John Cleese: It was from such an unlikely beginning as an unwanted fungus accidentally growing on a sterile plate that Sir Alexander Fleming gave the world penicillin. James Watt watched an ordinary household kettle boiling and conceived the potentiality of steam power. Would Albert Einstein ever have hit upon the theory of relativity if he hadn’t been clever? All these tremendous leaps forward have been taken in the dark. Would Rutherford ever have split the atom if he hadn’t tried? Could Marconi have invented the radio if he hadn’t by pure chance spent years working at the problem? Are these amazing breakthroughs ever achieved except by years and years of unremitting study? Of course not. What I said earlier about accidental discoveries must have been wrong.
Monty Python’s Flying Circus A Book at Bedtime 1973
For a very long time there was basically one book on the Falklands War that existed. It was The Battle for the Falklands by Max Hastings and Simon Jenkins. It came out in 1984 only two years after the war and has sat on a bookshelf in my home for around 25 or 30 years.
One of the things that struck me from the book was a bit was something that one of the British special services officers mentioned concerning training. It seemed that various nations just wouldn’t believe that it was training and hard work that make them what they were. To paraphrase what he said the various nations militaries all think there is some kind pill they can take if only you would tell them what it is.
I thought of that when I saw the negative reaction to the former Maryland Gov Larry Hogan running for the Senate in the state and when I saw these pols indicating that he may have an easy time of it in that deep blue state:
Note the numbers. He is +7 in a state where Biden is +23 and this makes an important point that needs to be remembered.
If you want to have a strong conservative running in a state, you have to have a state where people understand that conservatism means a better life for them and their families. There will be more responsibility but not only is the potential greater but as a state becomes more successful there will actually be more actual money to build a safety net for those who can’t climb.
Maryland is not such a state, but IT CAN BE.
The problem is you don’t turn a state via a National election or even a Statewide election. In fact even a state legislature race doesn’t do the job, at least not at first.
What you have to do is get strong conservative at the school committee and city/town/ward council levels. Someone local and known who national and state parties will have trouble demonizing. Have them apply conservative solutions to local problems, from the basics in education to the broken windows theory in law enforcement.
As these solutions work such people can seek higher office with a record of success while folks inspired by said success replace them at that bottom rung.
That’s the real work of building a party and convincing people that they will have a better life.
It’s not easy, there will be pushback and of course it takes time but when you do that the end result is model schools, model neighborhoods and successful towns and cities and that is how you turn a country and then a state.
In a state like this. You would not have to settle for a Larry Hogan to carry the GOP banner. There would be a solid bench of conservatives who the public trusts who could run and win given the GOP the ability to prevent leftist judges from reaching the bench and having a reliable conservative vote when you need it.
Alas that day is not yet here. So until we have a party ready and willing to do the heavy lifting to change hearts and minds my suggestion.
Let’s get Behind Mr. Hogan, get the senate majority and be happy to get a 70-30 guy in a state where the GOP has no business having a senator and work for the day when Mr. Hogan can be upgraded to a stronger conservative.
And if we aren’t willing to do the work then let’s be grateful that we can manage even him.
