A message to the GOP: shape up or we're shipping out!

I am an American conservative. Therefore, I value a truly limited government, maintaining the rule of law, fiscal responsibility, free markets, civil liberties, and a humble, no-nation-building foreign policy.

When I first entered the political arena I assumed, as many still do, that the Republican Party would be the most fitting place for a person with my convictions.

Much to my surprise, I was wrong.

What I discovered within the Republican Party was a much different reality.

I found that the Republican Party is no different than the Democrat Party — except it’s more dangerous.

The GOP as it is now is more harmful to conservatism than the Democrat Party will ever be, because it enacts liberal policies while simultaneously claiming to be conservative. Thus, it is deceiving the people and diluting the real meaning of conservatism.

The current Republican Party is composed of big government sell-outs, progressive imperialists, militant Christians, and worst of all, the far left neo-cons who embody the biggest problem with our nation today.

The neo-conservatives have strategically hijacked the GOP, Washington, and the media, and have been extremely successful in shaping public opinion.

I believe Congressman Ron Paul of Texas accurately describes the state of our nation when he says:

“…those who lead us—both in the administration and in Congress—show no appetite to challenge the tax or monetary systems that do so much damage to our economy. The IRS and the Federal Reserve are off limits for criticism or reform. There’s no resistance to spending, either domestic or foreign. Debt is not seen as a problem. The supply-siders won on this issue, and now many conservatives readily endorse deficit spending. There’s no serious opposition to the expanding welfare state, with rapid growth of the education, agriculture and medical-care bureaucracy. Support for labor unions and protectionism are not uncommon.

Civil liberties are easily sacrificed in the post 9-11 atmosphere prevailing in Washington. Privacy issues are of little concern, except for a few members of Congress. Foreign aid and internationalism—in spite of some healthy criticism of the UN and growing concerns for our national sovereignty—are championed on both sides of the aisle. ”

My fellow conservatives, we must not be satisfied with this state of affairs. We must not sit idle while our country falls into shambles. We must stand up and shout at our party, the GOP, with the message:

“Enough is enough. We want our country back! We want our philosophy back. We will no longer be deceived. We no longer give up anymore of our freedoms to support your welfare state and your policing of the world!”

My fellow conservatives, we owe it to our mothers and fathers and we owe it to our children; we owe it to the first Americans, who founded this Republic on ideals far different than those we are seeing now in the GOP, and we owe it to future Americans.

If we continue to let the neo-con controlled GOP deceive us, or anyone else, into thinking that they stand for what we stand for, then our country is in great peril and our truly conservative principles will become nothing but a long-forgotten dream.

My fellow conservatives, if you are like me then you voted for George W. Bush because you wanted to shrink the size of government, not triple it. If you are like me then you supported George W. Bush because you believed in a foreign policy of non-intervention — but were then told that we must “fight them over there so we don’t have to fight them over here.”

Did George W. Bush ever think that maybe they want to fight us over here because we are over there, and have been for decades?

Our current foreign policy is a far cry from President George Washington’s warning about the dangers of entangling affairs with other nations.

The Republican Party is not conservative and we can no longer let it convince the American people that it is.

As true conservatives we have only two options: to reform the Party, or leave the Party.

I believe that the 2008 presidential election is our last chance to reform the party by electing Ron Paul. Ron Paul and Tom Tancredo are the only candidates in the race who have not sold out. Ron Paul is the only candidate in the race who is pro-life, a strict constitutionalist, and a proven advocate of slashing the size of government. Moreover, he is also against the Iraq War and has been from the beginning.

However, if we genuine conservatives do not succeed in electing Ron Paul, I believe our only option is to completely leave the GOP and form our own party — one that truly stands by our conservative principles.