I believe that there is major communications evolution underway that will effect the next election. I heard discussed on Fox News this morning that the presidential candidates need grassroots activists in order to move their campaigns forward, and that is why many presidential hopefuls are changing or redefining their positions. One TV commentator stated that Bush in particular is moving left because the congress has moved left, and he wants to go along to get along. We must remember that President Reagan never changed his principles or core beliefs to get along, and he is now considered one of our great Presidents of the ages.
The commentator went on to say that the top candidates must find ways to engage the political activists to move their campaigns forward. Money and fund raising won't help without the support of the political activist. He was talking about us, members of the Madison Forum, members of other organizations, as well as concerned citizens across our great nation.
We should not elect those who say they are now changing their principles and core beliefs in order to get elected. We know from past experience that these are just words of campaign rhetoric with no substance, and they will change them again when it suites their purpose. When someone is interviewing for a job, they must be evaluated on past accomplishments in order to judge their potential future performance. Too bad that we don't hold politicians to that same standard.
The Internet, cable news, blogs, web sites and email are now a mainstream way of our sharing information and news with one on ones over the web. There is no need to have the news filtered and spun by the paid press and paid political consultants to inform us what to think. They are the hired pitch men whom we can now avoid. It is up to us to discover the truth and facts and find the citizens who are also seeking the basic facts to solve problems and run for office.
Newt has this part right. It occurs to me that Duncan Hunter, Tom Tancredo and others in the Republican Party have had long held beliefs consistent with their positions as presidential candidates. Zell Miller, D. Georgia, also comes to mind, although he is not seeking the presidency. So why would serious citizens look to elect someone who is reinventing himself or herself to win the presidency. That, as we have seen, is the continued formula for failure at a time when continued failure cannot be sustained nor tolerated.
I frequent an old-time barber shop in Marietta where the political conversation is the standard as it was in the days of our fathers and grandfathers ... after all, many men frequent their local barber shop. Now I have disclosed one of my bi-monthly sources of information and views. The barbers are well informed on political events, and yesterday my barber told me that George Bush was destroying the Republican Party. I inquired to his reason. He said simply, "Look what he has to done to those border guards. He has refused to pardon them, and that tells you who he supports. He didn't do the right thing. He should be impeached for lots of reasons, but he probably won't be." There was more conversation about Bush fighting a politically correct war in Iraq, and therefore, we should get out. There was another comment by someone else who said that fighting a war by political correctness was a sure way to lose.
Our conversations, as are most barber shop conversations, are heard by all and everyone adds their comments. I addressed my barber complementing him on how well informed he was. I asked approximately how many of his patrons were as equally informed. His answer surprised me. He said that 80% of his customers were as well informed. I had expected a percentage far lower. He stated matter-of-factly that this is Cobb County and people are informed, and mostly everyone coming into the shop shared the same views. Heads around the shop nodded in agreement. This has been my barber shop for years, and they are informed. My barber is well informed on "String Theory" as an element of Quantum Mechanics. It is a good place to listen and learn.
People now use the Internet and other news outlets of their choosing to find out the truth. People do not seek out liars and other distorters of the facts. People take pride in knowing the truth, and the mainstream media has proved themselves to be purveyors of misinformation and half truths. Everyone is now able to see for themselves who the candidates really are without the spin. There is no pride in ignorance. We still have so much to learn.
Information is coming too fast for one person to process, but we have the Internet and email, and many concerned information sharing people. Everyone doing their part to seek accurate information makes it harder for them to fool us. It also helps us hold accountable those we elect.
The beauty of it all is that this is the way our founders envisioned it would be. Remember it is we, the citizens, who govern ourselves not those elected ... they merely serve the will of the people, and hopefully do so with good intent and honor. Those who do are the special ones. We know who they are, and they are valued and respected.
James Madison said, "A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; ... Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives."
Now we must become knowledgeable of goals and intent of Islam by their actions and their history. Ignorance of this subject is no longer acceptable and neither is political correctness. By the way- the barber shop group knows nothing about this subject, so we all need to learn.