To explain why we need the Twelve Points, I have approached the question from many angles. This time, let's look back to the way Republican governance played out last time around:
House Republicans, worried about political fallout from the high-profit figures that oil companies are expected to release later this week, will demand that companies pour those profits into refining more oil for the U.S. market in order to lower prices. At a press conference today, Republicans led by House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert will tell the companies to explain why they are making so much money and what they will do to bring down the cost of gasoline. "Big Oil needs to do its part. Increasing capacity and improving refineries will do much to boost supplies so that consumers do not feel such a big pinch," Mr. Hastert said in prepared remarks obtained last night by The Washington Times.This was from an October 25, 2005 article in the Washington Times.
Our most urgent need is not for new policy proposals that apply conservative principles. As valuable as those may be, we had quite a few of them already by the beginning of the Bush administration, yet our supposed representatives would not implement most of them. By that time, attentive conservatives also had a strong grasp of how a conservative should look at the kinds of issues that current events or public opinion will inevitably raise during a party's tenure in power (such as the causes of high gas prices and what kinds of demand could be appropriately made against oil companies). As this article suggests, however, some number of D.C. Republicans (whether or not that number includes our former Speaker himself or other GOP leaders) must have cared too little or understood too little about conservatism as it is understood by those of us who pay attention.
What would prevent this from happening again next time the GOP controls Congress and the White House? How can we prevent it without causing those "attentive" conservatives to increase in either number or influence?
Fortunately, we do not have to answer that question, because the Twelve Points can increase the number and influence of "attentive" conservatives. If properly publicized, the Twelve Points would draw the attention of all conservatives back to principles and accumulated wisdom of conservatism, presented in the most wholesome, concentrated form that a person can read in only five minutes. Then, in addition to their direct impact, the Twelve Points would have a ripple effect, as their influence would be spread by the words and actions of those who had been influenced by them. This must be accomplished somehow; if not through the Twelve Points, then how?
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