#wellthatfeltgood

[capriciousartsembroidery]

Working on cutting felt pattern pieces for 7 little pillows for a little girl’s name. I’ve never had an order for felt, so this is different 😌 #Embroidery #felt #handembroidery #pattern #feltletters #feltpattern #feltname #feltlikedoingthis #customorder #girlsname #pillow #feltpillow #ijustfeltadroponmyhead #plushie #letterplushie #plushieletter #flowers #garden #wellthatfeltgood

[kasperthesardonicghost-blog]

With All the GOP Problems Finding a Candidate

After reading this editorial at the NY Times, I've started to think that the GOP has a real leadership issue.

The article breaks down three main factors in the race as it stands: electability, interest in running, and reliable conservatism. The first two demand serious consideration, and they are essential factors no matter what party you run for. The third factor, reliable conservatism, gives me pause for thought.

It's true that the GOP is having trouble finding candidates that are not only conservative enough, but also consistently conservative. The NY Times editorial above considers that Rick Perry, who just announced his candidacy on Saturday, may not even have the unerring conservative record that the GOP is looking to get excited over. If not Rick Perry, then who?

That leads me to my point. The GOP has a crisis of leadership, but not for want of leaders. From a political viewpoint, the GOP boasts a very deep bench of savy leaders from all areas of the Right wing. Governors and well connected representatives fill the candidate pool. Many of the approaches and compromises they've made in their careers signal that they would be very effective leaders. The problem is that these tactics exist in a political reality that the GOP leadership seems to reject. They want the policies of Bachmann with the electability of Perry. The problem they now face is reconciling those wishes, because one trait necessarily erodes the other. An effective leader cannot remain among the pack.

A good leader will make decisions that rile the base for a longer term picture. He or she can sacrifice smaller battles to win a longer campaign. At the end of the day, a leader can take these hits while reconciling the base because that base trusts him or her. This is basic politicking, and a lesson that GOP is willfully forgetting, stemming from the extreme influence of the Tea Party. This stems from a deeply rooted vilification of public office, which will cause real trouble when your party that hates public office seeks to wield public office.

Therefore, the GOP doesn't want a leader. They want a mouthpiece. A pretty, electable face who says encouraging words that don't correlate to any specific action. However, Americans at large crave leadership. Ever since Jackson, we've been been more and more dependent on a strong Executive to determine the course of the nation. We can sniff out the difference between poster boys and leaders pretty well, and the current field can't pass both tests of being a strong leader and a devout follower.