Whither Conservatism?

By Gib <--Who am I?-->'s website" rel="external">

Gib <--Who am I?--> • February 15th, 2008

By: Jezla

This post is shared with Back Home Again.

The primary season for the 2008 presidential election has been a long and tiring one, both for political junkies and the politicians themselves. With the Republican race winding down, John McCain is the nominee apparent, his ascension a mere formality of garnering enough delegates, despite the continued efforts of Mike Huckabee.

The race has been a tough one for conservatives, as our best candidates fell by the wayside. Duncan Hunter, Fred Thompson, Mitt Romney - each departure seemed to be a nail in the coffin of Reagan conservatism. But conservatism did not begin with Ronald Reagan, no matter how much each Republican candidate tries to be him; indeed, they’ve done everything short of eating a jar of jelly beans on national TV to convince us that they carry his mantle. Likewise it did not end when he left office, though it has certainly been on hiatus in those lofty halls of power.

Thus we have all sorts of conservative pundits coming out with “What now?” articles, while the liberal media chortles with glee over the right-wing crackup. The subjects of these missives run the gamut from discussing the cause of the GOP rift, to calls to rise from the ashes of the old conservatism, to calls to surrender. Even the old liberal standard of “Change!” is being trotted out. However, I reject the notion that American Conservatism needs to change with the times and become the new revolution; that’s just letting liberalism move the goalposts by saying that today’s status quo was yesterday’s innovation. While true enough, I think it’s a mistake to apply that definition of “conservative” to American Conservatism.

American Conservatism is not a stubborn insistence on maintaining the status quo, but rather eschewing change for changes’ sake. It is not resisting all change, but making changes with consideration, where needed, and with wisdom. It is recognizing that though not all are capable of greatness, all should be free to reach for it. It is acknowledging that we are all equal in the eyes of God, with rights that no man or elected body can take away. It embraces a desire to protect those values that anchored the American peoples’ march from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It recognizes that authority is dangerous, and that power corrupts, thus there must be safeguards to protect against a tyranny of the majority.

Thus, I think Michelle Malkin has it right: Get fired up! Let us not be revolutionaries, but let us stoke the fires of patriotism lit by our Founding Fathers. Government does not exist solely from the White House, but from Congress, and from the Statehouse, and from the people. We won’t get a conservative in the White House this November, that much is assured, so why not focus on getting conservatives in Congress? Alexis de Tocqueville wrote that individuals with the most ability will never run for political office, because they will be busy building wealth, and will not be beholden to the crowd. A politician’s primary goal is to get re-elected, so he is behooved to listen to his constituents. Write to your representatives, call them on the phone; demand that they work for conservative principles and values. American Conservatism is and always has been a grass-roots enterprise.

Stop pining for the Gipper, stop sulking over Fred Thompson, and don’t get despondent about John McCain. Take Michelle’s advice: Get fired up!

Rate this:

2.9

Comments(6) Politics, campaign, contributed, jezla

Dude Comments

This here was posted by

BigDadGib <--Who am I?--> on February 15th, 2008 around 12:54 am

Excellent post Jezla. You are right. We can’t tuck our tail and hide… got to get fired up.
BDG

Rate this:

3.0

This here was posted by

Tom Humes <--Who am I?--> on February 15th, 2008 around 1:15 am

I found your site on technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you.

Tom Humes

Rate this:

2.8

This here was posted by

Winghunter <--Who am I?--> on February 15th, 2008 around 8:22 am

Willard isn’t even remotely conservative and while running to the left of Ted Kennedy he didn’t even respond to questions about Reagan yet, now he can’t offer a sentence without invoking Reagan’s name.

It’s very late in the game to learn who these clowns are but, people should really try to become loyal citizens capable of their own governance!

Candidate Research - Know Who You’re Voting For ( The Easy Way )
http://tinyurl.com/2sowta

Then learn how we got here and what we can do to get out of this hole we’ve dug for ourselves;

How the Republican Party Committed National Suicide By JB Williams
http://www.michnews.com/artman/publish/article_19227.shtml

Who Hijacked the Primaries? by Brett Winterble
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=24726

Rate this:

1.6

This here was posted by

Jim <--Who am I?--> on February 15th, 2008 around 11:02 am

There is an old German proverb: Sweep in front of your own door first.

Everyone is in a dither about the Presidential election. We all need to take a closer look at the State Legislatures we so woefully miselect (If Clemens can use misremember, I can use miselect). Start now - be part of the local and state organizations.

Rate this:

2.5

This here was posted by

Pastor Rob Singleton <--Who am I?--> on February 15th, 2008 around 11:03 am

I love your stuff, Gilbert!

Keep it coming!

Hey, since you were the runaway winner of my first contest, would you be willing ot enter another post for this current, BIGGER one? The real reason I am doing the contest is to reach out even further beyond the church, but it never fails that people are hesitant to submit a story until they see that others have.

Anyway, when you get a chance cruise on over to today’s post and share some of the wisdom you’ve learned over the years!

Thanks!

Pastor Rob

Rate this:

2.5