Why I Am Still a Conservative: A Post-Election Reflection
Two recent events--the 2006 midterm elections and the 143rd anniversary, today, of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address--have helped me reaffirm my conservative values. Allow me to explain. But first, a few post-election grievances...
Republicans: Was the entire GOP out hunting during the election? If so, I hope their shots were more accurate than those of our Vice President last year. As for the election itself, where were the emphases on immigration reform, border security, facing down Iran and North Korea, and fighting for moral values? The Democrats--e.g. Heath Shuler, Bob Casey, and Brad Ellsworth--talked more about combating abortion and same-sex marriage than we did. What gives? We spent more time trying to distance ourselves from the President, our own party chief (e.g. Lincoln Chafee, who lost), and tripping over our own tongues about very silly matters (e.g. George Allen, who essentially lost us the Senate). Next time, try having an actual concrete message...Americans like that! Just look at Dick DeVos, Republican candidate for governor in my own state of Michigan. No message, no ideas, no recipe for change...no victory. He could have easily defeated foreign-born, pro-choice, no-sense Jennifer Granholm if he had said more than his three words: "We need change!"
Democrats: Your division amongst yourselves will be your downfall. Now is the very brief window of time for the Democratic Party to realize its opportunity. Keep in mind that the reason the halls of Congress are now yours is because a number of more conservative and moderate Dems were able to take power. It is obvious that Nancy Pelosi, the new Frisco flaming-liberal Speaker of the House, has already forgotten that. The crushing defeat of defeatist Jack Murtha as her candidate for House Majority Leader is proof that: a) even her own party sees the need to shift towards the center; and b) the American people are not liberal, as people like Al Franken seem to think without doing any real research on the matter.
George W. : When it comes to national security and social issues--abortion, gay marriage, affirmative action, welfare, and the like--the man is my hero. He really is. The left calls his policies the unconstitutional joining of church and state, because they are too ignorant to tell the difference between utilizing faith-based programs for social good, and promoting a particular faith above all others. That, and they're too foolish to realize that only faith-based programs have the real compassion and capacity to effect such positive change. Government-based systems of aid usually fail in the long run.
However, when it comes to the current situation in Iraq, I am not happy with my President and party chief. I really am not. We have had three-and-a-half years to do something--anything!--about the increasing terrorism, insurgency, "sectarian violence" (a.k.a. civil war), and political-military-economic quagmire. "Stay the course" and "victory" are not specific plans for victory. Both the American and Iraqi peoples can agree on one thing: Mr. Bush and his administration must do something soon to avert disaster. Deposing Saddam Hussein, liberating Iraq, achieving justice for the Kurds--all that was well and good, but why we didn't wait another year and send 400,000 troops, as per General Shinzeki's advice, I'll never know. We couldn't win the Iraq War then with one hand behind our back, and we certainly can't now. It is time to either dig in or dig out. Please, Mr. President, make a decision...if you don't, you may hurt your party, your country, and your world for years to come.
All that being said, despite the overwhelming failures and losses suffered by my party, I remain a strong conservative; in fact, stronger than ever. The election actually reaffirmed my values... After all, did the GOP lose to the Democrats' bleeding-heart liberal proposals? Certainly not--instead, it lost because it abandoned its own Reaganesque conservative principals: low taxes, controlled spending, tough immigration enforcement, and an intelligent, not just strong, foreign policy. I am more determined now than ever to live and die by the Goldwater-Reagan Code. Imagine my frustration when I saw that Mike Pence of Indiana was crushed by John Boehner in his bid for House Minority Leader. Pence may the most courageous, most dyed-in-the-wool conservative in the House, with no ties to the miserable leadership in the 109th Congress...yet more than 100 of the remaining Republicans voted to "stay the course." Did we learn nothing about our stubborn, status quo policies on November 7?
As I stated earlier, today is the anniversary of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, a document I cherish above all others in our post-Constitutional history. I know many liberal scholars insist on Lincoln being part of their camp, due to his stands on freedom and civil rights--as though we conservatives would a priori vote for slavery and secession. However, I see in his address at least two strong conservative values I cherish deeply: a strong defense that cherishes "the last full measure of devotion" made by those who fight to uphold our laws and liberties, from Gettysburg to Baghdad; and "government of the people, by the people, for the people"--that bulwark of Western, indeed American, society which gives government its only real legitimacy and stability. Remember, we are still in our first regime--231 years and going strong. How many other nations, outside of Britain, can say that? Yes, my friends, this is why I will live and die a Conservative...We the people run this glorious system, that system does not run us. Vox populi, vox Dei.
Quote of the Day: "It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us --that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion-- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain--that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom--and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." - Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, November 19, 1863. Like Washington before him, and FDR and Churchill after, Lincoln understood the stakes of the war being waged during his Presidency. If we do not heed the examples of those brave men, we will reap the whirlwind in the form of radical Muslim dictators armed with nuclear weapons, and worldwide terrorism that will dwarf even 9/11/01 and 7/7/05. Go ahead, call me an alarmist, but so was Winston Churchill...it took six million dead Jews and two scorched continents to prove him right. Don't let it happen again.
Republicans: Was the entire GOP out hunting during the election? If so, I hope their shots were more accurate than those of our Vice President last year. As for the election itself, where were the emphases on immigration reform, border security, facing down Iran and North Korea, and fighting for moral values? The Democrats--e.g. Heath Shuler, Bob Casey, and Brad Ellsworth--talked more about combating abortion and same-sex marriage than we did. What gives? We spent more time trying to distance ourselves from the President, our own party chief (e.g. Lincoln Chafee, who lost), and tripping over our own tongues about very silly matters (e.g. George Allen, who essentially lost us the Senate). Next time, try having an actual concrete message...Americans like that! Just look at Dick DeVos, Republican candidate for governor in my own state of Michigan. No message, no ideas, no recipe for change...no victory. He could have easily defeated foreign-born, pro-choice, no-sense Jennifer Granholm if he had said more than his three words: "We need change!"
Democrats: Your division amongst yourselves will be your downfall. Now is the very brief window of time for the Democratic Party to realize its opportunity. Keep in mind that the reason the halls of Congress are now yours is because a number of more conservative and moderate Dems were able to take power. It is obvious that Nancy Pelosi, the new Frisco flaming-liberal Speaker of the House, has already forgotten that. The crushing defeat of defeatist Jack Murtha as her candidate for House Majority Leader is proof that: a) even her own party sees the need to shift towards the center; and b) the American people are not liberal, as people like Al Franken seem to think without doing any real research on the matter.
George W. : When it comes to national security and social issues--abortion, gay marriage, affirmative action, welfare, and the like--the man is my hero. He really is. The left calls his policies the unconstitutional joining of church and state, because they are too ignorant to tell the difference between utilizing faith-based programs for social good, and promoting a particular faith above all others. That, and they're too foolish to realize that only faith-based programs have the real compassion and capacity to effect such positive change. Government-based systems of aid usually fail in the long run.
However, when it comes to the current situation in Iraq, I am not happy with my President and party chief. I really am not. We have had three-and-a-half years to do something--anything!--about the increasing terrorism, insurgency, "sectarian violence" (a.k.a. civil war), and political-military-economic quagmire. "Stay the course" and "victory" are not specific plans for victory. Both the American and Iraqi peoples can agree on one thing: Mr. Bush and his administration must do something soon to avert disaster. Deposing Saddam Hussein, liberating Iraq, achieving justice for the Kurds--all that was well and good, but why we didn't wait another year and send 400,000 troops, as per General Shinzeki's advice, I'll never know. We couldn't win the Iraq War then with one hand behind our back, and we certainly can't now. It is time to either dig in or dig out. Please, Mr. President, make a decision...if you don't, you may hurt your party, your country, and your world for years to come.
All that being said, despite the overwhelming failures and losses suffered by my party, I remain a strong conservative; in fact, stronger than ever. The election actually reaffirmed my values... After all, did the GOP lose to the Democrats' bleeding-heart liberal proposals? Certainly not--instead, it lost because it abandoned its own Reaganesque conservative principals: low taxes, controlled spending, tough immigration enforcement, and an intelligent, not just strong, foreign policy. I am more determined now than ever to live and die by the Goldwater-Reagan Code. Imagine my frustration when I saw that Mike Pence of Indiana was crushed by John Boehner in his bid for House Minority Leader. Pence may the most courageous, most dyed-in-the-wool conservative in the House, with no ties to the miserable leadership in the 109th Congress...yet more than 100 of the remaining Republicans voted to "stay the course." Did we learn nothing about our stubborn, status quo policies on November 7?
As I stated earlier, today is the anniversary of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, a document I cherish above all others in our post-Constitutional history. I know many liberal scholars insist on Lincoln being part of their camp, due to his stands on freedom and civil rights--as though we conservatives would a priori vote for slavery and secession. However, I see in his address at least two strong conservative values I cherish deeply: a strong defense that cherishes "the last full measure of devotion" made by those who fight to uphold our laws and liberties, from Gettysburg to Baghdad; and "government of the people, by the people, for the people"--that bulwark of Western, indeed American, society which gives government its only real legitimacy and stability. Remember, we are still in our first regime--231 years and going strong. How many other nations, outside of Britain, can say that? Yes, my friends, this is why I will live and die a Conservative...We the people run this glorious system, that system does not run us. Vox populi, vox Dei.
Quote of the Day: "It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us --that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion-- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain--that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom--and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." - Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, November 19, 1863. Like Washington before him, and FDR and Churchill after, Lincoln understood the stakes of the war being waged during his Presidency. If we do not heed the examples of those brave men, we will reap the whirlwind in the form of radical Muslim dictators armed with nuclear weapons, and worldwide terrorism that will dwarf even 9/11/01 and 7/7/05. Go ahead, call me an alarmist, but so was Winston Churchill...it took six million dead Jews and two scorched continents to prove him right. Don't let it happen again.
posted by Douglas Schrock at 6:52 PM
1 Comments:
How did you find my blog? Haha, I'm glad you did. He's my hero on abortion and national security, that's about all. I'm very upset about his refusal to do anything about Communist China, illegal immigration, or corporate excesses. That, and it's safe to say Iraq will be our undoing if nothing changes soon. (Mrs. Swanwick's claws have nothing to do with it ;)
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