Is it Time for a Third Party?

I am an American first, a conservative second and a Republican third.

I believe the Republican Party has been MIA ever since the words "compassionate conservative" were uttered. This phrase insinuates that conservatives are not compassionate. With the liberal media and their relentless, continuous bashing of conservative values, many Americans believe that “conservative” is synonymous with words like bigot, intolerance and oppression. The opposite is true and I would argue that the current crop of “leaders” (and I use that term loosely) have displayed more bigotry, intolerance and oppression than your average skinhead could ever hope to achieve. Just think about the body of work from the likes of: Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Hilary Clinton, Ted Kennedy, Patrick Leahy, Chris Dodd, Henry Waxman, Charlie Rangel, Barack Obama, John Kerry, Al Gore, George Soros, Michael Moore, Moveon.org, TheDailyKos, Barbara Boxer, Barney Frank, The Huffington Post, Maxine Waters, Dick Durbin and Chuck Schumer.

While I respect President George W. Bush for his steadfastness in protecting the country from terrorists and his faith in God, he did not do any favors for the Republican Party or the country by growing the federal government during his tenure and, more importantly, by not standing up for himself against the drumbeat Bush-bashing media.

With that said, I wonder if the time is right for a “Conservative Party”. Conventional wisdom says it will only hurt Republicans as the Democrats will galvanize around The Messiah but how often is convention wisdom correct? While I do not have any empirical evidence, no think-tank studies or surveys, my gut tells me that the coalition formed by conservative Democrats and conservative Republicans (throw in a few Independents) would dwarf both the current Republican or Democrat Party. Think back to the Reagan landslide victories. Who voted for him? If conventional wisdom is right, what is the worst thing that could happen? Liberal Democrats keep control of the country and run it into the ground? At least half of the electorate would not have to hold their nose when the go into the voting booth.

Given the limp-wristed nature of the Republican Party and the socialistic agenda driven by arrogant, power-hungry, ego-maniacs in the Democrat Party, I can't think of a better time to launch a third-party based on conservative principles, can you?