We’re All Socialists

Posted by Larry Miller on February 16, 2009 under How | Be the First to Comment

“We’re All Socialists” declares Newsweek magazine. They came to the conclusion because free spending Republicans have joined Democrats in forsaking our founding father’s vision of strength, non-intervention and individual responsibility to pursue the the false hope of the nanny state. It began creeping in years ago, but emerged full blown with the phrase “compassionate conservatism” which really meant that they wanted to be called conservatives, but they were not afraid to throw tons of federal money at hot button issues like education and drug programs while promoting greater federal intrusion in an ever expanding list of local prerogatives.

I guess it felt good to the political class to be benefactors to the downtrodden. Good grief, does that not sound like Democrat orthodoxy? It seems like the thinking was “if some is good, more is better”. Did it work? Hardly, as no matter what plan the Republicans came up with to distribute and redistribute federal funds and influence, they were always outdone by the even more expensive and intrusive schemes presented by the Democrats to whom government excesses are part of their political DNA.

We have only to ask John McCain how well this strategy worked last November. Having long rejected the conservative value of limited government, he looked like a piker compared to the high toned, ambiguous promises of his opponent. His “me too” was totally ineffective since the weak and incompetent who live for government support and direction know the Democratic penchant for taking from the productive for their own nefarious ends, and because the traditional virtues militated against frivolous waste and Republicans have no real credibility as giveaway artists.

This past week we saw liberal so-called Republicans throw their own supposed fellow party members under the bus as they sided with the other side to boost national debt further into the stratosphere and increase the giveaways that will help the Democratics stay in power and further erode our prosperity and freedom. The press calls them moderate, but there is nothing moderate about what they have done. These unprincipled Senators have become the pivot point around which all future legislation must turn.

This is a frightening thought that Washington excesses are only held in check by those with no aversion to them. What can we do?

Liberal Republicans like California’s Governator tell us we need to give up on some of the traditional conservative values and become more mainstream… meaning more like the Democratics. The party has tried that – and failed miserably. The grassroots were not engaged and the feckless politicians were outmaneuvered.

Instead, we need to try something new. At least something not attempted frequently in recent years. That is come back to the virtues of God, family and country. We must do this decisively, not tolerating the wishy washy leaders and elected officials who have only brought us defeat or false hopes. This means involvement at all levels, and, at this point, the Republican Party, because the other side shows no sign of reclamation in the near future. Their wayward path has brought them too much success in the face of inadequate opposition.

It won’t be easy, but no other viable alternative is in sight. The system is set up as a two party system and works against third party intruders. Those in power are loathe to change this. Then again, there is always the choice of the torches and pitchforks the peasants used in the old black and white movies.