Here's a conversation I was having with Yon a while ago. I know that you're conservative in a lot of your views and I suggested to him (though he claims he's libertarian, I find the old man fairly conservative in a lot of ways, too) that I think conservatives and Republicans in this country have had their party usurped by those who don't qualify for their own party rhetoric.
How I mean this is that I believe there are conservatives in this country who believe that government should be small, that are fiscally conservative, and identify with a lot of other traditional conservative/Republican ideals. But, what's actually happened in the past 8 years has been expansion of government powers, fiscal irresponsibility, and invasion of privacy spearheaded by a Republican president. This seems *completely* contrary to what I grew up understanding as GOP ideals/platform.
What's even more mind boggling is that a lot of people on the supposed right wing side have supported these efforts by the president. How can this be? How does a party that is/was based on the ideals mentioned above support political change that is 180 degrees from what *the* definition of Republicanism has been about for... well, however long? It makes zero sense.
I suppose the answer could be that this is not traditional Republicanism, but Neoconism, but it still kinda sticks in my craw in that while some may argue that the two share fundamental beliefs (and other ties like how one evolved from the other), the enormous divide between saying that government is a necessary evil or should be kept in check and to a minimum is vastly different from advocating the current president's aggressive power grab, invasion into privacy, and spending nearly 10 billion dollars a month... just in Iraq (remember, we're in that place called Afghanistan, too, that's costing us in addition to that figure). The two are so totally divergent that, personally, I can't reconcile how the two groups could even be considered under the same umbrella.
Even so, what's happened is that conservatives and Republicans have been lumped into this amorphous blob of a party that, now, has members in it that that have totally divergent philosophies. It's like looking at a loaf of bread and a hammer and saying that both of these things are the same thing. They're not. But, the party keeps chugging along b/c, especially when compared to the Democratic party, the Republican party has always been better at trying to present a unified front (and, yes, I know that they've had members who have left, changed allegiances, etc) and they seem more willing to follow the single, biggest symbol of their party atm, the president. Even if what he's done in office seems to fly in the face of everything they and I know the party stands for.
It's ironic that a Republican president has done the things we've mentioned here while liberals/Democrats have come to the defense of expanding government powers and privacy. It's just an odd juxtaposition to see. That a party known for preferring smaller government and has, historically, eyed the government suspiciously and zealously made a point of keeping its powers in check is now having that voice come from the opposite party. I know that political parties are notorious for capitalizing on any criticism they can heap on the other when opportunity presents itself, but I don't recall, at any time I've witnessed political criticism, that this kind of thing has taken place.
Anyway, I'm droning so I'll leave it at that. I just think it's kinda odd that two, so blatantly disparate political views exist within the party and that it seems that the traditional voices are the ones being drowned out making 'true' conservatives feel like they must be strangers in a strange land.
How I mean this is that I believe there are conservatives in this country who believe that government should be small, that are fiscally conservative, and identify with a lot of other traditional conservative/Republican ideals. But, what's actually happened in the past 8 years has been expansion of government powers, fiscal irresponsibility, and invasion of privacy spearheaded by a Republican president. This seems *completely* contrary to what I grew up understanding as GOP ideals/platform.
What's even more mind boggling is that a lot of people on the supposed right wing side have supported these efforts by the president. How can this be? How does a party that is/was based on the ideals mentioned above support political change that is 180 degrees from what *the* definition of Republicanism has been about for... well, however long? It makes zero sense.
I suppose the answer could be that this is not traditional Republicanism, but Neoconism, but it still kinda sticks in my craw in that while some may argue that the two share fundamental beliefs (and other ties like how one evolved from the other), the enormous divide between saying that government is a necessary evil or should be kept in check and to a minimum is vastly different from advocating the current president's aggressive power grab, invasion into privacy, and spending nearly 10 billion dollars a month... just in Iraq (remember, we're in that place called Afghanistan, too, that's costing us in addition to that figure). The two are so totally divergent that, personally, I can't reconcile how the two groups could even be considered under the same umbrella.
Even so, what's happened is that conservatives and Republicans have been lumped into this amorphous blob of a party that, now, has members in it that that have totally divergent philosophies. It's like looking at a loaf of bread and a hammer and saying that both of these things are the same thing. They're not. But, the party keeps chugging along b/c, especially when compared to the Democratic party, the Republican party has always been better at trying to present a unified front (and, yes, I know that they've had members who have left, changed allegiances, etc) and they seem more willing to follow the single, biggest symbol of their party atm, the president. Even if what he's done in office seems to fly in the face of everything they and I know the party stands for.
It's ironic that a Republican president has done the things we've mentioned here while liberals/Democrats have come to the defense of expanding government powers and privacy. It's just an odd juxtaposition to see. That a party known for preferring smaller government and has, historically, eyed the government suspiciously and zealously made a point of keeping its powers in check is now having that voice come from the opposite party. I know that political parties are notorious for capitalizing on any criticism they can heap on the other when opportunity presents itself, but I don't recall, at any time I've witnessed political criticism, that this kind of thing has taken place.
Anyway, I'm droning so I'll leave it at that. I just think it's kinda odd that two, so blatantly disparate political views exist within the party and that it seems that the traditional voices are the ones being drowned out making 'true' conservatives feel like they must be strangers in a strange land.
-J
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