I Feel Like A F**king Dupe
One of my e-mail correspondents sent me an e-mail bemoaning the turn to hard social conservatism of the Republican Party. He was also regretting that he supported so many Republicans who have now turned on the Tea Party (he also worries that the Tea Party may be turning into a socon movement rather than sticking strictly to fiscal conservatism) . So I decided to do what I could to buck him up.
Here is my reply. With a few added notes in brackets [ ].And amended for the sake of the privacy of my correspondent:
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I feel like a fucking dupe.
Aren't we all? It is like any revolution. The old order gets shaken up and no one knows what will replace it. A new birth of liberty or just a different kind of totalitarianism.
Maybe it is time to form some groups of our own - may I suggest: LiberTea? Kinda catchy don't you think?
BTW O'Donnell was a member of the Delaware Republican establishment until she had a chance of winning. [note: O'Donnell may be a socon with libertarian political beliefs. Kinda like Palin.]
For the most part I run on hope (well I do have my bad weeks) and I do believe I can change some minds at the margins. So I keep hammering away at the same old themes. You never know who may have missed my last polemic. In advertising most advertisers give up on a winning idea when the advertiser gets bored of it. Well before the audience gets tired. I try to avoid that mistake.
We are at war with the statists of the right and left. So what do we have? I'd say at this point maybe 10% to 20%. Not enough to move things yet. But more than enough to work with.
Just remember Captain Jones. His ship is sinking. When he fires his guns more of his crew die than he kills of his enemies. So what is his reply when the opposing Captain asks, "Have you struck?" And of course his reply has gone down in history (maybe not exact), "I have not yet begun to fight". He maneuvers his ship into close quarters, grappling the opposing ship, and the Marines in the foretops clear the decks of the opposing Captain's ship and they board. After a bloody hand to hand fight he takes the Serapis and watches his ship sink. Victorious.
In battles things often look darkest when you are close to victory. Both sides are exhausted. The side that can at that point surge wins.
We are (IMO) far from that point. But we are wearing them down.
It has taken us 40 years to come even close to ending the drug war. But victory is in sight. Once that blows up in the faces of the statists they will have a lot of answering to do. "Don't give up the ship".
Cross Posted at Classical Values
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4 comments:
[note: O'Donnell may be a socon with libertarian political beliefs. Kinda like Palin.]
You're finally getting it msimon! There is a broad base of socons with libertarian political beliefs. (like me)
You will find that it is the "pragmatic, moderate, statist" republicans who are more likely to run on government-enforced morality, especially in election years. (c.f. John McCain, Mike Huckabee, etc).
It fits with the statist Repubs intention to be the "Red" elites at the top of the govt pyramid while playing to the "country bumpkins" with their socon philosophy.
What I have always found irritating about this debate is the "libertarian" side simply refuses to face the notion that morality is going to be imposed. They just want it to look like the version they favor.
Ask them about abolishing slavery, and they have no trouble forcing that morality on everyone else. They will assert that it is NOT a moral question, when in fact it is nothing but.
I couple of years ago, the Republican Party had a poll done to learn more about it own base.
Most of them turned out to be both social and financial conservatives. A small percentage were financial conservatives only. And an even smaller percentage were social conservatives only.
The base has groused about the Party's establishment only tossing us scraps now and then, for the entire time the Republicans were in control of Congress. That is why the Tea Party has so many members of the base in it, or in strong sympathy with it.
Shrink the Federal Government down, and the social issues will go back to the States and local governments where they belong. A fairly large amount of the socon activity at the national level is fighting back against the Progressives.
Larry,
The party must take its positions with respect to the base of course.
However with only the base it doesn't have enough to win enough elections.
I have no problem with socons like Palin and O'Donnell.
It is the Alan Keyes brand that makes me vote for Communists. And if you look at the numbers quite a few other Republican voters feel the same.
Obama/Keyes vs Kerry/Bush
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Tom,
I always got it. I don't care about a man's religion. I care about how he intends to govern.
The only problem I have is so many socons say "I believe in smaller government and personal responsibility except for....."
I don't have any exceptions. You think the Federal Government should ban some drugs? Fine. Do it the right way. Pass a Constitutional Amendment. Otherwise the Feds have arrogated unto themselves a power which they do not possess. In fact given the post civil war amendments the States may no longer possess such power either.
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“The error seems not sufficiently eradicated that the operations of the mind as well as the acts of the body are subject to the coercion of the laws. But our rulers can have authority over such natural rights only as we have submitted to them. The rights of conscience we never submitted, we could not submit. We are answerable for them to our God. The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.”
-Thomas Jefferson Notes on Virginia Query 17, 1782.
Two hundred and thirty eight years later and we still haven't got that one right.
The Federal government does not have the power over any human consumables. That fact was enshrined in our Constitution in 1920 and again in 1933. I'd like to see a few more real Constitutionalists among the socon contingent. It would ease my mind considerably.
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Dave,
You are going to be very sorry to hear this being you are such a political genius and all, but coalitions are ruled by their least attached members. It is how you get from 40% to 51%.
And if the Rs run a Huckabee (thanks for reminding me Tom) or a Keyes I'm voting Communist. Again. You might want to look at the Keyes/Obama race stats at the above link.
Let me give you a hint: if Republicans stuck to sound fiscal policy and strong national defense they would NEVER lose another election.
But too many socons fall in love with government guns as a means to solve social problems (We Won!!11!!) and fritter away their majorities. I watched it happen from 2000 to 2008. I tried to tell you guys you were blowing it. You know how it happened - too many voted for "He is right on the social issues so we can give X a pass on the spending."
Of course the Ds are so bad that you are now getting another chance. Don't blow it.
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