Voice in the Wilderness

It seems that Pat Robertson has gotten himself back into the good graces of, and business negotiations with, the nation in Israel. All it took was an apology, and a proposal for a $50 mil theme park.

Robertson got himself into hot water when he commented that he believed Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's stroke was divine punishment for dividing the land promised to Israel by God when he relinqushed control of the Gaza Strip. This lead to the Israeli Tourism Ministry cutting off business negotiations with Robertson. And understandably so.

After apologizing to Sharon's son, the Israeli Tourism Minstry announced that they would reconsider their decision to cut ties with Robertson. So now that everyone is friends and talking again, the negotiations on the price of a Holy Site can continue.

I go into more depth about my problems with the proposed theme park on Life in Awes (OZ). See Wondering about Robertson and the Holy Land. As the first and last line of the post says, "I wonder what Robertson is thinking"

Primary season is in full swing in Texas. Less than two months separate us from choosing who will contend for the general election in November. To aid in the fun and revelry of voting on our political heroes, I've devised a little primer to aid conservative primary voters in choosing a conservative candidate who can win.

On The Issues
What does it mean to be conservative? While there are certainly many definitions, they don't always help when it comes time to pull the lever in the voting booth. One of the more useful definitions I've seen comes from the Texas Conservative Coalition, a think tank supporting conservative members of the Texas Legislature. They use the acronym LIFT to define conservatism:

• Limited Government
  
• Individual Liberties
  
• Free Enterprise
  
• Traditional Values
  

If a candidate claims to be conservative, but has consistently favored increasing the scope of government, increased government spending, expanding local governments' eminent domain powers, increased taxes, or legalizing same sex marriage, they are probably not conservative. I have found that running a candidate's stated and demonstrated stances on issues through the LIFT prism is a good way to separate the wheat from the chaff in the voting booth.

Getting Into Office
Having the right worldview on the role of government is one thing. Being able to get into office to put that worldview into action is another. In the months leading up to elections, Newsmax.com columnist John LeBoutillier usually talks about his "5 tools of politics", character traits that define the viability of political candidates. Himself a former congressman, Mr. LeBoutillier says successful candidates need to:

• Have fire in the belly. A near maniacal devotion to winning the election.
  
• Be self-disciplined. Ability to control bad habits and mitigate their weaknesses. As Mr. LeBoutillier said of Newt Gingrich and Bill Clinton: "The speaker couldn't keep his mouth shut; the president couldn't keep his fly shut."
• Display authoritative presence. Candidates need to be media-savvy and project themselves with power on the television screen. This was John Kerry's best asset....next to his wife's checkbook.
• Raise money. Duh, but it needs to be said.
  
• Communicate a positive vision. Preferrably a positive conservative vision (see the section "On the Issues" above). The best candidates capture their inner Churchhill to touch the deepest desires, feelings, fears, and joys of their audience, thus motivating their people to heroic acts of block walking, phone banking, and getting out to vote

In Texas, lots of candidates skate into office wearing the Republican label, claiming to be conservative. Many are indeed conservative. Many others are not. Hopefully, this primer will aid conservative primary voters in identifying candidates who are truly conservative AND have the campaigning moxie to come out on top on election day.