The Man's Not for Turning
There are those who mistakenly believe that the failures of the Bush Administration mean that conservatism has somehow failed in this country. Conservative ideas have not failed, the Administration has instead been the failure because it has utterly refused to utilize the principles of real conservatism and apply those principles to problems. Neither the PATRIOT Act, nor the massive new Homeland Security bureacracy, nor the President's inaction to stablilize the money supply and the dollar reflect conservative ideas in the least. Conservatives should not abandon conservatism because the Administration has done so, but should instead seek its revival.When conservative principles are brought to bear in a situation such as the country now faces, what is often seen is a great deal of short-term pain but long-term success. In the early days of Margaret Thatcher's premiership in Britain, she understood that the only way that she could get her country on the right track was to give it some economic and social medicine that would taste bad going down, but would work better than anything previously tried in the long run. The loudest opposition to the right course often came from within her own Conservative Party. "Turn if you like," she told her compatriots, "the Lady's not for turning."
Conservatives need to re-establish the principles of limited government and personal responsibility that made the movement work in this country. People want the truth, and conservatives ought to give it to them, rather than paint a rosy picture merely for the sake of winning an election.
I am not a conservative of convenience, but one of the heart and soul. I believe in conservatism because I know that it is right-it will always be proven right both now and in the world to come. There is no question of its ideological, social, and spiritual superiority to all other thought systems. I believe in conservative principles because they are rooted in the truth, not merely because it is an ideology that some people in a certain political party to which I happen to belong embrace when it is advantantageous to do so. Conservatives must remember that the failures at the present time are not due to conservatism, but have occured because people have failed to follow the conservative path.
This man's not for turning.
Labels: Congress, Conservatism, Faith, Republican Party
posted by Deacon David Oatney @ 11:28 AM
6 Comments:
You say conservatism is rooted in truth, but conservatives and their bottomless ability to swallow lies fueled everything Bush did. Conservatives sat in silence as Bush undermined their hard-fought efforts to privatize the military by signing long-term, no-bid contracts with KBR and other crony firms. They barely peeped when $10 billion vanished into thin air in Iraq, nor when one of the administration's most trusted advisors turned out to be feeding intelligence to Iran. They have never asked for any personal responsibility from the liars and thieves in the White House. In fact, all conservatives did prior to the 2006 election wake-up call was insult people who were actually calling for fiscal and personal responsibility.
Conservatives were not bright enough to tell whether their principles were being undermined when it mattered, and until they have the courage to hold themselves and their dishonest leaders responsible for the mess they made, conservatives have no credibility.
Your willingness to criticize the Bush administration means nothing until you step up and demand investigations of Cheney and his profiteering buddies.
David;
Let's be completely honest. The problem with the Republican party is pseudo-conservatives such as yourself.
Your support of Pat Buchanan past and present should be all the proof one needs. I highly suggest you read Jonah Goldberg's book - "Liberal Fascism". The afterward should be a real eye opener to anyone who claims Buchanan as a "conservative". He supports populist ideas, and is pro-progressive. He claimed to be the first "compassionate conservative" - which any classic liberal knows is code for "neo-con". No wonder you like Mike Huckabee so much. Buchanan and Huckabee are cut from the same cloth. Supporting quasi-conservatives is not the way to revive conservatism.
You seriously need to remove your head from your own arse and start doing your homework.
I have no problem at all with investigating the Vice President, and have said so here in the past.-DMO
Glad to hear that. Can you tell me which of the many potential investigations you think need to be pursued?
Perhaps the most important and primary one is the nature of Halliburton's Iraq contracts because of the VP's known connections to Halliburton. These connections are very similar to Lyndon Johnson's connections to Halliburton subsidiary Brown and Root during Vietnam-which were never investigated by the Democratic-led Congress at the time.
Ideological conservatives (as opposed to those of the merely partisan variety) have always been uncomfortable with Cheney. If you've read any serious conservative journals of philosophical thought such as Chronicles or The American Conservative you would be aware of this.
Just the Halliburton stuff? That seems pretty ubiquitous among modern politicians. Clinton was the Tyson Chicken President, Dole is Archer Daniels Midland. Can you really impeach a guy for knowing which side his butter is on?
Oh, wait...
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