GOP'S LEADERSHIP OVERRUN BY DECADENCE AND CORRUPTION
By
Rudy Takala
August 23, 2008
NewsWithViews.com
Delenda est carthago: Carthage must be destroyed and obliterated. These words were once written to Alexander Hamilton by a friend with respect to the Republicans' - Jefferson & Madison - policy towards him. The modern Republican Party has adopted a similar policy, but it is directed now towards not just one but all men of principle.
As the chair of a county Republican chapter within the Minnesota Republican Party, I must deal with a range of beliefs. Like Alexander Hamilton, I can tolerate disagreements so long as they are principled disagreements. What I am unable to tolerate is the utter lack of principle. It creates a void filled by ambition, an end that is invariably obtained by throwing ethics by the wayside.
I am not willing to sell my soul in order to win elections, nor am I willing to remain perpetually silent when politicians willfully disregard the will of their constituents. I occasionally disagree with other party members about the level of dissent that will prove conducive to conservatism (after all, that is presumably what all Republicans of principle aim to optimize). Unfortunately, it has also made me an easy target for those who have more ambition than principle.
Over the past year and a half I have been subjected to numerous allegations, from lying to larceny to violating election laws (both state and federal). These allegations were sponsored by the overzealous Republican chair of Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District. This district includes my county and a number of others. It is one of eight such districts in Minnesota.
The district chair sent a letter to my board’s last meeting, stating that he had received “printed confirmation of repeated violations of the constitutions of the 8th District and Pine County… being committed by Rudy Takala” and demanding that I “be removed” as the chair and as a board member. “We hope that you make the right decision,” the letter’s conclusion ominously portended.
What were the charges? Well, our board wasn’t sure. The district chair never informed us before, during or after the meeting.
From whom did he receive “written confirmation” regarding the violations? Again, the same situation applies.
What were the violations of the 8th district and local constitutions? Thus far, he has turned down my request for the district constitution, as well as requests from the rest of my board members, the host of a Minnesota radio show, and the state Republican Party’s deputy chair. (The latter was only recently elected and is often favorable to the conservative cause – or at least does not actively obstruct it.)
They are unspecified charges from an unspecified accuser. They are secret charges; so secret that even the accused cannot be made privy to them. All we must know, according to this district chairman, is that their urgency is such that they must be acted upon immediately, without patience or contemplation.
Little wonder that our board voted to reject the letter by 8-2, myself abstaining.
The year has seen an unprecedented influx of new people into the political process. They are largely principled (that is to say conservative), and largely inclined against existing leadership.
They believe, and are generally correct, that leadership has led the party leftward for the sake of their own motives and ambitions. They do what they must to get elected but have no regard for those they were elected to serve.
For the first time in a long time, there are enough people involved who are energetic, principled, and aware of how the process works that they have a chance to alter the future’s course.
But it is because of this that the GOP’s leadership, overrun by decadence and corruption, is trying to stifle the involvement of these principled newcomers and discourage them from being involved. It is precisely for this reason that “leadership” cannot be allowed to succeed.
And so, as the National Republican Convention prepares its descent upon Minnesota, the party’s state leadership is attempting to purge what it views as a pristine landscape of otherwise glistening, obedient followers by puffing upon an unsightly house made of bricks.
These bricks have been painstakingly bound, over a period of many years, by the mortar of principle. It is the exclusive product of conservatism, and it is unsurprising that those driven solely by ambition have had little success in replicating its quality. It is the last safe house for proponents of liberty, and symbolizes the last hope for liberty in America.
I am going to continue expounding upon this topic in the lead-up to the national convention. Suffice it to say that we as conservatives cannot, and will not, allow this house to be quietly reduced to dust in the shadows. “Delenda est carthago” may be our party “leadership’s” official position towards liberty, but they will not be allowed to destroy it without considerable cost to their own ambitions.
© 2008 Rudy Takala - All Rights Reserved
