That may not be all who's doing the infiltrating.
If you want a Google GMail account, FReepmail me.
They're going fast!
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.
Actually we need not discuss this tangent you went off on. If you are happy with the clap, have a ball.
Anyone who believes these imbecile in either party in this country will lead them to smaller, constitutional government is insane. And probably has the drip as well.
There'd be none if it could be shown that they are just as wrong on abortion, gay marriage, right to homeschool, reparations, silly in God we trust trendy issues, etc. as D's.
Excellent post. Always enjoy reading Vox's insights.
Well, best of luck to you getting your party to do that.
Gimme a break. It's like me saying there's no difference between World Net Daily and the New York Times. Saying it doesn't make it real.
Please explain. I see no problem with belonging to either group. I know more than a few folks that joined in late high school as something to put on a college app. Would I attend a Mensa meeting? Not on your life. Most of them seem too nerdy.
Try selling that to the people of New Orleans who had their guns confiscated last week.
They won't buy it, and neither do I.
Which party would that be?
And thanks, it is always hard to wrest freedom back from thugs. But, you have to keep trying. And it's not as hard if you aren't in denial.
You can never wrest it completely away. Freedom is a struggle for all eternity, my friend.
You're argument dismisses the fact that the republican party now operates by a very different set of rules, dictated by the political enviornment.
Neither a "real" conservative nor a "real" liberal will ever get enough of a majority to ram whatever they want down the American public's throat. The electorate is nicely polarized that way: approximately 40% will reliably vote either party, it's the 20% in the middle that has to be fought over and catered to. Catering to them takes two forms: the liberal way is to ouright bribe them, the republican way is to repackage their agenda in a more palatible form. This is all public relations.
In terms of who is a "real" this or that, it makes no difference. The total package cannot be advanced in the face of public opinion. No political agenda can be advanced without a groundswell of popular support and even that must be tempered by the potential reaction of that middle 20%. Tancredo, to take your example, could not be nominated because his pet peeve, immigration, would threaten the inroads republicans have made in the Hispanic community (Bush got 47% of the Hispanic vote)which offsets the democratic black and elderly vote.
His view is political dynamite to any continuing conservative advance. Even if I do agree with it.
Now if Tancredo were to "evolve" his position on immigration in order to be more acceptable to "swing voters" (like Bush 41 did on abortion, or as Clinton did on Welfare reform) the more rabid conservatives would pillory him and tie his hands.
The issue is on how to pick and present your arguments, and then the process of how they're implemented. On the subject of Bush and conservatism, he's managed to advance some very conservative ideas but at the expense of another: fiscal responsibility, and even that is arguable, because he's not the one who runs up the tab: Congress does that. You can't fault Bush for not being more fiscally responsible while his party takes out the credit cards secure in the knowledge that their activities are veto-proof. They have the votes to overturn a veto.
It's the so-called conservatives in Congress who are making a hash of conservative ideas. The President is merely the mouthpiece and the salesman, and while his agenda and ideas are couched in conservative terms, it's his counterparts on Capitol Hill that make them either realities or nightmares.
Brought back our EP-3 intel plane and crew from China without bribes or bloodshed... yes -- after the ChiComs finished taking plane and crew apart for intel purposes. No victory there...
Initiated discussion on private medical accounts, and possibly private Social Security accounts = talk. The Republican-dominated Congress allowed both ideas to die...
Tried to push through conservative federal judges = talk. The Republican-dominated Congress allowed most candidates to be dropped from consideration...
Reduced taxes on dividends and capital gains; eliminated the IRS marriage penalty; increased small business incentives to expand and hire new people... he loosened our chains a bit, but Massa (the IRS) still exists...
Submitted a comprehensive Energy Plan to Congress, which should produce more oil and gas here at home while developing cleaner technology energy...= talk. The Republican-dominated Congress will never take any real action against Big Energy...
Challenged the United Nations to live up to their responsibilities and not become irrelevant... = talk. The Republican-dominated Congress will never take the US out of the UN.
My thesis is simple: President Bush and the GOP-dominated Congress have been in power for five years, and yet abortion is still legal, the IRS still exists, the borders are flooded with illegals, and we're still running the country on credit cards and imported oil.
I see talk, talk, talk, but no real change where it counts. Sorry.
Federally we have gained ground and we will keep gaining ground. Vote Dem if you want, or some third party, you will be digging your own graves. I for one will keep voting republican, because at this time it is the only choice we have.
If we get rid of the Dem party, which seems highly likely, we can then start another conservative party that holds to true conservative values, until then, the republican party is it, take it or leave it, your choice.
We agree on that.
That may not be all who's doing the infiltrating.
If you want a Google GMail account, FReepmail me.
They're going fast!
That's a fact. From time to time the stormfronters and other white supremacists group members join and try to recruit. Once found they are given the boot.
You said,
"I'm no longer voting Republican until they clean up their house."
I'm not happy either with the direction that Bush and Repubs as a whole have gone (runaway spending & growth in govt, betrayal of conservative majority base, pandering to the Dimwits & lunatic left, RINOs who betray us & attack us). However I will still contribute to individual conservative Republican primary candidates to oust the RINOs (such as Chafee) or to support candidates like Hiram Lewis against Dimwit Robert Byrd. And even if I don't financially support the Republican party as opposed to individual candidate contributions, I will vote for Republican candidates in order to defeat the far greater evil of having DemocRAT Dimwits in office.
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