The following articles written by John Biver of ChampionNews.net provide a fuller and better illustration of what I mean.
Posted: April 23, 2010
By John Biver
In a brilliant column last month Walter Williams wrote about a "Constitutional Awakening."
"If there is anything good to say about Democrat control of the White House, Senate and House of Representatives, it's that their extraordinarily brazen, heavy-handed acts have aroused a level of constitutional interest among the American people that has been dormant for far too long."
He's right. The entire column is worth reading. Of course, part of that Constitutional awakening process is the necessary political awakening. We have a President Obama and Speaker Pelosi in large part because when the GOP held power it failed to successfully advance key reforms. Jonah Goldberg recently wrote - and I agree - that the tea parties are "a delayed Bush backlash."
Williams also noted this:
"While the odds on favorite is that the Republicans will do well in the fall elections, Americans who want constitutional government should not see Republican control as a solution to what our founders would have called ‘a long train of abuses and usurpations.'"
So reform supporting Americans don't just need Republican majorities in the General Assembly and Congress, and a Republican in the governor's mansion and in the White House. They need Republicans in leadership that understand how to actually get the reform policies enacted.
Full Article: http://www.championnews.net/article.php?sid=2537
Counterinsurgency: An operations manual for the GOP
Posted: July 10, 2008
By John Biver
As socialist and collectivist thought was on the rise in the middle of the last century there was a need for a defense of free market capitalism and what is known today as conservative political thought. A quote capturing that sentiment was recently featured prominently on the second page of a Washington, D.C. think tank's annual report:
"We must make the building of a free society once more an intellectual adventure, a deed of courage. If we can regain that belief in the power of ideas which was the mark of liberalism at its best, the battle is not lost." - Economist and political philosopher F.A. Hayek
If anyone thinks that Hayek's suggestion has been ignored, they're not paying attention. There has never been such a flood of good research, analysis, and commentary readily available backing up the kind of principles found in the platform of the Republican Party. The intellectual insurgency of socialist and collectivist thinking has been answered by an intellectual counterinsurgency defending free markets and traditional values.
Full Article: http://www.championnews.net/article.php?sid=1076
Counterinsurgency and modern political communications
Posted: July 11, 2008
By John Biver
Generals David Petraeus and James Amos have written one of the most important documents so far this century with their "Counterinsurgency" field manual published in 2006. It serves as a terrific warfare parallel for the domestic political challenge facing conservatives. Here is how the manual's introduction opens:
"This manual is designed to fill a doctrinal gap. It has been 20 years since the Army published a field manual devoted exclusively to counterinsurgency operations. For the Marine Corps it has been 25 years. With our Soldiers and Marines fighting insurgents in Afghanistan and Iraq, it is essential that we give them a manual that provides principles and guidelines for counterinsurgency operations. Such guidance must be grounded in historical studies. However, it also must be informed by contemporary experiences."
The recommendations within it have been applied in Iraq and as a result, the U.S. has won the second in Iraq. The first was the three week campaign to overthrow Saddam Hussein, and the second was the battle with the insurgents.
Now we need a few bright, experienced minds out there to update the political communications manual which today has doctrinal gaps so wide you can drive a bus loaded with wide-eyed twenty-something Barack Obama supporters right through them.
Full Article: http://www.championnews.net/article.php?sid=1077
Counterinsurgency, political troops, energy and action
Posted: July 14, 2008
By John Biver
Our elected officials must be political organizers, recruiters, and educators. If they're not going to be, then their legacy will be one of massive failure and eight years of President Barack Obama, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at the national level. Illinois Republican elected officials have already provided an assist to Democratic Party control by their inaction.
The "Counterinsurgency" field manual co-written by General David Petraeus includes these lines (emphasis added):
"A counterinsurgency campaign is, as described in this manual, a mix of offensive, defensive, and stability operations conducted along multiple lines of operations. It requires Soldiers and Marines to employ a mix of familiar combat tasks and skills more often associated with nonmilitary agencies.
The balance between them depends on the local situation. Achieving this balance is not easy. It requires leaders at all levels to adjust their approach constantly."
The difference between our military leaders and our political leaders is easy to see. Soldiers and Marines deal in life and death and are of course take their jobs seriously. The metric for our political leaders and their hired minions is not how much policy reform can they accomplish but how many times can they get reelected. In other words, not how they can fulfill the purpose of their job but how long can they avoid being fired.
Full Article: http://www.championnews.net/article.php?sid=1080
Counterinsurgency: GOP resurgence possible with new generals and an updated field manual
Posted: July 15, 2008
By John Biver
John Fund had an article in the Wall Street Journal on July 12th titled, "Obama's Liberal Shock Troops," and in it he outlined how big money and big activists are working together on the radical left wing to turn public opinion in their direction.
In addition to Barack Obama's victory over the Clinton Machine, Fund writes, liberals are also --
-- "on the march on the presidential level. This year, liberal activists are spending parts of the fortunes of their wealthy donors to transform politics at the state and local level."
While they do that, the political right fiddles. Despite enormous evidence showing that they're on the wrong track, Republicans cling to their current mentality and leaders and conservatives still assume that think tanks and talk radio can save the day.
Full Article: http://www.championnews.net/article.php?sid=1081
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