I'll do nothing and plenty of it

One of my clients, who's involved in Warren County Republican politics, asked me recently about getting involved in the party.

The conversation went like this.

Client - Gordon, we need some bright, financially adept kind of guys to get involved in the party and/or run for office. You immediately came to my mind.

Gordon - Bob, I'm not sure if I should feel complimented or insulted. I think I might be the worst person to be involved in politics.

Client - You seem to have a passion for it. I read your blog.

Gordon - I have a passion for educating people about the inherent evil of government. That usually doesn't win you a lot of votes and or support.

Think about it. Old Gordon, gets up on stage for a presser on his candidacy to some office. It'll be right out of a Seinfeld episode.

Press - So what is your candidacy about?

Gordon - Nothing.

Press - Nothing?

Gordon - That's right, when elected, you'll pay me not to do anything.

Press - What about certain issues?

Gordon - Nothing.

Press - So you won't do anything to help the people?

Gordon - Nope

Press - What about problem "xyz"?

Gordon - OK, I guess I will have to do something. I'll have to make sure that my council/legislature does nothing.

Just how long do you think my candidacy would last?

All this is a long winded segue into the death of Jack Kemp. Kemp may have been the last of the true conservatives. Unlike Gordon's presser above, Kemp could sell a conservative message because he believed and he attracted people to the message.

All of our current republican douche bags ran as conservatives because it was trendy and cool at the time; but none of them believed. That's how you end up with multi billion dollar highway bills and a boot out of office that would make a dictator envious. They are all just one election away from pulling a Specter; it's all about self preservation for them.

This is how you end up with "conservatives", like Jean Schmidt, who show up to speak at a Tea Party and then goes right back to Washington to vote against everything the Tea Parties were all about.

These people still believe that governments make a difference. Conservatives like Kemp and Reagan believed that governments just got in the way of greatness. They didn't need to "tailor" a message because they believed in the simple message that is conservatism and that message was infectious.

The conventional wisdom is that the republicans need to "tailor" their message expand their tent. Basically, giving up principles to expand their base. I would offer that the current republican derelicts in office diluted the current principles to the point that the party looked like Arlen Specter. Now exactly what did clowns like Arlen Specter ever do for the conservative movement?

Put another way, if we conservatives managed to get an executive and legislative branch full of Specters. Just how would conservatism look? In Ohio, we had that under Bob Taft and that looked pretty good didn't it?

Kemp's passing may be the impetus to purge our rolls of the Specter's of the world and repopulate the republican party with conservatives who believe.

He will be missed.