The fight for conservatism

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ^ | Saturday, October 25, 2003 | Bill Steigerwald

[Willie Green]

The American Conservative Union (www.conservative.org), founded in 1964, dates back to the earliest days of the modern conservative movement.

Unlike neoconservatives and even some traditional conservatives, who have fallen in love with big, busy government and its power, the ACU continues to keep the "true" conservative faith by lobbying hard for limited government, individual liberty, capitalism, a strong national defense and a strict reading of the Constitution.

[luckydevi]

for later

[Zipporah]

It's about time the neocons were defined. The lines have been blurred. Paleo-conservatism thankfully is having a revival.

[Holden Magroin]

David Keene and his organization support Arlen Specter and the ACLU. He ought to write a letter to himself.

[Zipporah]

Ouch.. ..

[MayDay72]

...Bump...

[gcruse]

lobbying hard for limited government, individual liberty, capitalism, a strong national defense and a strict reading of the Constitution.

Strict reading of the Tenth Amendment is not a conservative thing.
Individual liberty?  Are conservatives against the WOsD?
Limited government?  Is Bush a conservative?
It looks like the only real conservatives are libertarians.

[tpaine]

gcruse wrote:

It looks like the only real conservatives are libertarians.

---

Exactly.. The only republicans left worthy of the name are:

RLC Liberty Caucus

Address:http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/rlc/browse

[eddie willers]

We're not against big government simply because it doesn't work. We're not against big government simply because it's expensive

Perhaps not....but those are reasons enough.

[gcruse]

The heart of the conservative movement has really
been the belief in limited government and individual freedom.

I think this was put to sleep when Prohibition was enacted,
and has never reawakened in the conservative heart.  Instead,
the idea of using the levers of state power to criminalize the
way we don't think others should live has taken root.

[RJCogburn]

We now live in an era and under a president -- who I like in many ways -- who is presiding over the fastest growing government that we've had since the New Deal.

So, why would I choose to vote for GWB again?

[gcruse]

So we can have four more years of John Ashcroft? ;)

[mrsmith]

Very reasonable remarks. Not the usual name-calling.

Reducing big government is going to be a whole lot harder than building it.

[hripka]

And your alternative is . . . Dean? Clark? Kerry? Lieberman?Gephart? Kucinich? Sharpton?

I think most of these would tax your shirt off, and do nothing about terrorism.

Is GWB perfect? No, perfection can't be found in any man. I wish the GOP would cut spending. I know the Democrats won't.

[mysterio]

It's not enough for me. I still like Bush as a person, and I think he is an honest man. I think the war in Iraq was justified. However, what has happened to civil liberty and the Constitution under him has been the main reason I have started voting libertarian or other third party. The Bill of Rights is quite clear. I see no room for interpretation or exceptions. There is no footnote that says "unless we need to look for terrorists or catch drug dealers" after any of the Amendments. There are two legal ways to put aside the Bill of Rights. You can declare martial law, or you can amend the Constitution. Any federal gun law is unconstitutional. Any modification to the search and seizure laws is unconstitutional. Do you think that current situations should change our take on the Bill of Rights? Then pass an amendment. If not, you just can't do it. They are doing it anyway. I don't think it's right.

[StriperSniper]

an abject surrender to the dominance of the state in human affairs.

Yup, it seems like the only fight is over who gets to pull which levers. :(

[Consort]

The dumbing down is alive and well and might even be ahead of schedule.

[LibertarianInExile]

You have stated this clearly and succintly. It seems likely others might read your comments here and seriously reflect on them. Therefore, you must only be interested in getting high and molesting dead children.

[shakes head...looks up blankly...sudden nod of recognition]

My God! I was channeling Roscoe! Sorry about that.

[Eagle Eye]

bttt

[RJCogburn]

I am beyond voting for the person who is less bad than the other....unless, of course, it's Hillary running.