Understanding Conservatism

Conservatism seems to be a term that the Left is trying to demonize.

No surprise. That is what they do. They attack with no mercy anything that makes them nervous about losing their power.

Democrats hate Conservatives because they fear Conservatives.

The party that has based its platform on Conservatism in the past has been the Republican Party. Problem is, the GOP has been infiltrated by the Left, and many of the politicians that call themselves Republicans are more liberal than the majority of Democrats.

As a result of the Leftists taking residency in the party, the Republicans have moved to the left in many of their policies. Moderates (the name used, because Liberal Republican doesn't sound very appealing) have taken control of the GOP, and the platform has become a middle of the road, fence straddling, light-weight version of the Democrat Party.

In short, the Republican Party needs to reestablish its conservative roots, and support for the U.S. Constitution.

At the foundation conservatism is the understanding that it is individuals that make this nation great, and that personal responsibility is an important part of being an American. Personal responsibility means not finding the easy way out, but doing what is right.

With that said, the GOP needs to remind us that they recognize that murder is unacceptable, even when it is labeled as a "choice." Tradition and standards are an important part of the foundation of this nation, and by not even being willing to abide by the law of the land, such as when it comes to illegal aliens, we are making ourselves a nation at risk.

The federal government is supposed to be limited in its powers, and the states need to be allowed to make their own decisions on state issues - without federal encroachment. Limited spending and lower taxes stimulate economies, not stimulus packages that redistribute the wealth, and put this nation into a greater national deficit. Unemployment rates drop when businesses are profitable, grow, and need more employees to keep up with their growth. Profit is generated by unrestrained capitalism. The consumers will regulate the market by not buying from unscrupulous sellers. Companies should produce products the public desires, not products the federal government demands they produce.

Our military should be untouched by political correctness, or the politicization of foreign policy. If American interests are at risk, the military should be enabled to go in, do the job, and leave - without ridiculous rules of engagement that give the enemy an edge over our men and women, nor rules that place our troops in Levinworth for doing their job. Captured combatants should be treated as such - combatants who had the desire to kill Americans. The U.S. Constitution does not apply to non-citizens, therefore Miranda Rights, the right to a lawyer, and the right to a trial do not exist for foreign combatants - especially those that do not wear a uniform, or represent a specific nation. These prisoners should remain out of the U.S. population, and that includes the prison population. Though they should be treated humanely, we should not bend over backwards to accomodate their every whim. If techniques like water boarding are required to retrieve information that will save American lives, the techniques should be used without restraint. Torture, in my opinion, is what Islamism has been doing to our men and women - pouring water into someone's nose under supervision so that their lives are never actually in danger is hardly torture.

Health Insurance is not a right. Health care has never been (or should not be) denied to people, except in rare instances such as repeat illegal alien abusers of the system, based on the ability to pay. Using health insurance for every sniffle, however, is irresponsible, and is part of the reason that insurance is so out of whack. The doctor's fear of being sued is the main reason our healthcare system is under stress. If politicians want to fix the healthcare system, the way to do it is not by nationalizing the industry. The way to attack the problem is through Tort Reform - which will disable the ability to sue for frivolous reasons.

Manmade Global Warming is a myth, and an excuse for the government to hit us with the largest tax increase in history in the guise of the Climate Bill. Cap and Trade with further undermine this struggling economy, and allow the federal government more control over our lives. Environmental standards should be based on common sense, not extreme liberal whims of the Environmental crazies out there that have decided humanity is a parasite on the planet Earth.

Education is a local issue, and the Department of Education should be eliminated. Bush's "No Child Left Behind" Act was a mistake, and the billions of dollars pumped into education, with only six percent of those funds going to the basics of education, is appalling. Private schools educate our children much better, on much smaller budgets. How about the state governments take some lessons from the private schools?

Government has no business being involved in marriage. The fact that government has a hand in heterosexual marriage in the first place is wrong - but then for government to dictate to Americans the definition of marriage is an overstepping of governmental authority. Marriage belongs to churches and individuals, not the government.

Owning a gun is a right, and the federal government, as per the 2nd Amendment, has no authority to place any restrictions on owning a gun or any kind. This is not to say the state can't. States have the local authority to require registration, or whatever else they deem fit regarding this issue.

The commerce clause is one of the most wrongly used clauses in the Constitution, and is not supposed to cover anything "crossing" state lines. The commerce clause was specifically written to settle disputes over interstate commerce, not as an option for the federal government to use to regulate state's rights.

And finally, conservatives understand that state's rights is what the issue of state sovereignty is all about. States are autonomous entities that are not to be controlled by the federal government. The federal government was designed to protect the union, hold the union together, and settle any squabbles between the states - beyond that, the federal government has a scant amount of responsibilities (Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution specifically outlines the duties of the federal government).

If that is far right extremism, then you need to reaquaint yourself with the political spectrum. Far right extremism is anarchy. Far left is totalitarianism (complete control of the populace by an overpowering government entity). Conservatism is about limiting the federal government, not eliminating it. Liberalism, however, has much more in common with totalitarianism than I care to admit.

No wonder the Communist Party of America likes the current Democratic Party Platform so much. Maybe the two parties will merge in the near future.

Seems reasonable.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

By Douglas V. Gibbs