Posted on 10/18/2005 8:18:22 AM PDT by Erik Latranyi
It is time to take some conservatives to the woodshed.
With a heavy heart, I write the above after visiting Free Republic this morning.
Why?
Simply our discourse is degenerating. I am dismayed at the amount of name-calling taking place in these pages. I am even more dismayed that this name-calling is being conducted by conservatives against conservatives.
I understand the anger and disappointment stemming from the Miers nomination, but also inclusive of the budget deficit, education department, immigration, etc. These are matters that bother me as well.
Unfortunately, the tone on Free Republic bothers me even more. When conservatives call each other names and friendly disagreement over issues degenerates into those proclaiming to be "real conservatives" versus "phony conservatives" we only bow to our lowest common denominator.
Rush Limbaugh calls this the "conservative crackdown". In many ways he is right (as Rush is so often). Conservatives do not want stealth candidates. We worked hard to win and will continue to work hard to increase our majorities and enact our agenda.
We are proud conservatives and we want to proclaim this from the mountain tops!
We also want those who represent us to be proud as well. We do not want apologies. We do not want stealth. We do not need to hide behind "compassionate conservative" labels.
We are the majority and we will remain the majority as long as we continue to educate the public about what conservatism is and why we demand responsibility from both the individual and the gov't.
However, lately, we are calling each other names.
This is liberal-speak. We do not want to stoop to the level of our enemies. We should not use their tactics, either.
Conservatives use logic and reason to support our ideas. We can disagree without being disagreeable.
We are not doing that, folks!
Too many of us are so caught up lately that we forget how to be civil. If you want to call names and use the F-bomb, go to DU. You will find that language replaces truth and fact everywhere.
And that is what names do, isn't it? Names replace truth and fact.
But we are conservatives. Truth and fact are what got us this far and it will be truth and fact that continue our rise to roll back 80 years of liberalism.
Some of us back President Bush and trust his judgement. Some of us do not. That is OK. That is healthy for our movement.
What is unhealthy for our movement is this name-calling.
Let it stop. Let us debate Harriet Miers over facts and truth. Stop pronouncing yourself a "true conservative" and anybody who backs President Bush a "Bush-Bot". That is liberal-speak.
Oh, that's it you liberal troll weenie! ;)
If you support and trust the President in this matter, as I do, you are not a "real" conservative.
In the vernacular of the the "true" conservatives posting on the subject, screw that.
Leni
"Conservative" branch of the Republican party as represented by the tantrum throwing George Will, those with the tendency to go off the deep end like Rush Limbaugh have done a lot of damage with their childish behavior and need to grow up, start acting responsibly, doing more good than harm and behaving like mature adults.
It's not conservative vs. conservative. It's conservative vs. Republican. Anyone who supports the big government blowout that's occurred since 2001 is probably not a conservative, at least not a fiscal one.
Naah. Name calling is much more fun.
It's all a vast MoveOn.org conspiracy.
Idiot.
Ahem...In case you hadn't noticed, not all Freepers and Republicans are "conservative," but are in fact "compassionate conservatives" or RINOS who are "rolling" towards liberalism (or mushy-middle.)
Bushbots are not just anyone who backs Bush on Miers, but those who back him no matter what he does, who backed him on Federalizing education, on McVain-Vaingold, on the largest entitlement program in 40 years, on his massive ag spending, on AIDS aid for Africa, on his refusal to do anything about the borders, on issue after issue after issue. And they back Miers too, not for substantive reasons (as some do, although I disagree with tehm), but because they "support our President." Sorry, but that's not a good reason.
They support open-borders Republicans over Minutemen. They support RINOs in Senate and House races over principled conservatives -- after all,the White House backs them, so that's reason enough, isn't it?
If you have a good reason for supporting any of this, that's one thing. I may disagree, but I can at least respect it. But "we have to support our President" is not a good reason. Sorry.
Hear, hear!
Hah. Forget Miers... how about when the Terri Schiavo matter was raging on here? Half the board were calling the other half death-worshippers.
Yeah, just stick our heads in the sand, and ignore REALITY. Wow, super lib!!!
I dont even read the flame Harriet posts anymore. Like her or not the lady is entitled to her confirmation hearing. Im looking forward to hearing her for myself.
O.K. But Murrymom is still an infidel
See thats the point, certain conservatives think they own the only version of conservatism out there.
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