Posted by
The INFORMER (Cokie907@yahoo.com) on Thursday, January 10, 2008 11:47:27 PM
I'm here screaming expletives at my television set in an exasperated fashion over none other than Palmetto Bug- sized brains in South Carolina! Yes, I know there are doctors willing to treat me for my inner rage but I'd rather vent here and put it on the Meat and Potatoes record for all loyalists to witness and comment upon.
In earlier columns, I have opined about Frank Luntz and his focus groups (which I'm sure would make Mister Perjury proud since he focus grouped EVERYTHING). Luntz gets a bunch of "local schmokels" together and asks them a series of questions after a presidential debate. I'm not sure of his methodology used to voidire the participants but judging by the responses he got, none of them were political science majors in college!
What frustrated me most was the discussion of Fred Thompson's performance and the absence of one singular word: CONSERVATISM! That's right, not one individual in the room stated that Fred is an unabashed conservative and it scares me to wonder why!! Could it be that none of these focus groupees know specifically what a conservative is? If so, this is alarming. Get ready for a strong statement that will shake your eardrums to their core you Palmetto bugs. If you are unable to articulate what the vision of conservatism is, then you have absolutely NO BUSINESS being a Republican, period! Let me spout off a few tenets of this philosophy:
1) the strength and greatness of America lies in its individuals and their inexorable drive for freedom.
2) each individual has talents which must be harnessed in order for them to achieve their own level of success.
3) when people are knocked down repeatedly, it is their OWN rugged individualism and self-reliance that gets them back on their feet and keeps them productive.
4) government must exist for the good of its people but its power must be LIMITED in scope.
5) each of us should do the right thing for American society because it is the right thing to do.
6) our freedoms come from God and nobody can take them away, especially not the state.
This is by no means a complete list, just a basic "starter" list for what conservatives believe. For people in a focus group to NOT be able to recognize conservatism as Fred Thompson's greatest strength, it tells me that millions of Americans do not understand this most basic philosophy. My hope for future Frank Luntz groups is that Republicans show an intellectual capacity to articulate this vision. Our nation is depending on it!