Are You Willing To Compromise & Surrender What Our Founding Fathers Set Forth For This Republic?

me | February 3, 2003 | callisto

[callisto]

Honor, justice, and humanity, forbid us tamely to surrender that freedom which we received from our gallant ancestors, and which our innocent posterity have a right to receive from us. We cannot endure the infamy and guilt of resigning succeeding generations to that wretchedness which inevitably awaits them if we basely entail hereditary bondage on them.
- Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of the Causes and Necessities of Taking up Arms, July 6, 1775

Many of us were hoping for a truly Conservative candidate to be our nominee, but Hunter, Tancredo and Thompson made their exits and those who remain are less than substandard by comparison. Some of us are willing to support whomever the Republican nominee may be. I was recently asked if I was willing to compromise my Conservative values and principles to support the nomination of a less than worthy candidate in order to defeat what I think may be the worse destruction leveled on this great nation: the election of Clinton or Obama to the Presidency.

Initially, I understood the question posed but I failed to see the truth behind the question. Fortunately, DoughtyOne, posted a thread asking just how willing we are to compromise those values with a great analogy as to the ramifications of such a compromise. I won’t restate DO’s words as he said them so well himself, but the meaning behind those words have reverberated in my mind since and left me asking myself, “How many of us realize the compromises we are about to make this coming Tuesday?” The more I read and posted on threads this week, the more I realized that many of us are willing to make that compromise without regard to the intent and principles of our Founding Fathers when they created this great nation in which we are fortunate to live.

Our Founding Fathers were eloquent spokesmen on the founding principles of self-government who believed in Liberty, Freedom, Justice and Equality. They believed that Wisdom, Knowledge and Virtue were necessary for the preservation of those rights and liberties. With a stirring language, that reaches the depths of one’s soul, they wrote one of the greatest documents in history which changed the face of this world forever. When they undertook to sign their names to the document they risked their own pursuit of life and happiness to grant us the ability to know and live under the principles they valued most. To denounce the king’s authority was an act of treason, punishable by death, yet 56 determined men picked up quill and ink to sign the Declaration of Independence risking their lives, fortunes, family and all that they held dear.

So I ask each of you, are you willing to give up all that these men gave for so little in return? Because if we refuse to stand up for what is right and principled when given the choice, we will deserve what we receive for accepting what has been handed to us. To many of you I am preaching to the choir, but to others I hope you will read this post and consider the principles on which our nation was founded, and the effects of relinquishing those tenets. Before you go to the polls on Tuesday, consider exactly what is at stake when you cast your vote.

In the words of Samuel Adams, 1781:

Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual - or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country.

[Cacique]

btt

[Cold Heat]

Excellent post!! I wish more people would understand it.

Understand it????

The post did not endorse a candidate, it endorsed the process.

The process is not yet complete, and moving around like a bunch of grazing cows is not my idea of a process.

So your nominee did not make it to the finals? Big Deal!!!

I have never had my nominee in a open primary make it to the finals in over 30 years! Never!

The process worked then and it will work now, but in the end, we will lose this election regardless, and the Dem's will get their 60 votes that they need in the Senate, in all likelihood.

We going to lose for a variety of reasons, but most importantly we will lose because the base has disintegrated into it's basic factions. The base poo poo'd Romney all the way to Florida and that is why we have McCain.

McCain may very well be the nominee, but it won't be with the aid of my vote, nor will it ever be so.

The upper crust of the Republican Party gave up some time ago when our politicians began their exodus from office in large numbers. We surrendered a while back and are going through the Dole Dance.

What I am patiently waiting for, is the fun we will have when it's all over. That is when I get to go back and dig out my posts from as far back as four years ago when I saw this coming. I get to point out the series of political comedy called drama by some, that brought us to this point. That will be a hoot for me and I doubt that I will be allowed to even do it here. But it does not matter. Not a bit.

See you in 2012, assuming that I will even give a tinker's damn.

[NewJerseyJoe]

Went and read DoughtyOne's post first and then yours -- wow, two very stirring pieces. I have been saying the same thing for a very long time, but you two have put it much more eloquently. As we sow, so shall we reap.

I particularly liked the reference to the founders. Jefferson wrote what he wrote, not because he was hoping to find "common ground" with those (British and Loyalists) who were diametrically opposed to him. He wrote the Declaration because years of such efforts showed that 'the other side' had absolutely no intentions of changing from its ideological path.

I started a similar discussion in another post (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1963955/posts). One of the respondents to my message suggested that my only option was to "quit whining and do my duty" and vote for McCain. This is the kind of mindset we're dealing with.

In 1787, Jefferson wrote: "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." I suggest that perhaps the tree of conservatism must be refreshed from time to time by throwing the RINOs under the wheels.

If I may paraphrase from Animal House....
"The time has come to put our foot down on RINOs -- and that foot is us."

[callisto]

"quit whining and do my duty" and vote for McCain.

There's been a lot of that going around here of late. And thanks for your post! And yes, DoughtyOne does a great job with his analogy on how we got to our current state of affairs, and I particularly liked his statistical analysis:

If Republicans passed only 20% of the liberal agenda each term starting in the first term at 100% of the ideal conservative goal, in 40 years or ten terms only 13% of conservatism would be left.

[NewJerseyJoe]

> 2.) How do the titles President Obama or President Clinton sound to you? ... If you write in a vote, vote for a third party, or simply don’t vote, then you cannot complain about a President Obama or a President Clinton.

Those titles sound like clear, defined opposition targets for conservatives to fight against. It will be ten times as hard to fight "one of our own" when he strays from the path. W is more conservative than McCain -- and I voted for W twice, and was a cheerleader for him for 6 long years -- and look how many times W has let us down (Medicare prescription drug law, highway bill, NCLB, failure to veto McCain-Feingold, etc.). A Pres. McCain would be far, far worse -- and leave us with a much more difficult primary fight 4 years from now.

A question.... have you considered exactly WHY the MSM and even liberals are touting McCain as the only "acceptable" GOP candidate? They want him for exactly the same reasons that conservatives do NOT want him. Everything that we know is wrong (about him and his record) becomes a piece of ammunition for liberals in the event of a McCain presidency. In the end, McCain will either (A) back down from his so-called, newfound "conservative" propositions or (B) be a spineless suck-up to the likes of Kennedy, Feingold, etc.

McCain ALREADY routinely chooses Option B. What makes you think he would do any differently as president? That's a helluva price to pay, simply so one can brag "Yay, my candidate with the (R) after his name won!"

[13Sisters76]

I don’t put such a scenario beyond the realm of possibility, but she could never succeed. Even with all the dems on board, they haven’t been able to 10pull the troops out of Iraq, 2) raise taxes or trash Bush’s tax cuts 3) pass an amnesty bill.

In order to take over the country, congress would have to be on board and, given the egos there, I don’t see it happening. Secondly, she would have to have the military behind her and that SURE ain’t happening.

No. They will just ramp up their attempts to function as if we are “frogs in pots”. THAT only happens if we allow it.

[kalee]

Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.” — John Quincy Adams

[callisto]

Sweeeet! Thanks for addition of an excellent quote from our Founding Fathers. If I’ve convinced just one person, through this post, to pause and reflect on what their vote means and the cost it took for them to have that opportunity then it’s been a worthwhile day.

[ATOMIC_PUNK]

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

[callisto]

Well said! And appropriately formatted too. Thanks for the addition!

[Kevmo]

There will be only one logical and rational choice in November for us and that will be McCain. Anyone who stands by and lets the Dems take the Presidency is a traitor and enemy of America.
***Shut up, RINO. This is a conservative website, not a GOP website.

[skr]

We wouldn’t be the United States of America if the Founding Fathers had not compromised. We don’t always have the luxury to avoid compromise. Sometimes there is no perfect solution or, in this case, candidate, just, hopefully, a less damaging one.

[American Butterfly]

My first choice was Giuliani and my second choice was McCain. I like McCain. He is an independent thinker quite like myself who doesn’t follow blindly. I like the fact that he has not agreed with Bush on everything. Neither have I at times.

I have to say that this isn’t 1980 anymore. The Conservative Party of yesteryear is no longer. There is a new generation of conservatism. That inludes the very conservative types and the liberal conservatives like myself. I am a pro-life feminist, pagan, environmentalist that likes Bush and who is also in favor of Gay Marriage. Now, as it reads, I am obviously not your cookie-cutter ‘conservative’, but I have always voted Republican.

I do plan on voting for McCain if he should be the nominee, but when I hear talk from conservatives saying they would rather vote for Hillary instead of McCain, I can’t help but wonder what they’re smoking. There is absolutely under no circumstances will I ever vote for a Clinton.

McCain is NOT the enemy. The terrorists who killed 3,000 of our citizens is the enemy. Conservatives should like about that before trying to ‘make a point’ by voting for Hillary just because McCain doesn’t fit the picture of ‘perfection’ when it comes to being a ‘conservative’. No one is perfect, but everyone is an individual. McCain will get my vote, no questions asked.

[NoGrayZone]

“Understand it????

The post did not endorse a candidate, it endorsed the process”

No Sh*t Sherlock, that’s why I said it was excellent. What is your problem?

[PhilipFreneau]

>>>McCain was my fourth choice at the start.<<<

McCain was my 2347th choice, just below Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin.

[rlmorel]

If you read my post, the only reason I would vote for McCain over Obama or Hillary is defense related.

Otherwise, I agree there is not much difference.

[Haddit]

Ok, I’ve given it a little more thought and while we were half way around the world trying to make the world a little safer for everybody, McCain quietly tried to surrender to a 3rd world country that has invaded us and has murdered more of our citizens every year for the last 30 years than have died every year for the last few years in Iraq and Afghanistan combined.

I Will Not Vote For McCain.

[MortMan]

I along with my family have principles and he has gone against everyone of those and I cannot vote against my principles

Well said.

My principles are not for sale, either.

[Gilbo_3]

FWIW, I have no intention of telling anyone how to vote or to condemn anyone's choices. I only ask that you consider what is written, what values and principles you hold in your heart, and that you let your heart guide your vote on Tuesday.

It is our DUTY to speak our hearts and stay in the Good fight...

LFOD...

[Gilbo_3]

There are really no voting choices left now. True conservatives aren’t running

However true conservatives have a duty to vote their moral compass, if that is 'no candidae on this list represents my moral/political values'... then so be it, at least you will have chosen for your heart...