August 21, 2006
Where Have All The Conservatives Gone?
Seriously. Can anyone reveal what has happened to conservatism in this country? Are there any REAL Conservatives left who can make a difference? Or are we all really captives on this runaway train toward socialism / totalitarianism? What is a real Conservative, anyway?
Posted by JeffersonPaine at August 21, 2006
10:03 PM | Email This
1. Who gets to decide the definition?
It seems that even conservatism has caught the postmodern "whatever definition you use is right" disease.
I would venture that it is not a binary thing (i.e. all or nothing), but a continuum, or a matter of degree.
2. Where are they? The Club for Growth is doing the work of identifying all the really good Reaganites around the country who are running for House and Senate. Join C for G and receive their notifications of who all the good ones are. Then send them a check.
Done.
3. Russell Kirk laid out conservative principles in his book the Conservative Mind. If you compare these principles against the actions of our politicians you will find very few conservatives left.
P.S. Being conservative doesn't only mean being anti-tax so the Club for Growth doesn't count. Furthermore, in all the principles Russell Kirk laid out none of them mention economic growth.
4. While economic growth is preferred over the opposite, too many Republicans appear to define conservatism by their willingness to commit billions of taxpayer dollars into buying economic growth. At some point, economic growth is more expensive than its benefits. But if you're on the receiving end of those taxpayer subsidies, then promoting economic growth is the path to the perfect universe.
At least until the IOUs come due.