Do we really, really need moderates?

I am talking about the wishy, washy convictionless, easily malleable . Does the Republican party really need them to win elections? To some extent we do. However, I do not think we need as many as we have been lead to believe we need.

What we do need is to get that large chunk of conservatives to the polls. We need the conservatives. As many as we can get. We do not get conservatives to vote by appealing to moderates or liberals. It just does not work that way.

When they speak of the independent vote, many, if not most, are conservatives. The critical factor dictating the future of the nation is not party membership, but adherence to certain philosophical and ideological principles. If they agree with our platform, maybe 80 percent of the time, they are worth working to keep. If not, we can not stray from our convictions to attract them. The cost is too high.

Moderates are like spoiled teenagers. When times are good, they feel confident and test their boundaries. When times are bad, they run back to the adults. They look to the stability the conservatives provide. As the pendelum shifts, so does their loyalty. You can't build a party catering to them.

As conservatives, we have to remember we are not going to win every election. We can live up to our principles and work from there. We must remember that every step is a building block. The great things that Reagan acheived did not happen overnight. There will be setbacks along the way. It was a good night last night. We still have much work to do.