The AmericanPlatform.org Blog

AmericanPlatform.org was created to give the average conservative American citizen a chance to not only be heard, but to contribute and help craft a political platform that reflects their beliefs.  Those of us who work and raise our kids and just want to be left alone by the government have been increasingly marginalized by not only the media but the Republican party as well.  We’re told by those running for office that they will do this or that, and that they understand us and will fight for us.  And then they go to Washington and everything changes.  Somehow, politics always seems to trump common sense, to override promises and principles to the detriment of the long term interests of America.  And when the mainstream media can treat Joe the Plumber, a truly average American citizen,  like some kind of ignorant chump and there is no significant backlash, things are decidedly out of whack.

Well, a lot of Americans have simply had it.  Over the last 30 years our culture has been dragged into a politically correct swamp full of easily offended, factionalized victim groups.  Up has become down.  The ACLU goes after the Boy Scouts and defends The North American Man/Boy Love Association.  Border guards Campeon and Ramos shoot a Mexican drug dealer in the butt and end up with 12 year prison terms.  Holiday trees, not Christmas trees.  Red ink is no longer used to grade papers because it’s just too harsh of a color.  Fathers on television are portrayed as dolts while insufferable, ill-mannered kids run the show.  And on and on….

It’s not the conservatives that are behind these things.  It’s the left.  We’re at the point now where people are walking on eggs, not knowing when they might cross some indefinable line that will bring down the wrath of the easily indignant.  The wealthy and successful have become the enemy.  The religious are to be mocked.  Anyone who questions climate change is an ignorant “denier”.  Don’t want to vote for Obama?  You must be a racist.  Like marriage the way it is?  You’re a bigoted homophobe.  Much of the left see themselves as tolerant, peace loving, world-community icons of goodness, but they are highly intolerant of those who disagree with them.  Just visit the Huffington Post and view the articles and comments, or listen to the smug, self-satisfied, condescending tone of David Letterman or Chris Matthews.  Or watch this video of the left in Manhattan responding to McCain supporters as they walk down a public street. For a group that professes to want to “hear other voices” and loudly proclaims that “dissent is patriotic” and that they are fighting for “free speech”, they sure don’t seem to be living the philosophy.

Not all Democrats are like this, of course.  But the moderates are being pushed aside by the more strident, well financed and highly organized far left in their party.  The ones who brought Obama to power.  These include much of Hollywood, Moveon.org, The Huffington Post, The Center for American Progress, Daily Kos, Air America Radio, George Soros and the majority of the mainstream media, to name just a few.  Except for the purported “news” media, they are certainly entitled to promote their vision.  This is, after all, still America.  But we are equally entitled to oppose them and their vision.

And this is just what AmericanPlatform.org is going to do.  Oppose them.  Oppose them by promoting a man-on-the-street, common sense brand of conservatism.  The idea is to gather the input of ordinary conservative citizens and organize it into a political platform that reflects our principles and values and vision for America.  We’ll also offer our solutions to problems and issues that face the country, and we’ll do our best to find and encourage politicians that agree with us to run for office, and lend our support to truly conservative politicians already in office. The Republican party has not articulated an effective defense of conservatism to the general public.  In fact, they are often so apologetic, so fearful of offending an interest or grievance group, that it’s no wonder they are not winning elections.  Plainly put, they are not standing up for conservatism.  We will.

There are two parts to AmericanPlatform.org:  The public website, viewable by all who visit AmericanPlatform.org, and the Members Forum, which costs $10 per month and is private.  The Forum is where the members interact on issues, principles and values.  Members can contribute to ongoing projects in any way they can help.  They can also initiate their own topics for discussion or research,  as well as easily offer polls to the membership for input.   Anything that impacts the well being of the United States is up for discussion in the Forum.  Education, the war on terror, taxation, guns, health care… you name it.

If you’re concerned about it and want to discuss it with other conservatives, this is the place.  You don’t need to be an expert, and this is something you can contribute to in your spare time, when it’s convenient for you. Members will gravitate to topics on which they are passionate and knowledgeable,  and many will gain knowledge when they assist with research projects initiated by others.  You can also create topics of your own and put out a request to the membership for assistance in researching and/or writing it.

But this site is going beyond a being a collection of insightful articles and links.  APO is creating a community of dedicated, thoughtful conservatives that will intellectually tackle issues big and small.  Potential APO planks and position papers will be produced by the members in the Members Forum.  These papers will then be submitted to the general membership for critique and suggestions. Eventually, positions will be voted on and the final draft will be published on the public AmericanPlatform.org web site.  The reasoning for our positions will be published as well, along with any noteworthy dissent among the members. Visitors to the public site will be able to vote yes or no on our positions.  Hopefully, over time our numbers will grow to influential strength. We will use our strength to support and promote politicians who agree with our stated positions. This is what will separate us from other web sites.  We aren’t out to document our woes and complain about the liberals; we’re out to improve things by getting conservatives elected to office.

The positions will reflect the knowledge and judgment of everyday conservatives, and we’ll be looking for new, innovative ideas that the Republican party has not provided.

There are many well known conservative columnists, radio and television commentators, and politicians that consistently make points and arguments that many everyday conservatives agree with, and The Heritage Foundation is producing tremendous research and analysis.  The problem is that it doesn’t do us much good on the practical level of electing representatives to fight on our behalf.  A major goal of APO is to turn this conservative agreement into a united voting block.

It’s frustrating that so many can agree on so much and yet be so under-represented.  58 million people voted for John McCain in spite of his less than stellar conservative credentials, his being outspent by an astronomical $639 million to $360 million margin ($279 million advantage), an unpopular sitting president, and terribly biased mainstream media coverage.  Such a showing, with all this going against him, points to a serious lack of enthusiasm for the liberal agenda.  APO intends to bring the millions of under represented conservatives together and turn them into a political force to be reckoned with.

AmericanPlatform.org is an effort to not only give average conservative citizens a voice in creating the type of platform they want their  government officials to run on, but also to bring them together and give them political strength through numbers.  Politicians won’t be able to ignore a large and united group of conservatives, especially ones that are organized and clearly state what they are for and against, and give sound reasons for their positions.  Positions not based on or influenced by media coverage, polls or election dynamics.

To find out more, visit AmericanPlatform.org.  I hope you decide to be part of the effort to bring conservatism to the forefront of American politics.

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