All or Nothing

One of the things that has started to worry me about the right side of the political spectrum is people are starting to subscribe to the 'All or Nothing' philosophy that the left has embraced for years. In short you either follow 100% of a,b,c etc., or you're not really a conservative. On the GOP side those such tagged are usually called RINO's short for Republicans in name only. Not 100% against gay marriage? RINO! Not 100% for _________? RINO.

This is bad. The strength of the GOP and the right in general is our ability to have differences of opinion on policy issues and still be conservative. We need to demand it to be honest. As iron sharpens iron this kind of discussion strengthens our position because we've discussed, debated and really thought about what is best for this country of ours. We need to have moderates involved, yes Rudy is socially moderate but he's also anti-tax, pro police and 100% on the war on terror. I love the fact that we have such a wide range of views on these issues, it means that we've thought about these issues and even when we disagree we can still be on the same side. The GOP has plenty of moderates in it's ranks as well as conservatives. You can disagree on issues and still be on the same team. Are there issues that you should be 100% for? Yes, in my opinion they are: low taxes, less government, pro military, pro family, pro faith, and putting the USA first. This is an incomplete list and it will vary depending on what you think is important.

Contrast that with the left. Remember Joe Lieberman? He made one mistake according to the left, he supported and still supports the war in Iraq. His own party turned on him and he was defeated in the primary of the 06 election by his own party! He then had the guts to run as an independent and easily won re-election. The moral is that if you don't march lock-step with the left, they'll turn on you in a heartbeat. There is no room for dissenting opinions in the democratic party. That is their great failing and what will eventually lead (I hope) to their demise.