Time for a Third Party?

Original story at REDSTATE: The Democrats are the party of socialism, authoritarianism, big government, corruption, selling out to foreigners for pennies on the dollar, and identity politics. It is unthinkable for constitutional conservatives to be members of the Democrat Party. But are the Republicans any better? Some talk a good game of limited government, low taxes, and traditional values, but that’s frequently all it is: just talk. Many Republicans in the political class have their hands in the till and vote the interests of their donor class instead of their constituents when push comes to shove just like Democrats do. (That’s why the DC political class are frequently called “the Uniparty.”)

Take the latest porkulus bill masquerading as “stimulus relief” that Republicans were only too happy to join with Democrats to push to the President’s desk. Ask your Republican senator or representative who voted for this monstrosity how these provisions (among others in the 5,593-page bill!) serve their constituents in terms of “COVID relief”:

Exhibit A: “Of the funds appropriated under title III of the Act that are made available for assistance for Pakistan, not less than $15,000,000 shall be made available for democracy programs and not less than $10,000,000 shall be made available for gender programs.” Yep. $10 million. For gender programs. In Pakistan.

Exhibit B: Funds for “Resource Study of Springfield (Illinois) Race Riot.” That riot occurred in (checks notes) 1908.

Exhibit C: “Statement Of Policy Regarding The Succession Or Reincarnation Of The Dalai Lama.”

…..

Exhibits F, G, H, I, J: $86 million for assistance to Cambodia; $130 million to Nepal, $135 million to Burma, $453 million to Ukraine, $700 million to Sudan.

Exhibit K: The bill creates a Women’s History Museum and an American Latino Museum as part of the Smithsonian. Overall, the Smithsonian gets (checks notes again) $1 billion.

That’s the Uniparty and Swamp in action, especially what passes for Republican leadership in the US Senate these days. But even more egregious has been to watch that same “leadership” essentially bail out on President Trump’s challenges to the massive election fraud. They all know there was extensive fraud; it was summarized in this lengthy and well-sourced article entitled, “Yes, It Was a Stolen Election.” And there has been plenty of evidence presented in sworn depositions during various hearings, expert data analyses, hundreds of affidavits in lawsuits filed on behalf of the President, damning videos, etc. Yet, NONE of the “Big Three” – Mitch McConnell (R-KY), John Cornyn (R-TX), or John Thune (R-SD) – support the President’s expected challenges to the Electoral College vote on Wednesday based on that overwhelming evidence of election fraud. They (and a number of other Republicans in the House and Senate) refuse to support the leader of their own political party by joining in the challenges planned on 6 January. It’s enough to make people want to bail out on the Republicans and start a third-party movement.

Which would be an unmitigated disaster! Ask how that turned out for the Tea Party movement, which is still limping along nearly 12 years after it was founded in February 2009. While not a true political party per se, they nevertheless diverted resources (time and people) which would have been more gainfully employed if focused on taking over the Republican Party from within. The goal of the Tea Party movement was primarily a return to fiscal responsibility: lower taxes, a reduction of the federal debt, a return to limited government, and an elimination over time of the federal deficit. How’d that work out again, given nearly $5 trillion has been added to the federal deficit in 2020 alone (counting the $1.4 trillion porkulus bill discussed above)? The GOP establishment led by Mitch McConnell, who never embraced the Tea Party goals, successfully undermined the Tea Party from the beginning. Poor organization, some grifters inside the movement, lack of a well-known charismatic leader, lack of resources (money being the mother’s milk of politics), and other woes over the past 12 years have taken the steam out of the movement.

And their political affections have been transferred elsewhere over the last four years. Many Trumpers are in fact former Tea Party types. (Note: I used the label “Trumpers” as a term of love because I am one of them.) They watched the Tea Party demise in horror and learned a few hard lessons about politics, and are “all-in” on President Trump because they see a political outsider who has actually delivered on his campaign promises for ALL Americans.

The political system in America is rigged for the two existing parties and has been for decades, including franking privileges for sitting senators and representatives, state regulations for getting on ballots, tightly controlled state political parties, etc. Also, the big money is stacked up against any third party; the donor class already has control of most of the members of the Uniparty (Democrats and RINOs). Shoot, we’ve had third parties for years that have never gained any traction (e.g., the Libertarian Party and US Constitution Party) – for these very reasons. All those parties have done is pull votes away mostly from Republicans.

Third parties elect Democrats. How do you think we got the execrable Bill Clinton in the first place in 1992? Ross Perot and his independent grass roots organization split the vote because he despised George H.W. Bush and wanted him to lose his reelection bid. Were those who voted for Perot happy in retrospect with the corrupt Clinton presidency, which was the first time Americans learned about open ChiCom meddling in US elections (“Chinagate”)? A significant new third-party effort this year will cement Democrat political hegemony forever, especially if the election fraud techniques used in the 2020 election are allowed to stand.

People who are political independents are gutless – the equivalent of the kid on the playground who took his marbles and went home when a bully started cheating and stealing marble games. It’s easy to bail out on the Republican Party and become an independent when the Party fails to deliver or rolls over to the Democrat-media complex – and then caterwaul about “the swamp” from the sidelines, as opposed to getting personally involved and actually doing something about it. And a lot of people proudly announce they have “left the Republican Party” when they switch to independent. That’s cutting and running from the fight.

And that only makes the problem worse. It’s exactly what the GOP establishment wants. Better for the GOPe to get rid of a few principled malcontents in order to keep control (and thereby remain a RINO party appendage of the Uniparty) than to actually have to compete for the votes of those malcontents in contested Republican primaries on the basis of their promises made versus promises not delivered. If President Trump loses his election fraud challenges, and the Trumpers bail on the Republican Party, McConnell and the rest of the RINOs will be only too happy to return to “making deals with Democrats, social media and tech barons, the Chinese, and whomever else, after January 20^th – even if the GOP Senate finds itself in the minority.” And Trumpers will once again be in the political wilderness unable to directly impact the political process.

The real solution for Republican Party Trumpers (and many independents who need to come home!) is buried in Ben Franklin’s oft-repeated phrase these days: “It’s a Republic if you can keep it.” And we’ve failed to keep it because we’ve allowed a political class manifested by the Uniparty to take over and run the country without the direct supervision of the citizenry. It is WE who have failed our duties, not the political class, as there will always be charlatans, grifters, knaves, and thieves, but it is OUR responsibility to weed them out. And that can’t be done without being inside the only political party that has founding principles aligned to constitutional conservatism and limited government: the Republican Party.

Third parties invite disaster. Working from within to reinvigorate our constitutional Republic is the only way to effect real and lasting changes. Trumpers need to get politically engaged and start locally to capture the Republican Party from the ground up – precinct by precinct, and county by county. Then, the state party apparatuses need to be broomed of RINOs and eventually the RNC subordinated to the will of the people instead of the donor class.

An excellent example of this process occurred in Wisconsin, which eventually led to the election of Governor Scott Walker. And essentially the same methods were used to return Texas to Republican rule and remove the stench of LBJ back in the Seventies. The efforts in two states battled both RINOs and strong Democrat Party apparatuses. There are some interior US states like the Dakotas, Nebraska, and Wyoming with relatively weak state Democrat organizations, which would leave most of the focus on  replacing RINOs and their support infrastructure. The job is relatively easier to accomplish in small states in particular where a few dedicated people can make a LOT of difference.

Ultimately, what each state needs are a few dedicated and highly motivated people with great contacts around each state with the time on their hands (either paid activists or recent retirees come to mind). This core would begin the coordination process as a sort of “conservative caucus” totally separate from each state Republican Party apparatus and focused on nominating and electing carefully screen candidates for all political jobs at all levels (city, county, state). It could be done. Oh, and all those independents who left both parties need to be encouraged to “get their hands dirty” in local politics by joining/rejoining their local Republican county organizations, too.

Finally, many frustrated Americans are enamored by the concept of holding a “Convention of the States,” as provided for in Article V of the US Constitution:

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; provided that no amendment which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.

Many disaffected conservatives believe that an Article V convention can rectify the erosion of provisions of the Constitution made by leftist/Democrat judges over the last 100 years by rewriting and strengthening a “revised Constitution.” For once, I agree with Common Cause, who warn:

An Article V constitutional convention is a dangerous path that puts all of our cherished rights, civil liberties, and freedoms at risk. Other than the convention that drafted our Constitution, there has never been a constitutional convention in the nation’s history; there is nothing stopping a new convention from rolling back our constitutional rights and civil liberties.

Any talk of an Article V Convention of the States needs to be squelched. I am dead set against opening up the existing Constitution to change via that method because the Left will pull out the stops to corrupt the process through bribery, extortion, and doxing everyone who is directly involved. They have bottomless money to spend to get the kind of changes THEY want, not the kind that WE want. And they have a couple of million organized street hooligans in BLM and Antifa who will confront and intimidate any and all conservatives involved in a Convention of the States. At present, the Constitution is extremely difficult to change, just as the Founders wanted. That has protected us against a leftist remaking of the Constitution for over 230 years. Using constitutional amendments to effect the changes necessary is the proper way to change the Constitution.

Conclusion: Tired of the Uniparty corruption? Tired of RINOs in the GOP establishment serving themselves and their donors instead of their constituents? Then get with the program, as Ben Franklin might say, get involved with local politics, and be part of the change process that is required if we wish to save our constitutional Republic!

The end.