Posted on 10/03/2005 10:38:40 PM PDT by goldstategop
hereby officially pronounce the conservative movement dead.
May it rest in peace.
It was killed by its faith in men, not principles – men like George W. Bush.
The appointments of John Roberts as chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and Harriet Miers as associate justice serve as the epitaphs for the political movement.
But even before these betrayals, conservatism was on life support.
It could not have survived the irresponsible spending by the Republican Congress, approved by the president during the last five years.
The conservative movement, in the best of times, represented a defensive effort to slow the trend toward unconstitutional, unlimited, centralized, Washington-based government.
Today, it represents, at best, only the hope of a slightly slower trend toward socialism and tyranny.
Let me state this plainly, as I do in my new updated, paperback edition of "Taking America Back": If Republicans filled every seat in the U.S. Congress and maintained control of the presidency, unconstitutional government would continue in Washington unchecked.
The confirmation of that fact came last week when former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay explained there was absolutely no place to cut the bloated federal budget. He said Republicans had done such a good job reining in government spending over the last decade, there was no fat left.
For those who still revere and love the U.S. Constitution, freedom and the goal of self-government, the death of the conservative movement might seem like a bad thing. I would submit to you it may be a necessary development to restoring the American Dream.
As long as the totality of political alternatives for the American people are represented by the Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals, the drift away from the unique founding principles of American sovereignty and liberty will inevitably continue.
Quite frankly, it's time for some new creative thinking among Americans who still value what made America great.
No amount of defensive wrangling will be enough to preserve or restore our free republic.
It's time to think outside the box. It's time to exercise some courage and boldness. It's time to realize no war is won fighting defensively – trying in vain to hold on to old turf with no attempt to win new turf. It's time for freedom-lovers to reframe their political objectives. It's time to set goals for expanding liberty and morality, not just beating back relentless attempts to rob us of them.
Are you looking for new strategies, new tactics? Do you see that conservatism has only lost ground for the last 17 years? Do you understand we need to do more than work to elect politicians to represent us in Washington? Do you agree that the corruption of our system now runs too deep?
This may sound alarmist to some: But, at this point in history, Americans are less free than we were under the Crown of England.
Do any of us have the courage and convictions of our Founders? How many of us are willing to risk our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor for the cause of freedom today?
That is my challenge to you today.
We can complain about out-of-control government for the rest of our lives. We can continue to watch our liberty slip away. We can leave our children and grandchildren a society far worse off than the one which we inherited from our parents and grandparents. Or we stand up to the tyranny, get organized, set goals for expanding freedom, reclaiming ground robbed from us and set above rebuilding that shining city on a hill.
I don't pretend to have all the answers. If any man does, don't believe him. But I can read the handwriting on the wall. The political system in America is broken. It cannot be repaired with a little tinkering. Freedom-loving Americans need to realize they don't have a political party that represents them. Freedom-loving Americans need to realize they don't have a political movement that represents them.
Nothing could be clearer to me. How about you?
Let's not wring our hands over the latest Supreme Court nomination. Let's not whine about spending by the Republican Congress and president. Let's not mourn the death of conservatism. Let's get organized to build a new freedom movement with an offensive strategy and the goal of taking our country back.
Joseph Farah is a literate Michael Savage!
Thank you for this! With the level of hysteria around here today, I kept thinking I was at DU...the paranoid speculation meter is off the charts.
Frankly, nothing I've heard so far makes me want to go running and screaming in the other direction. I understand people wanting a known quantity (my own choice was JRB), but I think Bush understands the importance of choosing an originalist for SCOTUS...I don't think he'd waste the opportunity to redefine the court.
Cindie
I quit reading Joseph Farrah a couple years ago. While he sometimes makes some good points, he often comes across more like a tabloid newspaper, which I absolutely hate. I also feel he has done more to rile conservatives against Bush and other conservatives, rather than to wait to see the media fervor to settle down. He is quick to join the fracas instead of waiting to see and make a better judgment.
Ever since then, countries like Japan, Canada, Great Britain, and Australia have renounced their support for the Kyoto Treaty.
Hyperbole, thy name is Joe Farah.
Good for you. No time to get soft.
And you know that this mirror can be turned around on FR, right?
Can there be any doubt that there are several agents provocateurs among us? Seriously. Can there be any doubt about this?
If you want a Google GMail account, FReepmail me.
They're going fast!
But what to do if the 2 parties are becoming more & more alike? Where do we go if the so-called "small government" party ends up expanding the size & role of government in the direction favored by the Dims? What do we do if we have a House Majority Leader who refuses to admit that government can't be cut any further & is lying thru his teeth when he says so? Where do patriotic Americans go when the GOP refuses to do its duty of protecting American sovereignty & patrolling our borders?
The Republican Party is a FAILURE in its once time-honored mission. The Barry Goldwater GOP is long gone & the GOP has moved ever so steadily towards the gargantuan-sized government supported by the Dims. THAT'S A FACT, & there is no evidence that the GOP is trying to do the opposite.
What a bunch of crybabies.
To say that the conservative movement is dead because Farah doesn't feel that a few sc nominees aren't conservative enough is absurd. Not that I don't think that the Bush admin has not made mistakes. I just feel that too many conservatives are not looking at the whole picture. Bush is fighting a war on terror, has increased support for the military, has cut taxes, has appointed conservatives to many federal court positions, and has come out espousing many conservative social positions. But apparently that isn't good enough for Farah. Let's weigh everything in the balance. Dubya looks far better than any Democrat and many Republicans including his pappy.
What is your position on The War On Terror, and do think that the Dems would prosecuting it like Bush?
Farah is correct but writes from his point of view and for his audience. Conservatism is alive and well if only in me. I feel voiceless but I am a conservative, fiscally conservative, socially conservative, not 'compassionate'. Democracy is the rule of fools by fools.
It makes me proud to find massive agreement with my opinion of Farah. I stopped reading the drivel he publishes on his site long ago.
"For my part, I intend to send a message to elected national officials by working for the opposition, whoever they are."
Such a well though out solution./sarcasm
The fiscal conservative movement has been hijacked by the single issue social issue.
Don't worry, it is just Farah again. what a nutjob.
Yeah, I think the poster hits on what Farah is saying -- it may be a "necessary phase" to go through the socio-communism that Billary would bring in order to get the country ready to return to morality. It may be necessary to accept a few more 9-11 style body blows to get the country to accept that we're really at war.
The reason I think the constitution is dead is that both sides seem to think that amending it in order to change it is just too hard and takes too long when you can just get a judge to change it for you. THAT is the death knell of the Constitution, and is why I think it needs to be burned and rebuilt from the ground up, with protection from internal attack from subversion by international communism.
Barry Goldwater is long gone. He left his own party before he died. Got squishy. We;re Reagan's GOP... big spending and all, but on defense and national security.
I disagree with you that the GOP is a failure.
Try reading this from Southack:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1496194/posts?page=56#56
IMHA, it'll be those who are emotively driven on all sides of the political aisles who will be gnashing their teeth. Maybe they'll chill out a bit. If that happens, it will be a very nice time in America.
But, as long as its Bush and the pubs doing the spending and enlarging government isn't that okay??????
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