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How Short-Sighted Leadership Has Sabotaged Conservative Pop Culture

Nov. 20, 2012 6:07pm

Richard Mgrdechian is the founder, President & CEO of Purple Eagle Entertainment and manager of the popular pro-American rock band Madison Rising. He […]

Richard Mgrdechian is the founder, President & CEO of Purple Eagle Entertainment and manager of the popular pro-American rock band Madison Rising. He expects Madison Rising to be the crest of a massive wave that sweeps through American culture over the next few years to create what liberals fear most – a truly level playing field. He holds a degree in electrical engineering from the prestigious California Institute of Technology, along with an MBA from Columbia University.

[ x ]

ceo@purple-eagle.com

Congratulations to the GOP for losing the easiest election of our lifetimes. Over the past four years, Obama has been exposed as a liar, a fraud, a charlatan and a scam. We’ve seen his policies of racism, divisiveness and class warfare tear at the fabric of our society on a daily basis. We’ve seen the national debt go up by $5 trillion during his watch. We’ve seen the value of the dollar go down dramatically over that same time. We’ve seen ambassadors killed overseas while he sits around and laughs it up with daytime talk show hosts. On top of it all, we’ve seen an endless amount of buyer’s remorse from people who voted for him the first time around and swore they would never do it again. Yet, even with all of this – and an economy in complete shambles – we still lost. The obvious question would have to be how is that possible? Well forget voter fraud, the Electoral College, how much we spent or anything else; at the end of the day the answer is clear and simple – we lost because, no matter how many times they talk about it, Republicans once again missed the boat on popular culture.

Keep reading, because I can tell you right now that this won’t be just another abstract article about what “needs” to be done by someone who has no clue, concept or desire to actually do anything about it, but needs to fill space in a weekly column or has to come up with something to talk about on the radio for a segment or two. No, this is an article about what is being done, what the hurdles have been – mostly from within our own party, by the way – and specific ideas on what we can do to make sure we’re ready next time around.

First of all, we need to understand that popular culture trumps politics every time. Why? Simple: logic and rational arguments are not cool, they’re not fun, they’re not easy and they’re not inspirational. Pop culture on the other hand, is – by definition – all of these things. Pop culture is what we do every day. Pop culture influences what we say, what we think, what we watch, how we dress, what we eat, what we buy and how we act. Ultimately, pop culture is what defines us both as people and as Americans.

Right now, as pathetic as it may be, our front line in the culture war is the Tea Party movement. Unfortunately, these organizations and their events are about as far from “parties” as humanly possible. In fact, the whole thing is more like a tea funeral, actually. Sure, they were effective for a year or so as a way of galvanizing support and aggregating people who felt frustrated and alone, but in reality these groups – especially given they way they are currently run – are completely unsustainable. After all, there are only so many times you can stand there and watch the same twenty people screaming at a podium about the same twenty things for four or five hours at a time. Yes, they truly are funerals in every sense of the word – boring, dreary, draining, unappealing, exhausting and most of all – they are killing the conservative movement.

The same thing seems to be true of the RNC itself, as well as the vast array of non-profits organizations that are supposed to be helping us educate voters, grow our base and win elections. From what I’ve seen, they’ve failed miserably at all three. Not only have they failed, they’ve absolutely refused to do anything innovative, to change their thinking in any manner whatsoever or to make any attempt at all to leverage the power of popular culture. Now maybe I’m biased, because you see, the focus of my life is on using popular culture to get pro-American messages out to people. To fill a void in the entertainment industry. To show the world that American culture is alive and well, and that it’s okay to love your country, respect our troops and show some gratitude for all the things we so often take for granted as Americans.

The way I do this is through music. You might have heard of the band I manage – it’s called Madison Rising. We’re somewhat of an anomaly in the music industry, being a pro-American rock band and all. Turns out we’re not really very welcome in that environment. Fortunately though, that hasn’t stopped us from becoming a #1 best selling artist, spending 15 weeks on the top 100 list on the Amazon music charts this past summer and having over 3 million people already watch our rock rendition of the Star Spangled Banner on YouTube.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that we’ve done all of this with virtually no marketing budget, and with no help, cooperation, exposure, reinforcement or other assistance whatsoever from the any of the conservative organizations that are supposedly so concerned with taking America back, with winning elections and with getting people – especially younger people – aboard with the conservative message. Imagine that – we’re sitting here with the perfect conduit and the perfect vehicle for everything they claim they want to do, yet they’ve completely ignored us.

And believe me, we have reached out to all of the groups that conservatives around the country donate millions of dollars to, and all of them have rejected working with us. Sadder still, not only have they not embraced us; they haven’t even acknowledged our existence by letting their members know about us in even the most insignificant way. With all the people out there who are desperately yearning for something positive and energizing, you would think these groups might take 15 seconds to send out a tweet regarding a tiny little glimmer of hope out there for the younger generation. But for some reason, that didn’t happen. Wouldn’t you have at least liked to have known there was an awesome, #1 selling rock band out there that was pro-American, pro-soldier, pro-second amendment, pro-Reagan and pro-constitution touring all over the country, energizing crowds wherever they go and trying to make a difference in the election we just had? Well now you do.

Fortunately, despite a complete blackout from our most logical and natural allies, Madison Rising is quickly becoming the favorite rock band of tens of thousands of people around the country. We’ve played a ton of events all over the country for our troops and for veterans, and have dozens more in process. We’ll be performing in front of 45,000 people at the annual military bowl at RFK stadium in December. We get emails all the time from veterans, soldiers and military wives from around the world thanking us for our music and telling us how they’ve been praying for someone like Madison Rising to come along. We get messages from soldiers in Afghanistan telling us they play our music before every mission to get themselves pumped up. We get messages from Vietnam veterans who tell us they haven’t cried in 30 years – until they saw one of our videos. We get messages from 75-year-old ladies on Facebook that tell us they’ve never downloaded a song until they heard our Star Spangled Banner, and then downloaded our entire album. We get messages from parents telling us that our music is the only music they like that their teenagers actually also want to hear. We’ve gotten thousands of messages from people begging us to perform at the Super Bowl, yet no conservative politician or candidate of any stature had us at a single event no matter how many times we offered to perform for them for free.

It’s amazing how we get messages all the time from everyone except the organizations that would benefit from partnering with us the most. But here’s why: Liberals have a common enemy – us. We on the other hand, attack and undermine and sabotage each other and have ended up nowhere as a result. The system is overwhelmingly dysfunctional and overtly cannibalistic. It is destined for failure. In the 60’s, rock music was viewed as a threat to the power structure. Based on the reception we’ve gotten, it would seem that history is repeating itself all over again. I should point out, however, that Madison Rising is not a spokesman for any political party. Rather we are a patriotic, pro-American rock band who believes in hard work, integrity and gratitude for all we have as Americans. Correct me if I’m wrong, but as far as I know, that’s what conservatives are supposed to stand for.

Unfortunately, they don’t know how to convey it. The vast majority of political meeting I go to are nothing but one big (and boring) social event. Everyone talks over each other, complains, moans and incessantly promotes their pet project to a room full of other people all doing the same thing. The end result is that everyone leaves with nothing ever getting done. The message never gets out of the room. The only thing that happens is money goes from one pocket to the other to fund the same old TV commercials, the same speeches, the same advertisements and the same first class airfare for the same people to fly first-class to stay at the same five-star hotels all over the country to repeat the same cycle over and over and over again.

But pop culture is different. Pop culture can spread a message. Pop culture is fun. Pop culture is embraced and promoted – consciously and subconsciously – by millions and millions of people 24 hours a day. Pop culture is subtle and habitualized, as opposed to politics which is jarring, boring, repulsive and worst of all – completely ineffective.

Let me make this clear, the biggest problem conservatives face in any election is appealing to younger people. The powers that be need to recognize that the swing vote in every election is the younger demographic and the only way to get that vote is by changing people’s perception of what is cool. If conservatives can’t do that, everything else they do is a complete waste of time.

We all know Einstein’s definition of insanity: doing the same thing and expecting different results. Well, guess what – the leaders of the GOP keep doing the same thing, and they keep expecting a different result. You know what that means: maybe liberals are actually right for once – maybe conservatives really are insane.

The only solution is for our party to learn that you don’t launch a campaign six months before the election and expect to win – you launch it a generation beforehand and pound the message home every minute of every day, just like the liberals do. That’s the power of pop culture – change the mindset before the campaign even starts. Use that leverage, and you’ve won before the other team even knows what hit them.

Happy Thanksgiving from Madison Rising. Please enjoy your free copy of Madison Rising’s American Dream available below:

http://shop.madisonrising.com/collections/frontpage/products/mr-american-dream

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Comments (56)

SPIN_MD
Posted on November 23, 2012 at 10:00am
I don’t necessarily disagree with anything this guy says. Conservatism as an ideal has changed. The liberals don’t have many facets. They are monolithic. As a whole they aren’t very smart and the very few that are intelligent are mentally disordered in such a way that they don’t understand they are not thinking intelligently.

Conservatives have somehow manged to convince themselves that there can be a difference between fiscal conservatism and social conservatism. Liberals don’t have that distinction.

If you are a rich liberal you know that you will manage to hold on to most of your stuff through loopholes and backdoor deals. Liberals have elevated criminality to a integral part of their power structure. If you are a poor liberal you count on the rich liberals taking money from those outside their inner circle to pay for their stuff.

Conservatives, on the other hand, have told themselves that they can support conservative strong fiscally restrictive policies and yet think abortion, gay marriage and gun control, et al., are not that important.

My take is this. The election was probably won because a large number of wealthy fiscal conservatives voted for Obama because they supported his social agenda, hoping that they could ride the coat tails of a liberal friend and be privy to the “goodies” doled out by the current administration to protect their investments.

The Dems were right to a degree. It is class distinction, just not the way they said.

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Mason Dixon Patriot
Posted on November 23, 2012 at 8:01am
Yes, we have worked hard and came close, close doesn’t count. We don’t all get trophies we didn’t win against an unpopular president, so our message was TERRIBLE !
I agree, the marketing of conservatism has got to be cool. GB said that years ago and is the only one doing anything about it. He helped this band gain audience, and a voice I appreciate.
Are we going to bang are head against the wall, 1B$ and the energy of many millions, and lose. Think, 70 years of brain washing has left us brain dead. Be cool and win.

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GETLIFE
Posted on November 22, 2012 at 11:03am
The social-values-should-be-regulated-by-the-gov’t discourse is … well…socialist.
The dishonesty and moral platitudes are on both sides, DIAPERPERSON.
Thing is, it’s actually the socialists who want to “clean it all up”–via government.
The government needs to decide what social norms they will enforce.
The Right wants the government’s nose–and the taxpayer’s money–out of it.

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Pantloadian
Posted on November 22, 2012 at 9:02am
Conservatives and the culture war. Hmm. Conservatives are sexually repressed religious zealots. As such they live in a state of constant conflict – valuing guilt over nature. But they can’t deny nature, and so they bounce in and out of the “family values” gestalt – Tea Party mistresses and abortions, preacher boy toys, thinly veiled bigotry of calling women sluts and “a spade a spade” You toggle between liberty and fascism, depending on whether there are women or minorities or gays involved. Drenched with soggy symbols, bereft of any real principles, conservatives are their own worst enemies, led astray by the lies and hyperbole of a self-serving right wing media marketing machine.

You’ve been co-opted by the cult of personalities. Problem is, none of those personalities have any interest whatsoever in “looking out for you.”

So the only option you have left is to do more of the same – forbid, deny, restrict, attack – and above all else, the prime conservative directive – whine.

Grow up, roundbacks. Your death is imminent. We liberals are ore than happy to save you – again. But first you have to admit you’re simply wrong. No? OK then. It’s been nice knowin’ ya.

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- mastice
  Posted on November 22, 2012 at 3:58pm
  Liberals saved us….
  
  Thanks, I needed a good laugh today. (go dust off a history book or two and then come back when you decide to start using your brain instead of the street corner bullhorn talking points)
  
  Report this comment
- mastice
  Posted on November 22, 2012 at 4:03pm
  ((You’ve been co-opted by the cult of personalities. Problem is, none of those personalities have any interest whatsoever in “looking out for you.”))
  
  And therein lies your biggest problem… you say that conservatism toggles between fascism and liberty. But you fail to recognize that liberalism toggles between communism and liberty. (to be completely fair here, each group has their fringe units and each group has evolved, or devolved, over the years)
  
  No one needs to look out for you – YOU need to look out for you. That’s the difference, in a brief nutshell, between conservatism and liberalism. The individual versus the ‘community’.
  
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- SPIN_MD
  Posted on November 23, 2012 at 11:36am
  One cannot debate with a liberal. It is tantamount to reasoning with a drunk. The only difference is the drunk has an excuse the ingested poison diminishing his capacity. The liberal is the poison with a diminished capacity without excuse.
  
  Read Matthew 13: 13. It may give a clue as to the reason for this anomaly.
  
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- CynthiaSpeaks
  Posted on November 25, 2012 at 10:41am
  Seriously Pantloadian? How do you form your opinion concerning conservatives? Via Twitter or a headline? When was the last time you actually sat down and had a dialogue with an ordinary Republican?
  
  No doubt, if I told you I was a Christian Conservative woman married for 37 years, Caucasion, etc. you would write me off as being exactly as you stated above. You would judge me based on your “open minded” ideologies. But what if I told you I stand against my Christian brethren about the environment? That I actually support a Green Peace type of activism and disagree in how they view our planet? What if I told you I was against abortion, NOT because I’m against all rights for women but because of the psychological damage inflicted upon women who terminate their child’s life? I speak from experience, and it is quite painful, but no one seems to address that. And what if I told you that I actually believe it is men who have become irrelevant in women’s eyes and that I support men’s rights? Thank about that for a moment; where do men lie on the significance plane now?
  
  It’s time for the mudslinging to end, if that can ever happen. Just as not all liberals (or Democrats, because I believe there is a distinction) have bad policies or ideas, neither are all Conservatives (or Republicans) repressed. Stop perpetuating the ignorance and judgment and start a dialogue with a Conservative with an open mind. We might just surprise you.
  
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GETLIFE
Posted on November 22, 2012 at 6:42am
Like others here I do believe that the media alone could have changed the outcome of these elections– by simply giving us the whole truth, and also by acting as a vehicle for conservative pop culture. It is hard to imagine any conservative winning the Presidency with the current msm super-bias.
HOWEVER, there is another simple truth about the media’s reach. The 60,000,000 or so who voted conservative do not all get their new from Fox or TheBLAZE TV. Very far from it.
So– what’s with that?
How does that relate to the importance/ reach of conservative pop cuture?
Just food for thought….

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k8ti
Posted on November 22, 2012 at 3:59am
He’s right, and it’s sad! It’s sad that so many American’s are that dumbed down to where they cannot think for themselves, but go along with whatever pop culture tells them to!

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- Luzmaria1
  Posted on November 22, 2012 at 12:59pm
  It is sad.
  And, not a little frightening that these people are or have been manipulated by an education system dominated by 1960′s undisciplined, hippy values, the MSM vastly dominated by 1960′s hippy values, and corrupt politicians. It’s difficult to imagine how a politician had a homosexual brothel in operation in his condo and was able to survive, it’s difficult to imagine how politicians could go after Bush for trying to correct the bank mortgage loaning scam and remain popular during the recent economic disaster, it’s difficult to imagine how BHO could be re-elected in light of all his mis-steps and bad decisions, self-serving socialistic values, questionable foreign policy blunders, and out & out lies during the campaign. The so-call “pastor” Wright may have been correct: America’s chickens may to roost. It’s more than a little frightening.
  
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ChevalierdeJohnstone
Posted on November 22, 2012 at 2:29am
Just commenting to bump this up. Best thing written on the Blaze, ever.

I have their album. It’s good.

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- LS News group
  Posted on November 26, 2012 at 12:13pm
  Richard you and I both know there will be many who are offended by the TRUTH, but sir I give you and The Blaze props for telling it like it is. Conservatives better understand that to continue to allow a small group of people & groups to control the narrative and to dictate what or who is/is not conservative will only make us worse off in 2014.
  
  We are proud to say we have supported and promoted Madison Rising in every way possible and are thrilled that MR continues to make strides despite some so called Conservatives trying their damndest to keep them down. For anyone who has not had the privilege of speaking with Dave Bray, Richard and the other guys in person, let us tell you, you could not meet and talk with a more dedicated group of men who walk the walk as well as talk the talk.
  
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rick20033
Posted on November 22, 2012 at 1:59am
This article is right and those of you who are dismissing it are missing the main point. People’s opinions of homosexuality, for example, haven’t changed because homosexuals have made such compelling arguments. They’ve changed because you can’t turn on the television without being exposed to likeable homosexual characters. People haven’t become more and more hostile toward Christianity because Christians have lost some rational debate. They’ve become more hostile because every Christian in movies and on TV is a greedy, hypocritical, sexually-repressed jerk (the effect is very similar to the way the Jews were depicted in pre-Nazi Germany). Most people, especially young people, don’t care about politics enough to engage in dialogue and to give the matters a lot of thought. They absorb their opinions through entertainment mediums, and those are overwhelmingly controlled by leftists. We need to fight them on THAT soil. Internet-based “television”, music, and movie business models are the way of the future. People are already turning to the internet and away from television. The future is a la carte “television” choices, not networks. If we can create quality alternatives here, the free market will break the backs of the broadcast and cable networks. Someone should hire me as their idea man. :o)

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rogwl
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 10:43pm
Absolutely love MR rendition of The Star Spangled Banner!

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4LuvOfCountry
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 8:53pm
As a fashion designer living in NYC I am very aware of how pop culture has such an influence on how people decide on their politics. I see it with EVERYONE I work with that all vote democrat. Obama and the liberals know this. That is why Obama does those fundraisers with Anna Wintour, Sarah Jessica Parker, Beyonce, and Jay-Z. Conservatives might put him down for it but who is in office right now, getting to decide our future for the next four years. We have the facts on our side but we NEED the image makeover. Conservatives are not a bunch of old white men. We are all kinds of Americans, every nationality and background. We’ve got to show to show that the MSM is lying about the stereotypes. If you saw me you would think I was your typical downtown NYC Williamsburg Obama voting hipster. Talking to these hipster kids they definitely are not getting the message that the Conservatives are putting out there. They are not reading the Blaze or Breitbart. If we want to inspire people to check out what the Tea Party really stands for we got to get them to want to hang out at the party in the first place.

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Jinglebob
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 6:45pm
How about for a start, the big money conservatives come out of the closet and start up other media such as TV networks in the model of Fox and The Blaze for news. Also movie production and TV compannies to be something different than what Holloywood is producing.

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- Balpit
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 8:49pm
  Gasp! Conservatives want ANOTHER network? How unfair! They already have Fox News AND The Blaze networks! The Liberals only have NBC, MSNBC, PBS, etc. If the Conservatives want to make a new network, the Liberals must balance it out with 4 more of their own!
  
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- KStret
  Posted on November 22, 2012 at 2:17am
  I agree with the first part of the article with the exception of the tea party. He lost me with Madison Rising. It came off as a plug for the band and there are many Country artists who have a similar message. The problem is the numbers of artists and the left has a strangled hold on the entertainment industry, the education system, and the media.
  
  The left doesn’t want to allow another point of view to be heard and if they attempt to do so, they will be taught a lesson. This is why conservative actors are afraid to speak up. Which means conservatives would need to start their own Hollywood and music labels. The left has a strangle hold of the distribution of entertainment too. Unless that is changed conservatives are preaching to the choir.
  
  Music is different with all the social media. Smart marketing can cut out the liberal gate keepers.
  
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ThoreauHD
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 5:27pm
An artists point of view on why we lost is that the Tea Party wasn’t a Party. No kidding. Neither was the first Tea Party. And without them, you’d be playing your concerts for the Queen.

I see what he’s getting at, but if what he’s saying is true- if all of these people choose a dictator because of how much he entertains them, then it’s over. Music isn’t going to fix stupid. It’s simplistic and pedantic to think that. In reality, music and symbolism are just one cog in that machine.

Every socialist/communist dictator has taken over the media and schools first. You don’t need a rock concert to do that. It might help, but it’s not the means to that end. And the end is necessary to make people stupid enough to enslave them. And the only music that helps you at that point, the point where we will be in 2 months time, are slavery spirituals.

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- Recceman90
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 9:10pm
  Exactly, and since when is Government supposed to be “cool”!
  
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TCaruthers
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 4:02pm
I like the idea of promoting popular culture versus politics; it makes sense to me.

For instance, we Conservatives should focus on the fiscal issues we support, i.e. pro business, smaller government, lower taxes with fewer tax loopholes, and make a compelling case why we feel that is what is best for our country. And we should do whatever we can to rescind Obamacare.

Let’s leave the social issues alone. The Republican Party is a political party, not a social party. Whether I believe in Gay Rights or Freedom of choice, doesn’t mean a thing when it comes to creating jobs. It’s that kind of petty bigotry that the Left uses to seperate us from pop culture. In the big scheme of things, it is not what is important for our country.

Let us not major in minors, especially at this time. We lost, but we have four years to build it back; let’s do it right. We know, in four years, this country could possibly be so beaten and bruised from what this administration hopes to accomplish, that the presidency should be ours for the taking. The Left will have to introduce a new candidate; I’m sure even the DNC would shutter at serving up Biden as a viable candidate. Their only hope is if Billary wants another shot at it.

Paul Ryan would be a good candidate and he is a better campaigner than Mitt was (not saying much; Mitt is a brilliant businessman, but not a very effective campaigner).

As always, your comments are welcome.

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- rickfromthecape
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 5:20pm
  I like this guys thinking. nothing wrong with thinking outside of the box. when M.R. came out with their rendition of the national anthem, I suggested that the R.N.C. should open up the convention with them. of course they had no guts. we have to win this war from the ground up, not the top down. We have to start with who’s teaching our children…more conservatives going into the teaching professions. also; we have to invade the news media. We’ve just surrendered these vital areas of culture to the left without a fight, and now we’re paying the price. The time is now to start the new revolution.
  
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betterthantv
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 3:56pm
This guy can kiss my @ss! The Tea Party is the only thing that kept control of the House. The establishment GOP and this idiot that wrote this article need to open their eyes and realize the Republican Brand is dead! To many Karl Rove’s. To many Sean Hannity’s. To many John McCains! We need more Rand Pauls, Mike Lee’s, Allen West’s etc. No more RINO’s! We need real good men/women of faith and character in the GOP. THAT is the problem. NOT the Tea party! Damn fool!

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- justangry
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 7:35pm
  Rand Paul and Allen West don’t have a lot in common, you know?
  
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TheSurrealTruth
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 3:33pm
This has already been emphasized many times, with a lot less snark.

Bill Whittle, Andrew Klavan, Glenn Beck, Dana Loesch, Alfonzo Rachel; all have said this, and done so more elegantly (and concisely) than Mr. Mgrdechian.

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- PopModal
  Posted on November 22, 2012 at 2:52am
  Attack the messenger… Very intelligent.
  
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- TheSurrealTruth
  Posted on November 22, 2012 at 8:58pm
  If you can’t deliver the message properly, if you can’t discuss the message without insulting the majority of its supporters (i.e. The Tea Party), it’s better to say nothing at all.
  
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PopModal
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 3:33pm
I brought Madison Rising out to Los Angels, California, the Entertainment Capital of the world, to perform at the WakeUpAmerica 2012 Rally. The event was disappointing insofar as the numbers who showed up, yet still was the biggest conservative grassroots event in Los Angeles County history. The problem I was having was the lack of awareness in our community as to the importance of popular culture in delivering a message. I was the coproducer on the event and coming from the music industry here in Hollywood I was thrilled that Madison Rising accepted my offer to headline next to Dennis Prager, Bill Whittle, AlfonZo Rachel and Ted Hayes. However, I agree with Rich, that the constant stream of monotone chatter before the main events was like having Fox News streaming on stage. Nothing new was said, no great compelling message was delivered. If there was, it got lost in the in the mix. The high light for me was raising the money, promoting the event, meeting new friends and watching Madison Rising rip-up the stage with a rock and roll sound that is rarely heard in the halls of conservative events. To see a speech given by pundits on video from the comfort of your home is better than seeing them live if you want to really hear their message, but to see a rock band ‘live’ deliver the same message with great songs and performance is unforgettable. We had a great time on the Sunset Strip after the show. Thanks Rich, Dave, Sam, Alex and the band for rocking L.A. Conservatives.

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H.I.Mcdunnough
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:34pm
I couldn’t for the life of me understand why Kid Rock was in any way associated with Mitt Romney or republicans or conservatives. I guess they didn’t care or didn’t know what kind of artist he used to be or what he used to rap about? That looked weird to me.

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- GhostOfJefferson
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 3:33pm
  Kid Rock is a libertarian and probably doesn’t realize it. It’s hard to be a conservative and be against the war on drugs and not have any problems with sexuality (as he sees it I mean). However, us libertarian folk don’t mind his stands on either issue, and we certainly don’t have a problem with his anti-tax, pro-firearms and nice regard for the military positions either. He’s a shoe in.
  
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Danny78
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:10pm
MR sounds like a good band. And I am marveling at their ability to use a political party as part of their marketing strategy. Bravo! Gentlemen! GOP/RNC is broken and almost unrepairable. My guess is they will be doubling down on what doesn’t work for them. Life long Republican that voted for Gary Johnson. I hope I don’t have to do that again.

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THX-1138
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 1:36pm
“Congratulations to the GOP for losing the easiest election of our lifetimes. Over the past four years, Obama has been exposed as a liar, a fraud, a charlatan and a scam.”

When an article starts with utter nonsense I stop reading. Nothing was exposed. The Media, quite to the contrary, did everything they could to cover up what Obama is and does. Obama was selected by the Media to win no matter what. Video of him hacking the heads off Jewish babies would have been supressed. ThugNation is now in full effect.

I leave you with this:

“As democracy is perfected, the office of the president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”
– H. L. Mencken (Baltimore Evening Sun, July 26, 1920)

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- NotAConstituencyGroup
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:38pm
  “When an article starts with utter nonsense I stop reading.”
  
  Comments that start with statements about how they won’t read what they are commenting on sometimes make me laugh. Like the 75% of politically related “book reviews” on amazon, where they have replaced weighty boring relevant information with delightful poster angst.
  
  I, like you, didn’t read beyond your initial statement in your comment, and instead of responding to any substance you may have included in your comment have substituted my own peevish rant.
  
  And with that out of the way…
  
  Happy Thanksgiving to all!
  
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termyt
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 1:33pm
And when the media refuses t ocover you events, how do you break into pop culture. If they say the Tea Party is a bunch of 60 year old white men then, regardless of what it really is, that’s the pop culture definition of it.

On the other side, if we have to be all show and no substance to get recognized and elected, then I’m afraid we may be too far gone already.

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GhostOfJefferson
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 1:30pm
One wonders how Ron Paul, who is the epitome of boring, gets the youth so riled then? Just curious, and you don’t have to like Ron Paul to recognize that he does this. I’m addressing the article that somehow, being intelligent and presenting a logical argument doesn’t attract folks.

That being said, there is a PR problem with the Right, to be certain. Libertarians on the other hand, while still “coming out” in the entertainment industry, are starting to be recognized not only by name, but by political affiliation. We generally don’t hide our ideology like the Right does, and the Left has nothing to fight us with.

The power of pop culture in my opinion is a gauge on how little people should be trusted in the voting booth. It is rather worrisome that somebody who cares more about being “cool like those people in that one movie” than about liberty or even basic math, can pull a lever. It is no doubt that the Left controls the idiot segment of society and are cultivating it like a nice garden. Once they are in power, their garden will need culled of course. But who pays attention to ‘boring’ ol’ history anyway?

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- GETLIFE
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:42pm
  Of course the Left is not trying to fight libertarianism. It helps them win.
  
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- GhostOfJefferson
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 3:35pm
  Well, Getlife, they are fighting us, they’re just ineffectual at doing so. We’re the intellectual vanguard of the Right on most issues, unless you close your ears and go “la la la la” whenever a Right/Conservative cites the Cato or Reason institute, which is quite frequent.
  
  Maybe instead of sneering at people who are FAR more Constitutionally inclined that you may be, instead try to offer folks from the Right who are not uncloseted PROGRESSIVES on your tickets. Until then, expect to not get our support. If you can’t offer folks from the Right, then I could care less what you think of libertarians, because you surely don’t understand even your own proclaimed political position(s).
  
  Slainte.
  
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- longknifed
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 4:20pm
  Getlife,
  
  That’s only partially true because an unknown number of libertarians started off as Democrats. If the Rush Limbags of the world would realize that not every 17 year old, who becomes a libertarian overnight, is not some rigid stalinist ideologue but probably just a single-issue voter like most apolitical people. I’ve never been a democrat so I don’t know for sure, but that’s my best guess. But yes, at this point we are hindering the GOP because they made it very clear they didn’t need our “services.” I’ve never seen anything like the treatment of RP in the media during the primary season, and its frightening that you Republicans either don’t acknowledge it or agree with it.
  
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chiquita
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 1:29pm
From an old broad….Madison Rising’s rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” ROCKS!!! I’ve watched the video more times than I can count. I’ve passed their name and the link on my Facebook account……..but nobody has responded or looked at it, that I can tell. I plan to going at it again, and much harder this time. I will NOT denegrate our patriotic country music artists, and we need them all, in my opinion, to touch all genres and to get our message out there. And, I do plan on purchasing MR’s music and a Tshirt or two or three. We’ve GOT to take our country back and protect our Constitution, rights, and freedoms.

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SmartGirlJen
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 9:38am
This piece nails it! How many times do we have to see country music singers at the GOP convention? It is infuriating that groups on the right seem to completely reject the idea of looking at pop culture and thinking outside of the box. When Smart Girl Politics announced that Madison Rising would be performing at our annual Smart Girl Summit last summer in Alexandria, Virginia, someone made a comment that our membership would not be a good audience for MR. SO WRONG! Our members loved their performance and it was a highlight of the Summit. Watching the boring convention, I could not help but think how much more appeal the GOP would have had with the passion and awesome music of Madison Rising.

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The Third Archon
Posted on November 20, 2012 at 9:56pm
“Yes, they truly are funerals in every sense of the word – boring, dreary, draining, unappealing, exhausting and most of all – they are killing the conservative movement.”
Niet–they are symptoms of a death of natural causes. Conservatism will always be slowly dying because it is stifling and retards human capacity, and soon or later, people realize they cannot afford or tolerate its fetters, and smash it apart like every obstacle that crosses our path.

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- Theodwulf
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 1:19pm
  “Conservatism will always be slowly dying because it is stifling and retards human capacity, and soon or later, people realize they cannot afford or tolerate its fetters, and smash it apart like every obstacle that crosses our path.”
  
  LOL….still a fool 3rd.. How does Conservatism fetter people? By not allowing them to steal other people’s property. The politics of envy won an election, That is what happened. People voted their “best interests” in the most short sighted way. IF conservatism dies..so does the USA, because who will do the work? Who will defend the USA? The mental defectives of “Occupy” fame? Intellectual throwbacks clinging to a failed ideology , like you? Parasites need something to latch themselves onto, a viable organism. In the Politics of the USA, that viable organism is Conservatives and the parasites are the liberals.
  
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- GhostOfJefferson
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 1:26pm
  Oh please, get over yourself. You’re nothing special cupcake, and the handcuff ready ethos of socialism you embrace is nothing new under the sun.
  
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- Wisdom7
  Posted on November 22, 2012 at 12:48am
  ” Conservatism will always be slowly dying because it is stifling and retards human capacity, and soon or later, people realize they cannot afford or tolerate its fetters, and smash it apart like every obstacle that crosses our path.”
  
  ^This has to be one of the dumbest things I have ever read.
  
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- punyhuman
  Posted on November 23, 2012 at 2:02am
  Conservatism will always be dying? Gad, that sounds awful. I wonder how many ‘conservatives’ voted for the lesser of two evils, and how many libs voted for the lesser of two evils? I’m just guessing, but I’d have to estimate that no libs voted for the lesser of two evils, and many conservatives held their noses and voted for the lesser of two evils. Sounds more like conservatives have some lessons to learn if they want to get power back. But always dying? I don’t think so. They will either be dead, or running the victory lap.
  
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The Third Archon
Posted on November 20, 2012 at 9:38pm
“Congratulations to the GOP for losing the easiest election of our lifetimes.”
LOL. Guess what buddy, the political winds in America are shifting, and people are starting to learn we can longer afford the luxury of obstinate irrational ignorance of reality. Conservatism, as you knew it, is in its death throes. Enjoy what victories you can claim for your dying ideology now, because the future belongs to the Left.

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- IAMMADDOG
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:04pm
  Then the future is lost. Congratulations…and by the way when reality hits you in the face….keep your mouth shut as we don’t want to hear you complain about that which you and your ilk brought about.
  
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- SimpleTruths
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 4:32pm
  Well given your track record of being wrong on just about everything, I welcome the left shifting winds.
  
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- Verum Ad Potentia
  Posted on November 22, 2012 at 2:10am
  You mean like spending more than you bring in?
  
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