at least not in the traditional sense or one that most Americans would recognize. Moreover, calling people like Tom Delay, "W' and their fellow Republicans, "conservatives" is not only a misnomer, it is paying them an undeserved compliment. As a former, generally conservative Republican, I can tell you that there has been a radical change in the dominant credo of the Republican party --- a change that has taken the party far, far to the right of mainstream conservatism.
To paraphrase the much beloved and sorely missed Barry Goldwater: "The Republican party has been taken over by a bunch of kooks, who have nearly ruined it". (He was being too kind. These kooks have ruined the Republican Party and they are in the process of ruining the nation... which is why I became a Democrat.) More Goldwater: "Every good Christian ought to kick Falwell right in the ass, I get damn tired of those political preachers telling me what to believe in and do." (For those of you who don't know much about Barry, he was pro-choice and in favor of gay rights --- and a talked a little too bellicosely for his own good --- and perhaps the nation's.)
No less a person than Bob Dole has also said: "Barry and I, we've sort of become the liberals." Goldwater: "Can you imagine that?".
These comments put a mild face on an earth shattering change. The Republican party has left traditional, intellectual, nationalist conservatism behind in favor of something vasty different, and much scarier.
To those who haven't followed closely, I will describe just a few of the watershed changes.
Free market theories (good or bad) are being supplanted by corporate welfare, hidden protectionism, crony capitalism and other policies that effectively decrease the chance that smaller businesses have to compete with the big boys. Fiscal responsibility has been replaced with "borrow and spend", unbounded payback to cronies and core, and out of control spending. The "strong" dollar has been replaced by the "rundown" dollar and interest rates kept at artificial lows. Nationalism has been replaced by multinational corporatism, where "offshoring" (as opposed to selling offshore from the US) is accepted as smart business practice, and anybody is welcome at the "bar" as long as they "pay". Containment and a responsible foreign policy, stressing building and maintaining alliances, is replaced by some crackpot theory that resembles nothing so much as a drunk swinging blindly at friends and foes alike. Respect and support for the military has been replaced with neglect, contempt and totally inept micromanagement. Government reaches every day further and further into peoples lives and the into prerogatives of states.
I could go on, but you get the point. So don't call these guys conservatives. Call them corporatists; call them reactionaries; call them extremists; call them radicals; call them neocons (emphasizing the
CON), but don't call them conservatives. They are not and you are insulting a lot of true conservatives (whatever you may feel about them, many were and are real patriots) by doing so.
We miss you Barry. I am not a conservative any more, but we need a few honest ones like you to speak out.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
