Bush, after all, did not promise to govern as a small government conservative. He recognized that Ronald Reagan, who called government the problem, not the solution, was not able to cut back government much, and he promised instead to promote policies that increase choice, competition and accountability -- which he has mostly done. But it's not immediately obvious what other federal policies can advance those goals further. Hence, the feeling of a dead end.
But government, as conservatives should know better than others, exists only as part of a larger society. And the trend in the larger society.... has been to more choice, competition and accountability. Big monopolistic firms have been overtaken by what were small start-ups. General Motors has been replaced as our biggest employer by Wal-Mart. Big labor unions, except in the public sector, have grown vastly smaller. The draft military, which performed poorly in Vietnam, has been replaced by a voluntary military, which has performed superbly wherever it goes.
American culture, so conformist-minded 50 years ago, has become more variegated, with individuals free to choose the cultural niche in which they live and raise their families. American society, which seemed headed toward collectivism a half-century ago, now seems headed back toward the democratic individualism Alexis de Tocqueville identified in the 1830s.
In such a society, conservatives need not look solely to the federal government to accomplish their political ends. The great conservative policy successes of the 1990s -- the reduction by more than half of crime and welfare dependency -- were the product of state and local politicians, inspired by conservative thinkers, far more than they were of any federal law.
Ditto the move toward more accountability and choice in education, which proceeds despite the powerful institutional opposition of the teacher unions and education schools. Ditto, it can be argued, the health care system. Federal standardization was successfully resisted in the 1990s -- now our various health care systems are constantly changing, responding not only to government regulation but also to the economic marketplace.
Uncomfortable questions for conservatives remain. Do citizens in this society, whose economy offers so many choices, want choices in their public services? Polls suggest that young citizens would welcome choices in individual investment accounts in Social Security, but that change was blocked by united opposition from Democrats, while seniors -- the Americans least adept at going online and clicking to get what they want -- grumble about the array of choices in the Medicare prescription drug plan.
Lot's of stuff there to be happy about but instead you guys prefer to grumble. The Republican Party was NEVER the party of conservatives. Conservatives simply abandoned the Communistic democrat party and migrated to the Republican Party as its best choice, and it still is.
Your choice is the Republican Party or the Democrats, nothing more. If you don't support the Republicans you support the Democrats, like it or not!
That's all well and good, but there;s a war on Christmas, abortion is still legal, prayer is under fire, and Intelligent design has a long way to go before it's given equal time with Darwinism.
"Your choice is the Republican Party or the Democrats, nothing more. If you don't support the Republicans you support the Democrats, like it or not!"
And there in lies the problems for conservatives today. We have a Republican congress, and a Republican President. Despite this yet spending is as reckless as at any time in our history, new entitlements are getting created right and left, and huge issues like the borders are being ignored.
We're caught between a rock and a hard place because we can't vote third party because that will only help the dems who are worse. The Republicans use conservative rhetoric to get elected, but know they don't have to govern as they promised to govern because we have nowhere else to go. There are a lot of times when I wish we didn't have this two party system and had a multi-party coalition like you see in a lot of other places.
The realignment of the 1960's says "hello."
The GOP is the conservative party. If conservatives left, the party would die.
Good post. Georgie Patton used to say the perfect is the enemy of the good. The Republican Party is not perfect and those who scorn it for not being so are losing sight the good that it does--just as your post brought out.
posted by
Mind-numbed Robot
Nicest harmony of post and nym I've seen in my seven years on FR.
Third party, anyone?
:)
You, MNR, are 100 percent correct!
Very good post. I think too many people at Free Republic read one paragraph, seek out a negative postion on small government and make arguements that don't fit the story. What a shame, because the whole point of posting, on political sites, is to make progress - in my opinion. Again great post.
well, DUH.....I didn't say otherwise.....and I intend to work within the party to MOVE it in the RIGHT direction.
Bump to all that.