Taking Ownership

Conservatism did not lose this election. Conservatives did. Let me repeat. Conservatism did not lose this election. Conservatives did. The timeless principles of conservatism are right and remain right regardless of what the mainstream media, David Brooks or Peggy Noonan might tell you. This election was ten years in the making and it had nothing to do with Republicans being TOO conservative.

In 1998, Newt Gingrich and the Republicans in Washington forgot about advancing conservatism in order to engage in National Enquirer attacks on Bill Clinton. They had forced Clinton to the right after the 1994 election. They had achieved welfare reform and some fiscal responsibility. Even after the government shutdown of 1995, they still had the opportunity to set the agenda, and they chose Monica Lewinsky.

Don't get me wrong. Bill Clinton is a lecherous piece of garbage. Even his supporters know this. But he's a likable lecherous piece of garbage. After twenty years of practicing law, the one thing I've learned is that juries like people who are likable. Combine that with the fact that juries have an unsettling tendency to blame the victim in sex cases and the esteemed lawyers that made up a large part of the Republican majorities in the House and Senate back then should have known better than to risk everything on impeachment. They took the risk and, as a result, we lost Newt instead of getting rid of Bill.

In 2000, George W. Bush introduced us to "compassionate conservatism". I hated the phrase then and I hate it now. Basically, it was used to describe a belief that government could use conservative principles to solve life's problems for citizens. My friends (eww, I'm beginning to sound like McCain) that ain't conservatism. Ronald Reagan said many years ago and it is STILL true, "government is not the solution, it's the problem." The Republican party needs to require that NO ONE be given a qualifying petition to run for office as a Republican unless they swear an oath to that principle. One more time, "government is not the solution, it's the problem."

People criticize Karl Rove for implementing slash and burn politics. Those people are wrong. Slash and burn politics have been around ever since Andrew Jackson's wife Rachel was called a "whore", if not before. Karl Rove should be criticized for following the path of Dick Morris and the strategy of "triangulation". Triangulation works for Democrats. It doesn't make sense for Republicans, excuse me, conservatives.

Liberals cannot run and win as liberals except in San Francisco and Washington DC. Therefore, they have to pretend to be moderates. The American people believe in conservative principles. Don't doubt me on that. However, they LIKE Democrats and the vague concept of "centrism". Therefore, liberals have to triangulate.

Karl Rove and George W. Bush forgot that, "Government's first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives." Yes, that's Ronald Reagan again. Folks, these are undeniable principles, not just campaign slogans. Ronald Reagan wanted to eliminate the Department of Education and RESTORE the power over education to localities. Accountability occurs when local citizens control what their children are taught and how they are taught, not with mandates from the Great White Father in Washington. Reagan would have been outraged at the idea of No Child Left Behind. Hello! No Child Left Behind expanded the power of the Federal government increased the education budget by over 50%. That AIN'T conservatism.

I won't bore you with a complete list of Republican backed idiocy over the past eight years that bore no resemblance to conservatism, but suffice it to say that McCain-Feingold, cap and trade, and the bailout are NOT conservatism. Let me make this clear, there is no such thing as conservative statism.

Try as he might, John McCain couldn't run as a conservative when he had spent the past eight years trampling on conservatism. Why should anyone trust the Republicans to govern as conservatives when they didn't? Something happens to people when they become entrenched in Washington DC and live among the denizens of the Beltway. Somehow they become brainwashed and begin believing that government has the answers and that people need government nannies. That AIN'T conservatism.

Peggy Noonan and David Brooks can tell us to forget Reagan and to believe that the world is now too complex for simple conservatism to work. That AIN'T conservatism.

Did you know that according to Rasmussen Reports and the Battleground/Tarrance Group polls, a majority of Americans still believe in conservative PRINCIPLES and the FACT that government is the problem not the solution? Did you know that the internals of the exit polls show that people believed that Barack Obama was the fiscal conservative in the race?

Some principles are true and timeless. "Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged." Once again, I'm quoting Ronald Reagan. Society has to recognize cohesive universal values of right and wrong. THEN freedom can expand. Conservatism recognizes that. We conservatives seem to have forgotten that. Supposed conservative media elites keep telling us to jettison the Religious Right. That AIN'T conservatism.

"Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves." Ronald Wilson Reagan again. Free people don't need a nanny. Free people don't need government managing their retirement accounts or their insurance. Free people don't expect to be bailed out by Mama Washington when they screw up.

Allow me to quote Reagan one more time. "Man is not free unless government is limited." The Federal government has no Constitutional authority to tell you what kind of car you can drive. The Federal government has no Constitutional authority to tell you what kind of light bulbs you can use. The Federal government has no Constitutional authority to micromanage your healthcare decisions.

The American people still believe in morality. The American people still believe in limited government. The American people still believe in property rights. The American people still believe in low taxes. The American people still believe in strong national defense. The American people still believe in secure national borders. Regardless of what the mainstream media tells you and regardless of what so-called conservative intellectuals tell you, the American people still believe in conservatism.

Conservatism didn't lose this election. Conservatives lost this election by a decade long abandonment of conservatism. We have to recognize this, take ownership of this and do what is right. "There are no easy answers' but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right." Do I have to tell you who said that?

It Doesn't Matter

If the polls and pundits are right, less than 48 hours from now, the United States of America will have the most historic election result in its history. No, not because we will have elected an African American as President, but because we will have elected someone with a paper thin resume who has, throughout his history, associated with those who view America in fundamentally different ways than the vast majority of Americans. Further, we will have elected a man who, by his very words and deeds, distrusts capitalism, believes in Marxist redistribution and considers small town and rural Americans to be bitter, clingy racists. Apparently, though none of this matters.

There's no question that Barack Obama said that small town and rural Americans were bitter because (he believes) government hasn't done enough to take care of us. This bitterness (he believes) has caused us to "...cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them...." That statement alone should guarantee that 90% of those who live in small towns or rural areas or take their religion seriously or believe in the Second Amendment would vote against him. Apparently, though, it doesn't matter.

Barack Obama spent twenty years in Reverend Wright's racist America hating church. He used Reverend Wright's words in his book title. After twenty years, he claimed that he didn't hear the incendiary remarks Wright made, and expressed shock after learning them. Of course, that's ridiculous. No one with even a single brain cell believes that. Apparently, though, it doesn't matter.

Barack Obama, as a youth, was mentored by admitted communist Frank Marshall Davis. Davis was important enough to young Obama to deserve mention in his memoirs. Apparently, though, it doesn't matter.

William Ayers is a Marxist. William Ayers is an unrepentant terrorist. William Ayers considered Barack Obama to be enough of a kindred spirit to have him dole out money to meet Ayers' education goals. Ayers has praised Hugo Chavez' education system and has never changed his belief in Marxism. There was something about Barack Obama that Ayers liked. Apparently, though, it doesn't matter.

Barack Obama believes that GOVERNMENT forcibly taking more money from those who earn more in order for the GOVERNMENT to redistribute it to those who earn less is no different than sharing a peanut butter sandwich. Never mind that sharing is a voluntary act and government force is actually a taking. Apparently, though, it doesn't matter.

Barack Obama demands that we help the poor by having our money forcibly taken from us, but he doesn't even GIVE to help his own family who is living in poverty. Apparently, though, it doesn't matter.

Barack Obama believes that wealth redistribution is a proper function of the tax code. "Spreading the wealth" he calls it. Apparently, though, it doesn't matter.

Barack Obama believes that bankrupting the coal industry to curb greenhouse gases is good for the nation. Apparently, though, it doesn't matter.

Barack Obama believes that our enemies will make nice with us if we talk to them and become more international in our thinking. Apparently, though, it doesn't matter.

Barack Obama is convinced that his presidency will "change the world". No one ever asks him how the world will be changed and if that change will benefit the United States of America. Apparently, though, it doesn't matter.

From his days in college, those who hear Barack Obama speak talk about how his vague eloquence leaves everyone with the impression that he agrees with them. This is a scary attribute that is more akin to Juan Peron or Benito Mussolini than it is a principled statesman. Apparently, though, it doesn't matter.

Repeatedly, throughout this election, Barack Obama and his team have taken steps to silence those who dare to criticize him. Joe the Plumber gets investigated. TV stations that ask tough questions get blackballed and newspapers that refuse to endorse him get thrown off the plane. Private citizens like Gianna Jessen, an abortion survivor who is openly critical of Obama's record on abortion, are subject to silencing efforts by Obama's campaign. Combined with the efforts of ACORN and you have a modern version of the Gestapo in action. Apparently, though, it doesn't matter.

If you poll the American people on each one of the issues I've raised, and leave out the names and political affiliations, you will find that most Americans would not support Politician X who has such connections and has made such statements. Somehow, though, when the politician is Barack Obama all can be excused or forgiven or ignored.

Regardless of your opinions of President Bush, or the wars, or the economy, it is hard to see America changing its fundamental nature the way an Obama presidency would with the help of huge Democrat majorities in Congress.

What kind of nation have we become, if it doesn't matter?