In case you missed Cal Thomas' interview with Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal a couple of days ago, make up for it now. It's very good -- plenty of sound, hopeful advice for conservatives. I print below just two excerpts but, believe me, you'll want to read the whole thing....For me, the three lessons (to be learned by the GOP), are: We have to match our actions and our rhetoric; we have to consistently root out corruption in our own ranks; and we have to be a party of ideas and solutions. Too often the rhetoric from the party has been, 'vote for Republicans because the other side is worse.' That doesn't motivate or excite voters. You have to have a positive, proactive agenda for America...
Q. Some moderate Republicans like Colin Powell suggest Republicans need to abandon social issues like abortion and same-sex marriage because it's hurting the party. What do you think?
A. Two things. The country didn't stop being conservative; the Republican Party stopped being conservative. It's a mistake to say being conservative causes you to lose elections. We haven't tried that recently. We need to go back to our roots. American voters reward authenticity. They're not going to agree 100 percent with every candidate. What voters are looking for are candidates who are honest and tell them what they truly believe, stick to those beliefs. On the core conservative issues -- I don't think a majority of those who voted for Obama necessarily agreed with him on abortion or marriage.
I don't believe the way to win elections is to abandon our beliefs. We've got to stand for something. I'm pro-life and fiscally conservative. You look at how Reagan got conservative Democrats. I'm sure there were people who voted for Reagan who didn't necessarily agree with everything he espoused, but they respected him for being principled and not having to read a poll to learn what he believed...
