I am a conservative. The 2014 mid-term election marks the 20th year (at least) I’ve voted against something rather than for something, or as the phrase goes, “the lesser of two evils.” I’d like to blame Democrats for my predicament, but I can’t. They are what they are, and their downward spiral from the party of JFK, to the collection of divide-and-conquer, lying hacks who disdain America’s language, culture, traditions – and finally, our national sovereignty–has been evident for quite some time. Yet in all that time they’ve never betrayed their ideological imperatives, twisted as they are. It was the GOP who did that. After the electorate gave them control of both houses of Congress and the presidency in 2000, they proceeded to betray their commitment to limited government, fiscal responsibility, and liberty itself. “Compassionate conservatism” was nothing more than tax-and-spend liberalism by another name, and if they really want to know why the nation is now enduring a second helping of the most corrupt administration in the history of the nation, they need look no further than the nearest mirror. Without George W. Bush and a break-the-bank GOP preceding him, the reign of error known as Barack Obama would not have been possible.

A little over three weeks ago, America decided to give the GOP another try. Yet if Republicans honestly believe it was because of any other reason than the electorate’s rejection of the most over-reaching president in modern times, along with his equally corrupt collaborators, they are utterly delusional. Once again, America was forced to endure bad to rid itself of worse.

And now the clock is ticking. The GOP has two years to prove one of two things: that they are up to the task, not just of of governing, but governing as a genuine opposition party, or that they are headed for terminal irrelevance. If they choose the first path, then we have reached the point where it is no longer arguable what they must become: the party of conservatism.

It is a reality that will not sit well with the Mitch McConnell/John Boehner, Establishment, split-the-difference, go along-to-get along faction of the GOP. The faction that refuses to create a narrative, much less embrace one. The faction that is defensive, reactive and seeks the approval of a mainstream media completely loath to give them an even shake. The corporatists, who would also sell Americans out with comprehensive immigration reform to please their Chamber of Commerce buddies, the ones who balk at the idea of completely repealing ObamaCare, the ones who pay little more than lip service to conservative ideals because “they know better.”

The hell they do.

In the last two presidential elections, the Establishment GOP thumbed their noses at conservatives, giving us the clueless John McCain and the milquetoast Mitt Romney, both of whom thought it would be “undignified” (read, afraid of being labeled racist) to run a campaign hammering the Community-Organizer-in-Chief – even as Obama and his minions clubbed both of them like the baby seals on the way to election and reelection. In the last six years, they’ve spent as much time denigrating their own Tea Party faction as they have Democrats, even as they continue to be exasperated with the plethora of conservative-oriented young guns who could completely revitalize their brand. Young guns who ought to be the guiding light of the GOP, bringing a freshness to conservatism unseen since Reagan – a man the Establishment GOP also despised, despite two landslide victories and his masterful reinvigoration of our nation as a “shining city on a hill.”

We need to be that shining city on a hill again, and frankly, it is more than likely the Establishment GOP is not up to the task. For those of us paying attention, it is evident that many of them are content to be the minority party, because they get the perks of governance without the responsibilities. They are the “we did our best but failed” shoulder-shruggers, and their act is as stale as it is transparent.

So here’s my take: in the next two years, either the GOP embraces the conservative agenda, and the guts it takes to advance it – or we need a third party.

But not just any third party. This is a plea directed at the likes of Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Mike Lee, Trey Gowdy, Jeff Sessions, Scott Walker and a host of other bona fide conservatives: if your party refuses to bend, resign en masse and form that third party. If you do, it will be one birthed with proven winners, experienced campaign operatives and apparatuses, and a concise, uplifting message.

What message? One that can resonate with every American sick to death with the lesser of two evils status quo. A message that can be taken to black American communities and legal Hispanic communities, fed up with a Democrat party that just betrayed their loyalty to woo millions of illegals who will compete with them for jobs. Take the same message to countless other legal immigrants who would be welcome with open arms, because they love this nation and add to its dignity. Take it to middle America, the same middle America contemptuously dismissed by Democrats as “stupid” or as “bitter clingers.” Take it to working the poor who need genuine hope that the future will be better for their children, and take it to those on government relief who need to learn the real success of a political party is measured, not by how many people it gets on government handouts, but how many people it gets off government handouts.

Take it to those in the LBGT community who understand the difference between tolerance and approval, and the live and let live attitude that begets coexistence with people of faith, rather than confrontation with them. Take it to disillusioned young Americans beginning to realize the stifling suppression of political correctness, and the unrelenting vapidness and loss of liberty that attends the “right” not to be offended.

Take it right over the mainstream media to Americans fed up with hearing what an irredeemably racist, imperialistic nation we are, even as they watch millions of people from every corner of the globe who risk life and limb to reach our shores completely refute that despicable notion. Most Americans realize no nation is perfect, but this one has a proven track record of innovation, generosity, a willingness to sacrifice blood and treasure on behalf of others, and a stated commitment to higher principles unmatched anywhere else in the world. That’s what America’s really all about, and the long-suppressed well of people yearning to be proud of our nation again needs to be tapped.

ASAP.

Americans have had, and always will have, disagreements. But the notion that entire segments of the country should be routinely ignored because they are at odds with the oh-so-delicate sensibilities of our cultural elitists, especially those ensconced in the insular worlds of Washington, D.C., academia and the executive suites of the mainstream media must be completely rejected by a party willing to walk the streets of “flyover” America. A party that would immediately approve the simplest of simple ideas: laws that apply to ordinary Americans apply to Congress and every other member of the federal government.

The formation of such a party is not impossible. That’s a contention made by those with a vested interest in keeping Americans divided, angry, hopeless and guilty. This is one American who feels no guilt whatsoever for living in the best nation on earth, and I’d bet my life there are millions more who feel exactly the same way. I’d even bet such Americans comprise an electoral majority, one more than willing to reject the endless rotation of corrupt-o-crats we are forced to choose among in every election cycle. We’re better than that, and most of us know it.

And we know something else as well: the lesser of two evils is still evil. Enough already.

Note to my readers: have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and remember those men and women on the front lines of law enforcement and the military who make it possible.

© The Patriot Post