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As people sit back and watch the death throws of the GOP, many are able to point and say that embracing Dick Cheney, or Sarah Palin, or Rush Limbaugh are the reasons the GOP is where it is today. I assert that the GOP is where it is today because it has abandoned Conservatism's primary and basic tenets.
The basic foundation of Conservatism being freedom, individualism, small and limited government are terms echoed by very few today, such as Ron Paul and a handful of Conservative intellectuals which are drown out by the booming presence of Limbaugh, Coulter and Hannity.
The heady days of Friedman, Hayek, Buckley, and Kilpatrick have slowly dwindled to a murmur or even dead silence. Too few Conservative intellectuals and too many freepers of the contemporary social Republicanism that is no longer a political philosophy as much as it is a social contract bound in party loyalty.
In the following article, which points out many of my own personal sentiments goes into great detail pointing out much of this. For anyone who considers themselves to be "Conservative", Republican or Democrat, then you might wish to take some time and read this short piece.
The way forward, therefore, is to define political conservatism as that: political conservatism. It must start with the most basic principles of the founding: the right of the individual to freedom and the responsibility of government to secure it. From that concept, conservatives can begin to redefine conservatism primarily as a political philosophy; a philosophy of government and statecraft. Not a social attitude. Not a religious sensibility. Conservatism as a political philosophy should not encompass social or religious theory. Social predisposition and religious sensibility, so central to the definition of self, are guides to personal conduct, not political philosophy. Personal morality is a matter of individual choice not of political principle.
If the bedrock principle of conservatism is individual freedom, it cannot be a social theory because social theory as political philosophy requires adherence to inherently subjective impulses.
Excellent article and viewpoint. The Republican party was hijacked by the evangelical Chrisitians. They have viewpoints that do not resonate with freethinkers and independant minded voters. This is where the Republican party took a beating. They won in 2000 because Bill Clinton recieved sexual favors and the evangelicals jumped all over it. As if receiving sexual favors has anything to do with the role of Government in our lives and evangelicals have the final say as to our moral well being.
Excellent post, TNHilltopper! I believe in smaller goverment, individual freedom away from the government. I am far far far away from what the GOP is though.
But a lot of Republicans are embracing Classical Liberalism and Libertarianism. In a sense, Conservatives are being pulled to Libertarianism (if that is coupled with social Conservatism, I am fine by that)
But a lot of Republicans are embracing Classical Liberalism and Libertarianism. In a sense, Conservatives are being pulled to Libertarianism (if that is coupled with social Conservatism, I am fine by that)
Libertarianism is not coupled with social conservatism. We are not under the influence of religious radicals.
Excellent article and viewpoint. The Republican party was hijacked by the evangelical Chrisitians. They have viewpoints that do not resonate with freethinkers and independant minded voters. This is where the Republican party took a beating. They won in 2000 because Bill Clinton recieved sexual favors and the evangelicals jumped all over it. As if receiving sexual favors has anything to do with the role of Government in our lives and evangelicals have the final say as to our moral well being.
Oh please, I get so tired of hearing that the Republican Party has been hijacked by "christians".. Please tell me the last legislation thats been proposed or passed based upon "christian" values.. Please.. name it..
In fact if you watch or have watch politcs in the past neither a republican or democrat could behave as Clinton did.Look at how kennedy and even the presss hide his affairs;it was for a reason. I bet edwards political career is over.It would have beeen a disaster if he had gotten the nomination.Its the bascias of the republican party that has gotten loss and not the base in the christian right that was at its strongest when the republican was at its strongest.When they went too far to the right as goldwater did they also losss thier way. Reagan got it right.Personally i thnik with teh democrats so far left now days the same will happen to them.
"Religious and social choices should not be the subject of political speculation, a precondition to political support or the subject of political debate. Social sensibilities are matters of personal predisposition; religion a personal choice. When political movements, let alone political parties, attempt to enforce social and religious orthodoxy, it is anti-freedom."
That hits the nail right on the head of what I've been screaming about for years, both on this forum and others, that there is no place in our politics, government or laws for anyone's religious doctrine. None.
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I do believe individual liberty is indeed the foundation of our Republic. I am a Democrat because our party is closer to the freeing the individual from coercive government and coercive monopoly businesses. The current Democrats would welcome Theodore Roosevelt into the party. I believe the Republicans would not.
The major move in the Republican Party away from conservative values was done by Richard Nixon when he encouraged the votes of the southern Dixicrats that were betrayed by Johnson’s Voting Rights Act which extended the franchise to all of our people. This let in the racists and the religious into the Party of the socially liberal and fiscally conservative plutocrats. The Party, under Nixon and more so under Regan, threw out conservative economics in favor of borrow and spend military foolishness for the benefit of their new found friends in the investment and military industrial economy. Eventually, under Bush, this wasteful spending along with increasingly racial and religious demands has effectively destroyed what had been a conservative Party and replaces it with a form of militaristic and monopolistic government supported church and business.
I am a liberal Democrat because I think this party has become the party of the individual and is, after saving the economy with a deficit spending, will support the individual rights to be free of government coercion and monopolistic financial coercion. I do disagree with the stance some of the Democrats have on guns but most of our party still votes for the individual’s right to be armed. They also vote against a few financiers to monopolize the economy.
Oh please, I get so tired of hearing that the Republican Party has been hijacked by "christians".. Please tell me the last legislation thats been proposed or passed based upon "christian" values.. Please.. name it..
Comment Central - Times Online - WBLG: The map of faith (http://timesonline.typepad.com/comment/2007/07/the-map-of-fait.html - broken link)
Wait you think it is a coincidence the electoral map looks like this?
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