Chris Collins, Jim Jordan, Duncan Hunter. 

Remember these names.  They are just three of the most recent victims targeted by the Democrats and their embedded goons in the administration, with accusations of misconduct in the hopes of ousting good men from Congress and reducing the Republican majority. 

We've seen this playbook before: Ted Stevens, Herman Cain, Donald Trump.  

We've also seen how more often than not, the accusations miraculously fizzle out or disappear after an election or when the accused is actually acquitted, as in the case of Ted Stevens.  Left-wingers dutifully play their part as the self-righteous accusers cleansing politics of Republican riffraff.  Republicans usually hang their accused brethren out to dry.

The entire left-wing tactic is formulaic:

• Make the accusations.  That alone is often enough to do the trick, even if the accusations are completely baseless – remember Harry Reid accusing Mitt Romney of not paying his taxes.
• Find someone to corroborate the accusations with verbal, unreliable, one-sided statements.
• Enlist the media to perseverate on whatever the accusations are to the point of blocking out the real news and ignoring any information that might exonerate the accused.  
• Demand that the Republican targets immediately resign and admit to their guilt.
• Hype the mantra that this is part of the Republican culture of corruption or Trump tyranny or far-right-wing hate or Alt-Right fascism and that is why constituents must vote for the Democrat.

In the meantime, whenever a Democrat is accused of corruption, and it is usually in a nonpartisan context – that is, not just brought by Republicans a few months or weeks before an election in an effort to sway votes – the accusations are largely ignored or barely garner a mention in the mainstream press and, if mentioned, are the result of a right-wing cabal even when they aren't: Lois Lerner, Charlie Rangel, Bob Menendez, Hillary Clinton. 

Why do the Democrats get away with their transgressions in ways Republicans could only dream of? 

Because most of the time – with the exception of cases laden with nearly irrefutable proof, as in the case, let's say, of Eliot Spitzer – the Democrat machine clicks into gear almost simultaneously with the accusations, and all the moving parts swarm around their guy, whom they protect at all costs.  They don't allow themselves to lose a comrade unless there is absolutely no other way they can spin his case or foist the blame on the Republicans. 

Of course, they have one advantage conservatives lack: the press.  The left-wing media will peddle false narratives supporting a corrupt Democrat or implicating an innocent Republican or just remain surprisingly silent.  The political arm of the left sets the narrative while the propaganda arm perpetuates and disseminates it.  In some ways, Republicans are at the mercy of the Democrat-Media-Propaganda Complex.

Whereas Democrats almost immediately swarm around and protect their little bubbalas from having to resign or suffer any meaningful consequences for their behavior, Republicans immediately distance themselves from the accused and reflexively start demanding resignations from committees, campaigns, and elected office.  Paul Ryan has already stripped Duncan Hunter of his committee assignments. 

How about: Let's see where the evidence leads us.  Right now, we are supporting Mr. X and Mrs. Y until the process leads elsewhere.  Jim Jordan, Duncan Hunter, and possibly even Chris Collins should be supported until clear and convincing evidence proves otherwise.  We should not give up on our people just because accusations are hurled.  We shouldn't force them to resign from a political race because it might pollute the waters downstream (unless guilt is glaring or conviction is imminent).  We should have defense funds and GoFundMe efforts, as well as some kind of mobilization on the internet.  By contrast, as soon as Republicans are accused of something, I get numerous emails from Democrat hit groups like OFA and MoveOn informing me of the latest right-wing treachery, but my inbox is empty from conservative organizations I support.

When left-wing misdeeds are revealed, I hear nothing from the left unless leftists find a way to blame the Republicans – can't you just hear Nancy Pelosi saying, This is nothing more than a right-wing tactic to discredit loyal, hardworking Democrats who have devoted their lives to helping their constituents, blah, blah, blah?

Who would join the military if it left soldiers behind?  Same in the war of politics – if we continue to abandon our people when they are being attacked by the left, pretty soon, too few "good men" will run for office on our team.  Why would you risk your livelihood and reputation to do your civic duty if you'll be beaten up by Democrats and then left to bleed out on the political front by your fellow Republicans?

That is precisely what the Republicans do, so they bring a good deal of this on themselves.  Once charges are levied against a fellow Republican, leadership reflexively strips him of this or that chairmanship and pressures him to resign from office or the race.  The Democrats don't even need to follow the steps outlined above.  All they need to do is levy an accusation, and the Republican leadership will take care of the rest.  Many readers will say, "Oh, that's because they are members of the establishment and work in tandem with their left-wing establishment counterparts."  I don't think that is it.  I think Republicans fear the possibility of "taint" more than the good that can come from a fight.  (That's the difference, after all, between guys who capitulate, like Paul Ryan, and guys who punch back, like Donald Trump.) 

Look, don't get me wrong.  If someone has violated the law or has been corrupt, I'm all for stripping, ousting, turning against, not supporting.  But Republicans rush to judgment to avoid the taint before things actually play out.  (Ironically, there really is no avoiding the taint once Democrats launch the accusations, because once a Republican is accused of any misstep, it's always a big deal that dominates the news cycle.  The taint is in.)  Democrats wait until guilt is irrefutable, then do what they must sotto voce and behind the scenes.  By the time Charlie Rangel's numerous ethics violations were a passing mention in the news, months had passed, and the country had moved on.             

There is one other thing that Republicans and conservatives do that you never see on the left: openly criticize our party, our policy, our president, our elected officials, and our candidates.  The left always talks, walks, and votes in lock-step – even when far-left candidates run against moderately left candidates in primaries.  Left-wingers are generally trepid about being too critical of one another in primaries because they know they'll have to unite in the general to beat the real enemy, the Republican, and don't want to contend with too much political baggage from the primaries. 

Look at Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.  Not only is she openly socialist at a time when mainstream Democrats are seeking to avoid that label, but her understanding of the world, economics, and politics is palpably limited, and every socialist Democrat she endorsed in the primaries lost!  Yet few if any in the DNC would criticize her or hide her from the masses or openly denounce her.  Instead, she is coddled, supported, and lifted up as a paragon of youth and political involvement, the future of America.

Why, oh why do #NeverTrumps feel the need to constantly drag our side into the muck?  Why are we always self-criticizing?  Why do we have to be so damn pure?  Why does a one-time huge supporter of Trump like Ann Coulter feel she has to criticize Trump openly and publicly?  It's the old "Why do we have to air our dirty laundry out there for all to see?"  Can't we keep anything to ourselves?  We have conservatives and Republicans who openly supported Democrat candidates, including HRC.  Would you ever see that on the left? 

I know #NeverTrumps think they are doing the right thing, standing up for conservatism, which Trump is destroying, and this is the time for integrity versus party loyalty.  But that is not playing the long game.  If conservatism is to prevail in the long run, we need to fight some unpleasant battles in the short term, including this one, where the forgotten men and women of the GOP, in particular, and of this country, in general, punch back at the establishment.  We are on the path to restoring "of, by, and for the People."  Trump is just the first step after the turf was primed by the Tea Party movement.

I'm big on integrity – ask anyone who was in my Tea Party group.  I believe we need to have big, bold debates on certain issues within the GOP and as conservatives and I certainly do not want to stifle anyone's right to speak freely.  We can have some diversity of opinion within the party and survive.  But it's time Republicans and conservatives learn what Democrats and liberals have always known: politics is war by other means.  As long as you aren't breaking any laws or skirting any ethics, you do not have to discuss in public every criticism you have of your party or your president.  At some point, we have to be strategically and tactically smart.  If you want to support the opposition, unless you leave the party, just do it in the voting booth, because all it does is alienate you, divide the party, and give fodder to the enemy.

We need someone or some organization to lead a ground effort in coordination with the party, think-tank groups, conservative political organizations, GOP county central committees, and our elected officials.  We all need to work in lock-step.  What a concept!  We need to stand up for our people, protect them, swarm around them, raise money to defend them, keep them in office, find good replacements if need be, reinstate them if need be.  We need to punch back against the Democrat-Media-Propaganda Complex.  We need to find a way to get those in the GOP and those who claim to be conservatives but who stand in opposition to see the way toward unity.  If they don't, then we need to make them irrelevant – stop reading their posts and articles, don't buy their books or attend their lectures, do not invite them to speak.  

Is there anyone out there who will lead the way, or will it just be business as usual for conservatives?  If so, that means we will definitely lose in the short run and quite likely in the long run.