Last Tuesday evening I was privileged to attend a dinner at which Karl Rove was the keynote speaker. The event was put on by the Heritage Foundation, the premiere conservative think tank of Washington, DC, of which I am proud to be a supporting member. While Mr. Rove’s speech covered numerous topics, one point that he made has stuck with me and, I believe, should serve as a light for conservatives as we travel through the political wilderness.
While Mr. Rove has been defined by the media and Hollywood elite as a partisan attack dog and nicknamed forebodingly as “The Architect,” he came off as anything but and emphasized that conservatives should be careful to work with our current president in a respectful manner. When he mentioned President Obama’s name, a few overzealous members of the audience shouted out their less than positive feelings about the man; and Mr. Rove quickly and gently reminded them that our president has made some decisions that conservatives should applaud. From the surge in Afghanistan to military tribunals, Mr. Rove explained that President Obama has taken the right steps in regards to some very important issues that face our nation.
As Mr. Rove stated, “We have to love our country enough that when [President Obama] is right, we are his best and strongest defenders.” After eight years of BDS, conservatives should know better than to reflexively disagree with our current President on every issues just because he has a (D) in front of his name. This does not mean that we must ignore the President when he is wrong, which is his tendency, but rather that we must also, as Rove explained, “disagree with him thoughtfully and carefully.”
The point is that whether or not we agree with those on the other side of the aisle, we must respect our nation enough to treat every issue that we face with careful reasoning, and intelligent discourse. Too often, we forget that these debates are not about political victories but instead, are about finding the best way forward for our nation. As Mr. Rove said, “our country exists and prospers because of values…that have meaning.” By tearing a man down solely because of his political affiliations, win or lose the battle, we are degrading these values and thus our nation. We should honor our past and the fact that the United States was founded by men who put “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” before ego and power.
Americans are exhausted by the continual battles between Republicans and Democrats; as these two parties continue to sling mud back and forth. This is not to say that Americans are looking for bi-partisanship, which usually results in wishy-washy legislation that only panders to voters’ short term happiness. Instead, I believe, that Americans are desperately seeking leaders who will remind them of what makes our country great: the audacity of the human spirit to accomplish great things when released from the grip of oppressive government; the need to sacrifice in order to protect our great tradition of liberty, and the duty we have to help our neighbor instead of relying on our government to do so. If we, as conservatives, base our message on these values, we will give Americans a true message of hope that is based in the values of our past, but that will also lead us to our future.
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