there have been a few voices crying out in the wilderness they have been pretty well drowned out by party leaders taking a path that leads far from the thinking and desires of the people who worked to put them in office. A recent Rasmussen poll indicates that 69% of the GOP voters think Republicans in Congress are out of touch with the party base.

Is this possible? Would they really ignore the wishes of their constituents to favor special interests or the cronies? We know this behavior is part of Democrats DNA, but we expect more from the Republicans. We need only to look at the original stimulus bill which was passed after an initial flirtation with doing the right thing. Calls were coming in to all the offices at an unprecedented rate. One congressman said that the calls concerning the bill were about 50-50. Half said “No”, the other half said, “Hell NO!”. From other polling data, it seems that this was a pretty much universal response... yet the bill passed with so many Republicans voting for it.

Years back, Republicans were looking at dismantling the Department of Education. Under President Bush, congress, with Republican support, passed the No Child Left Behind legislation, one of the largest federal intrusions into, what is supposed to be, state run educational systems. It included many unfunded mandates which used to be an anathema to conservative lawmakers.

We see very little hew and cry about the expansion of government. What we do see is arguments about the direction of this expansion. With the coming of the Obamessiah, with his plans that go far beyond what any piker of a Republican could even dream or imagine, there is some ruckus being raised, but it is too late and they are only quibbling about the details. Almost everyone thinks the government must do “something”. Nobody really knows what, but everyone feels they must be seen taking steps to correct the problem government interference created in the first place.

So, let's not get too hung up on rhetoric of whether the government should sanction baby killing or not. Let's look at what steps our public servants have taken to change the situation. Then we need to look at the additional rules, regulations, taxes, fees and other restrictions on our freedom coming from our Washington, and our state capitols for that matter, and see where our representatives have stood on the issues. If they seriously fought them, we need to support them with all we can. If they, like sheep, went along, they need to be reminded that they work for us and that their loyalties had better lie with us if they wish to keep their positions of power. We, the people, loaned them the power and we, the people, can take it back!

Ever needing material to fill a twenty four hour news cycle, the talking heads were all atwitter about the defection of Arlen Specter to the dark side. The story fit their their template, something bad happening to the Republican is always worth reporting. Only, this isn't anything particularly bad for the party. Sure it appears that the Dems are that much closer to the to a filibuster proof majority, but since when has Senator Specter been a reliable soldier in the battle against expanding government or a staunch defender to a baby's right to be born?

The recent stimulus fiasco is only one of many where he threw his Republican colleagues under the bus simply because he was out of step with mainstream Republican thinking. His assertions that the party had moved to the far right away from him are some of the most humorous comments he's made with a straight face. Anyone who has been paying any attention knows the alternate explanation is much more to the point. The Republicans of Pennsylvania are finally getting their act together and demanding someone with principles carry their banner.

This has been in the works for some time as there are various groups looking to run candidates in primaries against Republicans who have been collaborating with the enemy. This battle has been won without the anticipated fight. Will Specter be a viable candidate as a Democrat when he's been portrayed for years as an evil Republican who wanted to steal childrens' lunches and prevent the homeless from taking walkin' around money and voting two, maybe three times? Time will tell.

Is Arlen Specter the first of many to fall under the threat of retribution by the own constituents? One can only hope so. Party organizations tend to support incumbents with little regard for their value in furthering common agendas. President Bush even helped Specter overcome a conservative primary challenge last time around. So it is up to the grassroots activists to find candidates, support them and get them elected.

Specters' departure put Pennsylvania Republicans at a cross roads. Given the opportunity to select a candidate that represents traditional values, they have also been given a tremendous responsibility. Republicans in the mushy middle are always sharing their opinion to anyone who will listen that conservative candidates can't win, particularly in a state like Pennsylvania. Many, I'm sure will be working behind the scenes to prove they are right.

This danger of embarrassing defeat should come as no surprise as with privileges come responsibilities. The responsibility in this case is to present these American values to the narcissistic culture in such a way that they will understand that freedom over slavery to an all encompassing government is better for them. They need to see that having the ability to build your own life is better than taking the one the bureaucrats decide to give them. They need to comprehend that we are safer by exhibiting strength than by depending on the good will of those who hate us.

This means we have to go beyond simply calling our leftist opponents names like “liberal” or “socialist” or, more accurately, “fascist”. We have to explain why they are wrong, and in doing so, we have to overcome the work of the government indoctrination centers, sometimes called the public schools, and most of the media who hang on every word the President reads off the teleprompter.

This will require more effort and a better understanding of the issues. We need to be more intellectually involved, as slogans will no longer do the job. But, it's not as bad as it sounds. Traditional American values outline the path we should be taking and our support for them is based on proven logic, not convoluted theory promoting ideas that have never worked anywhere they have been tried.

For those who claim to be Christians, we need to be fighting the battle the way George Washington did... on our knees. We need to put forth all the effort we can, but in the end, the victory will come, as Zechariah 4:6 tells us: “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,” says the LORD Almighty.