What not to do...

For the past 8 years, we have seen some good examples of "what not to do" as the party out of power. We have likewise some examples of what not to do as the party IN power, but we can discuss that later.

I came across an article by Andy Levy at Big Hollywood that offers some advice to the political minority. There are some really good points, and it actually hits on some of what I hoped would be recurring themes in this blog. Some points in particular:

DON’T question the motives - question the policy. When you disagree with Obama’s policies, say so, and make it clear why. But remember that President Obama is doing what he thinks is best for the country, as President Bush did. Both men love America and want what’s best for her. End of story.

DON’T make it personal. We don’t need another Derangement Syndrome. We don’t need people doing things like emphasizing Obama’s middle name in a derogatory fashion. How anyone would think that’s beneficial to their cause, or to the country as a whole, is beyond me. Also, it’s not even clever. Neither are smushwords like BusHitler, or sillywords like Rethuglicans and Dhimmicrats.

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DON’T apologize to foreigners and say things to them like, “I didn’t vote for Obama,” or “He’s not MY president.”

DON’T say or do everything in your power to drive this country apart and then claim you want unity when it’s your guy in power. This is like the convicted felon who conveniently finds God when he’s up for parole

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And finally, DON’T use the fact that many on the left behaved abominably for the past eight years as an excuse to behave the same way. America needs adults. And if it bothered you when they did it, it’s a good sign that you shouldn’t do it.

It's worth a full read.

I'd like to add that we need to avoid excuses. Conservatives have simply not been able to articulate their message in a way the American people could accept. As conservatives, we believe in free markets, and the market will correct itself. The same is true for the marketplace of ideas. Instead of blaming the liberal media, we need to change the venue. Coming across as the victim will not get us anywhere.