Do Republicans care for the poor? It's a fair question to ask. Unfortunately, the response for too many young voters is "No." This has caused many young evangelicals to flock to Obama and the Democratic party.

One of the leaders of this exodus is Chris LaTondresse, creator of RecoveringEvangelical.com. This son of evangelical missionaries says the reason he, along with many others, made the switch is because their faith speaks about more than gay marriage and abortion. 

Here is how he put it on an interview with Fox News.

Okay, point made. But that leads to the question: what are the best policies for helping the poor around the world?

Continue Reading »

In case you missed it, Michael Steele became the new RNC Chairman last week. He said in his acceptance speech that "it's time for something completely different." He wasn't joking.

Yesterday, Steele gave legs to his rhetoric by asking the 100 staff members at the RNC to resign. He has certainly wasted no time in bringing change to the Republican Party.

So what do you think? Was Steele the right choice? Was getting rid of all RNC staffers a smart move?

You can read more about Steele cleaning house here.

This little gem comes from our friends at Post Secret. We're guessing many on the left are having similar bouts of depression. On the flip side, though, many Republicans are likely realizing the benefits of being in the minority.

Democrats are now the ones who are responsible for our government; they are expected to have the right ideas and policies... the magic elixirs, if you will. While this temporary relief is refreshing, Republicans can't stay in the minority for long. The future of our country depends on it.

Even though our ideas aren't the ones being passed in Congress right now (unless you consider a $700 billion reformed stimulus package a Republican idea), it's important we're still developing them. The country will probably be looking to Republicans once again in a few years. We better be ready.

President Obama recently said that we all need to show the same spirit and courage as the Founders of this great country. I’m glad to say that on this point, the President and I actually agree. I only hope he’ll follow his own advice.

Alexander the Great is said to have remarked that the reason the peoples of Asia had for so long been slaves was that they never learned how to say “no,” and in that story lies the soul of what made the Founders of this country so great. When writing what would become the Constitution of the United States and given the chance to seize total power for themselves, they said “no”.

Continue Reading »

We have a new president. This reality has set in for many of us after months of media-driven euphoria culminating in a historic inauguration. Now it's back to politics.

But before you get too carried away with questioning the policies of the new administration, your friends here at The Relevant Elephant have a friendly reminder: don't lose focus.

Remember that the Republican Party must become relevant once again to young voters. Until that happens, we'll be "wandering in the wilderness" for decades to come. So while it's natural to go negative on bad policies, try and focus on what we as conservatives must do to once again win the hearts and minds of young voters.

Upon the election of our new President, Barack Obama, many of my friends (even conservatives) encouraged me to give our new leader a chance. I agreed with that request. I did my best to believe (maybe out of naivety) that despite his record, I would give the chance of hope to our new President. Today, I must announce that I rescind that hope. The fact of the matter is that within days of taking office, President Obama has made dastardly executive orders that only prove his record as the most liberal United States Senator.

Obama signed a Presidential executive order today that lifts the ban (placed by the Bush administration) on overseas abortion funding. One day after the 36th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade court decision, the order will reverse the policy that “requires any non-governmental organization to agree before receiving U.S. funds that they will 'neither perform nor actively promote abortion as a method of family planning in other nations.'”

Continue Reading »

My grandfather, a pastor, has told me many times that leadership is a bloody nose and having both of your front teeth knocked out. Sometimes the saying varies and it’s a broken nose and black eye. But in the end, the essence of leadership is facing more persecution than praise, more anger than applause.

As I watched President Bush give his farewell address last Thursday night, I thought to myself, Now there’s a leader. Like the Greek boxer from an ancient Olympics, President Bush has taken such a beating that it is very likely his own dog doesn’t recognize him anymore.

Yet there he stood, addressing the nation for the final time, not lamenting over the hand he had been dealt, but standing by his decisions and thanking the American people for giving him the honor of serving as our president.

Continue Reading »

The focus within the Republican Party since the election has been on who the new RNC Chairman will be. Like we said previously, this is an important job. It's not the only one, though.

The Republican Party needs good leaders at all levels, including the state and grassroots levels. We need leaders that can communicate the benefits of conservatism. It is relevant, after all. We also need more young leaders in the party.

Continue Reading »

Young voters care about the environment. Republicans have made it seem like they don't. That's a shame because, as David Frum points out in the video below, protecting the environment has been strong part of the Republican past. It needs to be a part of the future.

This doesn't mean we should all run out and hug a tree (although they are lovely). It does mean we should be realistic in figuring out how we damage our environment and then look for market-based solutions to fix the problems.

You can watch Frum's video below:

Continue Reading »

The verdict is still out on who the new RNC chairman will be. While we don't know who it'll be, we do know how they would plan to attract young voters back to the Grand Ol' Party.

The candidates recently went through a round of debate as part of the selection process. During said debate, a question was asked: how can the GOP be more attractive to young voters?

This question was based on the statement that many within the party have said the young vote is important, yet few have laid out clear plans how to reach them.

This question is important; any re-birth of the Republican Party depends on it. So what did they say? You can watch the video below:

Continue Reading »