Where do we go from here?

To steal shamelessly from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita,

“Where do we go from here? This isn't where we intended to be. We had it all, you believed in me, I believed in you. Certainties disappear. What do we do for our dream to survive? How do we keep all our passions alive, as we used to do?”

Yes my fellow Christian conservatives, that is the question: Where do we go from here?

I’ve thought a lot about this in the week since the election. It is almost surreal to me that our nation just elected its most liberal president in history. We elected a man who has made clear is disregard for unborn life. For traditional marriage. For religious freedom. For the primacy of the United States constitution in Supreme Court cases. I could go on and on about why America made the wrong choice.

But the question remains: Where do we go from here? I think the answer is two-fold: Forward and Backward.

Moving Forward

We need to move forward to embrace new technologies for communicating with American voters. The Obama campaign did a much better job of leveraging social networking opportunities than did the McCain campaign. Take a look of the comparison by Adult ADD Strengths of Barack Obama and John McCain's social media presence.

It ain't pretty.

Republicans have got to do a better job leveraging social media opportunities. We can’t expect to reach new audiences through old information streams.

Looking Back

Ronald Reagan captured the hearts of the American people. He cast a vision then painted it in broad, colorful strokes. He created a picture of America of which we wanted to be a part.

Obama worked a similar magic. While conservatives (rightly in my mind) continued to drill Obama to put some substance behind words like “hope” and “change,” the American public embraced Obama precisely because they began to associate him with these appealing concepts. While McCain told us the truth, Obama inspired.

While there will never be another Reagan, we sure could use someone an awful lot like him.

Help Wanted

So to conclude, I put forward the following job opportunity.

Wanted: Republican Presidential Candidate
Seeking a 45-65 year old male or female conservative Republican to run for the nation’s highest office.

Qualifications:
§ Must be “telegenic”
§ Must be inspirational and dynamic when speaking
§ Must exude empathy (or at least sympathy) for the American public’s struggles
§ Cannot be a “downer”
§ Must have a thick skin
§ Someone with his/her own professional wardrobe preferred
§ Must embrace the power of technology and social networks

Experience:
§ College degree (master’s or doctorate preferred)
§ (Popular) Governor of a large state (particularly Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida) preferred
§ Scandal-free record

Other characteristics in order of preference:
§ Black female
§ Black male
§ Latino female
§ Latino male
§ White female
§ Asian female
§ White or Asian male


If you know any good candidates, contact the Republican National Committee.


[Cross-posted at RedBlueChristian.com]

The Passing of Dean Barnett

Dean Barnett was about as unlikely a radio show host as you could imagine. His incredibly thick Boston accent earned him the nickname “Chowder.” And yet, when he took over the microphone from folks like Hugh Hewitt, you couldn’t help but overlook the accent because Dean was so smart and so likable.

Dean passed away yesterday at the age of 41 after a long battle with Cystic Fibrosis. I had the pleasure of meeting Dean a few years back at a dinner for GodblogCon [a Christian blogger's conference] sponsors and speakers. A strange place to encounter Dean, a Jew. But boy if he didn’t fit right in among noted evangelical leaders. Dean was the kind of guy who would fit in pretty much anywhere. I sat across from Dean at dinner and we talked politics all night. He was an early Romney supporter. I was backing Fred Thompson. But we were both after the same thing: an authentically conservative Republican presidential candidate.

Please join me in praying for the comfort of Dean’s family and friends. He will be missed by all who knew him.

Hugh Hewitt’s tribute to Dean’s life can be found here.

[Cross-published at RedBlueChristian.com]

Can a Christian Vote for Obama?

A friend of mine and I are at odds over the presidential election. We are both Christians and both love America. He is a Navy veteran and I honor him for his service. But, in my opinion, my friend is backing a lousy candidate for the presidency.

A letter to the editor in the Richmond County Daily Journal went further. The author asserted that Christians can't vote for Barack Obama. So my Obama-supporting friend threw out the question, "Can Christians vote for Barack Obama?"
I think this is the wrong question.

The question isn't "can Christians vote for Obama" (of course they can). The question is SHOULD they vote for him. I say, emphatically, they should not. Here's why:

• John McCain will protect unborn life, Barack Obama will not only allow limitless abortions, he'll make the American people pay for them.
• McCain will appoint Supreme Court judges who will interpret the constitution not, as Obama-appointed judges would do, make decisions based on their own opinion of right and wrong (a terrifying thought).
• John McCain will promote the growth of the economy, not stifle it as Obama would do by taxing small business (the growth engine of our economy).
• John McCain will ensure we leave Iraq victoriously. Barack Obama is ready to surrender.
• John McCain will promote independence and individual initiative while Barack Obama would incentivize people to remain dependent on government.

The bottom line: Obama would be bad for our nation's security, economy, religious liberty, and morality (protection of traditional marriage and unborn life).

I hope Christians and non-Christians alike won't vote for Obama.

Cross-posted at RedBlueChristian.com.

It’s all about the message.

The election is a month away. Actually, it’s just 25 days away. And if John McCain has a chance of winning, he has got to get on the right message. He has to talk persuasively about the issues that Americans care about TODAY.

The Economy. The Economy. The Economy.

The Dow has dropped precipitously, closing trading today below 9000 for the first time in five years. Have you checked your 401-K lately? I did. I wish I hadn’t. I haven’t been a very good saver thus far in my life, so I didn’t have that much to lose. But my somewhat paltry investments dropped more than 26% as of Monday. I don’t have the stomach to check it again.

Now don’t get me wrong, for me, the economy still isn’t the most important issue in this election. For me, it is ultimately about Supreme Court judges and the lives of unborn children. But McCain doesn’t need to be talking about that right now. I get it. That’s not the message that is going to connect with voters at this moment in time.

McCain needs to make it plain what the ramifications of an Obama presidency would be for our economy. Obama’s tax and health insurance plans will drastically adversely affect America’s small businesses. According to the National Small Business Association, “one in two Americans in the private workforce are employed by or operate a small business.” If America’s small businesses falter, millions of Americans will find themselves out of a job.

Aside from the personal impact on thousands of families, Obama’s policies would cripple the engine of our economy. Small businesses create far more jobs than big businesses. If the potential for small businesses to create jobs is derailed, our economic engine will stall.

Barack Obama’s election would be disastrous for the ability for our nation to recover from the current economic downturn. It would stifle the growth of our economy. As our economy declines, our security in the world will decline as well.

Senator McCain, make the case. Then make it again. Then make it again.

And I for one pray that people start listening.

(This post was originally published on RedBlueChristian.com.)

Joe Biden Won the Debate; Sarah Palin Won the Night

I admit it. I’ve never been a Joe Biden fan. I found his conduct as Judicial Committee Chairman during the Bork judicial confirmation hearings appalling. It is maddening to listen to him ask a question of a conservative testifying before a Senate committee. He has earned to sobriquet “Sloe Joe.”

But Joe Biden won the debate last night. He was more detailed in his responses, more at ease with his subject matter, and surprisingly likable. I came away from the debate still disagreeing with him on nearly ever substantive policy matter. He and Obama will still never get my vote, but I like Biden a lot more than I did before the debate.

The good news for conservatives like me is this: Biden’s victory in the debate doesn’t matter. Once the debate was over, who were all of the media talking heads discussing? Sarah Palin. And what were they saying? She exceeded expectations. She demonstrated her command of the issues. She connected with the camera and wasn’t afraid to challenge Biden directly. Palin owned the real event of the night: the dissection of the debate by media.

Anyone but...

Alright my conservative compadres. I need you to do something for me. First, I need you to pick up your hand (right or left will do). Next, I need you to extend your pointer finger. Got it? Good. Now, I want you to tap your head near your temple and ask, aloud, "Is this thing on?"

The only way I can explain recent comments from several prominent conservative figures is to believe that they have inadvertantly flipped the "off" switch in their brains.

"If McCain is the nominee, I'll campaign for Hillary." What?!

"If McCain's the nominee, I'll sit this one out." Huh?!

People, people, people!!! It is time to get real. My candidate was Fred Thompson, the most conservative Republican who was in this race. But now he is OUT. I don't like it, but I have to accept it. And now, I'm not enthusiastic about any of the remaining candidates. But here's the thing...

I get what is at stake. And what is at stake is judges. SUPREME COURT APPOINTMENTS. People who will serve LIFETIME APPOINTMENTS. If you don't think that John McCain would nominate a very different type of judge than would Clinton or Obama then you simply aren't engaging all of your synapses.

So, if you have to hold your nose to vote for McCain in November, then run out to a sporting goods store, head for the swimming section, and buy a nose clip. I will never have a McCain '08 sticker on my car. But an "Anyone but Hillary" or an "Anyone but Barrack" sticker? Bring it on.

The Dixie Equation

Check out professor Chuck Dunn's great blog post on "The Key that Unlocks the White House Door." Here's a snippet:

Who -- Democrats or Republicans -- will nominate a ticket and draft a platform
that appeals to the South? That's the vital question. Why is the South important?

James Carville would put it this way: "It's the Electoral College, stupid."
Which region of the country casts the most Electoral College votes? Here it is.

189 South
124 Midwest
101 Northeast
80 West
44 Mountain States

Bottom Line: Definitely a worthwhile read.

Message Matters

Now that my candidate is out of the race, I am looking at the election from a very different perspective. Because of what I do for a living, I'm looking at the individual campaigns from the joint perspectives of "voter" and "PR professional."

I am in the "words" business. Public relations is essentially all about messages. Ultimately, strategies for delivering a message are irrelevant if the message itself isn't right. In fact, doing a great job at the distribution of a bad message can be disastrous. Here's an example.

Let's say I want to encourage people to look at more than a candidate's pro-life stance when selecting a candidate. I'm trying to say that, when choosing among several pro-life candidates, you need to also consider where they stand on other important issues.

I might try to say this:

Don't vote for any pro-life candidate regardless of his other policy positions.

But what if I said this?

Don't vote for any pro-life candidate, regardless of his other policy positions.

Both are bad messages. The first because the message isn't clear. The second because it actually says the opposite of what I mean.

What I need to say is this:

When choosing among pro-life candidates, don't ignore other policy positions.

Or, to put it in a way that might create a sound bite...

All pro-life candidates are not created equal--at least politically speaking.

Choosing a message that both communicates and resonates is the challenge of all of the remaining pro-life candidates. How McCain, Romney and Huckabee differentiate their messages will be critical to their ability to attract undecided voters.