A New New Deal?

Recently, Liberal politicians in Washington have been using two streams of thought to justify their legislative priorities.  One, that we as a nation are in the midst of a depression, and two, that we need a government driven solution, (a’ la a new New Deal) to stimulate our economy out of this depression.

 

As a conservative, I reject these notions.  I will admit that our economy has seen better days, however, I think that it is important to remember what President Reagan often told us; that America’s best days aren’t behind us, but ahead of us.  Liberalism’s success feeds on the fear and depression of the American public.  I am not willing to contribute to their successes.

 

Secondly, I am fervently against the 885 billion “economic stimulus” bill that is being forced into action by the Obama Administration and Congressional Democrats.  The key to any government driven “stimulus” package is federally employed public works programs.  It may sound good when they say that we will save our economy by building roads, bridges, and schools..  However, don’t be mislead.

The problem with public works programs are that they don’t last.  It is all good and dandy to provide workers with temporary jobs, but what happens when the projects are finished?  Will we be in the same mess then that we are in now?  The sad answer is yes.  Our congressional leadership would do well to consider this before they fashion any sort of stimulus bill.

The bottom line is that we don’t need more government to solve our problems for us, we need less government.  For an administration that is supposed to represent something new and fresh, this so called “new New Deal” looks awfully familiar.  Do we really expect these 20th century ideas to help us with our 21st century problems?  I sure don’t.

Where Do We Go From Here?

The Republican Party obviously really lost on every level on Tuesday. However, In the midst of all the political pity that I’ve been feeling, I think it’s important to get beyond the inevitable political demoralization that conservatives are feeling, and start looking at the real consequences of this election, and where we are to go from here as conservatives.

Of all the places to find it, my first post election inspiration came from Ralph Nader. At the National Press Club on Wednesday, Mr. “Full-Time Citizen” rightfully pointed out that no political party is the real loser in this election. The real losers, according to Mr. Nader, are the American people. (He then proceeded to ruin this profound moment by spewing his usual socialist, anti- capitalism jargon, but that’s besides the point.)

Mr. Nader’s words, when applied to a conservative ideology, are very true. Republicans have lost nothing compared to what the American people have lost. In the next 2-4 years, the American people will feel the burden of electing someone with an extremely liberal ideology to the highest office in the land. Steven M. Nielson at The New Conservative had a great post about what to expect in the new socialist administration.

Mr. Nader, (Who actually managed to say two profound things in one day.), also pointed out that there are two kinds of people who react to failed elections. Firstly, there are those who react to political failure with a recessive trait. These people allow themselves to be demoralized by failure, which leads to a compromise in principle, which in turn will ensure continued failure. Secondly, there are those who react to political failure with a civic trait. These people realize that their failings had nothing to do with their message, but rather in the way that their message was delivered.

In order to rebuild the Republican Party, we must return to the principles that we improved America with in the 1980’s and in 1994. The media seems to think that the only effective way for Republicans to regain power is to shift farther to the left ideologically. This is completely wrong. As Barry Goldwater pointed out, conservatives faced the same problem in 1960.

“We are daily cosigned by “enlightened” commentators to political oblivion: Conservatism, we are told, is out of date. The charge is preposterous and we ought boldly to say so. The laws of God, and of nature, have no dateline. The principles on which the Conservative political position is based have been established by a process that has nothing to do with social, economic, and political landscape that changes from decade to decade and from century to century. These principles are derived from the nature of man, and from the truths that God has revealed about His creation. Circumstances do change. So do the problems that are shaped by circumstances. But the principles that govern the solution of the problems do not. To suggest that the Conservative philosophy is out of date is akin to saying that the Golden Rule, or the Ten Commandments or Aristotle’s Politics are out of date. The Conservative approach is nothing more or less than an attempt to apply the wisdom and experience and the revealed truths of the past to the problems of today. The challenge is not to find new or different truths, but to learn how to apply established truths to the problems of the contemporary world.”

We ought to realize that the American people are attracted to authenticity, that’s why Reagan was the only successful Republican president in the last 50 years.  Reagan didn’t feel the need to shift to the left, and we shouldn’t either.  In the words of Mike Huckabee, “We will never compromise our principles for anyone else’s politics.” Not today, not tomorrow, not ever.

Are We Not Conservatives?

“We are daily cosigned by “enlightened” commentators to political oblivion: Conservatism, we are told, is out of date. The charge is preposterous and we ought boldly to say so. The laws of God, and of nature, have no dateline. The principles on which the Conservative political position is based have been established by a process that has nothing to do with social, economic, and political landscape that changes from decade to decade and from century to century. These principles are derived from the nature of man, and from the truths that God has revealed about His creation. Circumstances do change. So do the problems that are shaped by circumstances. But the principles that govern the solution of the problems do not. To suggest that the Conservative philosophy is out of date is akin to saying that the Golden Rule, or the Ten Commandments or Aristotle’s Politics are out of date. The Conservative approach is nothing more or less than an attempt to apply the wisdom and experience and the revealed truths of the past to the problems of today. The challenge is not to find new or different truths, but to learn how to apply established truths to the problems of the contemporary world.”

-Former Sen. Barry M. Goldwater (1909-1998) From the preface of his book, The Conscience Of A Conservative (1960)

In the next week, the Republican Party will hold their National Convention and decide on a platform of principles that will be officially endorsed. While we are in the midst of such important decision making, I think that it would be wise for the GOP to reflect on the values that we were founded on, and on the values that have governed us in the past.

In 1856, John C. Fremont was the Republican Party’s first presidential candidate. In that year, our platform was mostly centered around the abolishment of slavery. Even in our beginnings, we as a party believed in the intrinsic value of every human being and their right to live freely. Seven years later, this platform manifested itself in the form of the Emancipation Proclamation, which was authored by the first and greatest Republican President, Abraham Lincoln.

In 2008, instead of the enslavement of would-be American citizens, we are witnessing the genocide of them. While the Republican Party as a whole is primarily pro-life, a great number of Republicans oppose a constitutional amendment that would ban abortion nationally. Hopefully, our platform will include support of this amendment. Just like the very first Republicans, our delegates in St. Paul should recognize the value of every human life, and their right to live freely as Americans. We should endorse a “Emancipation Proclamation” of our own, and break free from this genocide.

At another time in our history, another great Republican leader emerged. In 1901, Theodore Roosevelt assumed the presidency after the assassination of his predecessor, William McKinley. At the age of forty-two, Roosevelt inherited a incompetent government and an increasingly corrupt corporate sector. With intelligence and vigor, Roosevelt acted upon what he saw as the removal of rights from America’s working class. Roosevelt oversaw the passage of a series of labor laws which were successful at protecting the rights of the hardest working Americans.

Although Roosevelt can not be described as a conservative by any means, he had a good grasp on one fundamental conservative belief; that absolute power corrupts absolutely. Today, labor unions have unfortunately become what they were originally made to fight against. Labor union membership is mandatory in most states and industries. Shamefully, most labor unions spend their members’ hard earned money to support liberal political causes that many workers don’t believe in. This is misrepresentation of the highest degree, and should not be tolerated. The Republican Party’s platform in 2008 should support the enactment of Right To Work laws across the country. We should take into account the example of Theodore Roosevelt and protect all Americans against the threat of domestic absolutism.

Perhaps the greatest example that conservatives have to look to is President Ronald Reagan. Indeed, American Conservatism ultimately succeeded with his election in 1980. Following the pessimism that insued from the energy and economic crises of the 1970’s, President Reagan lead Americans to believe in themselves again. President Reagan governed with an inherent set of values that he knew would prove successful when applied to our national problems.

Ronald Reagan’s principles changed politics, and America forever.  As true conservatives, we need to apply his principles, and the principles of our other great leaders, to our platform today.  As Sen. Goldwater said; “The Conservative approach is nothing more or less than an attempt to apply the wisdom and experience and the revealed truths of the past to the problems of today.”   If Republicans are going to throw around the names of are great leaders, then shouldn’t we begin emulating them?

I am only reflecting on these principles because I feel that I need to.  The Republican Party is increasingly becoming a party that I don’t recognize.  As conservative Republicans, I think that it is time that we take Sen. Goldwater’s words to heart.  We need to apply the principles of Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Reagan to the problems of today.  

In light of the coming convention in St. Paul we should ask ourselves;  Are we not Republicans?  Are we not Conservatives? 

A New Time For Choosing

In October of 1964, a 53 year old “over the hill” actor named Ronald Reagan appeared on national television to give a speech on behalf of the Republican Presidential nominee, Sen. Barry Goldwater. The speech, however, transcended it’s purpose. In the speech, the future President articulated the basic economic and political essentials of conservatism, and he also communicated that Americans had a right to choose something other than wasteful government spending and a defeatist foreign policy. The speech was extraordinarily well received. In fact, although the speech was originally titled, “A Time For Choosing”, historians now refer to it as simply, “The Speech”. The later title makes more sense to me, because I consider it as the defining speech of conservatism in general.

Well, it’s 2008 now, but Americans still have a choice. I believe that Reagan/Goldwater’s message is just as relevant now as it was then, but unlike in 1964, we can make the right choice. Conservatives now are dealing with Goldwater’s successor, John McCain, as their presidential nominee. I am not suggesting that John McCain is anywhere near as conservative as Goldwater, but our choice is just as strong.

We can choose conservative principles in 2008. We can choose a more effective method of government, we can choose life for the unborn, we can choose a strong national defense, and we can choose the values of our founding fathers. I reject the notion that this election is a choice between a “lesser of two evils”. I choose a conservative future, therefore, I now officially declare my support for Sen. John McCain in the 2008 Presidential Election.

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