Opinion/editorial
Countering weaponized words with the Constitution
It’s interesting how much emphasis the Democrats put on selecting
words and phrases very carefully (eg “pro-choice”, “gun safety” and “marriage equality”). This is because their words are designed to inherently give their position the upper hand.
Republicans fall into Democrat word traps by mindlessly adopting the very terms the Dems have carefully crafted. For example: “progressive”. It suggests “progress”, as in “making progress”, moving us forward, and other positive-sounding connotations. Many Republicans use “progressive” too, probably because it sounds more trendy or intelligent than just saying “leftist”.
Dating further back, there is the generally positive vibe of the term “liberal” that fell into almost universal use to describe the political stance of the Democrat Party. Of course, there’s nothing positive or liberal about the Dems’ relentless assaults on liberty and there’s nothing progressive about systematically deconstructing the fabric of Western Civilization by destroying marriage, the family unit and basic morality.
Conservative compared to what?
Democrat selection of “weaponized words” is based on deception. Our word selection has to be based on truth. And it has to be strategically smart, so that the other side cannot twist our words into meaning something different, that advances their aims and defuses ours. We need strong, clearly defined terms, anchored in the absolute, not vague, malleable political labels.
Even inside our own Republican Party we have fallen into using words that are relativistic and that provide cover for those shifting the party to the left. The word “conservative” is weak because it represents a relative concept, meaning it is not anchored in a set of defined principles i.e. “conservative compared to what?” That’s why today’s Establishment Republican “conservative,” with his soft stance on social issues and acceptance of mass surveillance and Big Government, is viewed by many patriots as yesterday’s leftist. He’s only conservative relative to the now nearly Stalinistic Democrats. That’s because the goalposts are continuously being shifted leftward. This is how the low efficiency Republican Party has been dragged along for the ride as the highly efficient Dems have used language to move the so-called “Overton Window” frame, through which we view politics, steadily to the left.
The constitutional and moral deconstructionists who have infiltrated our party can only continue advancing their agenda in an environment of constitutional and moral relativism, where they can thrive. That’s because, the word “conservative” or “conservatism” exists in relationship to whatever is to be “conserved,” which the word doesn’t define. Sure, there are descriptions of what it means to be a conservative out there, but the word alone is too nebulous. We must use words anchored in a set of defining principles. This is because, in the current environment of not only our party, but the very fabric of our society being dangerously deconstructed, anchoring those defining principles is a requirement for families and nation to survive.
“…replace the relativist word “conservative,” not anchored in defining principles, with the words ‘constitutional’ or ‘constitutionalist,’ which are firmly anchored in a written set of principles…”
Today, a globalist leftie can infiltrate our party and run as a “conservative” Republican by staking out just a few red meat positions, but once elected, she can vote for all kinds of unconstitutional legislation and still portray herself as a “conservative” because she vehemently opposes child trafficking and backs “lower taxes” (another un-anchored, relativist term). Clearly, the term “conservative” does nothing to stop the leftward drift of the GOP. In contrast, the term “constitutionalist” anchors the politician to a written document in the same way a contract anchors the parties to its terms.
Thus, our political communications should replace the relativist word “conservative” not anchored in defining principles, with the words “constitutional” or “constitutionalist”, which are firmly anchored in a written set of principles – those set forth in our Founding Documents – and which constitute the same laws that the left are actively subverting. Only then will the GOP, in its communications, actively reinforce the constitutional principles we all must preserve, protect and defend, as a matter of families and nation surviving.
Those striving to deconstruct the GOP may attempt to engage in baseless framing or “straw man” arguments by claiming that replacing the word “conservative” with “constitutional” is somehow seeking “purity” or perfection. The irony there is rich, given how imperfect the GOP has become, decades after the severing of its mooring to constitutional and moral principles. Meanwhile, both parties drift politically-leftward (with the GOP trailing the Democrats) toward globalist-managed techno-totalitarianism (e.g. Real ID, Central Bank Digital Currencies). Decades of this flawed posture has resulted in globalists successfully deconstructing the GOP to the point that it merely destroys America slower than do the Dems.
Let’s recruit and elect Constitutionalists
The 2016 Republican Party Platform boldly declared that the GOP is “The Party of the Constitution” and that the party is defined by the U.S. Constitution and the morality from which its principles naturally flowed. This was consistent with laws requiring all winning candidates to take an oath to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution” (or similar language). Doing just that is required for our families and nation to survive the intensifying globalist-leftist onslaught. It is the obligation of the Republican Party and the duty of all Republicans to elect candidates who will honor their oaths to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. Thus, when evaluating Republican candidates, let’s make adherence to the Constitution the measure of accountability, electability and governing.
The declaration that the GOP is “the Party of the Constitution” was quietly dropped from the GOP Platform at the RNC Convention last summer. Decades of corrupting the GOP’s core principles has conditioned many in the party to believe that “the only job of the GOP is to win elections,” when that is categorically false. The primary job of the Party of the Constitution (let’s re-insert that declaration in 2028) and the duty of all Republicans is to recruit and elect constitutionalists — men and women who will honor their oath to protect and defend the Constitution — and to replace them if they fail to uphold that oath. Once a Republican dishonors the party and endangers the nation by failing to uphold their oath, they need to be replaced from that office and removed from positions of leadership within the party.
Most Republicans who currently refer to themselves as America First patriots would agree that the majority of our problems would be solved if our leaders truly honored their oaths to the Constitution in areas ranging from interstate commerce to securing the border and administering fair elections.
In the current dire, existential crisis for this republic, a return to adherence to both the letter and the spirit of our magnificent U.S. Constitution is required for our families and nation to survive within the context of our constitutional republican form of government. But if we expect to move in that direction, we must begin to speak and write using clearly-defined terms that will help take us there. Replacing the relativist term “conservative” with the clearly defined term “constitutionalist” as the new Republican ideal is a good first step.
Phil O’Halloran, MD
Communications Chair
MIGOP, District 9
browser link to share this article
District 9 EI Committee Testimony before the Michigan House Election Integrity Committee. District Nine’s own Braden Giacobazzi and Tim Vetter present evidence of manipulation of election data.