How To Prepare For The Midterm Elections

Progressives have Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals. Here we offer Ghost32's Concepts for Conservatives, a simple set of clear and present hints on how to take back our country this November. Since this is already July 17, 2010, there's no time to lose. First, the necessary mindset, the all-important mental/emotional focus:

1. Maintain a sense of urgency. Columnist and Fox News commentator Charles Krauthammer has wisely warned us: Never underestimate Obama. He's right. It's two out in the bottom of the ninth. We're three runs down but have the bases loaded and power at the plate. Every pitch by the opposition is crucial. Stay sharp. And do something to help take back both the House and the Senate every day until the polls close in the evening on November second.

2. Avoid spending time with those who can't be helped. This includes ultra-liberal family members--yes, I've got some of those. It only takes one negative comment to derail a great idea.

3. Never mind 2012 for now. Seeing Sarah Palin knock Barack Obama out of the box is going to be a treat, but looking in that direction needs to be shelved until the morning of November third. Until that's done, effort applied toward anything other than boosting the number of Republicans in Congress is effort wasted.

It's not always possible to take physical political action every second of the day and night, of course.  Sometimes you need to make a living (if you have a job in this economy), or build a baffle wall to block some of the sound coming out of your gasoline powered generator from reaching your wife's bedroom window.

Let's imagine you've just gotten up, gotten dressed, and it's not your turn to make breakfast. You can smell bacon frying--m-m-m-good! But when you sit down at the table, there's no food in sight but a bowl of oatmeal and a box of Cheerios. Your eyebrows climb up into your hairline (if you still have one), you turn to the cook, and demand,

"Where's my M.E.A.T.?!!!"

Meaning, quite obviously, your Most Effective Action Today.

Sure. I knew you knew that. Absolutely.

In order to be as effective as possible, here are a few steps you're free to follow if you don't feel like making up your own. Or not. Up to you. Duh.

1. Take a look at any race for the Senate that is happening in your state. In our case, here in Arizona, we have a dandy in John McCain's run for reelection. Now, in John's case at this moment, any action by me would be relatively worthless.

Why? Because we have a late primary coming up on August 24. Neither of his competitors for the Republican nomination look like they have the chance of a Caucasian Christian surviving in Al Qaeda.

Because of that, I won't worry about the Senate race...until after the primary. In the general election, you bet.

2. Check out the race for the House of Representatives in your Legislative District. We're in District 7, seriously misrepresented by one Gabrielle Giffords, a gleefully giggling supporter of OzBama's Health Care Deformed. On some days, I've written anti-Gaby hubs designed to Give Giffords The Gaff. On another, at a Tea Party meeting, I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of Jonathan Paton's voting record--and discovered his pattern of voting in favor of Big Government, dead opposite what he's loudly claiming as he and two actual conservatives fight for the nomination.

3. Cast a careful eye over the District adjoining yours. For us, that's District Eight and the Representative is Raoul Grijalva--so ragingly ultra-liberal that he's the Chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

4. Think a bit about more distant candidates you might wish to either support or oppose. Harry Reid in Nevada, Barbara Boxer in California...need I say more?

5. Other. We'll get to that shortly.

With all those five ingredients stirred vigorously in your mental mixing bowl for a few minutes, you ought to have a pretty good idea what you'd like to do. Then it's time to cut back based on what you can do. We all have limited resources, and we all have different priorities. Here's my personal look at those Big Five:

1. McCain. Like many in Arizona, I've had mixed feelings about having John represent us in the Senate. But he's going to win the nomination, and I surely don't want him losing to a D-D-D-Democrat! So I'll be watching the polls closely after August. His campaign war chest has access to a lot more money than I do, so a donation is unlikely. A pro-McCain hub or three down the stretch? Quite possible.

2. Giffords. This politician drives me nuts. Once we have a conservative Republican candidate locked in, I'll be writing articles in his favor--and before then, there'll be at least one or two pointing out Paton's severe truth deficiency. Budget permitting, a bit of a donation to Gaby's eventual opponent's campaign is highly likely. And definitely there'll be at least one hub, closer to election day, reminding readers that this woman was one of the strongest supporters of all when it came to Obamacare. Possibly even, though it's something I rarely do, a letter to the editor.

3. Grijalva. You all know about him. I know you do. He's the freaking genius who helped out his own state of Arizona, including the many hardworking Hispanic business owners we have out here in the desert, by telling the world to boycott Arizona over SB 1070, our not so tough illegal immigration law. His Republican opponent, running for the nomination unopposed, will be Ruth McClung, She normally wouldn't have a chance. But Grijalva's call for a boycott has made him vulnerable for the first time.... I've written two anti-Raoul hubs to date and expect to write more of them prior to November.

4. More distant candidates. So far, I've written hubs exposing both Reid and Boxer and also donated to Sharron Angle's campaign (against Reid). True, Reid and Boxer are not Arizona folks. They are, however, left wing icons. Beating them like drums on their home turf would be helpful beyond the two-seat pickup.

5. Other. At our local Tea Party meeting last week, locals I've learned to trust were quite clear that we had men practicing blatant voter intimidation in the last general election...right here in little old rural Arizona. These dudes were apparently so brazen that video cameras didn't faze them one bit. We moved on to other business pretty quickly, but it's looking to me like I may need to step up to the plate on this one. Today, while working on the baffle wall, I made up my mind to speak privately to our Tea Party coordinator at the next meeting...and possibly get myself put on the program for a future presentation.

Because it seems best to use our ability to work together. Use it in such a way that if any men do show up with voter intimidation in mind on November 2, they will be quietly and effectively stymied...yet if nothing happens, we'll remain more or less invisible.

Summary: We know it's unwise to underestimate Obama. After November 2, we'll know whether or not it was unwise for Obama to underestimate us.