Posted on 05/06/2003 9:12:11 AM PDT by philosofy123
So Much for Social Conservatism in Congress
by Rep. Ron Paul, MD
Just six short months ago the Republican party won a stunning victory in the 2002 election, increasing its majority in the House of Representatives and retaking the Senate. With Republicans controlling both Congress and the White House for the first time in fifty years, many assumed legislators would push a socially and fiscally conservative agenda.
Yet nothing could be further from the truth, as an embarrassing vote last week clearly demonstrated. The supposedly conservative Congress overwhelmingly passed a foreign aid bill that could have come straight from the desk of the most liberal Democrat. The legislation sends $15 billion of your tax dollars to Africa, ostensibly to fight AIDS by distributing condoms, providing sex education, and funding abortion providers. Needless to say the bill gives money to some very questionable organizations and programs, and will undoubtedly pad the bank accounts of some of the worst governments in the world.
House leadership, often characterized in the mainstream press as far-right wing, actively promoted and praised the bill. A Republican press release after the vote gushed that “This bill is a moral crusade… to save a continent from the Great Plague of our age.” So much for the socially conservative agenda of the GOP!
Opposition to the bill was minimal, although 40 Republicans did cast principled votes against it. Other conservatives who were slightly uncomfortable with the vote satisfied themselves by passing an amendment that requires some of the $15 billion to be spent on abstinence programs. Yet does anyone honestly think we can control how our dollars are spent once they reach Africa? Obviously money is fungible anyway, so “earmarking” funds for pet conservative programs does nothing. Furthermore, Republican leaders completely ignored efforts in committee to forbid funding for abortion in the bill.
As a physician I am of course concerned about terrible diseases like AIDS, and have great sympathy for those who suffer from AIDS both here in America and around the world. But the question is not whether each and every one of us wants to eradicate AIDS. The question is whether yet another government program, especially one that sends money overseas, is a constitutionally proper or effective way to combat the problem. We certainly should have learned by now that good intentions alone can never justify a wasteful and ineffectual government program.
The United States has sent billions and billions of dollars overseas for decades to do fine-sounding things like “building democracy,” “fighting drugs,” and “ending poverty.” Yet decades later we are told that in every category these problems have actually gotten worse. Most of the money has disappeared into the bank accounts of dictators, or into salaries for well-paid consultants who administer our foreign aid; very little has changed in the impoverished nations themselves. Yet we refuse to learn from these mistakes, and now Congress has made another multi-billion dollar mistake with the AIDS bill.
As Thomas Jefferson famously said, “To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.” Last week’s vote underscores the need to end the sinful and tyrannical practice of forcing Americans to pay for programs or organizations they believe to be immoral, such as those that distribute condoms and perform abortions.
Sadly, this $15 billion expenditure comes even as Congress is cutting funding for veterans by roughly the same amount. The Treasury is running record deficits, the Pentagon is engaged in enormously expensive wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and veterans’ programs are badly under funded – yet still Congress is sending billions overseas for yet another dubious and unconstitutional program. This should anger every American who still believes in the true conservative tenets of limited government, fiscal restraint, and private charity instead of social welfare programs. May 6, 2003
Ron Paul leaves much out of his article to suit his agenda. You would be better informed if you read the Wash Times or AP.
The Republicans carefully considered seperating themselves from conservatism, and those who practice it. It was deemed a handicap & embarrassment (this is easy to do when 'principles' are a shameful shortcoming). This was done years ago.
From Senator Smith(R)
"As we moved into the 1996 elections, we again began to see this tug-of-war between the principal ideals of the party and the pragmatism of those who said we need `Republican' victories.
Conservatives became a problem: We have to keep the conservatives quiet; let's not antagonize the conservatives, while the pragmatists talked about how we must win more Republican seats. Conservatives should be grateful, we were told, because we were playing smart politics, we were broadening the case. Elect more Republicans to Congress, elect more Republicans to the Senate and win the White House. What do we get? Power. We are going to govern.
In meeting after meeting, conference after conference, the pollsters and the consultants--and I have been a part of all of this. Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. I have been involved in it. I am not saying I have not, but the pollsters and consultants advised us not to debate the controversial issues. Ignore them. We can win elections if we do not talk about abortion and other controversial issues, even though past elections have proven that when we ignore our principles, we lose, and when we stick to our principles, we win. In spite of all this, we continued to listen to the pollsters and to the consultants who insisted day in and day out they were right.
To this day, I still hear "let's get 'em elected and give 'um a chance". Republicans are socialists, and prone to this behavior.
A Liberal is like a barrel of garbage and a Conservative is like a barrel of fine wine. If you take a cup of the wine and put it in the garbage, it's still garbage. If you take a cup of garbage and put it in the wine, the barrel of wine is now garbage.
Any person who claims they are part Conservative and part Liberal is all garbage.
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