Posted on 10/22/2008 11:32:45 AM PDT by grundle
Why the Republicans Must Lose
Nothing short of defeat will put the GOP back on its limited government track
I grew up in a particularly conservative part of the already conservative state of Indiana. I voted for Bob Dole in 1996 and George Bush in 2000, generally because—though I'm not a conservative (I'm a libertarian)—I'd always thought the GOP was the party of limited government. By 2002, I was less sure of that. And by 2004, I was so fed up with the party that I did what I thought I'd never do—vote for an unabashed leftist for president.
Since then, "fed up" has soured to "given up." The Republican Party has exiled its Goldwater-Reagan wing and given up all pretense of any allegiance to limited government. In the last eight years, the GOP has given us a monstrous new federal bureaucracy in the Department of Homeland Security. In the prescription drug benefit, it's given us the largest new federal entitlement since the Johnson administration. Federal spending—even on items not related to war or national security—has soared. And we now get to watch as the party that's supposed to be "free market" nationalizes huge chunks of the economy's financial sector.
This isn't to say that Barack Obama would be any better. Government would undoubtedly grow under his watch. And from my libertarian perspective, he has been increasingly disappointing even on the issues where he's supposed to be good. We may not go to war with Iran in an Obama administration, but we'd likely become entrenched in a prolonged nation-building adventure in the Sudan. Obama's vote on the FISA bill and telecom immunity also suggests that, for all his criticisms of President Bush's use of executive power and assaults on civil liberties, Obama wouldn't be much better. On the drug war, Obama has promised to end the federal raids on medical marijuana clinics in states that have legalized the drug for treatment, but he wants to resurrect failed federal criminal justice block grant programs that have had some disastrous effects on civil liberties.
While I'm not thrilled at the prospect of an Obama administration (especially with a friendly Congress), the Republicans still need to get their clocks cleaned in two weeks, for a couple of reasons.
First, they had their shot at holding power, and they failed. They've failed in staying true to their principles of limited government and free markets. They've failed in preventing elected leaders of their party from becoming corrupted by the trappings of power, and they've failed to hold those leaders accountable after the fact. Congressional Republicans failed to rein in the Bush administration's naked bid to vastly expand the power of the presidency (a failure they're going to come to regret should Obama take office in January). They failed to apply due scrutiny and skepticism to the administration's claims before undertaking Congress' most solemn task—sending the nation to war. I could go on.
As for the Bush administration, the only consistent principle we've seen from the White House over the last eight years is that of elevating the American president (and, I guess, the vice president) to that of an elected dictator. That isn't hyperbole. This administration believes that on any issue that can remotely be tied to foreign policy or national security (and on quite a few other issues as well), the president has boundless, limitless, unchecked power to do anything he wants. They believe that on these matters, neither Congress nor the courts can restrain him.
That's the second reason the GOP needs to lose. American voters need to send a clear, convincing repudiation of these dangerous ideas.
If they do lose, the GOP would be wise to regroup and rebuild from scratch, scrap the current leadership, and, most importantly, purge the party of the "national greatness," neoconservative influence. Big-government conservatism has bloated the federal government, bogged us down in what will ultimately be a trillion-dollar war, and set us down the road to European-style socialism. It's hard to think of how Obama could be worse. He'll just be bad in different ways.
The truth is, unless you vote for a third-party candidate (which really isn't a bad idea), you don't have much of a choice this November. You can either endorse the idea of a massive, invasive, ever-encroaching federal government that's used to promote center-left ideology, or you can endorse the idea of a massive, invasive, ever-encroaching federal government that's used to promote center-right ideology.
Sadly, if the GOP does lose, it's likely to be interpreted not as a repudiation of the GOP's excesses, but as an endorsement of the Democrats'. When the only two parties who have a chance at winning both have a track record of expanding the size and scope of government, every election is likely to be interpreted as a win for big government—only the brand changes.
Voting yourself more freedom simply isn't an option, at least if you want your vote to be taken seriously (and I'm not denigrating any third parties here; I'm just reflecting reality).
Which brings me back to why the Republicans need to get throttled: A humiliated, decimated GOP that rejuvenates and rebuilds around the principles of limited government, free markets, and rugged individualism is really the only chance for voters to possibly get a real choice in federal elections down the road.
Of course, there's no guarantee that's how the party will emerge from defeat. But the Republican Party in its current form has forfeited its right to govern.
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Exactly, I cannot think that this thug would ever part with power once installed. This maybe our last election.
Conservatives who say the GOP needs to lose to teach it a lesson is like volunteering the walk the plank to to shame pirates. You commit suicide and the bad guys sail away to loot others.
Obama and a Democrat majority Congress/Senate will turn the USA into a socialist tyranny. We won’t get our constitutional republic back without a violent revolution, one made harder as we will have been stripped of all firearms. We will have to fight with stones, arrows and improvised weapons.
McPain and the RNC/GOP are a poor imitation of conservatism, but better than Obama communism.
Gave us Clinton, and overall, what good did that do for the party?
What the Republicans need is for the Small Government conservatives to rise to the top. Some smart, well spoken, small government conservatives. My ideal person? Someone well spoken, with a strong background in economics, an advanced degree perhaps. An Intellectual even. That kind of person/people, along with Palin, and you have a winner.
I'm voting for Ron Paul, because I want to help secure Obama's victory.
Fixed.
Which ones are the idiots tho - The ones that hold to their principles or ones that vote for McCain believing he will govern anywhere near the principles of conservatism?
It’s not about “teaching them a lesson” -
it’s about us making sure that Hunter/Thompson/Palin types get into positions to LEAD the movement.
Which leads me to a question I've always wanted to ask: why do Rep. Paul and Sen. McCain have nearly identical ACU Lifetime ratings?
“I’m voting for Ron Paul, because I want the government to get smaller, not bigger.”
What country are you planning to live in?
I’m planning to live in the USA, and I’d rather not spend my final years under communist rule. The perfect is the enemy of the good.
Why the USA Must Lose in Iraq: Nothing short of defeat will put proper warfare planning back on its "last-resort" track.
Do we still want this kind of reasoning?
-PJ
“I’m voting for Ron Paul, because I want the government to get smaller, not bigger. “
Expect to see your government baloon in size as every important government office is relocated to blimps and dirigibles
Wow, what a day.
This thread is almost as disturbing as the Jehovahs Witness dude I just chased off my property.
Ah, the old ‘destroy the village to save it’ logic.
Pardon me, but you Paulistinians are idiots. This fight was for the primaries. You lost. Get over it.
Never underestimate the power of stupid people.
What do you think Ron Paul will accomplish with a Democrat controlled house and Senate? With the Republicans, they will most assuredly override any veto.
Mostly very valid points, except the party did not show a refocus on limited government after 2006. No reason the ‘lessons’ learned this time will be applied to refocus on these issues. We need to reform from within, but 4-8 years of Obama will not help our case. He will advance the cause of socialism and American weakness, open borders, and have control of the justice department and attempt to squash opposition (us).
If a Ted Strickland or Evan Bayh were the candidate on the left, I might be able to deal with a lost election, but not with the empty suit marxist we have on the ballot.
Ivory tower nonsense. This may be your last meaningful chance to vote. Do you not see that the institutional integrity is in tatters? You think your vote will count after Obama gets control of justice and court nominations?
The “More-conservative-than-thou” crowd has promoted the slide to the left by pulling out of the game. Rs move left to make up the difference. I truly suspect Communist money has fueled the Paleo Con movement.
Here’s why this is retarded, and why Obama must NOT win:
If Obama wins and gets his agenda through (which he will, with Pelosi and Reid behind him), this will soon be a country where more than 50% of the population does not pay any taxes whatsoever to finance the federal government, yet they derive ever-growing benefits from it.
Once that happens, we will never again have a chance to get government under control or reduce spending, because a voting majority will always vote to protect the programs they benefit from but do not pay for.
Once that happens, revolution will be the only escape.
And when president Ron Paul is sworn in having received 0.000000000001% of the vote then get back to us.
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