Conservative Government: Oxymoron?

Promoted -- we need to reclaim the idea of the web as a place for organic self-organization and self-government in contrast to the top-down philosophy of the left. -Patrick

What is the blogosphere saying?  Can we get it on the web?  How can we use this to raise money online?  

These are questions that each of us who are "online" strategists hear from our clients.  And they miss the point about the power of the Internet for political change. 

Not to beat a dead horse, but the web -- as a medium, as a place -- plays a crucial role in politicking today, and we can foresee it playing an ever-increasing role throughout the 21st century.  It is key part of the solution to the right's woes, but it plays a minimal role in the problem.  The problem, as Alex Castellanos, veteran media strategist identifies in a National Review column, is that Republicans can't communicate a core principle (singular). 

Read on.

I translate this as the Republican Party is losing its political soul.  I say losing instead of lost because lost would imply that there's no hope.  I very much believe there is hope.  So do the founders and writers on this site. 

Many of us identify the basic idea of "limited government," or "smaller government," to define Conservatism, or Republicanism, without explaining what this means.  Castellanos simplifies this as public government vs. private government (or community-based order). 

Conservatives do not hate government. We never have. We love life when it is well-governed. We respect the flag, our country, and traditional authority. We like a world where rules are observed and regulations are respected. We revere the order of the church. We respect the lines on the playing field and we stop at traffic lights. We want things to work. We want trains to run on time. We want our lives to be ordered. We want our lives to be governed — just not by others. We want our lives governed by the face we see in the mirror. We want our lives governed by ourselves.

Castellanos also acknowledges that technology and the world wide web personify a more perfect democractic republic.   They are not merely tools and tactics, they epitomize where our party must head, and where they are failing. 

What we believe in is people-driven, choice-filled, dynamic, flexible, equal-opportunity self-government. We should call it organic government. Want to know what your government is going to look like 20 years from now? Ask your children. They will say it will look a lot less like General Motors and a lot more like MySpace. The Internet is an education for us all, a place where people self-organize and govern themselves with maximum freedom. In its reflection, we can see more than the future of technology and communications; we can see the promise of democracy.

Conservatives believe that we govern our society more often, and better, through the private sector than through the public sector. We govern our lives in our churches, communities, bowling leagues, and neighborhoods. We govern our most altruistic impulses through charities. The PTA governs. The Chamber of Commerce governs. Facebook governs. The Invisible Hand governs. 

We are doing a great service by airing out the daily trials and tribulations, and providing solutions, through online forums like this one.  We must not forget; however, that our "airing out" has limited value without action. 

Even while frustrated and disheartened by the state of our Party, we, as individuals must not allow the depletion of our political souls.  We must get involved.  I don't suggest we advocate for and provide assistance to candidates who we feel have abused their power in office.  I do suggest however that we embody and act on our right-leaning ideals in every forum possible -- online and offline.  

Whether encouraging a new guard candidate to run for local office, running a local campaign, heading up or working on a conservative issue advocacy effort, blogging daily at the Next Right, going door-to-door for a candidate you feel strongly about in your area, taking a trip to help a candidate in a neighboring area come election time, your efforts matter. 

We on the right like order; we don't like big, bureaucratic government. 

We on the right are not a small, online elite force who want to take over our Party; we want to help lead our party back to a place where private is valued over public in a way that considers our current society and culture. 

In online media circles, there is a lot of talk of old guard vs. new guard.  I admit to using those terms often.  However, I caution against using them as we proceed with the effort to shift our party back in place.  

Not every smart person in politics is under 50.  We benefit most from melting together the best ideas from those who care most about the future of the Republican Party and conservatism. 

Food for thought ...