Social Conservatives as Scapegoats

The American Spectator ^ | November 17, 2008 | G. Tracy Mehan III

[St. Louis Conservative]

To listen to some Republicans, not to mention, the braying of media outlets such as MSNBC, and even, here and there, a few economic libertarians, you would think that traditional conservatives, the defenders of the unborn and the integrity of marriage as a venerable and ancient institution, were responsible for two wars gone sour, over-spending at a level to embarrass Lyndon Johnson, the largest expansion of entitlement spending since the Great Society, numerous cases of GOP corruption and betrayal of the public trust centering around earmarks and political favors and the miserable results in the presidential and congressional elections just passed.

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, not this writer's first choice for the job of vice president, has now become the target for patronizing comments by the chattering classes who can't tell a moose hunt from an Easter egg hunt. For some of these enlightened minds, Governor Palin's loving acceptance of her new baby with special needs and her stand-up support for her teenage daughter seem to count for nothing at best or even a big negative. They view her selflessness as trailer park behavior rather than a loving parent's defense of life and love in her family.

"To love the little platoon we belong to in society, is the first principle (the germ as it were) of public affections," said Edmund Burke.

Listening to these outcries, one might believe that the global economic meltdown, the single biggest reason for Senator McCain's defeat, was the result of a worldwide conspiracy of the Right to Life movement, pro-marriage activists, Mormons, Evangelicals, Mass-attending Catholics, oh yes, and the NRA.

[sam_paine]

The republicans and their recent campaign make me sick.

Suppose you were the reincarnation of Ronald Reagan. What would you do in 2008? Join the Democrats? Sit at home in disgust?

[xzins]

What do you think of these?

1. Life: For all human beings, from conception to natural death;
2. Liberty: Freedom of conscience and actions for the self-governed individual;
3. Family: One husband and one wife with their children as divinely instituted;
4. Property: Each individual’s right to own and steward personal property without government burden;
5. Constitution: and Bill of Rights interpreted according to the actual intent of the Founding Fathers;
6. States’ Rights: Everything not specifically delegated by the Constitution to the federal government is reserved for the state and local jurisdictions;
7. American Sovereignty: American government committed to the protection of the borders, trade, and common defense of Americans, and not entangled in foreign alliances.

[wagglebee]

I think the GOP needs to come out with a new Contract with America in 2010 and run a REAL conservative along the lines of Sarah Palin or Bobby Jindal in 2012 — ANYTHING less than this and I believes it’s pretty much over.

The ONLY reason the GOP has survived as long as it has is because they have been able to keep “big names” from leaving. The moment three or four Republicans with real name recognition leave for another party, the floodgates will open.

[P-Marlowe]

McCain's strategy in the end was that he was Obama light. When he signed off on the bailout, he signed off as a serious candidate. The level of enthusiasm for McCain was matched only by the level of enthusiasm for Biden.

In the end it was Obama v. Palin and Obama v. Bush. McCain was AWOL on the issues.

[wagglebee]

I agree completely.

[brushcop]

Useful idiots the lot of us.

Yeah, I think that you've hit the nail on the head there. All I can do right now is shake my head in wonder, this is not brain surgery. I have never seen so much appeasement going on, which only leads to slavery in some form or another.

Others have said, as well as myself "TO ARMS, TO ARMS!" but on second blush, all that is needed is to shut down free discourse (talk radio, about the only thing left) and dampen the same on the internet in order to isolate people from sharing like-minded opinions and banding together. Once isolated, they are far less likely to organize into any effective resistance movement and that is what we will see happen, I'm sure plans are already being made for just that.

Folks keep talking about the protection of the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, what a crock. That stuff can be ignored once these people are in total power, they are reduced to powerless pieces of paper.

[DManA]

I’m not ready to give up.

[PapaBear3625]

Pubs aren't going to do that, it's the moderates and liberals who will create the impression that this most loyal base of the party is not wanted. The Pubs moved left after 2006, when they lost the House. They lost the House because they mishandled the illegal immigration issue, they didn't control spending and they let the Rat infested media control the message.

Republicans could win if they focused on fiscal responsibility, cracking down on illegal immigration and crime, and protecting the Second Amendment.

The pro-life argument mobilizes the social conservatives, but it mobilizes the Left even more if they can give the impression that Republicans will outlaw abortion.

[EyeGuy]

“.....conservapurists.....”

####

Which fundamental, core belief would you suggest we “give” on:

- Pro-life?
- Cultural main-lining of homosexuality?
- Second Amendment Rights?

It is not an ITYS with me. However, without foundational, bedrock beliefs, what are we anyway?

[wmfights]

The Whigs couldn't agree on slavery (which, but for the slaughter of 50 million babies, would be the most critical social issue in American history), so the anti-slavery social conservatives left and formed the GOP. Within a few years the Whigs had disappeared and the GOP became the dominant party for decades.

I think your analysis is spot on. A couple things are different though. The 2 dominant political parties have been able to structure election laws in such a way that it gives them a near monopoly. The media only pays attention to a 3rd party when it will benefit the Rats. On the basis of these two factors alone it is easier to push back the "mushy" moderates and take control of the party than to leave and start over.

I think the key to gaining control and keeping it is to control the money. All too often we elect conservatives who then abandon us once they are in power. I think that's because they want to get reelected and the party controls the money. Also, we need aggressive young conservative turks to run the party organization that is responsible for finding candidates.

Finally, on the issue of abortion (the slaughter of innocent life) we need to keep pushing, but change our tactics. IOW, appeal to the concern over the safety of the mother. Abortion clinics should be better regulated, only doctors allowed to perform them, their business structure should be transparent and who their lobbyists are should be publicized.

[PapaBear3625]

Also, the Pubs thrive among married couples with children. The grass roots organizing and promotion of state amendments supporting marriage should be intensified as well as abortion laws and tax benefits to being married and having children.

Welfare should be abolished at the federal level, and left to the states. Laws which create an incentive for women to file for divorce (and women do most of the filings) should also be abolished.

[wmfights]

Social conservatives should seriously consider leaving the GOP.

I think the moderates should step back and leave the leadership of the party to the most loyal voting block, the social conservatives. It's our party!

[af_vet_rr]

I’m not so sure she is pro-amnesty rather than not bucking McCain. She will need to rethink that argument. I’m a S. Texan, born and raised on the border (Brownsville), I have never supported amnesty in any form, our sensible and more than fair immigration laws must be enforced and adhered to.

The only comments she has made about illegal immigrants is the pro-amnesty interview she gave to Univision. Nobody managed to find anything else she has said, and given that Alaska is so out of tune with the rest of the US, it would not be surprising if she's been able to remain quiet on amnesty, since it wouldn't have been an issue there.

If she was just saying all of that to go along with the McCain campaign, then I definitely don't want her anywhere near any future GOP tickets as either VP or President, because I want somebody who has a spine and who doesn't toe the party or campaign line simply because they are told to or because they are trying to win votes. That's just as bad as being in support of it in the first place, because it says you will set your beliefs aside in order to win, and that in tune with a typical sleazebag politician.

Amnesty to me has become even more important in 2008 (and 2010 and 2012) because the Dems now have the numbers in Congress and they have the White House and they have a serious chance at pushing this through. Not only that, but both McCain and Obama were pro-amnesty from the start (as I said, I fully expect McCain-Kennedy II to be pushed through the Senate).

It will destroy the GOP, once and for all, and 2008 was the last time I will ever vote for a pro-amnesty Republican.

[wmfights]

Republicans could win if they focused on fiscal responsibility, cracking down on illegal immigration and crime, and protecting the Second Amendment.

The problem we have in the short term is they were so irresponsible when they were in control it's hard to believe they will be responsible in the future. On illegal immigration they were so absolutist that it turned the middle over to the Rats. We need to resolve how to handle the status of those that are here and have not violated other laws and how to deal with the labor shortage.

The pro-life argument mobilizes the social conservatives, but it mobilizes the Left even more if they can give the impression that Republicans will outlaw abortion.

The pro-life proponents have been willing to take incremental steps (ban late term abortions etc.) it's time to increase the awareness on safety and the need for transparency. Abortion clinics should be safer, only allow doctors to perform them and the entire process should be better regulated for the safety of the woman.

[wagglebee]

I think the moderates should step back and leave the leadership of the party to the most loyal voting block, the social conservatives. It's our party!

That would be nice, a lot like when the RINOs left (some more willingly than others) FR and started WAnkerville.

Unfortunately, I don't see the RINOs in the GOP doing that, they seem to think that it's their party. When pushed on conservative principles they will ALWAYS bring up Barry Goldwater, but then they have no real response when you point out that Goldwater was actually the GOP version of McGovern and that the differences between 1964 and 1980 PROVE that conservatism MUST be fiscal, defensive AND social in order to succeed.

[af_vet_rr]

I think the key to gaining control and keeping it is to control the money. All too often we elect conservatives who then abandon us once they are in power. I think that's because they want to get reelected and the party controls the money. Also, we need aggressive young conservative turks to run the party organization that is responsible for finding candidates.

A big part of the problem is we get these people entrenched in Congress. Their job is no longer representing the people who elected them, their job becomes raise money and make and keep certain connections for their next election, especially with Representatives. We need term limits, because these people forget why they were elected, and it becomes all about getting the cash to win in the next election.

[Shery]

Everyone has to get their kicks into Sarah...for what reason? I was so thrilled that McCain picked her! My husband and myself had been saying for weeks, no make that months, before she was chosen that we wanted Sarah to be our VP and eventually President. We were stunned, but elated when she was chosen. I will still believe that ACORN and Obama stole this election. With all the stories of people bragging about being driven around to several precincts to vote every day the first week that early voting opened...you just have to figure that for every one of our votes there were those who were voting as many as 70 or more times! We must work to have elections secured by bipartisan groups. This is nonsense, and also this recounting and adding in votes for democrats. Not once is there ever an extra vote added in for a Republican. Our past 3 election cycles have been shams. Complete shams. You cannot tell me that the democratic party won fair and square. It dosen’t compute, when you think of the tremendous difference that Palin made on the ticket. With ACORN groups in every major city and dozens of very suspicious recounts, there is more than a little fraud going on.

[sam_paine]

EyeGuy: Which fundamental, core belief would you suggest we “give”** on:

I do not suggest we "give" on any of our core beliefs.

But we cannot win in 2010/2012/... if we insist on politicians who are all better than Reagan.

12 million abortions occured during Ronald Reagan's two terms.
3 million illegal lawbreakers were given Amnesty by Ronald Reagan.
Ronald Reagan cut-and-ran from terrorists in Lebanon.
The Log Cabin Republican group supported Ronald Reagan for President.
Bush's Press Secretary wrote a nasty book. But Reagan's Press Secretary and his wife got the Brady Bill assault on the 2nd Amendment passed under Clinton.

Reagan was the best President conservatives will see in our lives, and there is nobody even close to a Ronald Reagan in sight.

The "conservapurist" attitude would rip even Ronald Reagan to shreds.

** [Why do you use quotes on "give" when I did not use the word at all in my post? Do you work for the NYT? (: ]

[wagglebee]

I think your analysis is spot on. A couple things are different though. The 2 dominant political parties have been able to structure election laws in such a way that it gives them a near monopoly. The media only pays attention to a 3rd party when it will benefit the Rats. On the basis of these two factors alone it is easier to push back the "mushy" moderates and take control of the party than to leave and start over.

You make some good points; however, I think if several "big name" Republicans left it might be harder to ignore.

All too often we elect conservatives who then abandon us once they are in power.

I think the problem is that we elect people who RAN as conservatives, but we never spent enough time figuring out if they were really committed to conservative principles.

Finally, on the issue of abortion (the slaughter of innocent life) we need to keep pushing, but change our tactics. IOW, appeal to the concern over the safety of the mother. Abortion clinics should be better regulated, only doctors allowed to perform them, their business structure should be transparent and who their lobbyists are should be publicized.

I am unwilling to support policies that essentially say, "do this and THEN you can kill babies."

The reality is most Americans are totally unaware that 50 million babies have been killed since 1973 and that babies continue to be slaughtered at the rate of 150 per hour. If a candidate gets in front of the American people and simply lays out the FACTS about abortion, I think we would see a dramatic shift in public opinion.

[ZULU]

The mid term losses were due to public dissatifaction with a war that seemed to be going nowhere, the gerneal incompetence of the Bush bunch nearly everywhere and Bush’s arrogant failure to protect the Mexican border from invaders.

The 2008 defeat was a compound of those factors, McCain’s inappropriateness as a Republican Presidential candidate, his own poor performance and the miserable campaign he ran, as well as the economic collapse.

It had NOTHING to do with social issues - NADA., except Bush’s failure to adhere to them.