Chambers answer, which Mr. Buckley called "a paragraph unmatched in the literature of supine gloom, even though finally resisting despair" was thus...
It is idle [he rebuked me] to talk about preventing the wreck of Western Civilization. It is already a wreck from within. That is why we can hope to do little more now than snatch a fingernail of a saint from the rack or a handful of ashes from the faggots, and bury them secretly in a flowerpot against the day, ages hence, when a few men begin again to dare to believe that there was once something else, that something else is thinkable, and needs some evidence of what it was, and the fortifying knowledge that there were those who, at the great nightfall, took loving thought to preserve the tokens of hope and truth,
I am beginning to share his sentiments in this regard.
from the May 19, 2006 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0519/p09s02-cods.html
Bush may be losing his base
Conservatives are openly dissenting from policies of Republican leadership.
By Daniel Schorr
WASHINGTON - The term "base" is not in William Safire's political dictionary, but he tells me it will be included in the next edition. "Base" refers to that solid core of political supporters who will stick with you through electoral thick and thin as long as you are perceived as advancing their principles. Most often, the term is applied to religious conservatives.
Something seems to have gone off the rails between President Bush and his base, judging by a recent Gallup poll that shows his support among conservatives down from a long-standing 80 percent to a current 50 percent.
Religious conservatives have found the administration and Congress falling short on issues such as same-sex marriage, obscenity, and abortion. They have expressed disappointment that the president has not been more active in seeking a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
The issue of the week is immigration. In what he called a compromise proposal in his television speech on Monday night, the president sought to allay the criticism of conservatives by proposing to deploy 6,000 National Guard troops along the Mexican border.
There may be less there than meets the eye. The Guard troops will be mainly in support roles. The arrangement may not last more than a year. And the president, who also has a business base, felt compelled to propose a "guest-worker" (not amnesty, repeat, not amnesty) program.
At the same time, the administration was trying to shift attention to consensus Republican issues such as tax cuts and judicial nominations. But, the dissension within Republican ranks was evident. The $105 billion war-spending bill, passed by the Senate, was called "dead on arrival" by House speaker Dennis Hastert. When Senate majority leader Bill Frist called Gen. Michael Hayden the "ideal man" for CIA Director, Speaker Hastert announced his opposition to having a military man in the job.
Influential conservatives have begun speaking openly of their reservations about the Republican leadership. Dr. James Dobson, head of Focus on the Family, has said that he might turn critic of the administration unless it does more to deliver on conservative goals.
At this point, the thunder from the right may be in the nature of admonition. But I can recall a time when evangelicals shunned the ballot box. If that were to happen again, it would change the face of American politics.
This guy became a celebrity during the Clinton years, but I always suspected he was really wink wink winking at them.
"even if that means breaking up families," No families will be broken up. No one will be forced to stay. If they choose to abandon family members, It's their call.
" disrupting the economy" It can be done at a pace where illegals can be smoothly replaced by legal and law abiding immigrants or citizens.
"denying mothers medical care and their children an equal right to a college education." Absolutely. No medical care except in a life threatening emergency and then only enough to stabilize to the point where the illegal can be safely returned to point of origin. there is no right to a college education for American citizens. How can anyone even suggest such a right exists for the spawns of illegals?
Maybe he didn't think this word out much.. as many/most "conservatives" don't..
"Conservative" decribes what RINOs are all about.. "more of the same"..
After falling/driving a party into a ditch it takes radical action/thought to get you out..
Democracts are conservative in that sense.. as are RINOs..
More of the same or even much more of the same..
A republican SHOULD BE a radical.. as many were in 1992/4..
Spouting a "VISION" to get out of the ditch..
ie. "Givernment is not "A" problem, IT IS (THE) PROBLEM.."
Gee I did not realize emotionally hissy fits by pseudo Conservative Talking Heads about a political glass not 100% full some how trumped LBJ's landslide in 1964 or the aftermath of Watergate or Jimmy "Peanut Head" Carter's Presidency or the 8 years of Clintonittes.
My bad, I was under the impression that Conservatives were the ones who thought their politics, not FELT them. I see. Now it all about how the Perpetually Pissed FEEL. Gee SORRY you are all mad. Get over yourselves. NO one gets 100% of what they want. Posting complete nonsense rants because YOU are not getting 100% of what YOU want in Politics is the behavior of spoiled brat children. All Life requires compromise. Anyone who cannot understand that a glass 60% full of pure Conservative Water is far better then a glass 100% full of Leftist poison has no business lecturing other people on politics.
Take your pet issue. Illegal Immigration. Prop 187 would have gone a LONG way to preventing most of what you spend all your Free Republic time posting about from happening. A Leftist Judge just imposed their emotional whimsy and overturned the will of the votes. Now we have this mess.
Real Conservatives understand just how utterly vital the Judiciary is to our future as a nation. Pseudo Conservative petulant brats rant and rave because their own emotional whimsy is not being imposed by Presidential decree.
The Perpetual Whiners better wake up to the reality of American Politics. We are a Constitutional Republic, NOT the President Dictatorship the Always Bitching seem to fantasies we are. 100% of their personal political whims cannot be imposed upon the American people the second they wish them. They better go take some basic Civic since they seem horribly confused. They seem to believe that the US form of Govt works like their favorite TV show tells them it does. It does NOT.
A misapplication of history, convincing only to those who share the writer's prejudices. He also deliberately neglects the incredible cost of his solution and the bankrupting of Social Security and Medicare by 2010 if this amnesty goes through as planned. That's when we'll see real bitterness and diviseness that will harm the country for generations.