Reagan's Response to David Brooks

Let Them Go Their Way

Governor Ronald Reagan (R-CA)

March 1, 1975

Since our last meeting we have been through a disastrous election. It is easy for us to be discouraged, as pundits hail that election as a repudiation of our philosophy and even as a mandate of some kind or other. But the significance of the election was not registered by those who voted, but by those who stayed home. If there was anything like a mandate it will be found among almost two-thirds of the citizens who refused to participate.

Bitter as it is to accept the results of the November election, we should have reason for some optimism. For many years now we have preached “the gospel,” in opposition to the philosophy of so-called liberalism which was, in truth, a call to collectivism.

Now, it is possible we have been persuasive to a greater degree than we had ever realized. Few, if any, Democratic party candidates in the last election ran as liberals. Listening to them I had the eerie feeling we were hearing reruns of Goldwater speeches. I even thought I heard a few of my own.

Bureaucracy was assailed and fiscal responsibility hailed. Even George McGovern donned sackcloth and ashes and did penance for the good people of South Dakota.

But let’s not be so naive as to think we are witnessing a mass conversion to the principles of conservatism. Once sworn into office, the victors reverted to type. In their view, apparently, the ends justified the means.

The “Young Turks” had campaigned against “evil politicians.” They turned against committee chairmen of their own party, displaying a taste and talent as cutthroat power politicians quite in contrast to their campaign rhetoric and idealism. Still, we must not forget that they molded their campaigning to fit what even they recognized was the mood of the majority.

And we must see to it that the people are reminded of this as they now pursue their ideological goals—and pursue them they will. . .

I don‘t know about you, but I am impatient with those Republicans who after the last election rushed into print saying, “We must broaden the base of our party”—when what they meant was to fuzz up and blur even more the differences between ourselves and our opponents.

The rest

No Collaboration

The opening shots of the war for the soul of the Republican Party have been fired. . . by the moderates. Not two days after the election, McCain aides are viciously attacking Sarah Palin in a move that seems to me very preconceived, as if this was their contingency plan all along if they lost. Regardless of the validity of their claims (I am skeptical) these attacks have nothing to do with Palin's shopping habits or her intelligence. These attacks are coming this quickly because she's a right wing conservative. The moderates are panicked. They need a scape goat other than McCain in order to keep their grip on the party going into Obama's administration. Palin is an up and coming conservative star ripe for the targeting. If the moderates can succeed in painting the election as a referendum on Palin, they can deflect blame for the plight of the Republican Party.

This is where 2012 starts for us. Conservatives have to win back this party. We cannot let the moderates create a narrative that destroys Sarah Palin and whitewashes their own complicity in our ignoble defeat. If the moderates succeed in reaffirming their grip on the GOP, the consequences would be devastating. Already Democrats are conspiring with Republican moderates to have McCain lead the "opposition" in the Senate. This is what I mean when I say McCain should be nowhere near party leadership in the Senate. This ugliness serves to remind me why I never liked John McCain and why it pained me so much to vote for him. He is no conservative and no friend to conservatives. He is self serving and will destroy party unity to serve his own ends (see the gang of 14). This new found congeniality between McCain and Democrats is telling:

"Before resting from the grueling presidential race, John McCain began discussing with senior aides what role he will play in the Senate now that he has promised to work with the man who defeated him for president."

Hmm. . . I wonder what he discussed with his senior aides?

"The attacks on Ms Palin are set to intensify, with McCain aides keen to dish the dirt on their boss's running mate. One aide estimated Ms Palin had spent "tens of thousands" more than the reported $US150,000. . . Another aide offered the "Wasilla hillbillies" comparison and said the truth would eventually come out."

This is the real, nasty, John McCain. The one who has hated conservatives at least since the 2000 campaign This is the John McCain that I didn't know if I could vote for. This is the John McCain we're now getting. Let me say it one more time: NO. WHERE. NEAR. PARTY. LEADERSHIP. McCain's quasi-liberalism is what got us into this mess in the first place.

Our opposition will be difficult enough without our party leadership openly colluding with liberal Democrats. Remember, "cooperating" with liberals never means that they make concessions. It means you adopt their liberal position or else you are a bitter partisan. Ann Coulter's definition of stare decisis is a perfect description of the liberal attitude toward negotiating with conservatives: "What's mine is mine and what's yours is negotiable." This is what a McCain/moderate leadership means for us. We don't persuade or oppose them, we concede and abdicate in the hopes of getting part of the credit for whatever Pelosi/Reid/Obama do. In short, "me too" liberalism.

This of course is the opposite of what we need. We must be opposition in the fullest sense of the word. No "bipartisanship" or cooperation. Are we conservatives or not? The whites could have avoided many conflicts with the Bolsheviks if they had acted in a "spirit of bipartisanship", but they still would have all ended up living under communism. We must fight them, tooth and nail, and it starts now with the defense of Sarah Palin and unapologetic conservatism.

No Collaboration!

Our Way Forward

So here we are. First I'd like to apologize to the rest of the world. You may not realize this or you may not want to admit it, but the American electorate just screwed you over, big time. Secondly, all you young "first time voters". As you get older, many of you will realize what you have done. Just know right now that I have no sympathy for you. If I can figure it out this young, so can you. Instead you selfishly voted in droves for the hip, trendy pick because as much as you think you are "sticking it to the man", all you are doing is falling into lockstep with the rest of the misguided misanthropes that make up these fascist organizations we call college campuses, who can't seem to understand that they're not being individualistic by voting the same way everyone else on campus is voting no matter how many piercings they have. Congratulations, you just screwed over the country you're set to inherit. Someday maybe you'll understand that adults don't whine about the costs of student loans and vote a socialist into power. Adults understand that you pay for what you get and act accordingly (they get a job).

That said, we can't play the blame game for very long. We will have to rebuild the Republican Party and the Conservative movement, but we can't afford to neglect our role as opposition. It appears that the Democrats will fall short of the 60 Senate seats needed for a filibuster proof majority. The 40+ GOP Senators had better find a spine and find it fast. I don't buy the Obama as a pragmatist who will govern from the center line we've been fed from people on our own side. Barry will see this as a mandate and an opportunity to reshape this country in the progressive image. There will be at least two years where he will be able to pass whatever he wants if the GOP can't maintain unity against him in the Senate. I know that there are Olympia Snowe types in the Senate who can't wait to cooperate with the Democrat majority, and John McCain's concession speech didn't exactly fill me with hope last night. McCain needs to be nowhere near party leadership in the Senate. The moderates have had their chance this past election, and contrary to popular opinion, more times than not during the Bush administration. Its time for conservatives to rally around someone. We are facing the abyss. Will it be Mitch McConnell? I have my doubts, but we need a strong, steady voice in the Senate. Hopefully we'll be able to utilize moderate Democrat Senators from time to time. Otherwise our last line of defense is the courts.

It appears that the first legislative tasks come January will be the Employee Free Choice Act and the Fairness Doctrine. I don't think that either of these should hold up if brought to the current Supreme Court. However, how long will the court remain constituted as it currently is? Of the current basic conservative majority on the court, Chief Justice Roberts will be 54 in January, Justice Scalia will be 75 in March, Justice Kennedy will be 75 in July, Justice Thomas will be 61 in June, and Justice Alito will be 59 in April. No matter what you think of the Bush administration, part of his legacy will be the presence of Roberts and Alito on the court for the next 10-20 years. The question though, is Scalia and Kennedy. I don't care about the liberal members, if Obama replaces any of them it won't alter the balance of the Court. While Kennedy isn't a reliable conservative vote, he is infinitely better than anyone Obama would appoint. Remember, Obama would choose his justices based on their empathy for certain segments of society and has expressed regret that the courts haven't redistributed American wealth regardless of action by Congress. Scalia and Kennedy must remain on the bench for at least four more years. Even two years would put us in a much better situation as long as the GOP can make midterm gains in the Senate, but experience makes me wary of trusting the courage and resolve of Republican Senators, therefore I pray Scalia and Kennedy can hold out for a Republican administration. This is the most important fight over the next 2-4 years. The only way we may be able to stop Obama is over the Constitutionality of his Legislative agenda. I'm afraid though that there is little that we can do other than pray for the health and energy of the current majority.

What we can do is demand conservatism from the Republican Party. The moderates have had their shot and its been an unmitigated disaster. Its time to get back to our roots. Its time to demand conservative candidates and principles. Fiscal conservatism must be brought back, no more bailouts. Its time to rediscover the Libertarian wing of our party. Don't abandon capitalism. We can't become a "me too" liberal party. Don't run from social issues. California is on the verge of banning gay marriage. Barack Obama wants to reinstitute Federal funding for abortion. The GOP must make a stand in the House and Senate. These are winning issues for us. We must reestablish ourselves as the conservative alternative. The American public hasn't really had one in a while.

It is what it is. Obama has won. We have to deal with it. We have to weather the coming storm as best we can. Do not feel sorry for yourself. We took an awful candidate and tried our best to drag him across the finish line. It didn't work. Live and learn. We'll carry on. Obama didn't forever alter the balance of power in America. We are still a center-right country. Did you notice how many bans on gay marriage passed last night? If we just stand fast to our conservative principles, America will hand us the reigns again. We survived 4 terms of FDR. We survived the Great Society. We survived Jimmy Carter for goodness sakes. America and conservatism will survive Obama, but the Republican Party had better rediscover its convictions, and fast.

One Day, We'll Wake Up, And We'll Be In Canada

Much can happen between now and November, but after watching the debate last night, I think the election has become Obama's to lose. Palin did her job slowing the Obama/Biden, but McCain needed to win last night in his favorite "town hall" format to make up ground. He didn't. He said some good things and Obama misrepresented his leftism as usual, but the biggest thing I came away with wasn't a good line or a blatent lie, it was that Obama looked young and McCain looked old. I'm a political junkie, if that's what I came away with, I can only imagine what the average American with a 30 second political attention span thinks.

Is conservatism pretty much dead now in American politics? There was time after time last night when McCain just accepted the liberal premise of the questions and suggested big government solutions. I believe if we had a genuine conservative running who could articulate our positions and challenge the assumptions of the questioners and public at large, we'd be winning this election. Instead we have McCain letting Barry get away with calling health care a "right". If we're going to let liberals make up new rights that defy the actual concept of the "natural right" that America is based upon, what's the point of conservatives continuing to call the Republican Party home? What if McCain wins? How much better than Obama will that actually be? Sure it will put off America's participation in the slow decline of the West for another decade, but after that? Its inevitable without a strong conservative party. We'd be there right now if not for the Reagan 80's. If McCain can't challenge Obama on an issue as fundamental as the nature of rights, can we trust him to challenge Pelosi and Reid? Can we trust the Republicans in Congress? They just helped pass a decidedly nonconservative government bailout.

We need a seachange, no matter who wins this election. I feel that we've ceded back much of the ground we gained after Reagan's victory, and its our own fault. The conservative cause needs new, articulate, true believing, advocates. Neocons are valuable allies, but we've let them seize the Party, and the concept of economic libertarianism has suffered as a result. We can have thousands of bloggers and radio hosts advocating real conservatism, but until we get politicians actively promoting it to the public at large, we will continue to lose ground, even when we win.

How Did I Miss This?

Terrific Walter Williams column from July 16th that brings to light new Oklahoma State legislations that seeks to reign in the overbearing and unconstitutional power of the Federal government.

Professor Williams, as bluntly as ever, puts it this way:

"One of the unappreciated casualties of the War of 1861, erroneously called a Civil War, was its contribution to the erosion of constitutional guarantees of state sovereignty. It settled the issue of secession, making it possible for the federal government to increasingly run roughshod over Ninth and 10th Amendment guarantees. A civil war, by the way, is a struggle where two or more parties try to take over the central government. Confederate President Jefferson Davis no more wanted to take over Washington, D.C., than George Washington wanted to take over London. Both wars are more properly described as wars of independence."

Wonderfully put. The slow erosion of our Constitution began with the War Between the States in 1861 and the States really no longer have any recourse to check the growing power of the Federal government. Professor Williams continues:

"Oklahomans are trying to recover some of their lost state sovereignty by House Joint Resolution 1089, introduced by State Rep. Charles Key.

"The resolution's language, in part, reads: "Whereas, the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States reads as follows: 'The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.'; and Whereas, the Tenth Amendment defines the total scope of federal power as being that specifically granted by the Constitution of the United States and no more; and whereas, the scope of power defined by the Tenth Amendment means that the federal government was created by the states specifically to be an agent of the states; and Whereas, today, in 2008, the states are demonstrably treated as agents of the federal government. 'Now, therefore, be it resolved by the House of Representatives and the Senate of the 2nd session of the 51st Oklahoma Legislature: that the State of Oklahoma hereby claims sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States. That this serve as Notice and Demand to the federal government, as our agent, to cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of these constitutionally delegated powers.'"

The Federal Government was created to be an advocate of the States, to provide for the common defense of the States, to represent the States to other nations diplomatically, and to regulate interstate and foreign commerce. These are powers specifically granted to the Federal government in the Constitution. All other rights, whatever they may be, are reserved to the States and the people by the 10th Amendment, which the Supreme Court conveniently forgot about during and after the War Between the States. Professor Williams goes on to quote James Madison in Federalist Paper 45, and Thomas Jefferson:

"The powers delegated … to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, [such] as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce. "The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people." Thomas Jefferson emphasized that the states are not "subordinate" to the national government, but rather the two are "coordinate departments of one simple and integral whole. "The one is the domestic, the other the foreign branch of the same government."

The States were never envisioned as the provincial administrative units under the authority of the Federal government that they have become today. This is the essence of conservatism, to get back to the original intent of the Constitution, which was drafted to protect the liberty of the States, and thereby the lives, liberty, and property of the citizens.

Basic Principles of Conservatism

At its core, Conservatism is based on the ideas of the founding fathers, perhaps the greatest group of men ever gathered together in the history of the world. Freedom derived from the Creator, a decentralized federal government with specific enumerated powers, and individual liberty protected from the tyranny of the majority. No matter what differences conservatives have with one another, we share these basic principles in common. (Note however there are certainly atheist conservatives, most notably Ayn Rand.)

The first point, "freedom", does not only include those specifically listed in the Bill of Rights. Speech, religion, the right to assemble, these are all important freedoms, but as the 9th Amendment States, they are not the only ones. Conservatives believe in the concept of "economic freedom". Every man (or woman) should be free to make as much (or as little) as their faculties allow. When Jefferson wrote "We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal", he was talking about the basic rights that all men are endowed with. Equality in birth, not equality in outcome. With freedom comes responsibility, and each man should be responsible for himself. A man has no right to infringe upon his neighbor's economic freedom in order to further his own.

In order to protect this concept of freedom, the founders (through the Constitution) imposed strict limits upon the Federal government. Conservatism seeks to bring the ever growing Federal government back into this Constitutional framework. States were not always the provincial administrative units they are now. They were once sovereign and free. For the purpose of common defense they entered into the Articles of Confederation. When this union proved too weak, the founders drafted the Constitution, and the individual States ratified it. However, while this created a more solid and defined Federal system, with a stronger central government, the present size and power of the Federal government was NEVER envisioned by the founders. I dare say it was the very thing they most feared.

Conservatives seek to restore the original balance of the Federal system and are thus advocates of States Rights. Local governments are far more responsive the the people and act as a check on a tyrannical trending central government. The founders understood this better than we ever can, and Conservatism seeks to restore the original powers of the State, at the expense of the Federal government.

The Constitution once limited the government. As strict constructionists, Conservatives wish to return to the original intent. The Constitution is not a "living, breathing" document that evolves over time. It is a legal document that created a Republic unable to infringe upon individual liberty. Now that it is seemingly ignored, the majority is free to infringe upon the liberties of the individual, just as the Federal government is free to infringe upon the rights of the State. So at its core Conservatism is an ideology of limited government and originalism.

This is certainly not all there is to Conservatism, books have been written about Conservatism and its stance on far more issues than I have elaborated on. This is just the basic structure of the Conservative philosophy and ideology. This is the America the founders envisioned, and men like William F Buckley, Barry Goldwater, and Ronald Reagan sought to restore.

My Manifesto

As this is my first post, I suppose I should explain what this blog is all about. Being the political junkie that I am, I can't help but notice the progressive dilution of the conservative movement. What was once clearly defined is now seemingly nothing but a brand many decidedly nonconservative (dare I say liberal) politicians seek.

I have always known that liberalism must always be opposed, always be fought against. It will never die, there will never be a final victory. It will always emerge in a new form with new advocates. That is the purpose of Conservatism. As the late William F. Buckley famously put it:

“A Conservative is a fellow who is standing athwart history yelling 'Stop!'"

With his passing, the last of the original conservative icons is gone, just as the movement seems to be losing itself. That is the purpose of my little blog. Conservatism is a concrete ideology. While there is room for debate among friends, there is no room for the liberal syncretism that seems to be en vogue right now. While I am no William Buckley, I will do my best to advocate the pillars of Conservatism in the hopes that they may at least inspire thought in a stray reader.