May 10th, 2025
The Long Game
The Federalist's Shawn Fleetwood urged conservatives this week to do a better job of calling out RINOs across the country who have taken to cloaking themselves in "America First" and "MAGA" nomenclature, while maintaining their elitist, big government behavior when it matters, in the legislatures. Specifically, he stated,
"To rectify this alarming trend, it is incumbent upon GOP voters to look below the surface level of these candidates and thoroughly vet them in any given primary."
Conservatives Can’t Make America Great Again Until They Hold ‘Red State’ RINOs Accountable
Anyone who has spent any time around Republican politics in Missouri or Cass county in the last several years is probably rolling their eyes, and thinking, "Well, duh!", about now. The grassroots GOP in Missouri did just that in the last several election cycles, and we still came up short in most cases. There was even a state-wide effort to get a more formalized vetting system in place, which was promptly demonized and shut down by leadership in the party. Efforts to close the open-primary system fell on deaf ears, because neither party leadership, nor elected officials had the stomach to tackle that mess. This is not, in any way, a surface level problem. The "fix" that Mr. Fleetwood recommends, in my humble opinion, misses the deeper issue that conservatives in Cass county, Missouri need to grab hold of and own.
The hard truth that we need to accept is that the average Republican voter doesn't even know what conservatism is. Worse yet, they don't know that they don't know, and even if they did know, they don't care enough to actually do the work to learn the difference, let alone do the work required to vet candidates and get them elected. When it comes to civil governance, the American public at large is both ignorant and apathetic, which is a tragedy, because this is a numbers game, and we do not have the numbers.
Please pause for just a minute, and go back and read that last sentence again, and this time, meditate on it briefly. Consider the implications. Let it fully sink in.
If we really want conservative representation, we need the numbers, and if we want the numbers, we have to start changing minds, and we are not doing that, particularly in Cass county. At best, we are reaching out to existing conservatives in order to get single candidates through a primary, or votes for a particular ballot initiative. Please don't misunderstand me. I am not saying that these efforts are not important. I am simply saying it is not a long term strategy for success. It is a temporary solution at best, and only helps single candidates or ballot measures. Most adults today, particularly those adults under the age of 45, do not know what real conservatism is all about. All they know are the leftist lies they were fed in their public school indoctrination, followed up with even more lies through the leftist university system.
We need to help educate people who don’t know what conservatism really is, and why it is better than the alternatives, and especially why it is so critical that every able-bodied person needs to get involved and help save the Republic. This means that those of us who know the benefits of liberty, self-government, small civil government at all levels, and minimal regulation need to educate our friends, relatives, and acquaintances on those benefits. I know this seems impossible, especially in our current culture where people don't talk to each other anymore. Minds are rarely changed on social media, and when people of opposing viewpoints encounter each other in real life, it usually ends with either a few stink eyes and rapid shuffling of feet in opposite directions, or a screaming match.
How do we accomplish the difficult task of changing someone's mind? At the risk of sounding antiquated, why not go "old school"? Have a simple conversation. Some of the best conversationalists I have ever met are Christian apologists and evangelists who go out of their way just to talk to people. They don't focus on heavy-handed efforts to "close the deal" in that one encounter. They remember the words of Jesus and Paul1, that the Gospel is spiritual seed, and Christians are spiritual gardeners. There is no expectation that the planting of a seed, or a single watering of a budding plant will immediately result in a fully grown cedar tree. They simply start up a conversation. It can be as easy as asking a question, and listen to how people respond. If there is an opportunity for a civil conversation, they engage first their ears, and then their mouth, and give the other person the opportunity to do so as well. There is an art to having a good conversation, and our culture, for the most part, has lost that.
Now, you may be saying, "Sharing the Gospel is not the same as talking politics", and while technically true, they absolutely go hand-in-hand, and I would argue that at the heart of conservatism is a decidedly Christian worldview. Many books have been written on this subject over the last 100+ years. The parallels are absolutely there, if you're willing to see them. Ultimately, if we want conservative change in Cass county and beyond, each of us needs to actively work at creating opportunities for conversation with people who will engage in civil discourse in the real world. Use whatever label you choose, Ambassador, Evangelist, Apologist, Gardener, or something else. Just understand that we need to bring religion and politics back into our civil discourse if we want to have any chance at long term change in Cass county and Missouri.
Breaking News: Unprecedented Spending Ahead
Our friend, Byron Keelin, from Freedom Principle MO and The Missouri 82 Alliance, just let us know about some breaking news out of Jefferson City today.
I just heard that the House budget hawks have been out-voted, by Liberal Lincoln Hough, the RINO Republicans and the Democrats on the Budget Conference Committee and the budget will be the highest in Missouri history at $53.5 billion and includes a 21% cut to the SOS office because of the Senate RINOs hatred of Denny Hoskins. This is why, if you haven't joined the Missouri 82 Alliance yet, you need to do so today, because our state is quickly becoming Colorado. If we don't elect more conservatives to our legislature and state Senate, our state will become blue in a minute. We are a "Red State" in name only. Deep down, this state has deep Blue roots, and if we don't stop it, those Blue roots will shine through, and we will become a liberal haven.
Go to www.missouri82alliance.com and join today.
John 4:36-38; 1 Cor 3:6-9