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Even after Barack Obama’s stunning victory Tuesday night, I am convinced that 75% of Americans still live, breathe, and believe in Republican Conservative values.
So why is it, you ask, that the Democrats now control both the Executive and Legislative Branches of the U.S. Government? Plain and simple … and starting at the top … the Republican Party has been abandoning conservatism. They have continued to abandon the very principles and people that made it victorious.
The Bush presidency has made a shambles of real conservatism. Let's leave aside the issues on which liberals and conservatives can be expected to disagree, like his tax cuts for the rich, expansion of Medicare or his position on immigration, and focus solely on ones that should be above partisan rancor … ones involving the Constitution and all-American values. On issue after the ‘Mom and Apple Pie’ issue, Bush has done incalculable damage to conservative principles, and he has been supported every step of the way by Republicans in Congress, who have voted in lockstep for his questionable policies.
The Bush presidency has damaged American civil society in many ways, but one of the most lasting may be its destructive effect on conservatism. The 75% number includes those Americans, who do not call themselves conservatives, but acknowledge the power and enduring value of core conservative beliefs. That is belief in individual agency and responsibility, respect for American institutions and traditions, a resolute commitment to freedom, a willingness to take principled moral stands. It is a movement that draws its inspiration from towering figures such as Adam Smith, Thomas Jefferson, Edmund Burke … as well as the greatest conservative of all … Ronald Reagan.
I view the Bush Administration as having been the captain of the U.S. Naval Submarine “The Conservative” (SSN Class 2004). The captain, in essence, kept The Conservative submerged far too long. At nearly every moment when the Captain should have surfaced the sub, he instead chose to dive a little further.
For a good part of the past eight years, The Conservative drifted in waters at a depth of 30 meters down. It is at this depth that red light is quickly absorbed, and since there is no red light to reflect anything that is red, it thus absorbs all light that hits it and red will appear a blueish black.
For the past year, The Conservative continued to teeter between a depth of 29 and 30 meters. It is precisely this analogy, when applied to Tuesday night’s Electoral Map, that should help explain why most of the red states simply disappeared.
3 comments:
James - good point - the administration (the literal head of the Republican Party), led it down the road of mediocrity - when it should have fought back, it backed down, when it should have been open, it remained closed - whether it fear or arrogence, the body politic has far too many at the "top" so to speak, whose opinions and policies to do not represent core conservative values: fiscal conservatives were the first to go - and give McCain his due, he was spot on - for 8 years, Bush and Company spent like there was no tomorrow, failed to nail it to the opposition re: Fannie and Freddie (they could have been more vocal), and bascially were more concerned with who is next in line - whose turn is it at the helm.
National and fiscal security are the cornerstones of the conervative party - an all-inclusive party - the party that does not divide, rather invites all to the table - There will be a resurgence - this election was not a rejection of John McCain, or more specifically Sarah Palin, who energized true conservatives (and should have been brought out much ealier), but a rejection of all that was wrong with the party - not from Democrats, but from its own members and those independents who viewed it as "just another similar brand". Should these jokers even think they can put Jeb Bush, (seriously they are looking at this) Mitt Romney or anyone who would not satisfy the basic principals of the party - they can forget about doing anything the next 4 to 8 years - regardless of the job that the Democrats do with this country. Those of us in the trenches, that are moderate yet conservative and understand the core values must begin a concertive grassroots effort to field and support candidates that can compete without the "Washigton PR firms and insider tips that are ruled by their own self interests" - Just a thought.
Excellent posts my friend.
You can see the decrepitude rotting from the head down. It reflects in the overall mediocrity of everything that is remotely entangled with government. Now we have the worst possible example of the most mediocre taking revenge at long last on anyone with any better talents than it possesses, taking over the government and society completely.
As always Tina ... you are spot on in your analysis ... and I very much appreciate you sharing these comments, as well as, providing a touch of brilliance and class to this obvious beginner's blog. I hope you will return often.
NOTE: I highly recommend that everyone visit Tina's blog at:
http://degreesofmoderation.blogspot.com/
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