i ran across this outstanding post by ConservaChick on her blog. in case some conservatives are confused about who we are and what we believe, this post should clear all that up for them. here’s hoping that those in washington pay attention as well. read and be inspired. (you will have to scroll down a little bit to get to it…)
Conservatives
the deconstruction of john roberts (part II)
people for the american way lists some conservative supporters. these groups generally do their homework on nominees, because abortion is an important issue to them. ann coulter disagrees with their endorsement. i generally don’t pay much attention to ann, but she makes a valid point about wanting to know more about john roberts.
the republicans have the majority and we have a president with the ability to elect a strong conservative to the court. we should be taking more advantage of being the party in power, instead of kow-towing to the democrats. this also goes for advocacy of conservative policies and programs. why are we so afraid to stand up for what we believe in? why are we considering candidates for ’08 who bear no resemblance to the reformers in the gingrich revolution?
this drives me nuts. i have yet to see an ’08 republican presidential contender committed to the issues that we believe in as strong conservatives. i mentioned gingrich before. newt’s a smart guy, with a lot of baggage. that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have good ideas on how to move this country in the right direction.
the problem with our hard-core conservatives right now is that they have recently done or said stupid things that have gotten them bad press. hopefully they can repair their images before they try to run for president. that’s the kind of president we need in the future — a proponent of all conservative values. we elected reagan, didn’t we? so it can be done. the future of our country is at stake.
“The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in a period of moral crisis maintain their neutrality.” –Dante
previous:
the deconstruction of john roberts (part I)
Technorati : SCOTUS, john roberts, republicans
another idea for the ’08 election
republicans are sometimes devoid of imagination and occasionally democrats are too — so i have decided to help them think outside the box for once. forget giuliani, frist, santorum, or all those other pretenders. this ticket is guaranteed to generate a buzz around the country. i’m talking about those great americans and genuinely good guys…ben stein and tucker carlson. think about it.
why ben stein?
- he understands economics as well as greenspan
- he is the smartest man in america.
- fiscal and social conservative
- great public speaker unlike president bush
- he could finally dump that chauvinistic pig idiot jimmy kimmel.
why not?
- he’s too smart to run
- he would have less time to entertain the country
why tucker carlson?
- the bowties — parents trust bowties and a lot of parents vote
- would not be above playing a musical instrument on MTV to attract the important 18-29 demographic
- he gets along with liberals too
- would absolutely steal the conservative chick vote
why not?
- he would need more bowties.
- no more “cutting room floor” segments
- no more willie geist
- no more “situation”
- less time to spend learning about brad, jen, and paris hilton
let’s not restrict ourselves to the party anointed ones and do something different for once — stein/carlson ’08!
Technorati : ben stein, republicans, tucker carlson, willie geist
wanted: republican rock stars?
the republicans have an image problem. they are perceived as intolerant and shockingly enough, even uncool. we are trying to achieve coolness by hanging around the popular kids (loosely applied term) Giuliani and Governor Arnold. as we all know from our high school days, this hardly ever works. this is almost as ridiculous (but not quite) as Snoop Dogg and Iacocca playing golf together in that Chrysler commercial. should we as republicans reach out to everybody? to a certain extent, yes. but when a party ends up losing their core values by following the crowd, its soul is lost.
i think that republicans (with very few exceptions) care too much about public opinion to stand up for what they believe, especially those running for office. at least the democrats with their wild-eyed maniacal screamer-in-chief howard dean, say what they think and don’t apologize for it. if something is worth fighting for, fight for it. why are we as republicans ashamed of who we are and what we believe? our values are shared by quite a few people in this country. who cares if the Hollywood left or the mainstream media agree with us? why should Barbra Streisand be taken seriously on politics when she knows next to nothing about it? (more on this in a future post)
so to the republican leadership, i suggest this: quit trying to be cool. this isn’t high school. it’s a battle for the hearts and minds of the american electorate. we will win not because of our friendship with rock stars or Hollywood glitterati but because we have ideas that work for the people of this country. we might not end up at the prom with a cheerleader or a football player, but we will still be better off in the long run.
Technorati : barbra streisand, howard dean, republicans
p.j. o’rourke’s take on the role of government
this linked article is long but it’s a message rarely heard by today’s politicians, whether liberal or conservative. i’ll post a couple quotes from it here, but the whole thing is totally worth reading. here’s the first of two —
“By observing the progress of mankind, we can see that the things that are good for everyone are the things that have increased the accountability of the individual, the respect for the individual and the power of the individual to master his own fate. Judaism gave us laws before which all men, no matter their rank, stood as equals. Christianity taught us that each person has intrinsic worth, Newt Gingrich and Pat Schroeder included. The rise of private enterprise and trade provided a means of achieving wealth and autonomy other than by killing people with broadswords. And the industrial revolution allowed millions of ordinary folks an opportunity to obtain decent houses, food and clothes (albeit with some unfortunate side effects, such as environmental da mage and Albert Gore).”
in America, you succeed or fail by your own hand. if we all came to grips with that concept, we wouldnt require the government to take care of us. and by the way, it is OUR money that the government takes to finance all these bloated, ineffective social programs. if we truly realized this, we would junk this idealistic bent for the government to provide everything for everybody.
More P.J. —
“Government is an abstract entity. It doesn’t produce anything. It isn’t a business, a factory or a farm. Government can’t create wealth; only individuals can. All government is able to do is move wealth around. In the name of fairness government can take wealth from those who produce it and give wealth to those who don’t. But who’s going to be the big Robin Hood? Who grabs all this stuff and hands it back out? (Remember: even in a freely elected system of government, sooner or later that person is going to be someone you loathe. If you’re a Republican, think about Donna Shalala; if you’re a Democrat, think about Ollie North.)”
capitalism is not a zero-sum game. in the free market, everybody benefits. everybody gets a slice of the pie. the producers of the wealth always end up with more than those who sit on their couch and play xbox all day. the government cannot fix this. that’s just the way it is…and exactly how it should be.
read this brilliant explanation of conservatism for yourself.