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 Republican Party can be reformed. Only those people who want everything overnight are losing faith."
Right. Before 2000, it was "When we have the presidency, we can move forward with a conservative agenda." When Bush was first elected it was, "Wait until we have a majority in the Senate, THEN we can move forward with a conservative agenda." Then it was, "Wait until we have a Super-majority in the Senate." I don't lay all the blame at Bush's feet, but the GOP loves its power way too much. They spend like drunken sailors and only make the most half-hearted efforts at returning us to a constitutional government. The USSC doesn't even READ the damn thing any more (witness Kelo)
never mind go with the founders' original intentions.
Sure the LP et. al. is full of weirdos and cranks. But it has to start somewhere. I've voted for Republicans way too often who only turn out to be Democrats on the inside.
Well, I won't be here too much longer to see this enacted, but I'll pass it along to my children as a prophesy from a fellow freeper. I know we're on a world-wide downward spiral but I question that it will occur that rapidly. Quick and relatively painless or slow and torturous? Either way, not a pleasant scenario and I hope you're wrong.
There fundamental point of view seems to be similar, although I think the Dems come closer to actually having a point of view. Which, in this case, is a plus for the Republicans.
Democrats raised taxes. Republicans lowered taxes.
That's a major difference to me.
The repub's have been complaining on and on about if they had control over all branches they'd get stuff done -----well, they've had years of control and done NOTHING worth a damn.
I've been hearing the demo's and the repub's point the finger at each other year after year after year and yet?
We STILL have an ever expanding government with more and more liberty destroying rules and laws.
We STILL have an Unconstitutional taxing system.
We STILL have a DOE, FBI, socialist (in)security, and a whole slew of FDR's new (Unconstitutional) deal crappola.
Its time to sweep away the same old tired BS and restore this Country to the Constitutional republic it was set up to be.
Hahahahahahahahahaha.
Maybe at one time, yes, but today NO.
I have copies of both the republican and democrat party platform(s) and if the repub's stuck too their original platform, I'd say your correct. They swayed sooooooooooooooo far from their original platform that they don't even come close to what they originally started as.
And don't tell me the dem's raised taxes and the repub's lowered them, that crappola has been the theme BS for as long as I can remember.
Both parties STILL refer to this country as a "democracy". BOTH parties STILL act as if they are the master and we are the servants. Neither party has ever tried to end ANY of FDR's socialistic "New Deal" policies. In fact both parties have been expanding them to greater proportions then even FDR could have ever dreamed of.
So tell me, what are the "vast" diffderences?
Hahahahahahahahahaha.
Maybe at one time, yes, but today NO.
I have copies of both the republican and democrat party platform(s) and if the repub's stuck too their original platform, I'd say your correct. They swayed sooooooooooooooo far from their original platform that they don't even come close to what they originally started as.
And don't tell me the dem's raised taxes and the repub's lowered them, that crappola has been the theme BS for as long as I can remember.
Both parties STILL refer to this country as a "democracy". BOTH parties STILL act as if they are the master and we are the servants. Neither party has ever tried to end ANY of FDR's socialistic "New Deal" policies. In fact both parties have been expanding them to greater proportions then even FDR could have ever dreamed of.
So tell me, what are the "vast" diffderences?
I earned $10,800 so far in September.
I'll probably have $4,000 deposited in my checking account.
I don't give a darn who wins the next election either, unless they allow me to keep more of what I earned!
I cannot even tell you how sick I am of this CRAP.
Laura Ingraham was on this pathetic tear this morning.
President Bush inherited a country that was (in spite of the Reagan years) firmly entrenched in the Great Society mentality of Lyndon Johnson.
The welfare state had reigned so supreme that, whatever the third rail means -- I never knew -- it was the fourth or fifth rail. It's children were single moms, poverty pimps and increasing racial divide.
Other children were political correctness, feminism, environmental wacko-ism. These children gave us refusals to drill for oil, myriad standards for gasoline making it fiscally unprofitable to build refineries, abortions by the millions, including partial birth.
This is the society he inherited. You can't change an ingrained mindset like this over night. If you try, you will just lose, as Hillary found out when she tried to force a health care agenda all at once. She could probably have done it incrementally.
Bush has done SO much. He opened up the Social Security discussion that no one before him had dared to touch. He may not get it done, but at least people are thinking about it. This is important--because, left untouched, the social security system would have inevitably led to socialism.
He got tax cuts which the demos fight tooth and nail. He has dealt with a horrible attack on the country and led a war that we won so easily, everyone has decided it wasn't necessary.
He has remained courteous and affable in the face of the most unfair and lying attacks.
And NOW he has to hear this kind of crap from his own people.
Bump for later.
FIFTEEN EASY WAYS TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS
Democrats buy most of the books that have been banned somewhere. Republicans form censorship committees and read them as a group.
Republicans consume three fourths of all the rutabega produced in this country. The remainder is thrown out.
Republicans usually wear hats and almost always clean their paint brushes.
Democrats give their worn-out clothes to the less fortunate. Republicans wear theirs.
Republicans employ exterminators. Democrats step on the bugs.
Republicans tend to keep their shades drawn, although there is seldom any reason why they should. Democrats ought to, but don’t.
Democrats created Earth Day and most of the current environmental legislation.
Most of the stuff alongside the road has been thrown out of the windows by Democrats.
Republicans raise dahlias and dalmatians. Democrats raise pit bulls and taxes.
Democrats eat the fish they catch. Republicans hang them on the wall.
Democrats make up plans and then do something else. Republicans follow the plans their grandfathers made.
Sorry if the GOP brings even 60% of what i view to be good for the country it is good enough for me
granted right now i am not thrilled with them but do i want any gun grabbers like Kerry or Hillary in the Presidency? DO i want my taxes raised? Do i want to be subjugated by the UN? If i vote for a "third" party i help the Democrats win whether you like it or not.
Er, you shouldn't include the refutation right in the middle of your argument.
President Reagan inherited a country that was more firmly entrenched in the Great Society mentality of Lyndon Johnson (its failures hadn't yet become as obvious, and it had of course not yet been weakened by his own efforts). He got off his butt and did something about it.
One Party is for Life and the other is for Death. As a nominee everyone's main priority was Pro-Life and now that isn't good enough.
Pray for W and Our Freedom Fighters
The problem with that is that many of those who migrate bring their idiotic lib ideas with them.
Then why are the Red States getting redder? The most significant migration is from the Rust Belt to the South. The South is only getting redder, not blue.
Some like Rush say Dubya is out to destroy the Democrat party. I guess the way to do so is to outspend them, out-Democrat the Democrats. So, if that happens, those who went from voting Dem to Repub because they got their pork, will then say "Ok, that's enough, you can take my pork away, now that we've whipped them" ? I don't think so. People will want their "free" stuff. As I speculated on another post (and I'm sure many others have), an equilibrium will be found between freedom and socialism, when the producers are outnumbered by the eaters. You can see it some places in Europe now. The producers are squawking about the taxes, and the eaters are squawking about attempts to cut back on their "free" stuff from failed socialist policies. Equilibrium. Better than than a full freedomless dictatorship like N. Korea or Cuba, but not as good as a Republic as the Founders created.
Arizona voted solidly for Bush, yet voted in a lefty Democrat governor who stonewalls against Prop 102 which tries to put an end to vote fraud and the subsidizing of illegal immigration. Her opponent was right of center, but certainly not far right. He couldn't beat her, and she enjoys a nice popularity cushion right now, at least according to polls.
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