Dear Conservatives:
In a few weeks, thousands of us will gather in Washington, DC, for CPAC. For three days, friendships will be rekindled, and new ones formed. Strategies will be developed.
It is a cliché that the Conservative Movement is a “Big Tent.” Well, clichés are sometimes true. Our movement is filled with people who have their individual approaches to improving our country. Economic conservatives want to cut taxes, national security conservatives want to maintain a top-notch military, and social conservatives want to strengthen America’s moral roots. All make valuable contributions.
This conservative coalition guided the nation through the tough economic times of the 1970s and early 1980s and into the prosperity of the 1990s and early 2000s. We gave America her backbone, enabling her to win the Cold War. The fusion of economic, national security, and social conservatism has proven successful.
We are never going to agree on everything. Our Conservative movement is too messy for that to happen. We leave the lock-step thinking to the Left.
Some social conservative groups have decided to skip CPAC because GOProud is one of over 90 participating organizations at the conference. This is disappointing. In our broad conservative coalition we need each other to defeat the Left.
CPAC gives all the branches of conservatism a place to make their cases, to talk, to debate. It is the only time of the year all branches can come together face-to-face-to-face in mutual respect.
The Left’s idea of diversity rests on identity politics and political correctness. Ours rests in the confidence we can hold differences of opinion on some issues while upholding a fundamental set of core values: liberty; faith; community; individuality.
Many of us will have deep disagreements on an issue or two. Instead of avoiding each other we need to keep talking.
Don’t forget, we have much more in common with each other than we have with the Left.
The Left wants the government to control the deeply personal issue of our health care. The Left wants the government to pay for abortions. The Left wants the government to spend more and drive us deeper into debt. The Left wants to borrow and tax and centralize the economy. The Left wants to treat terrorism as a criminal matter rather than an act of war.
We stand against that, and are fighting for freedom, strength, and dignity.
We will be at CPAC; we hope you will as well. November’s elections were the start of getting America back on the right track. We need to come together in friendship and respect to continue our progress.
Sincerely,
Sean Hackbarth, The American Mind
Elizabeth Blackney, Media & Communications Strategist
Founder & Managing Director, GeNoticed
@medializzy
Chip Hanlon, President of Red County
John Ruberry, Marathon Pundit
Teri Christoph, Co-Founder, Smart Girl Politics
Rebecca Wales, Vice President of Communications, Smart Girl Politics
Joy W. McCann, Little Miss Attila Online Magazine
Jimmie Bise, Jr. Weblogger at The Sundries Shack and host of The Delivery Podcast
Fausta Wertz, Fausta’s Blog
Ali Akbar, Political strategist
