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Posted on 09/19/2005 8:10:32 AM PDT by Mikey
The turn of the century was supposed to be the triumph of the conservatives. From the dark era of the Democrat-dominated '60s and '70s, conservatives began their protracted march toward electoral power, culminating finally in the long-awaited capture of all three branches of the federal government. The Reagan Revolution was finally to be realized in earnest!
But just as most Republican Supreme Court nominees have turned out to be treacherous supporters of big government – activist liberals in disguise – their legislative- and executive-branch colleagues likewise revealed themselves to be every bit as unfaithful to conservative principles of small government and individual freedom. As is all too often the case, conservative success carried within it the seeds of its own demise.
President Bush's recent speech on his administration's planned long-term response to Hurricane Katrina marked an interesting point in the continued devolution of American conservatism. Whereas his first five years had previously been a strange combination of strategic Wilsonian foreign policy and tactical Keynesian domestic policy, the president managed to make it abundantly clear that in domestic terms, his presidential guiding light is Lyndon Baines Johnson, not Ronald Wilson Reagan.
Real conservatives now understand they have been betrayed – badly – by this fraudulent man. Compassionate conservatism, as it turns out, is simply another name for Great Society liberalism, and not even the Texas swagger is original. Genuinely conservative Republicans are dismayed by the president's unveiling of his core liberalism and rightly fear for the future of a party which has likely seen its high-water mark already.
But nothing dissuades the Three Monkeys from screeching and howling their enthusiasm for their Dear Leader's every action. They have redefined conservatism to be the actions of one known as a conservative, so the individual is no longer defined by his ideology, the ideology is defined by the individual.
Consider radio host and former WND columnist Hugh Hewitt's take on the president's speech:
My acquaintances at the nation's leading "conservative" blog, Powerline, agreed:
Unfortunately, celebrating the realization of that which one opposes is the predictable end result of pragmatism, which is nothing more than a euphemism for the slow sacrifice of one's principles. Longtime readers may recall that I wrote the following in 2003:
As I feared, that tide has continued to rise under the aegis of a Republican House, Senate, presidency and Supreme Court. So, are there truly no conservatives left in the Republican Party today? Or is the determination to see, hear and speak no evil about the present gang of Republican charlatans in office based on a fear of giving aid and comfort to Hillary Clinton in 2008?
In either case, it is apparent that mainstream politics in America has been reduced to a Seinfeldian sport wherein voters are simply rooting for laundry.
Since the Republican Party has dedicated itself to racing its Democratic rivals in offering more bread and circuses to the underprivileged masses, there is no longer any reason for conservatives to support it. Disenchanted and dismayed Republicans will do well to remember these pragmatic betrayals of conservative principle when The Most Important Election of Our Lifetime rolls around again three years from now.
Vox Day is a novelist and Christian libertarian. He is a member of the SFWA, Mensa and the Southern Baptist church, and has been down with Madden since 1992. Visit his Web log, Vox Popoli, for daily commentary and responses to reader email.
The heck with constantly electing the lesser of two evils. The lesser of two evils. is STILL evil. Its like trying to choose between Hitler or Stalin.
Elect statesmen, not politicians.
So we can vote for a party that gets 0.002% of the vote and never get a damn thing we want, right?
There are plenty of good conservatives in the GOP. We will be better served getting them to the forefront of the party than trying to vote for a third party that will never get more votes nationwide than the number of people living in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
It's not a coming collapse- it already happened when Congress passed the new Medicare drug entitlement and Bush fell in love with illegal aliens.
Whatever might be left that could be called conservative largely involves largely symbolic issues like the Schiavo controversy. Just a little symbolic red meat to throw to the unsuspecting conservative masses while this country turns into a debt-ridden suburb of Mexico.
I care very little who wins the next election, unless the Republicans nominate someone who will do something about illegal immigration. I already know nobody will be a serious fiscal conservative- those don't exist in Washington with the possible exception of renegades like Coburn.
I agree with you. That is why I dropped out of the RINOcrat party and refuse to give them a dime anymore.
The premis of the article is the conservative collapse. How is the impending Republican collapse the same as the impending conservative collapse?
Bottom line, liberalism and socialism always fail. In country after country where socialism rules the day, those countries are collapsing from their own weight. In the U.S., those lovely liberal Red States are spiraling downward and forcing their residents to migrate to Red States, a huge demographic shift.
Conservatism collapsing, Bravo Sierra.
We're DOOOOOOOOooooommmmed!!!!!!
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I agree.
I came across a post the other day, by a freeper that appears to have been around for a long time. His post stated, "Conservatives don't care how big government is".
I see comments like this here all the time.
We are all LBJ liberals now! Bye Bye Conservatives.
Are you getting what you want now?
So is everyone going to jump ship and vote for the DemocRATS?
This was posted by a long time guy, that's been here since '98.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1484812/posts?page=58#58
Give my vote to Hillary, you say? No thanks.
Correct. The only difference is that you aren't the first one to say it.
We were doomed from the very first day. AND, most of those who were instrumental in starting the country knew it. A fair number said so aloud.
There have always been and always will be, authoritarian pukes from both ends of the political spectrum who make sure it cannot work.
Huh? Sounds like a wierd mix to me. Especially the Mensa (eugenics) and the Christian (pro-life, I hope) mix...
The Constitution Party is trying to do too much at once. What they need to do now is work on getting people elected to local posts, then state posts, and finally the federal posts. As it is, they are just throwing away money in national elections. In short, build up, don't try to be a major party over night. It won't happen. (Note: I voted Constitution Party for several state offices, so I am not unsympathetic).
They may not be the best this country can get, but then with the glee the MSM disects anyone who runs for office, why would anyone WANT to run? Leaves the professional politicians.
The best reason to support the Republican's is the supreme court. Vote for the Rat party and we get more Ginsbergs. Put the rats in charge of the senate of congress and we don't have a chance of getting a conservative.
More Ginsbergs and this country is lost and Clinton wins his world-dominated government. I think everyone needs to think clearly on the subject before '06 and rushing out to vote against a Republican candidate.
I hope you are a paid shill, because the Constitution Party is a business - and their business is taking contributions from frustrated cranks in order to pay themselves for managing "campaigns" that elect no one and will never elect anyone.
I am sorry but the statement about conservatives not caring about size of government is wrong. Republicans might not care, but conservatives do. Republicans and conservatives are not one and the same in their thinking.
Well I agree that there has been a REAL betrayal by the republican (party) leadership, but there are a few sane fiscal conservatives left in D.C. Take Mike Pence leader of the RSC (basically the COnservative Caucus) in the HoR. He was on television yesterday trying to persuade the President and congress to cut back on big government intitatives and pork-barrel to pay for the Katrina aid :)! Now that is something that is needed! Plus there was a core that voted against the spending bill :)!@
So things are not totoally helpless, especially if we elect someone like Pence, Coburn, Tancredo... to POTUS. In fact my friends are running the -draft Pence- campaing for 08!!
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