Posted by
Cindy Coughlon on Wednesday, November 05, 2008 11:00:00 PM
Last night I watched Senator McCain concede the election and was struck by how he assumed responsibility for the loss. I flinched when he took the blame because I truly admired how hard he had fought and how close he had come. In fact, I believe that Senator McCain ran an amazing race. And, after a day of listening to conservatives throwing around blame, I am fairly convinced that the loss really belongs to me and what I represent. For years I have sat around with one ear glued to talk radio while I have gone about my daily business. When I spoke about politics it was usually because I was reacting to the crisis du jour, or just venting my frustration with my GOP leaders for not promoting my agenda, fighting harder, leading better, yada, yada, yada. But when was the last time I shared a vision of how more economic freedom could transform my neighborhood, or how school choice would do more to get my kids into college than student loans? Today it occured to me that for all my talk about personal responsibilty, I have been waiting for "The GOP" to fix my broken party. What kind of conservativism is that?
Tonight I turn over a new leaf. My plan is simple. Everyday I will attempt to articulate a conservative principle in a way that is positive and heart-warming. Why? Our friends and neighbors have clearly expressed a desire to dream, They want a party they can feel good about. Hope is in the air! I am not willing to concede the issue of hope to the left. Not only does conservatism allow for hope, it actually preserves the freedom necessary to transform hope into reality. I am passionate about conservativism because of the wealth of opportunity that security, prosperity and freedom provide, and I'm going to force myself to learn how to articulate the promise of conservatism in a way that moves hearts as well as minds. I need to learn how to talk more like Obama.
I challenge you to do the same.