Posted on 02/21/2008 9:06:12 AM PST by tang0r
Once upon a time, free-market advocacy was the distinguishing feature of conservatives. As the movement's early development spanned from the New Deal to the Great Society, conservatives were consistent in leading the intellectual defense of market competition, privatization, and deregulation. Many of the greatest achievements of the conservative movement can be partially or wholly credited to Milton Friedman, the brilliant Nobel-prize winning economist.
Now, whatever market-friendliness is left among many mainstream conservatives is either a) predominantly overshadowed by social concerns, such as the imagined "threat to marriage" or "indecency"; b) replaced by trade protectionism, found most commonly in Midwestern and Southern Republicans; or c) represented only by crony capitalism, exemplified through lobbyist influence, corporate bailouts and tax breaks. M. Friedman is rolling in his grave.
(Excerpt) Read more at theprometheusinstitute.org ...
Nope. Conservatism is not dead. It’s still there in the same people (and their kids) who brought it to prominence 28 years ago. Don’t mistake being temporarily politically out-maneouvered with being “dead”.
Personally, I'd like to see two things:
Voting reform -- people who get money from the gov't shouldn't be allowed to vote. IDs should always be checked. Cleanup the system. Both parties have complained about it. The GOP should lead this charge.
Education reform -- break the unions. Push vouchers. Funding for schools from elementary to grad schools should be drastically reformed. Teh system is broken. Don't try to fix it. Throw it away.
Not this Freeper. I believe that 75% of the budget is just flat out unconstitutional.
It was A distinguishing factor. Modern conservatism of the Reagan stripe has always been about economic libertarianism, social conservatism, and military readiness. The problem for conservatism and conservatism, and therefore the Republican party, is that they largely chose to toss the first two on the ashheap this cycle - and it hasn't gone over well.
We may recover, but it looks like we are going back into the wilderness. McCain will get killed by Obama in the debates and in the media. The problem will be if he gets any of his agenda thru how do we turn it back?
Not any Freeper. I can’t recall anyone being for the ridiculous spending of the government.
Yeah..okay.
NO WAY,conservatism is dead. I don’t think that will EVER happen,thank the Lord God.
Obviously,the author of this article doesn’t realize the difference between a core belief and a party. Repub doesn’t automatically translate into conservative.
Political sanity is dead.
Being right is dead.
I don’t think so. You can’t kill the truth you can only ignore it.
I wonder what “cyber lemmings” here at FR he is referring to? I would agree that roughly 75-80% of the federal budget is either unconstitutional, detrimental to society, or both.
Wrong. Get rid of the IRS...restore the Congressional, Executive, and Judicial Powers to the rightful owners...and destroy the government tit. If people cannot take care of themselves then we should encourage them to move. G-T-F-O if you do not want to take personal responsibility for your life.
Or how about Social Security?
By the way, I can’t take anyone seriously that writes about the “imagined” threat to marriage in this era of single mothers, homosexual activism, high divorce rates, etc. Not a clear thinker.
I’m not dead. I’m just not going to vote for a man that refuses to maintain the territorial integrity of my nation.
That is what “amnesty” is to me. It’s a cancer.
Look at a map, every single line on that map was drawn with the blood of men. Any globalist fool that thinks they can erase those lines is going to cause them to be drawn again.
I hate them for it.
Not military pay.
My list (which I won't say is complete) includes the following:
Voting reform
Education reform
Tax reform
Social Security reform
Immigration reform
I think that, as first steps, voting reform and education reform will make the rest of it somewhat easier.
Ok...but if we just used the Constitution as it is written rather than trying to come up with “new ideas” the reformation of our government shouldn’t be so complicated. The reason why we are where we are is because too many people f**cked with the Consitution. Now it’s blatently ignored. I hope I’m not misunderstanding you, but do you understand where I’m coming from?
Then nobody could vote. You really think welfare is the only government handout? I couldn't vote. I work for a state supported college. Farmers who accept Federal subsidies couldn't vote. College students who get financial aid couldn't vote. People on Social Security couldn't vote. People on Medicare/Medicaid couldn't vote. People who collect on unemployment insurance couldn't vote. Rotsa Ruck passing a law prohibiting roughly 85% of the citizenry from voting. I don't know where you'll find enough support to pass it, though.
I am not a supporter of Ron Paul (I have no idea if you are) but I respect the fact that he would like the US to attend more faithfully to the Constitution. That's good.
My worry is that in 2008, we can't even get a decent guy through our nomination process. The goal of dismantling 90% of the government because it's not in the Constitution may be worthy, but it seems a steep hill to climb.
I'm in favor of pretty much whatever gets us closer to a limited federal government. If we end up adhering to the original Constituion, I'd be thrilled. But I think we may have set our sights on some short-term goals if we want to get anywhere at all.
It could. It did in "Starship Troopers". However there could a distinction made between being paid for service rendered, be it by military, civilian employee, or even contractors, and "transfer payments".
5. MoralityThis part is pretty close to the mark, and indeed isn't too far from the Reagan approach. Fortunately, I would say that a significant part (perhaps the majority) of the conservative agrees at least in principle.The conservative has always been the champion of Judeo-Christian morality and a chief critic of the movements and ideas that contributed to its popular decline. This belief in morality is elemental to nearly all forms of modern conservatism. But it's one thing to bemoan the erosion of national morality, and it's quite another to use the government to stop the devolution.
Social conservatives have had their social preferences wholly disregarded by a growing segment of the population. Unfortunately, that's their problem, and it's not one that the state should be solving for them. Conservatives don't want government telling the people what to eat or what to buy, but they think it's a fantastic idea to have the government tell people what to believe. Come again?
When we stay away from the "cultural" issues, we win. When we embrace cultural collectivism, we lose.
-Eric
Given the turn to Romney by a lot of those hosts, I question whether they even remember what conservatism is anymore.
With no due respect BS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
LLS
There’s nothing wrong with fiscal conservatism. But if the fiscal conservatives think the solution is to go it alone, as this jerk seems to be advocating, then they will destroy the movement.
The ONLY way conservatives can build a majority is to work together. We got screwed this time, by the entry of three faux conservatives into the race: Huckabee, who sucked away the Evangelical vote, Romney, who sucked away the pundits, the Mormons, and a lot of people who thought he was the most electable, and Ron Paul, who sucked away another 5% of libertarians and one-issue fiscal conservatives.
That was enough to permit the pros to install one of the two candidates they were backing: Giuliani and McCain. Giuliani killed himself, but McCain snuck through and grabbed the brass ring.
In other words, McCain won partly because the pros backed him, and partly because the conservatives allowed themselves to be very cleverly split. I don’t think Romney was working for anyone but himself, but Huckabee was clearly working for McCain, and Paul is a nutjob.
Exactly my thoughts. Well done.
Declaring things “dead” is dead
Yep. Turning to the government with outstretched hands instead of getting off your butt to solve the problem yourself turns you into a feckless weakling.
The author completely ignores fiscal conservatism that is not synonymous with free trade.
Brrrrrrrrrtttt.
Sorry, your times up. Please take along this kewpie doll as a consolation prize and don't let the screen door hit you in the @ss.
Sounds like a plan to me.
You are not dead and I am not dead, therefore, Conservatism lives on.
would people who work for contractors who get government contracts be allowed to vote? or are just welfare mothers the target of your wrath?
Me, neither. I agree with you.
But sometimes it seems as though we have become a minority here. I even had FReepers defend the "bridge to nowhere" pork because a Republican was the one who got it.
Bah. How about No taxes on the money I make unless we have a written declaration of war with a clearly identified enemy and a clear plan of action?
Pro-drug, anti-God diatribe masquerading as conservatism.
Your tagline amuses me.
If Conservatism is dead, that’s because it was stabbed in the back. Now who, I wonder, was the hand that held the dagger?
M. Harrison, is full of crap.
I think you just explained what the REAL problem is with Federal spending. Everybody has a hand out. Thou I would not include employees that work for the government. Nor would I include SS because, at least in theory, they are getting the money they paid in back. Thou I know a lot of people get a SS check that never paid a dime in...
Not me, either. But we (fiscal conservatives) have to admit that we are in the minority at the moment.
It is easy to dismiss the sentiment since it is couched in such insulting terminology, but we shouldn't. Too many people see the GOP as tax & spend. Same taxes (or worse, more), just different spending priorities. The conservative movement is currently owned by people who want to spend the public's money to further their various ideologies. We have to admit that.
Taking ever-larger amounts of public funds and spending them on projects one deems "conservative" does not make one a conservative and is not a long-term formula for success. Eventually, the public gets tired of the lies (and the taxes). Their ire translates to making those who cloak themselves in the conservative mantle while taxing and spending their way to glory scarce in public office.
I believe we are seeing the beginning of that now.
bump for later
it is actually a line from the show “Monk”. I thought it was funny
well, at least the Democrats would pay for their programs by hiking your tax burden.
Cutting taxes but spending like drunken sailors is a recipe for fiscal disaster and is the height of fiscal irresponsibility.
The Republicans are running up massive debts by doing the whole “have your cake and eat it to” thing by cutting taxes and raising spending in order to support organizations, businesses and projects they like. That means tax cuts now, much higher burden in the future because debt comes with interest
Nonsense. Conservatism is alive and well, as will be demonstrated this November. The problem is Baker’s “big (circus) tent” moderates, who are trying to redefine what “conservatism” means.
Too many, even here on FR, no longer know what the Reagan Coalition did, and what Reagan Conservatism consists of. We need to preach it day and night if we are to educate those too young to remember the Reagan revolution.
Without it, we will continue to lose ground and lose races.
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