Many inside the beltway sub-culture who rarely, if ever, venture outside the 202 area code, except to venture to the 212 area code, have reactions ranging from disbelief to sneering condescension regarding the primary challenges being mounted against Republican incumbents.
But if they actually took the time to talk to the people they claim to represent, instead of at them or over them, perhaps this whole GOP civil war thing could have been avoided. Take it from a talk show host whose mouth usually works faster than his brain. So many conflicts and misunderstandings could be averted if folks just listened to the other side sometimes.
Had the GOP patricians listened to their constituents (not plebeians) the last few years, they would have seen this freight train of frustration coming. And although the primary cycle is by and large going the establishment’s way, if the establishment doesn’t change its ways — and quickly — this will be the very definition of Pyrrhic victory. For the first time patriots are calling nationally-syndicated shows like mine and saying it’s time for retribution. It’s time to make an example of at least one of these Republicans they believe have sold them out.
Who knows how many of these people there really are? After all, it’s one thing to want to cast a primary vote against a Republican who has disappointed you. It’s entirely another to let a statist Democrat have his seat in the fall to send a message, especially if that message is letting obstructionist hack Harry Reid remain as Senate majority leader. Just because a group is loud doesn’t mean it is legion. However, if the establishment doesn’t get the message here, we will soon find out how many of these people there are.
Let’s face it, conservative frustration with the GOP establishment is nothing new. It’s been going on since at least 1964 — a full decade before I was born. I’m sure countless columns have been written for this fine paper over many years chronicling this internal conflict. But the frustration has unquestionably escalated in recent years, and I believe one person is the source of it.
Barack Obama.
Obama’s White House Regime has led an unprecedented assault on our liberties, cherished traditions, and prosperity. This president and his sycophantic collaborators are bullies who see no domestic opposition they won’t seek to silence or make surrender. Not even the Little Sisters of the Poor are spared from their anti-constitutional wrath. These Marxists dream of and devise creative ways to threaten our basic freedoms we used to take for granted.
And it’s not just the ends the statists are pursuing here but also their means. Sen. Ted Cruz recently documented 76 examples of lawlessness by this regime. Keep in mind the Declaration of Independence “only” lists 27 lawless grievances against King George III. The imperial precedents being set by this White House even have a liberal legal scholar like Jonathan Turley concerned.
Those of us who live here in “flyover country” see all this happening to us, and then see how most Republicans in Washington, D.C., who claim to represent us respond. Let’s just say that response is less than inspiring.
Sen. Lindsey Graham responds by praising the greatness of Hillary “What difference does (Benghazi) make” Clinton, and promising Secretary of State John Kerry to help whip up GOP votes to send taxpayer dollars to the corrupt International Monetary Fund.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell responds by conspiring with the statists to give us the largest tax increase of the last 20 years, fund Obamacare, and raise the debt ceiling.
House Speaker John Boehner responds by negotiating with himself during the so-called government shutdown, which actually shut down only 17 percent of the government, and then mocking conservatives who don’t want to support “scamnesty” as being crybabies. Ironic, coming from a man known to cry on a dime.
Kansas’ Pat Roberts responds by essentially becoming the state of Virginia’s third senator.
Sen. Thad Cochran responds by pretending not to know what the tea party (his base) is.
And so on, and so on. I could write an entire column about these people’s many betrayals of our trust and acts of obfuscation, and still only scratch the surface.
So while these Republicans ponder the lint in their navels, fret about avoiding criticism by liberal media that aren’t consumed by anybody who will ever consider voting for them, and plan their corporatist junkets, the rest of us out here in flyover country are watching our very way of life slip away right before our very eyes. We’re seeing our children and grandchildren’s futures slipping away as well, and American exceptionalism and liberty along with it.
Here’s what we don’t see.
When Republicans have had power, we have never seen them ruthlessly pursue our agenda with the same reckless abandon or courage of conviction the Obama Regime and its allies daily display. The last time we saw the Republicans draw a line in the sand with Democrats was over invading Iraq, which turned out to be urban renewal in the name of Allah — an unpopular war that gave us Majority Leader Harry Reid in 2006, and gave birth to the Obama presidency in 2008.
Since then, it’s been the “surrender caucus” on parade, the only debate being when/where/how to wave the white flag. We don’t see these Republicans go on offense when they’re in power, and we don’t see them defending us while the Democrats have it. Frankly, many folks I talk to are running out of reasons to vote Republican, other than the satisfaction of voting against statist Democrats. Except when we see McConnell willing to go scorched earth on his primary opponent in a way he never has the Marxists in the White House, even that joy is taken from us.
We know we are not the most sophisticated people in the world. We know we’re not as cool as you. We know we don’t belong at your cocktail parties. But we are the people who do most of the living and dying around here. We pay the bills. We’re the ones most victimized by this president’s attempt to win Karl Marx’s argument with history.
We buy your books. We watch your TV shows. We vote for you. In short, you wouldn’t be in the ruling class if it weren’t for us. Yet you consistently side against us, and then offer us nothing in return. You don’t even patronize us anymore, like when Mitt Romney wouldn’t even share a Chick-fil-A sandwich with us.
You can only push people so far before they start pushing back. And this is why these primaries are happening. Who knows? Maybe we don’t have the best candidates. It certainly looks like we’re outmanned, outgunned, and definitely outspent. Maybe we’re tilting at windmills.
But just as 56 men once took a stand for liberty and independence against the world’s great superpower of the day with no guarantee it would pay off, we refuse to let our children’s future be squandered without a fight. We don’t get to vote ourselves pay raises and pensions or exemptions from Obamaism like you do. So, short of resorting to the bully tactics being used against us, these primaries are one of the last remaining mechanisms we have left to make D.C. listen.
If this current crop of Republicans won’t listen to us now, then come 2016 we will find someone who will.
(Steve Deace is a nationally-syndicated talk show host and the author of “Rules for Patriots: How Conservatives Can Win Again.” You can follow him on Twitter @SteveDeaceShow.)
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