House Divided

“A House Divided Cannot Stand,” Abraham Lincoln—First Republican President. This ongoing power struggle between the conservatives and the moderates must come to a halt. This is not to say that there ought not to be engagement and discussions about issues, however, it does suggest that the sole pursuit of power is not a worthy goal in and of itself. This is especially true given the context of all being in one party. That party has a platform.

If moderates do not like a specific piece of the platform, or messages being made by conservatives, then it is up to them to promulgate a better message and rally more like-minded people to caucuses, conventions and meetings. Seeking to supplant conservatives for the sake of power is a faulty paradigm of thinking since power corrupts and ultimate power corrupts ultimately.

If conservatives are so afraid of a moderate take over because of moral or fiscal issues, likewise it is up to them to rally the base, provide a better message and have solutions ready so that the moderates can see the value of not spending money on government ones. Seeking to supplant moderates for the sake of power is a faulty paradigm of thinking because God commands us to be humble.

Power and the Market Place of Ideas

Of course the ultimate goal is getting Republicans into office, which is power. However, what dictates a faulty paradigm of thinking is encompassed in the desire of pursuit. Is it to get your ideas out there in the Market Place of Ideas? Or is it simply a power game for you?

Moderate and conservative Republicans are just that, Republican. Ronald Reagan once said that “at the end of the day, we are all Americans,” in reference to the ongoing debates between Democrats and Republicans. If Ronald Reagan had this view of our opposing party, then how can we possibly not have that view of members of our own, should we call ourselves students of him?

Moreover, by actively working against one another, we create animosity between ourselves, form opposing factions and divide ourselves. When we do this, we fail to capitalize upon a wealth of resources from the other factions. This means that we limit ourselves in getting our personal worldview into the Market Place of Ideas, being within the context of government, or power if you will. This is an aberration and only creates an environment that assists the opposition party.

If the Market Place of Ideas is good enough George Washington, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin and Ronald Reagan, then I would must humbly offer you that it is good enough for us.


Majority or Minority…you choose

Democrats are extremely diverse, yet somehow (at least in Colorado) manage to hold their coalitions together. We MUST do the same or we will continue to be the minority party. This is unacceptable to both moderates and conservatives.

Recommendations

To the moderates I offer this suggestion. Your fear of conservatives is unwarranted in many contexts. You should actively begin to work for and with them. After all, a friend who helps a friend will later receive assistance. By getting conservatives into our public institutions and the party apparatus, you insure that your moderates have an easier time getting legislation through. Debate will always remain in any institution, interest group, or political party or between any given two people on Earth for that matter. It is okay and is not grounds for war. Democracy may be imperfect, with often imperfect results, but it allows much freedom! It will be okay.

To the conservatives I offer this suggestion. Your ideologically driven passion ought to be channeled into getting all Republicans elected because again, having a large (or even super) majority will best insure your vision of Colorado and America will come to fruition. Again, debate may ensue, as it always will, even among conservatives. However none of us has all the answers. Only God has that privilege. You must remain humble or you will remain in violation of God’s plan which will most definitely not allow the vision you have to come to fruition. The early disciples of Jesus argued fervently over orthodoxy and orthopraxy: Catholicism vs. Protestantism is most noteworthy. Today many of those debates (and others) persist. It is okay, you must work together. Agree to disagree if you will. Western Civilization has created such an environment and I do not think that bucking the system by not allowing rigorous debate is not only self-righteous, it is wrong.

Conclusions

The result of the inter-party bickering and fighting and all but war has created a chasm. This has proved to be a structural problem of great magnitude with a complete breakdown in communication with the result being a great loss of income for the party. This is unacceptable. Either new leadership needs to replace the power-mongers or we need to each rethink why we are involved within the apparatus in the party. When your party’s leadership cannot even communicate with one another, then you most definitely have a structural problem. That structure must either be immediately fixed or we have solved nothing and problem will continue, which is most illogical. That is the crux of the matter. The option of rethinking or not is of course yours.