Posts Tagged → Homeland Security
Conservative stewardship outperforms partisan sniping
As there has been a lot of conversation about the framing of conservative messaging and how to deal with with race issues on this site, I thought I’d bring up two articles I wrote for another website today.
The first article deals directly with the first issue I’d like to raise. A host of elected Republican officials are rightfully calling for Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to submit her letter of resignation. While I’m sure someone has, I’ve yet to see someone provide a politically viable suggestion to replace the DHS Secretary, though.
It’s one thing to take political swipes at the opposition. It takes leadership to find a solution which might be acceptable to the Obama administration, Republicans and a general public that is generally more concerned with good government than with the latest political barbs.
My solution to this situation may not be the best one, but at least I’ve offered a host of reasons as to why Judge Andrew Napolitano could be a very suitable replacement for Janet Napolitano. The American public has been crying for solutions, not partisan bickering. The GOP could have easily stepped up to the plate on this one, but didn’t.
The other issue I’d like to cover is race. On rare occasions, there is an element of truth to cries from the left about racism on the right. Most of the time these allegations couldn’t be farther from the truth.
However, assuaging one’s conscience by casting a vote for Michael Steele and then disregarding the black community for the next several years will not win Republicans votes from the African-American community. Like any other votes, these have to be earned.
In Alabama, two Republicans are making a difference in the African-American community on a solidly conservative issue: property rights. If you aren’t aware, in the land of Rosa Parks, black people are frequently taken advantage of when it comes to eminent domain abuse. A few years back, nationally syndicated talk show host Neal Boortz heavily publicized one such case in nearby Alabaster, Alabama.
I’d like to quickly highlight these two Republicans who aren’t afraid to step out of their own comfortable communities to help those with fewer political or financial resources. The first is Alabama State Senator Scott Beason, who will sit on a panel next week at an Alabama Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights panel entitled “Civil Rights Implications of Eminent Domain Policies and Practices in Alabama.” Senator Beason is highly respected throughout the state, and it’s easy to see why.
A key driving force behind this panel is Shana Kluck. Shana is not only a member of the Alabama Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, but she also serves on her state GOP executive committee, is president of the Alabama Republican Assemby and serves as Secretary of the Alabama Republican Liberty Caucus. When she’s not busy homeshcooling her four children, consulting on Web 2.0 projects, engaged in Eagle Forum activities, attending various political meetings around the state and working behind the scenes on a variety of conservative and libertarian causes, she is busy helping me on campaigns.
Considering Shana’s schedule, very few of us have grounds to offer the excuse that we are too busy to become more involved in the African-American community.
Instead of sitting around complaining about how black people voted in previous election cycles, Senator Beason and Ms. Kluck are taking leadership roles in providing justice for members of the African-American community.
If I may be so bold as to provide two solutions for the conservative movement, they are:
- Instead of merely attacking the opposition with nuisance fire (appropriately called sniping) to exploit a weak spot in their battle line, maximize your attack by actually providing a viable politcal solution.
- If you aren’t active in your local African-American community, you’ve no right to complain if you receive very few of their votes on Election Day.
Personal responsibility is a key component of conservativism and just stewardship should be a part of conservative leadership. Hopefully, Republican Party leaders will take these sorts of messages to heart. Otherwise, one can expect the GOP to walk through the wilderness for another 38 years.
Cross-posted from The Next Right
Press Release: National Media Spotlight Focuses on Alabama RLC Members
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Shana Kluck
shanajk@gmail.com
(205) 586-5751
National Media Spotlight Focuses on Alabama RLC Members
Members of new Alabama organization send Homeland Security Report viral, participate in Tea Party activities across state, interviewed on national television
(BIRMINGHAM, ALA. – April 20, 2009) For an organization which has been operational for less than two weeks, members of the Alabama Chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus have received significant national and state attention over the past few days.
ALRLC Media Director Stephen Gordon received considerable media attention for exposing the Department of Homeland Security report “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Environment Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment,” which went viral on the Internet.
“Considering that several of our RLC members provide Web 2.0 services for a living, we felt it was our civic responsibility to ensure that the story went immediately viral on the Internet,” said ALRLC Media Coordinator Stephen Gordon. “It’s critically important that believers in small government are made aware that they are being targeted by the current administration.”
“The Bush administration’s creation of the new DHS was not simply another instance of poor administration and leadership,” wrote ALRLC Chairman Scott Boykin on the organization’s website. “Rather, it established a new tool for political leaders seeking to demonize their opponents. Bush’s intentions in creating DHS don’t matter now, because it’s no longer his department. The more power government has, the greater is its potential threat to our freedom. The DHS report is a startling reminder that big government is dangerous.”
Members of the Alabama Liberty Caucus also assisted with the coordination of three Tax Day Tea Parties held in Alabama. ALRLC Secretary Shana Kluck and Gordon helped secure speakers, provide professional advice and assisted with other logistical concerns for the Tuscaloosa and Birmingham Tea Parties, respectively. RLC supporter Matthew Givens was a coordinator for the Montgomery event. While crowd estimates vary, approximately ten thousand people attended these three events. The Birmingham event received national television attention on Fox News.
On Thursday, Gordon spent an hour as an in-studio guest along with national political journalist Robert Stacy McCain on WYDE’s Lee Davis Show. Discussing the topic of recent Alabama Tea Parties, McCain stressed a point which Gordon had made to him during Ron Paul’s recent presidential bid: “The Ron Paul movement wasn’t about Ron Paul. It was about a movement.”
Additionally, Gordon appeared on MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show on Tuesday. According to HotAir.com’s Green Room, Gordon took “hard shots at Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee and Alan Keyes” which “should suffice to dispel any notion that the Tea Party movement is a ‘neocon/Republican/Fox News’ conspiracy.”
Gordon also discussed the role of FreedomWorks/CSE during the campaign to defeat Governor Riley’s tax increase proposal in 2003.
The ALRLC’s organizational mission is to recruit and endorse candidates who support the RLC’s agenda, elect small-government Republicans to political office, and change the direction of the Republican Party to reflect our vision of peace and prosperity.
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ALRLC media director credited with breaking DHS “rightwing extremist” report
Our very own Stephen Gordon has been credited by a significant portion of the Internet for his key role in disclosing the recently publicized Department of Homeland Security report entitled: “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Environment Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment.”
The report contains the following definition:
Rightwing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements, and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups), and those that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration.
Also targeted in the report are veterans, folks anticipating additional restrictions to their Second Amendment rights, and those concerned about the loss of U.S. sovereignty. In short, this report identifies an overwhelming majority of Alabamians.
Not only has news of this report dominated the Internet for the last few days, the White House and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano have also been forced to respond (not satisfactorily, to date) to the situation.
Congratulations to Stephen for his fine work in shedding some sunlight upon this most disturbing document.
