A Tale of Two Parties

One effect of the Bush years has been the redefinition of conservatism. In 2000, George W. Bush ran on a platform of compassionate conservatism. Historically, conservatives had advocated compassion, but the conservative version of compassion was that individuals, families, communities, and churches would display compassion. The liberal version of compassion has been to grant government help at the expense of the taxpayer.
Supposedly, a conservative and a liberal were walking downtown and a man asked for help, saying that he was down on his fortunes. The conservative reached into his billfold and gave the man money for food for his family. The liberal was impressed and the conservative told him you can and should do the same. Days later, they were approached again for help, the liberal reached into the conservative's pocket, pulled out some money, gave it to the needy man and said hey, this really does work!. President Grover Cleveland
Historically, the Democratic Party was a party of the common man, the farmer, with an interest in protecting the rights of the individuals. Today, Democrats claim Thomas Jefferson as founder of the Democratic Party. Jefferson was certainly one of the premier advocates for limited government among the founding fathers. On through the 1800s, the Democratic Party was the party advocating states' rights and opposed federal control in commerce and an expanded role for the federal government in welfare and education. Democratic President Grover Cleveland was a powerful opponent of federal involvement in areas not specifically stated in the US Constitution.
Conversely, the Republican Party was founded as the party of corporate interests. The Republican Party came to power by the interests of the War Governors in 1860, men who wanted the South's economy destroyed that they might redistribute wealth from the Southern aristocracy to the Northern industrialists. This is the primary reason the South traditionally hated Republicans. By the time the South's hatred began to wear off, the Great Depression hit and Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected on a platform of no longer treating the South as a territory. Roosevelt's New Deal (and I would certainly oppose the expansion of the size of government by the New Deal) had the effect of restoring Southern ownership to Southern property--reversing the effect of Reconstruction, which had been directed by the Radical Republicans.
The past generation, however has seen the roles of the party reversed. Since 1980, the Republican Party has certainly become dominant in the South. The Democratic Party has become the party of liberal interests. Frankly, conservatives have almost no voice within the Democratic Party.
But what of conservatives and the Republican Party? The candidacies of Goldwater and Reagan brought a flood of conservative activists into the GOP. Republicans began to talk about limited government. In 1980, the GOP swept into office in a landslide behind the conservative rhetoric of Ronald Reagan. Reagan won re-election in 1984 with a landslide and then in 1988 his Vice President George H. W. Bush won handily as Reagan's man.
But President Bush went back to his natural ways and acted as a true Republican. His tax increases and courting of social liberals won him no support from the left, but alienated conservatives. In 1992, Bush lost a split election to Bill Clinton.
What happened in the Clinton years? Conservatives mobilized and in 1994, led by Newt Gingrich with his Contract with America, the GOP gained control of the House. A motivated conservative base fought back and we saw spending cut, a defense build-up, welfare reform--all with a Democratic President, with an aggressive Conservative Congress in his face.
The George W. Bush years (2000-present) had all the potential of the golden era of conservatism. President Bush had a Republican Congress with him, but what happened? We saw record increases in social spending, a meddling role of our international presence, the highest deficits, and an obscene increase in the federal debt. We saw a Republican President and a Republican Congress presiding over a much larger federal role in education and health care.
Now, the GOP has nominated John McCain as the 2008 nominee for President. We are told that we must support McCain, lest we have a dreaded Democrat as President. I agree that conservatives cannot support the National Democratic Party. But do we really want to give the GOP control of our Federal Government again?
The Democratic Party is now a cold house for conservatives. Gone are conservative Democratic heroes like Senator Jim Allen of Alabama and Congressman Larry McDonald of Georgia. Those rare conservatives are kept far from any influence in the Democratic Party. As a side note, at the 1976 GOP Convention, two Reagan delegates from Alabama cast their votes for Jim Allen for Vice President.
Senator Jim Allen of Alabama
My great frustration is that the GOP has returned to the real Republican roots of federal control and bigger government, serving to represent primarily corporate interests. When conservatives oppose federal subsidies for international trade agreements that surrender our national sovereignty and hurt American interests (NAFTA, GATT, North American Union), the GOP always sides with the international corporations. When conservatives decry our open borders, the GOP leadership (President Bush and Senator McCain for example) support amnesty for illegal aliens, at the behest of big business who want cheap labor.
What will conservatives do in the 2008 election? Will we hold our nose and vote McCain as his mother suggests ? McCain's Mother Says Conservatives will "hold their nose" and Vote McCain Certainly, we can't vote for Obama or Clinton. I make two pleas to the GOP leadership who want us to vote McCain:
1) Don't take conservative activists for granted. You must win our support. We must have assurance that a vote for McCain will mean more than lip service to conservative principles. At this point, I don't believe that Senator McCain gives a hoot about conservative voters or conservative principles.
Remember, the GOP is not our natural home. The GOP includes conservatives because they want the grassroots support. Conservatives vote GOP because the Democrats are now tied to the exotic left. But this year, conservatives could easily sit on their hands, or even vote Libertarian or Constitution Party.
2) Don't lie to us and tell us what a fine conservative we have in John McCain. We know better. McCain, along with Ted Kennedy, pushed for amnesty for illegal aliens. McCain, along with Lieberman, worked to oppose drilling for oil in Alaska, keeping us dependent on the Middle East for oil. By the way, the international banks need to keep oil high to keep their risky loans repaid. Recently, a Republican activist said to me Yes, McCain is not a conservative, but he is much better than Obama or Clinton. My reply was No, not much better, only slightly better.
Be honest with us and say McCain is as sorry as gully dirt, but Obama/Clinton is even worse. Crass as this statement may sound, this is talking sense. I might even buy this line of thinking in November. But don't try to tell me that McCain and company represent me or my principles. Watch this video and tell me what you think?