Big Dogs Weblog

The Search For The Republican Soul

by Blake on Apr 29, 2009 at 10:33 Political

The defection and betrayal of Arlen Specter this week has brought about a questioning of what is a Republican. What, or who, makes up the Republican party. This is similar to what went on in the brains of liberals in 2000, who have now defined the Democratic Party, a long search in the deserts of the mind, a trek through limitless nothing, looking for one good idea. They feel they have found it in Social Engineering.

The Republicans have a similar trek they must make, a soul- searching hike to find a set of tenets and ethics they can use as a moral compass.

Arlen Specter has no compass- this is seen by how easily he changed parties, not once but twice. I have had fish that flopped less. He is a politician of convenience, and that is the worst type to have in office, for you cannot count on him to stand for anything, but apparently he WILL kneel to any fakir who promises continued employment. The man is 79 years old- it used to be that when a politician became too infirm for the rigors of the office, he would begin to groom someone to gracefully take his place if so elected. Senator Byrd became the poster child for Dementiacrats- too old to know better. Senator Kennedy is another. Now Arlie has joined the viagra set, and good riddance.

Meanwhile, the confusion on the Republican side continued, with the soul searching reaching new lows. Several people stating that the Republican Party has been hijacked by “Southern good old boys”, a liberal definition that the wandering Republicans have chosen to repeat, as if it was the truth. These talking heads maintain that these ‘Good old boys” are closing the “Big Tent” philosophy, telling some that they aren’t really Republicans, and the party has no place at the table for them. There may or may not be some truth there, but I am guessing that it depends on what the definition of conservatism is determined to be.

If conservatism is used to exclude people who have variants of conservative views, then yes- the Republican Party will shrink and become less relevant. For example, a person may believe in the right to life, yet recognize that Roe v. Wade is a law. It is not a law that is liked but it is a law. I have a friend that believes in pro- choice, but he firmly prays that people will make the right choice.Is he a conservative? I believe he is, but some in the party might disagree.

The facts are that the Republican Party can not be a Monolithic one idea, one dogma party- not everyone thinks the same, nor should they.

A northern Republican has different concerns than someone in Arizona, or North Carolina. It is impossible, and certainly not desirable to have everyone think exactly the same.

However, there are certain core principles that should be key to any Republican’s thought processes, and central to this is the tenet of Small Government. Government just makes a problem worse, and private enterprise is the best solution. Always.

The main things Government has to do is provide Security, and infrastructure. For the latter, the States should take the lead, for the states know better than the Federal government what the people need. It takes a real delusional ego to think that Washington knows what I need, better than the county or state does. Real. Delusional. Ego.

Republicans need to reaffirm that it is opportunity that makes America great, and no one should be restricted from this opportunity. Americans, no matter the color, have the energy, and we have the brains to do wonders, but if we are being held down by government restrictions, nothing gets done, and we are all the poorer for it.
The thing that people need to know is that the party will be loyal to it’s central themes. If conservatives are for smaller government, then conservatives can not be hypocritical, and wallow in the public trough, gobbling up taxpayer’s money. Republican does not mean Democrat Lite. Ever.

Conservatives have to know that ALL government money is OUR money. The government doesn’t earn a dime, has never earned a dime, and will never earn a dime. The government exists to serve us, and every government hack is someone we hired, and who works for us, plain and simple. This is something that people in government, whether Senators, or bureaucrats never believe. The sense of entitlement begins at the government trough.

There should be an easier process to eject politicians from office, returning them like the defective Chinese melamine infused products they were supposed to protect us from. They didn’t do their jobs there, did they? Anyone hear of any government employee being fired because of that? No? Neither have I. Has anyone been fired for allowing salmonella into the food system? No? Why not?

The problem in a nutshell is that many conservatives nowadays do not identify with the Republican Party, and it’s not because we are bigots, or narrow- minded, but that the Republicans in office forgot who they were, and tried to be like the Liberals, and for what? Are they who you really wish to emulate?

If you do not stand for a principle, you will end up kneeling because of convenience. Just like Arlen Specter.

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Tags: conservatism, ethics, specter