Are we being too picky?
Though more common in the old days, every once in a while a writer puts out a column that really makes me think, and it puts a new spin on an issue that I had long decided on. I present this article:
Steyn on “Liberal” Republicans
The most interesting point is that viewed through such a narrow conservative looking glass, even Reagan would have a hard time fitting in, despite attaining hero status in hindsight. I believe I got caught up in the hysteria of talk radio and my own beliefs, and forgot an interesting tidbit from the Mr. Hero himself. He always said if I agree with you 85% of the time, then I’m your guy.
I have painted Huckabee as a liberal Republican for a few months now, but his tax increases weren’t huge, and he raised them at the state level, which I supposedly am okay with. Mike’s biggest issue is that he wants to take out the IRS, Ron Paul style, which is probably a pipe dream. IRS reform is at the top of my list (why not lower taxes for all and eliminate ALL loopholes?), but it sounds like a kid who runs for student council on the “pop machines free at lunch” platform. He’s also running a very populism-flavored campaign, which is hard to stomach.
McCain isn’t near as liberal as I have personally painted him to be, although there are large problems with his record. Still, 85% is a stretch at this point, and there is a huge skeleton in the closet. Not only does the Keating Five campaign finance reform fiasco loom large, but he’s shown great distaste for true conservatism at many turns. I still don’t know that I can vote for him, for his record suggests a very big government agenda, but I’ll give him another look and peruse his website literature once more. He’s also got to cut out the “managing for profit” bullshit and remember that the private sector is the entire driving force of this country. Big Pharma saves our lives, John. It doesn’t destroy them, regardless of how much they charge for research and development. Remember, its government types that made the cost of FDA certification of a drug ~800 million dollars (it really is this high). If he wants businessmen to join him, that kind of talk needs to go away.
I suppose I should be happy that for once, actual politics are taking place instead of the normal republican coronation in early January, but I still feel very deflated by my choices. I will, however, look once more for any hidden conservative ideals inside of the “liberals” running for the GOP nomination.
The House is on Fire!!!
The results are in from last night’s Super Tuesday festivities, which proved to be a second Christmas for political junkies. The catch is that the conservative base only got coal. Our presumptive nominee is one John McCain, who approached John Kerry about the democratic VP position in 2004. We could go into all the things we dislike about Mr. McCain, but we’ll sum it up like this: McCains-Feingold, -Kennedy, -Kennedy-Edwards, and -Lieberman.
The polls from last night show that there is a fire in the republican tent, and smoke is starting to billow out of the flaps. It was started years ago by moderate republicans and independents who felt alienated by the far left shift of the New Left oh, so many years ago. They moved in, and rewarded the Right with 7 of 10 presidents, and even a majority sweep for 12 years in D.C. We elected moderate, mass appeal Republicans, and they governed the way they promised. Big government, out of control spending, and earmarks tarnished our legacy and our party, leaving us dismembered during the 2006 midterm elections.
Now conservatives look up and notice, finally, that they no longer hold even a majority of their own party (since 1960 when Barry Goldwater began the Conservative Revolution), as their voices fail to quench the rise of John McCain. Even without Mr. Huckabee’s assistance in dividing conservative votes (John managed to lose by ten points in his own state amongst conservative voters!), McCain would have taken a respectable -if smaller- lead. There’s fire and dissidence everywhere, and that’s a problem in the GOP.
We at S&S would ask conservatives a question: What do you do when you wake up and the house is on fire? What can you do? Let us consider the options.
1. Run. Conservatives can leave the GOP. Hell, we don’t recognize half of it any longer, so why stay? We can exist as an external element to the established party, much as the black vote, or the religious vote does. Sure, we’ll end up voting republican most of the time, but why don’t we try to play kingmaker for awhile, rather than let Jerry Falwell and those who hold salvation for a ransom disguised as a donation do it?
2. Grab an extinguisher. If the fire is small enough, or the hoses are big enough, we can quench this blaze with a little work. Sure, the walls will be damaged, and they’ll never be as good as they were, but we can rebuild over them in time, and get back someday. After all, do we really care if blow-in-the-wind independents have a nice room to stay in? Our candidate should lure them, not promises of liberal policy.
3. Scream and yell. Like some voices of conservative talk radio, we could do nothing but get angry at the fire, and try to shout it down. We’ll likely be consumed in the process, but at least we’ll make a bunch of noise before we disappear forever. Its likely that this is merely a prequel to the other options, as I’m sure they recognize that they’ll be destroyed if we have to escape plan.
4. Set the rest of the house ablaze, and buy a shed for the backyard. Sure, we can bring the solution, but lets possibly mortgage the future with personal injury in the process. This represents voting for HillDog or Obama just to keep McCain from having a chance. If conservatives do this, we’ll most certainly prevent McCain from winning, and we’ll most certainly get a handhold on the party again, but we’ll have to go through Purgatory just to do it, and there’s no guarantee that moderates will EVER vote for us again. A great number of conservatives have their matches in their hands already.
We would courteously suggest the first option. If the republican party no longer represents us, why are we still living there? Maybe in a few years we can reconcile and move back in, but its just not a good fit right now. John McCain not only does not represent us, but he’s shown his dislike for us numerous times in the past, and he’s about to be the landlord. Let’s just grab a studio apartment downtown for a little while, and scare the hell out of our landlord when his rent revenues plummet. He’ll probably lose his job. If we play our cards right, they’ll be more than happy to let us back in, and we can all get friendly again.
If they become angry and bitter at our disappearance, we’ll save up and buy a new place that’s just as good, but newer. There will be a conservative-backed party in the near future, even if there is not currently. Whether its the GOP or a new construction, we will be heard. Strong conservative principles are the backbone of this country, and the liberal radical agenda mixes with it to form the endless battle that sustains our great country through all its speed bumps.
