The Real Face Of The Republican Party, or "Its about the people, Stupid..."

Some say the GOP has an image problem.  

Some say the GOP has a messaging problem.   

Well, I can’t speak as to the make-up of other committees and state parties, but if what I saw locally and at the state convention is any indicator, what the Republican Party of Virginia really has is a self-image problem.

You see, the left is masterful with messaging.  While conservatives are generally more analytical in nature and therefore communicate as such, liberals tend to be more emotional and reactionary.  They use this trait to great advantage in their rhetoric towards their political enemies:  conservatives.  If you want to curb the stress illegal immigration is having on our economy, or at least reform the system, you’re a heartless xenophobe.  If you think it would be better to broaden the economic opportunity for poor, black communities as opposed to simply just subsidizing them with other people’s tax dollars, you’re a racist.  If you believe that abruptly ending a prenatal, healthy human life is equivalent to murder and that tax dollars should not subsidize a person’s individual choice to pursue safe sex without the consequences of disease and pregnancy, you hate women.

Liberals have effectively told the masses this for years.   Heck, they’ve even managed to convince the Republican Party itself that it simply doesn’t know how to “connect” with minorities.  Party consultants and strategists have been fumbling over themselves trying to come up with programs, committees and treatises on how to “reach out” to minorities as though their support is some unattainable brass ring.

The picture posted above was taken a couple weeks ago at a local committee outreach event.   If conservatives hate women, then why are there three there?  If conservatives are racists, why is there a black woman standing there?  If conservatives don’t care about immigrant families, then why is there a Hispanic woman and Taiwanese immigrant devoting their time to promote a party that professes to stand for conservative values?

Conservative values are those which teach individual responsibility, individual, freely-given charity (meaning that which is not forced upon an individual through law or tax), and that everyone should have the freedom and opportunity to make a better life for themselves and their families.  The truth of the matter is that those ideals have nothing to do with race, color, sex, or how rich or poor one is.  They resonate with just about everyone.

While I was at the Virginia state convention, I saw people of all ages, colors, and backgrounds.  I would be willing to bet there were just as many women as men, if not more.  I saw a large Muslim family walk off together to pray.  I saw a biker wearing his colors.  I saw two Hispanic children there with their family having the time of their lives as they were introduced to the political process.  I had the opportunity to catch up with Tito and Debbie Munoz, who have been working tirelessly in Prince William County’s Hispanic communities to teach them about the U.S. Constitution and civil rights.  Black conservative Wayne Dupree obviously made a similar observation and spoke about it in this Youtube video.

  

Young, old, middle-aged, and college age conservatives from all walks of life spent thirteen hours inside an uncomfortable building with poor sound and overpriced, lousy food in order to elect a black man as their candidate for Lieutenant Governor.

I would like to go back to the picture for a minute and tell you a little about the women standing there with PWCGOP chairman Bill Card and Dumfries mayor Gerald Forman II.

 Left to right: 

Faith Kinzie emigrated from Taiwan to the United States at age 17.  After becoming a United States citizen, she became more aware of our history and fundamental rights of individual freedom and liberty.  She has been quite the conservative activist locally, attending rallies, organizing events, and recently ran for Secretary of the Prince William Area Young Republicans club.

Brittney Morrett is an Alexandria Young Republican who co-founded the GMU group Students For A Free Cuba and has worked for several conservative policy groups.  She currently works for The Libre Initiative.

Angela Beckles is the chairman of the Potomac magisterial district of the Prince William Republican Party.

Perhaps if party leadership paid less attention to biased media, self-serving consultants and leftist propaganda and paid more attention to the people who actually make up the Republican Party, it would realize that the party doesn’t really have the image or messaging problem so many within the party think it does.   After all, it’s about the people, not just the message.

UPDATE:  I forgot to mention that my friend Terrance Boulden, a black conservative, is running for Woodbridge District Supervisor in 2015.

This is definitely NOT the party of the "Old white men's club."

“The Great American Experiment”

From what I could determine, the phrase “The Great American Experiment” derives from Alexis de Tocqueville’s book Democracy in America, written in the 1830’s.  I’ve asked myself “Why was America considered an ‘experiment?’”  Every individual may answer that question slightly differently.  I, however, believe it was considered an “experiment” because it was based on the idea of the citizen being closely involved with government instead of government being a separate entity that rules independently of the citizens.

Early Americans were a group of people from many different walks of life that came together to fight for a common goal, freedom.

1.       Freedom of religion

2.       Freedom from oppression

3.       Freedom from a tyrannous government.

Just to name a few.

Americans understood that in order to be successful they needed to work together.  But along with that they believed in individual freedom.  They believed in the freedom of each individual to determine the course of their life free from force.  They also understood that having the freedom to choose the course of their life meant that they also had the freedom to fail.  Signers of the Declaration of Independence knew that failing to win their independence might be a death sentence for them and their families. 

So what would cause America, “The Great Experiment” to fail?

I propose that it’s a lack of citizens being closely involved in government.  Citizens who sit back and say, “I’m not getting involved.”  Excuses range from lack of time to being uninterested in politics.  These are the same people that have the time to post pictures of cats on Facebook yet say they do not have the time to educate themselves or they fake having knowledge regarding issues facing their communities and nation.  What they really mean is that they lack the desire to educate themselves. 

It’s difficult to blame them for their frustration.  It’s become increasingly frustrating seeing representatives who promise to vote for more freedom and liberty, but when elected, do not carry through with their promises, They say they will vote against any tax increases yet they do not have the testicular fortitude to stand by that promise.  Because of this, individuals begin to feel as if their vote is a waste of time and energy.

Imagine if we had elected representatives who voted according to the very principles they advocated for.  What if we knew exactly how they would vote on any given issue because of their principles?  Recently I’ve heard various elected individuals attempt to justify why they voted against their principles.  Either you believe in your principles or you don’t. 

There is no excuse for any citizen not being involved in this “experiment.”  Being involved does not mean simply showing up to cast a vote for the usual party.  It means that each of us is responsible to fully understand the consequences of our votes and how they affect freedom and liberty.

Individuals running for office have the responsibility of standing firm on the principles that got them elected. Citizens do not want to hear excuses, just results. 

Let’s continue to reach out to the community and work hard to get those individuals elected who will fight for freedom and liberty.  We do this by getting the word out and then holding politicians accountable for their votes and being unwilling to make exceptions for “politics as usual.”

Let’s make this experiment permanent.

Less Testing: A Good Idea for Prince William Schools

A recent InsideNova article reported that Prince William high schools will be removing their midterm exams, which usually take place in January.  The reason for the removal being that students are already being over-worked when it comes to exams whether it be Virginia’s Standards of Learning (SOLs), Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), or Cambridge Programme.  Students just do not need to be overdosing on exams.

All eleven of the Prince William high school principals sent a letter to school officials requesting the mid-term exams be thrown into the waste basket.  The principals were able to avoid the School Board’s approval by classifying the move away from mid-terms as a “pilot program”.

This is absolutely fantastic news.  The time spent focusing on the mid-term exams can now hopefully be spent on preparing students with critical thinking skills, rather than spending a full week memorizing for a fill-in-the-blank exam that the student will forget the minute after they have completed the exam.

Teachers will have more time to explain concepts and address questions students may have with the content.  They will not be rushing to prepare their students for an exam, or potentially incentivizing them to create easy exams or even in some cases giving the answers to students while they are taking their exams!  They will have more time to educate their students and even spend time on certain topics needing a tighter focus.

I fondly remember taking an IB Chemistry course my junior year at Stonewall Jackson High School, we happened to be experimenting with alkaline metals and their chemical reaction with water.  This was a really interesting subject, because what high school boy does not somewhat enjoy a good explosion?  More time could have been spent performing classroom experiments and hands-on work rather than having full day review classes for mid-term exams.

To conclude this short piece I applaud the principals of the Prince William high schools to remove the mid-term exams.  Teachers will be able to more creative with their lesson plans and will have more time to focus on certain issues their students may find interesting or need further guidance on understanding.  Hopefully this will be the result, although there is the potential for some teachers to fill this time with fluff, such as a movie day.  I am optimistic about this change and look forward to the results of the “pilot program”.