Posted on 11/14/2005 12:41:20 AM PST by goldstategop
Consider this an open letter to my conservative friends.
You got your wish.
Republicans control the White House, the Congress and U.S. Supreme Court.
Your party, the one for which you fought so hard and valiantly, accomplished this goal five years ago.
And what do you have to show for all that effort?
out-of-control spending by the federal government
massive new bureaucracies created
U.S. troops stationed in more than 100 nations around the world
the highest levels of illegal immigration in history
record deficits
the IRS, the Fed and other illegal, immoral agencies still running our lives
more federal intrusion into and spending on education
Need I go on?
Have we taken even one modest step toward constitutionally limited government since this accomplishment?
What went wrong?
In my latest book, "Taking America Back," I explain that even if Republicans won every seat in the House and Senate, controlled every seat on the U.S. Supreme Court and continued to control the White House for the next decade, conservatives would continue to lose ground in the social, spiritual and cultural war that has been raging in this country at least for the last 40 years.
The most serious deficiency in conservatism is that it offers no "offensive" agenda. It is a well-meaning ideology that fights exclusively on defense.
Except in football, you cannot win with defense alone.
You can't win a battle with defense alone. You can't win a war with defense alone. And you cannot win a political struggle with defense alone.
If you doubt what I am saying, please ask yourself this question: What are the goals and objectives of conservatism?
My guess is you will come up with a list, all right. But it will largely consist of checking the achievements of liberals – high taxes, judicial tyranny, cultural decay.
In other words, conservatism, as we know it today, is a strictly reactionary movement – limited to fighting against the inevitable advances of liberalism.
Further, conservatism is a movement almost exclusively limited to the battleground of politics.
Liberals don't have to win elections to achieve their goals. They press their agenda through the culture. They use the press, the entertainment industry, the major foundations, government-sponsored media, the education system, academia, etc. to change the way people think. When that fails, they use government agencies and the courts to force their will on the people.
With rare exceptions, conservatives don't engage the major cultural institutions. They criticize them. But they do little to take them over and use them to their advantage.
It's time to get beyond conservatism.
That is the message of "Taking America Back." It's simple, yet it is profound.
Conservatives love the Founding Fathers. But they don't emulate them.
And embracing the goals and tactics of our Founders is the key to "Taking America Back."
We have a model for expanding freedom, morality and justice in America. It is what was accomplished in the War of Independence. It is spelled out in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
We need a radical new movement of freedom lovers in this country. I don't mean a political party. I mean a grass-roots movement that embraces God, family and country.
We need a radical new movement that doesn't fight for tax cuts, but tax elimination.
We need a radical new movement that fights for individual liberty, personal freedom and social responsibility.
This movement cannot start in Washington, D.C., with politicians. It needs to begin in the pulpits of America, just as our War of Independence did.
We need Christians on their knees and in the streets. We need uncompromising faith that we serve a sovereign God who still works in the affairs of men. We need a rebirth of "combat faith" to begin turning this country around – turning it once again into that "shining city on a hill."
I believe we can do it. But we can't be timid about it. We can't fight with one hand tied behind our back. We can't play by the rules of the world.
If you want to know more, I urge you to read "Taking America Back" – before it's too late.
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie.Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
To dream the impossible dream
Once Republicans and Conservatives realize that they are two different things, then maybe something can happen.
You know, everything I've ever seen in my entire life that is titled an "open letter" has been completely moronic.
This hasn't broken that streak.
Agreed.
We need a rebirth of "combat faith" to begin turning this country around.
A jihad?
The real world means that while we do have the White House, Congress and the Senate, we do not have the votes to accomplish Farah's every demand.
Perhaps he'd rather move to France?
This is not a moronic statement. It is true.
Not in in the conservatism I practice, Joe.
Agreed here.
You don't get out much?
I kinda wish Joseph and Elizabeth would tone down their rhetoric. But isn't that what we want the other side to do? I agree, 'Open Letters' are not the best idea, but 'completely moronic'? [Maynard G. Krebs] Oh, come, now! [/Maynard G. Krebs]
Indeed, BUT you gotta admit, conservatives have been fighting a rear guard action for decades. The first order of business is to stop retreating. Tall order given the bolsheviks' bullhorn in the complicit media. Regardless what conservatives do, they are made to appear as biting at the ankles of liberals. The old media's influence is still formidable, but fading. They will have to be taken out before the conservative "message" can become mainstream again.
FGS
Here's the moronic part:
We need a radical new movement that fights for individual liberty, personal freedom and social responsibility.
What is radical about that? Sounds more like conservatism to me. Here, folks, try this on for size: "Less Government, More Responsibility, and with God's help, a Better World."
Yes, I know most FReepers will simply reject that out of hand as the rantings of a "radical" organization, but I hold to it with pride.
Naturally, "moronic" Joseph Farah has never heard of it.
Agree. I think we have to not count on the Stupid Party to carry the message. Look at what the "moderates" have done to a conservative agenda in Congress. We have a snowball's chance in the hot place of reining back entitlement spending.
Yeah, it seems we've made the mistake of putting "conservatives" into office expecting them to do our bidding and carry the message(a novel idea, eh?). And a few have even tried but the counterattacks from the Dims and the Ministry of Truth are relentless, and effective in many cases.
An ironic thought strikes me; that is, the Dimocratic Socialists talk moderate to siphon off those squishy middle-of-the-roaders, then govern left. The Pubbies talk conservative, but have apparently chosen to move to the middle(at best) to govern. The irony? Pubbies appeal to their base for votes, Dims move away from their base to attract votes. What's wrong with this picture?
Look at what the "moderates" have done to a conservative agenda in Congress. We have a snowball's chance in the hot place of reining back entitlement spending.
Ironic, ain't it? Major forces at work here, and it's not us.
FGS
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