Barack Hitler Obama is a lying, thieving, murdering, Socialist, third-world tinpot dictator wannabe who is, in all likelihood, also a well-closeted Muslim and illegal alien.  However, like it or not, he is also currently the 44th President-Elect of the United States.  It will be only by the grace of God that BHO does not gain a de facto filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.  (Granted, he cannot now get one on paper, but there's no telling how many RINOs he's got on his side in Congress' upper chamber.)  God forgive the electorate; they do not know what they have done.

I spent the night of and morning after Election 2008 dealing with an indigestion-inducing mixture of shell-shock, outrage, and resolve.  During the privacy of a pot of coffee I came to the conclusion (as have many who regularly post here) that the best possible answer is to channel that distress and frustration into motivation for productive action.  The plain and simple fact of the matter is that what's done is done; we gain absolutely nothing from bellyaching about what we cannot change.  I know a couple of synods full of pastors (several personally) who have led their congregations in prayers of support for our nation and our president-elect.  Ultimately, all but the true fools know that the Almighty is in charge anyway, and will use this mess to the ultimate benefit of his faithful ones . . . regardless of their political affiliations.

That having been said, we Republicans (regardless of whether we are Libertarian, Centrist, or Conservative) are doing America and its Constitution no favors if we are not already laying plans for (or at least brainstorming on) how to take back as much of what we lost as possible 719 (and counting) days from now.  This means that we have to figure out how to set all recriminations and internal fighting aside and get this Grand Old Party working as a united whole again.

Granted, there is little doubt that the Straight Talk Express was fifth-columned, but that is for others to handle . . . for now.  Yes, we should have been listening more to the core of our party - Libertarian, Centrist, and Conservative - and less to the apologists and moderates.  But this is where I pull out a Steven Covey quote that happens to be a personal favorite:  "The situation that I am in today is the direct and cumulative result of every decision that I have made - or allowed to be made for me - up to today."  Rightly paraphrased, this applies to the current state of the Republican Party . . . at every level.  Seriously, every last one of us (if we are being honest) cannot look ourselves in the face without admitting that we could have done more or done differently . . . I know that I certainly can't.

But I also know that all of the woulda-coulda-shoulda on the planet doesn't amount to a hill of beans.  What we've got is what we've got, and what we need to do is what we need to do to get done what we need to get done.  We can armchair quarterback this thing and bitch from the bleachers, or each and every last one of us can get off our dead rears and become part of the solution.  Already before we parted company election night, core KCRC personnel had agreed to a series of meetings at county headquarters to do exactly as the title of this post suggests.  Stay tuned to the KCRC website, that's where the dates, times, and locations will be posted.  And you can bank on me being in the action somehow.

And each and every one of you ought to do similarly.  It is good to read up on what's going on, and it's also good to write things about either your opinion or the goings-on in your neck of the woods.  But what, exactly, are you doing about it?  How, specifically, are you contributing to being a part of the solution?  In other words, act . . . now . . . where you can.  Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start doing something.  Start doing anything that squares with your core values.  Don't worry about the perfect course of action, "good enough" will do for now; we'll refine as we go, just so long as we get going.

I got my political start (other than an ill-fated run at high-school class presidency) by community organizing for the Indiana Sustainable Energy Initiative.  To me it was just a "make do" job that really didn't, but I learned critical things that I then applied when I started working for the Michigan Fair Tax Association.  Through community organizing for the Michigan FairTax Proposal I wound up coming into contact with people that would eventually lead to contacts within KCRC, and that led to community organizing for Michigan Veterans for McCain.  And now here I am, itching for someone to put a sword in my hand so that I can make a run on Mayor Heartless in 2011.  (Yes, that "sword" comment was metaphorical.)

I also know that if the Michigan Fair Tax Association, Michigan Taxpayers Alliance, and Taxpayers United for Michigan Foundation had combined and coordinated their efforts, then the Michigan FairTax Proposal likely would have been on the 2008 ballot.  But that's okay, because I'm going to make a point of contacting the executive teams of all three organizations to see if we can't arrange such an approach to the 2010 initiative effort.

And while I'm on that train of thought, I recently had a conversation with Dave Agema and Dave Hildenbrand (I think that Mark Jansen was also in on it).  They both suggested that the GOP Caucus in the State Legislature needed to pick three issues - and only three issues - and start, right away, hammering on them to the point that the drumbeat reverberates throughout the entire state electorate for the next two years.  Great idea; and here's my three suggestions:

• Michigan FairTax Proposal - This is the best way to permanently reverse the tax-hike slaughter of the past six years.  I have already written considerably on the subject, and I will leave that as my word on the matter for now, other than to say that we absolutely must pull out all stops to get this on the 2010 ballot in a way that will get it passed into law.

• Michigan Right-to-Work Law - 2006-HIB-5771 and 2006-HIB-5772 need to be rewritten into a single ballot initiative, and then we need to expend all available resources to get it on the 2010 ballot in a way that will get it passed into law.  (This includes getting union workers when they're away from their local's influence . . . you'd be surprised how many will actually sign if they can get away with it.)

• NO on the 2010 Con-Con - Make no mistake, Jon Stryker bought this election in this state.  (Cliff Taylor's immediate legacy may just be that he got RMGN kicked off the ballot.)  And if he can, then Papa Stryker will buy the Con-Con, and then buy his way into it.  Kiss Michigan good-bye if that happens.

Our principal focus absolutely must be on doing whatever it takes to reverse the losses of the last two election cycles.  And I most certainly mean "whatever it takes," exactly as I said it, with the key caveat that whatever we do must be so within the bounds of all applicable laws that it is unchallengeable by any reasonable person.  (This includes adapting the BHO and DNC tactics that worked so well, as long as our adaptations are legal and lawful.)  While every self-respecting Republican wants that Electoral College map to go back to the 2004 picture (any of the three 1980's pictures would be even better), that's too far ahead to plan for right now, except in the broadest of strokes.  No, to paraphrase Dick DeVos, we take this country back one election at a time; I'll add that we start locally - wherever we're at - and work outward.

The Liberal, Statist, Libertines of the Democrat-Socialist Party (with RINO cooperation) have us backed into a corner and surrounded right now . . . which means that they cannot escape.  We have never had a better opportunity!

Seriously, take the time to refresh yourself on what the core values of a faithful Republican are, and then so thoroughly incorporate those principles into your daily activity and discourse that others notice, become curious, and want to know why you think as you do.  Explain it to them.  Stay away from names; just explain the concepts in simple, easy to understand terms.

• Do you think that the Fair Tax Initiative is a good idea?  It is good that you do, but do more.  Get your contact information on the Michigan Fair Tax Association's mailing list, and then talk about the MFTP at every opportunity.  When the petition comes out, don't just sign it, circulate it.  For all of 2009 pressure your State Representative and State Senator to vote the MFTP onto the 2010 ballot; a 2/3 majority in each chamber removes the need for a petition drive and puts the community organizers directly into "education mode."

• Do you think that the Right-to-Work Initiative is a good idea?  Excellent, but go further.  Know Big Labor's lies about RTW and why they're lies.  Talk about RTW every time a union shop closes, or you hear about another god-awful number of auto industry workers losing their jobs.  When the petition comes out, don't just sign it, circulate it.  For all of 2009 pressure your State Representative and State Senator to vote RTW onto the 2010 ballot; a 2/3 majority in each chamber removes the need for a petition drive and puts the community organizers directly into "education mode."

• Know what Michigan stands to lose if a Con-Con is convened and why that's a bad idea.  (Every state that had it on the ballot this cycle defeated it.)  Understand that Stryker's interests also stand to suffer (Proposals 08-1 and 08-2) and don't hesitate to use that argument with everyone who honestly believes that those were good ideas.  For those who actually want to overturn 08-1 and 08-2, explain that there are better ways than putting at risk every tax-hike protection and civil-rights protection currently enshrined in the Michigan Constitution.

• Because we know that Papa Jon Stryker and his Democrat-Socialist cronies will be gunning for what must by law be Proposal 10-1, learn what is involved with convening a Constitutional Convention.  Yes, we Republicans of every persuasion ought to be beating the "NO Con-Con" drum until the entire state electorate echoes the message, but to ensure our sixes are covered we must also be quietly laying preparations just in case we have to deal with one anyway.  November 3rd, 2010, will be too late to start preparing.  In fact, the mere presence of early and strong pro-citizen preparations may be all that is needed to back Stryker's PAC off of this issue.  It won't be cheap, but it will be worth every penny.

• Do you think that entitlement programs need reform?  Great, now do more.  First, make sure that you know the difference between "handout" and "handup" (yes, there is a difference).  Then speak about why it's perfectly okay for someone to use food stamps or other public assistance to get their feet back underneath them, but completely unacceptable for those benefits to be perverted into a cradle-to-grave lifestyle.  And while you're at it, understand that a true Republican will not only support but also advocate for common-sense entitlement program reforms.

• Do you think that we should keep conservative, constructionist justices on the bench?  Fantastic, now take it one step further.  Jon Stryker bought the victory of Diane Hathaway this time around, don't let him also buy the defeats of Robert Young and Elizabeth Weaver.  (Alternately, maybe we can run Cliff Taylor against Liz Weaver.)  Get busy advocating for why Taylor shouldn't have been defeated in the first place, and every time SCOMI screws a decision up, point the finger right at Diane Hathaway and her big-spending sugar-daddy.