The Counter-Campaign

The Other McCain has an interesting profile of Republican up-and-comer Paul Ryan, a congressman from Wisconsin. I don’t know whether he’s going to wind up being the Republicans’ best shot in 2012 or not, but I do think it’s important that someone in the GOP, who is obviously presidential timber, begin to run a permanent counter-campaign in opposition to Obama’s permanent presidential campaign. Someone – and I think, realistically, it is going to have to be an elected official, whether governor, representative or senator, with presidential aspirations – needs to go into full-time opposition to Obama, the Democrats and their disastrous policies, across the board, smiting hip and thigh. This person is not only going to have to constantly shout “Stop!”, but is going to have to support conservative principles and offer alternative policy prescriptions (and I’m talking bold ideas, not the “Me-Too-Only-Not-So-Much” shadow of the Democratic program; the bold ideas of the Founders, to be exact).

The risks entailed are great: Obama may hang on to his popularity in spite of economic catastrophe, or the Democrats, working with the MSM, may continue to successfully pin our nation’s problems on Bush, or an increasingly large portion of the electorate may turn into complacent ungulates who let themselves be led into the socialist stockyard only to find, too late, that they have a date with the electric hammer. The Republican contender may not be able to overcome these obstacles. But what if Obama and the Democrats overplay their hand? What if they stumble badly? What if many voters of the uninformed and indifferent persuasion turn out to be amenable to opportunities for instruction – perhaps even eager for it - when their responsibilities as citizens and their rights as free men and women are explained to them in terms that they can relate to their own lives? Wouldn’t we want to have a conservative champion, hardened by the challenges of a permanent counter-campaign, ready to act, to exploit the weaknesses inherent in the Democratic program, someone who can publicly face off against Obama, and not only withstand, but profit by, the comparison? Someone who would be in a position to say, with confidence and authority, “He’s doing it wrong. Let me show you how it’s done.”