GOP Core Principles Becoming Obsolete? Don’t Bet On It
Anyone who’s read this website knows that my first choice for president was Fred Thompson. Since that didn’t work out the way I’d hoped, I’m thankful that he didn’t just disappear back to Hollywood. We need Fred to continue advocating conservatism’s core principles. That’s precisely what he did in this column.
We’ve heard alot recently that we’d have to remake the GOP brand, whatever that’s supposed to be. I suspect the people saying it really mean that conservatives need to abandon conservatism. I’ve rejected that as utter nonsense. I’m not alone in the Right Blogosphere, either. The best news is that Fred Thompson thinks it’s BS, too:
We know that we were given a country based upon certain eternal truths, the wisdom of the scriptures and the wisdom of the ages, the fact that there is such a thing as human nature that has to be taken into account when governing, and most fundamentally, based upon the fact that people are meant to be free. Our founders derived from these principles a government that had its powers separated, checked and balanced because they knew that power tended to corrupt. In keeping with that they incorporated in our Constitution a system of Federalism to make sure that there was not too much power concentrated in the central government, which was given delineated powers and no others.
When we see government burdening us with unnecessary regulations, it’s imperative that we fight against it. When we see government attempting to burden us with trillion dollar tax increases, we must fight against it.
True conservatives are steadfast about federalism because it defines what different layers of government are responsible for. That’s why John McCain isn’t a true conservative. The minute conservatives stop being steadfast about federalism is the minute that the GOP starts having electoral troubles. Once that happens, it’s difficult to get the genie back in the bottle, which is what’s happening right now.
It’s important to note why federalism was part of conservatism’s core: a powerful central government is destined to be corrupt. It’s inevitable. Here’s another great Fredism:
Some of our fellow Republicans say that things are different now and we must change with the times. We recognize that appropriate change is necessary, just as the conservative thinker Edmund Burke did when he supported the American Revolution.
However we must ask those who would modify our principles, “When did freedom and liberty become outdated?” Then, “What part of our Constitutional framework needs to be abandoned?”
More than anything else, we need to eliminate spineless squishies. That said, we can’t just abandon them. It’s imperative that we immediately replace the squishies with steadfast, principled conservatives. The reason why we need to replace squishies with principled conservatives is because we need that type of person in Washington, where they’ll be attacked for their beliefs daily. There isn’t a better example of that than the woman who represents me in Washington, Michele Bachmann. In her stump speeches, she often brags that her spine is made of titanium, something I don’t doubt because she’s withstood some whithering attacks from the left. She hasn’t abandoned those principles, though.
We needn’t abandon conservatism. If anything, we need to stop acting like Democrats. If the “GOP brand” is tarnished, it’s because we lost sight of the principles of Reagan and Goldwater. Finally, check this out:
Not too long ago I was asked by a group of 11 year olds why I was so interested in government and politics. I thought about it for a minute and then I said that, while I was interested in politics from an early age, as I got older I became more interested in what politics were supposed to do, like protect our freedoms. I told them that over the years as I read world history it dawned on me just how unique our country was. How a small group of intellectuals and a much larger group of average people, servants, tradesmen, some folks who had had run-ins with the law but all of whom shared a desire for liberty, came here, carved out a place in the wilderness and decided they could govern themselves. How they came up with a Constitution that was the envy of the world and still is. How they elected a President who could have been a king, but instead served his terms, got on his horse and rode out of town never to return.
Isn’t it time we got busy electing conservatives and governing like conservatives? I’d say it’s long past time.
Technorati Tags: Fred Thompson, GOP, Conservatism, Constitution, Federalism, First Principles, Reagan, Goldwater, Checks And Balances
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog
June 9th, 2008 at 9:27 am
Not only do we need solid Conservatives in Washington, but we need to hear more from them on TV (especially on Cable News) and see more of this in print. There still are many folks who don’t get their news from the Internet and who don’t read blogs. If it weren’t for these two sources, I would never know that there was a Conservative alternative from watching Bay Area news coverage or reading local newspapers. I never see Steyn or Thompson reprinted in local newspapers. We have to find a way to get the message out to a wider audience.
June 9th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Exactly right! This election is not a good one for conservatives. Even if Sen. McCain does win, it will be credited to independents and disgruntled Democrats. This does not mean conservative Republicans should sit home and let Sen. Obama win. That is how we got stuck with William Jefferson Blythe Clinton. There are some great conservative Republicans to look forward to. Govs Jindal and Palin are two up and comers. We just have to be willing to do what we always do. Fight for what we believe in. It not only worked in 1994, but probably made President Clinton move away from the lefty fringe that is now prostrating towards Sen. Obama. BTW, what do we make of Gov Benedict Arnold? Talk about us getting hoodwinked on that one!
June 9th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
If John Boy loses it’ll be because of the conservatives. If he wins, it will be because “independents” voted him in. No matter what, conservatives are going to be the bad guys this fall.
It’s time for conservatives to stand up and say “Enough!”, and take their party back. Get rid of the liberal/moderate power brokers brought in by socialists like McCain, Bush and Bush. Get rid of the illegitimates who promise fiscal responsibility and pack (just like the donkeys) every conceivable piece of pork into every conceivable bill they can, then wonder why folks at home aren’t happy.
And it’s time to pack the SCOTUS with people who believe the Constitution of the United States says what it means and doesn’t mean whatever happens to be currently popular. And they can start with getting the federal government out of every business in the United States. Those businesses don’t fall under the “enumerated powers”. Then get them out of the pants of legitimate businesses. And finally, throw every scoundrel who accepts a bribe into jail and throw away the key, along with the lobbyist who bribes him/her. I can think of a certain majority leader who should be tops on that list, then a certain rep from Penn not far behind.
June 10th, 2008 at 1:28 am
The problem with conservatives is their limited creative thinking when it comes to such fundamental issues. Take Fred’s premise “We know that we were given a country based upon certain eternal truths–-the wisdom of the scriptures…” for example, from this dizzying array of irony. Is Fred really suggesting that the United States of America was founded on religious principles? Has Fred read the Constitution? Have any of you?
Like the proverbial elephant in the room, Fred then actually brings up the Federalist system that he and fellow conservatives have worked diligently to destroy under Bush and his sweeping
power-grabexecutive powers. I can’t tell; is Fred trying to be funny?Much like the rest of Fred’s ramblings, this piece makes little sense. Fred contradicts facts, claiming credit for a balanced budget in the 90’s as well as DOMA (as though a certain President had nothing to do with it), while attempting to portray our economy now as somehow better than the longest peace-time expansion in our nation’s history and despite a collapsing market, a mortgage meltdown, a credit crisis, and a national debt that has more than doubled in only 7 years. Maybe Fred was sleepy when he wrote it, or who knows, maybe his 29-year old wife is his ghost writer. I just know there had to be a reason Fred was laughed out of the political spectrum, and I think I found it. He’s even lazy about being delusional.
June 10th, 2008 at 7:57 am
The question, Rocky, is, when will you read the Constitution, instead of all the ponderous tomes explaining to us dumb folk what the words of the Constitution actually mean?
The problem with the Constitution now isn’t the Constitution itself, but how the language of it has been mangled by those who wish to control every aspect of every life. That’s why they have to find “penumbras” and such, so they can ’splain to us dumb folk what we’re too dense to get in the actual language…
June 11th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Rocky, why do you Marxists waste so much energy on people you’ll never convince your right????
June 13th, 2008 at 8:28 am
T.A: That is the reason for these discussions, to present various and opposing points of view.
Unfortunately, after reading the same argument to explain and solve virtually every problem, it’s not difficult to read about one line of Rocky’s posts and know it’s him. Same argument, same response, same mindless blather.
If there was anything to communism that made a lick of sense, I would listen to it and evaluate it, then decide if it fit with the rest of my world view and values. Haven’t found anything close yet, from Marx on.
And given the inability of that ilk to come up with any new ideas, I doubt I (or anyone else) ever will. Once one undresses that lipsticked pig, it’s still a pig. The various dressings they install on it just don’t change that fact.