FRANKLIN, Tennessee — If conservatives want to make a difference, they have to get more involved.
That was the theme of a book discussion Thursday at the Embassy Suites hotel hosted by the Williamson County Republican Party. A handful of people gathered at the hotel restaurant to consider the lessons in the 2012 book, “Waking the Sleeping Giant: How Mainstream Americans Can Beat Liberals at Their Own Game” by Timothy Daughtry and Gary Casselman.
Thursday’s event was part of a series of discussions that will focus on the book.
Debbie Deaver, chairman of the party chapter, said many conservatives are afraid of appearing mean, which holds them back. But Daughtry and Casselman show conservatives how they can be engaged without being ugly, she said.
“You don’t have to be a jerk,” said Deaver, who finds the authors’ take especially refreshing and unique because of their background as psychologists.
Hannah Tiblier, secretary for the party chapter, said the authors have a good grasp of individual and group dynamics.
“They understand human nature,” she said.
The book also ties in with a message that Deaver has been trying to communicate to local Republicans, which is that politics matter at all levels, including the local one. Progressives are well organized and active and conservatives are lagging behind, she said.
In the first chapter, the authors write, “Mainstream Americans work, take care of our responsibilities, pay our taxes, and vote. After we vote, we go back home and trust our elected officials to work within their constitutional boundaries. But trusting elected officials to voluntarily limit their appetite for power is like trusting a dog to guard your dinner.”
The several people in attendance Thursday expressed an interest in learning more about local and state politics, getting involved in campaigns and finding strength in numbers with other conservatives at a time when conservative views can get you labeled a hater.
“I think we can all agree we’re losing our country,” Tiblier said.
That might seem an odd thing to say with Republicans in control in Washington, D.C., and at the state level, but Tiblier cited the influence progressives have had in public schools and the mainstream media. The progressive influence has now even spread to entertainment award shows and professional sports, she noted.
For information about becoming a part of the book discussions, email [email protected] or call the Williamson County Republican Party at 615-790-7642.
WOW, great job Ms Deavers! This is leadership Tennesseans deserve! And is exactly what all Republicans, and frankly all Americans need to hear. The political establishment on both sides has been hoodwinking us for too long. Following the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Ben Franklin was asked the question, “what type of government did you give us?”. “A republic, if you can keep it,” Franklin responded. Franklin Tennessee – making your namesake proud!