Conservatism's Death Throes? (Joseph Farah On Why Conservatism Will Never Stop The Left Alert)

Worldnetdaily,com ^ | 11/13/2006 | Joseph Farah

[goldstategop]

Joseph Farah is right about one thing: conservatism is inadequate to the conditions of the stormy present. Since its a movement devoted to restoring or preserving the status quo, when you think of where Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid and the Left will take America - is that what we want to defend? Of course not. And its more than just the electoral politics, stupid. Never lose sight of the fact the Left operates through a variety of institutions to change this country beyond complete recognition, not just through Congress and state governments. The way this country is going, in a generation America may be lost. Conservatism in its present state only underlines the bankruptcy of relying on politics and politicians to renew and restore America. No, dear friends - the initiative for that will have come within the American people themselves. In the end, its the only way to save the country we love.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus

[ARE SOLE]

Good post. We need to battle on all fronts of life.

Regards.

[kinoxi]

I doubt that it is as dire as the article suggests. The Congressional losses were relatively normal historically and the dems to get to flex their immature mental powers for a few years and remind people a few things. A lot can happen between now and 2008.

[america-rules]

He offfers zero ideas on how to change this ?

[bad company]

In his book witness, Whittaker Chambers remembers the moment that he left marxism and was aware that he had just went from the winning to the losing side.

[kinoxi]

He offfers zero ideas on how to change this ?

The article seemed to imply better PR to me.

[goldstategop]

Tomorrow he will present some ideas of how to get us out of our present straits. But to fix our problem, we have to understand what happened first. And then go on from there.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus

[L.N. Smithee]

Does Farah have an "A", or just a "Q"?

[JillValentine]

Exactly. Lots of accurate observations, but he suggests no solutions at all.

We fight fair, the liberals fight to win. We need to start fighting to win.

[Darkwolf377]

Wow, we lose one election and we are doing the 'America died today" rag like the Dummies.

Conservatism isn't dead, and it isn't reactive unless upholding the ideals that formed this country are ever-changing--as the "living document" constitutionalists would have us believe.

I feel Conservatism took a mistep when it became beholden (hear me out before screaming) to the Religious Right. Conservatism and the RR should be SEPARATE but viable groups, sometimes working together, sometimes not. I don't have time to go into it at the length it deserves, but Conservatism SHOULD appeal to atheists and non-Christians on purely political terms, leaving out the religious rationale for being, say, against abortion or whatever. Then the RR can address specific issues as opposed to just wholly consuming the Conservative agenda.

The RR is a relatively new part of Conservatism as a whole, and while the RR helped Reagan gain power, it shouldn't be a "Our way or the highway" all-or-nothing element of a larger Conservative movement that is strongly against, for example, gun rights, state control over private property, free speech, low taxes, etc.

Conservatism and the RR should retrench and come out as separate groups. Conservatism would benefit because it would be seen as more acceptable to non-hardcore Christians; the RR would benefit because it wouldn't be beholden to those RINOs the Republican party would have to support in order to gain majorities. Also, the RR would be free to condemn Foley and other pervs without worry about backing true Conservative Republicans and being called hypocritical, since the RR would then not be simple yes-men for the Republican party, but an organization that picks and chooses individuals to support.

Building strong Republican, Conservative and Religious Right organizations would lead to all three holding their members through conflicts with the other organizations, while they could form a united front against the libs. And the RR could bargain and not be taken for granted by the Republican party/Conservative movement as a purely political bloc.

[goldstategop]

This is the first of two parts. Today's editorial presents a diagnosis, a road map to understanding the election loss, why the Left wins even when its out of power and why just defending the status quo won't work. The solution will be offered in a second editorial Tuesday.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus

[PetroniusMaximus]

For once I think he's on to something.

I just hope he doesn't suggest some form of repackaged Dominionism.

[GoLightly]

Would it be possible to ping me to further installments?

[Rumple4]

Isn't this the nuke in a suitcase nut ? What difference does it make if conservatism is dead or not if we are all toast in a matter of months.

[ThePythonicCow]

Europe has already gone past the point of no return to socialism, and is now too weak to resist being overrun by Islam. America travels the same path, just a few decades behind.

Besides the institutions that J. Farah mentions:

the press, the entertainment industry, the foundations, the corporations, even the churches

also the schools are breeding liberals by the millions.

A few home schoolers may be resisting, but those few cannot resist a tide this large. My son has gone to some of the best public schools in California for the last 12 years, and listens to my "conservative" rants as if I was a child molester - he finds my comments "creepy" and rolls his eyes, waiting for me to go silent.

Without an abiding and life defining faith in a higher moral authority (commonly known as "God", though not my personal way of putting it), this decline seems absolutely inevitable.

Now that my son is grown up, and my marriage to a Left coast Liberal about to be concluded, I can move to some place in flyover country, and live out the few remaining decades of my mortal life on this planet amongst honest people of faith. But I'll be damned if I can figure any way to pass on to the next generations anything like what has made America so great these last two centuries.

The greatest generation, including my parents, who pulled this nation out of the Great Depression and defeated Imperial Japan, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, vowed to spare us, their baby boom children, the suffering that they went through. They succeeded - I have lived a far wealthier life than my parents.

But too many decades of easy living, spared the threat of tyranny and great defeat, have left a whole generation unable to imagine the evils that imperil us.

The incredible advances of science, technology, industry and commerce, along with the awesome power of the U.S. Military, have left us blind to the dark side.

I fear that a civilization threatening catastrophe of awesome proportion will be needed, and will be forth coming.

[irishjuggler]

IMO, the only hope is to out-breed the Left. To some extent, we already do.
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/8/22/125841.shtml

That advantage is somewhat neutralized, though, by the liberalism's advantage with immigrants. Conservatives need to start having even larger families (5-10 kids).

[Anti-Hillary]

The thing I took from it, is that social issues like Gay Marriage, etc. are kind of like the frog in the pot that is coming to a slow boil. America is slowing, but surely accepting this stuff as normal. I really don't see how some of these "Genies" get put back in their respective bottles.

[ThePythonicCow]

No - I don't think you can separate Conservatism from the Religious Right. And I say that as a god-damned atheist.

There will never be more than a few oddballs such as myself who find divine guidance and higher moral authority in the vacuum of physics and mathematics.

Classic Christianity and closely related religions are the only way we know to instill in the people the public morality needed as the foundation of a free society.

[ThePythonicCow]

Don't reject the observation that we are in really deep doo-doo, because it doesn't come with a solution.

Step one in fixing a problem is knowing you've got a problem.

[GoLightly]

First needed fix to the party is integrity. All of the talk about purging this idealogical wing or that idealogical wing of the party means a need to pick up votes to replace them. Trying to pull away voters in areas that fall into the other party's strong suit may not be the best strategy.