By Douglas V. Gibbs
It is no secret to those that know me that I have a political mind, and that I keep up with current events. Few, however, truly understand my political stance. I am a classical centrist. I am not real hip about the fact that we have a two-party system, but accept it because I realize that our human nature demands such a system. In truth, at the federal level, if all politicians were statesmen, and simply followed the U.S. Constitution to the letter, we would have no need for political parties, or political ideologies. The whole thing is best explained by the subject of war. Nobody likes war, and I would rather we didn't have to fight war, but war is necessary because there are those out there who, for various reasons, wage war. Therefore, wishing there was no war does nothing, because as much as one may dislike war, there is someone out there willing to wage it, so in the interest of self-defense, we also must wage war.
Like war, I would rather that we didn't have political parties mucking up the whole process. But the parties are necessary because there are those out there who, for various reasons, demand that they be able to act outside the Law of the Land, oppose the American System, and spread an agenda outside Constitutional parameters. So, in the interest of having an organization to defend against the onslaught against our system, we must also organize, and oppose the progressive agenda. The problem is, progressives have infiltrated the Republican Party, and have all but changed the party into a mirror image of the Democrat Party.
Considering that we have political parties, and despite the establishmental similarities, their positions are set largely on the Left (more government intrusion) and the Right (less government intrusion). This slight distinction that still exists demands that we must play the political party game, and work to realign the Republican Party back to its conservative ways. As much as I dislike the party system, the truth is that if there were no parties, and an issue came up, there is no doubt that there would be those that support that issue, and those that oppose it. Since birds of a feather flock together, the people in agreement would eventually form a group, organize that group, someone would take a leadership role, and boom, you have political parties.
As a Constitutionalist, my "ideology" is the United States Constitution. At the time of its conception the Constitution was dead center. It took the idea of creating a central governmental system (Left) and applied restraints to that central system to limit its authorities (Right), making the Constitution dead-center.
Reality dictates that with a two-party system, and with the current choice between the democrats and the republicans, I am a registered Republican. I am a member of the GOP not because I love the party, or because I am willing to get into lock-step with all things republican (as the democrats love to do with the party of the jackass), but because if there is a party of the two major ones that can possibly be headed in the direction of the Constitution, the GOP is it. Unfortunately, the battle to realign the party has been a difficult one, and it is a battle that many believe we are losing. If that is the case, and the GOP is no different than the democrat party as many are beginning to profess, then in time the party will die, become a footnote in history like the Federalists and the Whigs, and a new party will rise to take its place.
Until then, I will continue to fight to get the Republican Party back on track, and return her to Constitutionality.
That all said, I must also remind you that the more to the right the political spectrum pendulum swings, the more the person believes in individuality, and the less the person trusts government. To the left, the politically minded becomes less supportive of individuality, and more supportive of an intrusive government.
Which brings me to a nice little meeting of minds last Friday Morning, where a bunch of us truckers were standing around early in the morning, waiting for the hour to arrive where the customer would allow us to dump our materials, and get out of the job site so that we could go get loaded for our next run.
With me standing in that group, and everyone knowing my political inclinations, it was no surprise that people's own political opinions began to rise up. The conversation did not begin with politics, but one individual, who at one point refused to talk to me because I had said to him that I was fond of Sarah Palin, made sure it did. Whatever the topic (I forget now exactly what led to the remark), the speaker used the term "full of crap." The progressive, without skipping a beat, added as he looked directly at me, "Oh, you mean full of crap like those republicans?"
To this particular individual, the word "republicans" encompasses all of those crazy, rightwing, crazies that are, as he's been conditioned to believe, racist, sexist, homophobic, Islamophobic, corporation-loving, lying, cheating people who want to throw grandma out on the sidewalk with only a can of cat food to eat, use government to force their religion on everybody, and create some kind of world akin to that which existed in the movie, "V is for Vendetta."
"What makes the Republican Party full of crap?" I asked. "The fact that they desire to save the lives of innocent unborn children? Or perhaps it is the fact that the GOP supports Voter ID Laws to protect the voting booth against fraud? Maybe because they believe that fiscal responsibility is better than uncontrolled spending? Could it be their willingness to fight for morality at the local level, and tell the federal government hands off those issues? Perhaps the desire to limit government so that people can retain their liberty and make their own decisions as individuals has you down on them. Maybe you think the republicans are full of crap because they push for self-reliance, and believe that helping the poor is something that should be done by neighborhood charities, not faceless bureaucrats in Washington doing it for the purpose of buying votes. Is it because the GOP believes the Constitution is the law of the land, and that Sharia Law should not be pushed as a replacement? Could it be that you are down on the republicans because they want taxes to be less progressive because people should be treated equally by the system rather than punished for success? Could it be that you dislike the GOP because they believe in enforcing the law, which includes immigration law, rather than looking the other way while people purposely defy the law? Maybe you think the republicans are full of crap because they think America's best days are still ahead of her, and the Obama administration thinks our best days are behind us."
He said nothing for a moment, then said, "No, it is because you support a woman who said she could see Russia from her house."
"Sorry, but that is misinformation you have blindly chosen to follow. It was actually Tina Fey of Saturday Night Live that said that, imitating Palin. Man, you can't even tell the difference between reality and make believe . . . and you vote? God help us."
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
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