This is a continuation of the last article I wrote, Spreading the Message. It would have fit better before hand but I think you can handle a little backtracking. This discussion will be important because if you're going to spread the message you need to make sure your message is the correct one. The last thing we need is neoconservatism taking root and destroying true traditional conservatism. Let's call this little article a self examination. I'm sure a lot of people will want to discus their version of conservatism so I'll be the first to come out and describe my idea of what a conservative really is.
The blame for this year's outcome has been in the making over the past eight years. Bit by bit President Bush dismantled conservatism for any reason he could justify well enough. "It's for the kids" he said, and No Child Left Behind was born and quickly began to fail. "It's for our safety" he said, and the Patriot Act came along and stole freedoms for the sake of fighting terrorism. I don't think conservative's should support acts that take away our freedoms for the "common good." It's like chaining someone up to protect them from the weather outside. I don't think it's justifiable.
Thanks to Bush's idea of how to act like a conservative many people have forgotten what a real conservative is. You can break conservatism down into two simple sections. The one that Bush broke was fiscal conservatism. There shouldn't be a shred of doubt in anyone's mind that Bush is not a fiscal conservative. Spending should be cut, taxes should be cut and the deficit should be diminished as much as possible. An out of control government is the root of a lot of problems. Cut it down and be done with he beast. If you want to give power to the people and the economy you cut their taxes. You have to match that up with cuts in spending. Bush cut taxes and raised spending. That's not how a conservative runs the White House.
The Iraq War has been misled from the start. Support for our troops must always be one of our top priorities but it's time for the war to draw to an end. Protecting ourselves abroad is one thing. Holding up a nation for over five seveyears at the cost of so many American lives, and not to mention American money, is no longer worth it. The reason conservative's should stand against the continuation of this war is simple. Yes, we need to deal with terrorism--let's get out there and cut the head off of the beast instead of waiting around then--but our homeland must be considered most important and it is suffering.
When the freedoms at home are being pinched to save another country every conservative should stand up against it. John McCain's motto "country first" rang loud and clear. I'm quite afraid the conservative movement has become nothing but a bunch of brainwashed neocons who are forgetting to put this country first. Close the boarder, bring our men and women home safely and focus on this economy now. That is as conservative as it gets.
The Iraq War I would have supported would have been sharp, quick and accurate. We want to defeat terror then get serious and take out the big guys. This marathon race is not one we can win. Simple as that, we must defeat who needs to be defeated before all of our men and women die of old age. The point is this, is it not conservative to worry about the homeland? Is our nation not in turmoil and our economy about to collapse completely? We can not maintain a worldwide police force when we are financially bankrupt. Forgive me if you have a hard time understanding how this could be conservative. I'm sorry that so many conservatives have wasted so much time on this lost cause.
Beyond the economic negligence of our current president social issues are still just as important. If country is first then our unborn children should be first inline as well. What kind of nation doesn't respect the lives of their children? The kind without morals that is corrupt to it's core. Can we not decide whether or not life is precious? Being pro-life should be a basic stance every conservative takes. We shouldn't have to be discussing with one another if killing a child is acceptable. It's not, move on, this issue does not need to budge.
"Compassionate Conservatism" was the term coined for President Bush during his run for President. A compassionate conservative is basically a conservative that spends like a liberal. It is smells like a liberal than it is a liberal. Scratch all that jazz. We must be conservative on all fronts and every issue. How can we bring a nation together if we ourselves are scattered across the board? Let's get our act together or expect our movement to go into extinction.
Once you finally get the idea that a conservative is an individual that supports traditional values, believes our nation should be strong enough to protect it's citizens and should never get big enough to corrupt you can move on to spreading the message. We can nit-pick on a couple issues but the core must always be there. The core is the desire to cut spending, taxes and the size of the government and to protect the unborn as well as our traditional values. Are you with me on this? Good, let's get back to basics and restore our movement for the better of this nation.