On the morning of the second televised debate I come to all of you with a message that has been repeated by Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour and Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus. This is the case for the sects of the Republican Party coming together for the sake of winning elections. We must find the happy medium between the Tea Party's frustration and running candidates too conservative for their constituency (i.e. Joe Miller in Alaska and Christine O'Donnell in Delaware) and the moderate wing of the Republican Party.
We must remember the words of William Buckley: "Nominate the most conservative candidate who can win" and Ronald Reagan "The person who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally — not a 20 percent traitor."
These words were seemingly forgotten when former House Majority Leader Dick Armey stated that the Tea Party would stay home if former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney wins the Republican nomination.
When must remember we are a party, a unified organization at the end of the day. We believe in a certain set of ideals and practices in Law and Government. Some believe in these principles on a much more hard line base than others. That does not make those with a more moderate stance Liberals, it makes them Centrists.
The 2012 election will be too crucial to allow for Republican/Conservative voters to sit on their hands and not go out on election day. The fate of our newly won House of Representatives, our chance to win the Senate, and the opportunity of the White House depend on it. We cannot afford to stay at home because the candidate is not conservative enough.
A candidate who will vote your ideology 60-80% of the time is far better than one who votes 5-15% of the time with your ideology is it not? At the end of the day all factions of the center-right movement must recognize this.
William Buckley was correct when he stated we must run the most conservative candidate that can win. Winning is the objective of any election. We just have to make sure we run the best candidate in the fields of ideology and region. Jim DeMint probably couldn't take a Senate race in Minnesota the way Olympia Snowe probably could not win a race in Alabama.
It's about region and ideology. It's about finding a candidate that can compete in the Heartland, Bible Belt, and coast-to-coast.
Defeating President Obama in 2012 will be an uphill battle as it stands. We do not need a splintering of the vote, the creation of another right-of-center party, or eligible voters staying home.
Do we really want to let loose four more years of Progressive Liberal policies on the United States for the sake of "purity?" Ask yourself that question if you are considering staying home in 2012. This is the future of the country we are discussing here. Everyone has a vested interest. Everyone should be voting.
This is why we must all come together.
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