Ship of Fools

A good friend of mine, Steve Maloney of SteveMaloneyGOP and Campaign2008VictoryA, agrees with me that this presidential race has certainly been fascinating, to say the least. After telling him what I thought about John McCain's liberal tendencies, Steve responded, "For me, John McCain is conservative enough, with an 82.3% ACU ranking since he's been in Congress. I support McCain strongly against either Clinton or Obama. . . whose ACU rankings are profoundly different from 82.3%."

When compared to the alternative, John McCain seems like he may be the necessary choice.

But what bothers me is that Conservatives are moaning and groaning and complaining, but not getting involved. I understand that the Republican Party has hardly been loyal to conservatives. I understand that there seems to be no clearly conservative presidential choice out there, and the conservatives in the Congressional Races are slim and far between. But have we forgotten that the President of the United States is not a legislative position? What about those all important Congressional Races? Why aren't we involved in those races as Conservatives?

I know that the country, in a sense, is going straight to Hell in a hand basket. And for this I understand the Conservative complaint in regards to where the Republican Party seems to be heading. And, my fellow Conservatives, I agree that it is time to be angry. Conservatives have been angry for a long time. But, my fellow Conservatives, what are you going to do about that anger? Are you angry enough to get involved? Are you angry enough to contribute to your candidate's campaign?

Democrats are all about "The Collective." The Lefties do things for the Liberal Hive, because the success of the Democratic Party is the most important thing to them. Conservatives, however, tend to be individualists. They are proud of the fact that they are individuals who champion personal responsibility and paying the consequences for one's actions should they fail. Conservatives recognize that competition is good for an economy, and that the natural bi-product of success is failure. In this nation we have the freedom to succeed, and the freedom to fail. Problem is, though Conservatives have it right in what they believe, they are not willing to put their money where their mouth is. They tend to play it safe and closely guard their pocket books. This is why the liberal left is so good at the game of politics. To win in politics it takes a collective effort, a tendency that comes naturally to the "It Takes A Village" liberals. The left does all it can for the effort, pouring money into their candidates, and putting it all out there on the line for the sake of the party. Liberals, naturally being collectivists, have politics down to a science.

Mitt Romney stepped down, eventually casting his delegates (and endorsement) to John McCain, not because he's a big fan of McCain's, but because he felt it was the best thing to do for the Republican Party, and the Country. Now, as I consider Steve Maloney's words about McCain, and delve deeper into what is truly going on in the world of politics, I realize that what Mitt Romney did was the most intelligent thing he could have done as a politician, both as a collective member of the Republican Party, and as an individual who will live to fight another day as a presidential candidate. He did what was best for party and country now, and what was best for Mitt Romney, the individual, later.

The Conservative tendency of being individualistic is no surprise when you consider the issues, and where conservatives tend to stand on them. Conservatives believe in personal responsibility in our lives. We believe that it does not take a village to raise a child, but that it is the individual responsibility of the parents. We do not believe that the collective hive is responsible for anyone's success, but that as individuals we reach success on our own hard work and merit. Conservatives do not believe that it is the government's responsibility to hand out freebies to those that have not succeeded and are currently in a state of poverty at the expense of our hard earned tax dollars, whether we like it or not, because those receiving such aid will become dependent upon such assistance. We believe that it is up to that individual to pull themselves up by the bootstraps and battle back against their own poverty, and if they truly need help then they should seek out that help from church groups and other charities funded and run by individuals like you and I, of which we donated to "voluntarily." Conservatives do not believe the group, or collective, should mandate a "choice" over who's innocent blood should live or die, so the conservative fight for an individual's right to life by being against the abortion of unborn children, and euthanasia of persons in critical care, is a critical conservative issue. However, Conservatives tend to believe that those who are guilty of a total disregard for human life in the form of murder, must be given a harsh penalty; the penalty of death if the murderous crime is severe enough. Conservatives do not believe guns kill people any more than we believe that it is the pencil's fault for spelling errors. We recognize that each citizen has the individual right to protect themselves from a criminal element that will obtain weapons regardless of the law, and that government has no right to tell the people they cannot own and use weapons as individuals. By taking away the right to private gun ownership, the government would be taking away a citizen's ability to defend themselves against an armed criminal. Conservatives believe that the Free Market Economy is a brilliant thing, and when the economy is left to the competition of the individuals it will thrive and adjust. Inflation, recession, and economic downturns are all the result of government manipulation. The "Coming Recession" that has been proclaimed by the mainstream media and government analysts would not be coming if the government would just keep their hands out of the cookie jar. Conservatives do not believe that America is to blame for the world's woes. As a society the United States of America does not owe anybody anything for crimes conjured up by the liberal left. We believe that the United States of America is the greatest country on this planet, made great by the successes of great individuals. And nobody has a right to take a slice of the American Pie illegally. We welcome the huddled masses who come here legally to participate in the American Dream. This nation is a melting pot of all people, but to be involved you need to be willing to assimilate into this great society, providing your talents and your uniqueness to it, not taking away from it with greedy, and segregational, attitudes. Conservatives believe the Federal Government, as explained in the United States Constitution, must remain limited because the local government is better equipped to handle local matters than is the Federal Government. The Federal Government, however, is tasked with providing for the common defense, meaning that if an act of war is committed against this nation, and if there are enemies out there determined to bring down this nation, it is the duty of our President and Congress to defend this nation using military force wherever necessary. The enemy does not understand individualism or the idea of "Can't we all just get along?" The enemy, like the liberal left, is in it for the collective. Individual rights are meaningless to them, and as individuals, it is our duty to defend our individual freedoms against such enemies.

The Conservatives are right in what they believe. The Conservative Right has every reason to be angry at the direction this nation is heading under the constant pressure of a Marxist, classless society seeking, liberal left controlled Democrat Party. But, my fellow Conservatives, what are you doing about it? Did you vote in the primaries? Did you contribute funds to the most conservative candidates in the Congressional Races yet? Have you volunteered your time for your candidates and causes?

It is time to collectively support our conservative candidates, and drive forward toward a Red November. Are you with me? Or are we going to remain quiet and uneffective on this ship of fools?

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With this all in mind, let's also tune in tonight to Andrea Shea King's Blog Talk Radio show tonight (with me as the co-host) as she welcomes Alfred Regnery, the publisher of The American Spectator. He's been part of the American conservative movement since childhood, when his father founded Regnery Publishing, the preeminent conservative publishing house. Al has chronicled the development of the conservative movement in his fascinating book UPSTREAM - the Ascendance of American Conservatism. Regnery is my guest tonight at 9pm Eastern Time/6pm Pacific. To listen, click here.

Then, after Andrea's show, Political Pistachio Radio will be interviewing Dr. Steve Sauerberg, the Republican Candidate in Illinois that will be running against Dick Durbin. Is he one of those conservatives we need in Congress? Will he be actively involved in downsizing the Federal Government? Where does he stand on the war? What is his economics background? Does he support the private ownership of guns by American Citizens? Is he pro-life? Will he be a force in defeating the socialism being thrust upon us by the liberal left? Or is he just another cowardly Republican that acts more leftist than conservative? The fireworks on Political Pistachio Radio begin when Andrea's show ends . . . at 10pm Eastern Time/7pm Pacific. Click here to listen live, or catch the archive later.