Posted on 06/28/2010 11:45:55 AM PDT by American Dream 246
There are "movement conservatives," and there are politicians who change their stripes for every occasion. Right now, the conservative movement is getting rolled by the latter.
Let us remember another day. Health care was all the rage (at least in the press), and leading "conservatives" were leading the third way. Newt Gingrich was working with Hillary Clinton on a more gradual route to universal health care, according to the New York Times and other sources.
"Conservative" Mitt Romney was building the Massachusetts universal health care along "business" principles fresh from saving the Olympics.
Now what? Well, Obama, the Tea Party, and Sarah Palin have lit a fire in the country, and every politician of every stripe has taken notice. And guess what: Newt Gingrich is all about repealing universal health care. Mitt Romney is all about anything other than what happened in Massachusetts.
Another example? Take Karl Rove. We now hear him every week on Fox News talking about the minutiae of how Obama has overreached. His book is titled Courage and Consequence. Again, let us hearken back a few years.
Karl Rove and George Bush gave us Obama and Democratic majorities in both houses. They rolled the conservatives by touting George Bush as a "compassionate conservative." Has anyone forgotten the greatest spending spree until Obama? Has anyone forgotten the prescription drug benefit -- pushed through Congress with muscle foretelling what was later to come from Rahm and Obama?
What courage? Just look at the consequences -- and conservatives are buying that book?
Remember the "no new taxes" George Bush, sold as the "conservative" successor to President Reagan. One recalls "a kinder, gentler" conservative. Conservatives got rolled again.
Conservatives always get rolled with modifiers.
Well, here we are again.
We movement conservatives and the Tea Party are about to get rolled. We are going to get sucked in by candidates like Huckabee, who just realized the error of his ways in pardoning a criminal who murdered four Seattle police officers; Romney, who is a perfect reflection of whatever is going on in the body politic; and Gingrich, who uses every technical buzzword to convince people he is some kind of new idea machine.
Yet each, when the winds came in from the west, was quite different. Moderate, perhaps? Or nonpartisan? Or just a reflection of what they thought might get them elected.
Critical thinking demands that we remember these people in their milieu -- what were they in different times? When times were liberal, they were, well, less conservative. When the press said people demanded less partisanship, Newt and Hillary traveled and spoke together, almost holding hands.
It is time we realize that there are "movement conservatives" and there are opportunistic conservatives. Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, and a host of emerging new candidates are movement conservatives.
What is different about them is they are conservative in their core, not in their clothing. When times get tough for conservatives, nothing changes. So when times get better, they aren't likely to compromise.
People amazingly recall Reagan today as a "great president." Not Bush, not Nixon, just Reagan. Well, let us recall why -- he was the only movement conservative elected in the last fifty years. Reagan was great because he was a movement conservative; he never did anything just to get along or get elected.
The changes needed in America today are not a matter of degree; they are a matter of kind. The entire American mindset must fundamentally change away from democratic socialism and toward individual self-reliance.
That mindset is changing. The political class, however, is not.
The changes needed in America require saying "no" in a big way and being vilified in the press. Our leaders need to be able to stand up to massive left-wing media resistance and not compromise the core.
This can be done only by a movement conservative.
Repeal ObamaCare, not reduce it. Stop long-term welfare dependency, not alleviate it. Change the tax system so everyone participates, not just reduce top rates. Embrace free enterprise, not just regulate it less. End the dominance of the NEA. Vouchers everywhere, not just in Cleveland. Get rid of the Departments of Energy, Education, and Commerce, and then get started reducing government.
Gingrich, Romney, Rove, and Huckabee are trying to seduce the conservative movement into another dance with a newly found conservatism. If any of their ilk get elected, we will have "socialism, more slowly."
We will lose the greatest opportunity in a political lifetime to change the direction of the country.
Palin, the Tea Party, Bachmann are the real deal.
We must always remember how we got here -- looking at national bankruptcy. It was with "compassionate," "kinder, gentler" modifier conservatives who found conservatism when the wind blew that way.
Is McCain the real deal?
Do we even need to ask? (Or Kirk, or Castle?).\!
I come from a RINO state (Ohio) and, though I like the cut of your jib, I can tell you what you’re missing.
It turns out there aren’re really that many Conservatives around. Hence the Republicans have to run to the center to get elected.
And yes, you’re right, that’s all it is about for them.
But anyone who truly runs to the right in a general election is likely to get creamed. The only way that can happen is if the current office holder is so thouroughly disgraced that people recoil in horror (think Reagan after Carter).
Now you might argue Obama is worse. Sure he is! But the average “low information voter” does not perceive this.
As long as the media stays on the reservation (and they will), I’m afraid there isn’t really much we can do.
We have a giant problem. Conservatives have not taken the party back.
They are posing, all of them. I would wager that none of them will go whole hog to repeal Obozocare. They will tell us they will make it better, just tweak it.
We have a party with too many RINO’s and RINO apologists.
what a nightmare.
I fully agree with all of you. But may be...I try to stay optimistic..the win of Haley and hopefully Nevada seems that people, at least on our side, are aware of the rino danger. I am the type with a half full glass today. Now the half empty glass part of me tells me that more than half of American are totally braindead and that the dictator will stay in power for ever...
How true! We can easily see the hypocrisy of politicians on the left, but we do not want to see the same hypocrisy on the right, but it is there just the same. Huckabee thinks he is a rock star, the other three are trying to live off what they see as 'past glories.' What they all want is executive power and they give the word 'turncoat' a certain respectability.
Indylindy,
I hope you are wrong. I am running on repealing the healthcare bill and cutting spending across the board and elimination of any authorities beyond the 18 enumerated. I am gaining good traction in ultra-liberal Massachusetts. I hope that a victory by some of us will put the fear of the voter in the RINO’s.
“But anyone who truly runs to the right in a general election is likely to get creamed. The only way that can happen is if the current office holder is so thouroughly disgraced that people recoil in horror (think Reagan after Carter).”
As Reagan said, conservativism wins every time it’s tried.
Good for you. I will be pulling for you.
I don’t trust many politicians anymore just like a lot of people. They all sound good before an election and then stab you in the back down the road.
The GOP hasn’t changed its dismal leadership, nor have they made any move to change the primary process. I have little faith left that they will.
I could almost predict now that we will get who they pick in 2012, not who the voters pick.
Here in Western Mass, we have been playing up the importance of membership in the Town committees and state committee person positions. These are the people that choose who will represent us. As you can tell by our choice for gov. we have not made complete progress yet, but we are working on it. It is a battle against time really.
Thanx for your support.
I believe it is a battle against time.
Best of luck to you. Keep us informed on your campaign.
I don’t know the details of Ohio politics, but I can’t think of a single politician nationally who has run to the right in a general election and lost.
Great luck to you Bill Gunn, you have chosen a difficult path to follow in MA :) I wonder if any one of your potential constituents have asked for your opinion or position on the general welfare clause found in Article 1. Section 8? Do you support the Madison or Hamilton interpretation, or something other?
Website?
The general welfare clause is simply a statement granting authority to raise money to pay for debts arising out of the application of the enumerated powers in Article 1 section 8 and any further amendments.
www.billgunnforcongress.org
Thanks. Best of luck to you, sir.
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