May 27 2008

Finger Pointing Will Not Help GOP Or Conservatives

Published by at 7:08 am under 2008 Elections,All General Discussions

The answer to all of the rights concerns this year seems to boil down to “find the most pure conservatism”.  We see it over and over again as the denial and finger pointing continue from the right, and we see it again today from Sen Tom Coburn:

Many Republicans are waiting for a consultant or party elder to come down from the mountain and, in Moses-like fashion, deliver an agenda and talking points on stone tablets. But the burning bush, so to speak, is delivering a blindingly simple message: Behave like Republicans.

Unfortunately, too many in our party are not yet ready to return to the path of limited government. Instead, we are being told our message must be deficient because, after all, we should be winning in certain areas just by being Republicans. Yet being a Republican isn’t good enough anymore. Voters are tired of buying a GOP package and finding a big-government liberal agenda inside. What we need is not new advertising, but truth in advertising.

Becoming Republicans again will require us to come to grips with what has ailed our party – namely, the triumph of big-government Republicanism and failed experiments like the K Street Project and “compassionate conservatism.” If the goal of the K Street Project was to earmark and fund raise our way to a filibuster-proof “governing” majority, the goal of “compassionate conservatism” was to spend our way to a governing majority.

This is revisionist BS.  I have no idea what the K Street Project is, except I know K Street houses very powerful lobbies who (a) can make or break politicians and (b) still represent interests of Americans.  I am not happy with how lobbyist money influences government priorities, but I am not so gleefully naive to forget that people have the right to collectively petition their government on issues dear to them.

But that is a minor problem, the bigger problem with Coburn is his whining finger pointing.  I have numerous examples of compassionate conservatism which were wholly conservatism and were low to no cost, proving that his rants against the impure are fiction.  

First is President Bush’s ban on federal funding of Embryonic Stem Cell Research.  A huge step towards protecting human life from becoming nothing more than a commodity for the rich and powerful. Did not cost a dime to the tax payer.  Parental notification and the ban on partial-birth abortions also showed compassion for the right to life, and cost the taxpayers very little if anything.

How about those tax cuts which allowed families to keep more of what they earned and buoyed an economy staggered by the attacks on 9-11 clearly that is not a cost to the taxpayer.  How about the Gang of 14 and all those conservative and constructionist judges that now balance the bench from 8 years of Clinton’s wild liberal ride?  No extra money there, the seats had to be filled, the salaries paid no matter who filled them.

And there was the change in medicare/medicaid to add a prescription drug benefit which reduced the overall costs of those programs by eliminating costly emergency room visits as the only way to get needed drugs.  While costly, it was a much better investment under the program.  And how was allowing religious institutions to participate in local community programs, bring compassionate religion to bear on our social problems, costly?  The entire faith based initiative was simply to end the ban on religious organizations helping this country.  And remember that I do not belong to any religion and yet I, an impure independent conservative, could champion this cause easily.

Coburn suffers from what really ails the right – purity contests and finger pointing.  It was purists who literally chased the center and moderates out over immigration (and other issues).  When it comes to elections this year the far right conservative politicians get the pure con voters (pun intended), but they don’t get a governing coalition.  Wrapping themselves up in the mantle of the most tolerant conservative to shape modern US politics, these purists actually defy the Reagan doctrine – which was to get 70% on an issue that was common ground and fight for the rest later. Reagan did not sanction the routing of conservative opposition through crass character assassination.

The fact is the government spending that so many in Congress bemoan was all under their control.  Bush needed money for the wars, but Congress laid on the pork.  Yet these ‘purists’ deny their own hands in all this by trying to blame Bush and K-Street and the voters and the moderates.  Wake up Senator, you had the power of the purse and you blew it.  Don’t expect finger pointing to win you votes Senator. Maybe it is time for you and the rest of the finger pointers to retire so a new generation of conservatives can take over.

Clearly the finger pointing only extends the time the GOP will spend in the political wilderness, because it keeps open the divides that now have conservative democrats beating conservative republicans in what is clearly a right of center nation.  The only way to screw up in a right of center nation, from the right, is to reject the center so that you only get votes from the right, and let the center go to the left. Bottom line – finger pointing and purity contests are the problem, not the answer.

You would think a ‘professional’ politician would realize that conservatives are losing the impure conservative vote, so railing against these people will not gain back their support.  You would think.  You would also think GOP leaders would know better not to insult their own voters with such simpleton platitudes like this claim that it was not Congress’ fault they lost their fiscal self control.  One of the staunchest fighters of pork, John McCain, has been accused by the purists of being a traitor, a RINO, a liberal, a liar, etc.  Yet he has steadfastly stood against pork ear marks.  Cochran, your glass house just shattered.

47 responses so far

47 Responses to “Finger Pointing Will Not Help GOP Or Conservatives”

  1. AJStrata says:

    Whippet1,

    Insulting or brutally honest? Whether you folks get it or not the rules still stand here – mature debate or take a hike.

    Temper tantrums, insulting your host, lying about your host and you are asked to leave. It is pretty simple.

    If it is beyond you I suggest you just accept it and move on. Clearly my patience with the ‘childish’ comments (as 75 so well put it) has reached a climax.

    Anyone who wants to volunteer for the ugly conservative crowd line up behind you know who!

  2. AJStrata says:

    Tom,

    So you recall my being banned from Redstate? Interesting irony there.

  3. dave m says:

    I posted the error theory warning about the imminence of a major attack
    on the USA as a way of illustrating how completely unimportant all this
    purity stuff will be rendered. http://errortheory.blogspot.com

    I cannot get the mentality of arguing the finer points of conservatism
    or liberalism when if we don’t wake up and actually tell the truth, and act,
    we are going to get clobbered super big time.

    I’m not a survivalist, but maybe those guys have a point.
    The uselessness of politicians is awesome to behold.
    I can’t remember what the big beef against McCain is, immigration I
    guess. Conservatives can’t see it, but it looks like the country is tired
    of the evangelical right, just one of those things.

    Between McCain and full blown Marxist theory lies a very small
    independent group of swing voters. I have heard a few, not many,
    conservatives express that maybe the country deserves a good whuppin’
    from the Almighty and electing Obama will bring that “prophecy” to
    fulfillment, after which the country will beg for a return to true
    conservative principles. What part of “international banking collapse”
    don’t you get?

    If Obama is elected, I think we will be in true “Mad Max” territory
    Talk about arranging the deck chairs.

  4. WWS says:

    I agree with you, Dave. Some people say “How bad can it be?” They have no idea how bad it can be – an acute lack of imagination on their parts. If Obama wins, there won’t be much of a country left to save, that’s how bad. One of the greatest ironies will be when almost all of the right wing voices on talk radio are shut down by a revived and revved up “fairness doctrine.” Then watch tax rates hiked back up and see the economy *really* go into the tank.

    Look at Michigan, they are in a one-state depression due to the Democrat’s bad policies and it is going to take them decades to dig their way out of the hole! Has that taught the people of Michigan to start electing conservatives? Nope, it’s just guaranteed that everyone in that state will live in misery from now on with no forseeable hope of relief. That’s what an Obama win will do for this country. It truly would be the greatest imaginable catastrophe for this country, and we will never recover from it.

  5. AJStrata says:

    WWS and DaveM,

    You both are right. We got this same ‘we need a whooping’ crap with Bush I and the country is still trying to fix what Clinton did. And when did 9-11 take form and go into action? Under Clinton.

    I read somewhere some fool wishing for another Ross Perot as well. Seems there is a major backlash against the far right brewing so bad all sorts of wishing for the bad ‘ole days is going on.

    I find the fact that anyone would put immigration reform over the war in Iraq, spending over the war in Iraq, Dubai Ports over the war in Iraq, the Gang of 14 over the war in Iraq stunningly crass. People gave their ultimate sacrifice for this country and we would allow political differences on such minor issues throw those sacrifices down the toilet?

    That is the part that sticks in my craw every waking moment. How can anyone ‘pro life’ be willing to throw so many lives, offered freely for an important cause, away like that?

  6. AJStrata says:

    WWS and DaveM,

    You both are right. We got this same ‘we need a whooping’ crap with Bush I and the country is still trying to fix what Clinton did. And when did 9-11 take form and go into action? Under Clinton.

    I read somewhere some fool wishing for another Ross Perot as well. Seems there is a major backlash against the far right brewing so bad all sorts of wishing for the bad ‘ole days is going on.

    I find the fact that anyone would put immigration reform over the war in Iraq, spending over the war in Iraq, Dubai Ports over the war in Iraq, the Gang of 14 over the war in Iraq stunningly crass. People gave their ultimate sacrifice for this country and we would allow political differences on such minor issues throw those sacrifices down the toilet?

    That is the part that sticks in my craw every waking moment. How can anyone ‘pro life’ be willing to throw so many lives, offered freely for an important cause, away like that?

  7. VinceP1974 says:

    dave: I think we’re very close to a nuclear attack on the US.

    I dispair over the state of mind in this country… with all the comfort wealth and power this country has for us to be so irresponsible, arrogant, and self-abosrbed, it’s like we are begging to be dragged to the ground.