The Classic Liberal Blog

This is part 2 of On the Road with Conservatism.

Please read the entire series here: What is Conservatism?

This on-going series is both a process of self-discovery, as well as an attempt to define conservatism. There are so many different versions of conservatism today, lately, I've been wondering if I'm a conservative at all (gasp!).

And this post is NOT an attack on anyone, but just my thoughts as they come to me.

Let's start with Should I just ignore it in the hope that it goes away?

I understand the need for civility, yet at the same time, politics is a dirty business. Always has been, always will be. Dissent, even rowdy dissent, is not always uncivil. I'm a bit tired of the quick knee-jerk reactions to most political discourse today too (and yes, I sometimes participate), but I do believe there is valid reason to discuss motives. Let me explain ...

Let's say for example you're having a political debate with your neighbor. In this case, no, I do not think you should prescribe unsavory motives to what he/she is advocating. For the most part, all of us, "we the people" on both sides of the political scale, just want what's best for ourselves, our family, friends, and the rest of the country.

When it comes to politicians and pundits however, it's an entirely different story. We have members of Congress openly calling for socialism while praising the likes of Fidel Castro. Our current economic dilemma was brought on by the deliberate printing of dollars by the Federal Reserve, and the 545 in Washington's abusive spending habits and purposeful ignorance of our Constitution.

To prescribe to the theory of "unintended consequences" in light of our politicians, is to believe they're all complete idiots! Personally, I believe they know exactly what they're doing, Democrat and Republican, and I believe their intent to be malicious.

Is Conservatism Becoming More Muscular?

That's a good question. I've been to a few of the Tea Party protests, and what I've witnessed is a growing contempt of government in general. People are concerned about the federal budget, the growth of government, and don't find any of it worth the excessive price (taxes) they pay for it. But is it a conservative movement? I don't know.

If the only thesis of your movement is that our own government is always and everywhere our enemy, what exactly is that movement going to accomplish?

Well, it gave birth to this nation, so I believe it has a lot it can accomplish. And as for Beck and Hannity ... Put aside Beck's sometimes unusual personality, and you'll find he actually covers a lot of important topics. Hannity however, just like O'Reilly, doesn't have much to offer. But the focus should be on the people themselves, not the media darlings of the day.

The Cold Hard Truth: The federal government and most state governments are on financial life-support, and the American taxpayer is significantly over-taxed. Taxes literally eat up about 50% of a persons income, which is completely immoral. The money's all gone, whether it be for socialized medicine at home, or nation-building abroad ... The money's all gone!

This is where a politician or media pundit could become very successfull - focusing on the hard truths about where people's incomes go, and what to do about it. Right now, Ron Paul is the only person doing ANYTHING about it, with his growing support to End the Fed!

So I don't know if the Tea Party movement is muscular, but it's not brain-dead. What's stirring in them however, spells trouble for both parties.

Challenges Ahead for Conservatives

Professor Douglas and I have linked back and forth on numerous occasions, as well as communicated via email. Anyone reading our blogs will know we're not in complete agreement philosophically, but I believe this microcosm shows that the Old Right and New Right have plenty to build bridges upon.

That said, I personally cannot accept neoconservatism. I appreciate the belief that "big government is here to stay," but don't prescribe to it because it leaves me with nothing to look forward to ... It's a white flag. Sure, we can't scrap Big Government overnight, but if we're to roll-back any of it, our goal should be to roll it back to our original Constitutionally limited government.

War ... At one time, not that long ago, I was certainly part of the Hawk camp. But being that we've been in Iraq twice as long as it took to win WWII, while the Taliban seems to be stronger than ever ... Not so much anymore. (Disclaimer: Yes, radical islam is evil.)

I can't say that I'm anti-war, I'm human, sometimes I want to kick somebody's ass. But that's it! If we must go to war, we should go in, destroy, and get out! Nation-building is nothing more than the New Deal and Great Society sent abroad. "Protecting" Europe is nothing but welfare. If I don't believe in these things at home, I certainly don't believe in them abroad.

Quite frankly, I find social-engineering at home and abroad disgustingly immoral.

“Brain-dead Conservatives:” More free-market scholars today than ever before

"The heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism” - Ronald Reagan

Robert Taft, Barry Goldwater, and Reagan were the last of the great conservatives! Were they perfect? No. Nobody is. But they each had a consistent message of freedom - individual freedom. And it's our individual freedoms, our personal soveriegnty, that trumps every other "issue" in my mind.

President George W. Bush, no matter how hard I try, I just can't consider him a conservative. I laugh when I hear him referred to has the "far-right," because the far-right would be an anarchist. This is still America, so I refuse to adopt a more European political scale.

Bush expanded the size and scope of government greater than anyone since LBJ! Prescription drugs, "No Child Left Behind," expanded executive branch priviledges, nation-building, and massive spending followed by the Federal Reserve's printing press ... There's simply nothing "conservative" about any of it, unless conservatism has been boiled-down to nothing but a handful of "social issues." And if so, then I guess I'm a libertarian (paleolibertarian, that is).

If the conservative movement has thrown out the Goldwaters, Tafts, Rothbards and Nocks ... then we're all in deep trouble, because there will be nothing left to keep the Leviathan at bay.

And as far as conservative "intellectuals," I suggest people broaden their horizons a bit, because there's an abundance of intellectual force making the case for freedom and liberty!