Posted by
Brian Garst on Friday, October 06, 2006 1:23:52 AM
When Newt Gingrich rode a conservative tidal wave into the Speaker's chair, ushering in the first Republican House majority in 40 years, it was both the culmination of decades of conservative growth and the beginning of a new era. What Barry Goldwater began and Ronald Reagan brought to the forefront of our national conscience, Newt and the '94 young guns finished while quickly delivering on their legislative promises.
But that isn't the end of the story. Today we have a Republican President with an approval rating barely hovering over 40, a Republican Senate that comes together to advance a
progressive agenda far more often than a
conservative one, a Republican House that can't get pork-barrel spending under control or even eliminate a single worthless government program, and an electorate dangerously close to kicking us out of power. The question so many conservatives are asking is, how did we get here?
Answering this question requires a bit of ideological introspection. We must come to grips with the fundamental dichotomy of our beliefs that makes governing by conservative principles extremely
hard work.
Leaders in America tend to be current or former members of government. That's no surprise, as they get the media coverage and national recognition that leadership requires. The conservative movement is no different. It's only natural that members of government are going to turn to government methods to advance their cause.
For conservatives, however, that results in a clash of principles, with the loser most often being the principle of
limited government. It takes a lot of self discipline to refrain from using power to do what seems right and to make things better. But that is precisely what conservatism so often requires, and it's also precisely where conservatives have failed with increasing regularity.
Liberals don't have to face this dilemma. They have ideas that they believe can make America better, just the same as we do, but no conflicting principle that prevents them from using government whenever possible to implement those ideas. Many conservatives thought they could just come into power and do the same things, substituting their ideas for those of their liberal counterparts and their base would be happy. But it doesn't work that way, because conservative voters don't believe government has all the answers.
Ronald Reagan said that, "governments tend not to solve problems, only to rearrange them." It's a lesson that conservatives need to relearn. We've lost our way and are focusing our efforts in the wrong directions. We have to separate our cultural principles from our governmental principles and keep our efforts to advance each agenda limited to the appropriate sphere, and we have nothing more than self discipline to direct our efforts.
If you believe people shouldn't gamble, convince them why you are right; don't legislate it. Otherwise you are no different than a liberal who tries to use government to prevent people from smoking or eating fatty foods. Work to convince people to believe what you believe instead of legislating their behavoir. Faithfully living up these standards requires serious dedication and leaders who are intellectually honest. That's the conservative way.
See this post and more at
Conservative Compendium.