The Slippery Slope
Over the recent months some writers, including myself using some colorful phrasing, have blistered the positions and votes of Republican officeholders. The messages here locally are no different than the messages which are being echoed throughout the country. Republican officials are hearing the disgruntled chorus from who has been to now their most ardent supporters. What is the ultimate cause of this fissure?
What must be understood from the outset is that most true conservatives hold the principles of individual freedom and limited government first and foremost above the political party. The party’s role is to be the vehicle in which the message is to be delivered. The election of candidates is the means by which the philosophical ideas become policy. Almost a hundred percent of those who identify themselves with the Democratic Party have long ago abandoned any semblance of a philosophy or political principle based on individual freedoms. They have become collectivists where people are grouped and sub-grouped with each grouping holding a claim of victimization. The remedy is not seen in the creative genius of the individual but in layer upon layer of government bureaucracy. It is a virtual wasteland for the conservative mindset.
Starting with Barry Goldwater in 1964 the Republican Party headed in a direction opposite of the “New Deal” Democrats. The party touted the virtues of individualism. The core principle was summed in the words of Ronald Reagan who pronounced, “Government is not the solution: Government is the problem.” Under this principle and the leadership of President Reagan the malaise of the sixties and seventies gave way to a bright new morning. Surely as we witnessed in the late eighties the seemingly impossible images of the Berlin Wall tumbling down and subsequently exposing the fallacies of socialism; there was no reason to believe the same fate would not soon happen to the socialistic institutions which began fifty years past in this country. The election of President Bill Clinton was mere stumble as Republicans took control of Congress in 1996 and most statehouses. With the election of 2004, Republicans comfortably controlled the power at the federal level and again in a majority of statehouses. It was past time for the walls to come tumbling down. It is in utter disbelief, which is turning to disgust, that not only did the walls not come down; but they have in reality become stronger. The growth of government has exploded!
Republican representatives were elected to hold tight the tethers to the principles of individual sovereignty and limited government embedded in the Constitution. You, the Republican officeholder was charged with the responsibility of not only preventing us from sliding further down the slope, but to pull us back toward the summit. The part of the slope where the angle becomes acutely steep and where the ability to stop becomes impossible until one reaches the bottom is fast approaching. The collectivists operate under the false belief that we will be able to stop before the point of no return; we know such talk is just pabulum to quiet the fearful. As with any object at rest, the slide down the slope begins with almost unnoticeable movement. The political journey for most Republicans starts with good intentions of preserving our founding principles. Innocently and with a mere whisper the slide begins with a “but” or an “exception” to the core belief. “But” we need to help the farmers, “But” it will help the local economy, “Except” we must provide; everyone has their “but” and “except” which leads to not a single compromise of principles but to hundreds as legislators bargain with each other. It doesn’t take long for Republicans to mirror the images of “New Deal” Democrats. This is where we are today. The fact is no matter how it is spun; each word of a new legislative bill which further empowers government takes a breath of freedom away; and for each additional dollar of government there is a dollar of individual choice taken away.
As we continue to accelerate down the slope toward the point of no return, there can be no compromise of principles. Compromise is the inertia for our ride down. The ability to brake and eventually return to the summit of liberty can only happen through the principles which were ascertained through historical evidence and gifted to us by our “Founding Fathers” without exception. Democratic President Grover Cleveland vetoed 584 bills during his two terms. He stated that he took an oath to defend the Constitution and that he saw no where in the Constitution which allowed government to do the things which were contained in these bills. Every one of our elected officials swears to such an oath; therefore the only pertinent questions of proposed or existing legislation is: Does the Constitution grant this power and will it promote liberty or further erode it.
Mark Pribonic @ OnTheBorderLine
What must be understood from the outset is that most true conservatives hold the principles of individual freedom and limited government first and foremost above the political party. The party’s role is to be the vehicle in which the message is to be delivered. The election of candidates is the means by which the philosophical ideas become policy. Almost a hundred percent of those who identify themselves with the Democratic Party have long ago abandoned any semblance of a philosophy or political principle based on individual freedoms. They have become collectivists where people are grouped and sub-grouped with each grouping holding a claim of victimization. The remedy is not seen in the creative genius of the individual but in layer upon layer of government bureaucracy. It is a virtual wasteland for the conservative mindset.
Starting with Barry Goldwater in 1964 the Republican Party headed in a direction opposite of the “New Deal” Democrats. The party touted the virtues of individualism. The core principle was summed in the words of Ronald Reagan who pronounced, “Government is not the solution: Government is the problem.” Under this principle and the leadership of President Reagan the malaise of the sixties and seventies gave way to a bright new morning. Surely as we witnessed in the late eighties the seemingly impossible images of the Berlin Wall tumbling down and subsequently exposing the fallacies of socialism; there was no reason to believe the same fate would not soon happen to the socialistic institutions which began fifty years past in this country. The election of President Bill Clinton was mere stumble as Republicans took control of Congress in 1996 and most statehouses. With the election of 2004, Republicans comfortably controlled the power at the federal level and again in a majority of statehouses. It was past time for the walls to come tumbling down. It is in utter disbelief, which is turning to disgust, that not only did the walls not come down; but they have in reality become stronger. The growth of government has exploded!
Republican representatives were elected to hold tight the tethers to the principles of individual sovereignty and limited government embedded in the Constitution. You, the Republican officeholder was charged with the responsibility of not only preventing us from sliding further down the slope, but to pull us back toward the summit. The part of the slope where the angle becomes acutely steep and where the ability to stop becomes impossible until one reaches the bottom is fast approaching. The collectivists operate under the false belief that we will be able to stop before the point of no return; we know such talk is just pabulum to quiet the fearful. As with any object at rest, the slide down the slope begins with almost unnoticeable movement. The political journey for most Republicans starts with good intentions of preserving our founding principles. Innocently and with a mere whisper the slide begins with a “but” or an “exception” to the core belief. “But” we need to help the farmers, “But” it will help the local economy, “Except” we must provide; everyone has their “but” and “except” which leads to not a single compromise of principles but to hundreds as legislators bargain with each other. It doesn’t take long for Republicans to mirror the images of “New Deal” Democrats. This is where we are today. The fact is no matter how it is spun; each word of a new legislative bill which further empowers government takes a breath of freedom away; and for each additional dollar of government there is a dollar of individual choice taken away.
As we continue to accelerate down the slope toward the point of no return, there can be no compromise of principles. Compromise is the inertia for our ride down. The ability to brake and eventually return to the summit of liberty can only happen through the principles which were ascertained through historical evidence and gifted to us by our “Founding Fathers” without exception. Democratic President Grover Cleveland vetoed 584 bills during his two terms. He stated that he took an oath to defend the Constitution and that he saw no where in the Constitution which allowed government to do the things which were contained in these bills. Every one of our elected officials swears to such an oath; therefore the only pertinent questions of proposed or existing legislation is: Does the Constitution grant this power and will it promote liberty or further erode it.
Mark Pribonic @ OnTheBorderLine
posted by Anonymous @ 10:56 PM
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