Redstate

A "thinking piece" - get your coffee

By haystack Posted in Miscellanea — Comments (31) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Fundamentally, the term "True Conservative" has become increasingly problematic. If nothing else, the looming 2008 elections is helping to further blur lines of distinction that were crystal clear back in 1994. The loss of power in the 2006 midterms has only served to further make "Conservatism" a term of convenience; those hoping to get elected by claiming to espouse the ideology throw it around like a hand grenade in the middle of a crowd of purists vs. those trying to convince Americans that it is the root cause of all the problems we face today. We're not ALL convinced, but sufficient numbers of those who are focused on winning over being right eat up these convenient interpretations of the meaning and purpose of "Conservatism" like candy.

An outstanding piece comes to us via Douglas MacKinnon posted at Townhall which attempts to lay out a few pieces of sage advice (10 to be exact) for GOP hopefuls to consider as they make the last dash for the party nomination. This piece is NOT about who IS or is NOT in-line with MacKinnon's suggestions-we each rightly hold our own personal opinions on "our guy" - but these "Ten Things the Republican Nominee Must Understand to Earn the True Conservative Vote" deserve more than a cursory glance.

Let us review:

More below the fold...

We have many points of reference. Two (though not ONLY these two) of my favorites:

In 1937, "US Senator Josiah Bailey of North Carolina was concerned that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his New Deal programs were leading America and North Carolina down the road to collectivism. Although he did not oppose every attempt at government intervention, Senator Bailey believed that limitations should be placed on government growth." He is credited with being part of a group that drafted the Conservative Manifesto which offered 10 "practical solutions" for the problems of the times:

1. Immediate revision of taxes on capital gains and undistributed profits in order to free investment funds.
2. Reduced expenditures to achieve a balanced budget, and thus, to still fears deterring business expansion.
3. An end to coercion and violence in relations between capital and labor.
4. Opposition to “unnecessary” government competition with private enterprise.
5. Recognition that private investment and enterprise require a reasonable profit.
6. Safeguarding the collateral upon which credit rests.
7. Reduction of taxes, or if this proved impossible at the moment, firm assurance of no further increases.
8. Maintenance of state rights, home rule, and local self-government, except where proved definitely inadequate.
9. Economical and non-political relief to unemployed with maximum local responsibility.
10. Reliance upon the American form of government and the American system of enterprise.

Striking in this 70 year old list is how little has changed in the years AND THE TIMES since those bygone days.

Twenty three years later, in Sharon Connecticut, the Young Americans for Freedom offered up THIS list of 12 assertions:

IN THIS TIME of moral and political crises, it is the responsibility of the youth of America to affirm certain eternal truths.

WE, as young conservatives believe:

THAT foremost among the transcendent values is the individual's use of his God-given free will, whence derives his right to be free from the restrictions of arbitrary force;

THAT liberty is indivisible, and that political freedom cannot long exist without economic freedom;

THAT the purpose of government is to protect those freedoms through the preservation of internal order, the provision of national defense, and the administration of justice;

THAT when government ventures beyond these rightful functions, it accumulates power, which tends to diminish order and liberty;

THAT the Constitution of the United States is the best arrangement yet devised for empowering government to fulfill its proper role, while restraining it from the concentration and abuse of power;

THAT the genius of the Constitution - the division of powers - is summed up in the clause that reserves primacy to the several states, or to the people in those spheres not specifically delegated to the Federal government;

THAT the market economy, allocating resources by the free play of supply and demand, is the single economic system compatible with the requirements of personal freedom and constitutional government, and that it is at the same time the most productive supplier of human needs;

THAT when government interferes with the work of the market economy, it tends to reduce the moral and physical strength of the nation, that when it takes from one to bestow on another, it diminishes the incentive of the first, the integrity of the second, and the moral autonomy of both;

THAT we will be free only so long as the national sovereignty of the United States is secure; that history shows periods of freedom are rare, and can exist only when free citizens concertedly defend their rights against all enemies…

THAT the forces of international Communism are, at present, the greatest single threat to these liberties;

THAT the United States should stress victory over, rather than coexistence with this menace; and

THAT American foreign policy must be judged by this criterion: does it serve the just interests of the United States?

Admittedly, the times of the YAF's assertions of principle found themselves engaged in the pervasive evil of the spread of Communism, but fair parallels can be drawn between this and the evils we confront with respect to Jihadism...this, however, is a topic already WELL debated in other circles. The bigger point here is that, over the generations, the fundamental principles and tenets have been routinely and repeatedly defined and described and yet we continually face challenges and assaults against Conservatism in the name of modernity, progress, and the decried need for change.

Reality of sound principle suggests otherwise.

Consider MacKinnon's piece in that context [fully reproduced here for clarity]:

1. First and foremost, he needs to understand that, by the tens of millions, true conservatives do exist in our country. That their unbending beliefs make them -- not only the backbone of this nation -- but the hope for a better future. That they unashamedly love their country and have reached the point of no return with regard to political correctness and pandering politicians who place themselves above the welfare of our Republic.

2. He needs to understand that they have a deep and abiding belief in God. A belief that is under a daily, escalating and obscene assault from those on the left who only use the word “Christian” as an insult, a punch line, or as an identifier to be added to a blacklist to deny employment at most schools, colleges, newspapers, and television networks. He needs to understand that this is a belief that must be acknowledged, respected, and defended. He needs to understand that all life is sacred and that it begins at conception.

3. He needs to understand that true conservatives believe we live in a sovereign nation with clearly defined borders that must be protected. Period. He must understand that the invasion of illegal aliens is not only a threat to that sovereignty, but widens the pathway for terrorists to infiltrate our nation. A scenario that the House Committee on Homeland Security has already documented as becoming a reality. He needs to accept that there are those in our country who would turn the United States of America into part of a “North American Union.” A suicidal strategy that was recently pushed and admitted to by former Mexican President Vicente Fox.

4. He needs to understand that we are engaged in a world-wide war against Jihadists and extremists who mean to wipe our nation off the face of the Earth. For that reason and more, it is imperative that we retain a national defense that is second to none. He needs to understand that true conservatives believe that the young men and women who serve in our military represent the very best of our nation and must be given every consideration. That without their heroic service, we will be vanquished.

5. He needs to understand that true conservatives do believe that large segments of the entertainment industry are purposefully and systematically exposing our children to the vilest forms of smut. That they do so first, to make money, and second, to indoctrinate as they continue their quest to subvert the morals, ethics, and character of our nation.

6. He needs to understand that true conservatives actually do believe in lower taxes and fiscal responsibility. That if you proclaim yourself to be a “Conservative” and turn your back on these tenets, then you are worse than those on the left who believe in neither. He needs to understand that true conservatives understand the value of limited government and expect their leaders to be just as enlightened.

7. He needs to understand that true conservatives believe in strict enforcement of the rule of law. That aside from the terrorists from without, our nation is at war with hundreds of thousands of violent gang members from within. That in many cases, these gangs are aligning themselves with drug cartels, terrorist groups and foreign nations. That if we don’t acknowledge this war and win it, then many of our cities and much of our border, will spiral into lawlessness and unchecked murder as these gangs prevail.

8. He needs to understand that the appointment of judges is an overriding issue for true conservatives. That they believe in having a strict-constructionist Supreme Court. That there can be no compromise in this area.

9. He needs to understand that if he panders to them now to win the nomination and then stabs them in the back to try and win the general election, he has lost them forever.

10. And finally, he has to understand that true conservatives will never vote for the “lesser of two evils” come November of 2008. That to do so, would be to betray all that they hold sacred. Faith, family values, and conviction can never be compromised.

So here we are, less than 100 days out from the onslaught of the primaries...and just about a year from the general. Like 70 years ago...and 40 years ago...and 13 years ago...we find ourselves STILL doing everything we can to find holes in the ideology, and equivocate over how much of it we need to really INSIST on adhering to on balance against how much of it we need to disavow in order to regain or retain POWER (a concept, itself, oxymoronic to the ideologies and principles we claim to espouse).

We seem hell-bent on re-learning lessons over and over and over again. I understand that the prevailing wisdom in the GOP has LONG since flown past ideology and has subsequently landed at the airport of "it's all about winning," yet I still pine for the days of old when winning came on the backs of being ideologically AND practically RIGHT on the issues and the methods by which they might be solved.

Time will tell regarding which will prevail.