Posted on 04/15/2007 2:57:47 PM PDT by SE Mom
touched on this in an earlier post, but I'm disheartened by conservatives who continue to lecture that we must ignore serious defects in a Republican candidate's record. Conservatism is about more than tax cuts and the war on terrorism, it's about more than abortion and illegal immigration. These are certainly important policy aspects of conservatism. But conservatism is about a way of life, a way of governing, and a way of bettering society. When a pundit or candidate demands that conservatives limit their critical thinking to one or two subjects or positions, that's self-serving. They're usually putting their own political preferences and motivations ahead of serious analysis. That's not to say that a candidate must be a "perfect" conservative, as there is no such thing. But a candidate who has a long record of rejecting fundamentally conservative principles such as those protected by the Bill of Rights (from free political speech and gun ownership to property rights and federalism) or pandering to populist demands with big-government solutions, can't logically be said to be a conservative. That doesn't mean he's a bad person or doesn't have intriguing things to say or recommend him, but he's not a conservative. And now is the time for conservatives to think and act like conservatives, rather than Republican committeemen. If we dont, then the Republican party and the movement will suffer more setbacks.
There's a vacuum in the conservative movement, certainly at the political level, because the last two Republican presidents have been largely centrist Republicans who've viewed conservatives skeptically. They've done some conservative things, but they've never nurtured the movement, let alone adopted it. They've rarely used the presidential pulpit or the machinery of the Republican Party to teach and promote conservative principles, as Ronald Reagan did almost every time he spoke.
(Excerpt) Read more at levin.nationalreview.com ...
Levin nails it!
Mark Levin clarity ping:)
Levin is a true patriotic(and brilliant) conservative!
Bump!
RINOS are the problem,not conservatives.
Bump!
:)
Thank God a REAL conservative owns this website.
You got that right.Hopefully Fred Thompson/Duncan Hunter will rectify the lack of teaching conservative principles.
AMEN
California Republican Assembly — What We Believe
Inalienable Rights: We believe that man’s “rights” flow from the Creator and the rights of life, liberty, and justice cannot be legitimately granted or rescinded by men.
Judeo-Christian Foundation: We believe in the guiding force of moral law as expressed by the Judeo- Christian ethic and contained in the Holy Scriptures of these historic faiths.
Self-Government: We believe that the only answer to the current moral decline that our nation now faces is a return to the beliefs and standards of morality which our founding fathers placed into the Constitution. We believe with the framers of that document when President Adams stated, “This Constitution will not work except with a religious people.” We understand that the concept of self-government begins with governing ones self first, then family, community, state, and nation.
Education: We believe in the rights of parents to a quality education for their children. We support parental choice to create competition among the schools. We must insure that no school or teachers union can compromise the education of our children or advance a particular political agenda at the expense of our future generations educations.
Taxes: We believe that the federal tax system is abusive to the American people while discouraging investment and growth. We believe in growth-oriented tax policies which would gradually eliminate punitive income taxes and move our tax system in the direction of use taxes and sales taxes only.
Free Enterprise: We believe in the free enterprise system as the best hope for men and women to fulfill their economic hopes and dreams. We know that the free market is the most efficient and the least costly system to deliver the highest quality goods and services at the lowest price to the consumer. We will support only those who support the free enterprise system through legislation to reduce or eliminate intrusive government intervention in the marketplace.
Family: We believe that the traditional American family, defined as any persons related by blood, marriage of a man and a woman and/or adoption, is the cornerstone of our American society, and the government is duty bound to protect the integrity of the family unit through legislation and taxation policies.
Sanctity of Life: We believe that the preborn child is a human being deserving the full protection of the law.
National Defense: We believe in a strong and consistent national defense. We believe in victory over, and not accommodation with, tyranny in any form or philosophy.
Right to Bear Arms: We believe in the unqualified right of our citizens to keep and bear arms without the intrusive hand of government.
Victims Rights: We believe in the concept of victims rights over the rights of any criminal. We support a system of restitution as a deterrent to crime and recidivism.
Term Limitation: We believe that public service is a privilege. We support term limits for public officials, not as an ideal but as a necessity to dissuade career politicians. It is the people who should rule, not an elite with little accountability.
National Sovereignty: We believe in an America first program in which Governments first concern is the welfare and protection of the American people. We do not believe in trade protectionism but support political leaders who will adopt policies that create fair and competitive trade.
Decentralized Government: We believe in the power of the individual over the power of the state. We believe that only small government truly serves the needs of the people.
It is critical that Fred runs, and the poor guy knows it too! : )
I have a feeling this is going to be a busy thread so I thought I might find a helper here. I am looking for someone that can help me with a Windows Media Player question. Yesterday, I was asked if I wanted to update to 11 from 10. I said ok. Now, it won’t work and gives me this message: Network error. Make sure you are connected to the network and make sure your proxy settings are correct. What do I do now? Thanks in advance, friends.
Isn’t he? One of the brightest and most articulate we have- no one gives a better rant..
GET OFF THE PHONE YA BIG DOPE!
Exactly.
...or pandering to populist demands with big-government solutions, can't logically be said to be a conservative.
Ha! Full of that around here.
But......... he never brings me back a tee shirt when he goes to Disney World! :o)
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